The sun set on the 15th century with Henry VII bringing together the houses of York and Lancaster thus ending the bloodshed of the War of the Roses. Henry VIII succeeded to guide England into the 16th century and what was to become a time of substantial religious and political change. The political landscape of Europe was complex and national borders continued to be extremely fluid. Normandy had become part of England during the hundred years war but was lost along with Brittany as the French drove the English out of mainland Europe. As this story starts, France is no longer at war having solidified it's political position in Europe and is now turning it's attention to the rest of the world as an easier way to gain territories and the riches they brought. England too was no longer warring with it's nearest neighbours and began to feel the fledgling advantages of it's own exploration into territories in the New World and India, though it would be a further hundred years before the true beginnings of the British Empire would start to show on the world map. The English legal system had been put in place by Henry I during the twelfth century though Henry II made the majority of changes that subsequently affected this story. Law was managed from London through the use of Justices of the Peace and local Sheriffs (shire reeve) and the jury system was put in place. The pages of English history are inked with the blood of the peasants who worked day to day for the gentry and landowners. This is a time after the crusades when the aristocracy were enjoying a period of peace. Some took well to this and worked toward a prosperous future for the country, while others could not move on from the hostility and brutality of earlier times. Families intimately knew their own history and land had changed hands many times over the previous 500 years for myriad reasons, some as simple as theft and others as gifts for allegiances in various conflicts. The South-west of England had been settled in Palaeolithic times and enjoyed a rich heritage of farming and political stability with occasional pockets of insurrection and turmoil during the inevitable battles and wars of a country developing and metamorphosing. The narrative of The Silken Noose has been extensively researched and compiled by Richard Wilmott and Chris Boothman with legal interpretation by Arnold Roscoe. It concerns primarily the murder of William & John Hartgill, father & son, of Kilmington, Somerset, by Charles 8th Baron Lord Stourton, of Stourton in the county of Wiltshire, in the year 1556. The complete saga has been re-composed and includes a compilation of the original taken from details found in Strype's "Memorials of Queen Mary's reign"; Sir R.C. Hoare's "Modern Wiltshire"; Phelp's "History of Somerset"; Baileys' "History of The Tower of London". The original letters written by Lord Stourton, William Hartgill, neighbours and partisans have been found among the Marquis of Bath's family documents at Longleat. These and other documents submitted, contain many references into the conduct of the various parties, prior to the culmination in 1556 and help structure the background leading to the tragic conclusion. Lord Stourton was arrested and detained in the Tower of London. Having been convicted despite still believing his faith would save him, he was carried, over several days by horseback with arms pinioned behind his back and legs tied under the horse, to Salisbury. He was hanged in the market place on the 6th of March 1556. His execution is the first instance where any record appears of the privilege claimed by Peers of being hanged with a rope of silk. A slender cord will take the weight of a man's body and strangulation is quicker. The others involved were hanged near to the scene of the crime and then suspended in a light frame and chained to a lofty gibbet, on view for as long as possible.