The act book of St. Katherine's gild, Stamford, 1480-1534
(Book, Online Content)

Includes index.

"Published in association with the Stamford Survey Group."

The manuscript of the register of the gild of St Katherine, Stamford (Gonville and Caius MSS 266/670), has been known for some time and consulted by a small number of scholars, but it has not been more generally available. This edition is intended to make it more widely accessible for study. The gild met in the room over the porch of the parish church of St Paul in Stamford, a church which for more than a century housed an anchoress on the north side. The book contains the statutes of the gild on its refoundation in November 1480 by William Browne of Stamford, merchant of the Calais Staple, its Alderman, an inventory of its possessions, lists of members, their payments of entry fees and attendance at the annual feast, and the accounts of the officers, from 1480 to 1534 (with a gap between 1527 and 1531). It thus bridges those vital years of the late medieval and early modern periods just prior to the Reformation. Under William Browne (1480-89), it remained a relatively small local gild, but under his successors as Alderman, it grew in size and range, enrolling prominent persons like Lady Margaret Beaufort mother of Henry VII, Cecily lady Welles daughter of Edward IV, the abbots of Crowland and Spalding, David Cecil grandfather of lord Burghley, and Henry VIII's favourite "old lady of Oxford"; both of the town anchoresses, supported by Lady Margaret Beaufort, were members. In its heyday, it had some 120 members. -- back cover

Electronic reproduction.,Salt Lake City, Utah :,FamilySearch International,,2023