f. 136v
passed he this Examinate did heare the said william
whitton said that his Brother, master ffraunces
whitton had not laid layen with his wief
mistries Elizabeth whitton for ten or eleauen yeres
and that that the said mistries Elizabeth whitton
was latelie deliuered of a Childe and that
the articulate Thomas Lane vsing the howse of
the said master ffrances whitton was famed
to be father of that childe, and that he
the said william whitton did not thinke the
said child to be his Brothers considering he
did not lie with the said Elizabeth his wief
for soe longe time, And saieth that
Richard Shrawley and the Sisterof the his mother were present at the
speaking of the said wordes Et aliter
nescit deponere
Ad quintum dicit quod nescit deponere alias quam
predeposuit.
Ad vltimum dicit omnia et singula per eum
predeposita fuisse et esse vera etc.
[Mark in lieu of signature]
3o die
Novembris
1598
repetitur coram
magistro Ballard
3o Nouembris
Johanes Nicholls parochie de Burford in
Comitatu Salopie yeoman, vbi moram
fecit a nativitate sua aetatis [unlear] xlviij
annorum aut eo circiter. Testis productus iuratus
et examinatus dicit et deponit vt sequitur.
1. Ad primum articulum dicit that as he this examinate
doeth thincke the articulate william whitton is
of the parishe of Coreldy Et aliter nescit deponere
2 3 Ad secundum et tertium dicit quod refert
se ad Iura et leges in ea parte etc.
Ad tertium articulum dicit et deponit aboutes
a fortnight before the feast of the Nativity
of our lord last past This examinate did heare
the articulate William Whitton saie that the articulate
Thomas Lane was a hooremaster, and that he
did liue incontinently with the articulate Elizabeth
whitton, And that he kept her is commonly
passed, he this examinate did hear the said William Whitton say that his brother, Master Francis Whitton, had not lain with his wife, Mistress Elizabeth Whitton, for ten or eleven years and that the said Mistress Elizabeth Whitton was lately delivered of a child and that the articulate Thomas Lane, using the house of the said Master Francis Whitton, was famed to be the father of that child, and that he the said William Whitton did not think the said child to be his brother’s considering he did not lie with the said Elizabeth his wife for so long time. And [he] said that Richard Shrawley and his mother were present at the speaking of the said words. And otherwise he knows nothing to depose.
To the fourth he says that he knows nothing to depose other than what he has already deposed.
To the last he says that all and singular deposed above by him were and are true.
[Mark in lieu of signature]
3rd day November 1598
Repeated before Master Ballard 3rd day of November
John Nichols, yeoman, of the parish of Burford in the county of Shropshire where he has lived since his birth, aged forty-three years or thereabouts. The witness, produced, sworn, and examined, says and deposes as follows.
To the first article he says that as he, this examinate, does think the articulate, William Whitton, is of the parish of Coreldy. And otherwise he knows nothing to depose.
To the second and third he says that he refers to the rights and laws in this part etc.
To the third [sic] article he says and deposes about a fortnight before the feast of the Nativity of our Lord last past, this examinate did hear the articulate, William Whitton, say that the articulate, Thomas Lane, was a whoremaster and that he did lie incontinently with the articulate, Elizabeth Whitton, and that he kept her as commonly