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TO THE RIGHT HON. JOHN Lord SOMERS, Baron of Evesham
LORD HIGH CHANCELLOR OF ENGLAND
July 1699
In all humble manner complaining showeth unto your Lordship your orator HENRY THORNE of PIXYWEEKE in the parish of Kings Nympton, in the county of Devon, yeoman. THAT your Orator being seized in his demeasne as of fee, or of some other good estate of inheritance and in one moiety and halfendeale of the said messuage and tenement called PIXYWEEKE as also possessed, and in the other moiety thereof for the residue and remainder of a terme of ninety nine years determinable upon the death of three persons yet living. And being also possessed of estates and interests in one other messuage or tenement commonly called HOBBYHOUSE situate in the parish of Mariansleigh in the county aforesaid for a long terme of years, determinable on your Orator’s death. And also possessed of diverse household goods, household stuff and quick goods as cattle, horses, sheep, bullocks, and likewise of diverse quantities of corn in the ground and in the barn, and other goods and chattels and being so thereof seized and possessed.
And your Orator having contracted several debts due and owing to several persons and being willing and desireous to pay and satisfy the same. And AMOS BULLED and RICHARD BULLED of Romansleigh in the county aforesaid, yeomen, brothers in law of your Orator and GEORGE TOSSELL late of Kings Nimpton aforesaid, deceased, pretended great friendship and respect to and for your said Orator and offering their assistance to become engaged for to pay off and discharge such your Orator’s said debts so as your Orator should and would sufficiently secure them therein. Your Orator was prevailed with and did accordingly about nine year or some such time make and execute some such bargin and sell, grant and conveyance of such his said goods and chattels, lands and tenements to them the said Amos Bulled, Robert Bulled and George Tossell, or some or one of them in trust and for the uses, ends and intents and purposes that they and the survivors of them should and might out of the rents, issues and profits of the said lands and tenements, or by sale thereof or of any part thereof, as also of your Orator’s goods and chattels, make and raise money sufficient whereby to pay and satisfy such your Orator’s said debts as were particularly mentioned and enumerated in the said deed, or in some schedule annexed thereto, amounting in the whole to about one hundred and twenty pounds or some such like sum, the more certainty of which your orator knoweth not nor can sett forth for want of the said deed, the same being in the custody, keeping and power of the Confederates hereinafter named. Some or one of them as by the …of the same could be produced unto this honourable Court relation being thereunto had.
It doth and may more at large appear by virtue of which said deed and the trust and powers therein and thereby given and granted to them, the said Amos Bulled, Robert Bulled and George Tossell they some or one of them immediately entered into and upon your Orator’s said lands, real estate, had and possessed all other his goods, chattels and personal estate and took, had and received the rents, issues and profits of the said lands and real estate and sold and disposed of the said premises called Hobbyhouse to one Mr. Richard Bawdon for the sum of seventy six pounds, or some such like sume, which they some or one of them had offered to pay and apply the same for and toward the payment, discharge and satisfaction of your Orator’s said debts mentioned and contained in the said deed of Trust.
And not only soe, but did likewise take and possessed your Orator’s goods, stock and chattels and sold and disposed of soe much thereof and at very low rate and prices and much under the true value as that they made and received about thirty or forty pounds more or some such like sum for and towards the further charge, payment and satisfaction of such your Orator’s said debts and did continue in the possession of the other remaining unsold trust estate of your said Orator and had and received the rents, issues and profits thereof and take upon them to lett and sett the same. And the said George Tossell, as it is pretended, never intermeddled with the receipt of all or any part of the said moneys soe made and received by and out of the said trust estate, but left the same to the sole care and management of the said Amos Bulled and Robert Bulled or one of them, and dyed soon after the making and creating of the said trust, whereby the same survived and came solely to them the said Amos Bulled and Robert Bulled who, as it is pretended, on or about the five and twentieth day of March in the year of our Lord God one thousand six hundred and ninety four did by deed indented grant and demise to PETER RULE of Kings Nympton aforesaid, husbandman, all the said messuage and tenements with their appurtenances called, or commonly known by the name of Pixyweeke, except all those four closes or parcels of ground art thereof lying and being in the West side of the highway leading from the church towne of Kings Nympton aforesaid to certain mills called ALSWEAR mills, to have and to hold from thenceforth for and during the term of seaven years if your Orator should so long live and under the yearly rent of fifteen pounds ten shillings to be paid at the four usual quarterly payments.
And it was provided for in and by the said deed that in case the said fifteen pounds ten shillings should be behind and unpaid in part or in all by the space of twenty days next after one of the days of payment, wherein the same ought to be paid being lawfully demanded, that then and from thenceforth it should and might be lawful for the said Amos Bulled, Robert Bulled, their executors, administrators and assigns into all and singular the premises aforesaid to re-enter. And the same with the appurtenances to have again, retayne and enjoy as in his and their former estate anything therein contained to the contrary notwithstanding as in and by the said deed, relation being thereunto had.
And if the same could be produced it doth and may more fully appear and the said four closes part of the said premises soe excluded and of the grant and demise to the said Rewle, they the said Bulleds or one of them, kept in their own hands or else lett and sett the same out to other tenants and had and received such the rents, issues and profits of the said trust estate ever since their first entry thereon and also had and received of and from your said Orator or some other for …… by his order the sum of twelve pounds in money or some such like sume for and towards payment and discharge of some debts mentioned and included in the said deed of trust. And whereby they made or might have made, raised and received much more than was sufficient to have executed and performed the said trust and have paid and satisfied all and every debt therein included and for which the said trust was made and created.
And having so done your Orator did hope and expect that they, the said Amos Bulled and Robert Bulled, who principally acted in the said trust should and would have given a just and true account of their said several respective receipts and payments by and out of the said trust estate and have paid and satisfied your Orator such overplus of money as should have been made and raised thereout, beyond what would have paid and satisfied the said debts and also have thereupon, lett your Orator into possession of the said trusted estate and premises so as of right and in all Justice and Equity they ought.
But now so it is may it please your Lordship that the said Amos Bulled and Robt. Bulled, combining and confederating together and to or with the said Peter Rule and Thomas Nott of Marriansleigh, John Furze and Robert Tickle of Kings Nympton aforesaid Gent and George Tossell, one of the sons and executor of the said George Tossell deceased, and who hath assets sufficient of the estate to pay and answer what if ought were received by his testator and diverse other persons, to your Orator as yet unknown, whose names when discovered your Orator humbly prays may be here inserted and made parties hereto with apt words to charge them. And by such the combination and confederacy the said Confederates endeavour and goe about to defraud your Orator both of the said trusted remaining estate and premises and alsoe of the money already made and received thereout.
And for that purpose the said Bulleds, according to their management of the said trust, by taking and converting the monyes made and received thereby to their own and proper use or uses and for the payment and satisfaction of their own proper debt or debts, and by omitting to pay and supply the same from time to time as had made and received for and towards the payment and satisfaction of such the debts of your said Orator, mentioned and particularized in the said deed or schedule thereto annexed, and as they ought and as they pretend either taking up and borrowing money of others upon their, or some of their own securities wherewith to pay and discharge the same, or else instead of payment thereof by becoming bound and giving new security to your Orator’s said respective creditors, some or one of them, and by neglecting to pay and discharge such debts in due time as they were obliged to doe and required and as they might if they had pleased have done by and out of the monyes so made and received and out of the trusted estate, occasioned many suites and actions for want thereof and such their own wilful neglect to be brought and presented att law against them or one of them for recovery of such the said debts or some or one of them, whereby the said debts were increased by interest and cost.
And that by their abuse and ill management of the said trust and what debts of your said Orator were soe paid or new secured, they the said Confederates the Bulleds or one of them to prevent and hinder your Orator from calling them to an account of and for their actings in the trust and to discharge them from the same and to recover the said remaining Trust estate from them, have or hath as it is pretended not only taken upp and kept on foot the original bonds or obligations, or some or one of them, wherein your Orator stood bound to his said Creditors at the time of the making and executing of the said deed of Trust and which are kept uncancelled and threaten to sue or procure your Orator to be sued thereon, or some of them But likewise …… that your Orator for and in consideration of the pretended sume of three pounds by them the said Bulleds, or one of them, paid your Orator or from your Orator due and owing to them, or one of them, or some such like small and inconsiderable sume or consideration whereby your Orator hath either released or absolutely conveyed to them the Confederates or some or one of them, all this your Orator’s Rights, Title and Estate of, in and to the said remaining Trust Estate …… for and during your Orator’s natural life, or some such like terme and estate, and accordingly they the said Confederates, or one of them, now absolutely claime the same and the said Confederates also pretend that they have paid and disbursed for and in satisfaction of the said trusted estate, or are bound and obliged to pay much more than what they have hitherto had made and received thereout, or that the said trust estate is able to pay and satisfye.
And they the said Bulleds, by reason of their own great debt and encumbrance, having absconded or withdrawn from their Creditors and become insolvent, for to supply their, or one of their, own occasions, or for the quiet and satisfaction of some Creditor, or Creditors, of theirs, or one of theirs, have or hath either mortgaged or absolutely sold, granted and conveyed away the residue of the said Trusted Estate, or some part thereof. …… ……. …… and for what consideration, or how the moneyes made and raised thereby, or otherwise, by and out of the said Trusted Estate and every part thereof and the respective sumes of such rents hath been paid or applied, your Orator knoweth not nor can sett forth, or discover, but by the oathe of the said Confederates.
Accordingly they may be compelled to sett forth and discover how the said Confederates, the Bulleids, in further breach of the said trust in them reposed by your said Orator since their entry on the said trust estate have either committed, or suffered to be committed great wast or spoil on the said tenement Pixyweeke, or part thereof, and permitted and suffered several outhouses belonging thereto, for want of fitting and necessary repairation, to fall down or become totally ruined, whereby the value of those said premises are become greatly impaired. And your Orator, in order to regain the possession of the said trust estate and prevent further wasting and destroying the same and continued abuses of the said Confederates, the Bulleids, in exercise of the said Trust and lately prevail with the said Peter Rule, to lett your Orator into the possession of the said premises called Pixyweeke by and under the devise thereof to …… ……, to consent to and permit your Orator to hold and enjoy the same during the residue and remainder of his terme and estate therein yet to come.
And thereupon the said Confederates, the Bulleds, upon pretended of some arrears of rent due and owing to them from the said Peter Rule for the said premises did, in a very violent manner, grant and execute some warrents, or warrent, by the advice and procurement of the other Confederate Nott and directed to twelve or thirteen bailiffs, to enter into and upon the said premises and to distrain for such pretended arrears of rent. Which were accordingly executed and all the quick goods and cattle that they could find of the said Rule taken and seized and carried away and impounded in the pound of the hundred of Wytheridge wherein the said premises lye, being six or seven miles distant from the said premises, and where the said distressed cattle and goods were taken, although there are and were some pound or pounds within the same parish wherein the said premises lye and also adjacent and very near thereto. And the said cattle and goods so seized and distrained were, as it is pretended according to the Statute in that case made and provided, duely appraised and sold at much under value and sold to some creditors of the said Bulleds, or one of them, and taken and allowed for towards satisfaction of some debt or debts by and from them, or one of them, due and owing. And great part thereof swallowed up and allowed unreasonable …… …… …… And taking such distress and driving and impounding and selling the goods and cattle so taken and distrained, though such distress was had, made and taken before any legal or good demand made of rent arrears, and no such power of distress reserved in and by the said demise, but a power of re-entry for non payment of the said rent. And since the taking such distress although your Orator and the said Peter Rule were and still are, or is in the peaceable and quiet possession of the said dwelling house of the said premises, the other Confederates Thomas Nott, John Furse and Robert Tickle have, as it is pretended by the grant, power and authority of the other Confederates, the Bulleds, or one of them, entered into and upon all and every the land, closes and premises of Pixyweek and stocked the same with cattle, horses and sheep and had taken and received the rents, issues and profits thereof and felled and cutt down wood …… and rooted up hedges and stewell growing thereon, or part thereof, and of good value and threatened to commit other wastes and spoyles thereon. And clayme the said premises upon pretence that the grant and demise made to the said Rule is determined by non payment of his rent as he ought and that wereas the said Bulleds reentered and granted and demised the said premises, or part thereof, to them the said Confederates, some or one of them, for and towards payment and satisfaction of some pretended debt or debts to them, some or one of them, due and owing from the said Bulleds, or one of them.