The Gatehouse website record of a grant of murage for Waterford granted 8/7/1430

Waterford was given a grant of murage dated 8/7/1430.

This was in the form of:-

Grant of money:- £30 p.a. for 3 years {20 years} Starting 8/7/1430 running to 7/7/1433.

Wording

Grant, by advice of the council, to the mayor and citizens of the city of Waterford in Ireland, on their petition, that for three years they shall receive 30l. a year by the hands of the treasurer of that land to be expended under the survey of a controller or surveyor to be appointed by the lieutenant of Ireland, on the repair and defence of the town. It appears that the city, which has been held of the kings of England from the time of Henry II at the fee farm of 100 marks a year, has been so wasted as well by Irish enemies and English rebels as by armed Bretons Scots and Spaniards coming by sea, that during the last three years the goods and chattels of the petitioners and their shipping have been utterly destroyed, and the ditches, walls, towers, gates and portcullises (portiforia; PrivySeal has 'portcolys') are so old and ruinous in many places as to be all but fallen to the ground (quasi ad terrain sunt prostrata). By p.s. {2255}
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15 Aug. 1430 Dublin
The mayor and citizens of the K.'s city of Waterford have pleaded to the K. that the city of Waterford, with appurtenances, both by land and by water, were and are held from time immemorial for a fee-farm by the mayor and citizens and their predecessors of the K. and his progenitors, rendering annually 100m. Those 100m were granted by the K.'s progenitors in small parts in annuities to various outsiders ,1 such that little or nothing is left to the profit and use of the K. and his progenitors, nor does any of the fee-farm remain for the repair or defence of that city. And now the said city is in such poverty, both because of the destructions, robberies and killings of the city's better citizens committed by the Irish enemies and English rebels, and also because of robberies and killings committed by sea by armed Bretons, Scots and Spaniards . As a consequence the goods and merchandise and shipping customary in that city have, within the past three years, been lost and destroyed for the greater part; and also the ditches, towers and walls and other fortifications of that city are are so ruined that in various places of that city and the suburb of the same the walls, ditches, towers and other fortifications were and are knocked down to the ground, to the manifest peril of the destruction of that city unless a remedy is swiftly ordained in this part. And also because of the said robberies and killings, many of the better citizens of that city have left the city and stay in Eng., and are leaving for there daily, as a result of which the city has become devoid of people, and for lack of inhabitants the mayor and citizens have sustained at their costs various soldiers, both horse and foot, for the good custody and defence of the city, and the said mayor and citizens are reduced to such poverty both by the payment of the fee-farm and by the continual robberies, killings and oppressions and various other unbearable burdens which they sustain daily that they have little with which to sustain themselves there and cannot henceforth keep that city without the K.'s aid. And the mayor and citizens have often complained of this before and obtained little remedy. Considering the premises, the K. wishes to provide a suitable remedy in this part. By assent of the venerable father in Christ Richard , abp Dublin, Jcr of Ire., GRANT, of the K.'s special grace, to the said mayor and citizens, and their successors, of £30 p.a. of the said fee-farm to be received for a term of 20 years next coming in support of the mayor and citiznes and in aid of the payment of the wages of various soldiers retained in the present or future by the said mayor and citizen and their successors in defence of the city and to stengthen its enclosure and the repair of the walls, towers and fortifications, and other charge and business which shall pertain in any way to the good custody and defence of the city, without rendering any account to the K. or his successors or any of his ministers during that term of 20 years, notwithstanding that the mayor and citizens made not express mention in their petition concerning those things that they had received by the gift and grant of the K. or his progenitors or predecessors before this time.
Attested: The Jcr
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Per Rotulos Memorum de anno regni Regis Henrici sexti nono.
Henricus Dei gracia Rex Anglia et ffranc' et dominus Hibern' omnibus ad quos presentes littere pervenerint salutem. Supplicarunt nobis major et cives civitatis nostre Waterfordie ut cum civitas praedicta cum pretin' tam per terram quam per aquam tenebatur et tenetur pro feodi firma per praedictos majorem et cives et eorum predecessores de nobis et progenitoribus nostris a tempere quo non existat memoria reddend' annuatim centum marcas que quidem centum marce fuerunt particulatim concesse per progenitoribus nostris in annuitates diversis extraneis personis. Ita quod parv' vel nichil ad proficuum et usum nostrem aut progenitorum nostorum devenit nc aliquid de dicta feodi firma devenit ad reparacionem seu defencionem civitatis preadicte. Ac jam civitas praedicta in tantam paupertatem devenit tam per destrucciones roborias et occisiones de melioribus civibus dicte civitatis per Hibernicos inimicos et Anglicos rebelles fact' per terram quam per roborias et occisiones fact' per Britones Scottos et Ispanios armatos per mare. Ita quod bona et mercandise ac navigia civium habitancium in dicta civitate infra istos tres annos specialit' pro majori parte deperdita sunt et destructa necnon fossata turres et muri ac alia fortalicia dicte civitatis ita ruinosa tam existunt ita quod in diversis locis dicte civitatis et suburbio ejusdem dict' muri fossata turres ac alia fortalicia sunt ad terram prostrata in dicte civitatis distruccionis periculum manifestum nisi remedium in ea parte cicius ordinetur. Et eciam pro roboriis et occisionibus praedictis plures de melioribus civibus dicte civitatis exierunt extra civitatem praedictam et in Anglia moram faciunt et ad huc de die in diem exeunt per quod dicta civitas de gentibus est fere desolata ac ipsi major et cives habent ad custus suos pro defectu inhabitancium diversos soldarios tam pedites quam equites pro bona custodia et defencione dicte civitatis et praedicti major et cives in tantam paupertatem sunt deducti tam per solucionem dicte feod' firme quam per continuas roborias occisiones et oppersiones ac alia diversa onera importabilia que de die in diem sustinent per quod parvum habent ad se ipsos ibem sustinend' et ipsi dictam civitatem absque nostro adjutorio de cerero custodir' non possunt et distrucciones opperssione et desolacione civitatis nostre praedicte dicti major et cives multociens per quermoniam suam fecerunt et parv'm remedium hucusque optinuerunt velimus premissa considerar' et sibi de remedio in ea parte provider' oportuno. Nos permissa pensantes supplicacioni isporum majoris et civium annuantes de gracia nosta specali de assensu venerabil' in Christo patris Ricardici archepiscopi Dublin' justic' nostri terre nostre Hibern' concessimus praefat' majori et civibus et successoribus suis triginta libras annuatim de feodi firma civitatis praedicte pro termino viginti annorum prox' futur' recipiend' annuatim praedictas triginta libras per manus ipsorum majoris et civium et eorum successorum durante termino praedicto in supportacionem majoris et civium praedictorum et in auxilium soluc' vadiorum diversorum soldariorum qui nunc sunt vel qui pro tempere erunt per praedictos majorem et cives et eorum successores retent' in defencionem civitat' praedicte ac in fortificacionem clausur' et reparacionem murorum turrium fortaliciorum et aliorum onerum et negociorum ac bonam custodiam et defencionem civiat' praedicte quoquomodo infutur' pertinent' sine aliquo compot' nobis aut successoribus nostris vel ministris nostris quibuscumque inde reddend' durante termino viginti annorum supradictorum non obstante quod praedicti major et cives non faciant expressam mencionem in peticione sua de eo quod ipsi major et cives habent de dono et concessione nostra vel progenitorum seu praedecessorum nostrorum quorumcumque ante hec tempera. In cujus rei testimonium has litteras nostras fieri fecimus patentes. T. praefato justic' nostro apud Dublin quintodecimo die Augusti anno regni nostri octavo.

Granted by Henry VI. (Regnal year 8). Granted at Westminster. Granted by p.s..

Details of the petition which resulted in this grant can be seen at this link.

Primary Sources

Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1907, Calendar of Patent Rolls Henry VI (1429-36) Vol. 2 p. 68 online copy
A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters, c. 1244-1509, PR 8 Hen. VI View CIRCLE record
National Archives E 101/248/11, m. 17. online reference
J. Hunter (ed.), 1834, Rotuli selecti ad res anglicas et hibernicas spectantes, ex archivis in domo capitulari Westmonasteriensi, deprompti (London)p 93-5 online copy

Secondary Sources

Lydon, J.F., 1979, 'The city of Waterford in the later Middle Ages' Decies Vol. 12 p. 5-15 online copy

Comments

This is clearly a response to the same petition but how does 3 years granted at Westminster become 20 years when granted a month later at Dublin

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