Quarter Sessions Rolls (ERO Q/SR109/19)

22.5.1589 (Thursday 22 May 1589)

document 20300128

an order set down at Halstead by Israel Amies and Antho Maxey esquires touching the bastard child of Margery Hawles first upon divers examinations we do find that Margery Hawles hath been of a lewd behaviour and hath led an insolent life with divers and sundry evil disposed persons and that lately she hath been delivered of a child of her body unlawfully begotten we therefore do order and adjudge that the said Margery shall presently be delivered unto the constables of the town of Halstead by them to be stripped from the waist upwards and to be whipped at a carts tail tomorrow being the 23.5. openly in the face of the market between eleven and twelve of the clock in the forenoon and our order is that she shall have twenty stripes leisurely to be inflicted upon her upon her naked body to the terror and example of the like offenders and after her said punishment ended to be set at liberty enjoining her within 40days next after to procure her a service at her peril item upon sundry examinations of divers others we hold and adjudge Jn Stebbing of Stambourne yeoman to stand as the reputed father of the base child of the said Margery until such time as he can produce and bring forth one Geo Skilton to answer the law as this case requires and if we shall find upon the hearing of the said cause that the said Geo or any other be more likely to be the reputed father than himself then he the said Jn to be discharged until which time we do give judgement that the said Jn shall pay unto Jn Blithe of Hempstead being charges by his defrayed touching the said cause as appears by a bill of reckoning showed forth unto us being corrected by the inhabitants of the town of Colne and others the sum of 3li10s upon the feast day of stjn.next ensuing the date hereof at or within the church porch of the parish church of Stambourne aforesaid between the hours of one and four o'clock in the afternoon and further we order that the said Jn Stebbing shall sufficiently discharge the inhabitants of the town of Earls Colne for keeping of the base child called Jn Hawles the son of Margery Hawles until he shall come to the age of 14years except we shall give judgement in the meantime for a more likelier man than himself to be the reputed father thereof