to the right honourable sir Robt Cecil knight lord Cecil viscount Cranbourne earl of Salisbury and master of the kings majesties honourable court of wards and liveries shown unto your lordship dame Eliz countess dowager of Oxford and sir Francis Vere knight committees of the body of lands of Hen de Vere earl of Oxford his majesties ward that whereas an information was heretofore exhibited in this honourable court by sir Thos Hesketh knight late attorney of the same court against Hen Coppinger and others concerning in effect amongst other things that whereby an inquisition taken at Brentwood Essex 27.9.2Jas1 by virtue of his majesties commission in the nature of a writ of diem clausit extremum after the decease of the late right honourable Edw de Vere late earl of Oxford deceased it was found amongst other things that the said earl was in his lifetime lawfully seised in his demesne as of fee of and in a certain portion of tithes lying and being in Lavenham Suffolk and that he died thereof seised accordingly and that the said portion of tithes was parcel of the possessions of the late dissolved priory of Earls Colne in Essex and that the same tithes were gathered and taken with other tithes of the said parish by one Hen Coppinger parson and incumbent of the said town and parish by reason that the said Hen Coppinger had long since gotten the possession of the said portion by obtaining an assignment of a lease of the said portion of tithes which indeed was made by the said Edw late earl of Oxford to Thos Bacon the elder father of one Thos Bacon the younger his son and by means thereof so obscured and confounded the said portion of tithes late belonging to the said priory of Colne with the other tithes of the said parish that the certainty thereof for want of a ledger book belonging to the said priory of Colne could not be plainly set out and therefore prayed process against the said Hen Coppinger as by the said information may appear and whereas the said Hen Coppinger did make answer to the said information and the said attorney did reply and thereupon witnesses were examined and after publication thereof the matter came to hearing in the said court on saturday 17.5. this instant before the council of the said court upon the hearing whereof it was alleged by the counsel of the said earl of Oxford that two parts of all manner of tithes of all things renewing and growing of and in the manor of Overhall in Lavenham aforesaid was due and payable to the said earl his majesties said ward and for the proof thereof amongst other evidences and proofs there was produced a copy or register book of the said priory under the handwriting of one Barth Church late bailiff of Jn late earl of Oxford and so deposed# by Jn Church his son mentioning that the lands belonging to the said manor of Overhall in the said copy particularly mentioned which are charged with the payment of the said portion of tithes and the council of the said court was desirous nevertheless that the said copy might be forfeited with some further proof what lands were belonging to the said manor of Overhall by procuring the view of some survey of the said manor of Overhall from sir Thos Skinner knight or any other person which has had the perusal and keeping of the evidences of the said manor before they would proceed to final hearing of the said cause therefore by the direction of the said court for the better manifesting of the truth touching the premises it was thought fit and convenient that there should be a bill exhibited in the said court against any such person or persons as might be deemed or known to have in their custody or to have had or read of known of any survey of the said manor of Overhall which might make more manifest the truth of the premises what lands are or heretofore were belonging to the said manor of Overhall and how the same should agree with the said copy produced under the hand of the said Barth Church and that any such person or persons should be served with process to appear in the said court there to answer to the same bill now so it is if it may please your lordship that a book of survey of the said manor of Overhall and of the other lands and tenements together with some copies of a survey of the same manor have come to the hands of sir Thos Skinner knight sir Wm Stone knight Jn Bitteringe gentleman Xoph Goodwin gentleman Wm Payne Jas Hunt and Jn Whatlock which can manifest what lands and tenements were of ancient time and now are belonging to the said manor of Overhall and the said persons or some of them are able to set forth the lands anciently and now belonging to the said manor of Overhall it may therefore please your lordship to grant the kings majesties gracious writ of privy seal to be directed to sir Thos Skinner sir Wm Stone etc commanding them thereby etc to appear in his majesties court of wards and liveries etc and to say if they ever had any boo k or extent of the manor of Overhall etc Ruggule