The Gatehouse website record of a grant of exemption for murage for

burgesses of Colchester was granted an exemption from murage dated 4/2/1319.

Wording

Feb. 21. 1318. Windsor. 11 Edward II
Inspeximus and confirmation of a charter dated at Clarendon, 29 November, 37 Henry III, inspecting and confirming a charter dated at Dover, 6 December, 1 Richard I, in favour of the burgesses of Colchester. {Calendar, Vol. I, p, 423.}
With further grant to the said burgesses that they shall not be impeded in their enjoyment of the said liberties by reason of any non-user in the past, and that they shall be quit of murage, picage and pavage of all their goods and merchandise through all the king's realm and power and through all sea ports; and that none of them shall plead or or be impleaded without the said borough of any pleas, assizes, plaints nor of lands or holdings within the said borough or its suburb nor of trespasses or contracts made within the said borough or its liberty; and that as often as assizes, juries or inquisitions are to be made touching internal tenures or trespasses, contracts or felonies done within the said borough or its liberty, they shall not be made by foreigners but only by burgesses, unless the matter or thing done touch the king or his heirs or his ministers or the commonalty of the borough. By fine of 40l.
_Vacated because it was restored and cancelled and is otherwise below._
----
Feb. 4. 1318. York. 12 Edward II
Inspeximus of a charter dated at Clarendon, 29 November, 37 Henry III {Calendar, Vol. I, p, 410}, inspecting and confirming a charter dated at Dover, 6 December, 1 Richard I {Ibid.} in favour of the burgesses of Colchester, and confirmation of the same, excepting the clause in the charter of King Richard running _'Et si debita reddere noluerint et ad disratioriandum Colecestriavi non venerint, burgenses nostri quibus debita ilia debentur capiant namium de com' illo in quo manent illi qui debita ilia debent quousque illis debita ilia persolvant vel Colcestria disrationent quod non debent';_
with further grant to the said burgesses that they shall not be impeded in their enjoyment of the aforesaid liberties by reason of any non-user in the past: and that they and their heirs shall be quit of murage, picage and pavage of all their goods and merchandise through all the king's realm and power and in all sea ports; and that no burgess shall plead or be impleaded without the said borough of any pleas, assizes or plaints or of lands or holdings within the said borough or suburb or of trespasses or contracts within the said borough or its liberty; and that as often as assizes, juries or inquisitions shaJl have to be taken on internal tenures or trespasses, contracts or felonies done within the said borough or its liberty, they shall be taken not by foreigners but by burgesses, unless the matter touch the king or his ministers or the community of the borough; and that the said burgesses, their heirs and successors shall have in the said borough a yearly fair on the vigil and the feast of St. Denys and the six following days. By fine of 40l. made elsewhere.
----
EDWARD by the grace of God king of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitain, to the Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, Priors, Earls, Barons, Justices, Sheriffs, Provosts, Ministers, and all his Bailiffs and faithful men, greeting
We have inspected the Charter of Confirmation which the lord Henry, formerly king of England, our Grandfather, made to the burgesses of Colchester in these words:—
HENRY, by the grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy, Aquitian, Earl of Anjou, to the Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, Priors, Earls, Barons, Justices, Sheriffs, Provosts, Ministers, and all his Bailiffs, and faithful men, greeting
We have inspected the Charter which Richard formerly king of England, our uncle, made to our burgesses of Colchester in these words:–
RICHARD, by the grace of God, King of England, Duke of Normandy and Aquitain, Earl of Anjou, to the Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, Earls, Barons, Justices, Sheriffs, Stewards, Provosts, and all his Bailiffs and faithful subjects of his whole land within the sea and beyond, greeting
Know ye, that we have granted, and by this our present charter have confirmed to our burgesses of Colchester, that they may appoint from amongst themselves whomsoever they will for Bailiffs and a Justice to hold the pleas of our crown, and to plead the same pleas within their borough
And that no other may be justice thereof, except him whom they shall have chosen
And that they may not plead concerning any plea without the walls of the same borough
And that they may be quit of scot, and of lot, and of Danegeld, and of murder
And wheresoever they shall be summoned before our justices errant, it is allowed to acquit them by four lawful men of the same borough, and that no one of them may wage duel
And if any one of them shall be impleaded of a plea of our Crown, by an oath which shall be administered to him in the Borough, he may deraign himself
And within the walls of the borough, no one of our family, nor of any other, shall, by force or by delivery of the Marshal, be lodged
And that they may be quit throughout the whole of England, and through the sea ports, of toll, and lastage, of passage, of pontage, and of all other customs, at all times, and in all places
And no one of the burgesses may be judged in an amercement of money, except at his were, to wit, one hundred shillings in his hundred, or in any other plea within the walls of the borough
And of that amercement he may be afeered by the oath of the aforesaid burgesses, and further that there may not be meskenning
And we will that they have all their lands, and debts, and recognizances, whosoever may owe them
And if any one shall take toll or custom from them, the same burgesses may take of the city, or of the borough, or of the vill in which the toll or custom shall have been taken, as much as a burgess of the said borough did give for toll, or according to the damage he had suffered thereby
And we enjoin that they, who owe them debts, shall well and fully pay them, or shall deraign at Colchester that they ought not to pay
And if they will not pay the debts, and will not come to deraign at Colchester, our burgesses, to whom those debts are owing, may take naam of that county in which they, who owe those debts, dwell, until they pay them those debts, or that they deraign, at Colchester, that they do not owe them
No forester may have power to harass _(vexare)_ any man within the banlieu, but all the aforesaid our burgesses may hunt, within the banlieu of Colchester, the fox, and the hare, and the cat, and they may have their fishery from North Bridge up to Westnesse, and from North Bridge up to Westnesse, whosoever may possess the adjacent lands, our said burgesses may have the customs of the water and bank on botlj sides, for the performance of our firm as they had in the time of the lord the king our father, and in the time of H.{enry} his grandfather
And we forbid that the market of Colchester may be impeded by any extraneous market, but that the markets and customs shall remain in such state as they were confirmed by the oath of our burgesses of Colchester before the justices errant of the lord the king our father
Witness H. of Durham, H. of Coventry, H. of Salisbury, Bishops; William de St. John; John Marshal, William Marshal, Hugh Bard{olph}, Geoffrey Fitz Piers.
Given by the hand of William de Long champ, our Chancellor, elect of Ely, at Dover, the sixth day of December, in the first year of our reign.
We, holding the aforesaid grant established and agreeable, do, for us and our heirs, grant and confirm the same, as the aforesaid charter doth reasonably witness.
We have also granted to our aforesaid burgesses of Colchester, and by this our charter have confirmed, for us and our heirs, that they and their heirs may for ever have the return of all our writs concerning all things pertaining to the liberty of the aforesaid vill of Colchester
These being witnesses, John Mansell, Provost of Beverley, Master William de Kilkenny, Archdeacon of Coventry, Peter Chaceporc, archdeacon of Wells, Robert de Mucegros, Robert Walerand, Bartholomew Pecche, Stephans Bauthan, Robert le Norreys, Imbert Pugeys, John de Geres, and others
Given by our hand at Clarendon the twenty ninth day of November in the 37th year of our reign.
Now, we, holding the grants and confirmations aforesaid established and agreeable, do, for us and our heirs, as much as in us doth lie, grant and confirm them to the burgesses of our borough aforesaid, and to their heirs and successors, burgesses of the same borough, as the charter aforesaid doth reasonably witness, the said clause in the charter of the aforesaid Richard the King contained, to wit: — "And if they will not pay the debts, and will not come to deraign at Colchester, our burgesses to whom those debts are owing may take naam of that county in which they who owe those debts dwell until they pay them those debts, or that they deraign at Colchester that they do not owe them" wholly excepted.
Moreover, we, willing to show fuller grace to the same burgesses in this behalf, have granted to them, for us and our heirs, that although they or their predecessors, burgesses of that borough, may not up to now have fully used any of the liberties in the said charter contained and expressed, on any occasion arising, yet the same burgesses and their heirs and successors, burgesses of the same borough, may henceforth fully enjoy and use those liberties and each of them without impediment of us, or of our heirs, justices, escheators, sheriffs, or other our bailiffs or ministers whomsoever, the clause aforesaid "And if they will not pay the debts" always excepted, as above it is expressed
Moreover, we have granted to the said burgesses, for us and our heirs, and by this our charter have confirmed, that they, and their heirs and successors, burgesses of the borough aforesaid, be for ever quit of murage, picage, and pavage, and of all their matters and merchandizes throughout our whole kingdom and dominion, and throughout all sea ports,
And that no one of the burgesses of the borough aforesaid may plead, nor be impleaded, without the said borough, concerning any pleas, assizes or plaints, nor of lands or tenures within the same borough, or the suburb of the same existing, nor of any trespasses or contracts within the borough aforesaid, or the liberty of the same borough made, and that as often as any assizes, juries or inquisitions shall require to be taken upon tenures within, or upon trespasses, contracts or felonies within the same borough or liberty of the same done, those assizes, juries and inquisitions may in no wise be carried out by foreigners, but by the burgesses of the same borough, unless that matter or that fact should touch us, our heirs or our ministers, or the commonalty of the said borough,
And that the aforesaid burgesses, and their heirs and successors may for ever have, in the borough aforesaid, one fair every year to last for eight days, to wit on the eve, and on the day of Saint Dennis, and for six days following, unless that fair should be to the damage of neighbouring fairs.
Wherefore we will and do firmly enjoin, for us and our heirs, that the aforesaid burgesses and their heirs and successors may have for ever the liberties before written in form aforesaid, the clause aforesaid, "And if they will not pay the debts" excepted; and that they may have the fair aforesaid in the borough aforesaid with all liberties and free customs to such fair pertaining, unless that fair be to the damage of the neighbouring fairs, as is aforesaid
These being witnesses, the venerable fathers J. Bishop of Ely, our chancellor, J. of Norwich, R. of Salisbury, bishops ; John of Brittany, earl of Richmond, Henry of Lancaster, Hugh le Despenser the younger, William le Latymer, Roger Dammory, Bartholomew of Badelesmere, Steward of our household, and others,
Given by our hand at York the fourth day of February in the twelfth year of our reign
By a fine of forty pounds otherwise made.
----
{A Charter of 8 July 1364 by Edward III confirmed the above.}
----
{A Charter of 27 January 1378 by Richard II confirmed the above.}
----
{A Charter of 15 February 1400 by Henry IV confirmed the above.}
----
{A Charter of 7 July 1413 by Henry V confirmed the above.}
----
{A Charter of 71 March 1462 by Edward IV confirmed the above.}

Granted by Edward II. (Regnal year 12). Granted at York. Grant by By a fine of forty pounds otherwise made..

Primary Sources

Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1908, Calendar of Charter Rolls Edward I, Edward II 1300-1326 Vol. 3. (HMSO) p. 376-7 online
Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1908, Calendar of Charter Rolls Edward I, Edward II 1300-1326 Vol. 3. (HMSO) p. 403 online
Benham, W.G. (ed), 1903, The charters and letters patent granted to the borough of Colchester p. 6-9, 10-14, 15-20, 21-27, 28-35, 40-54 online

	Murage Home

	Grants
	Exemptions
	Petitions
	Other