THE RECORD SOCIETY FOR THE PUBLICATION OF ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS RELATING TO LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE, Gouncil, 1897-8. Lient.-Col. HENRY FISIIWIOK, F.S.A., The Heights, Jtoelultile, PRESIDENT. G. E. COKAYNE, M.A., F.S.A, Olarenceux King of Arms, Heralds' College, London, E.G., VICE-PRESIDENT. THOMAS If. DAVIES-COI.I.EY, M.A, 16, Wellington Horn), Whalley Range, Manchester. WILLIAM FARRER, Marton House, Skipton. MAJOR PARKER, Hrotcsholme, Clitheroe. R. D. RADCLIFFE, M.A., F.S.A, Old Swan, Liverpool. The REV. J. H. STANNING, M.A, The Vicarage, Leigh, Lancashire. HENRY TAYLOR, F.S.A., Cwzon Park, Chester. JAMES E. WORSLEY, F.S.A., Winwick, Newton-le-Willows. JOHN PAUL RYLANDS, F.S.A., Heather Lea, Charlesville, Birkenheat HON. TREASURER. WM. FERGUSSON IRVINE, 4, Paton Road, Birkenhead, HON. SECRETARY. B i-11» li Book At^f.t C\H ~> • 1 B v / c \j, j i RULES. 1. —That the Society shall be called the KK.COM> SOCIETY, ami shall have for its object the transcribing and publishing of Original Documents relating to the counties of Lancaster and Chester. 2. —That the affairs of the Society shall be governed by a Council, consisting of a President and twelve Members, the former of whom shall be annually elected by the Council. 8.—That three Members of the Council shall form a quorum. 4. —That the subscription of Members of the Society shall be £'1 Is. per annum, which shall entitle them to the publications for the year; but any Member whose subscription shall he two years in arrear shall thereupon be removed from the Society, and shall not be re-admitted until all arrears have been paid. The number of Members is limited to 350. 5. —That the subscriptions shall be due on the MOth of June in each year, and that no work shall be issued to any Member whose subscription is in arrear. G.—That an Annual Meeting of the Society shall be held in the month of October, of which due notice shall be sent to all the members. At this meeting a Report of the work of the Society, with a Statement of the Income and Expenditure, shall be presented. These shall be annually published, together with a List of Members and the Rules of the Society. 7. —That so long as the funds of the Society permit, two volumes at least shall be issued to the Members in each year. 8. —That no copies of the publications of the Society shall be sold to non-members, except at an increased price to be fixed by the Council. Í).—That no payment shall he made to any person for editing any work for the Society, but that the Editor of each volume shall be entitled to twenty copies of the work so edited by him. 10. —That the Treasurer's Accounts shall be audited by two Members of the Society, who shall be elected at the Annual Meeting. 11. —No alteration shall be made in any of the above Rules except at the Annual General Meeting. Notice of any proposed alterations must be sent to the Hon. Secretary a month before such General Meeting. 12.—That a Meeting of the Council of the Society shall be called by the Hon. Secretary at least once in every three months. 'ihe Annual Snhnerijitiim of JM Is., entitling the Members tu all the Volumes issued fur that year, may he //aid to the Hon. Treasure!, or to the credit of the Society at their Hankers, the Manchester ami Liverpool District llankintf t 'om/umi/, Limited, at any of their branches. import for tljc lear 1896-7. at the Animal. Meeting, held in the Audit Hoom of the Chetham Hospital, Manchester, Dctohcr 19th, 1897. SINCE the last Annual Meeting, held on the 13th October, 18%, t wo volumes have been delivered to the Members. Those are Vol. XXXIV, the second volume of the Plundered Ministers' Accounts for Lancashire and Cheshire ; and Vol. XXXV, the second volume of Pleadings and Depositions in the Duchy Court of Lancashire in the time of Henry VIII. The First of these, The Minutes of the Committee for the relief of Plundered Ministers, Ac, relating to Lancashire and Cheshire between the dates 1651 and 1060, is in continuation of Vol. XXVIII, and has been edited, as was that volume, by Mr. W. A. Shaw. The value and importance of these records was pointed out m the. last Annual Report, and the Council consider that their anticipations have been fully justified. The period covered by this volume is perhaps one of the most obscure in the later history of the two counties, and anything that throws further light, particularly on ecclesiastical matters, is welcome. The Second Volume, Pleadings and Depositions in the Duchy Court of Lancaster in the time of Henry VIII., has been edited by the President, Lt.-Col. Henry Fishwick, F.S.A., and gives us an interesting picture of many phases of the social life of Lancashire during the early part of the sixteenth century. >v Report of the Society. These two volumes were issued to Members during the spring of this year, so that the Council are able to record again that the publications of the Society, so long in arrear, have been issued up to date, and for the first time for many years, have been thus able to pay all outstanding accounts, and so get rid of a misleading credit balance, and show their true financial position, which, the Council think, the Members, on reference to the Balance-Sheet, will see is a satisfactory one. For the current year, Colonel Fishwick is editing a third and final volume of the Pleadings and Depositions in the Duchy Court of Lancaster for the reigns of lid ward VI. and Mary. The work is well advanced, and should be ready for issue to the Members about Faster. The Rev. J. 11. Htanning continues his valuable and interesting Royalist Composition Papers, another volume of which is now in the press, and should be ready about the same time. The works that the Council have in view for the near future are—first, a Calendar of Assize Rolls for Lancashire down to the reign of Edward 1, on which Major Parker is now engaged, and which the Council think will be a most valuable addition to the printed records of the County ; and, secondly, Feet of Fines or Final Concords, Richard 1. to Edward III, to be edited by Mr. William Farrar, which should prove also of the greatest interest. The choice of these two volumes has been decided upon, in pursuance of a resolution made by the Council last year, to pay more attention to an earlier class of records than that hitherto dealt with by the Society. Mr. W. F. Irvine has also in hand the earliest Ordination Rook of the Bishop of Chester, and a portion of this is now in type. There will not, however, be enough to make a complete volume with this alone, so it is proposed to print liejiort uf the Society. V with it an Index of Wills and Administrations now preserved at the Diocesan Registry, Chester, from the year 1020 to the year 1700. Mr. W. H. Price, who compiled the Index from 1487 to 1G20, printed in volume XXXIII., has undertaken the laborious task of carrying the index down to 1700, and the Council is glad to be able to report that this is now complete and ready for the press. The Council have only to urge once more on each individual member the great importance of obtaining fresh subscribers to the Society, if the good work which it has done so long is to be continued. The following is the complete list of the Society's publications already printed up to the present time : 1878- 71). I. Commonwealth Church Survey II. Index to the Wills at Chester, 1 1~> lo 1620. 1879- 80. HI. Lancashire Inquisitions.- Stuart Period. Part I. 1G0M to 1613. IV. Index to the Wills at Chester, 1621 to 1650. 1880- 81. V. The Register of Prestbury, co. Chester, 1560 to 1G36. 1881- 82. VI. Cheshire and Lancashire Funeral Certifi­ cates. 1G00 to 107s. VII. Lancashire and Cheshire Records. Part I. 1882- 83. ^ HI. Lancashire and Cheshire Records. Part II. IX. Preston Guild Rolls, 131)7-1082. 1883- 84. X. Index to the Lancashire Wills proved at Richmond, 1457 to 1080. 1884- 85. Yir' ^xche<Pu'r '^positions, 1558 to 1702. Miscellanies, Lancashire & Cheshire, Vol. 1. XIII. Index to the Lancashire Wills proved at 1885- 8G. VTT. Richmond, 1680 to 1748 XIV. Annales Cestrienses. ndeX the Wllls !U 1886- 87. vlV l- '? Chester, 1660-1680. A\ 1. Lancashire Inquisitions. Stuart Period. Part II. 1614 to 1622. 1887- 88. XVII. Lancashire Inquisitions. Stuart Period. vv.rr *U L 1022 t0 lli25- XV111. Index to the Wills at Chester, 1G81 to 1700. vl Uepoit of the Society. ixgg 8;, t XIX. Civil War in Cheshire. i XX. Index to the Wills at Chester, 1701 to 1720. ( XXI. The Register of Leyland, co. Lancaster, 1MH9-90. 10Ö!» to 1715. I XXII. Index to the Wills at Chester, 1721 to 1710. ( XXIII. Index to the Lancashire Wills proved ut 1890 !) 1 Richmond, 1748 to 1792. j XXIV. The Royalist Composition Papers relating to I Lancashire. Vol. I. A and 15. f XXV. Index to the Wills at Chester, 1741 to 1700. 1 Hit 1-92. { XXVI. The Royalist Composition Papers relating I to Lancashire. Vol. II. C to V. j XXVII. Lancashire Lay Subsidies, Henry III.