Proctors: Man, William
WILLIAM MAN
Notary public and rural dean of Warrington and Wirral
WILLIAM MAN, d. 1585
Qualifications: probably of Christ Church, Oxford, 1551; Bachelor of Arts 26 January 1555, Master of Arts 20 October 1558. Proctor at Chester from late 1561. If this is the same man, he was at Christ Church at the same time as Robert Leche, Chancellor of the diocese of Chester.
CCEd person ID 32107
Career: possibly vicar of Rickmansworth in 1559; rural dean of Warrington from about 1573; rural dean of Wirral 1582.
Further notes: It seems likely that he was the man of that name who was summoned to appear before the Ecclesiastical Commissioners on 30 April 1565 accused of fornication and was ordered to carry out the humiliating penance of appearing in St Peter’s church in Chester on a Saturday with bare feet and legs and without a hat and with a paper pinned to his shirt saying ‘Fornicator apon Easter daie at night’ and to go from the church through the Corn Market and then to stand on a ‘scaffold’ in the market place and publicly declare his offence. From there he was to go into the cathedral and offer 12d for the poor. It was often possible in offences like this arising from visitation presentments to commute such humiliating public penance for a cash payment to a charitable cause but this was not offered to Man. He refused to carry out the penance and also arranged for his co-accused, Jane Ruttor, to be illicitly released from prison. He was committed to gaol in Chester Castle but unfortunately no further record survives to show how he gained his liberty. Two of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners who imposed this penalty were William Downham, bishop of Chester, and Robert Leche. (CALS EDA 12/2 ff. 97, 98, 99v.) Man probably subsequently married Jane Ruttor as a cause from 1575/1576 was brought by Jane Man, wife of William Man, Master of Arts; she died as his widow in 1592.
The signature of William Man from CALS EDC 1/10, f. 433
Sources:
CALS EDA 12/2 ff. 97, 98, 98v.
‘Mab-Marygold’, in Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714, ed. Joseph Foster (Oxford, 1891), pp. 956-982. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/alumni-oxon/1500-1714/pp956-982
CAUSES:
| Reference | Type of cause | Role | Outcome | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EDC 5/1566/1 | Matrimonial - restitution of conjugal rights | Proctor for plaintiff | Plaintiff won | The defendant did not answer any citation or turn up in court |
| EDC 5/1566/8 | Tithes - barley and hay | Proctor for plaintiff | Plaintiff won | |
| EDC 5/1566/9 | Defamation - sexual slander | Proctor for plaintiff | Not known | |
| EDC 5/1566/10 | Defamation - sexual slander | Proctor for plaintiff | Plaintiff won | |
| EDC 5/1566/12 | Tithes - calves, cows, gardens, lambs, sheep, wool | Proctor for plaintiff | Defendant won | This was an unusual loss for a plaintiff and for William Man |
| EDC 5/1566/14 | Tithes - unknown | Proctor for plaintiff | Plaintiff won | |
| EDC 5/1566/15 | Tithes - hay | Proctor for plaintiff | Plaintiff won | |
| EDC 5/1575/3 | Tithes - grain | Proctor for defendant | Not known | |
| EDC 5/1575/15 | Tithes - hay | Proctor for plaintiff | Plaintiff won | |
| EDC 5/1580/2 | Matrimonial - separation from bed and board: adultery | Proctor for plaintiff | Plaintiff won |