Memorandum that Edinburgh was won on 8th day of May in the 36th year of the reign of Henry VIII and year of God 1543 and this book was acquired and brought away by me Wm. Norris of Speke, Knight, on 11th day of May aforesaid and is now the property of me, the foresaid Sir Wm., given and left by me to remain in Speke as an heirloom. In witness whereof I have written this with my own hand and subscribed my name. Per me Wm. Norris, Milit.

This is a modern translation of an inscription which appears in most of fourteen volumes of legal works acquired at the sack of Edinburgh in 1544 by Sir William Norris. The year in Sir William's memorandum is incorrect. Possibly he was thinking of the regnal year, which was 1543.

Speke Hall in Lancashire, now a National Trust property within the City of Liverpool, was the Norris family seat. The Norris family gave faithful military service to the crown. They were probably in frequent demand during the troubled relations between England and Scotland in the first half of the sixteenth century. Sir William's grandfather, also William,