POLITICAL HISTORY 



three days later; Samuel Luke, at Houghton Lodge 20 July 1624, and the 

 High Sheriff, Francis Gierke, 'in the way between Bletsoe and Castle 

 Ashby,^'' King James being this year in his progress in Bedfordshire,' ^^* 

 while Charles I at Ampthill in July 1627 knighted George Russel of Rouge- 

 mont and Henry Anstey of Woodend."''* 



The religious aspect of the troubles leading to the Civil War is dealt 

 with in another article. With regard to the other question which occu- 

 pied the minds of Englishmen — the legality of the methods by which the 

 Crown endeavoured to procure money without recourse to Parliament — 

 the temper of Hampden did not fail to find sympathy in a county so closely 

 associated with Buckinghamshire. By a writ of 4 August 1635 Bedford- 

 shire was assessed at >C3,ooo for ship-money,"^' and the town of Bedford 

 complained that it was rated too highly in comparison with the county,^^* 

 On 18 November Humphrey Monoux, the sheriff, was called before the Privy 

 Council to show why he had been backward in executing the writ, and was 

 ordered to proceed ' without making any doubts.' '" Next spring the new 

 sheriff, Sir Richard Gery, was also accused of remissness.*''* His reply was 

 that the ' sheriffwick ' had come to him so unexpectedly that most of his. 

 time was ' exacted ' in fitting himself for the business of the ofBce ; his pre- 

 decessor had gathered up what was willingly paid, ' the residue left to collect 

 has to be compelled or is not to be had ' ; but he would do his best.*** The 

 writ of 1635 was reissued on 12 August 1636.*'° On 29 April 1637 John 

 Whitaker, mayor of Bedford, took a receipt for j^ioo,**^ and on 9 May 

 Henry Chester, sheriff of the county, paid in ^^ 1,3 00 of what was due.*'* 

 In September there was a fresh writ, and it would appear that some £200 

 was still due from 660 persons in March 1637-8.*'* On 22 February 

 1637—8*'* Sir William Boteler, the sheriff, writing to Secretary Nicholas, men- 

 tioned ' two men of Nether Gravenhurst ' as ' refusing to make a tax upon 

 their town,' but hoped to be able to influence them without the interference 

 of the Council. Three months later (May 1638) he found ' so sudden and 

 so general a backwardness in the King's service that I must be enforced to 

 trouble the Council Table with some delinquents.' The constable and others 

 of Tilsworth had disobeyed his warrants, and he had enjoined them to 

 appear at Whitehall. John Gregory of Eversholt, too, he had bound over 

 to appear for refusing to collect and distrain, but he thought that no 

 extreme measures would be necessary.*'^ There were several other cases 

 in the course of the year of remissness on the part of collectors of the 

 tax.*" In November, by a new writ, Bedfordshire was assessed at 

 ^1,100,*" but in 1639 arrears still due on the earlier writs were slowly 

 coming in.*'* 



^ Beds. N. and Q.\,z\\ (from Lansd. MS. 887, B.M.). 



™ Ibid. 96 (from Archer MSS., Houghton Conquest). "* Ibid. 211 (ut sup.). 



"' Referred to in Cal. S.P. Dom. 1635-6, p. 221. 



*-* Ibid. 1625—49, pp. 544—5; undated, but attributed to 1636. 



'" Ibid. i635,p.487. "' Ibid. 1635-6, p. 285. "' Ibid. 1625-49, P- 528. 



™ Ibid. 1637, p. 38. A certificate of assessment dated 27 June 1637 gives a total of ^2,860 j 

 ibid. 247. "' Ibid. 38. "» Ibid. 86. 



''' A document, P.R.O. case E. Chas. I, No. 2, calendared as ' Assessment for ship money in co. Bedford 

 upon the writ of Sept. 1637,' and attributed to Mar. 1637-8 {Cal. S.P. Dom. 1625-49, P- 574); '^ apparently 

 a list of defaulters with the amount of the default. 



'" Ca/. S.P. Dom. 1637-8, p. 272. '" Ibid. 432. ^^ Ibid. 417, 429, 440 ; ibid. 1638-9, pp. 26, 39, 



'" Ibid. 95. ^ Ibid. 392, 530 ; ibid. 1639, pp. 197,458. 



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