Add MS 46454

ff. 1r–30r: Volume I of the Shrewsbury (Talbot) papers. Twenty-nine royal letters to or concerning Sir Gilbert Talbot as Deputy Lieutenant of Calais and beginning with the commission in 1495 for his installation as Knight of the Garter. Henry VIII reappointed him to Calais at the beginning of the new reign on 25 September 1509, but he seems to have first taken up office there some time before 4 November 1505 (see Letters and Papers Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, I, no. 528, and Add MS 46456, f. 158). Two letters (ff. 6, 9) refer to preparations against Perkin Warbeck, c. 1496 (printed by J. O. Halliwell, Letters of the Kings of England, 1848, pp. 172–173). Some of the letters are printed by J. Gairdner in Letters and Papers of Richard III and Henry VII, ii, 1863, pp. 60, 86, 179–182.

It also contains two items of later material, from the reigns of Charles II and James II.

ff. ir–iir: Modern contents list.

f. 1r: Henry VII’s commission for the installation of Sir Gilbert Talbot as a Knight of the Garter, 20 December 1495, Westminster. Signed, with the garter seal.

f. 2r: Grant in Latin by Elizabeth of York to Talbot of the stewardship of Feckenham, Worcestershire, 20 December 1492, London.

ff. 3r–v: Letter from Henry VII to Talbot, to send back to his convent in France a Friar Observant called Robert Stewart, a Scot, who intended to come into the realm, should he happen to appear in Calais. 15 April [no year], Greenwich.

ff. 4r–v: Letter from Henry VII to Talbot and Thomas Cresset, concerning Richard Bulkeley, 6 May [no year], Dover Castle.

ff. 5r–v: Letter from Henry VII to Talbot, thanking him and Thomas Decon for his information concerning Richard Knyght, who was committed to the Tower of London as a result, 17 May [no year], Greenwich.

ff. 6r–v: Letter from Henry VII to Talbot, describing the continued malice of Lady Margaret of Burgundy in sending over Perkin Warbeck, 20 July [no year], Kenilworth Castle.

ff. 7r–v: Letter from Henry VII to Talbot, acknowledging the receipt of his letters, and directing him to inform him about intelligence he might obtain from time to time, July [date faded, no year], Richmond.

ff. 8r–v: Letter from Henry VII to Talbot, concerning a courier from Rome that Talbot had stopped wrongly, 17 August [no year], Greenwich.

ff. 9r–v: Henry VII to Talbot, concerning Perkin Warbeck, and requesting Talbot to meet him at Woodstock on 24 September with 120 tall men on horseback and defensibly arrayed, 12 September [no year], Woodstock.

ff. 10r–v: Grant in Latin by Katherine of Aragon to Talbot of the Stewardship of Feckenham, 21 September 1509.

ff. 11r–v: Letter from the Prince of Wales [Prince Arthur or Henry] to Talbot, asking him to restore certain chattels to William Edwards, and to appear at Ludlow on 16 November. 6 November [no year], Ludlow.

ff. 12r–v: Letter from Henry VIII to Talbot, directing him to pay William Copland £1500, February 1513.

ff. 13r–v: Letter from Henry VIII to Talbot, ordering him to pay Edward Poynings and Sir Richard Wyngfield the sums they may require, 27 February 1513, Greenwich.

ff. 14r–v: Letter from Henry VIII to Talbot, informing him that he has appointed John Russell gentleman usher to the office at Calais and salary lately held by Leonard Poulet, deceased, 12 March [no year], Greenwich.

ff. 15r–v: Letter from Henry VIII to Talbot, ordering him to pay Sir John Wiltshire and John Clyfford, Governors of the Merchant Adventurers going to Flanders £1000 Flemish, 20 March 1513, Greenwich.

ff. 16r–v: Letter from Henry VIII to Talbot, ordering him to pay the sum of £200 Flemish to Brown and Fermer, 20 March 1513, Greenwich.

ff. 17r–: Letter from Henry VIII to Talbot, directing him to pay William Copland £1000 sterling, 30 March 1513, Greenwich.

ff. 18r–: Letter from Henry VIII to Talbot, informing him that he has issued commands to Richard Carewe, Lieutenant of the Castle of Calais, or to the deputy in his absence, to deliver to Talbot the money remaining in the chest within the castle. The key is sent with the letter. 3 April 1513, Greenwich. ff. 19r–v: Letter from Henry VII to Talbot, requesting him to give Richard Carewe, Master of the Ordnance a sum not exceeding £100, 21 June 1513.

ff. 20r–v: Letter from Henry VIII to Talbot, commanding him to deliver 1500 crowns to Thomas Harley or his assign of the gold in Talbot’s keeping, 25 June 1513.

ff. 21r–v: Letter from Henry VIII to Talbot, ordering him to pay 3000 crowns to Lord Ligne, 5 June 1514.

ff. 22r–v: Henry VIII’s pardon in Latin for Talbot, 23 May 1515.

ff. 23r–v: Letter from Henry VIII to Talbot, that he had commanded Sir Richard Carewe Lieutenant of Calais Castle to deliver his prisoner the Marquis of Dorset to such persons as Sir Thomas Lovell shall assign to escort him to England, and he directs Talbot to afford every assistance to such persons, 10 July [no year], Greenwich.

ff. 24r–v: Letter from Henry VIII to Talbot, requesting him to forward the business of building and repairing fortifications at Calais; signatories include Sir Thomas Lovell, KG, Sir Edward Poynings, Comptroller of the Household, Lord Deputy of Ireland; Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester and Lord Chamberlain, and Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, 1st Duke of Norfolk 1514, 28 March [no year], Greenwich.

f. 25r: Imperfect copy of a letter to certain parties to secure a fair and impartial trial of a cause at Chester, 7 December [no year], Bridewell.

ff. 26r–v: Henry VIII’s writ and subpoena to Sir William Troutbek to appear under a penalty of £100 before the commissioners in the suit of Sir John Donne concerning the Masterforestship of Delamere, Chester, 26 May [no year], Richmond.

ff. 27r–v: Letter from Edward VI to John Talbot of Grafton (d. 1611), son of Sir John Talbot (d. 1555), requiring him to be ready with his best muster of infantry and cavalry at an hour’s warning, 5 July 1549. Signed by Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset.

ff. 28r–29v: Signed warrant and grant from Charles II to Francis, Earl of Shrewsbury of the royal share of ‘Eight Hundreds Fen’ in Holland, Lincolnshire, for 31 years, 23 July 1664.

f. 30r: Copy of James II’s licence to Robert Howard to hunt and kill yearly two brace of bucks and two brace of does within Needwood Forest, Staffordshire, 30 May 1685. Countersigned by Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland.