[3] The Stonors did not participate in the Wars of the Roses;[4] but Sir William Stoner was nevertheless attainted in 1483, and his papers seized by the crown, as well as his lands.
Though the latter were restored, the papers remained in crown ownership - hence their subsequent survival.
[5] Although the letters do not discuss political issues, Charles Lethbridge Kingsford has said that they "do not fall short" for content about English society and social life during the period.
Subjects discussed in the letters include local office, estate management, legal business, social and domestic life, marriage and the wool trade.
[10] There are scholars who use alternative sources such as Alison Truelove's Fifteenth-century English Stonor letters.