A tough one. I'll have to look at it more, but I think the bit about King William says "for his late Ma[jes]tie King Williams ship..." or maybe ships. I can't make out exactly how Majestie is abbreviated but have seen 'Ma' with superscript 'tie' often enough. And I'm not sure there's an 's' at the end of William, or at the end of Majestie for that matter. You've done well to read as much as you have. Judith Werner Salt Lake City, Utah, USA Administrator, OLD-ENGLISH-L http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~oel/ I'm trying to read a very poorly written Chancery deposition from 1702. I have posted it here: http://boards.ancestry.co.uk/mbexec/message/5538/surnames.freeman/3547 I've been able to work out most of it, but there are a few words I'm unsure about or can't decipher. The dispute concerns the rent for a brewery in Aldgate leased to Henry Johnson and Samuel How (the defendants in this case). They agreed a rent with the owner Elizabeth Ratcliffe in 1700, but after her death the new owner (Seth Ratcliffe) wanted to raise the rent to £160pa. Unfortunately for Johnson and How, the lease was incorrectly drafted. The deponent, Thomas Freeman, is describing the poor state of the beer trade at the brewhouse when Johnson and How took over. I'd be particularly grateful for help on the material referring to the King William ship, as this suggests there may have been a navy contract.