Step back to the winter of 1585—the twenty-seventh year of Queen Elizabeth I's reign—with this beautifully preserved Elizabethan performance bond, a window into the legal world of Tudor England. Written on a single sheet of heavy vellum parchment, the document opens with an authoritative Latin obligation binding a yeoman from the prominent Sherington family of Exton to a steep financial penalty. What follows is a linguistic shift into Early Modern English under the bold calligraphic heading "The Condicon," penned in dark iron-gall script. Tasked with the strict performance of covenants, the text links local landed figures directly to James Gerrard of the historic Gerrard dynasty of Ince. Complete with its original archival filing note "No 37" on the reverse, alongside the elegant signatures of the Sherington family, this manuscript remains a pristine piece of living history from the golden age of Elizabeth I.  Latin & English | Secretary Hand | Manuscript (9 × 5½ inches | 22.8 × 13.9 cm) |  Frame Size (14 × 11 inches | 27.9 x 35.6 cm)

Price $395 | Purchase Page  | See all SKU: 31167

Transcription Integrity:

When buying a 441-year-old manuscript, transcription markers like brackets [...] and question marks [?] preserve the absolute integrity of the artifact. Rather than guessing faded ink or smoothing over complex 16th-century shorthand, these symbols show exactly where a modern expert has expanded Latin abbreviations for readability or highlighted obscure local names. For a collector, these marked sections represent untapped historical value, providing a direct roadmap for future research and provenance verification.

Latin - Starting at Line One (Lines 1-8)

Know all men by these presents that we, John Sherington of Exton in the county of Lancashire, yeoman, and Richard Sherington, son and heir apparent of the said John, are held and firmly bound unto James Gerrard in forty pounds of good and lawful money of England, to be paid to the same James Gerrard, or to his certain attorney, executors, or assigns. To which same payment well and faithfully to be made, we bind ourselves and every one of us by himself, for the whole and in solidarity, our heirs, executors, and administrators, firmly by these presents, sealed with our seals. Given on the tenth day of January in the year of the reign of our Lady Elizabeth, by the grace of God, of England, France, and Ireland Queen, Defender of the Faith, etc. ("...and on earth Supreme Head of the Church of England and Ireland."), the twenty-seventh.

Middle English - Starting at Line Nine (Lines 9 - End of document)

The condition of this present obligation is such that if the above-bounden John Sherington and Richard Sherington, their executors, administrators, and assigns, do well and truly observe, perform, fulfill, and keep all and singular the covenants, grants, articles, and agreements comprised, specified, and expressed in a pair of indentures made between the above-named James Gerrard of Ince-in-Makerfield in the county of Lancaster, Esquire, on the one party, and the above-bounden John Sherington of Exton and Richard Sherington, son and heir apparent of the said John, on the other party, which on the part and behalf of the said John and Richard, their heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, or any of them, are to be observed, performed, fulfilled, and kept, according to the true intent, purport, and meaning of the same indentures, that then this present obligation to be void, frustrate, and of none effect, or else to stand, remain, and be in full power, strength, and virtue.

Backside of the Parchment | Endorsement Transcription: A bond from John Sherington and Richard Sherington of Exton, in the county of Lancashire, held and firmly bound to James Gerrard of Ince-in-Makerfield, Esquire, in the sum of forty pounds. Signed, sealed, and delivered in the presence of the witnesses whose names are endorsed: Myles Gerrarde, Thomas Sherington, Francis Sherington, and others. Given on the tenth day of January in the twenty-seventh year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Number 37.

Modernized spelling and punctuation:

The rule of this legal agreement is that John Sherington and his son Richard, along with their representatives and heirs, must fully carry out, perform, and keep all the terms, grants, and conditions written in a separate pair of contracts (indentures) made between them and James Gerrard of Ince-in-Makerfield, Esquire. If John and Richard properly fulfill every promise and obligation detailed in those indentures exactly as intended, then this £40 penalty bond becomes cancelled, void, and of no effect; otherwise, it remains fully active, strong, and legally binding.

English Common Law Bond (obligation)

Documents like this were designed to prevent the need for court action. The parties (the "above-bounden" John Sherington and Richard Sherington) bound themselves to a steep financial penalty of forty pounds. If they failed to fulfill the real estate or property covenants detailed in the separate pair of indentures referenced in the lower section, the contract became active. If the Sheringtons broke their promise, the injured party (James Gerrard) would take this physical document to an English central court, most commonly the Court of Common Pleas or the Court of King’s Bench in Westminster, to successfully sue for the financial penalty.

Physical Place of Origin

Early Modern English common law bonds typically began by establishing the obligor's jurisdiction and physical presence where the document was drafted, such as "Noverint universi per presentes nos Johem Sherington de Exton in Com’ Lanc’ yoman et Richardu’ Sherington..." where de Exton identifies personal residency. Drafted locally rather than by central London clerks, these private performance bonds centered around local households, seals, and witnesses. Furthermore, enforcement and performance clauses—such as adhering to covenants in indentures made with James Gerrard of Ince-in-Makerfield—demonstrate that these transactions were managed locally rather than through distant regional courts.

Scriptorium & Materials Evidence

The specific handwriting used indicates a localized English Secretary Hand utilizing iron-gall ink on animal parchment, characteristic of a regional manor scribe or local parish notary public rather than a high court clerk in Westminster. Scribes working for local estates and prominent gentry families in Lancashire generated these custom contracts on-site, immediately executing them upon the signing, sealing, and delivery by the local parties.

Collector's Guide: Early modern English legal documents follow a strict, dual-part formula. Understanding this structure helps you navigate the parchment like an archivist.

1. The Document Structure

• The Top Section (Latin): Known as the Obligation. It uses formal Latin to state who owes the money (John and Richard Sherington) and the steep financial penalty (£40).

• The Bottom Section (English): Known as the Condition. It shifts into Early Modern English to explain the "loophole." If the Sheringtons fulfill the contractual promises detailed in their separate pair of indentures, the top penalty is canceled.

2. Deciphering the Handwriting

• The Script Style: Written in English Secretary Hand, the standard Tudor legal script.

• Tricky Letterforms: Watch for the lowercase "e" (resembling a backwards "e" or "o"), the crescent-like "c", and the "long s" that mimics a modern "f".

• Abbreviations: 16th-century shorthand, such as suspension lines or loops indicating missing letters (e.g., Com' for Comitatu).

3. Spotting Key Historical Markers

• The Royal Title: Look for phrases like "Elizabeth dei gra'" in the Latin text to confirm the Elizabethan era.

• The Location: Check for regional identifiers such as "Exton" and "Com' Lanc'" indicating Lancashire origins.

• The Currency: Identify monetary terms via Latin phrases like "quadraginta libris" or written English equivalents.

🔗16th Century Provenance & Context: The Royal and Aristocratic Connection

The archival inscriptions and names bound within this parchment elevate it from a standard regional legal agreement into an artifact from the rise of England's economic golden age. The document bears witness to a fascinating intersection between the provincial landed gentry of Lancashire and the powerful legal and administrative families of the Elizabethan North. The primary catalyst for this document’s historical value is the direct involvement of James Gerrard, Esquire, of Ince-in-Makerfield. The Gerrards (Gerards) were a significant dynasty of Lancashire landowners and legal elites whose members rose to the highest offices of state under the Tudor crown. James Gerrard’s first cousin was Sir Gilbert Gerard, Queen Elizabeth I's long-serving Attorney General and later Master of the Rolls, who directly prosecuted high-stakes crown threats like the Throckmorton Plot. Alongside Gerrard stand the obligors, John Sherington of Exton (Euxton) and his son Richard, representing the rising and wealthy class of Lancashire yeomen who aggressively managed regional agricultural estates and property holdings during the exact years this bond was executed.

Further elevating the historical narrative of this artifact is the presence of Francis and Gilbert Sherington as witnesses on the reverse side. Gilbert Sherington was a prominent barrister of Gray's Inn who famously acquired Wardley Hall in 1581, sparking a violent, decades-long territorial feud with Sir Richard Brereton that resulted in forceful evictions, a murder charge, and Gilbert’s eventual imprisonment in London’s notorious Fleet Prison. The Sheringtons were also staunch Catholic recusants; subsequent generations paid heavily for their religious non-conformity, with later family members dying imprisoned for their faith inside Lancaster Castle.

The presence of these historic names, paired with the bold "No 37" archival filing note on the reverse, brilliantly maps the centuries-long journey of this artifact. Because this document was a high-stakes performance bond protecting a substantial £40 penalty (Modern day purchasing power of £12,000 ~ $16,000 | £40 represented nearly 3 to 4 years of wages for an ordinary working professional of the era), it was physically held, guarded, and preserved as a vital financial asset within the private, locked deed chests of the Gerrard family at Ince. In later centuries, an estate clerk or antiquarian archivist indexed the parchment with the distinct "No 37" bundle number to catalogue it within their prestigious Lancashire estate papers. It remained safe within these private, aristocratic repositories until the great estate dispersals of the 19th and 20th centuries, which allowed this historic vellum sheet to transition into the private market. Standing as a remarkably rare, tangible connection to the early finance, family lineages, and manorial wealth that built the Tudor north, this beautifully preserved Elizabethan bond offers a direct link to the very inner circle that shaped Lancashire's historic legacy.  

Price $395 | Purchase Page  | See all SKU: 31167

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