POLITICAL HISTORY 



Church offered to turn king's evidence and incriminated a number of innocent 

 and respectable inhabitants of the county, including John Paston. Osborn 

 Mundford ^ was also among those accused by Church. What was the end of 

 this affair and what was the fate of Church is not clear, but Paston is stated 

 to have been exonerated of the accusation against him by John Falgate, 

 one of those who had been deluded into taking part in the conspiracy.^ 



It is very noticeable that the name of Sir Thomas Tudenham, the arch- 

 oppressor of a few years before, should at this time appear as complaining 

 about outrages of the very class of which he had so recently been guilty. 

 He had shown the common people how easy it was to break the law, and 

 was now, by poetical justice, suffering for his own misdeeds and was making 

 common cause with his old opponents the Pastons. 



The coasts of England during this reign suffered severely at the hands of 

 the French, and in 1457 the town of Yarmouth was evidently in considerable 

 danger. In this year the French fitted out two fleets for an attack on 

 England and ravaged Sandwich. A letter was sent from Yarmouth to the 

 mayor and council of Norwich informing them that the enemy intended to 

 attack Yarmouth, and asking for assistance ; upon which Norwich, laying aside 

 for a time its old jealousy, sent 200 armed men to aid in the defence.^ In the 

 next year the French were again meditating a descent upon Norfolk ; ' Crow- 

 mer and Blakeney is much spoken of among the French,' * and soon after 

 Fastolf himself, in his new castle at Caister, ' had had the French before him 

 and shot many guns,' ^ and the council was to be asked to ' refresh Yarmouth 

 with stuff of ordnance guns and gunpowder.' Later on there is evidence of 

 naval preparations, and Paston obtained a commission for his son to be captain 

 of one of the king's ships named The Barge of Yarmouth. It appears, how- 

 ever, that he was ousted from this by Gilbert Debenham, who got a commission 

 to the same effect and obtained possession. 



In 1459 ^ there was a Commission of Array at Norwich to aid the king 

 against Warwick, Salisbury, March, Rutland, and York, who were all attainted 

 in this year, and the citizens were directed to maintain a standing force of 

 archers for the king's use. This was followed by another commission in the 

 next year, and it was ordered that the city gates were to be locked day and 

 night, except five which were to be well guarded with soldiers.^ In 1460 

 the earl of Warwick, whose naval victory in 1458 had brought him to the 

 front, was holding Calais for the Yorkists. It was expected that he would 

 make an attack on the east coast, so Osborn Mundford, who had already seen 

 service at Calais, was sent against him with 500 men, but being attacked by 

 the earl's forces was seized and taken prisoner to Calais and there beheaded.' 



In 1 46 1 the charter' of the city of Norwich was once more confirmed, 

 and in the same year the citizens paid the expenses of certain armed men to 

 resist the rebels in the north when the king was there. ^^ During this year there 

 are several licences granted to Scotchmen dwelling in various parts of Norfolk, 



' This Osborn was one of the Norfolk men who, like Fastolf and Erpingham, had seen service in the 

 French wars ; he was marshal of Calais and treasurer of Normandy. In 1451 he had been driven from the 

 manor of Breydeston by one Thomas Daniel, a favourite of the duke of Somerset. 



' Paston Letters, Introd. Ixvii, Nos. 177, 179, 180, 181, 201. ' Blomcfield, op cit. iii, 161. 



* Paston Letters, No. 314. ' Ibid. No. 315. ° Blomefield, op cit. iii, l6z. 

 ' Ibid. ° Paston Letters, Introd. i, p. cxxxviii. 



• Pat. I Edw. IV, pt. vii, m. 5- 1. '" Ibid. pt. ii, m. 8 d. 



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