Copy of the Letter of King Henry the Sixth, to John Extor, and Jacolet Germaine

"Henry, by the Grace of God, King of England and France, Lord of Ireland, to his beloved friends, John Extor, and Jacolet Germaine, Governors of the Castle at Cholchester, greeting

"Let it be known to you that, relying fully on your faithfulness and prudence, we have charged you, both together and each separately, to arrest and apprehend William White, priest, and Thomas, chaplain, formerly at Settling, in the county of Norfolk, and William Northampton, priest, and all others who are suspected of heresy, whoever they may be, and wherever they may be found, whether in free cities or outside them; and to send them, as soon as you have apprehended them, to our nearest jails or prisons, until we have given orders for their release.

"And therefore we strictly charge you to keep close watch on the persons named above, and faithfully to observe what is written above, in the manner already stated.

"We likewise command and charge each and all of our justiciaries, who have the care of the common peace, such as mayors, margraves, bailiffs, constables, and all our other faithful officers, by the contents of these present letters, that they give you, both together and each separately, good assistance, and help and advise you to carry out the command above, as is fitting for them.

"In witness of this, we have ourselves caused our letters patent to be executed, and have signed them at Westminster, the sixth day of July, in the sixth year of our reign, coinciding with the year 1428." See John Fox, Angl., page 607.

In old records we find that, by virtue of this commission from the King, John Extor, who was one of these commissaries, shortly afterwards apprehended six persons at Bungay, in the bishopric of Norwich, and delivered them into the custody of William Day and William Rowe, constables of the city of Bungay, to be brought within ten days to the castle of Norwich.

"The names, however, of these six persons," writes John Fox, "owing to the age of the writing, had almost entirely faded out, so that they could not well be read, except three or four." But what further happened to them, and what sufferings or death came upon them, we do not find clearly stated.

In the meantime three eminent and virtuous men were also apprehended and brought to Norwich, namely, William White, formerly a priest, Father Abraham of Cholchester, and John Waddon, who, after a previous examination, made confession of the following articles