Henr. R.
Trustie and well beloved, we greate you well. And whereas betweene us and the Emperor upon provocation of manyfolde injuries committed by the Frenche Kyng unto us both particularlie; And for his confederation wyth the Turke, against ye whole commonwealthe of Christendome. It ys agreede that eche of us aparte, in person, with his puissant Armie in several parties this soommer, shall invade the Realme of Fraunce; and beyng not yet furneyshed as to our honour appertayneth:—
We have appoynted you to send us the nombre of xv hable fotemen, well furneyshed for the warres as appertayneth, whereof iii to bee archers, every oone furneyshed with a goode bowe in a cace, with xxiii goode arrows in a cace, a goode sworde, and a dagger, and the rest to be billmen, havyng besydes theyre bill, a goode sworde, and a dagger, to be levyed of your owne servants and tenants.
And that you put the saide nombre in such a redyness, furnished with coats and hosen of such colours as is appointed for the battel of our Armey.
As they faile not within oone houres warnyng to march forward to such place as shall be appoynted accordinglie:—
Yeven under our Sygnete at our palace of Westmr., the vth daie of June, the xxxv yere of our reigne.
Henr. R.
Weymouth had been created a borough in the reign of Edward II., at the time that his nephew, Gilbert of Clare, Earl of Gloucester, was lord of the manor (one of whose sisters had married Piers Gaveston, and the other sister was the wife of Hugh le Despencer); and although the town is styled a “burg” in several documents relating to previous reigns, it was not until the nineteenth year of the reign of Edward II. that it returned a representative to Parliament.
The borough of Weymouth and the adjoining one of Melcombe (which together now make up modern Weymouth) had long viewed each other with jealous eyes; and so many complaints being made through their respective members, the Parliament prepared a charter, at the suggestion of Cecil, it is said, which was approved by Queen Elizabeth in the thirteenth year of her reign, which united these two discordant elements into one borough.
The merchants of the town, like all those of our southern ports, played a zealous and active part in fitting out ships to fight the Armada; and from a MS. in the Cottonian Library we learn that the following vessels set out from Weymouth in 1588, with instructions to guard the coast and seek out the Invincible Armada:—