EALPH PEXSALL, NINTH HEREDITAKY MASTER. 25 



appertaining to that manor and the Hereditary Mastership 

 of the Royal Buckhounds by right of his wife's inheritance. 

 He received the usual stipend of the office out of the issues 

 of the county Sussex in the 7th and 11th, and from the 

 12th to the 18th years of the reign of Henry VIII. in 

 full;* but from the 19th to 25th ensuing years his pay- 

 ments were intermittent — a portion on account varying from 

 22^. 4s. lOd., to 271. Os. 2d. per annum, and in addition the 

 arrears overdue in some cases — and from the 26th to the 

 29th years following he does not appear to have obtained 

 any payment whatever from the Sheriffs of the counties of 

 Surrey or Sussex. However, in the 30th regnal year of the 

 reign of Henry VIII. (a.d. April 22, 1539— April 21, 1639) 

 he was paid 50/. in full by the Sheriff of the county of Sussex, 

 which is the last payment recorded to him as Master of the 

 Royal Buckhounds that is entered on the Pipe Rolls. At 

 this time Reginald Hannington was the huntsman ; Hugh 

 Carter and Thomas Jordan were the berners, each of whom 

 were in receipt of the same fees and emoluments as their 

 predecessors in office — viz., George Hunt, John Bland, and 

 John Chenry. 



Apparently Miss Anne Brocas carried the official insignia of 

 the Royal Buckhounds about the time Henry VIII. ascended 



* Eef erring to the joint Mastership about this time Professor Burrows 

 remarks: "From the joint petitions of the two husbands of the two wards we 

 were able to obtain some clue to an obscure portion of tlie family history. 

 But not only were the arrears petitioned for never paid, but in the ninth, tenth, 

 and eleventh years of Henry VIII. the Sheriff still continued to refuse pay- 

 ment, and Pexsall appears to have obtained no redress. We may, however, 

 suppose that these difficulties now came to an end, for we hear no more of 

 them." (" Family of Brocas," p. 258.) This deduction does not correspond 

 with the Pipe Bolls, which Professor Burrows, has apparently not consulted, 

 and consequently he missed the best official information on the point. We do 

 not advert to this in any way reflecting on the learned author's lack of 

 investigation, as it would be preposterous to expect the Chichele Professor 

 of Modern History at the University of Oxford to waste the time and put up 

 with the indignities which the search would now (1866) involve at the Public 

 Eecord Office. Upon this search alone the writer was occupied for six months. 

 If the documents had been in the British Museum it could have been accom- 

 plished in six days. 



