1337-10-18, Westminster

To Geoffrey le Scrop and his fellows, justices appointed to hold pleas hefore the king. Whereas at the suit of the abbot and convent of Stanleye by their petition before the king and his council in parliament, at Westminster, in the 4th year of the king's reign, showing that their predecessors had been seised of the manor of Berewyk Basset, co. Wilts, by enfeoffment of Philip Basset, as of the right of their church, until Hugh le Despenser, the elder, afterwards unjustly disseised them thereof, and the manor was taken into the late king's hands by Hugh's forfeiture ; and the present abbot and convent have diligently sued by their petitions before the king and his council in his various parliaments for justice, and to have the manor again, the king sent the petition, with an inquisition, writs, and other memoranda touching that affair, to the justices enclosed in a certain writ, ordering them to inspect these, calling before them the king's serjeants, and hearing the reasons on both sides, and to do justice, but not to proceed to render judgment without consulting the king; and although afterwards, according to the process held before them by an inquisition which they caused to be made, and in which the abbot and convent placed themselves, it was found that Philip was seised of that manor in his demesne aw of fee as of his inheritance, in the time of Henry ITI, and had enfeoffed Walter de Pokelechirch, a former abbot thereof by his charter, to hold in frankalmoin, and abbot Walter and the convent were seised thereof from the Annunc ation in the last year of the reign of Henry III, until St. Andrew following, and that Hugh, asserting that he was Philip's next heir, disseised Walter of the manor, with Roger Bigot, earl of Norfolk and marshal of England, and Hugh continued his seisin until he forfeited, and the present abbot and his predecessors have not released their rights to Hugh, and it is certified to the justices by the treasurer and barons of the exchequer that they have not found any such release made to Hugh or the late king, upon inspection of the deeds, muniments, and memoranda of Hugh and the late king, which are in their custody in the treasury, as is clear by the tenor and process of that affair which the king caused to come before him in chancery, yet the justices have hitherto delayed to proceed further in that affair, wherefore the abbot and convent have besought the king by their petition before him and his council in the last parliament at Westminster, to cause justice to be done to them; the king therefore orders the justices to inspect the record and process and proceed further to render judgment with all lawful speed, notwithstanding the king's previous order, or that the manor is in his hands. By pet. of C. and K. and C.