The Gatehouse website record of a licence to crenellate for Fairfield House granted on 1473

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In 1473, William Verney was possibly granted, by Edward IV, (In year 12 of his reign) a Royal licence to crenellate (Fairfield House)

There is insufficient evidence to be certain about this possible licence to crenellate. (Some licences may be lost from record and others may have wrongly presumed to have been granted or may be total inventions.)

Comments

William Verney (d. 1489) is said to have had licence c. 1473 to encircle his house at Fairfield with a wall and seven round towers. (Dunning)

12 Edw. IV. this William (William de Vernai IV) had a licence to build a wall and seven round towers about his mansion-house at Fairfield, and to inclose two hundred acres of ground for a park. (Collison–unreferenced)

This seems a quite detailed reference but it is not enrolled. Virtually all licences to crenellate of this date also had licence to empark but the mention of 'seven round towers' is a most unusual detail Gatehouse is not aware of in any other licence. Of licences said to be given but not enrolled this seems the most likely, because of this mention of a licence to empark although Gatehouse also can not find that.

Significant later sources are;

Emery, Anthony, 2006, Greater Medieval Houses Vol. 3 (Cambridge) p. 569, 695
Dunning, R.W. (ed), 1992, VCH Somerset Vol. 6 p. 140 Ref to S.R.O., D/P/stogs 23/19
Collinson, J., 1791, The History and Antiquities of Somersetshire Vol. 1 p. 254, 256 online copy

Verney's were a long standing local Somerset gentry. Other than in regard to this supposed licence Gatehouse can find no other significant mention of this William Verney

More information about licences to crenellate can be found here.

Please do inform Gatehouse if you see any errors, can add information or can otherwise help to improve this resource. Please contact Gatehouse.