Poaching, fraud and trespass: October 1415 in Essex

And gentlemen in England now a-bed

Shall think themselves accursed they were not here

Henry V, Act IV, Scene 3 

These lines from Shakespeare’s Henry V suggest that every Englishman had wished he could have taken part in the Battle of Agincourt, 600 years ago on 25 October 1415. But just what was on the minds of those ‘gentlemen in England now a-bed’? Documents such as this one can give us some clues.

This court roll from the manor of Earls Colne records the proceedings of the court which met on Friday 4 October 1415 (D/DPr 67). (You can find out more about manorial courts and the records they produced here.)

Earls Colne manorial court record 1415

The manor of Earls Colne (in this document referred to as Colne Comitis – Comitis being Latin for ‘count’, the continental version of the Anglo-Saxon ‘earl’) was part of the lands of the Earl of Oxford.  Richard de Vere, the 11th earl, played a prominent part in the Battle of Agincourt, having supplied 39 men-at-arms and 60 archers to the campaign.  He was rewarded for his part by being made Knight of the Garter in May 1416. He died the following year and was buried at Colne Priory.

Manorial court roll, Earls Colne, 1415

In the top left corner of the document are the words ‘Colne Comts’ – an abbreviation for ‘Colne Comitis’, the Latin version of Earl’s Colne (‘comitis’ being the Latin for ‘count’, the continental equivalent of the Anglo-Saxon title ‘earl’

Effigy of Richard de Vere

The effigy of Richard de Vere, 11th Earl of Oxford, at Earls Colne

This court, held only three weeks before the Battle of Agincourt, records the usual business of a manor court.  Entries include Richard Hosyer fined 6d. for being a common poacher [venator] within the lord’s warren and fishgarth.   Nine women were fined a total of 23d. for breaking the assize of ale and Christina and Rose Mason were fined 3d. each for breaking the assize of white bread.  The assize regulated the price, weight and quality what was produced.  Ralph Preston was fined 2s. 4d. for trespass and cutting down two oaks and an ash tree on Heyhous, the lord’s land.

Land transactions were an important part of manorial business and those recorded include the surrender by John Turner of land called Berecroft (later Windmill Field) and the admission of Thomas Kelet, Robert Sebryght, John Bonjoon and Alice his wife on payment of a fine of 12d.  John Dunstale was granted (for a fine of 6d.) the rent of a croft called Litelreycroft (later Rycroft) opposite the Hallegardyn for ten years at an annual rent of 7s.  Robert Mathew was fined 68s. 6d. and lost his cattle for having claimed lands that did not belong to him by right of a false charter or deed of the Earl of Oxford.  This was continued from the previous court held on 4 June where it was found that the deed dated from the reign of Edward III but the red wax seal was less than one year old (we feel this one needs some further investigation…).

The roll will be on display in the Searchroom alongside two other Essex documents dating from 1415 as we prepare for Essex at Agincourt on Saturday 31 October 2015. Join us for talks from experts on one of the most famous battles in British history – all the details of the day are here.

Bread, but not as we know it!

It has been quite a long time since we supplied you all with some intriguing, interesting and surprising recipes from our archive. So with it being “Bread Week” on the Great British Bake Off your humble correspondent scurried off into the repositories here at the ERO in search of bread recipes returning triumphantly with two corkers!

They are both found within the pages of the Lampet family recipe book. Though the volume is undated and the recipes are in a number of different hands, it is likely that they stem from the 1830s as one of the recipes is said to be copied from Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopedia which was first published in 1830.

T/B 677/2 - This page, devoted to bread and flour, also has lists of measurements of flour for the purposes of poor relief.

T/B 677/2 – This page, devoted to bread and flour, also has lists of measurements of flour for the purposes of poor relief.

The first recipe as we teased on Twitter does indeed include a certain quantity of hydrochloric acid; no wonder you are instructed to knead the dough very quickly!  It is for an “unfermented bread” using only baking soda as a raising agent; it would be similar to a normal soda bread were it not for the acid. Does anyone out there know what the acid was intended to do in this bake?

T/B 677/2 -  Unfermented Bread Take of  –Flour 3lbs averdupois                 -Bi-Carbonate of Soda powdered 4 dram                 -Hydrochloric acid – 5 drams fluid                 -Water- about 26oz fluid                -Common Table Salt – 4 drams The ingredients should be mixed well together – The Soda & flour first which is best done by passing the former thro[ugh] a fine sieve – stirring it well into the flour with the hand. The salt should be next dissolved & added to the Hydro[chloric]-Acid – a wooden or glass rod being used to mix them. The whole should be then thrown together & kneaded as quick as possible – The Dough thus made should be baked in long Tins and is sufficient to make two loaves – about an hour & a half is required in baking them.

T/B 677/2 – Unfermented Bread

Take of –Flour 3lbs averdupois

                -Bi-Carbonate of Soda powdered 4 dram

                -Hydrochloric acid – 5 drams fluid

                -Water- about 26oz fluid

               -Common Table Salt – 4 drams

The ingredients should be mixed well together – The Soda & flour first which is best done by passing the former thro[ugh] a fine sieve – stirring it well into the flour with the hand. The salt should be next dissolved & added to the Hydro[chloric]-Acid – a wooden or glass rod being used to mix them. The whole should be then thrown together & kneaded as quick as possible – The Dough thus made should be baked in long Tins and is sufficient to make two loaves – about an hour & a half is required in baking them.

The second recipe is something a bit less unusual. It is titled as a “French Bread” but on closer inspection it appears to be a form of brioche using a carefully prepared starter dough. Note the curious use of the word sponge while referring to the mixture. I am also reliably informed that a “peck” is  two (dry) gallons.  This recipe originates from Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopedia and appears to be in the same hand as many of the recipes attributed to one Miss Lampet, although it is difficult to ascertain exactly who that is. It also has very few exact measurements, so it reads a bit like one of Paul Hollywood’s technical challenges!

T/B 677/2 - One for all the francophiles out there

T/B 677/2 – French Bread

The very light spongy & superior article called French Bread is made in the following manner.

If a peck of the very finest quality of wheaten flour is to be made into French rolls – a small quantity of it is to be mixed with as much warm water as will convert it into dough. In the water a handful of salt should have been previously dissolved-

About a pint of distillen yeast or if this cannot be obtained ale Brewer’s yeast which has been washed with some cold water to remove the bitterness is to be well worked into the dough. This is to be set by in a warm place to ferment. Meanwhile all the rest of the flour is to be Mixed with as much warm milk as will form a sponge. Half pound of Butter melted at the lowest possible degree of heat is to be poured on along with six eggs; and the whole is to be hastily mixed up together along with the sponge provided that it is sufficiently fermented and is sufficiently swollen

After the mixture let the dough be left in a warm place and when it has risen sufficiently let it be divided shaped into rolls and baked in a moderately heated Oven. The oven should as in all other cases have been perfectly heated before the Bread is just in and the heat should be equal throughout however difficult this may be to effect this in some ill constructed ovens.

So there you go, if you do try out the first one, we accept no liability for any acid burns. Also this whole recipe book amongst some others is available to view on our catalogue Seax. So have a go at some of the recipes and let us know how you get on! Finally, apologies for any transcription errors.