69 



jlome WtsUm €mmt ^stajjt Jecotte of t{je 



By W. W. Ravenhill. 



WELVE years ago, when our Society held its Meeting at 

 Warminster, I had the pleasure of bringing under notice 

 the records of our Assizes, and I was able to give several extracts 

 from them which attracted some interest. It may be remembered 

 that these consisted, not only of commissions, precepts, calendars, 

 and indictments, but also of four volumes of the orders of the Judges 

 of Assize, extending from A. D. 1629 to A.D. 1688, useful to those 

 who would study the history of our county in the seventeenth 

 century, and very illustrative of the country life of that period. 



. The paper I then read was published in our Magazine, vol. xviii., 

 p. 136, and to that I beg leave to refer you. 



To-night I propose to give you some further extracts from these 

 order books. They, even now, can only be specimens culled from a 

 large number of similar materials. 



I go at once to the year of grace 1646. Such scanty crops as 

 there were, here and there, were ripening; and it seemed as if there 

 might be the blessings of harvest for some at any rate, as the 

 fighting had ceased. Even the forts still held for the King were 

 surrendering to the Parliament. The last, perhaps, of these, the 

 westernmost of the western circuit, Pendennis Castle, the guardian 

 of Falmouth, saw her gallant governor, Arundell, march forth with 

 honours on the 17th of August. 



For some time past those practical souls still left in the House of 

 Commons had been turning their attention to " the settlement of 

 these kingdoms." The lawyers of influence amongst them knew 

 the value of an Assize for such a purpose. " Let there be one. 

 There has been none for more than three years. The commissions 

 shall be sealed with our own great seal. Our powers as to this 



