Gift for the defence of the Palatinate, 1622

National Archives, E179/79/270a

When James I's daughter Elizabeth and her husband were thrown out of their Rhineland kingdom by the Spanish, it was regarded as a Protestant mission to restore them, despite James' reluctance to go to war. Parliament was not sitting but a collection was organised in January 1622, initially asking for contributions from the very rich, but later being organised on a county-by-county basis, taking contributions between 4s and £5 from gentry, yeomen, etc. £105,489 was raised in 1622 and £10,942 in 1623, but military efforts didn't get very far.

Winslow had no resident gentry to make contributions like the £4 given by Thomas Stafford of Whaddon, and in total provided less than the £3 18s from Great Horwood. It's notable that Peter Fige and Rev. Robert Maynwaring, usually the most prominent inhabitants, are missing from the list. The Cottesloe hundreds raised £102 11s 6d in total. To give an idea of the value of individual contributions, the 8s which Richard Shelton gave was the value of his milk churn and vessels in his 1625 inventory, or slightly less than the 10s his poultry was worth.

A Schedule of the names of soche Men of Abilitye within the three Hunderdes of Cotteslowe in the Countie of Buckingham as have contributed to his Ma(jes)tie towards his charge in Recoverie of the Pallattynate accordinge to L(ett)res from the right honorable the Lordes of his Ma(jes)t(ie)s Pryvye Cowncell directed to us and others Commissioners in the saide Countye together w(i)the the p(ar)ticuler som(m)es Collected and sent up by us to his Receiv[er]e of the Exchecquor the 16th daie of August Anno D(omi)ni 1622.

Winslow cum Shipton
Willm Spooner	8s
Richard Shelton	8s
Robert Benbowe	5s
George Elliott	7s
Thomas Hogson	4s
Willm Glenister	4s
Walter Grante	4s
Willm Edmondes	10s
Henry Wendover	8s
Thomas Grante	8s
Total	£3 6s