Account of Michael of Canterbury, master mason of the building works at St Stephen's chapel, for his weekly and fortnightly expenditure on wages and building materials, from 28 April 1292 to 30 April 1295, with large gaps.

Physical description: A roll of 82 rotulets sewn together at the top; most are in good condition, but rots. 12 and 80 are stained and torn, with much loss of text, and rot. 81 has small holes and some loss of text. For each week, the roll contains a long rotulet listing the details of wage payments, written in a two-column (here designated ‘a’ and ‘b’) format, and a short rotulet listing purchases of materials, written in one column. The current stitching at the top of the roll is modern and some of the rotulets have been bound in the wrong order, which is evident from the dates and medieval rotulet numbers. The roll has been edited here with the rotulets in the correct order. Despite its length, it is clear that only about a third of the original roll of accounts survives. E 101/547/18 (no. 2), a roll of accounts now comprising five rotulets (see below), was probably once part of E 101/468/6.

Scope of transcription: Although the individual headings of the rotulets state that they are accounts for works at St Stephen's chapel, many payments relate to other works at the palace of Westminster – most notably, the painting of the king's great chamber (Painted Chamber) and gardening. Where it has been possible to determine that payments of wages or purchases of materials do not relate to St Stephen's chapel, they have been omitted. Rotulet 1 contains no payments relating to the chapel and rot. 82 is a stray account, apparently for royal building works in Northamptonshire; both have been left out.

[rot. 2]

Prima Septimana

In honore dei beate Marie virginis et beati Stephani incipit rotulus de misis et expensis factis circa fundamentum capelle Regis in suo palacio apud Westm’ per manus Magistri Michaelis de Cantuar’ cementarij viz. a die lune proximo post festum sancti Marce Ewangeliste xxviij die mensis Aprilis anno regni Regis Edwardi filij Regis Henrici xx