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Indenture quadripartite of 11 Feb 1761 by which George Lane, of Bramham Park, Yorkshire (West Riding), with the consent of Ralph Bourchier, 'doctor in physick', of Great Ormond Street in the parish of St.George the Martyr, London, and his daughter and heir Margaret Bourchier, assigned to the Hon William Chetwynd, of Dover Street, London, the manors or lordships of Benningborough [Beningbrough], Overton [Ovington], Barforth and Newton-upon-Ouse, all in the North Riding of Yorkshire, formerly the estate of John Bourchier, deceased, for the remainder of a term of 500 years. Signed and sealed by the four parties. Ralph Bourchier inherited the estates on the death of his great-niece Mildred, wife of the Hon Robert Lane, in 1760.

Indenture of bargain and sale of 17 Jun 1602 by Henry Newdegate of Hampton, Middlesex, to George Cole of Petersham, Surrey, of the manor of Ashstead, otherwise called Little Ashstead or the Pryor's Farm, Surrey. Consideration £500. Signed by Henry Newdegate; seal wanting.

Indenture of bargain and sale by the Wardens and Commonalty of the Mercers' Company of London to William Allen, Alderman of London, of six messuages in 'Towerstrete', now Great Tower Street in the parish of St Dunstan in the East, for a consideration of £133 6s. 8d. Abuttals given; names of present and former tenants and rents also given. Warranty. Leofric Foster, citizen and mercer, attorney to deliver seisin. Signed by Richard Malorye, Richard Carill, Thomas Revett, and Thomas More, endorsed 'livery of seisin', and dated 1 Mar 1565.

Bond in £40 by Sir John Dawnay, of Sessay in Yorkshire, to Jane Younge, otherwise Kyneston, widow of York, payable by 16 June next. Signed and sealed [seal wanting] 25 March 1585. With a note of payment in the margin.

Letter from John Burn of Orton, [Westmorland] to Thomas Cadell [the elder] Esq, 'bookseller, Strand, London', 26 Mar 1792. 'I have by the coach this day sent you Barry's Justice [i.e. E Barry Present practice of a justice of the peace (1790)] & in the margin have marked the vs & pages in our Justice [i.e. R Burn The justice of the peace and parish officer (1755 and many susbequent editions)] from which he has copied. I may safely say there is not one hundred pages, put the whole together of his 4 volumes, which is not copied from my father...'.

Autograph, with signature. Franked: 'Appleby'[-in-Westmorland].

Facsimile of a letter from George Gordon Noel Byron of Venice to M [Giovanni Antonio] Galignani, editor of Galignani's Messenger, 18 rue Vivienne, Paris, 27 Apr 1819. Disclaims the authorship of The Vampire, which had been attributed to him in Galigniani's Messenger '... I desire the responsibility of nobody's dullness but my own ...'.

Facsimile copy of an autograph letter, with signature.

Certificate of burial in wool, 1738, for Mary Wilbey of the parish of St Benedict, Cambridge.

Letter from John Chapman of 1 Albion Street, Hyde Park, [London] to George Grote, 17 Nov 1858. Regarding the copyright of the Westminster Review.

Autograph, with signature.

Contract, dated 28 Dec 1670, containing an undertaking by John Brown to repair the stables he rented from Thomas Panton, and to stop up the water course from the horse pond in Round Mill Yard. Signed and sealed by John Brown.

Letter from Thomas A Cook of Newcastle upon Tyne to H B Jordan, Esq of the Alkali Works, Bristol, 8 Dec 1845. Acknowledging Jordan's letter of 4 Dec 1845. Discussing at length the relative efficiency of stone stills [for manufacturing alkalis] used by Cook [at Walker, Newcastle], by Jordan and by Lee and Co; advising Jordan to visit Lee and Co and copy their stills exactly. Mentioning a Mr Bell's patent, the surprising cheapness of coal, and a meeting of masters [i.e. factory owners] which he was unable to attend. Noting that the returns show an increase of stock.

Autograph, with signature. A note [in Jordan's hand] on page 3 states: 'Ansd. 5 Jany'.

Single leaf of vellum, formerly used as a pastedown, containing Book 3, section 38 18 to 39 3, of the Decretales Gregorii IX, on the rights of patrons over churches and the financial liabilities of churches, dating from the mid-13th century. There are marginal annotations in a later, perhaps 14th century, hand.

Single vellum leaf, formerly a pastedown, containing Lib.II, 20, 17-26, of the Decretales Gregorii IX, on testimonies in court. Includes a gloss and extensive interlineal and marginal annotations. The fragment is probably English, written in the late 13th century.

Draft of a bill 'for the more effectual prevention of the use of false and deficient measures', 1815, with proposals including Justices of the Peace to appoint persons to examine the measures within their districts; a penalty of 5-20s on conviction; proper measures according to the standard made by the Exchequer to be purchased out of the general rate and deposited with the clerks of the peace; some form of conviction to be given. The draft is endorsed '9 March 1815. Copy to Mr [Samuel] Whitbread [M.P. for Bedford] per post'.

Manuscript volume containing a copy of a Parliamentary 'Act for Continuance of the Receipt of Excise until 29th Sept 1653', 1650.

A collection of 26 miscellaneous legal papers, 1791-1800, most of them printed forms filled in in manuscript and issuing mainly from Paris, comprising summonses for non-payment of taxes, licences to distrain goods and chattels, notices to quit, safe-conducts, summonses requiring attendance at court, etc.

Manuscript volumes containing a selection of legislation and concessions given for the exploitation of French mines, compiled by 'le Sr Bruyard', Senior Clerk of [Daniel Charles] Trudain [de Montigny, Comptroller of Finances, Director of Bridges and Embankments], 1758, with details of legislation from 1413-1761. Includes a historical survey, a chronological table of legislation and concessions, general dispositions for the exploitation of the mines, and legislation and concessions for mining in each généralité. There is also printed matter bound into each volume, mainly comprising government edicts relating to the subject.

Papers of the Gordon family of Letterfourie, Banffshire, Scotland, relating to their merchant interests and financial matters, 1735-[1800], comprising, including a bond in £250 of 1735 discharged in 1751 by James Gordon and his son Patrick to John Gordon; two letters from Strauss & Schmidt, Lisbon, to James Gordon, 1763; an invoice and bill of lading, dated Oct 1770, for goods shipped on the Hambro Packet from Hamburg by order of Alexander Gordon & Co., Madeira; a letter from C. Grant, Edinburgh, to James Gordon, 7 Dec 1785; two receipts of 1799 for money paid by a Mrs. Gordon; and a letter from James and Alexander Gordon at school to their parents in Letterfourie, [1800].
The collection also contains material not apparently relating to the Gordon family: accounts of John Scott, vintner in Portsoy, 'for Letterfouries servants and horses when sundry times in Banff', 22 Dec 1798-3 Jun 1799; a 'Certificate of the term of payment of Lady Fraiser [of Durris]'s annuities, 19 Nov 1776, signed by the town clerk of Aberdeen; and a receipt of 1780 for payment for goods bought from E. Fielder, stationer, London, by a Mr. Ruddick. The connection between the Gordon items and the last two items is unknown.

Civic ordinances for the city of Hamburg, Germany, comprising 76 articles, with an index, concerning the regulation of civil life.

Lawyer's precedent book, 1677.

Inspeximus of 7 Sep 1462 with second Great Seal, made during the reign of King Edward IV. The text is illegible; for a possible subject of the document see Calendar of Patent Rolls Edward IV, A.D.1461-1467 (1897), under the same date.

Manuscript copy of 13 Charles II c.2, or 'An act for confirmation of judicial proceedings', enacted in Dublin' on 12 Jun 1661, and printed by William Bladen in 1661. The English act is 12 Charles II c.12. The manuscript may have been bound with the printed copy of the act, now item 6 in a Goldsmiths' Library volume (Ref: G.L. F) lettered 'Acts Charles II-1660-82'. The manuscript is accompanied by 8 leaves containing legal notes in a contemporary hand.

Manuscript volume containing a law compendium, [1619-1628], compiled for the use of a Justice of the Peace, with notes under headings arranged alphabetically, giving references to Elizabethan and Jacobean statutes. It contains references to alehouses, archery, armour, artificers, assault, sadlers, drovers, bastardy, brewer, burglary, butchers, captains, soldiers, churchwardens, clergy, clerks of the market, cloth and dyers, witchcraft, constables, correction houses, coopers, coroners, counterfeiting, extortion, fairs and markets, forcible entry, forgery, goldsmiths, guns and crossbows, hawking, highways, bridges, horses, the hue and cry, hunting, husbandry, indictments and presentments, informants, enrolements, jurors, juries and inquests, labourers, servants and apprentices, larceny, liveries and retainers, manslaughter and murder, masons, matrimony and bigamy, mortuaries, Parliament, petty treason, plague, plays and games, preachers and ministers, prison and prisoners, bail, rape, recusants, restitution, riots, routs, unlawful assemblies, robbery and theft, sheriffs, transportation, treason, treasurers, trespass, vagabonds, usury, watch and ward, weights and measures, wines, wool and yarn.

The manuscript cites early editions of Ferdinando Pulton A Kalender, or Table, comprehending the effect of all the statutes that have been made and put into print beginning with Magna Charta...(Company of Stationers, London, 1606) and Michael Dalton The countrey justice, conteyning the practice of the Justices of the Peace out of their Sessions. Gathered for the better helpe of such justices...as have not been much conversant in the studie of the lawes of this realme (Company of Stationers, London, 1618).

Transcript of the laws relating to French colonial banks, entitled 'Loi sur les banques coloniales des 25 Avril, 26 Juin et 11 Juillet 1851'.

Lease, 7 Aug 1776, made by Samuel Adams, builder, to Thomas Williams, carpenter, both of the parish of St Marylebone, of property (plan included in document) on Duke Street, St Marylebone, for 96¾ years at a rent of £8 payable after the first two years, with covenants against certain trades being practiced on the premises. Includes details of leases of property between Duke Street, Bentinck Square, and Berkeley Square (giving measurements) to Adams by the trustees of Peter William Baker, son of William Baker, deceased. The trustees named were Henry W. Portman, baker, of Bryanston, Dorset; John Littlehales, of Greek Street, in the parish of St Ann, Westminster; James Clitherow, of Boston House, Hanwell; Rev. William Sellon, of the parish of St James, Clerkenwell; and James Dunne, of the parish of St Marylebone. Signed and sealed by Samuel Adams.

Counterpart of a lease, 6 Dec 1716/17 made by William Thomas, citizen and clothworker, of the Parish of St Anne, to Thomas, Lord Howard of Effingham, of a messuage 'with all the furniture, goods and untensills' , on the west side of Greek Street, Soho, now in the occupation of Howard, for 7 years at a rent of £110 a year. Inventory included.

Two counterparts of leases, 25 May 1691, made by Elizabeth Fortrey, widow of the parish of St Andrew, Holborn, to Leonard Cunditt, innholder of the parish of St Paul, Covent Garden, of a piece of ground in Hog Lane (later renamed Charing Cross Road) in the parish of St Giles in the Fields, the first for 'the second ground plott or new house built or intended to be built', and the second for 'the fourth house'. Both leases were for 99 years at a rent of £3 a year. Plan annexed. Signed and sealed by Leonard Cunditt.

Volume containing a miscellaneous collection of legal documents relating to Kent and Sussex, 1588-1814, mainly comprising printed bonds completed in manuscript, with a small number of articles of covenant, abstracts of title, letters of attorney and quitclaims. Includes a letters of 1691 to Mrs James Iggelden of Benenden, Kent, and papers relating to her family, 1691-1730.

Manuscript volume, 1701-1704, containing the legal opinions of Sir Edward Northey, Attorney General, on cases submitted by the Treasury Board between 2 Oct 1701 and 29 Sep 1704 on matters including Customs and Excise, maritime law including the Navigation Act, prizes taken by Her Majesty's ships of war, the colonies, the Post Office, and the armed forces.

Papers relating to Stephen Drew's Jamaica tontine and to the estate of Adam Smith of Bossue, Manchester, Jamaica, comprising: 1.Papers of Troward & Merrifield, 94 Pall Mall, London, solicitors to the trustees of the Dry Sugar Works Estate tontine, including in-letters, drafts and copies of out-letters, drafts and copies of minutes of meetings of subscibers, letter-books, accounts, lists of subscribers, nomination forms, and some printed items, including a printed prospectus, 1805-1821.

2. Papers apparently of J.W. Bromley, solicitor of 1 South Square, Gray's Inn, 1832-1836, relating to claims and counterclaims to compensation for the negroes on the estate of Adam Smith of Bossue, Manchester, Jamaica, whose will was proved on 4 Sep 1815. A printed form, dated 1836, of the Commissioners of Compensation, gives details of the settlement: William Shand, acting trustee under will of Adam Smith, claimant to compensation for 39 slaves, admitted counterclaim of William and Thomas Smith, executors and devisees in trust under will of Adam Smith (N.B. Copies of a number of letters to and from a William Shand in Jamaica are among the papers of Drew's Tontine.)

Manuscript volume containing a copy of a letter dated 9 Jun 1744 from Elizabeth Forbes of the School of Sprinning, Jedburgh, [Roxburgh], to David Flint, Trustees Office, Parliament Close, Edinburgh, complaining of her summons by the baillies of Jedburgh for contravening the 'Acts in the Trades Seal of Cause' by ordering equipment from Kelso.

Letters of Attorney, 20 Dec 1606 by Timothy Sherman of Wackton (Wacton), Norfolk, appointing Thomas Palgrave to receive £20 due to him by warrant of Privy Seal dated 31 July 1604. Signed and sealed.

A collection of mediaeval and early nineteenth century legal documents, which include letters of administration, bankruptcy and insurance papers.

Manuscript volume containing an historical treatise on the office of Admiral and the jurisdiction of the Admiralty entitled 'Mare Clausam', [1700], and an abridgement in English of fifteen chapters of Mare Clausam (1635) by John Selden, [1635]; details of proceedings of the Court of King's Bench in the case of William Shaw versus Catherine Weigh, 1728; a transcript of the judgements of Sir George Treby, Chief Justice of Common Pleas, and Sir John Holt, Chief Justice of the King's Bench, in the case of Joseph Hardy (the 'Bankers Case'), 1696.

Counterpart indenture of a marriage settlement, dated 6 Aug 1678, whereby Scarborough Chapman, of Lyncombe and Widcombe in Somerset, in consideration of his intended marriage with Anne Brinsden, widow, of Bristol, and the sum of £400 received from her, conveyed to Humphrey Little, goldsmith, of Bristol, Samuel Price and Arthur Hart, merchants, of Bristol, a messuage in Lyncombe and Widcombe, near the church of chapel there, formerly in the occupation of Robert Fisher the elder and Robert Fisher the younger, both deceased, and now of John Weekes the younger and several others, for the term of the lives of Chapman and his future wife and their heirs male, and then to Little, Price and Hart for the term of 1000 years. Signed and sealed by Humphrey Little, Arthur Hart; the third seal is unsigned.

British and French patents, 1861-1862, for John Marshall's invention for 'the collection, concentration and transmission of sound, so as to facilitate the hearing.' Also includes a Belgian 'brevet d'importation.'

A commonplace book, 1799, with manuscript entries, probably written by H. A. Mayers, relating to legal and historical subjects.

Medieval manuscript fragments formerly used as pastedowns, as follows:

1. Fragment of a leaf containing part of an abridgement of Seneca's De Beneficiis. Contains a complete paragraph beginning 'Iam vero transeamus' and ending 'deinde benficium' (corresponding to Book II, 18-19, p.36, line 26, to p.39, line 12 of the Teubner 1900 edition). The manuscript was written in the mid-12th century, and there are corrections and additional punctuation in a 12th-13th century hand.
2. Fragment of a leaf containing part of St Jerome's Epistola ad Paulum, headed LIII (53), from halfway through paragraph 7 'mundum ad poenitentiam' to the end, and the first few words of the Prologue to the Pentateuch (ending 'Latratibus patens'). The manuscript was probably written in France during the second half of the 13th century.
3. Fragment of a leaf containing Book III, 6 and 7, of the Clementinae, on testaments and burials. With gloss and annotations in a 14th century hand. The manuscript was probably written in Germany in the 14th century, and is also inscribed in a 16th century hand 'Francoise de Pont femme a Monsieur Jehan George Pipon faict avec Madame Monet Perrot sa femme'.
4. Fragment of a leaf containing part of the sanctorale from a Missal of Roman use, from the epistle of the Assumption of the Virgin (15 Aug) to the introit for the feast of St Agapitus (18 Aug), only the mass for St Laurence (17 Aug) being complete. The manuscript was probably written in Italy during the 14th century.

Five fragments of Latin mediaeval manuscripts, formerly pastedowns, details as follows:

1. Fragment of a leaf containing part of a legal tract entitled Judicium Essoniorum relating to the procedure at assizes, dating from the 13th century. The text has variants and is in places abbreviated from that printed in G.E. Woodbine Four thirteenth century law tracts (New Haven, 1910). The text corresponds to the pp 119-20 of Woodbine's edition, where the composition of the work is attributed to Ralf de Hengham and the date of the composition put at 1267-1275.
2. and 3. Two consecutive leaves containing extracts from Part II of Gratian's Decretum, comprising Causa XXVI, quest. VII 16, to Causa XXVII, quest. I 19, on penance and the marriage of those who had sworn chastity. There is a glossary in a different hand and ink, with each section preceded by a symbol corresponding to one in the text. The leaves are possibly Italian and 14th century.
3. Leaf, foliated 109, in a late 14th century hand, containing part of Lib. XLII, 8, 1-10, of the Digestum Novum, relating to restitution to deceived creditors. With a glossary and marginal and interlineal annotations in several 13th-14th century hands. The fragment is probably English.
4. Fragment from the head of a bifolium, containing part of a commentary on Aristotle's De Anima Book III, heavily glossed and annotated in several 13th century hands. The fragment is probably English and early 13th century.

Manuscript transcript of an Act of Parliament (16 and 17 Charles II, c.11) for making the river Medway navigable in the Counties of Kent and Sussex, copied in c1740.

Manuscript volume containing notes in Latin on Samuel Stryk's Examen iuris feudalis, which was first published in 1675 and was widely used as a legal text-book due to its brevity and clarity.

Letters of Pope Pius IV, dated 9 Jul 1562, to the Archbishop of Florence, or his vicar the Archdeacon of Florence, concerning the rights of Peter Tuccio, priest, Frederick and Francis 'de Tucciis' in property owned by the Church of St Verdian 'in castro Florentini' (possibly Castelfiorentino?).

Manuscript volumes containing abstracts of parliamentary bills relating to revenue, dating from the reign of King William III and Queen Mary II, c1689 -1743.

Draft of an assignment of a patent for an unnamed invention, originally procured by B.E. Clark in 1878 as agent for Almet Reed of New York. Almet Reed assigned the patent to John van Dussen Reed of New York. Signed by B.E. Clark.

Manuscript 'Reasons for Mr. Hornblower's petitioning the Honourable House of Commons for an Act to extend the term of his patent', [24 Feb 1792]; the patent had been granted in 1781 for 14 years, permitting the use of his steam engine in the Cornish mines. The case of James Watt is cited: in 1774 he obtained an extension of a patent 'of a similar nature, for 25 years certain'.

Collection of transcripts, [1560]-1624, mainly relating to Privy Council matters, notably a petition presented to King James I by Sir Robert Heath, Solicitor General, 1624; a survey of the Forests and Chaces [Chases] of Bringwood, Mocktree and Darvell, with the Manor of Buriton, 1604; a letter from King James I to the Peers of England and the Privy Council concerning the composition of the Privy Council and the replacement of the ailing Lord Chamberlain by Thomas Howard, Lord Howard of Walden, 1603; copies of documents relating to the French conquest of Guiana, South America, including commissions granted by King Henry IV of France to Renée Marie, Lord Mountbarrot, and Daniel de la Touche, Lord of Raverdiere, for the conquest of Guiana, 1605 and 1609, the appointment of Robert Le Brette, Lord Dubosc, as Raverdiere's lieutenant in Guiana and other parts of America, including Brazil, 1609; the commission of Sir John Digby, Vice-Chamberlain, to negotiate a marriage between Prince Charles of England and the Infanta Maria, daughter of King Philip III of Spain, 1615; a letter written by Captain Charles Parker, one of Sir Walter Raleigh's company at Guiana, to Captain Alley, 1607; a declaration of proceedings in the Star Chamber against John Wrenham, who charged the Lord Chancellor of injustice against the King, 1618; a discourse of marriage written by Charles Blount, Earl of Devonshire, in defence of his wedding to Penelope, Lady Rich, [1605]; a discourse written by Dr Lancelot Andrewes, Bishop of Ely, against second marriage following a divorce, 1601; a discourse made by merchant adventurers on the occasion of a bill preferred to the High Court of Parliament, requiring free trade to all kingdoms and countries, [1610]; a consideration of the office and duty of a herald in England by John Dodridge, the Solicitor General, 1605; proceedings in the Star Chamber against Mary Countess of Shrewsbury for her refusal to give evidence against Arabella Seymour, Duchess of Somerset, 1618; an Act of Council upon the proceedings against James Whitlocke and Sir Robert Mansell for speaking against the King's Commission for reform of the Navy and also against the King's power and prerogative, 1609; speeches, and a memorandum on the union of England and Scotland, by Sir Francis Bacon, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England, 1617; a copy of 'The present state of things as theye nowe stand, betweene the three greate kingdomes, France, England and Spayne, [1623], and 'A breviarie of the historie of England from William I, intitled the Conqueror, both written by Sir Walter Raileighe, Knight'; a speech by John Williams, Bishop of Lincoln and Keeper of the Great Seal of England, on the occasion of the collecting of the subsidy, Aug 1621; two versions of instructions by William Cecil, Lord Burleigh, Lord Treasurer to his son, Robert Cecil, 1561 and [1598]; letters from Sir Henry Sidney to his brother and to his son, Phillip, [1560]; a treatise entitled 'Toucheinge the Antiquities of Baronies delivered in the College of Antiquaries', [1600].

Collection of manuscripts relating to bankruptcy, 1850-1851, comprising answers to questionnaires circulated by the Committee for the Improvement of the Law of Debtor and Creditor from business firms in Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA. Many of the replies are on printed questionnaires addressed to the Chairman of the Committee, William Hawes, MP.

Three manuscript volumes containing decrees, legal judgements, and conventions regulating Venetian trade, 29 Nov 1703-29 Mar 1760.

Letter from James Robertshaw of Colne, [Lancashire] to George Chapman, engineer of Whitby, [North Riding] Yorkshire, 29 Jan 1846. Reply on behalf of Mr Thornber of Vivary Bridge, [Colne], to a letter of 27 Jan 1846; referring Chapman to his letter of 8 Jan (copied on the third page of this letter) in reply to Chapman's of 5 Jan. Chapman had asked for £20 for use of 'the patent expansion gear', but Thornber had stopped using it, had given Chapman notice of doing so, and was prepared to appear to any process Chapman proposed to issue against him.

Autograph, with signature.

A copy of the will of Robert Rockwood, 1680, made after he had left the service of the Elector Palatine on the occasion of his contracting to marry Mary Coney, widow.

(1) Letter from William Ross of Charing Cross, [London] to David Thomson, Esq, of Edinburgh, 28 Apr 1840. (2) Letter from William Ross of Dibden, [Hampshire] to David Thomson, Esq, of Edinburgh, 27 May 1840.Both letters concern the claim of a brother and sister, Mr and Miss Wilkinshaw, to an estate occupied by a Mr Dow, whose own claim on the estate had not been satisfied. Autograph, with signature.