New Ross (Rosse) may have been given a grant of murage dated 21/11/1380.
This was in the form of:-
Wording
21 Nov. 1380
To the provost of the town of New Ross.
The sovereign and community of the town of New Ross have shown that that town is situated in the marches near the Irish enemies and rebels, and a great part of the walls and towers have fallen to the ground and the country for four miles on all sides is wasted and destroyed by the Irish, so that no one dares to go to the town unless with a great force or by water. And Edward III, on representations made to him in Eng. on behalf of the mayor and community of Waterford, had prohibited any ship entering the port of New Ross from proceeding to that town, and ordered that they should go to Waterford with their cargoes, so that for many years no one dared to go to the town with their ships and merchandise until it was adjudged in court, at the great expenses of the sovereign and community, that all ships entering the port might go either to New Ross or to Waterford, at the will of the masters, mariners or owners. And as they were so impoverished that they could not support their estate or repair the town without the K.'s aid , the K. granted them 100s out of the fee-farm of the town, then in his hands because of the absence of Margaret Marshal, lady of the town, on the Nativity of St John the Baptist last , contrary to the ordinances passed at Westminster by which two thirds of the lands of absentees were to be forfeit. ORDER to pay this sum to the sovereign and community.
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Rex praeposito ville de Rosse, ad petic' superioris et comium ejusd', monst'ntem eam prope prostratam esse per inimic', mand' quod eis 100s lib'. 21 Nov.-Et mandur thes' et bar' scaccarii quod dicto praepositio de praedictis 100s alloc' in compoto habere fa'. T. ut s'
Granted by Richard II. (Regnal year 4).
Primary Sources
A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters, c. 1244-1509, CR 4 Ric. II
View CIRCLE recordTresham, Edward (ed), 1828,
Rotulorum patentium et clausorum cancellariae Hiberniae calendarium (Dublin; His Majesty's printers) p. 109 No. 89
Secondary Sources
Thomas, A., 1992, The Walled Towns of Ireland Vol. 2 (Irish Academic Press) p. 175-79
Hore, H.F., 1900 in Hore, P.H. (ed), The history of the town and county of Wexford Vol. 1 p. 210
Comments
in 1381 the fee-farm because 'the greater part of the walls and towers were prostrated' (Hore I 210); (Thomas)
Record created by Philip Davis. This record created 06/04/2009. Last updated on 04/06/2012. First published online 5/01/2013.
