ARMS: Quarterly; 1 and 4, COLFE, Or, a fess between three running colts Sable; 2 and 3, BRADFIELD, Azure, a cross chequee Or and Gules between four mullets of the second.

ABRAHAM COLFE, the eldest son of Dr. Richard Colfe, was born at Canterbury, on the 7th of August, 1580, and was christened at Rood-church, in that city, on the 14th day of the same month.' He was educated in the Free Grammar-school attached to the Cathedral,' whence he proceeded to the University of Oxford, and eventually attained the degree of Master of Arts.

3

Entering holy orders at an early age, he became Curate of Lewisham, in Kent, at Michaelmas, 1604, under Dr. Hadrian Saravia, Vicar of that Church, who, being a Prebendary of Canterbury, was probably a friend of his father: and on his resignation of the vicarage, he succeeded, by the presentation of King James I., on the 1st of May, 1610; having been in the mean time presented, by the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury, to the Rectory of St. Leonard, in Eastcheap, London, on the 30th of January, 1609. Notwithstanding this preferment, he continued to live at Lewisham, being within a convenient distance from the city, and a place congenial to his disposition, as a man of retirement, study, and benevolence; and to his bodily constitution, for, notwithstanding his studious habits, he seldom suffered sickness. Here also he was surrounded by the family and connexions of his wife MARGARET, widow of Jasper Valentine, of Lewisham, tanner, whom he married in or before

See his Will, p. 5. He left a perpetual yearly benefaction of 6s. 8d. to be distributed in bread to the poor of Canterbury on the 14th of August. (p. 10.) 2 Will, p. 42. The record of his induction into the vicarage of Lewisham is printed in the Appendix, No. 2.

3 He was admitted to his prebend, 6 Dec. 1595, and died 15 Jan. 1612, aged 82. (Le Neve, p. 16.) His Theological Tracts are noticed in this work, p. 55. 4 Register of Bp. Bancroft, fo. 296, cited in Newcourt's Repertorium Ecclesiasticum, II. 891.

1612: she was a virtuous and pious woman, who not only felt interested in all his benevolent designs, but seems to have been constantly employed in doing good.1

Shortly after his marriage, his attention was drawn to certain occurrences in his parish which involved the interests of the lower class of his parishioners; when he exerted all his might in the defence of his flock. It was a most violent and unjust attempt to deprive the inhabitants of their antient right of common, by two or three persons who had obtained a grant of Westwood from the King. Though insulted and ill-treated in various ways, the inhabitants of Lewisham resisted long, and at length, chiefly through their Pastor's advice, succeeded in obtaining a reversal of the grant. Many of his papers on this matter are extant; from which it will be sufficient to copy one short narrative of the whole proceeding, with the addition of a few illustrative extracts.

1 From various documents preserved among Colfe's deeds, the following account of her kindred has been drawn-Robert Holard, of Sypenham (now Sydenham), in the parish of Lewisham, by charter, dated 28 June, 21 Hen. VIII. (1529), demised to his brother John, a cottage, with barn and garden, in the South end of Lewisham, between the common course of the stream called Randysbourne (now Ravensbourn) on the W. and S. and the highway to London on the E. and N. This John Hollard, of Lewisham, was a smith, and must have been more than 70 years old when he made his will, 1 Feb. 1575-6, on which day he died, or else on the following, when he was described as "deceased" in the inventory of his goods. His will (which is curious) was proved before the Archd. of Rochester, 7 Apr. 1576. He left five daughters :-1. Susan, mar. to Tho. Busse, of Croydon; both living in 1604, and probably the parents of Hugh Busse, a tenant of Abr. Colfe, mentioned in his Will, p. 56.—2. Joane, mar. to John Mason, of Lewisham ; a widow in 1589.—3. Rachel, mar. first to Thomas Hyggyns, of L. living in 1588, who left three children, John, Henry, and Joyce; afterward to one Osborne, by whom she had a son, Edmund : she died a widow, and her children being under age, letters of administration, dated 18 Nov. 1606, were granted to her brother-in-law, Jasper Valentine, the husband of—4. Margaret he was Constable of the Hundred of Blackheath in that year, and seems to have died not long after.-5. Agnes or Anne, who was living at Croydon a spinster in 592, mar. William French, of St. Giles, Cripplegate; both living

in 1612.

:

"Memorandu, that in ye yeares of our L. 1614 & 1615, we had many troubles & suites concerning our cōmon of Westwood, being in quantity about 500 acres of ground, wherevnto the Lord of his mercy gaue a good issue in ye end.' The occasion was yis. Henry Newport, of Lewsham, gentleman, & yeoman of ye boiling-house to King James, hauing liued long in our parish in ye yeare 1605 begged this cōmon of the King, and made meanes to his Maiesty for a lease of it at a yearely rent: wherevpon our cause was heard first on ye 25 Aprilis 1606 before some of ye Barons: yen ye 26 Junij 1607 before ye Lords after dinner on a Starrechamber day & againe ye 9th Nouembris 1608 before ye Barons of ye exchequier. But either he non suited himself or other error fell out in ye pceedings, so yt he obtained not as yet his purpose. After, Henry Newport ioyned two more with him, namely Robert Raines, sergeant of the buckhounds, & Innocent Lanier of Greenwich one of the Kings Musitians; & ioyntly took a lease from his Maiesty of ye cōmon of Westwood: & then began very much to vexe ye inhabitants. We complained. At length our cause was heard, first privately before the Barons on ye 14th & 21th daies of May 1614. And after, by an order set downe for John Burnet of Lewsham to be ye defendant; our cause was heard publikely before the Barons, on the 14th day of October: & a verdict passed against vs. At wch time John Sherman of Greenwich was fore-man, also John Halfpenny, and Henry Dobbins, and Henry Abbot, all 4 of Greenwich; and John Leech of Detford, & diuerse others were of the Jury. Presently the [lessees] Patentees began to make ditches about the cōmon, & inclosed it, & draue out & killed sundry of the cattell of the inhabitants. Wherevpon neere 100d people [of the parish] yong & old, went through ye city of London, & a litle on this side of Topnam high-crosse petitioned King James; who very graciously heard ye petition, & ordered that the Lords of his priuy counsell should take a course that he might be no more

The words in italics are interlineations.

2 These words within brackets are struck through.

2