by way of specimen, worthy of a passing thought; and it is hoped that the occasional annotations may assist in the elucidation of some of the questions which will probably suggest themselves. If he care to occupy himself in a comparison of the church ornaments and vestments before and after the Reformation, the Appendix may not be considered devoid of interest.

The compilation has been made at a season of exceptional pressure, and is offered with a full sense of its imperfections. Owing to the absence of an index from the majority of the records examined, to the difficulty of deciphering the various handwritings in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and to the conditions under which the work has been performed, it will probably be found that errors have escaped detection. For all such, as for its unavoidable shortcomings, the considerate forbearance of the reader is asked, for, as Howard has it :

"He that writes,

Or makes a feast, more certainly invites

His judges than his friends; there's not a guest
But will find something wanting or ill-drest."

Taken as a whole, it is hoped that the Catalogue, with its interspersions, will be of some public service pending the issue of a better. The reader who may, by its aid, transport himself to the local atmosphere of three or four centuries ago will probably find himself in sympathy with Professor Jebb's opinion that "Humanity cannot afford to leave out of its inheritance any part of the good the past has bequeathed to it."

THE TOWN HALL,

WESTMINSTER,
June, 1900.

A

CATALOGUE

OF

Westminster Records.

No.

bered!

Title or Nature of Record.

(Unnum Letters Patent of Henry III., granting the inhabitants of Westminster a weekly market on Mondays in Tothill, and an annual fair for three days, to be held on the vigil, day, and morrow of St. Mary Magdalene. Impression of Great Seal in green wax, somewhat damaged, attached by silk cord.

bered)

(Unnum Letters Patent of Edward I., granting to the inhabitants
of Westminster an
an annual fair of thirty-two days,
beginning on the Feast of the Translation of St.
Edward, King and Confessor, in lieu of two fairs, each of
sixteen days, granted by Henry III. Impression of Great
Seal, in white or yellow wax, nearly perfect, attached with
silk cord.

bered)

in

Room No. 13

(Unnum Charter of Henry IV., granting to the Commonalty 1446-7 Hung of Westminster the waste water from the Conduit in the King's Palace at Westminster, with permission to carry it in pipes to a convenient place. Impression of Great Seal in wax attached.

(Unnum Indenture, Abbot of Westminster to Robert Yonge,

bered)

butcher, to farm a tenement in Little Sanctuary for thirty
years, at 10s. per annum. Seal of the Abbot attached
with parchment; margin destroyed, but perfect impres-
şion of remainder,

1535

Hung in

Room

No. 13