Dame Agnes Plumpton to Sir Robert Plumpton

168 Dame Agnes Plumpton¹ to Sir Robert Plumpton, 16 November
        [1502] (No. 88, p. 48)

[p. 49] Sir, In my most hartiest wyse I recommend me vnto you,
desiring to heare of your prosperitie & welfaire, & of your good spede
in your matters; certyfing þat I & my sone William with all your
children are in good health, blessed be Jesu, with all your servants. Sir,
ye & I and my sone was content, at your departing, þat my sone shold
take þe farmes at Martinmas of his tenants, or els cast them forth &
prayse [their] goods, & so my sone hath done with some of them; &
here are the names of them þat hath payd me: Robert Wood, Peter
Cott, John Gloster, Robert Taler, William Bentham. Sir, it ys to let vs
vnderstand þat thers other tenauntes þat are cast forth each bene att
Cothorpe,² and make one ragman to compleane on my sone & you,
þat ye take their goods from them;³ & it is not soe, for my sone hath
sent for þe neighbours of Knaresbrough & Harrogate & Spofforth to
set pryse on ther comon & cattell, after ther consience, & my sone hath
set streyes some in ther layes, for there is some þat will not apply to
his mynd, & they purpose to get on descharge for my sonne þat they
may be set in again, & he not to occupie.⁴ Therefore, I pray you to
take good heed þervpon & they haue set these names in the ragman
þat hath payd my sone, þat they know not of, nor will not be conselled
thereto.

     Also Sir Richard Goldsbrough⁵ hath taken an ox of William Bentham
þat was dryven over the water with ther cattell of the toune of Plompton,
þat be caused to be put over for þe sayfgard of ther cattell; and when
he came for his ox, he answered him & sayd: Sir George Ratclife had
wrytten for certayne tenauntes to be so taryed by him, & spirred him
whose tenaunt he was, & he shewed him whos he was, & he will not
let him haue them without a replevie; and I trow he will dye in the
fold, for I sent William Skargell⁶ & William Croft & they cannot get
him without a replevie; & therfor if ye can find any remedie I pray
you for. And also I pray you to send me some word, as ye may, of
your good speed. No more at this tyme, but I betake you to the keping
of the Trenetie. From Plompton in hast, the xvj day Nouembris.

By your wife     Dame Agnes Plompton^a

Endorsed (p. 48): To the worshipfull Sir Robart Plompton kt be thes
deliuered in hast

     ^a Appended: Coppied the 21 day of March; 1612.

     ¹ Sir Robert’s first wife, Introd., pp. 8–9, App. II, 37.

     ² Cowthorpe near Wetherby where the Plumptons and Rocliffes held land.

     ³ Ragman = catalogue of complaints, OED. See also the Statute of Rageman (1276),
Statutes of the Realm, i, 44.

     ⁴ The taking of the cattle of tenants refusing to pay dues and rent to a claimant ‘may
be adduced as evidence to prove seisin in court at a later time’, Bellamy, Criminal Law
and Society, 70.

     ⁵ Sir Richard Goldsburgh of Goldsburgh (d.1504), a near neighbour and kinsman of
the Plumptons, 8.

     ⁶ William Scargill, possibly a scion of the Scargill family of Thorpe Stapleton, was in
service with Sir Robert, 69n.

LETTER CXXXIII.

To the worshipfull Sir Robart Plompton, kt. be thes delivered
in hast.

    Sir, in my most hartiest wyse I recommennd me unto you, de-
siring to heare of your prosperitie and welfaire, and of your good
spede in your matters; certyfiing you that I, and my sone Wil-
liam, with all your children, are in good health (blessed be Jesu)
with all your servants. Sir, ye, and I, and my sone, was content
at your departing, that my sone should take the farmes at Mar-
tingmas of his tenaunts, or els cast them forth and prayse ther
goods ; and so my sone hath done with some of them. And here
are the names of them that hath payd me; Robart Wood, Peter
Cott, John Gloster, Robart Taler, William Bentham. Sir, it ys
let us to understand that thers other tenaunts, that are cast forth,
hath bene at Cothrope,^a and made one ragman^b to compleance on
my sone and you, that ye take ther goods from them. And that
is not soe, for my sone hath sent for the neighbours of Knares-
brough, and Harrygate, and Spofforth, to set pryse on ther comon
and cattell after ther consience; and my sone hath set to streys
some in ther layes,^c for ther is some that will not apply to his
mynd. And they purpose to get on discharg for my sone, that
they may be set in agayn, and he not to occupie; therfore I pray
you to take good heed therupon. And they have set there names
in the ragman that hath payd my sone; that they know not of,
nor will not be conselled therto. Also, Sir Richard Goldsbrough
hath taken an ox of William Bentham, that was dryven over the
water^d with ther cattell of the towne of Plompton that he caused
to be put over, for the sayfgard of ther cattell. And when he came
for his ox, he answered him and sayd; Sir John Roclife had
wrytten for certayne tenaunts to be so taryed by him, and spirred
him, whose tenaunt he was, and he shewed him whos he was.
And he will not let him have them without a replevie, and I trow
he will dye in the fold; for I sent William Skirgell and William
Croft, and they cannot get him without a replevie. And therfore
if ye can find any remedie, I pray you for ; and also I pray you to
send me some word, as sone as ye may, of your good speed. No
more at this tyme, but I betake you to the keping of the Trenetie.
From Plompton in hast, the xvi day Novembris.

                                    By your wife, Dame

    (16 Nov. 1502.)                   AGNES PLOMPTON.

    ^a Cowthorpe, the seat of Sir John Rocliffe.

    ^b Ragman, a word derived from Rag, to rate or reproach, Isl. raega, to accuse, and
here applied to signify the paper to which the accusing or complaining parties had set
their names. This word may yet be traced in the cant expression, round-robin, which,
I apprehend, is simply a corruption of round-ragman. Bully-rook, in Shakspeare's
Merry Wives of Windsor, should be read Bully-rag. (See Brockett's Glossary of
North Country Words, voce Rag. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 8vo, 1825.)

    ^c That is to say, my son has levied a distress upon some of the cattle in their leas,
meaning thereby the pastures which were not common.

    ^d Goldsborough lies on the opposite side of the river Nidd, facing Plumpton ; of
this place, Sir Richard Goldsborough, kt. was at this time owner.