The County Record Office (2)
This is a small detail of a huge parchment in which Sir Thomas Alston
is created a Baronet. It is dated 13 June 1642, and the portrait is that
of Charles I.**
And here is an even earlier document, granting Bedford its charter. The
legend (in Latin) reads "Charter, Henry II to burgesses of Bedefort,
grant of all liberties and free customs which they had in the time of
Henry I." This document, which is the earliest in the collection,
goes back to 1166.
** For those who have read thus far, I have a fact that may interest you. It is an established fact that Charles I was approximately one foot shorter at the end of his reign than he was at the beginning of it. Press here for further details.