Catalogue description Goodall v. Burley, Copy of issue   Edward Burley appeared Friday after the Morrow of...

Goodall v. Burley, Copy of issue

Edward Burley appeared Friday after the Morrow of Holy Trinity 14 George III (1774) by his attorney and brought his bill against Thomas Goodall, John Phipps and John Meredith (in custody of the Marshall of the Marshalsea) in a plea of trespass, alleging that on 10 September 1773 they broke into Burley's close called Foulkes Furlong in the parish of Westbury co Salop and in walking trod down the grass to the value of 40s coming and going with cattle, and depastured the grass to the value of 40s, and with the wheels of carts tore up and spoiled the earth, to wit 40 perches, to the value of £5, and cut and destroyed hedges and fences to the value of £5, and did great damage.

Goodall, Phipps and Meredith, by John Oliver the younger their attorney, defend themselves. As to breaking into Foulkes Furlong, they say that Burley should not have brought the action because through that close runs a certain publick king's highway, leading out of a publick king's highway from the town of Shrewsbury to the town of Welsh Pool, into a publick king's highway between Shrewsbury and Newtown, with right of way on foot, horseback, with cattle, carts, and carriages, at all times of the year; and they went through the close as it was lawful for them to do and unavoidably trod a little of the grass with their feet and the feet of their cattle, several of which by stealth and against the will of the defendants snatched and ate a few morsels of the grass in the way and on the sides thereof, and the wheels of the carts etc unavoidably tore up a little of the soil. In order to go along the way Goodall, Phipps and Meredith removed obstructions wrongfully erected across it.

Burley denies that there is a public highway across this land.