assigned
to the said William a certain chamber being in that inn, fitting
for his rank, with a door and a lock affixed to the same door with
sufficient nails, so that he should lie there and put and keep his
things there, and delivered to the said William the key to the
door of the said chamber, which chamber the said William
accepted...

William says that ... when the said John had delivered to him the
said chamber and key as above, the same William, being occupied
about divers businesses to be done in the city of London, went out
from the said inn into the city to expedite the said businesses
and handed over the key of the door to a certain servant of the
said William to take care of in meantime, ordering the servant to
remain in the inn meanwhile and to take care of his horses there;
and afterwards, when night was falling, the same William being in
the city and the key still in the keeping of the said servant, the
wife of the said John called unto her into her hall the said
servant who had the key, giving him food and drink with a merry
countenance and asking him divers questions and occupying him thus
for a long time, until the staple of the lock of the door
aforesaid was thrust on one side out of its right place and the
door of the chamber was thereby opened and his goods, being in the
inn of the said John, were taken and carried off by the said
malefactors ... The said John says ...[that his wife did not call
the servant into the hall, but that] when the said servant came
into the said hall and asked his wife for bread and ale and other
necessaries to be brought to the said chamber of his master, his
wife immediately and without delay delivered to the same servant
the things for which he asked ... protesting that no goods of the
same William in the said inn were carried away by the said John
his servant or any strange malefactors other than the persons of
the household of the said William."

On the Coram Rege Roll of 1395 is a case on the issue of whether a
court crier can be seized by officers of a staple:

"Edmund Hikelyng, 'crier', sues William Baddele and wife Maud,
John Olney, and William Knyghtbrugge for assault and imprisonment
at Westminster, attacking him with a stick and imprisoning him for
one hour on Wednesday before St. Martin, 19 Richard II.

Baddele says Mark Faire of Winchester was prosecuting a bill of
debt for 18s. against Edmund and John More before William
Brampton, mayor of the staple o