The Francklin MSS., which are deposited in the Bedford County Record Office at the Shire Hall, Bedford, include a large number of documents relating to the navigation of the Great Ouse between St. Ives and Bedford in the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The selection of them which is printed here comprises all those of importance for the seventeenth century. Sometime in the eighteenth century almost all of these earlier documents were transcribed in full into six quarto volumes which have survived in perfect condition and which also form part of the Francklin MSS. My own transcripts have largely been taken from these eighteenth century volumes, but they have been checked where possible by reference to the original MSS. Some of the original MSS. have disappeared since the eighteenth century transcription was made and many of those which have survived are in such a condition as to be indecipherable. In view of this and of the fact that the eighteenth-century transcriber made little effort to reproduce the eccentricities of seventeenth-century spelling, it seemed desirable to print these documents with modern spelling and the modern use of capitals. It should also perhaps be added that this work was carried out at a time when the full resources of the Public Record Office were not available to students.

I wish to express my thanks to E. Francklin, esq., of Gonalston Hall, Nottingham, for making this fine collection of documents available for study and for allowing this selection of them to be published. My thanks are also due to the Society for drawing my attention to this material and inviting me to work on it. Finally I must thank Dr. Guppy and the officials of the John Rylands Library for their unfailing helpfulness.