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 POLITICAL HISTORY servative county. In fact the county justices aroused some indignation among the Hereford citizens by endeavouring in their zeal to muster the county horse in the city.'"^ The inhabitants of Leominster, who especially distin- guished themselves by their fideUty to Mary Tudor, were rewarded by the grant of a municipal charter,'"^ while the Privy Council wrote a letter of thanks to the mayor of Hereford, on 28 August, 1553, ordering him to raise no further levies.^"' While the thanks and rewards bestowed on Hereford and Leominster probably indicate that there had been apprehensions of a movement in favour of Jane, and perhaps even some actual disturbance, it is impossible to accept the assertion that Jane's adherents were defeated in a great battle at Cursneh Hill, near Leominster.^"^ The leader of Lady Jane's party was Sir James Croft, who after serving at the siege of Boulogne in 1544 was lord deputy of Ireland in 1551 and 1552. Early in 1553 he was appointed deputy con- stable of the Tower of London, but on Mary's accession he was removed on account of his support of Lady Jane, though he received a pardon for his ofFences.^^" On 25 January, 1553-4, he left London with the intention of raising forces in the west to co-operate with Sir Thomas Wyatt."^ He was promptly apprehended by Richard Mytton, sheriff of Shropshire, and on 21 February committed to the Tower."^ On 28 April he was convicted of high treason,'^^ but Mary spared his life, and afterwards employed him in her service. After Elizabeth's accession he was restored in blood ^^* on 2 March, 1558-9, and during her reign he had a long and distinguished career of political service as comptroller of the household.^" During the reign of Elizabeth reinforcements for Ireland were frequently drawn from Herefordshire and the other western counties. On 16 July, 1580, the Privy Council informed the lord deputy of Ireland, Lord Grey, that two hundred men were to be levied from Herefordshire for service in Ireland. "° Only one hundred, however, were actually raised.''" At that time the muster for the whole county, exclusive of the city, amounted to 6,102 men.'^^ In the following year the council ordered twenty-five men from the county to be shipped for Ireland from Bristol.'" In 1585 fifty men were supplied,^^" and in 1589 one hundred. '^^ In 1590 two hundred were called in anticipation of the Spanish landing in Ireland. ^^^ In that year, according to the musters, there were 3,000 able men in the shire, but of these only 1,500 were trained and furnished with arms. The deputy lieutenants reported that very little armour or warlike furniture was to be found among the yeomen and farmers.'^' These figures are very different from those of 1580. Further levies for Ireland were made in 1594, 1596, 1597, 1598, 1599, and 1600.'^* In 1597, on the alarm ™ Richard Johnson, Ancient Customs ofHeref. (1882), 155. '" G. F. Townsend, Town and Borough of Leominster (1863), 65-70 ; John Price, Hist, and Topogr. Account of Leominster (1795), 37-4'- '™ ^^ts of P. C. (ed. Dasent), iv, 334-5. ^™ On this story see G. F. Townsend, Toivn and Borough of Leominster, 66-8. ™ Chron. of Queen Jane (Camden Soc), 13. ^" Ibid. 36, 40. ''^ Ibid. 63 ; Acts of P.C. iv, 396. '■' Chron. of Queen Jane, jc,-6. ^14 q^^_ Journ. 2 March, 1558-9. "' 'Memoirs of Sir James Croft,' by Sir N. H. Nicolas, in the Retrospective Review (Ser. z), i, 474-98. "^ Acts of P.C. xii, 106. ™ Ibid, xii, 205, 210, 217, 219, 227-8. '" S.P. Dom. Eliz. cxliii, 29, I. 319 j^^^ of P.C. xii, 561. ^^» S.P. Dom. Eliz. clxxvi, 43. '2> Acts of P.C. xviii, 142-3. =''' Ibid, xviii, 295-8, 329-30, 350, 419-20, 440 ; xix, 28, 32. '=' S.P. Dom. Eliz. ccxxxi, 90. =" Ibid, ccxlviii, 87 ; Acts of P.C. xxvi, 159 ; xxvii, 27 ; xxviii, 584-6, 607-9 ; ^xix, 81, 83, 94-6, 98, 492, 540-3, 573-7 ; XXX, 412-6. 379