To all true Christians who see or hear read these letters, John Ingler, mayor of the city of New Salisbury commends you to our Lord God everlasting. Because it is necessary and meritorious for every true Christian man to bear witness to the truth, so that truth is always to be preferred and all that is untrue set aside, let it be known and shown to, and understood by, all who are sober and wise that one Thomas Pyrie, our faithful brother, a fellow citizen of the city mentioned above, who is among us a man of good reputation and standing and well thought of, and is trustworthy, creditable, and well behaved, came in person before me, the mayor, and others – that is, William Roket merchant, William Shirwode mercer, John Gamelyn mercer, and William Wynne notary imperial, fellow citizens of the city – in my residence in the city. At that time and place, this Thomas Pyrie of his own free will before us reported and stated what is related hereafter.

First, that he was a servant of William Nicoll, sometime burgess and merchant of the town of Southampton, at the time of William's death and a long time prior to that. And that this William, while in good health and of sound mind, ordered Thomas to bring to him in his parlour in Southampton blank paper and pen and ink, and to begin to write the formalities of the opening of a testament; which Thomas did. He then instructed him to write down specific legacies, both to churches and other religious institutions and to private individuals, servants and others named by William. And after that to write down the arrangements for disposing of the residue of his possessions, not previously bequeathed: to be divided equally between his wife Juliana and his kinsman Richard Thomas, who was then his factor and purser of his ship named the Marie of Hampton, then at sea. That being done, he instructed Thomas to write his arrangements for disposing of all the lands and tenements etc. that he held at that date within the town and suburbs of Southampton and elsewhere in England. These lands and tenements he intended to be divided, as soon after his death as could reasonably be done, into two equal portions. Of which he left the one half to his wife Juliana, for the term of her life, paying the rents and services due from the same, and also bearing half the annual costs of a priest's wages and an anniversary or obit in the parish church of Holy Rood in Southampton, while she lived. After her death, that half of the lands and tenements were to go forever to Richard and the lawfully begotten heirs of his body, paying the rents and services due from the same, and bearing in perpetuity half the annual costs mentioned above of the priest and the anniversary or obit in the church. The other half of all the lands and tenements William Nicoll left to Richard, he and his lawfully begotten heirs to have and to hold forever, paying the rents and services due from the same, and bearing the other half of the annual costs of the priest and obit or anniversary in the church in perpetuity. Should it happen that Richard die without leaving such an heir, then the half of the lands and tenements left to Richard, along with the other half of the lands and tenements left to Juliana, when they fell to him after her death, should go to Joan the wife of Thomas Payne of Looe in Cornwall, sister to Richard, and the lawfully begotten heirs of her body forever, paying the rents and services due from the same, and bearing the entire annual costs of the priest and obit or anniversary in the church, as set out above, in perpetuity. Should it happen that Richard and his heirs as well as Joan and her heirs fail to support the annual costs of the priest or the anniversary or obit in the church for an entire year, then all the lands and tenements with their appurtenances should go to the mayor and burgesses of the town of Southampton, and their successors forever. Or should it happen that Joan die without lawfully begotten heir, then all the lands and tenements with their appurtenances should go to the mayor and burgesses of the town of Southampton, and their successors forever, paying the rents and services due from the same by ancient custom, and bearing the entire costs of the priest and anniversary or obit in the church in perpetuity. Should it happen that the mayor and burgesses fail for an entire year to support the costs of the priest and anniversary or obit in the church, then all the lands and tenements with their appurtenances shall go to the Prior and Convent of the monastery of St. Denys neighbouring Southampton, and to their successors forever, paying the rents and services due from the same etc., and bearing the costs of the priest and anniversary or obit in Holy Rood church in perpetuity. He made Juliana and Richard the executors of his testament.

After this had been done, William Nicoll became so seriously ill that his physicians were certain he would die. It was then recalled by dom. John Serteyn and others who were with William Nicoll that his manor of South Stonham with its appurtenances lay outside the city or borough, in the county proper, and if William Nicoll died in possession of it then his brother's daughter, Alice, who had married a bondman of Twyford, would be heir to it. Consequently they thought it advisable for them to draw up a deed of enfeoffment and transfer all the lands and tenements to certain persons. And so Thomas was ordered by Juliana, dom. John Serteyn, and William Stone to write a deed to that effect [enfeoffing] Master Thomas Forest, Walter Fetplace, Robert Aylward, William Stone and dom. John Serteyn priest, as well as a letter of attorney appointing Thomas Pyrie to deliver possession, in the name of William Nicoll, to the feoffees of and in all those lands and tenements. When Thomas Pyrie had written out these documents and put wax on them, and brought them to William Nicoll's bedside and read them out loud to him, William Nicoll's mind had already deteriorated to the point where he had lost awareness, so that he said nothing nor gave any sign or indication that he had heard or understood. But Thomas Pyrie took William Nicoll's hand from beneath the bedcovers and sealed the documents with the seal[-ring?] of William Nicoll, then reinserted his hand under the covers. Immediately William Stone and Thomas Pirie went to South Stonham and there Thomas put William in possession of the manor and its appurtenances, by authority of the said document, and then returned to Southampton, where he put William Stone and the other co-feoffees in possession of the tenement of William Nicoll in which John Flecher was then residing, on behalf of all the lands and tenements subject to that deed within thw town and suburbs of Southampton. On the same day that those documents were drawn up and sealed, and possession was transferred as described above, William Nicoll died and departed from this world.

In witness that all this was related as is set out above, Thomas Pyrie put his seal to this evidential letter, in the presence of myself, the mayor. And to reinforce the credibility of this information, at the request of Thomas Pyrie, I have appended my seal of the office of the mayoralty of the city of New Salisbury. Drawn up at Salisbury on 2 December 1478.