John Williams, Response to a petition from Sir Roger Townshend and others. English, 1625

Petition submitted by Sir Roger Townshend and 43 others, defendants in the suit of Thomas Goddard plaintiff in Star Chamber, submitted to the Lord Keeper, John Williams, Bishop of Lincoln and one-time Fellow of St John’s College (1582-1650). The defendants argue that because the court has been misled over the reversal of several judgments of outlawry against the plaintiff, they should not be compelled to answer the plaintiff’s bill until he puts in sufficient sureties to answer costs if his case fails, and can go back on an agreement that the case should be examined locally by an official of the Court. Williams decides on 22 Feb. 1625 that he will ‘not alter the last order because it was made by the consent of both parties’. For Townshend (1595-1637) see A. Thrush and J. P. Ferris (eds), History of Parliament: the Commons 1604-29 (London, 2010), vi, 548-50.