London was given a grant of murage dated 28/5/1315.
This was in the form of:-
Wording
Grant, for one year, to the mayor, sheriffs, and other citizens of London, to whom the king had previously granted a licence to levy for one year from the Annunciation divers customs upon all wares brought for sale into the city for enclosing the gate of Neugate and the gaol there, and also for the repair of certain chambers and of the gaol, of murage to be levied in like manner upon the determination of the former grant. Out of the moneys accruing from such murage they are to cause the wall of the city between the river Flete and the dwelling-place of the Friars Preachers to the river Thames, together with a new tower joined to the same wall, which had been commenced but not finished, to be completed. During the continuance of both grants they are not to levy the pontage granted to them by the late king upon any goods passing over or under London Bridge, upon which under these grants they collect customs.
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Letter Book of London
Writ to the Mayor, Sheriffs, and the rest of the citizens of London to the effect that whereas a grant had been made to them of certain customs to be levied on merchandise coming to the City for one whole year from the Feast of the Annunciation last past to aid them in enclosing the gate and gaol of Newegate and repairing and maintaining the said gaol, the King extends the term for levying such customs to another year from the expiration of the said term on condition that, out of the proceeds, they cause to be completed the wall of the City between the river Flete and the house of the Preaching Friars as far as the Thames, together with a new turret adjoining the wall begun and not completed, and further, that they cease to exact pontage on goods passing over or under London Bridge recently granted to them by the King's father. After the expiration of this second year the customs aforesaid are to cease. Dated at Westminster, 28 May, 8 Edward II. {A.D. 1315}.
Schedule of murage chargeable on divers goods.
Folio. li.
For every wey (peisa) of cheese, unguent, tallow, and butter, 1d.;
for a wey of lead, 1/4d.;
for a hundred (centena) of wax, 2d.;
for a hundred of almonds and rice, 1d.;
for a hundred of grain (grane (A red dye from the "kermes," whence "crimson.") ), 12d.;
for a hundred of pepper, ginger, cetewale, (Perhaps identical with Valerian, but more probably with the herb "zedoary.") cinnamon (kanell'), frankincense, brasil, quicksilver, vermilion, and verdigris (viridis greci), 2d.;
for every hundred of cummin, alum (aluminis), sugar, licorice, aniseed (anic'), turpentine (ciromentani), pione (pion' (Possibly meaning hemp)), gold pigment (auripigmenti), 1d.;
for a hundred of sulphur, argoile (arguell' (Either a species of clay or a coarse cream of tartar.)), gall (?) (atramenti), resin, copperas (coperos'), and reed (?) (calami), 1/4d.;
for a large "frail" (fraello) of figs and raisins, 1/2d.; and for a small one, 1/4d.;
for a pound of clove (gariophili), nuts, muscatels (musc'), mace, cubebs, saffron, and silk, 1/4d.;
for a bushel of gingerbread (gingiberati), 1d.;
for a hundred of copper, brass, tin, 1/2d.;
for a hundred of glass, 1/4d.;
for a thousand (miller') of best grey work (grisei operis (Fr. grisoevre, a kind of fur, but difficult to identify)), 12d.;
for a thousand of red work (ruffi operis), 6d.;
for a thousand of Rosekyn, (According to a marginal note in 'Liber Horn,' fo. 249 b, this was the fur of the squirrel in summer.) 4d.;
for a hundred of coney-skins (cuniculorum), 1/2d.;
for a timber (timbra (Fr. timbre, a parcel containing a certain number of furs)) of fox-skins, 1/2d.;
for a timber of cat-skins, 1/2d.;
for a dozen genette skins (pellium genettorum), 1/2d.;
for a hundred of sheep's woolfels, 1d.;
for a hundred lamb and goat skins, 1/2d.;
for a dozen of leather, 1d.;
for a dozen of bazen (Or basil, sheepskin prepared as leather) (basani), 1/2d.;
for a quarter of woad (weyde), 1/2d.;
for a cask of honey, 6d.;
for a cask of wine, 2d.;
for a cask of beer for exportation, 1d.;
for a sieve of salt, 1d.;
for every measure (mola (Mola=mensura frumentaria; mesure de grains. Possibly mill-stone)) at the mill, 2d.;
for a dozen (tramis?) of handmills (manumolarum), 1d.;
for every mill ad fabrum, 1/4d.;
for a cask of ashes (cinerum) and fish (piscis), 1/2d.;
for a hundred of board and oak (borde et quercu) imported from foreign parts, 1/2d.;
for a hundred of board and fir-pole (?) (borde et sape) imported from foreign parts, 2d.;
for 20 sheaves of steel (According to the Assize of Weights and Measures set out in 'Liber Horn' (fo. 123) a sheaf of steel comprised thirty pieces.) (garbis asceri), 1/2d.;
for every hundred of poumandemer, (Possibly pomme d'amour, i.e., love-apple, tomato. {clearly pomanders - tomatoes don't arrive in England until C16}) 1d.;
for every horse-load of serges, woollen cloth (staminis), grey cloth, and linen cloth, 1d.;
for 100 ells of canvas imported from foreign parts, 1d.;
for a dozen wimples (peplorum (Peplum, voile, guimpe des religieuses)), 1/2d.;
for every cloth of silk or gold, 1/2d.;
for every samite (samito) and cloth worked with gold, 2d.;
for a dozen of fustian, 1d.;
for every refined cendal (sindell' afforciato), 1/4d., and for two other cendals, 1/4d.;
for every pound (?) (pondere) of woven cloth (tele) imported from foreign parts, 6d.;
for every hundred weight (centena ponderis) of baterie, (Utensils of iron or copper for use in a kitchen, known to this day as batterie de cuisine.) viz., bacins, dishes, pots and posnets (pocinorum), 1d.;
for every cloth of Flanders dyed and refined (afforciato), 2d.;
for every estauford (Estanford? (Stamford)) from the same parts, 1d.;
for a dozen of hose from the same parts, 1/2d.;
for a hood (caperacio), 1d.;
for every borel (Or burel, a coarse woollen cloth extensively manufactured in Normandy, and still known in France as "bureau.") (burello) from Normandy or elsewhere, 1/2d.;
for every dozen of black and white monk's cloth (panni monachal'), 1/2d.;
for every bale (trussello) of cloth coming to London for exportation, 18d.;
for every English cloth dyed and russet, except of scarlet, coming to London to be sold, 2d.;
for every scarlet cloth, 6d.;
for every summer cloth (panno estivali) coming from Staunford or Norhamptone or elsewhere in England to be sold in London, 1d.;
for a dozen of blankets (chalonum), 1d.;
for every pound (pondere) of other merchandise coming to London not mentioned above, 4d.;
for a shipload (navata) of sea-coal, 6d.;
for a shipload of turf, 2d.;
for a scout (Or schuyt, similar to vessels so called from the Low Countries.) (scutata) of underwood, 2d.: for a batel (batella) of underwood, 1d.;
for a scout (scutata) of hay, 2d.;
for a quarter of corn coming to London by land or water for sale, 1/4d.;
for two quarters of wheat, barley, mesline (A mixture of wheat and rye.) (mixtilionis), pease, and beans, 1/4d.;
for four seams (summis (Summa, a load; a soam or seam =6 or 8 bushels.)) of oats, 1/4d.;
for two quarters of grout (grutti) and malt, 1/4d.;
for every horse for sale of the value of 40s. or more, 1d., and for a horse of less value, 1/2d.;
for every ox and cow, 1/2d.;
for six pigs, 1/2d.;
for ten sheep, 1/2d.;
for five porkers (baconibus) for sale, 1/2d.;
for ten gammons of bacon (pernis), 1/2d.;
for every burel (burello) manufactured in London leaving the City, 1d.;
for every cart laden with fish coming to London, 1d.;
for the hull of every big ship freighted with merchandise to be sold in London, except the above, 2d., and for a smaller vessel; 1d.;
for every batel freighted, 1/2d.;
for a dozen of salted salmon, 1d.;
for twenty-five melvel (milvellis (Mulvellus, a mulveel, melwel, or green-fish.)), 1/2d.;
for a hundred salted haddock, 1/2d.;
for a thousand of herring, 1/4d.;
for a dozen salted lampreys, 1d.;
for a thousand of salted eels, 1/2d.;
for a hundred (centena) of coarse (grassi) fish, 1d.;
for a hundred (centum) of salted mackerel. 1/4d.;
for a hundred sturgeon (piscis sturgionis), 2d.;
for a hundred of "stokfissh," 1/4d.;
for a load of sand-eels (This interpretation is doubtful.) (ceparum), 1/4d.;
for a load of garlick (allei), 1/4d.;
for all merchandise not here named of the value of 20s., 1d.
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March 28. 1316. Langley (Close Roll)
To the mayor and aldermen of London. Order to cause the chamber and sewer (cloaca) of the gaol of Neugate to be rebuilt and restored with all speed, out of the issues of certain customs granted to them by the king for the repair of the walls and pavement of that city, omitting for the present the building of a new tower on the city wall near the house of the friars preachers, which the king ordered them to build after he had ordered them to rebuild and repair the said chamber and sewer.
By K. on the information of W. Inge.
Granted by Edward II. (Regnal year 8). Granted at Westminster.
Primary Sources
Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1898,
Calendar of Patent Rolls Edward II (1313-17) Vol. 2 p. 295
online copySharpe, R.R. (ed), 1903,
Calendar of letter-books of the city of London: E: 1314-1337 - Folio. i b.
online copyMaxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1893,
Calendar of Close Rolls, Edward II Vol. 2 p. 279
online copy
Secondary Sources
Coulson, Charles, 2009, Murage Grants (Handwritten list and notes)
Turner, H.L., 1971, Town Defences in England and Wales (London) (Appendix A has a similar translation)
Record created by Philip Davis. This record created 14/01/2009. Last updated on 04/06/2012. First published online 5/01/2013.
