124 Constable v Constable

124 CONSTABLE V CONSTABLE

John Constable of Catfoss, Sigglesthorne in Holderness, co. York, esq v Christopher Constable of Hatfield in Holderness, co. York, esq

June 1639 - December 1640

Abstract

This was John Constable's counter suit to cause 123, entered in June 1639, soon after Christopher Constable began his action. There are no details of the libel, but presumably it was based on the allegations made by John in the parallel suit. Overall the court decided in favour of John Constable, awarding him £60 in damages and £60 in costs on 22 May 1640. However, in October and December John returned to the court to complain that the sums were still unpaid.

Initial proceedings

6/81, Plaintiff's bond

29 June 1639

Bound to appear 'in the Court in the painted Chamber within the Pallace of Westminster'.

Signed by John Constable.

Sealed, subscribed and delivered in the presence of John Watson.

Sentence / Arbitration

15/4z, Plaintiff's sentence

Damages of £60 awarded and taxed at £60.

No date.

Signed by Thomas Eden, Thomas Exton and Lord Maltravers

15/4l, Defendant's sentence

Spaces for sums not filled in.

No date.

Signed by Arthur Duck.

15/4j, Defendant's bill of costs [damaged]

Trinity term, 1639: £5-10s-0d

Vacation: £7-9s-2d

Michaelmas term, 1639: £10-13s-4d

Total unknown, but over: £23-12s-4d

15/4n, Defendant's bill of costs [fragment]

Vacation and Trinity term, 1639: £27-3s-2d

Vacation and Michaelmas term, 1639: £54-9s-4d

Hillary term, 1639/40: [damaged]

Total unknown, but over: £82-0s-6d

Submission

5/52, Defendant's bond of submission

22 May 1640

Bond for £200

'The condition of this obligation is such that if the above bounden Christopher Constable, his heirs, executors, actors or assignees, shall pay or cause to be paid into the Registry of this Court to the use of John Constable of Sidlsthorne, alias Silsthorne, in Holderness in com. Ebor., esq., his heirs, executors or administrators, the full some of threescore pounds of lawfull money of England for damages and threescore pounds of like money for costs of suite, adjudged and taxed against him by the right honorable Henry Lord Mowbray and Maltravers leifetennant to the right honorable Thomas Earle of Arundell and Surrey Earle Marshall of England, in a cause lately depending before him in the Court Militarie, betweene John Constable pla[in]t[iff] and Christopher Constable defendant, at such time or times place or places and in such manner as his Lordshipp shall appoint, and shall likewise perform such acknowledgement or order of submission as shalbe injoyned him by this court and certifie his performance thereof accordingly, then this present obligation to be void and of none effect or else.'

Sealed subscribed and delivered in the presence of John Watson, John Longland and Richard Meade.

Signed by [with seals] Christopher Constable and Ralph Pudsey [of Stapleton, co. York, gent].

Summary of proceedings

Dr Eden and Dr Exton acted as counsel for John Constable and Dr Duck for Christopher. There were proceedings in this cause on 4 February 1640, which made reference to fifteenth-century records in the Tower of London. On 30 October 1640 Christopher Constable was warned to pay £20 in part payment and £60 for the rest of the damages and expenses in the next sitting. On 4 December Dr Eden, acting for John Constable, accused Christopher Constable of non payment of this £20, and moved that £50 in damages and expenses should be paid by the second session of next Easter term.

Notes

John Constable (1598-1659), son of Christopher Constable of Catfoss, Frismarsh and Holmpton, co. York, esq, and Averill, daughter of George Fowberye of Newbald, co. York, esq. John married Mary, daughter of Ralph More of Beswick and Frances, daughter of Richard Hildyard of Louth, co. Lincoln. Mary's previous husband, Philip Constable (c.1584-1618), son of Marmaduke Constable of Wassand, was killed in a duel by Edmund Percy on 15 May 1618. John and Mary had four sons and five daughters. John Constable's sister, Ellyn, married Sir Francis Cobb of Beverley, knt.

J. W. Walker (ed.), Yorkshire Pedigrees (Publications of the Harleian Society, 95, 1943), p. 289; R. Davies (ed.), The Visitation of the County of Yorke begun in 1665 and finished in 1666, by William Dugdale (Surtees Society, 36, 1859), p. 323.

Christopher Constable of Hatfield (d.1642) was the son of Christopher Constable and Rosamund, daughter of John Portington of Portington, co. York. He married Frances, daughter of Richard Hildyard of Winestead and widow of Ralph More of Beswick.

J. Foster (ed.), Pedigrees of the County Families of Yorkshire: North and East Riding (London, 1874), vol. 3, unpaginated.

For another report on the cases between the two Constables see J. T. Cliffe, The Yorkshire Gentry from the Reformation to the Civil War (London, 1969), p. 9.

Documents

• Initial proceedings
  • Plaintiff's bond: 6/81 (29 Jun 1639)
• Sentence / Arbitration
  • Plaintiff sentence: 15/4z (no date)
  • Defendant's sentence: 15/4l (no date)
  • Defendant's bill of costs: 15/4j (Mic 1639)
  • Defendant's bill of costs: 15/4n (Hil 1640)
• Submission
  • Defendant's bond on submission: 5/53 (22 May 1640)
• Proceedings
  • Proceedings before Maltravers: 8/31 (4 Feb 1640)
  • Proceedings: 1/11, fos. 49r-52r (24 Oct 1640)
  • Proceedings before Maltravers: 1/11, fos. 19r-30v (30 Oct 1640)
  • Proceedings before Maltravers: 1/11, fos. 79r-87v (4 Dec 1640)

People mentioned in the case

• Cobb, Ellyn
• Cobb, Francis, knight
• Constable, Averill
• Constable, Christopher, esq
• Constable, Ellyn
• Constable, John, esq
• Constable, Marmaduke
• Constable, Mary
• Constable, Philip
• Duck, Arthur, lawyer
• Eden, Thomas, lawyer
• Exton, Thomas, lawyer
• Fowberye, Averill
• Fowberye, George, esq (also Fawbery)
• Hildiard, Frances (also Hillyard, Hiliard, Hildyard, Hilliard)
• Hildiard, Richard (also Hillyard, Hiliard, Hildyard, Hilliard)
• Howard, Henry, baron Maltravers
• Howard, Thomas, earl of Arundel and Surrey
• Longland, John
• Meade, Richard
• More, Mary
• More, Ralph
• Percy, Edmund
• Portington, John
• Portington, Rosamund
• Pudsey, Ralph, gent
• Watson, John

Places mentioned in the case

• Yorkshire, East Riding
  • Beswick
  • Catfoss
  • Frismarsh
  • Hatfield
  • Holderness
  • Holmpton
  • Newbald
  • Portington
  • Stapleton
  • Sigglesthorne
  • Winestead
• Lincolnshire
  • Louth
• London
  • Tower of London
• Middlesex
  • Westminster

Topics of the case

• challenge to a duel