Thomas Lowfield and Robert Smith - Indenture Tripartite - 1676

Indenture Tripartite between Thomas Lowfield, citizen and draper from London, Richard How of the Parish of Christ-church in the County of Surrey, and Robert Smith of Staple Inn London. Dated December 1st 1676. Manuscript in brown ink w. calligraphed title on 3 vellum membranes (2 large and 1 small: "The Schedule"), conjoined along bottom with 2 vellum tags, one with red wax seal. Signed by Thomas Lowfield and Richard How and four scribes/witnesses.

A richly detailed tripartite indenture, transferring the ruined site of the King’s Head Inn, Borough High Street, Southwark, just months after it was destroyed in the Great Southwark Fire of May 1676. The property, formerly occupied by Mary Duffield, John Maddock, and William Brent, was sold by Richard How to Thomas Lowfield, a London draper, with legal oversight by Robert Smith of Staple Inn. Accompanied by an attached schedule of prior deeds (1597–1671), the document traces a near-80-year ownership history through the Curd and Bushell families. An important survival of post-fire urban transition and legal culture in 17th-century London.

Complete with original signatures, scrivener endorsements, and execution clauses.