Catalogue description Grant from Will. Pratt of Coventry, dyer, to Will. Babthorp, one of the Barons of the...

Grant from Will. Pratt of Coventry, dyer, to Will. Babthorp, one of the Barons of the King's Exchequer, Joh. Bryscowe, of Coventry, merchant, Will. Wetenhale, citizen and grocer of London; Rob. Bukley, baker; Joh. Pratt and Giles Corbrond, of all lands; tenements, meadows, etc., in the towns and fields of Coventry, "Stonley," and within the Duchy of Lancaster and in the county of Warwick which he had of the feoffment of Rob. Munnyng, of Coventry, cutler. At Coventry.

Seal gone. No date of day.

In these copies I use abbreviations, n. - north. s. - south. chw. - churchwardens. Witn. - witnesses.

To anybody who has looked over the "Leet Book" the names of witnesses to these Trinity deeds will be exceedingly familiar. John Everdon (DR429/42) was mayor in the year there was such an outcry about the malpractices of the workers in iron. Ruyton and Braytoft (DR429/46 and DR429/49) are other well-known mayors' names. John Boteler (DR429/49) was that diligent town clerk to whom we owe the most interesting portion of the "Leet Book." He had the instincts of a historian, and I am glad to pay the honour to his powers which has been so long withheld. The "parker" (park-keeper) of Caludon (DR429/42) would be a servant of the Berkley family, some of whose members were buried in St. Michael's. The release of Agnes, widow of David Dun (DR429/43) must have been considered a necessary confirmation of her former joint grant with her husband because of her right of dower, i.e., a life interest in one-third of her husband's lands.

The most interesting deed, however, of this collection is Henry Grey's grant to the churchwardens of land on the south side of the church (DR429/46), where Jesus Hall once stood. I cannot place this Hen. Grey on the pedigree of the Grey family that afterwards, through Elizabeth Woodville, Edward IV's Queen, rose to such importance. Perhaps he was of Withibrook. The family were great patrons of the Corpus Christi Guild, of which I find that John Lord Grey of Powis, Humfrey Grey, Esq., of Withibrook, and Thomas Grey, Marquis of Dorset in 1489-90, were brethren.