Lancaster was given a grant of murage dated 13/7/1316.
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
Grant, for seven years, to the bailiffs and good men of the town of Leycestre at the request of Thomas, earl of Lancaster, the king's kinsman, of murage and pavage upon all wares brought for sale into the town.
Grant, for the same term, to the bailiffs and good men of the town of Lancaster of murage and pavage as above.
Granted by Edward II. (Regnal year 10). Granted at Westminster.
Primary Sources
Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1898,
Calendar of Patent Rolls Edward II (1313-17) Vol. 2 p. 512
online copy
Secondary Sources
Coulson, Charles, 2009,
Murage Grants (Handwritten list and notes)
Coulson, Charles, 1995, 'Battlements and the Bourgeoisie: Municipal Status and the Apparatus of Urban Defence In Later-Medieval England' in Stephen Church (ed),
Medieval Knighthood Vol. 5 p. 123n18
White, Andrew, 1988, 'The Murage Grant to Lancaster, 1316'
Contrebis Vol. 14 p. 4-7
online copy
Comments
This walling of his comital towns is probably significant. Time of defiance of Edward II (Coulson).
LANCASTER 3478 4619. Borough 1193. 1334 Subsidy £40. Roman fort; probably an early medieval monastic site. In 1193, Count John of Mortain granted his burgesses of Lancaster the liberties of Bristol and as K John in 1199 substituted those of Northampton (QW, p. 384; BF, p. 132). These charters do not specify markets or fairs. Market town c.1600 (Everitt, p. 468). Fair 1587, 24 Jun; 29 Sept (Harrison, pp. 394, 396). See also
VCH Lancashire viii, p. 42. (Letters, S., 2003,
Gazetter of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516 (Centre for Metropolitan History)
online copy)
This does seem to be the full transcription of the roll entry although presumably the original patent letter to Lancaster enlisted the full duties as can be seen in the Leicester grant.
Record created by Philip Davis. This record created 13/01/2009. Last updated on 04/06/2012. First published online 5/01/2013.
