Ref: Test 03

Catalogue Entry:

Helen Sorrowcolt wife of Gilbert Sorrowcolt c James Greenhough and Edward Scholes for calling her a whore. James had watched the street door and Scholes the back door and saw one Robinson come out of the house at 9pm – libel, sentence.

Summary:

Helen claimed that James and Edward had accused her of adultery. She said that they had watched outside her door and claimed to have seen James Robinson leave her house about 8 or 9 o’clock at night; as a result of these allegations Helen’s husband was refusing to live with her. Outcome: plaintiff won against James Greenhalgh but Edward Scholes is not mentioned in the judgement.

Year

1533

Type of Cause:

Cause Papers:

Libel; Sentence

People

Buckley, Francis; witness
Greenhalgh, Henry; witness
Greenhalgh, James; defendant
Greenhalgh, Robert; witness
Haughton, John; witness
Hilton, Peter; witness
Legh, Richard; witness to the sentence
Orton, William; witness to the sentence
Redishe, Thomas; witness
Robinson, James; named in libel
Scholes, Edward; defendant
Sorocold, Gilbert; husband of plaintiff
Sorocold, Helen; plaintiff
White, Robert; witness to the sentence

Officials

Downham, William; bishop
Gillam, Hugh; witness to the sentence
Leche, Robert; commissary general

Subjects

Defamation (effect of)
Defamatory words
Illness
Jerkins
Neighbours
Tailors
Women as litigants

Proctors

Man, William; for plaintiff
Parkinson, Robert; for defendant
Prichard, John; for defendant

Places

Eccles
Manchester
Salford

Related Causes

See also EDC 5/1569/21 for two letters relating to this cause.

Depositions in this cause survive at EDC 2/8 ff. 183v-184v; 191-192v. (See Notes below for transcript.)

Notes

Link to transcript of folios from EDC 2/8 – a Word file