Agnes Paston to John Paston

194

AGNES PASTON TO JOHN PASTON¹

To [Herry]² Barker of Synt Clements Parys, in Norwych,
to delyver to my Master John Paston, in haste.

       ON Thurisday the wall was mad zarde hey, and a good
             wylle be fore evyn it reyned so sore that they were
             fayne to helle the wall, and leve werke. And the
water is fallyn so sore that it standyt ondyr the wall a fote
deppe to Ballys warde [i.e. towards the land of a neighbour
named Ball]. And on Friday after sakeryng, one come fro
cherch warde, and schoffe doune all that was thereon, and trad
on the wall and brake sum, and wente over; but I cannot zet
wete hoo it was. And Warne Kynges wyfe, as she went over
the style, she cursyd Ball, and seyde that he had zevyn aweye
the waye, and so it prevyt be John Paston is words. And
after, Kyngs folke and odyr come and cryid on Annes Ball,
seying to her the same. Zystyrnevyn wan I xul goo to my
bede, the Vycare¹ seyde that Warne Kyng and Warne
Harman, betwyxte messe and matynsse, toke Sir Roberd² in
the vestry, and bad hym sey to me, verely the wall xulde
doun a gayne. And wan the Vycar tolde me I wyste ther of
no worde, nor zet do be Sir Roberde, for he syth he were loth
to make any stryfe. And wan I com out of the cherch,
Roberd Emundes schowyd me how I was amercyde for seute
of corte the laste zer vjd., and seyd it was xijd. tylle Warne
Kyng and he gat it awey vjd.

     I send zou word how John Jamys was demenyd at
Cromere, to send to Jamys Gressham how he xall be demenyd.
Gaffrey Benchard, Alexander Glover, heywards,³ tokyn a dys-
tresse of John Jamys or the bond tenent of A. Paston, calde
Reynalds, in Cromer, the xxviij^ti yer of thys Kyng, and
W. Goodwyn, Baly of Cromer, with the seyd J. Jamys, with
forsse toke awey the dysstres, wech was ij. horsse and a
plowe. And Good be with zou.

                                                       Be ANNES PASTON, your Modur.

     ¹ [From Paston MSS., B.M.] As this letter refers to the 28th year of Henry VI.,
seemingly as a past date, it cannot well be earlier than 1451. But probably it is not
much, if at all, later.

     ² The Christian name Herry is crossed out, and Meye (?) appears to be written
over.

     ¹ William Pope was vicar of Paston from 1447 to 1455.

     ² Probably the Vicar’s Curate.

     ³ Haywards were (originally) persons who guarded a farm and crops in the night,
and blew a horn on an alarm of robbers.—Halliwell.

1451
or later

1451
or later