Montgomery (Mungumery) was given a grant of murage dated 13/2/1227.
This was in the form of:-
Wording
Grant that the town of Mungumery shall be a free borough and that the burgesses of the said town may enclose the same with a ditch and wall, and may have a merchant gild with a hanse and all customs pertaining to that gild, and that none who are not of that gild shall practise any merchandise in the said borough except by the consent of the burgesses; moreover if any man's bondman shall abide in the said town and hold land there and be in the said gild and hanse and lot and scot with the burgesses for a year and a day without dispute, thereafter his lord shall not reclaim him; and the said burgesses shall have soc and sac and tol and theam and infangenethef and shall be quit of toll, lastage, passage, pontage, and stallage and of lene and danegeld and gaywite and all other customs throughout the king's dominions; and they shall have all the liberties and exemptions enjoyed by the citizens of Hereford; moreover they shall have two yearly fairs in the borough, one on the vigil and the feast of St. Bartholomew, and the two following days, and the other on the vigil and the feast of All Saints, and the six following days and a market weekly on Thursday; and all merchants of the king's dominions and of other lands, who are at peace with him, with their merchandise coming to the said borough, abiding there or leaving the same shall be free to come and go by land and water, and shall have free entry and exit from the king's dominions on payment of the due and lawful customs; and all the above is granted saving the liberty of the city of London.
Granted by Henry III. (Regnal year 11). Granted at Westminster.
Primary Sources
Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1903,
Calendar of Charter Rolls Henry III 1226-1257 Vol. 1 (HMSO) p. 10
online copy
Secondary Sources
Coulson, C., 1995, 'Battlements and the Bourgeoisie: Municipal Status and the Apparatus of Urban Defence' in Church, Stephen (ed),
Medieval Knighthood Vol. 5 (Boydell) p170n201
Ballard, A. and Tait, J. (eds), 1923,
British borough charters, 1216-1307 p. 121
online copy
Comments
MONTGOMERY / TREFALDWYN 3224 2965. Borough 1223 (CChR, 1226-57, p. 10). One and a half miles from an existing motte at Hen Domen. Town of Montgomery established in the early years of K Hen III’s reign. The construction of a new castle began in 1223, when those settling in the new town were already being offered burghal privileges. Montgomery received its charter in 1227. This was an important strategic site. The castle and town went into decline as their strategic importance diminished in the fourteenth century. This was accentuated by Owain Glyndwr’s attack (Soulsby, pp. 185-7). On 6 Oct 1229, K Hen III confirmed a charter of Hubert de Burgh, earl of Kent, granting to his burgesses of Montgomery that they could have their fairs and markets, with all liberties and customs. No details of the fairs or markets were given (CChR, 1226-57, p. 101). For attempts by K Edw I to protect his market and fair here, see the entry for Trefnant, Wales (q.v.). Market town c.1600 (Everitt, p. 472). (Letters, S., 2003,
Gazetter of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516 (Centre for Metropolitan History)
online copy)
Record created by Philip Davis. This record created 09/02/2009. Last updated on 05/01/2013. First published online 5/01/2013.
