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 authenticity of the letters. In 1865 their genuineness was impugned by Herman Merivale in the Fortnightly Review; but it was vindicated on grounds of internal evidence by James Gairdner in the same periodical; and within a year Gairdner’s contention was established by the discovery of the originals of Fenn’s fifth volume, together with other letters and papers, by Serjeant Frere’s son, Philip Frere, in his house at Dungate, Cambridgeshire. Ten years later the originals of Fenn’s third and fourth volumes, with ninety-five unpublished letters, were found at Roydon Hall, Norfolk, the seat of George Frere, the head of the Frere family; and finally in 1889 the originals of the two remaining volumes were discovered at Orwell Park, Ipswich, the residence of Captain E. G. Pretyman. This latter batch of papers are the letters which were presented to George III., and which possibly reached Orwell through Sir George Pretyman Tomline (1750–1827), the tutor and friend of William Pitt.

The papers which had been in the hands of Sir John Fenn did not, however, comprise the whole of the Paston letters which were extant. When the 2nd earl of Yarmouth died in 1732 other letters and documents relating to the Pastons were found at his seat, Oxnead Hall, and some of these came into the hands of the Rev. Francis Blomefield, who failed to carry out a plan to unite his collection with that of Martin. This section of the letters was scattered in various directions, part being acquired by the antiquary John Ives. The bulk of the Paston letters and documents are now in the British Museum; but others are at Orwell Park; in the Bodleian Library, Oxford; at Magdalen College, Oxford; and a few at Pembroke College, Cambridge.

Fenn’s edition of the Paston Letters held the field until 1872, when James Gairdner published the first volume of a new edition. Taking Fenn’s work as a basis, the aim of the new editor was to include all the letters which had come to light since this publication, and in his careful and accurate work in three volumes (London, 1872–1875) he printed over four hundred letters for the first time. Gairdner’s edition, with notes and index, also contained a valuable introduction to each volume, including a survey of the reign of Henry VI.; and he was just completing his task when the discovery of 1875 was made at Roydon. An appendix gave particulars of this discovery, and the unpublished letters were printed as a supplement to subsequent editions. In 1904 a new and complete edition of the Paston Letters was edited by Gairdner, and these six volumes, containing 1088 letters and papers, possess a very valuable introduction, which is the chief authority on the subject.

The family of Paston takes its name from a Norfolk village about twenty miles north of Norwich, and the first member of the family about whom anything is known was living in this village early in the 15th century. This was one Clement Paston (d. 1419), a peasant, holding and cultivating about one hundred acres of land, who gave an excellent education to his son William, and enabled him to study law. Making good use of his opportunities, William Paston (1378–1444), who is described as “a right cunning man in the law,” attained an influential position in his profession, and in 1429 became a justice of the common pleas. He bought a good deal of land in Norfolk, including some in Paston, and improved his position by his marriage with Agnes (d. 1479), daughter and heiress of Sir Edmund Berry of Harlingbury, Hertfordshire. Consequently when he died he left a large and valuable inheritance to John Paston (1421–1466), the eldest of his five sons, who was already married to Margaret (d. 1484), daughter of John Mauteby of Mauteby. At this time England was in a very distracted condition. A weak king surrounded by turbulent nobles was incapable of discharging the duties of government, and only the strong man armed could hope to keep his goods in peace. A lawyer like his father, Paston spent much time in London, leaving his wife to look after his business in Norfolk; and many of the Letters were written by Margaret to her husband, detailing the progress of affairs in the county. It is during the lifetimes of John Paston and his eldest son that the Letters are most numerous and valuable, not only for family matters, but also for the history of England. In 1448 Paston’s manor of Gresham was seized by Robert Hungerford, Lord Moleyns (1431–1464), and although it was afterwards recovered, the owner could obtain no redress for the loss and injury he had sustained. More serious troubles, however, were at hand. Paston had become very intimate with the wealthy knight. Sir John Fastolf, who was probably related to his wife, and who had employed him on several matters of business. In 1459 Sir John died without children, leaving his affairs in rather a tangled condition. In accordance with the custom of the time, he had conveyed many of his estates in Norfolk and Suffolk to trustees, among whom were John Paston and his brother William, retaining the revenues for himself, and probably intending his trustees after his death to devote the property to the foundation of a college. However, it was found that a few days before his decease Fastolf had executed a fresh will in which he had named ten executors, of whom two only, John Paston and another, were to act; and, moreover, that he had bequeathed all his lands in Norfolk and Suffolk to Paston, subject only to the duty of founding the college at Caister, and paying 4000 marks to the other executors. At once taking possession of the lands, Paston soon found his rights challenged. Various estates were claimed by different noblemen; the excluded executors were angry and aggressive; and Paston soon found himself in a whirlwind of litigation, and exposed also to more violent methods of attack. Something like a regular warfare was waged around Drayton and Hellesdon between John de la Pole, duke of Suffolk, and the Pastons under Margaret and her eldest son, John; Caister Castle was seized by John Mowbray, 3rd duke of Norfolk (d. 1461); and similar occurrences took place elsewhere. Some compensation, doubtless, was found in the fact that in 1460, and again in 1461, Paston had been returned to parliament as a knight of the shire for Norfolk, and enjoying the favour of Edward IV. had regained his castle at Caister. But the royal favour was only temporary, and, having been imprisoned on three occasions, Paston died in May 1466, leaving the suit concerning Fastolf’s will still proceeding in the church courts. John Paston left at least five sons, the two eldest of whom were, curiously enough, both named John, and the eldest of whom had been knighted during his father’s lifetime. Sir John Paston (1442–1479) was frequently at the court of King Edward IV., but afterwards he favoured the Lancastrian party, and, with his brother John, fought for Henry VI. at the battle of Barnet. Meanwhile the struggle over Fastolf’s estates continued, although in 1461 the king and council had decided that Paston’s ancestors were not bondmen, and consequently that his title to his father’s lands was good. Caister Castle was taken after a regular siege by John Mowbray, 4th duke of Norfolk (1444–1476), and then recovered by the Pastons, and retaken by the duke. But in 1474 an arrangement was made with William Waynflete, bishop of Winchester, the representative of the excluded executors, by which some of the estates were surrendered to the bishop for charitable purposes, while Paston was secured in the possession of others. Two years later the opportune death of the duke of Norfolk paved the way for the restoration of Caister Castle; but in 1478 a fresh quarrel broke out with the duke of Suffolk. Sir John, who was a cultured man, had shown great anxiety to recover Caister; but in general he had left the conduct of the struggle to his mother and to the younger John. Owing to his carelessness and extravagance the family lands were also diminished by sales; but nevertheless when he died unmarried in November 1479 he left a goodly inheritance to his brother John. About this time the Letters begin to be scanty and less interesting, but the family continued to flourish. The younger John Paston (d. 1503), after quarrelling with his uncle William over the manors of Oxnead and Marlingford, was knighted at the battle of Stoke in 1487. He married Margery, daughter of Sir Thomas Brews, and left a son, William Paston (c. 1479–1554), who was also knighted, and who was a prominent figure at the court of Henry VIII. Sir William’s second son, Clement (c. 1515–1507), served his country with distinction on the sea, and was wounded at the battle of Pinkie. The family was continued by Sir William’s eldest son, Erasmus (d. 1540), whose son William succeeded to his grandfather’s