In the library of the University of Washington is an extensive
collection of English state papers from the middle ages, consisting
of law cases and tax records. There are well over a hundred
thick blue volumes, each many hundreds of pages. There is much Carpenter
related. Today I will present a sample from three
volumes entitled CALENDAR OF THE CLOSE ROLLS, from
the late 1200s, the time prior to John Carpenter the Town
Clerk and his father Richard. My object is to find material
suggestive of their origins. A very wealthy individual discovered
was a Edward le Carpenter or Charpenter and his son Robert.
The pair are noted in many legal proceedings. Edward and Robert
are residents of Middlesex Co. a traditional residential area
for wealthy London merchants. Edward's identity as a foreign
resident is immediately sugested by the Charpenter name,
which is used in at least half the references to him. Son Robert
is cited in a law suit with "merchants of Amiens". Edwards
assets extend to holdings in London itself. In a 1289 security
for a loan, his "lands and chattels in the city of London" are
cited, as well as elsewhere his " lands and chattels in Co. Middlesex."
Witnesses to Edward's financial dealings are
seemingly very powerful individuals such as a Earl of Cornwall
in one proceeding.
Sincerely,
Bruce E. Carpenter