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Auction: 26066 - Historical Documents, Autographs and Ephemera
Lot: 1038

Algernon Percy, the Relief of Taunton
1645 (9 Sept.) letter from "Stanechamber" (Star Chamber - a court at Westminster) signed by fifteen different signatories with integral address panel reading "Too my Lovinge Freinds the Mayor and Aldermen of Norwich".

Letter reads: "The sad condicon of many hundred inhabitants of the town of Taunton whose dwellings are burnt and their estates latterly wasted by yee enemy hath moved parliament to grant them a collection for their releife, by an ordinaunce to that effete ... [encouraging the enactment of said wishes] with such faithfulness and dispatch as may ... the expectation of those poor perishing Christians and comply with the designs of your very loving friends".

Signatories besides Algernon Percy include John Bampfylde, John Northcote, John Browne, George Buller, John Harris and George Serle.

In good condition and an impressive document.

Notes: Taunton and its townspeople suffered a difficult war. Naturally of Parliamentarian persuasion the town changed hands many times through the war and was heavily damaged in April 1645 when besieged by the Royalists. On the Restoration, King Charles II ordered for the destruction of Taunton Castle so that it cannot be used to shelter rebels ever again.

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Estimate
£600 to £800

Starting price
£480