186 PREFACE 



and Stretham, and in the Public Hall at Willingham, and through 

 the kindness of the Rev. R. P. Moline, Rector of Cottenham, of the 

 Rev. S. S. Stitt of Stretham, and of Mr. Few of Willingham, I have 

 had opportunities of examining them ; but it has not been alto- 

 gether easy to make a selection of the documents which are likely 

 to be of most interest to members of the society. There could be 

 no doubt, of course, about printing Lord North's award, and the 

 articles of agreement on which the whole authority of the Cotten- 

 ham order maker was based. The orders for 1639 are the oldest 

 which survive, and these are printed ; they were reissued annually 

 with insignificant alterations and copies exist for 1645, 1662 and 1665. 

 The schedule of tithe owing by Walter Male at Cottenham is 

 also given in full. 



Extracts have been made from the decree of the Court of 

 Exchequer which enforced the award of the commissioners at 

 Stretham. The orders and bye laws at Stretham are so varied, 

 that they are given in full, as well as the complaint of 1609 and the 

 papers in regard to tithe. 



The members of the Society are much indebted to Mr. Arthur 

 Bull, Church Warden at Cottenham, for making transcripts of the 

 papers in his charge and for his careful notes upon them ; to the 

 Rev. Evelyn Young of Fen Drayton for discharging a similar task 

 at Stretham, and to Mr. Hubert Hall for the additional information 

 which had been preserved in the Record office. 



THE COTTENHAM ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT 



There are four manuscript copies and one printed copy of the 

 articles of agreement in the parish church at Cottenham, but so 

 far as is known the original document no longer exists. 



In the Chancery decree lt It was ordered that the complainants 

 should at the Defendant's request deliver the defendants a copy of 

 the said Articles... and should also suffer the defendants to 

 examine such copy with the original articles, which copy... etc. " 



It does not appear that this original document was ever pro- 



