The petition of Anthony Whatly of Semley, Wiltshire, Easter 1649
To ye right wor[shipfu]ll the Judge of ye Sessions and ye rest of ye Justices of Peace ye Petition of Anthony Whatly
Humbly
Sheweth yt whereas he hath bin in ye service of the States for four yeares space, in w[hi]ch service he hath bin many times wounded, & was taken & imprisoned when Warder Castle was taken by ye Lo[r]d Arundell & since having rented a house in ye parish of Semly; lived honestly & paid my his rent truly but now through ye envy of some turned out of doores & my selfe, wife, and child to ly in ye common harbourles. My humble desire is that you would be pleased to take my poor & distressed condic[i]on into yo[u]r wise considerac[i]on & yt yo[u]r wor[shi]ps would assigne me some place for an habitac[i]on, either in Semly where I have lived these two yeares or in some other place where your Wor[shi]ps shall think fitt as in ye p[ar]ish of Tisbury where my wife was borne and had an interest in a poor Cottage sett up on ye wast ground & burnt by ye Cavaliers or in Hedington ye place wher I was borne. That soe my self my wife & child may not be forced to ly under hedges or to wander ye Country for want of a resting place.
And yo[u]r Peti[ti]oner will humbly pray for yo[u]r wor[shi]ps welfare & happines
The p[ar]ish to suffer him to haue an habitac[i]on & to find him worke & the lo[rd] of the Mannor to be desired for a licence for a Cottage at the instance of the Court.