blazon or coat of arms of the City of London 
AN ACT OF Common Council, Concerning ORPHANS.  
Printed by James Flesher, Printer to the Honourable City of LONDON, 1663.   

Commune Concilium tentum in Guildhald ' civitatis London, decimo tertio die Octobris, anno regni Edwardi sexti Dei gratia Angliae, Franciae, & Hiberniae Regis, fidei defensor', & in terra Ecclesiae Anglicanae & Hiberniae supremi capit' quinto, coram Andrea Judde mil' Major' civit' praedict', Recordator', Laxton, Bowes, Hill, Jervis, White, Turk, Hind, Lion, Kirton, Offley, Aylyffe, Wyther, Huett, Robins, & Lambard Vic' ac majore parte Commoniar' etc. sic ordinat' fuit etc.  
FOr as much as the City of London is of late years sore decayed, and daily is like to decay more and more, a great cause and occasion whereof, among other, hath been, for that freemens children, Orphans of the said City, sometimes in the lives of their parents, and sometimes after their deceases, being left wealthy and rich, do bestow themselves in ungodly marriages for the most part in their young age, at their own wills and pleasures, without the consent, and against the minds of their friends, saying & affirming, that the Law and custom of the said City giveth unto them their portions, whether they marry by the assent of their friends or not, and so do daily cast away and undo themselves, in trust to have their said portions whether their parents or friends will or not, and thereby do bestow themselves upon simple and light persons, having neither cunning, knowledge, substance, ne good or honest conditions: by reason whereof such Orphans inordinately and insolently do spend and consume their patrimony and portions in short time, not only to the undoing of themselves, and to the great ignominy and shame of their friends, but also to the great slander of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of this City, who being reputed and taken as fathers and protectors of the same Orphans, and to the great loss and hindrance of the said City.  
And for as much as the said Lord Maior & Citizens have by their laws and customs, power and authority to make laws and ordinances by their Common Council for redress of the same: It is therefore now, to the intent to reduce the same to a more godly, more profitable & decent order and conformity, by the said Lord Maior & Commonalty & Citizens in this present Common Council assembled, & by the authority of the same Common Council ordained, enacted, authorised, and established for a Law perpetually to be observed and kept within the said City, That if any Orphan or child of any freeman or freewoman of the said City, do offend in any the things hereafter expressed, and be thereof lawfully convicted afore the Lord Mayor and the Aldermen, or elsewhere, that then they and every of them, shall to all intents, purposes, constructions and meanings, be unabled and barred to demand and claim their portion or portions, and also shall lose and forgo, and be barred for ever of all and every his, her or their part or parts and portions, to him or them belonging, by and after the death of his said father or mother, of the goods and chattels of every such father and mother, by reason of any law, custom, ordinance, usage, franchise, privilege, act of Common Council, or other things heretofore had or used within the said City, the same Law, custom, ordinance, or other thing whatsoever heretofore had, made, ordained, allowed and put in ure to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding: That is to wit, First, If any man child or woman child shall maliciously go about or attempt to do or cause to be done any bodily harm, death or destruction to his or their father or mother, or if any man child do hereafter marry or contract marriage in the life of his father or mother by whom he will claim any portion, under the age of one & twenty years, without the consent of his said father or mother by whom he will claim any portion, or if any woman child do hereafter marry or contract marriage in the life of her father or other parents by whom she shall claim any portion, before the age of eighteen years, without the consent of her father or such other parent by whom she shall or may claim any portion, or if any man child be a thief, or a fellow, or common whorehaunter, or common dicer or common player at unlawful games notoriously known, or if any woman child shall hereafter commit any whoredom or be a common picker, that then every of the persons so offending shall be barred & excluded to have or demand any portion: Provided always that it shall be lawful for the father or mother of any such child or children to give and bequeath in legacy to such child or children as much as the portion of such child so offending shall amount unto by the custom of the said City, and then such child thereby to be enabled to have and demand the same as portion, this act notwithstanding; so that the same legacy be contained in his or their testament in writing and not otherwise: and that then and from thenceforth his said child or children to be admitted and restored to claim such legacy or legacies in such sort, manner & form, as if there had been never such offence done or committed by any such child.  
Item, it is further ordained, enacted, authorised and established by authority aforesaid, that if any woman child being an Orphan & under the age of xxi. years, at any time hereafter after the death of her father do censure or contract herself in marriage, or else according to the Ecclesiastical laws of this Realm do perfectly solemnize or consummate marriage with any freeman of this City, the consent & agreement of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the said City of London for the time being, not obtained & had, that then for every such default & offence committed or done by any Orphan or Orphans of the said city, the same being confessed or sufficiently proved by two witnesses or otherwise, before the Lord Maior & Aldermen of this said City of London for the time being at & in a Court of Aldermen, she or they that so happen to behave her or themselves as is aforesaid, shall forfeit and forgo and lose xii. d. of and for every pound so due or to be due unto her or them by reason of any such Orphanage: The sum of xii. d. of every pound to go or be to the use of the Chamber of the said City, according to the ancient custom before this time in such case used. And if the said contract or marriage of the said Orphan or orphans be made with any foreign, not being free of this City at the time of any such contract or marriage made, that then the said Orphan or Orphans & every of them shall forfeit & lose three shillings of every pound due or to be due unto her or them by virtue of any Orphanage or custom, had or used within the said City, the one shilling of the said three shillings of every pound to go or be to the use of the Chamber of the said City, in such manner and form as is aforesaid, and the other two shillings so forfeited of every pound to go to the use of such other Orphan or Orphans as then shall remain unmarried, or else for default of such Orphans or Orphans to remain to the next of the kindred of the Orphan so offending.  
Also be it further enacted, ordained and established by authority aforesaid, for and in eschewing of divers variances, contentions & suits that daily heretofore have and hereafter may ensue, That if any freeman's child man or woman fortune to be married hereafter in the life time of his or their father by his consent, and not fully advanced of & to his or her full part or portion of his or her said fathers goods as he shall be worth at the time his decease, according to the ancient laws & customs of this said City, that then every such freeman's child so being married in the life time of his or her father shall be to all intents & purposes disabled to demand any further part or portion of his or her father's goods after the decease of his or their father, but shall be adjudged, reputed and taken to be fully advanced, according as the law & custom of this City hath been long time out of mind, except his or her said father do mention certainly in his last will or testament, or by other writing signed with his own proper name or mark, the certainty of the sum or sums of money, goods and chattels, and the value of them, that the father gave or departed withal or otherwise assured, or hereafter shall give, pay or departed withal, or otherwise make assurance of unto him or her, before, at, or after the marriage of him or her, or otherwise in his life time for & towards their advancements in the name of his or her part or portion. And then every such Orphan or child which after the decease of his or her said father can bring forth the said testament or other writing signed or marked with their father's hand or mark, wherein the certainty of such money, goods or chattals as they have or shall have received of their said father or by the same father assured by especialty, or otherwise, shall have as much of the ready money, goods, chattals and debts of the said father as (with that which he or they shall have received towards their advancements in the life of their said father) shall make up a full child's part of his goods and chattels as he shall be worth at the time of his decease, the same to be demanded, asked and claimed, or sued for against the Executor or Executors, Administrator or Administrators of the goods and chattels of the said father by Bill original, to be commenced in our Sovereign Lord the King's Court holden in the utter Chamber of the Guildhall of the said City, before the the said Lord Maior and Aldermen of the same City for the time being: any law or custom heretofore made or used to the contrary notwithstanding: in which action no wager of law shall be admitted or allowed.  
Provided always, and it is further enacted, that if any freeman's son being of full age, which shall hereafter be married with the consent of his father or any other person, being of full age, which shall hereafter marry any freeman's daughter, do at the time of the espousals, or any time after, confess themselves by writing fully satisfied of his or their portion, or do otherwise acquit and discharge the father of such freeman's sons or daughters of all their part and portion, due, or to be due by the law and custom of this City: that then every such person so confessing, acquitting, or otherwise discharging, shall be reputed & taken as fully advanced of his or their full part and portion, and shall not be enabled to demand any further or greater part of the substance, goods and chattels, of his or her father: this law, or any other law or custom, heretofore had, made, or used to the contrary notwithstanding.  
And further, for as much as it is thought very prejudicial and hurtful to the fatherless children and Orphans, when the mother or mother in law, being Executrix of the last will and testament of her late husband, by whom, & after whose death, the Orphans are entitled to an Orphanage, according to the laudable customs of this City, do divers times marry, or contract matrimony, some with foreigners and persons unknown, and some with freemen, or ever a just inventory of the goods, chattels, plate, jewels, ready money of the testators, be by them brought in, by reason whereof many times they either for fear or affection of their husbands, or for some other sinister cause, do bring in very suspicious inventories, omitting therein, either ready money, plate, jewels, or debts, or some other thing or things, whereby some benefit should redound to the fatherless children, to the great loss & hindrance of the Orphans, & sometimes slander to the Lord Maior & Aldermen of this City, notwithstanding their great care and travail that they take for the good ordering and true answering of the said Orphans: It is therefore by like authority ordained, established and enacted, that if after the first day of November next ensuing, any widow, which is or shall be made Executrix of the testament and last will of her late husband being freeman, or shall take upon her the Administration of the goods and chattels of her late husbeing a freeman, do not upon her oath bring and exhibit, or cause to be brought in & exhibited, before the said Lord Mayor and Aldermen of this said City for the time being, at and in a Court of Aldermen, a just and perfect inventory to their knowledge of all the goods, chattels, plate and jewels, ready money and debts as were her said husbands at the time of his death appraised according to the Law of the said City, before she do ensure herself in marriage or contract marriage, or else according to the Laws of the Realm do perfectly solemnize or consummate marriage with any person, before such time as aforesaid: That then every person so offending, shall forfeit and lose eight shillings of every pound of her portion of the goods of her late husband, due to her by the laudable Custom of this said City, the same to go to the use of such Orphan or Orphans as then shall be entitled to have or demand any Orphanage or Portion after the death of his or her late Father, the same to be demanded, asked, claimed, or sued for, against such Executrix or Administratrix by Bill original or Debt to be commenced in our Sovereign Lord the King's Court, holden in the utter Chamber of the Guildhall of the said City, before the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the same City for the time being, any Law, etc.  
In which Action no Wager, etc.  
FINIS.