f. 264r
vnto a stile hard by. And then the said Iohn
hooper demaunded of her the said Iohan whether
she did saie that the said Sible Smith
was deliuered of a Child at Biford \and she the said/ she did
\Iohan did/ confesse that she did saie soe, but she
thought noe harme, and desired that
she the said might be forgiuen for it Et aliter all this was donne in the presence
of this examinate and Iohn hooper and Iohn owen
Et aliter nescit deponere.
Ad quartum dicit eundem esse verum.
Ad quintum dicit quod refert se ad predeposita
Ad quintum sextum dicit that he thincketh
that the said Sible Smith is put
to chardges and expences by reason of the
speaking of the said wordes Et aliter nescit
deponere.
Ad vltimum dicit predeposita sua fuisse et esse
vera etc.
Iohn Smythe
Iacobus Ballard
Iohannes owen parochie de homlacie in Comitatu
hereford Tailer ætatis xxxj annorum aut
eo circiter testis productus iuratus et examinatus dicit et deponit vt sequitur
1 Ad primum articulum dicit eundem esse verum.
2. Ad secundum articulum dicit eundem quod refert se
ad leges in ea parte editas.
Ad 4 articulum dicit et deponit that betwixt
ester and whitsontide last past, This
examinate was entreated to goe with one Iohn
hooper and, Iohn Smith his preconteste to the
unto a stile hard by. And then the said John Hooper demanded of her, the said Joan, whether she did say that the said Sybil Smith was delivered of a child at Byford and she, the said Joan, did confess that she had said so, but she thought no harm and desired that she might be forgiven for it. All this was done in the presence of this examinate, John Hooper, and John Owen. And otherwise he knows nothing to depose.
To the fourth he says it is true.
To the fifth he says that he refers it to the depositions he has made.
To the sixth he says that he thinks that the said Sybil Smith is put to charges and expenses by reason of the speaking of the said words. And otherwise he knows nothing to depose.
To the last he says his depositions made above were and are true etc.
John Smith
Jacob Ballard
John Owen, tailor, of the parish of Holme Lacy in the county of Hereford, aged thirty-one years or thereabouts. The witness, produced, sworn, and examined, says and deposes as follows.
To the first article he says the same is true.
To the second article he says that he refers to the laws set forth in that behalf.
To the fourth article he says and deposes that between Easter and Whitsuntide last past, this examinate was entreated to go with one John Hooper and John Smith, his precontest,[1] to the
[1] = A former or previous fellow witness. Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “precontest (n.),” July 2023, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/1048985335.