King Henry VIII | Royal letters patent, granting the manor of Wattisfield to Ambrose Jermyn, 1544, with seal

King Henry VIII.

Letters patent, in Latin, granting Ambrose Jermyn the Manor of Wattlesfeld (Wattisfield) in Suffolk and three woods (Croft Wood, Lowndeswood, and Bryans Wood) for the sum of £247 10s 10d., with an initial portrait in ink of the king enthroned with orb and sceptre, upper margin decorated with heraldic royal symbols, the first line with strapwork majuscules, one vellum membrane (465mm x 740mm), 5 July 1544, endorsed on the verso, with a fine impression of the Third Great Seal of Henry VIII in brown wax pendant on plaited green and white silk cords, framed and glazed (frame size 795 x 910mm), staining at margins, document affixed to wooden backing with two tacks, seal chipped and with wear to extremities but a fine impression

The manor of Wattisfield had belonged to the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds until the Dissolution of the Monasteries. This document marks its acquisition by Sir Ambrose Jermyn (1511-77), a major Suffolk landowner. The 1530s and 40s saw one of the largest redistributions of land in English history, as vast estates were seized from the church by the crown, and mostly then sold on to favoured courtiers. The opportunities for enrichment were so great that even those who remained loyal to the Roman Catholic church, such as Jermyn, nonetheless took part in the plunder of monastic lands.

The document retains its original wax seal. This seal was designed by Morgan Wolff and in use from 1542 until the King’s death. It was the first to incorporate his title as Supreme Head of the Church of England.