196 The Tropencll Cartulary. 



political position may have been a little hard to define, and may 

 not have been always consistent. During his long life he had to 

 serve many masters : — but this may carry us too far. Tropenell 

 died on January 31st (3 Henry VII.), 1488, and was buried at 

 Corsham in the tomb he had prepared for himself and his wife 

 Margaret, who pre-deceased him. I suspect he built this chapel of 

 the Blessed Virgin Mary, which he made his chantry ; but the 

 reasons would again carry us too far. But he did make it his 

 chantry. He left to tlie chapel several vestments, ornaments, and 

 service books, a couple of oxen and a couple of cows in perpetuity 

 towards the support of the chapel ; and provides a stipend of 

 £6 13s. M for one priest to celebrate there perpetually for his 

 wife Margaret and himself, also for Walter and Roljert, late Lords 

 Hungerford, for Margaret, late Lady Hungerford and Botreaux, 

 and for Sir Thomas Hungerford, Knight. He makes no mention of 

 the Parish Church of Great Chalfield, nor of the chapel there. It 

 is beyond my province now to deal further with the Tropenell tombs 

 and chapel. 



Let us pass to the Ijook itself. It is a strongly-ljound volume, in 

 ledger style, containing nine hundred and seventy-eight parchment 

 pages, besides fly-leaves, on the first of which is written a list of 

 the manors and properties dealt with : — " This is the kalendar of 

 the lordships and towns-names as they betlie writ in this boke, 

 one after the other, all along." The table contains al)Out twenty- 

 eight articles. On the first page we have the heading : " In this 

 kalendar begun to be writ on All Sowlyn's day in 4th year of King 

 Edward IV. (Nov. 2, 1464) bethe contained all deeds and evidences 

 concerning all the manors, landes, and tenements belonging to Thomas 

 Tropenell, Esq., and to his heirs, and to his feoffees, to here use, re- 

 maining in the said Thos. Tropenell's ward at the writing hereof." 



Then follow the several properties, with the deeds relating to 

 each, in order. The book contains certain episodes, which will be 

 mentioned later, and which are of interest, but it is really a book 

 of title deeds, in which names of places and families occur in rich 

 abundance, witla a few pedigrees of families more especially to be 

 dealt with. 



