24 
It so happens that within the last few weeks I have beer 
permitted, by the kindness of the Town Clerk of the city, 
K. H. Fryer, to examine the oldest book of accounts which now 
remains among the Archives of Gloucester. This is a folio 
volume, which begins with the fourth year of Epwarp VI. and 
goes on to the time of Exizasera. It therefore takes in the 
entire reign of Queen Mary, which, after her marriage was 
officially styled the reign of ‘“Puiire anp Mary;” and on search- 
ing under the latter heading I have found a page containing some » 
entries relating to the bringing down of Hooper from London, 
and to expenses for the morning and afternoon of the day that 
he was “brente.”’ This page, together with the heading of the 
year’s account to which it belongs, has been carefully litho- 
graphed in facsimile to accompany the present paper: and the 
reader will find on examining some of the items contained in it, 
a remarkable confirmation of the accuracy of the account given 
by Fox, coming as it does from a source not only entirely 
independent, but in its very nature impartial. These entries re- 
lating to “Ma1srer Hoorrr,” as he is styled, occur in the midst 
of a multitude of other business matters, such for instance as 
receipt of moneys for town dues, fees paid on entry into office, 
and the like; and expenditure for repairs of the “key,” and of 
the city walls, &c. One item preceding the 50th page here shown, 
is for the bottom of a trow, bought to make a roadway across the 
Westgate Bridge during the rebuilding of a portion of it; and 
as the reader may note, the last two lines on the facsimile record 
the payment of twelve pence to “oon” for going “to Tewkisbury 
after an Oisterbote that stole a wey from the key;” the captain 
of the said boat having by some means forgotten to pay the 
corporation the quantum of oysters required for the city dues, 
before continuing his voyage from Swansea to Tewkesbury. 
The accounts seem to have been officially posted into this 
volume after having been examined and passed in the day-books 
kept by the Stewards and Chamberlains of the city; and the total 
of each series of items is given in large letters at the foot, as a 
check to the balances. They were evidently better looked after 
than used often to be the case with the Parish accounts of a 
a 
— 
—— EEE ee 
