XCIX.
9 October 1534.
Henry the Eighth, by the grace of God King of England and France, IX-fender of the Faith, and Lord of Ireland, to his well-beloved and faithful councillor George, Lord Rochford, Constable of Dover Castle, and Warden of his Cinque F^orts, and his beloved and faithful John Hales, one of the Barons of his Exchequer, and Christopher Hales, his Attorney-General, and his beloved John Painter, Thomas Vaughan, Robert Nethersole, John Elam, Richard Combie, Edward Maye, John Bowie, and Ralph BufFkyn — Greeting. Know that we, fully trusting in your fealty and careful prudence, have appointed you and, by the tenor of the presents, give you, and any two of you, full power and authority for taking and receiving the oaths and fealties of all and singular our lieges and subjects whatsoever, as well spiritual as temporal, dwelling and residing within the Town and Port of Dover, and its Limbs, which belong to the Liberty of the Cinque Ports, of whatsoever rank, estate, or condition they may be, according to the force, form, and effect of a certain statute published and provided in our present Parliament for preserving our security, estate, and succession, and according to the tenor of the oath annexed to the presents : and when you shall have so taken these oaths, you will make a sure return unto us of the names of those who shall take the oaths of this sort before you to our chancellery under your seals, or any two of you, without delay, sending back these our letters patent, and we therefore command you that you be diligent in performing the premises, and do and carry them out with effect.
In witness whereof we have caused these our letters to be made patent.
Witness myself at Westminster the ninth day of October in the twenty-sixth year of our reign.
The following oath is attached on a separate sheet of parchment : —
Ye shall swere to here faith, truth, and obediens alonely to the Kynges Majeste, and to his heyres of his body, of his most dere and intierly beloved lawful! wyff, Queene Anne begoten, and to be begoten, and further to the heyres of our said soveraign lorde accordyng to the lymytacoun in the statute made for suertie of his succession in the crowne of the Realme mencioned and conteyned, and not to eny other within this Realme, nor foren auctorite or potentate, and in case othe be made or hath be made by you to eny other person or persons that then you to repute the same as vayne and adnichilate, and that to your connyng wytt and uttermost of your power without gile fraude or other ondue niectrie, ye shall observe, kepe, maynten, and defende the said act of succession, and all the hoole effectes and contentes thereof, and all other actes and statutes made in confirmation or for due execucion of the same, or of eny thyng therein conteyned, and this ye shall doo ageynst almaner of persons of what estate, dignity, degree or condicion soever they be, and in no wise do or attempte, nor to your power suffer to be don or attemptyd, directly or indirectly, eny thyng or thynges prevely or apertly to the lett, hynderaunce, damage, or derogacion thereof, or of cnv part of the same, by eny maner of meanes, or for eny manor of pretens : Soo helpe you God, all Seyntes, aiul the holy Kvaungelystcs.
A large portion of the Seal remains.