Kildare was given a grant of murage dated 7/10/1515.
This was in the form of:-
This is a grant which may have been used for walls but could have been used for other civic improvements.
Wording
For the Burgesses and commonalty of Kildare, Ireland.
Licence, at the instance of Gerald Fitz Gerald Earl of Kildare, to enclose and fortify their town, which is to be a free borough; to elect one superior and two provosts; to be a body corporate; to hold pleas in same manner as the mayor and sheriff of Drogheda; to hold a market at a place appointed by the said Earl; and to take certain specified customs on merchandise sold in the town, for enclosing and paving the borough, in same manner as the bailiffs of Dundalke.
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Henricus Dei gratia rex Anglie et Francie et dominus Hibernie omnibus ad quos presentes littere pervenerint salutem.
Sciatis quod nos gratia nostra speciali ac ex certa sciencia et mero motu nostris ad instanciam et speciale rogatum carissimi consanguinei nostri Geraldi fitz Gerald comitis Kildare pro suis gratis et fructuosis obsequiis nobis exhibits et ostensis, et ad maiorem salvacionem et secuitatem ville de Kildare in comitatu seu libertate de Kildare infra terram sive dominium Hibernie que iacet in frontura marchie Hibernicorum inimicorum nostrorum concessimus et licenciam dedimus ac per presentes damus et concedimus pro nobis et heredibus nostris burgensibus et communitatibus dicte ville de Kildare quod ipsi eandem villam fossa(ti)s et muris de petra et calce erigere construere edificare et firmare possint;
…
Teste meipso apud Westmonasterium septimo die Octobris anno regni nostri septimo. Yong
Per breve de privato sigillo ac de data predicta auctoritate parliamenti.
Irrotulatur in Anglia anno regis Henrici octavi septimo et in Hibernia in cancellaria in rotulo patencium anno eiusdem octavo.
Extrahitur per Thomam Waren et Willelmum Throgmerton clericos.
Granted by Henry VIII. Granted at Westminster.
Primary Sources
Brewer, J.S. (ed), 1864, 'Henry VIII: October 1515, 1-15',
Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII Vol. 2: 1515-1518 p. 262-276. No. 1000
online copyMacNiocaill, G. (ed), 1964,
The Red Book of the Earls of Kildare (Dublin) p. 178-81 No. 196
Secondary Sources
Coulson, Charles, 2009, Murage Grants (Handwritten list and notes)
Thomas, A., 1992, The Walled Towns of Ireland Vol. 2 (Irish Academic Press) p. 123-25
1835, Reports from Commissioners: Municipal Corporations in Ireland Vol. 27 p. 197
Comments
the 1515 grant refers to a fosse and a stone wall and is the only known reference (RBK 178; MCI 197). (Thomas)
An original charter of Kildare has been found in the record of the Court of Chancery. It is truly described in the book of reference in that office, as "a fragment of an old charter of the town of Kildare." It is so torn and obliterated as to be almost illegible. It is a charter of one of the Henrys; (probably the Eighth;) it is dated "7th October," and contains a schedule of tolls for murage and other public purposes. (MCI)
Record created by Philip Davis. This record created 13/02/2009. Last updated on 04/06/2012. First published online 5/01/2013.
