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THE 



HISTORY 



OF 



GODMANCHESTER. 



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THE 

HISTORY 



OF 



GODMANCHESTER, 

Sn t|c Cottntt; of 1|itntingtlon ; 

COMPBISINO 

ITS ANTIENT, MODERN, MUNICIPAL, AND 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 



BY 



ROBERT FOX. 



" The arrangement and proper use of Au:ts ia history ; not a mere narrative talcen up at 
random and embellished with poetic diction, but a regular and elaborate inquiry into every 
antient record and proof that can elucidate and entablish them." 

Introduction to the Archaeologia. 



LONDON: 
BALDWIN AND CRADOCK. 

MDCCCXXXI. 



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LONDON: 
PRINTED BY GEOROE TAYLOR, 

LITTLR JAMES STBEET, ORAT'g INN. 



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PREFACE. 



In submitting the History of Godmanchester 
to the consideration of the Public, the Author is 
aware of the rashness with which he may be ac- 
cused, in having endeavoured to give to a local 
history an interest beyond the precincts of the place 
to which it relates. In the announcement of this 
publication, he observed, that there is ''no de- 
partment of English Literature more interesting or 
more defective than local Topography. It embraces 
within its sphere not only the origin and decay of 
cities and towns, but local customs, which render 
us familiar with the institutions and habits of our 
forefathers. It wrests from the abyss of time 
those incidents which through all succeeding ages 
might otherwise be forgotten, and puts upon re- 
cord, events which gave origin to establishments 
and sciences, productive of, and essentially con- 

A 2 

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VI PREFACE. 

nected with, the present state and best interests of 
the kingdom. General Topography, comprehen- 
sive and varied in its nature, as well as difficult 
in elucidation, can give but a brief survey, as a map 
pourtrays but the sites and distances of places ; and 
it is only where particular Histories or Descriptions 
of Towns have been written, that satisfactory 
knowledge can be obtained with respect to them. 
The scattered fragments of information difinsed 
through antient and modern writers, constitute the 
materials of which connected Histories are formed, 
wherein the general reader, at but a trifling sacrifice 
of time and labour, may become thoroughly ac- 
quainted with the place of his birth, locality, or 
the internal antient and present state of his country. 
No History of the Town of Grodmanchester has 
ever yet been published. Its antiquity as a probable 
British Settlement — ^its importance as a Roman 
Station, — and subsequent Danish Encampment, — 
its peculiarities in Tenure, as Antient Demesne, — 
its celebrity for Agriculture, — and its connection 
with the drainage of the county of Huntingdon and 
the navigation of the River Ouse, have hitherto been 
only incidentally alluded to and never fully demon- 
strated. These defects the Author has endeavoured 



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PREFACE. VU 

to remedy, by a laborious investigation into every 
circumstance immediately or remotely connected 
with the Town, and confidently hopes that to the 
Historian, Antiquarian, and general Reader, his 
work will prove an interesting specimen of local 
Topography, on a scale sufficiently extensive to 
comprehend all matters of importance incidental 
to his subject/' 

How far these objects have been attained it is for 
the public to judge. He mayperhaps be chargedwith 
having been too minute or too difiuse in describing 
events which are purely local, and that the essential 
matter of the work might have been compressed 
within the limits of a few pages ; a plan generally 
adopted in topographical descriptions. Such objec- 
tions can only obtain with those who are wholly 
indifierent to the history of our country ; and, to 
the enquiring mind, these imputed faults will con- 
stitute whatever merit the work possesses. Some 
apology may be considered due for the multitude 
of Notes inserted in the course of the work ; but, 
as the duty of the Historian is to record facts, and 
to connect or apply them in time and place to useful 
purposes, no position has been advanced without 
stating the authority on which it was founded. It 



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Vlll PREFACB. 

must be conceded, that books are written for the 
instruction of those who are in pursuit of informa- 
tion, not those who are famiUar with the subjects 
they illustrate : clearness and precision ought not 
therefore to be considered presumptive; and the 
free use of notes has been adopted, to disencimiber 
the text as much as possible from the authorities 
quoted, and illustrations thought necessary. 

The various occupations of Godmanchester, and 
its institutions as a corporate town, have ena- 
bled the Author, by the freedom and fidelity 
with which they have been investigated and dis- 
cussed, to make its History a comparative text- 
book relative to Parochial and Ecclesiastical Anti- 
quities. He has not hesitated to avail himself of 
information from whatever source it could be de- 
rived, from books, from records, or from men. In 
the two former instances he has invariably acknow- 
ledged the sources from whence it has been ex- 
tracted; but in the latter, his obUgations have been 
too numerous to admit of individual enumeration. 
To E. Martin, of Godnmnchester, H. T. Barratt, 
of Huntingdon, and J. Fox, of Old Jewry, London, 
Esquires, he feels himself especially bound, to 
whom, and to all who have proffered or rendered 



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PREFACE. IX 

him assistance, in the course of his enquiries, he re- 
turns his sincere acknowledgments. To his Printer, 
Mr. Taylor, he also feels particularly obliged, for 
the care with which the work has been printed, 
much of which was required from the varieties of 
orthography contained in the quotations, in many 
instances occurring even in the same document. — 
Lastly, to the Patrons of his work, the Author re- 
turns his respectful thanks, and trusts that on pe- 
rusing ** The History of Godmanchester,'' they will 
not consider their patronage has been bestowed in 
vain. 



GODMANCHESTER, Oct. 1, 1831. 



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OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR 1831-2. 



The Most Noble William Duke ovMAffcuESTER, High Steward. 

Henry Sweeting, Esq., Recorder, 

Robert Fox and Thomas Fox, Gent". Bailiffs. 

James Stranoward and John Lancaster, Gent". Coroners. 

Richard Miles, Charles Pope, John Lancas-^ 

TER, James Stranoward, Edward Martin, V Assistants. 
John Kisby, Downes Martin, Gent" J 

John Sweeting, Esq. Town Clerk. 

Richard Gaunt, Sub-Bailiff, and Collector of Amerciaments and 
Fee-Farm Rents. 

John Fields, Hayward. Thomas Bester, Bellman. 

William Shaw, William Reeve, Constables. 

William Reeve, John Fields, Ale-tasters and Bread-weighers. 

JURORS OR SUITORS. 

William Reeve, Foreman. William Wool, 

Joshua Negus, John Thackeray, 

James Herbert, Anthony Markham, 

Thomas Bester, Edmund Wool, 

John Fields, Philip Sidney, 

Edward Maile, William Shaw. 



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CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Page 

iNTBODUCtORY CHAPTER — ^Antient Bfitons, their mode of 
living, religion, and government. — Conquered by the Ro- 
mans. — ^Their ineffectual revolts. — State of Britain under 
Vespasian and Domitian. — The Britons harassed by the 
Picts and Scots — assisted by the Saxons, subdued by 
them, and the sovereignty of the Saxons established. — 
Irruptions of the Danes. — Their usurpation of the 
kingdom 1 

CHAPTER IT. 

The Durolipons of the Romans. — Authorities and argu- 
ment — ^Erection and occupations of Huntingdon Castle . . 17 

CHAPTER III. 

Godmanchester a Danish station. — State of England a.d. 
875. — Contentions between the Saxons and Danes. — 
Guthrum, a Danish Chief, overpowers Alfred. — ^Alfred 
repossesses the kingdom, and enters into alliance with 
Guthrum, who is baptized, and appointed to the Vice- 
Royalty, of East-Anglia and Northumbria. — ^Danish Set- 
tlement at Godmanchester. — Death of Guthrum 42 

CHAPTER IV. 

Record of Domesday. — Compilation of Domesday-book. 
— ^Extract from, relative to Godmanchester. — ^Explana- 
tion 57 

CHAPTER V. 

Municipal History to a. d. 1213. — Various Names of God- 
manchester. — The Manor granted in Fee-farm. — ^Disser- 
tation on Antient Demesne Lands, and Fee-farm Rents. 



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XIV CONTENTS. 

Page 

— Peculiarities of Tenure. — Surrenders and Seisins. — 
Descent of Property in Burgage-tenure or Borough 
English 70 

CHAPTER VI. 

Municipal History continued from a. d. 1213 to a. d. 1604. 
— Charter of John. — Inspeximuses of Edward Ist^ Ed- 
ward 3d, and Richard 2d. — Grant of Felons Goods and 
Freedom from cintomary Tolls. — Charter of Richard 2d, 
and Confirmation. — ^Inspeximuses of Henry 4th, 5th, and 
6th, Edward 4th, Henry 7th and 8th, Edward 6th, Mary 
and Elizaheth : their iUustration. — Grant of the Fee- 
farm Rent to Edmund Plantagenet, first Earl of Lancas- 
ter. — Earls and Dukes of Lancaster : creation of the 
Dutchy: its annexation to, and separation from, the 
Crown. — Grant of the Fee-farm Rent to Edward Monta- 
gue, first Earl of Sandwich. — Manorial Courts 96 

CHAPTER VII. 

Municipal History continued from a. d. 1604 to a. d. 1831. 
— Charter of James 1st. — Creation of the Borough and 
present Corporation. — Authorities under the Charter. — 
Surrender of the Charter to Charles 2d. — Charter of 
James 2d. — Restoration of the Charter of James 1st, hy 
Royal proclamation. — ^List of High Stewards, Recorders, 
and Bailiffs 133 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Navigation and Drainage.-^Rise and course of the River 
Ouse; its antient Navigation ohstructed hy the erection 
of Mills, in the reign of Edward 1st, at Houghton, 
Hemingford, and Hartford. — Inquests and Litigations 
relative thereto. — Decree of the Dutchy Court in 1515 
confirmed in 1524, originating the jurisdiction of the 
Men of Godmanchester over the Waters during Floods; 
confirmed hy a Commission of Sewers in 1591, and sub- 
sequent Acts of Parliament — ^Method of Navigating in 



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CONTENTS. XV 

1467. — ^Navigation undertaken by Arnold Spencer^ 3d of 
Charles Ist^ transferred by Act of Parliament to Sir 
Humphrey Bennet, Knight^ and others, (I6th and 17th 
of Charles 2d, cap. xii.) — ^Vested in Henry Ashley in 
1689 : his Lease with the Corporation of Godmanchester. 
— ^Ashley procures a new Act of Parliament in 1719. — 
(6th George 1st, cap. xxix.) Navigation extended to Bed- 
ford and ShefiTord. — ^Present defective state of the Navi- 
gation 180 

CHAPTER IX. 

Ecclesiastical History. — ^The Church of Godmanchester 
presented by Edgar to the Abbey of Ramsey — by Ste- 
phen, to the Priory of Merton. — ^Institution of the Vicar- 
SLge, — Pope Nicholas's Survey. — ^Inquisitions of Ninths. 
— First Fruits and Tenths ; their appropriations. — ^Valor 
Ecclesiasticus of Henry 8th. — ^Antient custom of Tithing. 
— Origin of Chauntries and Guilds; impropriation of 
their Revenues. — List of Vicars, Curates, and Chap- 
lains 223 

CHAPTER X. 

The Church. — Style of Building, Assistants' Seats, Rood 
Loft, South Porch, Record Chamber. — Epitaphs and 
Monumental Inscriptions. — Tower and Steeple. — Ram- 
sey Abbey, Hinchingbrook Nunnery, and Huntingdon 
Prioiy 287 

CHAPTER XL 

Miscellaneous. — ^Agriculture the chief emplojmaent in God- 
manchester. — Royal Progresses, Population, Poors' Rates, 
Charities, Free Schools. — Court Hall. — Antient Road 
and Causeway to Huntingdon. — ^The present Road • . . . 319 

CHAPTER XII. 

Biographical. — ^William of Godmanchester, Abbot of Ram- 
sey. — Stephen Marshal, the Smectymnian 374 



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INITIALS TO CHAPTERS AND TAIL-PIECES. 



Chapter I. — ^Initial composed from two Carvings in the Assis- 
tants' Seats in the Church. Tail-piece, a Carving in the 
Church. 

Chapter II. — ^Initial Letter of Henry 7th*s Charter. Tail-piece, 
from a Carving in th« Church. 

Chapter III. — ^Initial of Richard 2d*8 Charter. Tail-piece, from 
a Carving in the Assistants* Pews. 

Chapter IV. — Initial composed from two Carvings in the Assis- 
tants* Pews. Tail-piece, from the same. 

Chapter V. — ^Initial of Henry 4th*s Charter. Tail-piece, from a 
Carving in the Assistants' Pews. 

Chapter VI. — Initial of John's Charter. Tail-piece, from a 
Carving in the Assistants' Pews. 

Chapter VII. — Initial of James's Charter. Tail-piece, Corpora- 
tion Seal. 

Chapter VIH. — ^Initial of Elizabeth s Charter. Tail-piece, from 
a Carving in the Assistants' Pews. 

Chapter IX. — ^Initial of Edward 6th's Charter. Tail-piece, 
from a silver Coin of Guthrum, after- his conversion to Chris- 
tianity. 

Chapter X. — Initial of the Letters-patent of Release to the Cor- 
poration of Godmanchester, alluded to in page 280. Tail- 
piece, from a Carving on the Church Tower. 

Chapter XI. — Initial of Mary's Charter. Tail-piece, from a 
Godmanchester Trade Token. 

Chapter XII. — ^Initial to the Inspeximus of Henry 5th. Tail- 
piece, from a Godmanchester Trade Token. 



errata. 

Page 116, line 12, for 1286 read 1276. 

180, line 3, /or conntryrroe/connty. 
250, line I, for Kennet read Kennet. 



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HISTORY 



OF 



GODMANCHESTER. 



CHAPTER I. 
INTRODUCTION. 

HE early History of Na- 
tions is, for the most part, 
traditional, and obscured 
by fable; and in no in- 
stance is this general pro- 
position more exemplified 
than in that of our own 
country : we will therefore 
take but a cursory view 
of those circumstances which led to its names 
and colonizations, as far as regard the object of 
this work. It is supposed to have been called 
Albion from* a king of that name, who is re- 

a " Albion, the sonne of Neptune, there regnynge aboute the 
yeare of the worlde's creation 2220." — Humfrey Lhuyds Breuiary 
of Britayne, 

B 




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2 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

corded to have reigned here, a. m. 2220; or Al- 
pion, from the word Alp, which, in some of the 
original western languages, signified high lands 
or hills ; or from the white cUSb which present 
themselves on approaching our shores from the 
Continent. By the Romans, even before Caesar's 
time, it was called Britannia,^ which name, it is 
conjectured, was given to it by strangers from 
the coasts of Gaul and Germany, who, trafficking 
here, called the inhabitants Briths, from the custom 
among them of painting their bodies and small 
shields with an azure blue, which colour was by 
them called Brith. The Romans, extending their 
conquests to, and establishing their colonies in 
Gaul, soon became acquainted with our Island, and 
Romanized its name, by adding to it a Latin termi- 
nation, as was their usual custom, wherever their 
conquests or commerce extended, as is exemplified 
in Mauritania, Lusitania, Aquitania, &c.; hence 
we have the compound word Britannia.'' 

The Britons, from their insular situation, were 
little known to the old world before the descent of 
Caesar upon the island, ante Christ. 55."* Their 
coasts opposite Gaul and Belgium were much fre- 
quented by traders from those shores, who became 

^ Lhuyd argues that the whole word Britannia is a corruption 
from Prydain, by the Romans, which was the name of the island 
amongst the Aborigines. 

c Sir William Temple. 

d Bruce s Historical Atlas: Milton and Smollet. A. U. C.699. 



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INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 3 

acquainted with those who resorted, and by de- 
grees located there, for the convenience of com- 
merce. It was from these Aborigines that Caesar 
drew his intelligence respecting the country he 
contemplated invading. Ancient authors unani- 
mously agree, that the country abounded with 
inhabitants,* and large herds of cattle or beasts, 
both wild and tame. The houses of the natives were 
mere huts, spread over the country without order 
or any regular system of township, and, as was 
most natural, these huts were fixed wherever the 
convenience of wood and water and fertility of soil 
invited. In the interior they chiefly subsisted on 
milk and the flesh of animals killed in hunting ; 
and what few clothes they wore were roughly 
manufactured of dried skins, but much of the 
body was left naked, and in most instances all, 
which was painted blue, to render their appear- 
ance more terrible to their enemies, or as being 
ornamental, or to distinguish their tribes from any 
accidental sojourners amongst them.' The inha- 
bitants who resided on the coasts were more 
civiUzed than those in the interior, from their 
intercourse with their neighbours the Gauls, with 
whom they assimilated in language, customs, and 
religion, (previous to the Roman conquest of that 
province, which was of a much earlier date than 
their descent upon Britain;) and whom they 

« Caesar's Com. 

^ Richard of Cirencester, Sir Wm. Temple, and Caesar's Com. 

b2 



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4 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

assisted in their efforts to repel their Roman 
invaders. This latter circumstance was, perhaps, 
a greater inducement with Caesar to attempt the 
conquest of this country than any then apparent 
advantage in rendering it merely tributary to 
Rome. Tlie island was divided into districts and 
the natives into tribes, under the command of 
princes or chieftains, who succeeded each other 
by right of inheritance, wisdom, or valour, which 
appears to be the paternal or natural government 
of uncivilized countries ; these chieftains formed a 
general assembly, and elected one common leader*^ 
or chief, when their states were threatened by a 
common danger. There was but little iron manu- 
factured in the country, from the imperfect know* 
ledge of mining, and this was principally used for 
arms and rings, which latter articles were their 
current money ; but their coin chiefly consisted of 
brass, which was obtained by barter from foreigners.^ 

« The government of the ancient Britons may be denominated 
patriarchal. Each community was governed by its elders ; and 
every individual who could not prove his kindred to some com- 
munity through nine descents, and the same number of collateral 
affinities, was not considered as a freeman. Beyond this degree 
of kindred, they were formed into new communities. The elders 
of the different communities were subordinate to the elders of the 
tribes. In times of public danger, as is recorded in the Triads, 
some chief of distinguished abilities was entrusted with the supreme 
authority over the tribes or communities, who united in common 
defence. Such were Caswallon (Cassivellaunus), Caradwg (Ca- 
ractacus), and Owain, son of Maesan. — Hatcher, 

^ Utebantur aut nummo aereo, aut annulis ferreis, ad certum 



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INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. D 

Their religion was Druidical, and their laws were 
administered by the Druids, who possessed the 
chief traditional learning of the age ; this consisted 
in observations on the heavens, and a knowledge 
of the fixed stars, which enabled them to fore- 
tell their rising and setting, giving them thereby 
a seeming influence over the seasons, and power 
of prognosticating future events. To these may 
be added the importance of their doctrines, incul- 
cating moral justice, temperance and fortitude, 
exemplifying them by the purity and simplicity of 
their own lives, (their food consisting of acorns, 
berries, and fruits, and their drink of water,) which, 
conjoined with the exercise of their religious solem- 
nities and magisterial functions, gave them imdis- 
puted influence with, and authority over, the unci- 
vilized natives. Such were the ancient Britons 
when Caesar made his first descent on our shores.^ 

The counties of Cambridge, Huntingdon, Nor- 
folk, and Sufiblk, were occupied by the warlike 
and extensive tribe called the Iceni,'' which, ac- 
cording to Owen in the Cambrian Register, was 

pondus examinatis^ pro nummis ; ut author est Caesar Dictator. — 
Richard of Cirencest, — ^A similar custom still obtains with the 
Chinese and Japanese^ who pass bars of gold, silver, or other 
metal for current money, without any stamp or impression, the 
value of which is regulated by the weight. — Hatcher, 

The chief exports of the British were in hides and tin, which 
last commodity was peculiar to this Island, and in much request 
on the Continent. 

i Camden. ^ SmoUet, ante Chr. 66, 



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6 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

derived from the word Cyn, signifying, first, a-head, 
forward, before, or foremost, and from which the 
people would be called Cyni, Cyniad, Cynion, &c. ; 
but with the article y or the prefixed, Y-ceni, or 
the first or foremost tribe.^ It is more than pro- 
bable that at this period the Iceni had here a British 
settlement, for the Ermin-street, one of the four 
ancient royal roads, connecting the northern with 
the southern extremity of the island, passed through 
the present Godmanchester;"' and it was doubtless 
their policy, as well as that of their successors 
the Romans, to fix their habitations near pubUc 
roads, not only for the convenience of commtmica- 
tion with other tribes, and the advantages of barter 
with those who passed by, or temporarily sojourned 
amongst them; but the richness of the meadows 
for pasturage, and the abundance of wood and 

1 They appear to have merited this honorahle appellation^ as 
in every national effort to throw off the Roman usurpation the 
Iceni were the most prominent and valorous. 

^ In the 6th Vol. of Leland's Itinerarium Curiosum> hy Thos. 
Heame, Oxford 1744, is a curious Essay towards the recovery of 
the courses of the four great Roman ways (it should have said 
British), the conclusion of which is as follows : 

Fram the South into the North, takith Emingestrete ; 

Fram the Est into the West goth Ikeneldestrete. 

Fram Southest to Northwest, that is sumdel grete 

Fram Dover into Chestre goth Watlyngstrete. 

The ferthe of thise is most of alle that tilleth fram Toteneys 

Fram the one ende of Comwaile anone to Cateneys, 

Fram the Southwest to Northest into Englonde s ende ; 

Fosse men callith thilke way, that hy many tonn doth wende. 



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INTEODUCTORY CHAPTER. 7 

water, would render the situation peculiarly eligi- 
ble. The terror of the Roman arms, and the valor 
of its veteran legions, had in the time of Julius 
Caesar subdued many kingdoms, provinces, and 
commonwealths in Europe, Asia, and Africa ; the 
greater part of Germany had been devastated by 
them, and the conquest of Gaul effected. When 
Caesar invaded our Island, his forces consisted of 
Germans, Batavians, ^nd Gauls, and the best dis- 
ciplined of his Roman Legions. Cassivelaunus'* 
was the leader of the intrepid islanders, and had 
many encounters with Caesar with various success, 
but dissensions and jealousies occurring amongst 
the British chieftains, and defections of many of 
them to the hostile camp,° the Iceni formed an 
aUiance with the Romans ; and Cassivelaunus, 
determining to capitulate, delivered hostages in 
token of fealty, and Britain became tributary to 
Rome. Not content with the nominal sovereignty 
of the country, and the exaction of the tribute,^ the 
Praetors, Plautius and Ostorius, and other Roman 
commanders, took possession of the inland parts 
of the country contiguous to the southern coast, 
securing their stations by building castles, for- 

n Cassivelaunus, or Cassibelaunus — ^King of the Trinobantes. 

o Huntingdonshire was made to constitute part of the district 
called Flavia Secunda. — See Tab. banc Geog. Antiq. Patriae 
Oimelium celeberrimo viro Gul. Stukeley. Sometimes Flavia 
Caesariensis. 

p Under the Emperor Claudius. 



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8 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

tifying camps, and settling colonies ; their ty- 
ranny and oppression induced the Britons in the 
northern part of the island, in conjunction with 
the Iceni, to revolt against them under Caracta- 
cus,** and take the field with a considerable force. 
This led to an intestine war for nearly nine years, 
when, in a decisive battle between the armed and 
well-disciplined Romans and the naked and com- 
paratively unarmed Britons, the latter were com- 
pletely vanquished, and Caractacus sent prisoner 
to Rome to grace the victors' triumph/ 

The Britons continued in subjection to the 
Romans until the time of Nero, when Prasutagus, 
king of the Iceni, in order to secure the friendship 
and protection of Nero to his wife Boadicea and 
family, left the Emperor and his daughters coheirs 
to his territories. But on the death of Prasutagus, 
the Emperor's officers seized upon his effects, and 
took possession of his country in their master's 
name; and on being remonstrated with by Boadicea, 

q Caractacus was king of the Silures> a British tribe inhabiting 
South Wales. 

' Their kynge in times past was Cataracus^ whose fame was 
knowne aboue the skies, who the space of nine continuall yeres, 
very much molested the Romans with warre ; at length was taken 
by treason of a woman, and led to Rome in triumphe. — Lhuyds 
Breuiary, 1573. 

This victory was followed in a few days with an advantage 
which Ostorius could not foresee; Caractacus himself, who had 
fled for refuge to Cartismandua, Queen of the Brigantes, was 
delivered into his hands by that princess. — SmolleL 



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INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 9 

they publicly scourged her, and brutally violated 
her daughters. Fired with indignation, and thirst- 
ing for revenge, she proclaimed her wrongs through- 
out the island; and Paulinus, the Roman lieutenant, 
having embarked with the major part of his forces 
for the subjugation of the Isle of Anglesey, the 
Britons availed themselves of the opportunity for 
a general insurrection, and suddenly attacking the 
Romans wherever stationed, revenged the injuries 
and insults of Boadicea by a general massacre, 
without distinction of age or sex. On Paulinus's 
return, he marched against the revolted Britons, 
whose army consisted (Dio. Cassius) of 230,000 
men, with the very disproportionate power of only 
10,000 soldiers, but these he judiciously encamped 
in a narrow tract of ground, facing a large plain, 
where his rear was secured by a forest;* the 
Britons, animated by the intrepidity and exhorta- 
tions of Boadicea, paraded before them in large 
bodies, exulting at the insignificance of their ene- 
mies ; when the Roman soldiers, advancing upon 
them undismayed, with short steps and sword in 

* Boadicea is represented as a tall woman, of remarkable 
beauty, and tbe most dignified deportment, with a commanding 
severity in her countenance, a loud shrill voice, and a great 
quantity of yellow hair that flowed down to her loins. She wore 
a massy golden chain about her neck, a flowing robe of various 
colours, over which was thrown a mantle of coarser stuff. She 
held a spear in her hand, and from a throne of turf harangued 
her army, recapitulating the wrongs they had suffered from the 
Romans. — Dio. i. 62. 



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10 HISTORY OF OODMANCHESTER. 

hand, threw them into consternation and confusion, 
so that they fell easy victims to their conquerors.* 
The bloodshed of the day perhaps exceeded that of 
any other battle in ancient times. The waggons in 
the rear of the Britons obstructed their flight ; a 
dreadful slaughter ensued; neither sex nor age was 
spared ; for the wives and children of the British 
were brought to the field to behold the anticipated 
triumph, and, together with the vanquished, fell 
in one promiscuous carnage. It is recorded that 
upwards of 80,000 were slain in the field of battle. 
The heroic Boadicea narrowly escaped falling into 
the hands of Paulinus, and finding aU hopes of re- 
establishing the liberties and efiecting the inde- 
pendence of her country lost,'* destroyed herself by 
poison. 

Under Vespasian andDomitian, the Roman laws, 
customs, habits, arms, manners, feasts, baths, lan- 
guage, and le^uning, were introduced into Bri- 
tain, and Julius Agricola'' sailing round it, first 
proved it to be an island. Roman luxuries efiemi- 
nated the minds and manners of the natives, and 
paved the way for the formation of those civil in- 

t Tacitus. « Platts. 

▼ The early Greeks and Romans doubted whether Britain was 
an island, or part of the Continent : nor was the fact ascertained 
till the time of the pro-praetor, Julius Agricola. 

Tac. Vit. Agric. c. 38— Dio. Cass. HisL Rom. lib. 39. 

Tacitus the Historian, who wrote the life of Agricola, married 
his daughter. 



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INTBODUCTOEY CHAPTBR. 11 

stitutions which enahled their conquerors to hold 
them in subjection for nearly five centuries. The 
power of Rome at length imderwent the revolu- 
tion of empires: it gradually decUned; and its 
contentions with the barbarous northern hordes of 
Goths and Vandals, with which it was continually 
inundated, drew from this country the legions 
which held it in subjection; when the Britons, 
besieged and harassed by the Picts and Scots, 
were abandoned by the Romans to their own 
valour, government, and choice of a king.^ They 
petitioned ^tius,* the Roman general, in vain, 
for protection against their invaders ; and conse- 
quently, under Vortigem, whom they elected king, 
invited the Saxons to their aid, who, with Hengist 
and Horsa, of the race of Odin, came over in great 
numbers to their assistance about the year 450. 
Iliey first had the Isle of Thanet assigned them, 
and then the county of Kent for their coloniza- 
tion; and, in conjunction with the native Britons, 
marched against the Picts and Scots with miracu- 

^ In the reign of Valentinian the Third. 

» Speed quotes from the venerable Bede parts of the petition 
of the distressed Britons. "The barbarians driue us back to the 
sea, the sea againe putteth us back upon the barbarians ; thus be- 
tweene two kindes of deaths, we are either slaughtered or drowned." 
And the more to represent their miseries, and move him to their 
assistance, they urge, " We are the remnaunt that suruiue of the 
Britaines, and are your subjects, who, besides the enemie, are 
afflicted by famine and mortalitie, which at this present extreamly 
rageth in our land." 



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12 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

lous success, and after many severe encounters 
drove them back into the most northern part of the 
province. Hengist and Horsa, with the acquiescence 
of the Britons, sent for reinforcements of their 
kinsmen and countrymen, who, stationing them- 
selves in Northumberland, preserved that frontier 
from farther irruptions from the Picts and Scots, 
and established what yet remains the boundaries of 
the two kingdoms. Secured from the molestation 
of their old enemies, jealousies and dissentions 
arose between the Britons and their Saxon allies, 
who had erected themselves into two kingdoms, 
the north and south Saxons, the one in Nor- 
thimiberland and the other in Kent; and being 
joined by numerous bodies of their countrymen, 
amongst whom the Angles from Schonen and Jut- 
land formed a large proportion, the natives were 
gradually subdued and driven into Wales, and the 
Saxons took possession of the whole island, when 
they changed its name from Britain into Angle- 
land, or England. In 150 years from their first 
entrance into Britain, they effected its subjugation, 
and dividing it into seven kingdoms, laid the foun- 
dation of the Saxon Heptarchy about the year 600. 
The Saxons having obtained the entire posses- 
sion of the country, driven the Scots beyond the 
Tweed, and the chief remnant of the Britons having 
passed into Wales, the few who remained were 
spoiled of their goods and lands, and seized upon as 
vassals by their conquerors. They were employed 



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INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 13 

in feeding cattle, tillage, and all the menial offices 
of life ; and their children were considered part of 
the property of the lord of the soil, Uke the cattle 
or other stock belonging to it. Thus commenced 
the system of villenage in England, which was not 
finally abolished until the reign of Henry Vllth, 
and on which some farther observations will be 
found in our extracts from Domesday, relative to 
Grodmanchester. The Saxon princes of the seven 
kingdoms, into which they divided the country, 
soon became jealous and emulous of each others 
power; continual quarrels and aggressions arose 
between them; and upwards of 200 years were 
passed in all the turmoil of civil dissentions, devas- 
tating sieges, mutual invasions, and usurpations, 
when, about the year 828, Egbert, a descendant 
from the West Saxon kings, by the conquests of 
his ancestors and the success of his own arms, 
subdued the kingdoms of the Heptarchy, and was 
crowned the first sole monarch of England. 

A second change was thus effected in the man- 
ners, language, and the laws of England, as well as 
in its very name. The patriarchal government of 
the Druids amongst the Briths was followed by 
the pretorial of the Roman invaders, and which 
now, in like manner, was supplanted by Saxon 
constitutions. The old name of Albion had been, 
mutated into Britannia, and now was succeeded 
by Angle-land, or England. The language, for- 
merly British, had, during the occupation of the 



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14 HISTORY OF GODMANCHBSTER. 

Romans, been Latinized, and by the Angles was 
changed into Saxon or English. The districts of 
the natives had been converted into Roman colo- 
nies, and were now divided into Saxon shires or 
counties. The ancient chiefs, or leaders, were suc- 
ceeded by Roman Praetors or (xovemors, and then 
by Saxon Konings, or Kings of the territories they 
presided over or had subdued ; the major part of 
which they reserved as sources of revenue for them- 
selves, and the remainder they shared amongst their 
commanders and soldiers; the former, to whom the 
larger divisions were awarded, were styled Eorls 
or Barons, some of the latter Knights, and others 
Freemen ; thus distinguishing each class from the 
Villeins who held nothing but at the will of the 
Lord. The tranquillity of the Saxons in the posses- 
sion of this country was but of short duration, and 
the security of their dominion was threatened by 
frequent irruptions from the Danes, whose inva- 
sions were sometimes repelled by force of arms, and 
at others by the presentation of tributes, which occa- 
sioned great exactions from and discontent amongst 
the people, as they gave rise to the oppressive im- 
post called Danegeld. These assailants were faci- 
litated in their enterprizes on this country by the 
munerous Danes who had located throughout the 
realm, when Ethelred^ digested a plan for the 
general massacre of the Danes in England. This 
perfidious and bloody deed was amply revenged by 

y Sir William Temple. 



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INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 15 

their countrymen, at the mstance of Sweyn, King 
of Denmark, hy renewed and more formidable in- 
vasions, so that when Alfred ascended the throne, 
a period to which we shall have particularly to 
allude, we find them under Hunga, Hubba, Guth- 
rum, Oseitd, and Amund, in the almost entire 
occupation of the kingdom. 

It is unnecessary to enlarge farther on the general 
history of our country; but as the station of God- 
manchester was most probably the site of a British 
settlement,^ doubtless of Roman occupation, sub- 
sequently a Danish encampment, and many of its 

This suggestion is confirmed by the Rev. Thomas Leman, 
of Bath, in an interesting MS. Memoir relating to the Antiquities 
of HuntiDgdonshire, bearing date the 29th of August, 1822, and 
which also traces the British roads through the county, and God- 
manchester in particular. " Huntingdonshire was inhabited 
by the Iceni^Magni, a powerful Celtic tribe; and the eastern 
part of the county (as it is evident from its present situation) 
being an extensive marsh, while the higher grounds in the west 
and in the centre were covered with woods, seems not to have had 
a British town within its limits, if we except Godmanchester, al- 
though Castor, on the banks of the Nen, was close to its northern 
borders. Many British roads, as well as Roman, passed through 
it in various directions, amongst \diich that called the Ermyn 
street was the most visible. This great British track- way entered 
the county with the present north road from Caxton, proceeded 
along the turnpike straight to Godmanchester, and passing the 
Ouze at Huntingdon, probably kept the high grounds near 
Stukeley, where many barrows seem to point out the line as far 
as Alconbury-Hill; where it left the turnpike on its right and di- 
verged more to the west, on what is now called the Drove or Bul- 
lock-road: this it pursued for near fifteen miles without passing 



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16 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

customs are of Saxon origin, the following history 
of them would have been incomplete without tracing 
their foundation through the obscurity of past time, 
and which is the only apology that can be oflfered 
for this brief survey of the introduction of our Saxon 
ancestors, their language, and their laws, into our 
country. 

through a single village, but leaving Upton, Washingley House, 
Haddon, and Sibson to the right, it reached Wansford, and 
then crossed the Nen into Northamptonshire, throwing off a 
branch to Dumomagus or Castor. Although now unknown, 
there must have been a second British way connecting the 
(antient British station and subsequent) Roman town Dumoma- 
gus (now Castor) with Camborsham or Cambridge, which ran 
probably in the line of the subsequent Roman road, except that 
it crossed the Ouse near Hartford and Hemingford on its way to 
Fenny Stanton. A third running easterly towards Ad Taum or 
Taesbro* (Ad Tuam or Tasburgh) in Norfolk, together with two 
others running westerly, the one proceeding to Ratis or Leicester, 
and the other to Benoms or Claychester." — (Bennones or Ven- 
nones, Clay brook in Leicester shire J 



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17 



CHAPTER IL 

OODMANCHESTER— THE DUROLTPONS OF THE 
ROMANS. 



AVING seen in our introduc- 
tory Chapter the Romans 
in the occupation of this 
part of the country, we will 
now adduce those argu- 
ments found on record, or 
that reasonably occur, to 
settle the question of si- 
tuation of the ancient Roman station — Durolipons. 
— ^A contention on this point of antiquity has 
long existed between the towns of Huntingdon 
and Godmanchester. The few advocates on the 
part of the former found their suppositions on 
assertions vaguely made by writers on general 
topography, and whose mistakes may be readily 
excused, when we consider the variety of infor- 
mation they have to collect, arrange, and reduce 
to system. Amongst the foremost of these was 
Robert Talbot,* an eminent antiquarian, whose MS. 

» He was a native of Thorp, in Northamptonshire, and died in 
1538. 

C 



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18 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

Collections were of great service to Leland, Bale, 
and Camden, and who is thus quoted by Carolus 
Stephanus in his '' Dictionaram Historicum Geogra- 
phicum," &c. : '* Durolipons,^ a town in England, 
commonly called Huntington ;" yet even he adds, 
'* but, according to Camden, Gormoncester, a 
neighbouring town, which is also written Godman- 
chester." It was thus, and even without the 
shadow of an argument being advanced in support 
of the position, that Huntingdon claimed authority 
for its Roman origin ; nor was any attempt made 
to establish the truth of such assumption until 
the year 1808, when Brayley, in his Description 
of Huntingdonshire, gave a detailed account of 
the site occupied by the Castle Hills, and endea- 
voured, from the imposing appearance they present 
to the curious traveller on his approach to them 
from Godmanchester, to draw conclusive inferences 
to fix the station at that place. Carruthers, a well- 
iftformed and ingenious Scotchman, in 1824 pub- 
lished an interesting volume, entitled '' The History 
of Huntingdon," in which he merely quotes the 
words of Brayley, whose arguments we shall 
contend with when we consider the origin and 
various occupations of the castle at Huntingdon, 
and the characters of its baronial chiefs. On the 
other hand, a munerous host of ancient and modem 

^ Durolipons, Angliae op. vulg6 Huntington Talboto : Cam- 
deno vero Gormoncester, pagus vicinus ; qui et Godmanchester 
scribitur. 



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THE DUROLIPONS OF THE ROMANS. 19 

authors place the station at Godmanchester. — 
The indefatigable Sir Robert Cotton,*" the Hunt- 
ingdonshire antiquarian, from whose MSS. in the 
British Museum the learned have derived, in mat- 
ters of antiquity, much valuable information, wrote 
the article ^Huntingdonshire,^ in Speed's " Theatre 
of the Empire of Great Britaine^ ; in which, speak- 
ing of Godmanchester, he observes, '* for certain 
it was that Roman station, Durosipont of the 
Bridges named, so many hundred years (until the 
light of our Great Britain story overshone it) for- 
gotten/' This great Ught was Camden, who says, 
** it was the DuroUponte of the Emperor Antoni- 
nus," In a republication of Richard of Cirencester, 
by the Rev. Mr. Hatcher, with a Translation of 
the wiginal Treatise, *' De Situ Britannise," and a 
Commentary on the Itinerary, the station is un- 
hesitatingly fixed at Godmanchester. In Iter the 
3d of the learned Monk, occurs DuraUponte ; and 
which Iter is compared with the 9th of Antonine, 
where it is named DuroUpontem — ^both of which 
by Hatcher are called Godmanchester. In illus- 
tration of which we here insert the Itinera. 

« Sir Robert Cotton, the distinguished antiquary, was born at 
Denton, in the county of Huntingdon, Jan. 22d, 1570, and died 
at Cotton House, Westminster, May 6th, 1631. No eulogium can 
contain the praises due to this eminent man.; — " Si monumentum 
requieris^ circumspice !" — may be said of him in the republic of 
Histoiy and Antiquities. 



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H a 
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X 



X 



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X 
X 

X X 
X X 

X 



XXX 



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THE DUROLIPONS OF THE ROMANS. 



21 



In his Commentary, Hatcher observes, that ''Ici- 
anis may have been Ichlingham, and Camboricmn 
was most probably at Cambridge, from whence there 
is a Roman road discoverable to Lincoln. To the 
first station, Godmanchester, this Iter goes on the 
great communication between Colchester and Ches- 
ter, which, for the sake of distinction, may be called 
the Via Devana ; and from Godmanchester to Lin- 
coln, on the eastern branch of the Ermyn-street, 
which was adopted by the Romans. Twenty miles 
from Godmanchester we find the great station of 
Chesterton, on one side of the Nen, and Castor 
on the other ; which probably gave rise to the two 
names of Durobrivce and Dumomagus^ the Roman 
and British towns severally noticed by Antonine 
and Richard." The 17th Iter of Richard we also 
insert in confirmation : 



Richard— Iter xvii, 
Ab Anderid^ (Eboracum) usque, sic. 


Corrected 
Naiubers. 


Sites of Stations. 
From East Bourne to York. 


Sylva Anderida, m. p. . . 
Novio mago .•••.••... 


XV 

XXX 

XXX 

XXX 

XV 

XV 

VI 


XXXX 
XV 

XXVIII 
XXX 
XX 

XXV 
XXI 
XV 
XV 

VI 
XXX 


East Bourne. 
Holwood Hill. 
London. 
Brougham. 
Godmanchester. 
Castor, on the left hank 

of the Nen. 
Ancaster. 
Lincoln. 

Winterton. 

Brough. 
York. 


Londinio 


Adfines 


Durolisponte 

Dumomasro 


Corisennis • 


Lindo ••• 


In Medio . 


Ah Ahum . , • 


Unde transis in 
Maximam. 

Ad Petuariam 

Deinde Ehoraco 



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22 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

TTie celebrated William Stukely had no doubts 
upon this point; for, in describing the course of 
the Via Devana through Cambridge, in his Itine- 
rariiun Curiosum, republished 1757, 4to, at page 203 
we find '* put of the ruins of this city — CGhroMa,^ 
now CambridgeJ — ^William the Norman Duke built 
a castle;® a very straight Roman road comes to it 
from Durosiponte, Godmanchester. It passes as 
straight through the present Cambridge by Christ 
College and Emanuel College, over Gog-magog 
hills, by Vandulbury Camp, so to Camulodunum, 
Colchester." From the Magna Britannia of the 
Rev. Thomas Cox,^ published in 1720, 4to, we may 
conclude,^ that not only Camden but " other anti- 
quaries agree, that this is the same city that the 
Emperor Antoninus, in his Itinerary, calls Duroli- 
ponte (instead of Durosiponte, an easy mistake of 
one letter), which, in the British language, signifies 
a bridge over the Ouse ; for we must own that the 
river went indifferently by the names of Use, Ise, 
Ose, or Ouse ; and so the name agrees well to this 
town, which is situated by the bridge over that 
river, to which if we add, that the distances be- 
tween Camboritum or Granchester, in Cambridge- 
shire, and Durobrivae or Dornford, in this county, 

d " Kair-Grant, i, e. Grantecastria^ que mod6 dicitur Cante- 
brigia." — Henric. Hunt. 

e Mr. Essex, in Archaeologia, vol. iv., thinks it cannot be older 
than the time of Edward 1st, or Henry the 3d. 

f Vicar of Bromfield in Essex. ? P. 1046. 



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THE DUR0LIP0N8 OF THE ROMANS. 23 

between which it is placed in the Itinerary, answer 
very well, and that many old Roman coins have 
been frequently dug up here, there can be no doubt 
but that the conjecture is almost certain." 

Dr. James Dugdale, in his New British Tra- 
veller, 1819, 4to, confinns the above, and points 
out the course of the Roman roads through 
Godmanchester, and shows their intersection at 
this station. In volume 3d, page 66, writing of 
Huntingdonshire, he observes, that *' the chief 
Roman stations in this county were Duroliponte, 
or Godmanchester; and Durobrivae, near Domford- 
ferry, about mid-way between Chesterton and Cas- 
tor, in Northamptonshire. The principal Roman 
roads, three in mmiber, intersected each other at 
Godmanchester — one of them has been called the 
British (^RomanJ Ermin.^ This seems to have entered 
Huntingdonshire from the neighbourhood of Caesar's 
camp, or Salenae, in Bedfordshire, and to have pro- 
ceeded by Crane-hill, in the track since known by 
the name of Hail-lane, whence, passing through 
Toseland, Godmanchester, and Huntingdon, it con- 
tinued by Alconbury Weston and Upton ; and fall- 
ing into the Bullock-road, passed to the east of the 
' Ruins of Ogerston,'^ and finally entered Northamp- 

^ A typographical error, as the road described is the Roman 
Ermin-street ; and the road subsequently described under that 
name is the British Ermin. 

* Probably a corruption of A^^er and Stane, being the remains 
of a tumulus on the British track-way, the course of which it here 
follows, see page 15. 



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24 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER, 

tonshire at Wansford. The Roman^ CBritishJ Ermin- 
street entered this county from Cambridgeshire, in 
the vicinity of Papworth St. Agnes, and, proceeding 
to Godmanchester nearly in the line of the present 
high road, followed the course of the British (RomanJ 
Ermin to the neighbourhood of Alconbury ; when, 
branching to the eastward, it again assumed the 
line of the high road through Sawtry St. Andrews, 
Stilton, and Chesterton, to Durobrivae, whence, 
crossing Northamptonshire, it entered into Rutland- 
shire, near Stamford. The Via Devana entered 
from Cambridgeshire, in the neighbourhood of 
Fenny Stanton, and proceeded to Godmanchester 
as the present turnpike road, thence pursuing the 
track of the British Ermin to Alconbury it passed 
to the north of Buckworth and Old Weston, 
and entered Northamptonshire in the vicinity of 
Clapton." 

The Rev. T. Leman, in the Memoir quoted in a 
note on our first Chapter, states, that "the Romans 
had two stations of considerable importance in this 
county, one at Godmanchester and the other at 
Chesterton, near Water-Newton on the Nen. The 
former, though now completely destroyed, is still 

^ " The Roman military road, {via Militaria) or Hereman- 
street, (Saxon^) formed on the course of the original British 
track-way, was made leading from Newhaven, at the mouth 
of the river Ouse in Sussex, through London to Lincoln, a.d. 69. 
— 6th of Nero Claudius Domitian Caesar, Emperor of Rome." — 
Stukelys Itinerarium, 



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THE DUROLIPONS OF THE ROMANS. 25 

discovered by its Saxon termination of Chester, by 
the coins found within it, according to Leland, and 
by the meeting of at least three Roman roads on 
the same spot. From the number of Itineraries in 
which it is mentioned being greatly corrupted, there 
may have been formerly a doubt about its name, 
although all our better antiquaries agree in caUing 
it Durolipons." He afterwards observes, that 
" the county is traversed by three considerable 
Roman roads, one of which, the Ermyn-street, en- 
ters it on the same line with the British track-way, 
and continues with it as far as Godmanchester, 
where it receives the Via Devana, a road from 
Colchester to Chester on one side, and that from 
Sandy in Bedfordshire on the other, and crosses 
the Ouse with them to Huntingdon. The second 
of these certainly bears to the left in the valley to- 
wards the village of Alconbury, while the Roman 
Ermyn-street ascending the hill towards Alconbury- 
Hill, there joins the British way, and near the 68th 
mile-stone separates itself from it, while the latter 
is continued to Wansford. The Roman road runs 
with the present turnpike by Stangate -Hole, 
Stilton, and Norman-Cross, where, bending a 
little to the west, it proceeds to the great station of 
Durobrivus, where it passes the Nen. 2dly, The 
road from Colchester to Chester, which was first 
discovered by Dr. Mason, and is known by the 
name of the Via Devana, enters the county with 
the Cambridge turnpike near Fenny-Stanton, goes 



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26 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

with it through Godmanchester, passes the Ouse, 
and, running near the Gallows, is plainly to he 
traced for two or three miles ; hut when it approaches 
the great North road from Buckden to Stilton it 
passes through hroken ground and is lost. It 
points however to Alconbury village, leaving the 
hills on its right ; is supposed by Dr. Mason to have 
gone along the side of the brook to Weston, and 
through Hammerton, Winwick, and Thuming, to- 
wards Sylford in Northamptonshire : but it appears 
to me to have borne a little more to the left 
towards Solum Wood, and to have proceeded not 
far from Clapton to Wadenhoe, where there is a 
perfect Roman camp, and so by Stanion, near 
Cottingham, from whence it is again visible all the 
way to Leicester. A third runs visibly from the 
station below Caesar's camp at Sandy, in Beds, 
which I discovered in 1791 ; this crosses the road 
from Everton to Tempsford, and passes through 
a farm-yard belonging to Mr. Astle, then some 
enclosures to a farm-house the property of Gre- 
neral Packe, which stands upon it, then through 
another enclosure to Tempsford Cow-common ; 
it subsequently ascends the hill close by a tumulus 
planted with trees, called the Hen and Chickens, 
then proceeding by the side of the Hedge-row, and 
leaving Hardwicke to the east, after crossing the 
road from GamUngay to Saint Neots, it passes 
Paxton and the OfFords to the left, and proceeds 
directly to Godmanchester. A fourth went from 



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THE DUROLIPONS OF THE ROMANS. 27 

Godmanchester^ directly over the Ouse between 
Graffham and Perry, in a line for Stanley and Agden 
Wood, towards the great station of Irchester near 
Higham Ferrars ; and there was a fifth, which ran, 
I beUeve, from the north" bank of the Ouse near 
Huntingdon, possibly by Hartford into the Fens.*' 
What has been advanced, in the way of ad- 
missions of historiographers and antiquarians, may 
be considered sufficient ; nevertheless, before we 
proceed to our argument, which, in connection with 
the above-cited authorities, may be deemed conclu- 
sive, we will take the farther testimony of the Rev. 
6. C. GoAam, as recorded in his excellent His- 
tory of Eynesbury and St. Neots: " A Roman road 
unquestionably passes through both these parishes. 
The Itinerary of Richard of Cirencester, and that 
of Antonine, are both, it is true, silent with regard 

' Probably crossing tbe Ouse at the present Godmanchester 
Wash, where there might have been a safe passage over (previ- 
ously to the establishment of a navigation) to Portholme, and 
from thence in the direction of Bromham Bridge, as set forth. 

™ This fifth road was a branch from the Via Devana, which, 
leaving Godmanchester on the left, crossed the Ouse at Hartford, 
where there is still a ford-way ; near which, some few years since, 
were found two primitive British stone scelts, or axes, three inches 
broad at Aeir base, and one inch at their other extremity ; five 
and a half inches long, and one inch and a half thick, wedge- 
shaped, with attenuated edges ; together with a Roman spur of sin- 
gular construction, the rowel having twelve points, and being an 
inch and a half in diameter. These valuable antiques, in the 
possession of the Author, had doubtless been there accidentally 
buried, after some conflict between the Y-ceni and the Romans. 



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28 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

to such a Roman way; but it is universally admitted 
that those works point out only a limited number 
of the roads and stations which occur in Britain. 
The road alluded to is that which connected the 
stations of Sandy, (Salenae,) and Godmanchester, 
(Durolipons.) That such a Roman street existed 
was first suggested by Professor Mason of Cam- 
bridge. In 1791, the Rev. T. Leman, of Bath, 
satisfactorily traced it from Chesterton on the Ivel 
(the site of the Roman town Salenae) as far as the 
parish of Eynesbury : the line has since been dis- 
tinctly pursued through the parish of St. Neots, 
and thence to Durolipons, the station on the Ouse 
at Godmanchester'* — see pages 2 and 3. And again, 
at page 15, ''We find either decided stations, traces 
of intrenchments, or other Roman antiquities, at 
the following places on the Ouse, or its branches: 
Sandy (Salenae) on the Ivel, Eynesbury, Godman- 
chester (DuroUpons) , and Holywell ; all of which 
posts are nearly at equal intervals, and would be 
well calculated to defend this river as a barrier 
against the incursions of an enemy approaching the 
Nen from Cambridgeshire." 

It has been objected, that it was contrary to the 
policy of the Romans to form their encampments 
on a plain, and that they would, as a matter of 
course, have given the preference to Himtingdon 
for their occupation, from the Castle-hills present- 
ing a site more agreeable to their usual tactics. But 
in all ages mankind have been alike subservient 



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THE DUROLII^ONS OF THE ROMANS. 29 

to the adage— '*^ Necessitas non leges Aafte^/' — and 
we accordingly find" that their camps or stations 
were occasionally pitched on but slight elevations, 
on level plains, on hills, on mountains, or where 
their necessities and localities directed. The Ro- 
man8° were a brave and heroic people, who chose 
rather to trust to such works as they threw up with 
their own hands, near ground on which, if they 
thought fit, they could conveniently draw out to 
fight, (making their camps and stations sufficiently 
strong to prevent a surprise, or defend themselves 
in, till assistance could be had,) rather than fortify 
such fastnesses as would show they were afraid of 
the enemy. 

The hiUs at Himtingdon present but a very limited 
prospect compared with the more extensive one from 
those which form the south boundary of Godman- 
chester. The latter comprehend within their view, 
in the east and south, the high lands extending into 
Cambridgeshire ; in the south-west the rich valley 
and river leading to the station Salenae in Bedford- 
shire; and an extent of country to the west and 
north, fifty-fold greater than may be viewed from the 
Castle-hills. The site of the present town of God- 
manchester was peculiarly fitted for their perma- 

o " Primum locum habent (Castra) quae ex campo in eminen- 
tiam leniter attolluntur — secundum, quae in piano constituuntur . 
tertium, quae in colle ; quartum, quae in monte ; quintum, quae in 
loco necessario." — Hygenus de Castramentione, 

o Vide John Watson in Archaeologia. 



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30 HISTORY OF 60DMANCHESTER. 

nent occupation, with a watch-tower or beacon 
placed on the hills to the south: and that they had 
such a watch-tower may be fairly inferred from a 
close there situated, which is and has for centuries 
been called the Beacon-field,* in transfers of it from 
one proprietor to another. 

From this watch-tower the Romans commanded 
such an extent of country as prevented the possibi- 
lity of their encampment being taken by surprise, 
and gave them time to direct their chief strength to 
whatever point from whence their assailants might 
come. Here, too, they had the lingula"* or angle, 
formed by the diversion of the Ouse from the north 
to the east, giving them the benefit of a natural for- 
tification, from being boimded by the river on the 
north and south, whilst their forces were, if neces- 
sary, marshalled to receive their invaders on the 
east and west. Here also occurred the juncticm of 
three of their principal roads, an advantage not to 
be neglected by them, or a position to be granted to 
the but imperfectly subdued natives ; all of which, 
in connection with the innumerable quantity of 
Roman coins' that have been and are still found 

p Vide Court Rolls of the Borough. 

q " We know, likewise^ from many of the stations, per lineam 
valUy and elsewhere, the Romans were particularly fond of chusing 
the lingula or angle between two rivers, as by that means they 
saved the trouble of other fortifications." — John Strange in Archaeol, 

' The Author of this work has in his possession no less than 
142 copper coins of Roman Emperors, Consuls, &c. all of 



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THE DUROLIPONS OF THE ROBfANS. 31 

in Gk)dmanchester, whilst none have been disco- 
vered on the opposite banks of the Ouse, (particu- 
larly if we can satisfactorily account for the ap- 
pearances presented by the Castle-hills,) may lead 
us safely to infer, that Godmanchester was the 
Durolipons of the Romans. 



which have either been dug or ploughed up within the last twenty 
years; not in any one particular field, but in the yarious fields 
occupying the site which he has awarded to the Roman camp. 
Amongst them are those of Caesar, Augustus^ Tiberius, Claudius, 
Nero, Vespasian, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonine, and others. A 
list and particular description of which he proposes publishing in 
a separate Essay. A silver coin found in the year 1829, of the 
Empress Sabina, is here represented ; it is in fine preservation. 



Julia Sabina was a Roman lady of distinction, celebrated for 
her private as well as public virtues. At the instance of Plotina, 
the wife of Trajan, she was married to Publius ^lius Adrian, who 
succeeded to the Imperial Purple on the death of Trajan, a.d. 
117. His brutality towards Sabina has but few parallels in his- 
tory ; at length, being himself afflicted with dropsy, he poisoned 
her, lest she should survive him, after they had been married 
thirty-eight years — a. d, 138. Divine honors were paid to her 

memory. Ob: the Head of Sabina with sabina avgvsta 

HADRiANi AVG. — Rev : a Figure of Concord in a sitting posture, 
bearing a burning lamp in her right hand. — concordia ayg. 



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32 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

HUNTINGDON CASTLE BUILT A.D. 917. 

In controversies respecting this question, much 
stress has been laid upon the words of Camden — 
*' On the river near the bridge, which is fair built 
of stone, are to be seen the mount and site of a 
castle, which in the year 917 King Edward the 
Elder built anew;'^^ which last words are commonly 
interpreted rebuilt. But if we consider the his- 
torical facts of that prince's reign, we may conclude 
that Camden's words mean — not rebuilt, but first 
built, or newly built. 

On the death of Alfred, and Edward's succession 
to the throne of England, in the year 901, his title 
was disputed by Ethelwald, the son of Alfred's 
eldest brother, who, repairing to the Northum- 
brian Danes, ever disaffected to the Saxon mo- 
narchy, and ready for revolt under any leader, 
was proclaimed king, and his rebellious standard 
was joined by the East Anglian and Mercian Danes, 
and a powerful party in the kingdom. Edward 
forthwith made an expedition into East Anglia and 
Mercia, reduced the Danes to subjection, and in 

' The argument itself arises from the translators and comment 
tators of Camden putting a forced construction on the verb in- 
stauro, which as frequently implies prepare, build — as repair, 
rebuild. Camden's words are " Ad flumen propfe pontem qui e 
skxo viuo speciosus est, moles et area Castri cemitur, quod anno 
reparatae salutis 917 Edwardus Senior instaurauit." — Cam. Brit. 
p. 395, f. edit. 1590. 



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THE DUROLIPONS OF THE ROMANS. 33 

the contest Ethelwald was slain. The Anglicized 
and foreign Danes, more bent on plunder than the 
glory of conquest, notwithstanding this defeat, had 
many piratical skirmishes and encoimters with the 
Saxons, until Edward took the entire occupation 
of East Anglia, Northumbria, and Mercia, and 
built* fortresses or castles, which he garrisoned for 
their defence. As history is silent with respect 
to any castle or fortress at Huntingdon, previous 
to this period, the origin of the Castle may safely 
be referred to the year 917. A further, and in- 
deed conclusive inference, in conjunction, may be 
taken from the following extract from the Norman 
survey, about a hundred and eighty years subse- 
quent to this event : 

In Burgo Huntbdonb. In the Borough of Hun- 
— In loco Castri fuer xx tingdon.— — In the place 
mansiones ad oms csvetu- where the Castle stands for- 
dines reddentes p annu xvj merly were twenty man> 
sol 7 viij den'^ ad firma sions, paying all customary 
regis, quse m^absunt. dues^ and sixteen shillings 

and eightpence to the King's 
farm^ which are now want- 
ing. 
The Rotulus Wintoniensis, taken in Alfred's 
time, is allowed to be the basis on which the docu- 
ments called Domesday-book were compiled, and 

* " He fortified the towns of Chester, Eddesbury, Warwick, 
Cherbuiy, Buckingham, Towcester, Maldon, Huntingdon, and 
Colchester ;" or, in other words, he built and garrisoned castles 
in those places.— Ifww^, 4to edit. 1762, p. 71. 

D 



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34 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

the object of William's commissioners in their 
survey, was to ascertain what changes, whether of 
increase or diminution, had taken place in the 
houses, population, &c. of the ^ngdom, that the 
tax of Danegeld might, when necessary, be equi- 
tably laid. Not only the roll of Winchester, but 
tradition would bear them out in stating, that pre- 
vious to the section of the then Castle, the site 
had been occupied by twenty mansions. The re- 
cital of the fact, in the Inquest returned from Hun- 
tingdon, might be a circumstance insisted upon 
by the inhabitants as a hint to the King's Senes- 
chal or Bailiff, that the dues paid for those houses 
being lost, it was but just that that portion of the 
farm should in future be remitted. 

The commanding situation of the site, its con- 
tiguity to the river, and its forming a barrier be- 
tween the East Angles and the kingdom ofMercia, 
were powerful inducements why Edward should 
erect here a Saxon castle ; but these arguments 
lose much of their force when applied to the period 
of the occupation of the country by the Romans. 

Though the castle was built in the year 917, its 
strength and dimensions were probably insignifi- 
cant to what they assumed subsequent to the Nor- 
man Conquest, as it is a generally admitted fact, 
and particularly insisted upon by Grose,"* '' that 
castles walled with stone, and designed for resi- 
dence, as well as defence, are for the most part of 

« Grose's Anti(][. of England and Wales. — Fref, 



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THE DUROLIFONS OF THE ROMANS. 35 

no higher antiquity than the Conquest ; for although 
the Saxons, Romans, and even antient Britons, had 
castles huilt with stone, yet they were few in num- 
ber, and, through neglect, so much decayed, that 
little more than their ruins were remaining, and 
this is assigned by many historians and antiqua- 
rians as one of the reasons for the facility with 
which WiUiam made himself master of this coim- 
try." This statement is corroborated by Agard/ 

Soon after the Norman Conquest, we find Wal- 
deof,"^ or Waltheof, a Saxon, Earl of Huntingdon, 
Northampton, anid Northumberland, in possession 

▼ For I read in the Historye of Normandye, wiytten in 
Prenche, that when Sweyne, King of Denmark^ entered the 
realme against Kinge Ahred or Allured^ to revenge the night 
slaughter of the Danes done by the Saxons in Englande^ he sub- 
dued all before him^ because there were no fortes or castles to 
withstand or stop him ; and the reason yielded is, because the 
fortes of England, for the most part, were buylte after the Nor- 
mans possessed the realme. — Agards Antiq. Discourses, vol. i. 
p. 188. 

In those dayes (in the Saxons time I mean) were very few such 
defensible places as we now call castles, that being a French 
name; so that though the English were a bold and warlike 
people^ yet for want of the like strong holds, they were much the 
less able to resist their enemies. — Sir William JDugdales War- 
wickshire, 

^ It was the seat of Waltheof, the great Saxon Earl, as of his 
succeeding heires, and it doth yet remain the head of that honour, 
on which in other shires many knights fees and sixteene in 
this attended.— jL«n«(fouw MS. Brit. Mus. No. 921, fo. 28, C. 

See also Sir Robert Cotton, in Speed's Theatre of Great 
Britaine. 

d2 



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36 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

of the castle and honour of Huntingdon. The 
events of the Norman usurpation were yet too 
recent not to have, particularly amongst the 
Saxons, many secret enemies to the continuance 
of its power. Waltheof attached himself to the 
cause of Edgar Atheling, nephew of Edward the 
Confessor, and heir to the throne in the Saxon 
line, and engaged in numerous conspiracies in sup- 
port of that prince. Uniting with other nohles, 
and urged and assisted by Malcolm, king of Scot- 
land, who had married Edgar's sister, he made a 
powerful effort for the restoration of the Saxon 
dynasty about five years after the Conquest. The 
issue was unsuccessful, though for a time it threat- 
ened the stability of the Norman's assumption ; but 
William was so charmed with the valor and con- 
stancy of Waltheof, particularly in his defence of 
the city of York, that he resolved to purchase his 
friendship by patronage and confidence, instead of 
sacrificing him to his resentment. He gave him 
his niece Judith in marriage, together with con- 
siderable possessions, in addition to his hereditary 
property. 

Perhaps more from implacable hatred and envy 
of his cotemporaries, the Norman potentates, (whose 
services to William in the subjugation of the king- 
dom had been amply rewarded by liberal grants of 
lands, which escheated into the royal hands from 
the Barons who had opposed him, and offices of 
great power in the state,) than any regard for the 



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THE DUROLIPONS OF THE ROMANS. 37 

Danes; and all hopes of the Saxon succession 
being destroyed; regardless of former instances of 
royal clemency and mimificence, Waltheof entered 
into correspondence with Sweyn, King of Denmark, 
and Fitz-Auber, or Fitz-Osbem, Earl of Hereford, 
a Norman baron, in favour of Harold's sons, who 
were mider the protection of Drone, King of Ire- 
land; and on the departure of William to visit his 
dukedom of Normandy, digested with them a con- 
spiracy for the restoration of the Danish line. The 
scheme was abortive ; for, whether from compunc- 
tion, or apprehension of the issue, when all was 
prepared for the enterprize, Waltheof confessed his 
treason to Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, the brother of 
King William, who had been left Vicegerent in 
England, a. d. 1075. Notwithstanding this con- 
fession, which enabled Odo to counteract the plans 
of the conspirators, Waltheof* and Fitz-Auber suf- 
fered decapitation at Winchester, and were the 
only two instances of noblemen executed in Eng- 
land during the reign of WiUiam the Conqueror. 
A baron of the restless intrigue and personal in- 
trepidity of Waltheof would doubtless increase the 
security of his castle at Huntingdon; but perhaps 
it attained its greatest strength, extent, and mag- 
nificence during the reign of Stephen, or the con- 
tentions between the St. lizes and the Scots in 

* Waltheof was first buried beneath the scaffold on which he 
suffered^ but his remains were afterwards removed to Croyland 
Abbey, where, as Ingulph asserts, they worked many miracles. 



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38 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

that of Henry 2d. Judith, widow of Waltheof, 
refusing to marry Simon de St. lize, who was one 
of the Norman followers of WiUiam, was disin- 
herited of her estate; and St. lize marrying Maud, 
her daughter, succeeded to the possession of the 
castle at Huntingdon. On his death, Maud mar- 
ried David King of Scotland, son of Malcolm, (who 
slew Macheth,) and hy Henry 1st was created Earl 
of Huntingdon. His successor, Stephen de Blois, 
gave him the castle, with considerable possessions 
in this county, '' for an augmentation of his 
estate,*' and it is recorded that he enlarged the 
castle^ '' with many works." In the reign of Henry 
the 2d it became a retreat for the disaffected and 
seditious, and its occupation a subject of constant 
dispute between the St. lizes and the Scots; and 
on July the 21st, 1174, Henry having besieged the 
castle, it was surrendered to him by the Scots, and 
in 1175, by his order, dismantled and almost 
levelled' with the ground, as well as most of the 
castles throughout the country, which had been in 
the hands of the rebel barons. — ^We wiQ pursue 
the enquiry somewhat farther. Brayley, who has 

7 David Scotus^ cui^ ut antiquus habet historicus, " Stephanus 
Rex Burgum Huntmgdon in augmentum dederat," multis operi- 
bus adauxit — Camdens Brit, p. 395, ed. 1590. 

Towns were then generally held of some castle or honour. 

> In Speed's time (the reign of James the First) the ruins of 
the castle and its foundations might be traced, but now not a 
vestige of either remains. 



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THE DUBOLIPONS OF THE ROMANS. 39 

been before alluded to, deseribes the site of the cas- 
tle-hills and grounds adjacent in these words: ''On 
the south it is bounded by the river, from which it 
rises very abruptly to a considerable height, and 
from its simmiit commands a fine view over a great 
expanse of country, particularly to the south ; the 
prospect towards the north must also have been 
formerly very extensive^ but is now impeded by 
the houses of the town. The outer ramparts in* 
close an area of several acres, of a square form, 
with the angles rounded off, and the whole was 
environed by a deep ditch ; the banks on the 
south and south-east are still very bold ; the prin- 
cipal entrance was on the east side. Not any 
vestiges of buildings now remain, but the founda- 
tions may in various places be traced from the un- 
evenness of the surface : the artificial mount, on 
which most probably stood the keep of the castle, 
was surrounded by a ditch. Towards the west, 
the high ground continues for some distance ; but 
on the north and east it more quickly declines." 
This reads very imposing and very decisive; but 
if Mr. Brayley had personally inspected the site, he 
would have discovered, that what he calls the outer 
ramparts, inclosing an area of several acres of a 
square form, are very little more or less than old 
and now abandoned gravel and clay pits, part of 
which have actually been worked within the me- 
mory of some of the present inhabitants of Hun- 
tingdon. The high groimd at the south boundary 



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40 HISTORY OF GODMANCHBSTBR. 

continuing some distance towards the west, gradtt- 
ally declining towards the north, and more quickly 
so towards the east, is in a great measure the mere 
natural formation of the place, rendered somewhat 
more irregular hy the artificial works thrown up 
during the contentions between the Mercians and 
the Danes, and subsequently those of the St. Lizes 
and the Scots ; but the smaller square occupied by 
the castle-hills, carries, by its aspect, immediate 
conviction of its having been occupied by an Anglo- 
Norman castle. It is of the dimensions which 
would have been required for such occupation ; 
situated on an eminence ; in the south has a river 
running at its base; and in the west, north, and 
east, surrounded by a deep fosse. It is at that 
convenient distance from the public road, the 
Ermin-street, that would allow of the barbican or 
outwork for defending the great gate or principal 
entrance of the castle. The fortifications for the 
defence of this entrance were undoubtedly strong, 
from the high artificial mounts on which its pro- 
tecting towers stood. ThebaUeum, or area within, 
was well proportioned to the size of the estabUsh- 
ment; and the elevation on which the chief tower 
or keep stood for the residence of the Governor, 
and security of the fortress, was considerable and 
of ample extent. 

In thus fixing the Roman station, Durolipons, 
at Godmanchester, and entering into this minute 
investigation of the subject, the strictest impar- 



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THE DUROLIPONS OF THE ROMANS. 41 

tiality has been observed; not the distortion of 
an historical fact attempted, on the principle of 
the old couplet — 

If you d praise Lesbia s feature. 
Call her sister ugly creature — 

for the antiquity of Huntingdon, the baronial in- 
trigues, the sacred institutions, and the charitable 
foundations of olden time, together with, though 
last here recorded, not least amongst its memo- 
rabilia, its having been the birth-place of Oliver 
Cromwell, give it to the Historian, the Antiquarian, 
and the Politician, an interest that renders the aid 
of borrowed fame imnecessary to pourtray it illus- 
trious in the pages of the Topographer. 



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42 



CHAPTER ni. 

GODMANCHESTER A DANISH ENCAMPMENT, 
A.D.880. 




EVERTING to the period of 
History when the Saxons, 
after subdumg the Britons, 
and taking possession of the 
kingdom, were harassed and 
plundered by the Danes;* 
as our object is not to pre- 
sent an historical disserta- 
tion on those turbulent times, but merely to con- 
sider the circumstances imder which Grodman- 
chester for ever lost its old name, by becoming a 
Danish station of defence ; we shall restrict our 
comments to those events in which the Danish 
leader, Guthrum,^ was a prominent and for a time 
the principal character. In order to form a just 
estimate of his rank and prowess, and the impor- 

* See page 15. 

^ He has been variously called Gutbrum^ Guthmun^ Gytrum, 
Gurmun^ Gorman^ &c. 



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A DANISH ENCAMPMENT, A. D. 880. 43 

tance of those events, we mudt take a brief survey of 
the state of England a. d. 875. The dominions of 
Alfred were then completely overrun by the Danes, 
with the exception of the kingdom of the West 
Saxons, and almost in subjection to them, when a 
fresh inimdation of those pirates,*' brought hither 
by Guthrum, Oscitel, and Amund, entered the 
kingdom, and joined their coimtrymen under Hunga 
and Hubba, at their chief station at Bepton in Der- 
byshire. Plans having been concerted for commu- 
nication and co-operation, they divided their forces 
into numerous hordes ]!^ one portion took possession 
of Northumberland, commanded by a chieftain 
named Haldene;' another, headed by Guthrum, 
Oscitel, and Amund, established their camp at 
Cambridge; from whence they proceeded in the 
following year to Wereham, in Dorsetshire, the 
centre of Alfred's dominions. The vigilance and 
intrepidity of Alfred, and the success of his arms, 
soon reduced them to great extremities,' and they 
gladly av^ed themselves of a truce he offered them 
to leave the kingdom, first swearing by the reliques 
of Christian saints to make no friture irruptions on 
the country. The Saxons were deceived by this 
treaty into a fatal security, and the Danish forces 
treacherously fell upon Alfred's army, which they 
entirely discomfited, and, marching westward, 

« Hen. Hunt lib. v, * Saxon Chron. p. 83, and Asser, p. 8# 
« Hen. Hunt lib. v. ^ Saxon Chron. p. 83. 



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44 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

took possession of Exeter. The confidence of the 
Saxons in the discretion and valor of Alfred was 
unabated ; new supplies of men were continually 
raised for his assistance : in one year he fought 
no less than eight successful battles with the Danes, 
and by the consequent slaughter^ almost effected 
their annihilation, when he offered to the remainder 
proposals of peace, with stipulations that they 
might colonize in some part of England on submit- 
ting to his government, but that no more of their 
countrymen should be admitted into his territories.^ 
Pending the execution of this treaty, Alfred and his 
Saxon subjects were thrown into consternation by 
a fresh and more formidable arrival of Danes,* who, 
being joined by their scattered countrymen in Eng- 
land, had surprised Chippenham, in Wiltshire, and 
taken possession of the surrounding country. Their 
perfidy, their numbers, and their increasing suc- 
cesses, paralyzed the efforts of the disheartened 
Saxons, who then believed themselves devoted by 
heaven to destruction ; their strength was reduced 
by the continual havoc of their enemies ; their sa- 
crifices of life and property appeared utterly fruitless, 
and reinforcements of Danes continually pouring 
upon them, they abandoned themselves to despair.^ 

e Asser, p. 8. ^ Asser ; Hen. Hunt. lib. v. 

* " Anno Dom. 878, Gutrun tyrannus cum innumerabili Pagar 
norum exersitu Britanniae Anglice insulam undique inyasit." — 
Cod, MS. in BibL Bodl. N,E. E.—ll—lS. 

^ Saxon Chron. p. 84. 



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A DANISH ENCAMPMENT, A. D. 880. 45 

Some left their habitations and retired into Wales, 
others embarked for more distant states, whilst 
those who remained submitted to their overwhelm- 
ing conquerors, and in self-preservation sank into 
servile obedience. Alfred, in disguise, sought re- 
fuge in a peasant's hut, and became the domestic 
of a neat-herd, who entrusted him with the care of 
his cows. 

In the solitude of this retirement, the anxious 
mind of Alfred was not regardless of his future des- 
tiny : he observed the riotous lives and relaxed dis- 
cipline of the Danes, and secretly collecting some 
few of his still devoted adherents, retired with them 
into the centre of a bog in Somersetshire,^ formed 
by the stagnating waters of the Thone and Parret, 
where they took up their abode on a small island, of 
about two acres in extent. On this poor territory, 
which he called jEtheUngey, or the Isle of Nobles, 
rendered inaccessible by forests and morasses with 
which it was surrounded, (except by a narrow foot- 
path in the summer season,) he built and fortified 
an habitation, from which he made frequent incur- 
sions upon the Danes, supporting his followers upon 
the plunder they obtained, giving thein the conso- 
lation of revenge by their successes in these occa- 
sional skirmishes, and animating their hopes that 
future conquests would reinstate them in the pleni- 
tude of their former power. Hunga and Hubba 

1 Asser, p. 10. 



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46 HISTORY OF GODMANCHBSTER^, 

were at this time spreading fire and slaughter 
through Wales, and having devastated it by plun- 
der and violence, set sail from thence for Devon- 
shire with twenty-three armed transports, and laid 
siege to the last hold of the Saxons,"^ the castle of 
Ejnwith, near the riverTau. Oddune, Earl of Devon- 
shire, and the Saxons under his command, vaUantly 
resisted their barbarous assailants, and, aware that 
no quarter would be shewn them in the event of 
being vanquished, resolved on a desperate attempt 
at their overthrow, or to force their passage through 
them to the coast, trusting thereby to escape to the 
Continent. They suddenly attacked the unguarded 
Danes before sunrise, put them to rout, and pur- 
sued them with tremendous slaughter. Hunga and 
Hubba were slain in the conflict ; Oddune himself 
killed the latter, and seized the famous Reafen,*^ the 
enchanted Danish standard, which contained the 
figure of a raven, inwoven by the three sisters of 
Hunga and Hubba, with many magical incantations, 
to ensure their success, so long as they retained its 
possesion. 

Tliis successful enterprise of Oddune determined 
Alfred to re-assemble his subjects in arms; but in 
order to render his plans and their future efibrts 
mope effective, he first entered the enemy's camp 
in the disguise of a harper, and passing unsus- 
pected through every quarter, so entertained them 

^ Hume^ Smollett Milton. ° Brompt. Coll. 



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A DANISH BKCAMPMBNT, A. D. 880. 47 

with music and facetious humour, that he met with 
a cordial welcome,^ and even passed some days 
familiarly in the tent of Guthrum, Returning to 
Athdney, he despatched ^nissaries to the most 
considerable of his subjects, and simunoned them 
to a rendezvous with his companions in arms at 
Brixton, on the borders of Selwood Forest.^ He 
there represented to them the careless discipline 
and supineness of the Danes, their contempt of the 
English, their negligence in foraging, their disso- 
lute wasting of what they procured by rapine and 
violence ; that their own past fatigues and dan- 
gers were more tolerable than their present humi- 
liating vassals^e : he then urged them to put an 
'Cnd to t^ insolence and barbarity oi their op- 
pressors bV a vigorous attack, and, inspiring them 
with confioence of success, instantly marched to 
£ddington in Hampshire, where the Danes were 
encamped, and taking advantage of his recent visit 
amongst them, directed his assault at their most 
unguarded quarter. The sudden appearance of an 
Ikiglish army, with Alfred at its head, difi^sed a 
panic through the camp ^ Guthrum, which, after 
having made in its confusion a feeble resistance, 
was put totally to the rout. Oscitel and Amund, 
and the majority of the Danes, were slain in the 
field or their entrenchments ; Guthrum, witiii the 
comparative few who escaped, for some days de- 

o William of Malmsbury^ lib. ii. cap 10, 
p Saxon Chron., Asser., Rivals &c. 



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48 HISTORY OF 60DMANCHBSTBR. 

fended themselves in an adjacent fortification, but, 
besieged by Alfred, and exhausted by famine, were 
ultimately compelled to submit unconditionally to 
their conquerors.*^ Thus, by this decided victory, 
the Danes were reduced from the tyranny and 
arrogance of uncontrolled power to the humility of 
supplicants for mercy, and delivered hostages to 
Alfred as proofs of the sincerity of their submission. 
The perfidious violation of all former treaties by 
these barbarian adventurers induced Alfred to de- 
mand, as the basis of a compact between himself 
and Guthrum, that he, the chieftains of his army, 
and the whole of his followers, should renounce 
Paganism, adopt Christianity for their religion, and 
submit to baptism. These stipulations' being com- 

q Anno Dom. 878. 

' " Namque eorum Rex Gudrum^ quern nostri Gurmundum 
vocanty cum trigenta proceribus> et omni pen^ populo baptizatus 
et in iSlium k rege Aelfredo susceptus est imposito sibi nomine 
Ethelstano." — J. Pike et Willielmi Malmsbur. de gest. Reg, Ang, 
lib. ii. . 

Anno 17 Alfredi. Tunc exercitus tradidit regi obsides et 
jurauit se recessurum a regno suo. Promisit etiam quod Rex eorum 
Baptizaretur> et factum est. Yenit enim Godrun Princeps regum 
eorum ad Alfredum regfe> et baptizatus est Alfredus ver6 patrinus 
eius factus^ cum eum secum 12 diebus tenuisset, abeunti multa 
dedit munera. — Hen, Hunt. Hist. lib. v. p. 201. 

''Guthrum, whom some named Gurmound, a prince or king 
amongest these Danes, came to Alvred, and was baptized. King 
Alvred receyvyng hym at the font-stone, named hym Avelstane, 
and gave to hym the countrey of East Angle, whyche hee 
gouemed (or rather spoyled) by the space of twelue yeares. 
Dyuers other of the Danishe nobilitie, to the number of thirtie, (as 



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A DANISH ENCAMPMENT A. D. 880. 49 

plied with, Guthrum with thirty of his principal 
officers and the remainder of his army repaired to 
Aulre," near Athelney, where they were met by 
Alfred, who accompanied them to Weadmore,* 
where the chrism was performed. The baptismal 
ceremony being over, at which Guthrum was re- 
ceived from the font by Alfred, who adopted him 
as godson, naming him Athelstan, the whole party 
was entertained with regal hospitality twelve days, 
and then dismissed with rich presents,'* proofs of 
Alfred's desire to preserve amity with them. The 
kingdom had already suffered too long from the ma- 
rauding disposition of the Danes, to allow of this op- 
portunity for reducing them to civilization and good 
government to escape the high-minded Alfred; there- 
fore, to effect these objects, he immediately entered 
into a treaty of alliance with Guthrum, giving him 

Simon Dunelmensis hathe) came the same tyme in companye of 
theyr King Guthrum^ and were lykewyse baptjsed^ on whom 
Kyng Alored also bestowed many riche giftes." — Holinshed^s 
Chron, p. 214. 

■ Asser and the Saxon Chronicle say that they were baptized 
at Auhre^ which Mr. Walker thinks is the modem Auhre, an in- 
considerable place near Ethelney. Wedmore is about twelve 
miles from it. 

* At Wedmore, what was called the chrism^ viz. a white linnen 
cloth was put upon their heads, (which was regarded as a mystic 
veil,) after they had been baptized at Auhre, that the oyl with 
which they were anointed might stay on, and which was not taken 
off for eight days. 

^ '' Cui Rex cum suis omnibus multa et optima oedificia lar- 
giter dedit." — Asser and Flor, Wig, 

E 



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50 HISTORY OF GODMANCHBffTBR. 

a vice-royalty over East-Anglia and Northumbrian 
East-Anglia comprehended the counties of Norfolk, 
Suflfolk, Cambridge, the Isle of Ely, and that por- 
tion of Huntingdonshire which lies south of the 
river Ouse: and Northumbria — ^the coimties of 
Lancaster, York, Durham, Cumberland, Westmore- 
land, Northumberland, and Scotland, to the Pryth 
of Edinburgh/ The treaty was entitled — " FcBdus 
inter Aluredi et Guthrumni,** and merely intended 
to form the basis of a subsequent one. It contained 
a Umitation of their respective kingdoms, and those 
broad principles of justice and equality hereafter to 
be observed between the Saxons and the Danes. 
The second treaty has been called " Fcedus Md- 
weardi et Guthruni Regum ;" which, being a more 
deliberate ordinance, particularized what was to 
constitute legal crime, and the penalty or punish- 
ment that should attach to it ; and provided as well 
against the irregularities of the Saxons as the licen- 
tiousness of the Danes. 

The tenor of the articles is to this effect : to 
forsake heathenness; worship one God, and him 
alone ; to preserve the peace of the church invio- 
late, and the king's peace unbroken ; that if any 
should renoimce Christianity, and promote hea- 
thenness, he should be punished with fine, ransom, 
or confiscation : then follow decrees against mis- 
demeanors in religious men, incest, withholding of 
tythes ; buying, selling, or working on Sundays ; 
^ Gibson's Camden. 



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A DANISH ENCAMPMENT A. D. 880. 61 

breach of the fasts of the Church, &c. &c.^ Some 
difficulty has occurred, and contradictions in modem 
writers, respecting the time and nature of this last 
treaty, from its being entituled *' Fcedus Edweardi 
et Guthruni ;'' and from Lambard's translation of 
them from the Saxon original, in which he calls 
them Leagues, as if Guthrum had been an absolute 
monarch, party to a treaty offensive and defensive 
with a neighbouring potentate ; and from the pre- 
amble containing Edward's confirmation. Spelman* 
at once removes the difficulty with respect to time, 
by observing, that Guthrum died at least ten years 
before Edward ascended the throne, and Edward's 
confirmation was a mere matter of course, subse- 
quently appended to the deed, the Danes continu- 
ing the occupation of their territories under the 
successors of Guthrum. The then nature of these 
documents is evident, on the slightest consideration 
of them. The Danes were entirely subdued by 
Alfred, and threw themselves upon his clemency, 
and we are to look upon these instruments as offer- 
ings made at the shrine of his country's welfare, by 
the mighty founder of the EngUsh monarchy to pre- 
serve its future peace inviolate, and effect a general 
consolidation of the interests, powers, and resources 
of the kingdom. Asser says of the Danes, that they, 

^ These treaties are still extant^ and published in the " Leges 
Anglo-Saxonicae Ecclesiasticae et Civiles cum Codd. MSS." p. 47 
and 51. David Wilkins, Lond, fol. 1729. 

» Spelman's Vita jTilfredL 

E 2 



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52 HISTORY OF GODMANCHBSTER. 

according to their promise, came and swore to him, 
but says not one single word of Alfred's swearing to 
them. William of Malmsbnry^ observes, that these 
kingdoms were given by Alfred to Guthrum, that 
he might the rather hold them by fealty than pira- 
tically ; Smollet,* that he held them as a feudatory 
prince ; and Ingulph,* in speaking of the Abbey of 
Croyland, which was in the East Angles, observes, 
that the Abbot considered more fealty due from 
him to Alfred than to Guthrum ; to which may be 
added, that the Danes were recently in possession 
of nearly the whole kingdom, and consequently the 
fact of Guthrum's becoming a party to such treaties 
was a proof of his vassalage to Alfred. During 
these arrangements the Danish encampment was 
at Chippenham ; and on the completion of them, 
the Danes went to Cirencester in Gloucestershire, 
where they passed the year without much devasta- 
tion of that neighbourhood. 

From the apparent tardiness of Guthrum in 
taking possession of the East Angles, a fresh inun- 

y Datse sunt ei prounciae OrientaKum Anglorum et Northa- 
nimbrorum^ ut eas sub iSdelitatse regis fouerit, iure hereditario^ 
quas peruaserat latrocinio. — Will. Malms, de gest reg, Angt. 

* ''They halted some time at Cirencester; from thence they 
marched into the kingdom of the East Angles^ which> with the 
county of Essex> was allotted for their habitation, and Guthrum 
was permitted to govern it as a feudatory prince. Alfred suph 
plied this prince with a short code of laws for the government of 
his subjects," &c. — Smoll. Hist Eng. 4to. 1759. 

« Ingulphi Hist. 



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A DANISH BNCAMPMBNT A. D. 880- 53 

dation of Danes made a descent on the coast, and 
passing up the Thames wintered at Fulham ; but 
finding Guthrum determined to foster his new 
alliance with Alfred, in the spring of the year they 
set sail with their leader, Hastings,** for Flanders, 
and landing at Ghent, commenced their usual 
system of barbarity and plunder. 

In the year 880*^ Guthrum took possession of the 
East Angles, divided and distributed his kingdom 
amongst those of his followers who had been con- 
verted to Christianity, whilst the residue of the 
Danes crossed the sea and joined their piratical 
countr)rmen in Flanders. 

It was at this period that a Danish settlement 
was made at Grodmanchester, as evinced by the 
quotation of Camden : '* Gormonis a Castri no- 
men habit," the town from Gorman's camp first 
took its name; and there is to this day a place on 
the BeUsle estate in Godmanchester, known by the 
name of Gorman's Pond. Thus the DuroUpons of 
the Romans became the Gormon-castria of the 
Danes, and was admirably situated for one of their 
most important encampments; on the south and 

^ *' Cceteri ex Danis qui Christiani esse recusassent, cum Has- 
tingo mare transfretaurent, ubi, quae mala fecerunt, indiginae 
norunt" — Wm. Malmsb, 

<^ The Saxon Chronicle dates their occupation of East Anglia 
in 879. The MS. Chronicle places it, like Asser, in 880.— Vide 
Cot. Lib. h. 4, p. 35. See also Turners History of the Anglo 
Saxons, 4to. vol. i. p. 265. 



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54 HISTORY OF 60DMANCHESTER. 

south-east sheltered and protected by high hills, 
from whence rapid descents could be made in the 
event of molestation; on the west, north, and north- 
west, defended by and conmianding the river Ouse, 
which separated it from the kingdom of Mercia; in 
addition to which, it here formed a key to the East 
Angles, this division of which was at that time 
almost a continued forest/ Though Guthrum has 
been accused* of corresponding with and sheltering 
his barbaric coimtrymen, and receiving them in his 
harbours from the German Ocean, to the annoy- 
ance of Alfred, yet the integrity of his conduct 
appears never to have been questioned by that 

d ** Huntingdonshire," says Leland> ^^ in old time, was much 
more woody than it is now, and the dere resortid to the fennes : 
it is full long sins it was deforestid." — Itin, vol. iv. p. 48. Sir 
Rohert Cotton refers the period of disforesting this county to the 
reign of Edward 1st, who, in his 29th year, confirmed the great 
charter granted hy Henry dd, when no more was left forest than 
the demesnes still retained in the king's hands. — Camden observes 
of this county, *' the inhabitants say it was once covered with 
woods ; and it appears to have been a forest till Henry 2d, in the 
beginning of his reign, disforested the whole, as set forth by an 
old perambulation, ' except Waybridge, Sapple, and Herthei, 
which were the lord's woods and remain forest' " — (rough's Cam- 
den, vol. ii. p. 155. 

« Malmsbury quaintly observes of Guthrum — "Verum quo- 
niam non mutabit sethiops pellem suam, datas ille terras tyran- 
nico fastu undecim annis proterans duodecimo vitam finiuit: 
posteris quoq : perfidiae successionem transmittens, donee a ne- 
pote istius Elfredi Athelstano subiugati, regem unum Angliae 
fieri vel inuiti concesserint sicut hie dies invenit." — De GesHs Reg. 
Ang. lib. 2. p. 24. 



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A DANISH ENCAMPMENT A. O. 880. 55 

monarch, as he kept quiet possession of the East- 
Angles until his death, which, according to Flo- 
rence of Worcester, occurred in 890,' and the 
Saxon Chronicles, 891,* after a reign of twelve 
years. He was buried at Hadley in Suffolk, and 
succeeded in his sovereignty by Eohric,'' who re- 
volted and leagued with Hastings on his re-in- 
vasion of the kingdom, a.d. 893, but who was 
soon repulsed, and his turbulent coadjutors sub- 
dued. In consequence of this rebeUion, Eohric, 
with the East AngUan and Northumbrian Danes, 
was required, in 894, to renew their oaths of fealty, 
and deUver hostages to Edward. The Danish oc- 
cupation of the East- Angles,^ after the death of 
Guthrum, led to continual skirmishes and irrup- 
tions between them and the Mercians, whose 
kingdom they ultimately subdued, when doubtless 
Grodmanchester, a frontier town, was a place of 
considerable importance in strength and extent; 
but from the time of the revolt of the East- Anglian 

f Flor. Wor.p.328. 

Ingulph says the same — " Anno Regni ^Ifredi 18 quae est 
Christo 890 enim obiisse dicit** 

8 So also Brompton in Chronico— '^ Hoc anno 89 1> obiisse 
dicitf and Hen. Hunt '' Alfredi Regis Anno 19 (i. e. 891) God- 
run Rex Dacus qui fuit filiolus Alfredi Regis, et regnavit in Est- 
Angle, luce demptu sest" lib. v. 

^ " Postea in Orientali Saxonia, Guthrum Rex Danus regnavit 
annis duodecim tempore Regis Alfredi ; Guthrum habuit succes- 
sorem aeque Dauma nomine Eohric.** — Wm. Malms, lib. 1. fol. 14. 

* Hume, vol. i. p. 61, 4to. 1762. 



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56 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

and Mercian Danes in favor of Ethelwald, and 
their subjection to Edward in 917,^ no local inci- 
dents are on record requiring our consideration, 
until the compilation of Domesday-book, in the 
reign of William the Conqueror. 

^ Vide page 32. 



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57 




CHAPTER IV. 
RECORD OF DOMESDAY A.D. 1086. 

N our fac-simile and illas- 
tration of the following 
extract from the Rowle of 
Winchester y^ we commence 
our series of ancient docu- 
ments relative to Godman- 
Chester. 

A survey of the king- 
dom was taken by Alfred 
about the year 900, which, though now lost, was 
extant at Winchester when WilUam the Conqueror 
assumed the government of the empire, and that 

* Anciently so called from being kept in the church at West- 
minster; sometimes from the same cause — ^Liber domus-dei: 
abbreviated Domesday-book: Liber Judiciarius: Rotulus Win- 
toniae: Scriptura Thesauri Regis: Liber de Wintonia: Liber 
Regis Censualis Angliae : Anglise Notitia et Lustratio^ &c. 

" Iste Rotulus vocatus est Rotulus Wintonije, et ab Anglicis 
pro sua genenditate Domesday cognominatur. Talem Rotulum 

ediderat quondam Alfredus qui quidem Rotulus 

Wintoniae vocatus est quia deponebatur apud Wintoniam conser- 
vandus que civitas caput West Saxonici regni sibi hereditarii. 



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58 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

survey probably suggested to the Norman the de- 
sign of accurately ascertaining the extent of his 
manorial and other rights. The inestimable com- 
pilation, called Domesday Booky deposited in the 
Chapter House, Westminster, was completed in 
1086, and is one of the most ancient records in the 
kingdom. It was begun, with the advice of Parlia- 
ment, in the year 1080, when Commissioners were 
sent through the kingdom, who summoned and 
empannelled juries in the several hundreds of every 
county, with some few exceptions,^ out of all orders 
of freemen, from barons to the smallest farmers ; 
who returned upon oath, by verdict or present- 
ment, the value, tenure, and services of the land : 
their inquests were sent to Winchester, and subse- 
quently methodised and formed into the record we 
call Domesday Book. The name is of Saxon origin, 
and signifies the Book of Judicial Verdict. Not- 
withsta^jiding the assertion of Milner,*" on the autho- 

In illo vero Wintoniae sic maxime vocato descripti sunt^ 

non tantum^ totdus terras commitatus^ &c. sed quot carucatae, 
terrjp,** ^u^.f—Ingulpiis Hist, of Croyland. 

Ingulph was abbot of Croyland^ and wrote the history of that 
abbey, from its foundation in 664 to 1091. He was bom in 
London a. d. 1030, educated at Westminster School and at Ox- 
ford, and died a. d. 1 109. 

b The chief omissions are from the counties of Northumber- 
land, Cumberland, and Westmoreland, which are supposed to 
have been in a state too turbulent to have allowed the inquisitions 
to have been accurately made. 

c History of Winchester, by the Rev. John Milner, 2 vols. 4to. 



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RECORD OF DOMESDAY A. D. 1086. 59 

lity of Rudbome/ " that the most oppressive of all 
the Conqueror's acts, and that which gave the 
greatest uneasiness to the nation at large, was the 
severe inquisition which he made in the year 1085, 
concerning the extent and value of the whole landed 
property of the kingdom, for the purpose of taxing 
it at his own discretion:" bat little injustice has 
been complained of in the compiling and digesting 
of this national record, so comprehensive and in- 
teresting in its nature; a work so important to the 
times and posterity, that it at once became the 
fiat to establish the king's and the subjects' rights, 
preserving the latter from farther encroachments 
of the crown, and giving to the former an easy and 
accurate method of ascertaining the land revenue 
of the kingdom. Even to this day, what manors 
are ancient demesne^ and what not, are decided by 
Domesday alone. The description in most of the 
manors observes a similar order to that for God- 
manchester. How many hides or carucates of 
land were gelded' or taxed ; whose it was in the 
time of Edward the Confessor ; what and how 

d ''Vocatus est (iste magnus liber) Domysday, quia nuUi 
parcit^ sicut nee magnus dies judicii." — Rudhornes Chronicle, 
Thomas Rudborne was promoted in 1433 by Henry 5th to the 
see of St. David's, and died in 1442. He built the tower and 
chapel of Merton College^ as monuments of his taste^ munificence^ 
and piety. 

« Burrow's Reports^ 2d vol. p. 1048. 

^ A tax of six shillings was imposed on every plough-land, to 
defray the expences of compiling the work. 



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60 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

much arable land, meadow, wood, and pasture 
there was ; how much in demesne, how much in 
tenancy, and what number of ploughs it would 
keep ; what mills, fisheries, freemen, bordars, vil- 
lains, &c.; what churches, and how many priests ; 
and what the whole was let at in the time of King 
Edward. In 1783, under the auspices of (Jeorge 
the 3d, two volumes of this important work were 
printed in folio, in a peculiar type, cast expressly 
for the occasion, for the use of the Members of 
both Houses of Parliament and the public libra- 
ries ; and after the issue of the commission for the 
preservation of the public records, a third volume, 
consisting of indexes, was printed in 1816 f and 
in the same year was published a fourth, or sup- 
plemental volume.^ 

» To this volume an Historical Account of the Survey was 
prefixed hy Henry Ellis, Esq. F. R. S. and Sec. S. A. 

^ The original Domesday is written in two volumes. The 
first a folio, containing 382 double pages of vellum, in a small 
but plain character, each page having a double column. Some 
of the capital letters and principal passages are touched with red 
ink, and some have strokes of red ink run across them, as if 
scratched out, but the design was to mark such passages with 
more particular notice. This volume contains the description of 
thirty-one counties. At the beginning of each county there is a 
catalogue of the capital lords or great landowners who possessed 
any thing in it, beginning with the king, then naming others ac- 
cording to their rank or dignity. The second is a quarto volume, 
written in 450 double pages of vellum, but in a single column, 
and in a large and very fair character. It contains the counties 
of Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk.— 6?r(>5^. 



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RECORD OF DOMESDAY A. D. 1086. 61 

Robert of Gloucester, the oldest of our English 
poets, who is quoted with great admiration by 
Camden, flourished in the 12th century, and died 
at an advanced age, in the commencement of King 
John's reign, thus describes Domesday Book : 

The King William, vor to wite the worth of his lond 
Let enqueri stretlich thoru all Engelond, 
Hou moni plou-lond, and hou moni hiden also. 
Were in euerich sire, and wat hij were wurth yereto : 
And the rents of each toun, and of the waters echone 
The wurth, and of woods eke ; that there lieued none. 
But that he wist wat hij were wurth of all Engelond, 
And wite all clene, that wurth thereof ich understond. 
And let it write clene inou, and that sent dude iwis; 
In the Tresorie at Westminstr, there it yut is. 
So that vre Kings suth, when by ransome toke, 
Yrede wat folc might give, hij fond there in yor boke. 

In 1788, appeared Kelham's " Domesday Book 
Illustrated;"* containing an explanation of the terms 
and abbreviations, with translations and notes on 
the difficult passages of that ancient record, to 
which work we are largely indebted for the follow- 
ing comments on that portion of it relative to God- 
manchester. 

' By Robert Kelham, of Lincoln's Inn, Author of the Norman 
Dictionary. London, 8vo. (now very scarce.) 



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62 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

FaC'Stmile^^-^from Domesday, 

TVd i Vi/. filr |t'. J^ t* *'^«' '•^^"•<' r^»/) ^*^li AV/m! he 

HUNTINGDONSHIRE. 
Hundred of Leightonstone. 

A Manor. In Godmanchester King Edward had four- 
teen Hides at Geld. In the said Manor are 57 Carucates 
of Land — ^two Carucates in demesne of the King. — ^In 
two other Hides of this Land Eighty ViUans and Sixteen 
Bordars have twenty-four Ploughs. There are also a 
Priest, a Church, and three Mills. A hundred Solidates 
(of Plough Land) and 160 Acres of Meadow and 50 Acres 
of Woodland-pasture. Twenty Solidates of Pasture. Se- 
venty Solidates of Meadow. 

In the time of King Edward valued at Forty Pounds, 
and now in like manner. 

tB I A Manor. 

^ For the above Fac-simile, taken by the Author from page 
203, vol. i. of the original, we are indebted to the polite attention 
of J. Caley, Esq. Keeper of the Records in the Augmentation 
Office, and in the Chapter House at Westminster. 



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RECORD OF DOMESDAY A. D. 1086. 63 

'* King Edward had fourteen Hides at Geld." 

Gld or Geldage was a Land Tax — called Danegeld^ 
from being first imposed by King Ethelred about the year 
991 to raise a tribute to the Danes, to purchase their 
forbearance on threatened invasions ; it subsequently be- 
came established as an annual Tax of 2 Ss. on every hide 
of Land in the Kingdom."^ Sir H. Spelman estimates the 
number of Hides in England at 243,600 — ^which, rated at 
Two Shillings per Hide, would raise an Annual Revenue 
of je24,360. The income from Danegeld was far less 
than this estimate — as the demesne lands of the King, 
though measured and returned like other lands, did not 
pay this Tax — nor those of Churchmen or Religious 
Houses. The Demesnes of Lords and Barons were also 
exempt, the tenure of their lands being by military ser- 
vice.° In the year 1051 Edward remitted the Tax alto- 
gether. 

" In the said manor are fifty-seven Carucates of 
Land." 

Car' — or Carucata is a Plough land, or as much land as 
can be tilled with one plough and horses or beasts in a 
year; therefore the Carucate® varied in diflferent counties, 
according to the nature of the soil and the customs of 
husbandry. Dufresne states, that in the time of Richard 
the First, sixty Acres appear to have made a Caracute, 
and that for some purposes eighty or a hundred were 

1 WebVs Account of Danegeld^ p. 2. 
™ Spelman in Glossar, p. 292. 

n How often Danegeld had been collected, and the several sums 
it raised. — Vide Movant* s Essex, vol. i. p. 229. 
« Selden 8 Tit. Hon. p. 622. 



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64 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

required. When Hide and Carucate p are both named^ the 
latter is supposed to refer to about six Acres. 

" Two Carucates in demesne of the King." 

In dnio Regis — ^in dominio Regis. The Kings de- 
mesne^ or Terra R^is consisted of such Manors as be- 
longed to the Crown or the King individually ; and 1422 
Manors or Lordships were in Domesday Book appro- 
priated to the Crown, besides quit-rents paid out of other 
manors, lands or farms. If lands are there described as 
being terra Regis, or it is said Rex habet the lands in 
consideration, they are determined to be ancient demesne ; 
but if it is recorded that they belonged to a private Lord 
or subject at the time of the survey, they are considered 
to have been the property of those to whom they are 
assigned, and not — ^in dnio Regis. Terra Regis' is sup- 
posed to comprehend only lands which were in the actual 
possession of Edward the Confessor — ^the alienation of 
which was deemed impious, but to which we may add the 
forfeited estates of those who opposed William at the 
battle of Hastings, and those of such of the Barons and 
others who afterwards forsook him, and with which he 
subsequently rewarded his Norman followers, who held 
them of him subject to stipulated services. 

" In two other Hides of this Land" 

Hid — or Hida." The Hide was the measure of land in 
the Confessor's Reign, and the Carucate that to which it 
was reduced by the Conqueror's new standard. When 
the Kingdom was first divided into Hides^ each Hide con- 
tained, according to Dugdale, 100 Acres, or 120 Acres of 

p Agard. <i Pegge's Curialia. 

' Brady on Boroughs, p. 82. ■ Hutch. Disc. p. 7. 



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RECORD OF DOMESDAY A. D. 1086. 65 

present English measure^ — ^but the just quantity of a 
Hide does not appear in Domesday^ and perhaps varied 
in every County, consequently the dimensions « there 
specified cannot be reduced to any probable certainty, 

'* Eighty Villans— or Villeins," 

Uitti or Villani — ^Villeins — from Villa a country farm. 
They held small portions of land for the sustenance of 
themselves and families at the mere will of the Lord, by 
base service or arbitrary fine. The Villeins were superior 
to the Servi, though occasionally employed in servile oc- 
cupations, and were either regardant — ^that is, annexed 
to the Manor or Land — or in gross, and annexed to the 
person of the Lord, and transferable by deed from one to 
another. In all the counties in England the far greater 
part of the land was occupied by Villeins ; Husbandmen 
or Sockmen, not removable at pleasure, were very few in 
comparison with them. The continual wars of the Hep- 
tarchy have been assigned as the cause of this iminense 
and disproportionate number of Vassals. Prisoners taken 
in war, and carried ojBF by petty Princes or Lords, were 
reduced to slavery. The grant of the Manor of God- 
manchester in fee-farm to the Men of Godmanchester, by 
King John, in 1213, emancipated it from villeuage, and 
according to an Inquest held in the 7th of Edward the 
First,, A. D. 1281, it was answered, ^^ that they are free 
sokemen, and that there is not aBondman^ amongst them." 

The contentions between the Houses of York and Lan- 

* Seld.TitHon.p.62i2. 

^ Agard fi*om this cause states, " that he could not reduce the 
question of dimension of land into any certainty." — App, to Reg, 
Hon. Rich* p. 8. 

^ Vide Appendix^ No. 2, pars, c, and i. 

F 



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66 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

ca8ter,«^ which divided the kingdom into two factions^ 
almost gave the finishing stroke to servitude, every Lord 
being obliged, for his own security, to espouse the in- 
terests of one of the contending parties, and to support it 
with all his force. Villeins were then emancipated in 
immense numbers, in order to become soldiers. By the 
customs of Godmanchester, as antient demesne, the 
Tenants could not alienate to Bondsmen or Strangers ;* 
and in 1498, John Fostar and Richard Fostar, on their 
application to be admitted Tenants, being reputed Villeins, 
were obliged to disprove the allegation before they were 
so admitted. 

Court holdyn at Godmynches? the Thursday next befor^ 
the feste of Synt Thoifi Apli A° Rgni henr^ vij — ^xiiij". 
To this Court cani John Fostar and Rychar^ Fostar, and 
delyvd to Willm Arwait and John Laxton bayliflfs this 
lett foloyng. 

Ryght welbeloued frendis I recommaunde me to you, 
and wher^ as now of late it hathe ben seyd and surmysed 
hi dif^s psons that Rychard fos? and John Fos? schulde be 
villens and bondmen of blode to me belongying to myn 
Manis of hamton and wynwyke to ther gret noys and 
detryment and for as myche as it is medefiill to schewe 
the truthe of afly dowte I ascerteyn you and e9y of you 
of very truthe that the seyd Rychard Fostar and John 
Fostar bene free borne and of fre condicone and not Ijonde 
to me, nor to no ManI that I have w* in y* Reine of Yng- 
land that I knowth, — ^god who have yow in his moste 
assured kepyng, gevyn undyr myn Syuet and Synemanuell 
at Bokyngham Castell the xvi*^ day of Decembyr. 

By Sy Wittm Knyvett. 

^ Sullivan's Lecture. » Vide Appendix, No. 3. 



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RECORD OF DOMESDAY A. D. 1086. 67 

Sir Thomas Smyth y never knew any Villein in gross 
in the whole realm, and the few Villeins regardant in his 
time, were such only as belonged to Bishops, Monasteries, 
or Ecclesiastical Corporations in the preceding times of 
Popery. Tenure in viUenage* was finally abolished by the 
12th Charles 2d, cap. 24, at which time there was scarcely 
a pure Villein in the kingdom. 

'* Sixteen Bordars" 

Bord— bordarii — or Bordars, were distinct from the 
Villein,* and of less servile condition ^ — they possessed 
bords or cottages on the outskirts of manors and small 
allotments of land. In some counties they furnished pro- 
visions ^ and poultry to the Lord's table, in others did 
service; by grinding,** thrashing, drawing water, cutting 
wood, &c. 

'' Have twenty-four Ploughs." 

Car-caruca or Ploughs. — Car. following Villani or Bor- 
darii, signifies the number of Ploughs* they kept, and not 
the quantity of land they held. 

'' A Church— a Priest.'' 

Ibi pISr 7 eccla. — Wherever we find a Priest mentioned 
in Domesday, we may conclude there was a Church,^ but 
in the instance of Godmanchester, the Church is also ex- 
pressly recorded. 

F Secretary to Edward the Sixth, 1553. * Blackstone. 

• Cowel. ^ Morant's Essex, vol. i. p. 27. 

c Blomef. Norfolk, vol. iii- p. 518. 
d Howard, p. 204, and Brady's Pref. p. 6^ 
« Nash s Worcester, and Brady, 6Q. ^ Nashs Worcester, p. 9. 

f2 



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68 HISTORY OF QODMANCHESTER. 

'' And Three MiUs." 

Tres Molini. — ^The three manorial mills here set forth, 
prove that the mills of Godmanchester are no modern 
innovation on the stream — unlike those of Hemingford 
and Houghton — as will be more enlarged upon in our 
Chapter on Navigation and Drainage. 

** A hundred Solidates (of Plough Land)'' 

The word Terrae is here distinctly understood. It evi- 
dently meant arable land, in contradistinction to meadow 
and wood land. Solidata — were shillings, but the Nor- 
man shilling weighed a little more than three of our 
modern shillings :s so that the Norman pound, consisting 
of twenty of such shillings, was worth £3 2s. of our pre- 
sent money. 

" 70 Acres of Meadow." 

Ac or Acres. — ^The same uncertainty of measure here 
again occurs ; for in the Domesday Survey, some acres 
have sixteen, some eighteen, and others twenty feet to 
the perch. 

*' In the time of King Edward valued at forty 
pounds, now in like manner." 

T. R. E. uat xl. lift. — ^This was the rent of the land 
paid annually by the several occupiers or tenants, to the 
King's Collector : the ad numeru expresses that it was 
not necessarily paid in coined money, but by number or 
tale, which was in uncoined pieces. 

e Rud. Gloucester, p. 80. 



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RECORD OP DOMESDAY A. D. 1086. 69 

This short explanatory Chapter of the Domes- 
day Record may appear somewhat prolix, but 
is essential to the integrity of our work, which 
proposes to illustrate all that is either interesting 
orusefiil to be known, as well regarding its antient 
as modern History. 



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70 



CHAPTER V. 
MUNICIPAL fflSTORY TO A- D. 1213. 

OW various have been 
the names by which the 
town of GU)dmanchester 
has been called ! Duro- 
lipons by the Romans — 
Gormoncastria by the 
Danes — and since then, 
amongst others, Gu- 
micester, Gumicestria, 
Guthmuncester, Gurmuncester, Gormoncester, &c.; 
and it would be difficult to ascertain when that of 
Godmanchester was first applied to it. Changes 
in orthography and pronunciation are continually 
taking place, and the Norman Conquest* was a 
great epoch for such changes ; the c was then 
softened down into ch, as in bee, bech ; ic, ich ; 
cild, child; cester, Chester; but all corporation re- 
cords still continue to be headed Gumecester alias 
Godmanchester. 

* Watson. 




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MUNICIPAL HISTORY TO A. D. 1213. 71 

That Godmanchester was, at a very early era, 
not only a regularly organized but well populated 
town, may be stated on good authorities. Leland^ 
describes it to have been a town of great note, '' as 
appears from the foundations and coins that are 
found there ;"'' and adds, ** that large bones have 
been here exhumed beyond the stature of men," 
in the times in which he lived : that ** it was divided 
merely by the river Ouze from Huntingdon, from 
whence it is conjectured that Huntingdon was 
formerly a part of Godmanchester.*' Henry of 
Huntingdon*^ calls it ** a not unpleasant town, and 
formerly a noble city," which is an important ad- 
mission by that learned Monk, for when (and long 
before) he wrote, Huntingdon was the capital of the 
province, and had its own honour, with manors 
dependent upon it. The survey of Domesday gives 

^ '* Gumicester, vulgo Godmanchester. Gumecester olim opp. 
magni nominis, ut apparet, ex fundamentis et numismatibus eru- 
tis. Eruuntor etiam et ossa, sed majora quam habeant hujus 
setatis homines. Usa tantum dividit hoc opp. ab Huntingduno. 
Unde conjectura est Huntingdunum antiquitus partem foisse 
Gumicestriae.** — Lelandi Coll. 

^ Emi ibidem k quodam sacrificulo numismata, inter quae 
unum erat C. Antii praelonga cesarie qualem Romani habebant 
ante notos tonsores. — Lelandi Coll. pars. 3. page 13. 

^ Henry of Huntingdon was a monkish historian^ (patronized 
by the Bishops of Lincoln, ) and Archdeacon of Huntingdon. He 
flourished in the 12th century, and wrote a Chronicle of Eng- 
land down to the year 1154. His words are — 

^ Nobilis quondam urbis, nunc rero villae non inamabilia.'^ 



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72 HISTORY OF 60DMANCHESTER. 

but little information as to the state of the town, 
compared with modem times ; nor do we find much 
of interest on record, regarding its Municipal His- 
tory, prior to the reign of King John. 

As antient demesne it was part of the hereditary 
possessions of the crown, and consequently held in 
tenancy of it; but in the reign of that monarch, 
not only the Great Charter of Liberty called 
Magna Charta, but many important concessions, 
were obtained from the crown by the people, and 
amongst others that of fixing a permanent rent 
for the King's tenants, who were thus admitted to 
denizenship, and which, instead of being levied as 
formerly by the King's officers in products of hus- 
bandry, or by an arbitrary money tax, was to be 
collected amongst the tenants themselves, and paid 
at stated periods. In order to simplify this inter- 
esting subject, we must here consider the origin of 
fee-farm rents, and the tenure and customs of An- 
tient Demesne. 

'* Antient Demesne® consists of those lands or 
manors which, though now perhaps granted out to 
private subjects, were actually in the hands of the 
crown in the time of Edward the Confessor or 
William the Conqueror, and so appear to have been 
by the great survey of the Exchequer called Domes- 
day Book. The tenants of these lands of the crown 
were not all of the same order or degree. Some 

« Blackstone s Com. by Archbold, b. 2, c. 6. 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY TO A. D. 1213. 73 

of them, as Britton testifies, continued for a long 
time pure and absolute villeins, dependent on the 
will of the Lord ; and those who have succeeded 
them in their tenures now differ from common 
copyholders in only a few points. Others were in 
a great measure enfranchised by royal favour : be- 
ing only bound in respect of their lands to perform 
some of the better sort of villein services, but those 
determinate and certain ; as, to plough the King's 
land for so many days, to supply his court with 
such a quantity of provisions, or other stated 
services : all of which are now changed into pecu- 
niary rents : and in consideration thereof, they had 
many immunities and privileges granted to them ; 
as, to try the right of their property in a peculiar 
court of their own, called a Court of Antient De- 
mesne, by a peculiar process denominated A Writ 
of Right Close ; not. to pay tolls or taxes; not to 
contribute to the expenses of knights of the shire ; 
not to be put on juries ; and the like. 

" Tenants in antient demesne, though their te- 
nure be absolutely copyhold, yet have an interest 
equivalent to a freehold ; for notwithstanding their 
services were of a base and villenous original, yet 
the tenants were esteemed in all other respects to 
be highly privileged villeins ; and especially that 
their services were fixed and determinate, and that 
they could not be compelled (like pure villeins) to 
relinquish these tenements at the Lord's will, or to 
hold them against their own : ' et ideo^' says Brac- 



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74 HISTORY OF OODMANCHESTER. 

ton, ^ dicuntur liberi.^ Britton also, from such 
their freedom, calls them absolutely sokemans/ and 
their tenure .^oAremanm^; which he describes to be 
lands and tenements which are not held by knight* 
service, nor by grand serjeanty, nor by petit but 
by simple services, being as it were lands enfran- 
chised by the King or his predecessors from their 
antient demesne. The same name is also given 
them in Fleta. 

'* Lands holden by this tenure are, therefore, a 
species of copyhold ; and as such preserved and 
exempted from the operation of the statute of 
Charles 2d.* Yet they differ from common copy- 
holds principally in the privileges before mentioned, 
as also they differ from freeholds by one especial 
mark and tincture of villenage noted by Bracton, 
and remaining to this day — ^viz. that they cannot 
be conveyed from man to man by the general com- 
mon law conveyances of feofiment, and the rest, 
but must pass by surrender to the lord or his stew- 
ard, in the manner of common copyholds: yet with 
this distinction, that in the admission to these 
lands in antient demesne, it is not used to say, * to 
hold at the mil of the lordy' in their copies, but only, 
* to hold according to the custom of the manor.' '* 

This tenure of antient demesne is the tenure of 

'^ To an Inquest in 1281 they answer, that they are free Sock- 
men. Vide Appendix, No. 2, c. 

« 12th Charles 2d, cap. 24, wherein most antient tenures are 
reduced to free socage. 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY TO A. D. 1213. 75 

<7odmanchester, and described by Bracton some- 
limes under the name of privileged villenagey and 
sometimes of villein socage : either of which appel- 
lation, he tells us, will apply to the tenants of lands 
which have been held of the Kings of England 
from the Conquest downwards, and that they do 
services, but which are certain y and defined; C^fadunt 
servitia, sed certa et determinata ;'V and, moreover, 
that they cannot aliene or transfer their tenements 
by grant or feofiment, any more than pure villeins 
can, but must surrender them to the Lord or his 
Steward, to be again granted out and held in ville- 
nage. Sir William Blackstone says, that the lands 
he thus describes are no other than an exalted spe- 
cies of copyhold, viz. the tenure in antient demesne, 
to which, as partaking of the baseness of villenage 
in the nature of its services, and the freedom of 
socage in their certainty, he has given a name com- 
pounded of both, and calls it Villanum Socagium. 

We shall not, in illustrating the customs of 
Godmanchester, enter into the consideration of 
feudal tenures generally, which were various in 
their nature, but only into its own peculiar tenure ; 
much of the law and custom of Saxon times still 
continuing to aflfect the property and liberties of 
the inhabitants. The lands and tenements being 
in viUein-socage, as may be gathered from the 
preceding free quotations from Blackstone and 
others, are, though not freehold in their tenure, 
superior to copyhold, as they are not held at the 



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76 HISTORY OF 60DMANCHESTER. 

will of the Lord, or by arbitrary fine ; nor by copy 
of Court Roll merely, as by privileged villeins, 
whose fealty to the Lord is paid by a determined 
fine ; but the tenants of the property have a free- 
hold interest in it, though they hold it '' according 
to the custom of the manor ^^^ at a certain fixed fee- 
farm rent. Cities, towns, and lands in the posses- 
sion of the crown, in the reign of Edward the Con- 
fessor and WiUiam the Conqueror, and defined by 
Domesday to be antient demense, were granted by 
them or their successors to the inhabitants and oc- 
cupiers, subject to certain services, the supply of 
various tributes, or at money rents,^ and these 
sources furnished the principal part of the crown 
revenue imder the ordinary circumstances of the 
state ; they were exacted by public officers ; but in 
process of time, at the petition of the tenants and 
inhabitants, who were injured and annoyed by the 

^ Counties were let out to farm in a similar manner. Maddox, 
in his History of the Exchequer^ gives an extensive list of their 
keepers — chap. x. sect. 5. In the reign of King John, William 
Mareschal paid hy Nicholas de Avenel £372 13*. 6cf. with a 
blank for the farm of Gloucestershire. In the time of Henry the 
Third, Richard, the king's son, paid £545 Ss. 4d, and a blank 
for the farm of Berkshire. When a county or town was let out 
at a greater farm than it had formerly been rated at, the advance 
money was usually termed crementum — ^the increase, which was 
sometimes paid in palfreys, hawks, &c. ; as, William Rufus in 
1184 gave £10 and four hawks increase for the county of Buck- 
ingham; and William Fitz-Richard thirty-nine hawks in the 
same year for the same county. 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY TO A. D. 1213. 77 

cupidity and extortion of these officers, the Kings 
** would* commit a town to the townsmen them- 
selves at farm during his pleasure, instead of com- 
mitting it to the hands of a provost or farmer ; they 
then obtained it in fee-farm, that is, in perpetual 
farm ; they then prevailed on the King to grant 
their farm to their heirs ; they lastly prevailed on 
him to make them a corporate body."^ 

Thus emancipated from base villenage, the law 
no longer considers the freehold of such lands to 
rest in the supreme lord of whom they are holden, 
as in Godmanchester, of the King, but in the 
tenants themselves, who are sometimes called cus- 
tomary freeholders, the manor having been made 
free, and granted in perpetuity, and they being 
holders according to the custom of the manor. 
There can be but little doubt, though it would be 
difficult to adduce the proof, that the antient ser- 
vice of the tenants of Grodmanchester was that of 

} Maddox MS. Collections. 

^ There is a case in Roll's Abridgment, which says, that " If 
a King grants lands at a certain rent to the inhabitants of a place, 
it incorporates them ; but it incorporates them for that purpose 
only — ^that is, it makes them a Corporation for the purpose of 
pajdng the rent. It is a Corporation to give the King against 
them, for otherwise, neither could they take, nor be liable to the 
Kings demand upon them." 

Cited in a Report of the Case of Wells v. Stuart, be- 
fore a Committee of the House of Commons, on 
the Election Case of the Borough of Huntingdon, 
March 20, 1825. 



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78 HISTORY OF GODMANCHBSTER. 

the plough — ^but more of this hereafter . In 

the reign of Edward the Confessor and WiUiam the 
Conqueror, it appears by Domesday to have been 
unquestionably of a pecuniary nature, as it is there 
recorded to have been rated at £40 a year ;^ but no 
decisive contract or bargain between the inhabi- 
tants"" and the Crown appears to have taken place 
until the reign of King John, when he granted and 
confirmed by charter his manor of Gumecestr' to 
the men of Gumecestr', at the fee-farm rent of 
120Z. a year. 

(No. 1.) — King John's Charter, May 20th, 1213. 

John/ by the Grace of God, King of England, Lord of 
Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, Earl of 

Anjou. ^To Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, Earls, 

Barons Justiciaries, Viscounts, Sheriffs, and Bailiffs 
— and all his faithful subjects— Greeting. 
Know ye, that we have granted, and by this our Char- 
ter have confirmed to our men of Gumecestr*, our manor 
of Gumecestr', to be held of us and our heirs at fee-farm, 
together with all things belonging to the farm of that 

* Vide page 62. 

^ In the first year of the reign of King John he granted the 
lands or manor of Gumencestr' to one Robert de Mortram, at a 
reserved rent of £10 a year. — See amongst the Charter Rolls in 
the Tower, one marked " Mem. 9, Charts 1* Johannis. 

Robert de Mortram. Gumencestr' 10^ terr' — Hunt." 

° Vide Appendix, No. 1. ; and Charter Rolls in the Tower^ 
" No. 14 Johis. Mem. 6. Gunencestr' Homines — Gunnecestr* 
maner' ^Hunt." 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY TO A. D. 1213. 79 

manor^ for £120 per annum^ weight and number — ^Towit, 
one moiety at the feast of St. Michael^ and the other 
moiety at Easter, at our Treasury. Therefore we will, 
and firmly command, that our aforesaid men of Gume- 
cestr,' have and hold, of us and our heirs, the aforesaid 
manor of Gumecestr,* truly and in peace, freely, quietly, 
and surely, with all privileges belonging to the farm of 
the said Manor, at the aforesaid yearly farm of £120, so 
long as they shall well and truly pay to us the aforesaid 
Farm Rent. 

Witnesses, &c. 

The rent of 120Z. per annum was then perhaps 
an ample consideration for the manor and its ap- 
purtenances;** but, in the course of years, the great 
alteration in the value of money, (whilst the manor 
being granted in perpetuity at a fixed rent, that 
rent remaining nominally the same,) renders it now 
but a comparative trifle : thus, obtaining grants of 
manors in fee-farm from the crown, was an im- 
portant accession to the growing liberties of the 
people, as it raised the burgesses of this and simi- 
larly enfranchised towns nearly to a level with the 
freest tenants of the country. The only dificrence 
between them was, that the privileges of boroughs 
belonged to the inhabitants collectively, whilst the 
freedom of free-tenants descended to themselves 
and their heirs. ^ 

® Even so late as in the year 1624, arable land in Godman- 
chester was let at two shillings per acre, and grass land at five 
shillings per acre. — Vide Records of the Borough, book A. p. 108. 

p Blackstone. 



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80 HISTORY OF 60DMANCHESTER. 

The privileges of tenants in antient demesne are 
numerous, as exemption from tolls, &c.** They 
were not subsequently taxed for Knights' wages in 
Parliament / they are not suitors' or amenable to 

<i Gumecester villa de Antiquo Dnico Reg' qd fit immun a 
pstcone Theolon et contribut p expenss Milit Pliament Claus 
A 5. H. 4. M. 14. — Julius desars Chap. Tower. 

' " So long as the custom contiiiued of levying Knights* wages 
in Parliament, no person who was not contributory to their wages 
was admitted to vote for their election. Tenants in antient de- 
mesne were therefore clearly excluded from voting." — Blackstane. 
The antient wages of Burgesses serving in Parliament was two 
shillings a day ; those of a Knight for the county four shillings. 
They were fixed at this sum by the 14th of Edw. 2d. Andrew 
MarveU, Member for HuU, in the reign of Charles 2d, is reported 
to have been the last who received this mode of compensation 
for parliamentary service to the state. — ^It was complained of in a 
petition to the King from the fireeholders in Huntingdonshire, 
29th Henry 6th, that the Sheriff had admitted 47 persons to poD 
for Knights of the Shire, " few of them contributors to the 
Knight's expenses." As the Sheriff did not return the persons so 
polled, the affair never came to a formal investigation. This dis- 
ability of tenants in ancient demesne voting at elections has long 
ceased. 

* Et quia hujusmodi tenentes cultores regis esse dignoscuntur, 
provisa fuit quies ne sectas faciant ad comitatum vel hundredum 
vel ad aliquas inquisitiones assisas, vel juratus. — The Author of 
Fleta Temp. Edward 1. 

An ineffectual attempt was made in the year 1607 to overthrow 
this privilege, notwithstanding its long uninterrupted enjojrment 
" Gumecester alias Godmanchester, y« 16^^ of Maye, 1607. 

" This yeare y« Bailliffs receved a warrant from Sir Robert 
Puyme, being Heighe Sherife, to certefy all y* freeholders w*hin 
this towne, w^ was answered by this certifficat following : 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY TO A. D. 1213. 81 

the County Court ; they cannot sue or be sued of 
theu* lands by the usual real actions of Assize, writ 
of Entry, &c* in the King's Courts of Common Law; 
but their more simple and only method of recover- 
ing their tenements, &c. is by a peculiar process, 
called a Writ of Right Close,* which being directed 

** The towne and mannor of Godmanchester y« auncient de- 
measne and pcell of the possessions of .the Duchie of Lankester, 
and y* a Borowghe incorporated by the name of Bailliffs, Assist 
and Comltie, who holde y« said mannor and borowghe in fee- 
farm of the King^s Ma*^S by y« yearlie rent of sixscore pounds. 
And all y« lands and tenns w*hin y« saide towne and borowghe 
are holden of y« saide mannor by y« severall tenants and inhabitants 
of y« saide towne and borowghe as free tenants in auncient 
demeasne aunciently called Sokmanies." — Vide Bor, Records. 

On Sir Robert Peel's new Jury Bill coming into effect in 1828, 
a similar prescription was claimed and allowed. 

^ Provisum est etiam^ quod hujusmodi tenentes inter se tan- 
tum unicum beneficium habeant recuperationis tenementorum, 
per quoddam breve de recto clausum ballivo manerii dirigendum 
quod plenum rectum teneat querenti secundum consuetudinem 
manmi. — Author of Fleta, Temp, Edw, \st, 

Et pur ces que nous volons que ils eyent tele quiete, est ordine 
le brefe de droit clos pledable par baiUyfe del maner (de tort fait a 
Tun sokeman par 1' autre) que il teigne le pleintyfs a droit, solone 
les usages del maner, par simples enquestes. — Britton,cotemporary 
with Fleta. 

This may be found also in the old Register of Writs. " Fait 
Assayroii* que le petit briefe de droyt gyst toutdis pour sokmans 
que sont del auncien demesne le roi; quar nul sokman poet 
empleder auter sokman de terre, ne de tenement, per auter briefe 
que per petit briefe de droyt." It must be observed, that the littTe 
Writ of Right lieth in all cases for sokmen, which are of the 

G 



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82 HISTORY OF OODMANCHESTER. 

to the Bailiffs, leads to an immediate investigation 
of the right, which is determined by a jury, accord- 
ing to the custom of the manor, thus effecting a 
speedy adjustment of the dispute." 

Tenants in antient demesnCy though thus privi- 
leged by virtue of their tenure, were nevertheless 

King's antient demesne; for no sokman can implead another 
sokman of land or tenement by any other writ than the little 
Writ of Right 

u To illustrate this simple process, we have subjoined an order 
of the Court in the 9th year of Elizabeth ; by which order the 
custom is still regulated. 

Gumecester^ 1567, Novembris vj®. A Regni illustrissimo prin- 
cipis Elizabeth dei gra, &c. nono. 

For as muche as the custome of this maner haith of most aun- 
tient tyme bene (as by all olde recordes may appeare) that in a 
plea of land holden by vertue of the Queen's Ma**«« Writ of Right 
Cloisse, to g3rye 3 sumons, 3 distraines, and 3 essoignes, and at 
the tenth Courte the defendant psonallie to appeare, and at the 
eleventh Courte either (shewinge a reasonable cause) to praie 
abatement oi y« writ, or elts to ioyne a pfitte issue w^out any 
furder delaye by demure or any other delatorie plee (the wordes 
of the forsayde Writt, comaundinge to procede w^^out delay and 
accordinge to the custome of the maner,) and then to stande to 
the verdict of xij men. It is agreed by the Bailieffs and twelve 
men for the tyme beynge^ the dale and yeare above wrytten 
(d3ryers other of the coialtie the daie before assembled about the 
number of four score, and affyrmynge the same,) that firome 
bene forth no demurers be here put in and admitted, and that 
whosoever of the libtie shall attempt the same immedyatlie do 
stande dissfranchesyd of the saide libertie for ev and do forfitt to 
the use of the towne for every suche offence £5. — Stock Book^ 
No. 3, p. 108. 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY TO A. D. 1213. 



83 



amenable to their own Courts, to which they were 
compelled to do suit and service ; they held their 
lands subject to the peculiar custom, rent charges, 
&c. due to the superior Lord, nor could they 
alienate them"" to strangers, or even to free tenants 
by deed or feoffinent, and to the latter^ only by 
surrender into the hands of the Bailiff, who gave 
seisin to the cestuy que use, or the use of the parties 
mentioned in the surrender. In the Court Rolls of 
the 41st of Edward 3d, we find the following 
amongst numerous seisins, which will shew the 
early custom — a custom that still continues the 
general practice : 



Robertus Bally cepit seiS 
de uno messuagio iac in le 
Westre cfl uno cduinbar^ 
stant infa ^dicit messuagifi 
et iac in? placeam Johis 
Gyldene et placeam Johis 
Mundeforde : et unu caput 
abutt sr^ regiam viam et 
alifid caput sr^ ripam^ empP 
de WiUo Hors hendu et te- 
nendu ^dictfi messuagifi 
^dict Roberto et assignat 
suis ad defendend p. firma 
debit et consuet« 



*^ Robert Bally took sei- 
sin of a messuage, situate in 
West-street, together with 
a dove-cot standing behind 
the said messuage, and lying 
between the estates of John 
Gyldene and John Munde- 
ford, one end of which abuts 
on the King's highway, and 
the other on the river; 
bought of William Hors, to 
have and to hold the afore- 
said messuage to the afore- 
said Robert and his assigns, 
subject to the usual fee-farm 
rent and other customs.'^ 



Vide Appendix^ No. 3, h. 



Vide Appendix, No. 2,^. 
g2 



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84 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

Jolines Chaderlee cepit " John Chaderlee* took 

seiS de uno pychel ia8 in seisin of a pychel lying in 

parcoPrior^deMertonemp? the park of the Prior of 

de Alano Aired et JoKne Merton, bought of Alexan- 

Mundeford exe8 Robo de der Aired and John Munde- 

Souche Capello. Test Will ford, executors of Robert de 

Hors. Idm Jofies cep seiS Souche, chap lain, by the wit- 

de una acra laye ia8 iux* ness of William Hors. The 

^dict pytel emp de ^dict said John took also seisin 

exe8 ad defendend p fima of an acre of leys, lying near 

debit and consuet. — God- the said pytel, bought of the 

manchester Court Rolls, aforesaid executors, to have 

1367. and to hold, subjectto the fee 

farm rent andother customs." 

This mode of conveying estates by surrender and 
seisin has been transmitted to us from our Saxon 
ancestors, and in Godmanchester is called Surrender 
by the hand and glove ^ the ceremony of which is thus 
conducted : — A short deed, reciting the nature and 
extent of the property, is prepared, and given with 
a glove from the right hand of the grantor into the 
hands of the BailiflF, for the use of the grantee, 
who takes seisin of the property by taking the 
glove from the hands of the Bailiff, and the surren- 
der is registered amongst the records of the bo- 
rough/ Before letters were prevalent in England, 
this custom, with some modification, applied 
to the kingdom at large, and was the principal 

* John Chaderlee not being a freeman was admitted to his free- 
dom before he took seisin. — ^Vide Appendix, No. 3, 6. 

y Surrenders up to a late period were taken in open Court, but now 
they are usually made in the house of the Bailiff for the time being. 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY TO A. D. 1213. 85 

mode of conveyance used previous to the Norman 
Conquest. The instrument of surrender varied in 
different places, and was perhaps first adopted by 
accident, and continued by custom; thus we find it 
occasionally^ to have been the Lord's sword, or hel- 
met, a horn, a cup, a stone or sod from the land, a 
spur, a currycomb, a bow, or an arrow. A few cases,, 
by way of example, may not be considered unin- 
teresting. Withered, King of Kent, granted four 
plough-lands in the Isle of Thanet, and concludes 
the deed with these words: — '' In testimony* of 
which I lay a sod of the said earth upon the holy 
altar." JEthbald, the Mercian King, gave the 
monastery of Cuthan, with all the lands thereunto 
appertaining, to Christ Church, Canterbury, and 
for the confirmation of the gift, commanded a clod 
of the earth,^ with all the writings, to be laid upon 
the altar. Cedwalla, King of the South Saxons, 
made a grant of land to Theodore, Archbishop of 
Canterbury, in the year 687, the conclusion of 
which was — '' For a further confirmation of my 
grant, I, Cedwalla, "" have laid a turf of the land 
aforesaid upon the holy altar of my Saviour, and 
with my own hands, being ignorant of letters, have 

» " Conferebantur etiam primo multa prsedia nudo verbo, ab- 
sque scripto vel charts tantum cum domini gladio vel galea, vel 
comu, vel cratera ; et plurima tenementa cum calcari, cum stri- 
gili, cum arcu et nonnuUa cum sagitta." — Ingulphus, 

A '^Ad cujus cumulum affirmatiouis, cespitem hujus supra- 
dictae terraB super sanctum altare posui." — -Camden. 

^ Selden and Bacon. ^ Camden. 



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86 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTSR, 

set down and expressed the mark or sign of the 
holy cross." Milo/ Earl of Hereford, a. d. 1141, 
gave half his fisheries to the canons of Lauthoni 
cum Glocester, by delivering a gold ring on the 
altar of their church. Edgar* cut his staflF in two, 
and gave one part to Glastonbury Abbey for a proof 
of his grant. At Pusey, in Berkshire, a horn' is 
used; an old legend originates their custom in 
Knute, the Danish King, having presented their 
ancestors with a horn. 

In the principality of Wales, the type used is a 
twig, cut from a tree growing on the land about to 
be transferred. In the neighbouring manor of Of- 
ford Darcy, Hunts, estates are conveyed by a rod. 
In the Isle of Man, conveyances were made ^er 
traditionem stipulwj by the delivery of a straw.*^ The 

<* Atkins. « Malmsb. 

^ Much infonnation on tenures by the hom^ either in frank, 
ahnoigne, or in fee, or in serjeanly, may be found in the Sd volume 
of the Archaeologia ; also drawings of the Foxlow, Borstal, Pusey, 
Carlisle, and Lord Bruce's horns. In the Council Room of York 
Minster is still preserved a curious horn, if it may be so called, 
made of an elephant's tooth, by which that church holds several 
lands, which are called " Dc Terra UlphL*' Before the Reformat 
tion it was handsomely adorned with gold, and was pendant in a 
chain of the same metals As is observed by the Author of the 
" Antiquarian Itinerary," these ornaments were most probably 
the occasion of its being then taken away ; but dei^Ued of them, 
it was subsequently returned to the church by Henry Lord Fair- 
fax. The Chapter have again richly decorated and affixed to it a 
Latin inscription, in honour of its restorer. 

K A similar instance may be quoted from Holy Writ: "Now 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY TO A. D. 1213. 87 

celebrated James> 7th Earl of Derby, in his histo- 
rical account of the Isle of Man, written in the 
form of a letter to his son Charles, thus expresses 
himself on this subject : ** There comes this very 
instant an occasion to me to acquaint you with a 
special matter, which, if by reason of these trouble- 
some and dangerous times, I cannot bring to pass 
my intents therein, you may in your better leisure 
consider thereof, and make use hereafter of my 
present labours, in the matter of a certain holding 
in this country, called the tenure of the straw. 
Whereby men think their dwellings are their own 
uundent inheritances, and that they may passe the 
same to any, and dispose thereof, without licence 
from the Lord, but paying him a bare small rent, 
like unto a fee-farm in England, wherein they are 
much deceived." William the Conquerer, in his 
first endeavours to change our Saxon customs and 
institutions into those of Norman origin, com- 
manded that all transfers of real property should 
be transacted in writing, and bear the signatures 
of competent witnesses ; but this was too important 
a change to be at once established in the habits of 
even a conquered people, who, however unlettered 
themselves, wisely foresaw the cavils, delays, and 
possible future contingent difficulties and expenses 

this was the manner in former times in Israel, concerning re- 
deeming, and concerning changing, for to confirm all things ; a 
man plucked off his shoe, and gave it to his neighhour; and this 
was a testimony in Israel." — Ruth, c. iv. v. 7. 



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88 HISTORY OF 60DMANCHESTER. 

that might attach to this more complicated mode 
of conveyance. They moreover deemed that this 
was hut a step preparatoiy to altering the laws and 
institutions of the country altogether, and perhaps 
to the curtailment of those Uberties they had enjoyed 
under their Saxon Monarchs. He subsequently re- 
stricted this new form of law to his royal and other 
grants, eflFecting at the same time the introduction 
of the Norman language into the practice of the 
courts, continuing the surrender of all real property 
into the hands of the Lord, on its being transferred, 
which was then taken possession of by the grantee 
on the payment of a customary fine, and the lands 
continued to be held by feudal tenure. Such is 
still the tenure of copyhold and antient demesne 
lands. The fine was called Garsuna or Garson ; 
but in process of time, in some instances, the Lord 
remitted the fine, and thus in many places, as in 
Godmanchester, it fell into comparative disuse, 
and at length was never insisted upon. Garson 
appears, excepting in particular instances, to have 
been regularly taken in the manor of Godman- 
chester until the year 1638, when it ceased alto- 
gether. The last entry on the subject occurs in 
that year in the accounts of Mr. Bailiff Carlis, who 
states that he had received for 

^^ Amtciaments at the Leete and Garsons £d Vis. Sjrf." 
The transfer by the ** hand and glove'"* is a cheap 

^ Gloves were a costly ornament of dress to our forefathers^ 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY TO A. D. 1213. 89 

and simple method of conveyance. The short deed 
is, as has been observed, registered in books kept 
for that purpose, and may always be referred to, 
on application to the Bailiffs, and the intricacy and 
complexity of title deeds are in a great measure 
avoided. 

In violation of this antient custom of surrender 
and seisin, other modes of transfer are occasionally 
practised in Godmanchester, but the tenure, even 
at this day, by the expensive, tedious, and complex 
forms of conveyance, called lease and release, or 
feoffment, is of a doubtful nature, when appUed to 
lands and tenements in antient demesne; for, were 
investigations of titles to be made by Writs of Right 
Close, there are instances in which, it is to be 
feared, the security of proprietors might be shaken. 
Upon informalities apparently much less important, 
Writs of Right Close are numerous in the Court 
Records of the Borough, from the most antient 
times, but for the last half century have been less 
CQmmon. The personal privileges of tenants in 
ai^tient demesne are strictly conlSned to the resident 
tenants, though the customary laws affecting the 
freehold equally attach to the non-resident propri- 
etor. The forms of admission to denizenship have 
varied at different eras, a selection from which 
maybe found in Appendix, No. 3 : but these stipu- 

and frequently enriched with beads and precious stones, and not 
uncommonly interchanged by parties as pledges of good faith. — 
Forsyth, 



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90 HISTORY OF GODMANCHBSTER. 

lations always obtained an oath of fealty to the 
Lord, submission to the customs, and the exaction 
of an arbitrary and variable fine. 

Here we coidd wish to abandon further legal tech- 
nicalities, which may serve to perplex the general 
reader, but must first describe the customary descent 
of property in Grodmanchester, which is, neverthe- 
less, only applicable to those dying intestate. 

* ' Tenure in burgage* is described by Glanvil to be 
lands or tenements held at a certain rent, and 
where the King or other person is Lord: which 
is expressly called by Littleton, tenure in socage. 
It was of Saxon institution, and withstood the shock 
of the Norman encroachments. The free socage 
in which these tenements are held, may also ac- 
count for the great variety of customs, affecting 
many of these tenements so held in antient bur- 
gage : the principal and most remarkable of which 
is that called Borough English, so named in contra- 
distinction, as it were, to the Norman customs ; 
viz. that the youngest son and not the eldest, suc- 
ceeds to the burgage tenement on the death of his 
father. For which Littleton gives this reason — 
* because the younger son, from his tender age, is 
not so capable as the rest of his brethren to help 
himself.' Other authors have indeed given a much 
stranger one for this custom, as if the Lord of the 
fee had antiently a right of concubinage with his 

* Blackstone. 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY TO A. D. 1213. 91 

tenant's wife on her wedding night; and that 
therefore the tenement descended not to the eldest, 
but the youngest son, who was more certainly the 
offspring of the tenant. But I cannot learn (says 
Blackstone) that ever this custom prevailed in Eng- 
land." Bracton, on the contrary, insists that this 
custom formerly existed all over England ; and 
states, that by an antient record it appears that W. 
Maynard, of Heurst, in Berkshire, paid the Abbot 
of Abingdon maritagium et marcheta for his daugh- 
ter and sister. This fine, called by abbreviation 
marchety still continues in some manors in Wales, 
and is by the Welch written gwahr merched (a maid's 
fee).^ In the manor of Dinevor, in Caermarthen- 
shire, every tenant at the marriage of his daughter 
pays to the Lord of the Manor ten shillings ; and 
in that of Biulth, in Radnorshire, six shillings and 
eightpence. Eugenius, King of Scotland, granted 
this feudal privilege to the manorial lords of that 
kingdom, which was subsequently aboUshed by 
Malcolm the 3d ; though the fine of marcheta in 
many instances still obtains. The custom prevailed 
also in Guernsey and Ireland, in which last place it 
was called lohempy. Perhaps^ the most reasonable 
origin of this custom of descent of property in 
burgage tenure may be drawn from the practice of 
the Tartars ; among whom, according to Father 
Duhalde, it is very general. That nation is com- 

k History of Stamford. > Blackstone, 



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92 HISTORY OF 60DMANCHESTER. 

posed totally of shepherds and herdsmen ; and the 
elder sons, as soon as they are capable of leading a 
pastoral life, migrate from their father, with a cer- 
tain allotment of cattle, and go to seek a new habi- 
tation. The youngest son, therefore, who continues 
latest with the father, is naturally the heir of his 
house, the rest being already provided for. And 
thus we find that among many other northern na- 
tions, it was the custom for all the sons but one to 
migrate from the father, which one became his heir."* 
So that possibly this custom, wherever it exists, 
(as in Godmanchester,) may be the remnant of that 
pastoral state of our British and German ancestors 
which Caesar and Tacitus describe. A pregnant 
proof that these liberties of socage tenure were 
fragments of Saxon liberty. 

In the Cotton MSS. Brit. Mus. are the following 
particulars relative to this custom : 

^^ Also it is ordeyned and statutyd^ that if any man of 
the s** towne of Gumycester have two or three sons of one 
woman^ lawfully begotten, the younger of the s^ sons shall 
by the Ayer, according to the use and custome of Bo- 
rough-English ;° and although that he have had two or 

^ Pater cunctos filios adultus a se pellebat, praeter unum qjaem 
haeredem sui juris relinquebat. — Walsingh, Upodigm, Newt. 
c. 1. 

^ " 1520— 12th Henry 8th. In answer to the Kings Writ, 
' If a man have several sons, which of them shall be the heir ?* 
William Vinter and John Freer, Bailiffs^ reply as follows: ' We 
have inspected the antient customs of the town of Godmanchester, 
and if any man have two or three legitimate sons by one woman. 



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MtTNlCIPAL HISTORY TO A. D. 1213. 93 

three wives, and each of them children, never the lesse 
the younger son of the first wife shall be the heire. Also 
that if any man have purchased any lands or tenements 
w*^ his wife, y* is leflfuU for the s** man, while he is alyve, 
to gyve, sell, or bequeath the s^ lands or ten*' without the 
license of his s^ wife, and such a woman shall have no 
dowres.** 

the youngest of them shall be the heir according to the custom of 
Borough-English (Burgagii Anglicane.) If a man shall have 
sons by a 2d or 3d marriage^ the youngest son by the first wife 
shall be heir/ — * May 30th, 1639. Heniy Arsley was seized in a 
mess and close as youngest son by the first venter of Thomas 
Arsley, his father deceased/ — ' Cur. tent. 27th Jan". 1630. 
Emanuel Lettice seized in 2 parts of a ten* — ut frater natu mini- 
mus et proxim heres — of his sisters Alicia Rogers and Rachel 
Bowles, deceased, according to the custom of Godmanchester — 
tempore a quo non extat memoria hominum usitat et approbat, 
&c.* — * April 12th, 1632. John Scatcher, son of Jasper Scatcher, 
deceased, was seized of one messuage, as youngest brother and 
next heir of John Scatcher, youngest son of the first wife of the 
said Jasper Scatcher, and heir of the said Jasper, according to the 
custom.' — ' May 13th, 1641. Richard Weaver, of Hail Weston, 
was seized in certain lands and ten^ in Godman*. He had four 
sons, Richard, John, William, and Edward ; the youngest son 
Edward died, and on the death of the father the lands and ten" 
feU to William, the third son, being the youngest then surviving.* 
— ' June 14th, 1683. John Wright seized in 9| acres of arable 
land, as youngest brother and next heir to Roger Wright, his 
elder brother Thomas being alive.* ** — Extracts from Court Books, 
o It is not called dower in antient demesne property, but the 
widow 8 Jree-bench : which is that estate in the land which the 
wife has on the death of her husband, and which is regulated by 
custom. " Anno 26 Henry 8th. Ellen Burder recovered the 
half-acre of meadow in Hudpool from John Granger, who for- 
merly bought it of her husband, William Burder^ she not having 



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94 HISTORY OF OODMANCHSSTER. 

^^ Also that men children shall be of full age, so that 
they may gyye^ sell, or assigne their lands or rents when 
they come to the age of xx yeares^^ and women at the age 
of xyj yeares.** 

*^ Also that if any man have two sons married by his 
wyfe, and one of these sonnes hath an ayre masculine, and 
the other an ayre femynyne, and if it chance after these 
two sonnes to depart and die, the father of them being 
alyve, and after it chances the father of them to dye, then 
that same heire masculine shall be the ayer, and not the 
ayre femynyne, tho' she be of the yonger son." 

been sole examined." — 1628. Lucillia Ambrose, wife of John 
Ambrose, being an inberetrix, conveyed her lands without her 
husband. Thomas Ambrose sues as youngest son and heir of 
John Ambrose, according to the custom of Godmanchester. Ka- 
therine Gray, defend^ avows in evidence the custom of Godman^^ 
that 9k feme covert being an inheretrix, may devise her lands with- 
out joining her husband, and proves the same by precedents in 
the reigns of Henry the 7th and 8th, and Elizabeth. Upon the 
trial the Jury found for Katherine Gray, tenant by the gift of her 
grandmother, being 9k feme covert, not joining her husband good 
by the custom. — Vide C, B. March 5th. Anno 4to. Caroli. 

p In the 13th of Henry 8th, " Thomas Dalton surrendered a 
messuage to Richard Freer, being 20 years of age." — " 1580 — ^26o 
Eliz. July 2d. Oath was made in Court, that Robert Wright, when 
he sold Landberry Close, was 20 years of age." — " 1676 — ^28 An. 
Car. 1. 8th Junii. Eliz. Maile sibi petit se admitti Gardian 
Thome Mayle filius eius quousque deveint ad etatem vigint annor 
scdm consuet manii et admissa est." — Fwfe Covrt Books. 

4 1668 — ^April 19th. Oath being made before the Bailiffs, 
that Dorothy Cole was of the age of 16 years. She, with others, 
surrendered a house in Arning-street to Thomas Newman. — 
1674. — Jan. 12th. Admissions of females surrendering at 16 
years of age. — Vide Court Books, 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY TO A* D. 1213. 95 

Having traced the original of some of our cus- 
toms, and attempted to illustrate them by parallel 
cases and the best established authorities on the 
subject, and brought down our History to the char- 
tered grant of King John, we will describe the prin- 
cipal events connected with the intervening period 
of that time and the Charter of Incorporation by 
King James, in considering the import of the vari- 
ous inspeximuses, confirmations, and grants of the 
reigning Monarchs, together with the several In- 
quests that have been held regarding the manor. 



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96 



CHAPTER VI. 

MUNICIPAL HISTORY, CONTINUED FROM 
A.D. 1213 TO 1604. 

N the Charter* of ^'John, 
King of England,^ Lord of 
Ireland, Duke of Normandy 
and Aquitaine, Earl of An- 
jou," bearing date May 20, 
1213, in the fourteenth year 
of his reign, we find the 
manor granted in fee-farm 
for himself and his heirs to his men of Gumecestr' 
at <£ 120 a year, with all Uberties and privileges be- 

a Vide page 78, and original^ in the Appendix, No. 1. 

^ From the collection of royal titles given by Sir Edward Coke 
in his first Institute, book 1, chap. 1, sec. 1, p. 7, a, we may ob- 
serve that the Sovereign's title was changed according to the ac- 
quisition or alienation of territory. The expression, " by the 
grace of God King of the English," or " of all Britain," being ex- 
tant in the charters of William Rufus, and even in one of the 
Saxon Kings, Edwyn, dated a. d. 956. King John first adopted 
the title of Lord of Ireland ; his possessions there had been ob- 
tained by the conquests of his father, who in 1176 created him 
King of that country, but the title was not assumed as it is now 




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MUNICIPAL HISTORY PROM 1213 TO 1604. 97 

lon^ng to the manor. The numher of witnesses 
by which it is signed is expressive of the King's 
Council, by whom it was granted. 

The Charter of John was ratified by the inspexi- 
mus of his grandson, Edward 1st, in whose letters 
patent, commencing with " Edward, &c. King of 
England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine," 
it is fully recited. They conclude with ** Witness 
myself at Hansted the 6th of May, in the 33d year 
of our reign." (a. d. 1305.) 

The letters patent of Edward 1st were confirmed 
by the inspeximus of his grandson, Edward 3d, 
which begins with *' Edward, &c. King of England 
and France, and Lord of Ireland.'' His letters 
patent are witnessed by ** myself at Westminster, 
4th of February, in the year of our reign over Eng- 
land the 22d, and of France the 9th." (a.d. 1343.) 

In the inspeximus of Richard 2d, the letters 
patent of his grandfather, Edward 3d, are recited, 
and, like them, it styles the Monarch '' King of 
England and France, and Lord of Ireland." His 
letters patent confirmatory are witnessed by *' my- 
self at Westminster on the 18th of May, in the 2d 
year of our reign." (a.d. 1379.) 

used until 1531, by King Henry 8th. The style of Duke of Nor- 
mandy and Aquitaine were appended to the royal title by Henry 
2d, who held them in right of Eleanor his Queen. They were 
disused by Henry 3d in 1259, restored again by Edward 1st, and 
finally exchanged in 1339 by Edward the 3d for the title of King 
of France. — Thomsons Notes on Magna Charta. 

H 



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98 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

Some difficulties appear at this time to have 
been opposed to the men of Gkimecestr' in the ex- 
ercise of their manorial rights, amongst which they 
claimed the goods of felons and outlaws, as also 
waifs and strays ; therefore at their petition these 
privileges, previously demanded as appendages to 
the manor, were expressly assured to them by 
letters patent, to which the great seal was affixed 
on the 28th of March, 1381 : 

(No. 2.) 
felon's goods, &c. confirmed by letters patent 

OF RrCHARD 2d.<^ 

Richard, by the grace of God, King of England and 
France, and Lord of Ireland, to his present and all future 
SherijBFs and Escheators^ in the county of Huntingdon, 
greeting. — ^Whereas Lord John, formerly King of England, 
our progenitor, by his Charter which Lord Edward, for- 
merly King of England, our father's great grandfather, 
and Lord Edward, late King of England, our grandfather, 
by their letters patent, have confirmed, did grant and con- 
firm to his men of Gumecestre his manor of Gumecestre, 
to hold of him and his heirs at fee-farm, with all things 

c Vide Appendix, No. 4. 

d " The office of escheator was chosen annually, being chose in 
the Exchequer, one for each county, whose business it was to col- 
lect all the escheats or extraordinary and dropping dues, such as 
forfeitures, heriots, wards, lapses of advowsons, revenues of vacant 
dignities and livings, &c. in each particular county, for the king s 
use. The inquisitions taken by these officers afford us, perhaps, 
says Bishop Nicholson, in p. 208 of Hist. Libr., 'upon the death 
of any gentleman of estate y^ truest draughts of the several coun- 
ties of England; "—Coles MS. Escheats in the Brit. Mus. 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1213 TO 1604. 99 

belonging to the farm of the said manor, for six twenty 
pounds a year at his Treasury, and willed and decreed 
that his said men of Gumecestre should have and hold of 
him and his heirs the said manor of Gumecestre truly 
and in peace, freely, quietly, and fully, with all liberties 
to the farm of the said manor belonging, at the aforesaid 
annual farm, that is to say, six twenty pounds as afore-^ 
8sdd, so long as they paid to him the said farm. And We, 
the said ^^nts and confirmations, through our special 
favour towards them, for ourselves and our heirs, as much 
as in us lies, to the aforesidd men of Gumecestre and 
their heirs and successors, men of the said manor, have 
ratified, approved, granted, and confirmed, as the said 
Charter and Letters fully attest, and as the said men and 
their predecessors of the aforesaid manor have hitherto 
reasonably enjoyed, and as in our said letters patent is 
more fully explained. Under the colour and sanction of 
which, the said men and their predecessors, our men of 
tlie said town, now commonly called Gurmunchestre, 
have always hitherto had the chattels® of felons and fugi- 
tives, and all manner of beasts and chattels called Waif 
and Stray, by chance found there, as appurtenances of the 
said manor, from the time of the granting of the said 
Charter of King John, our progenitor, and as they urge 
they ought to have. We command ye, that ye permit our 
men of the said manor to have, according to their custom, 
the chattels of felons and fugitives, and all manner of 
beasts and chattels called waif and stray, by chance found 
there, without any let or hinderance, as they ought to have, 

« In the BailiflTs Accounts for 1619, occurs this item : " The 
goods of John Miller escheatinge to ye towne for felony £4. 4s. 9c?." 

The law of forfeiture, in cases of common felony, was abolished 
hy Act 64 Geo. 3d. 

H 2 



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100 HISTORY OF OODMANCHESTER. 

and as their predecessors, men of the said manor, from 
the said time have been accustomed to have. And the 
said men in their liberties, and in all things as appurte- 
nances of the farm of the said manor, which by virtue of 
theirCharter and Confirmations they have hitherto reason- 
ably used and enjoyed, ye shall suffer to use and enjoy, 
according to the tenor of their Charter and our aforesaid 
Confirmation, to their full intent and meaning, without 
any molestation whatsoever. 

Witness myself at Westminster, the 28th day of 
March, in the fourth year of our reign. 

On the same day, the follovdng letters patent 
were also obtained, by which their privileges as 
tenants in antient demesne, of freedom from custo- 
mary tolls, were set forth, and conmianded to be 
observed throughout the kingdom : 

(No. 8.0 
Richard, by the grace of God, King of England and 
France, and Lord of Ireland, to all and every Mayors, 
Constables, Bailiffs, and other officers, wherever and 
whatever throughout our kingdom of England, to whom 
these present letters shall come, greeting. — ^Whereas, 
according to the custom in our kingdom of England 
hitherto observed and approved, the men of our antient 
demesne of our crown of England are and ought to be &ee 
from tolls throughout the whole of our kingdom : We 
therefore will and command you, and each of you, that 
you shall cause the men of our manor of Gumecestre, now 
commonly called Gurmunchestre, which is of the antient 
demesne of the crown of England, to be freed and exone- 
rated from all manner of tolls for their goods and chattels^ 
^ Vide Appendix, No. 6. 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1213 TO 1604. 101 

according to the custom aforesaid. And if ye shaU^ 
under any pretext, have made any distraint on the afore- 
said men, or any of them, ye shall without delay re-de- 
liver the same. 

Witness myself at Westminster, the 28th day of 

March, in the fourth year of our reign. 

(A.D. 1381.) 

Notwithstanding their common law right of de- 
manding, as tenants in antient demesne, to whom 
their manor had been granted in perpetuity, es- 
cheats, &c. of felons, and immunity from tolls, in 
which they were further protected by these royal 
and special grants, — ^we find the men of Gurmun- 
chestre, in 1392, again petitioning the Crown for 
its protection in the enjoyment of these privileges, 
on which Richard the 2d granted them an entire 
new Charter, comprehending the original Charter 
by King John, the Confirmations of Edward the 
1st and 3d, and himself, together with the let- 
ters patent above recorded, for which they paid 
into his hanaper forty poimds. 

(No.4.«?) 

CHARTER OF RICHARD 2d. A. D. 1392. 

Richard, by the grace of God, King of England and 
France, and Lord of Ireland, to his Archbishops, Bishops, 
Abbots, Priors, Earls, Counts, Barons, Justiciaries, She- 
riffs, Governors, Officers, and to all Bailiffs and others 
his faithful subjects, greeting. — Know ye, that as Lord 
John, formerly King of England, our progenitor, by his 
Charter, which Lord Edward, formerly King of England, 

Vide Appendix, No. 6. 



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102 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

son of King Henry, by his Charter, and Lord Edward, 
late King of England, our grandfather, by his Charter, and 
We, in like manner, by our Charter, have confirmed,— 
did grant, and by his said Charter confirm to his men of 
Gumcestre his nmnor of Gumcestre, to hold of him the 
«aid King John, and bis heirs, at fee farm, with all things 
belonging to the said manor, for six twenty pounds a 
year, weight and number, as in the said Charter and Con- 
firmations more at large is set forth: and whereas our 
men of our said manor of Gumcestre have petitioned us, 
that as by virtue of the said Charter of the said King 
John, and the general words therein contained, amongst 
divers other franchises and liberties, they have had the 
chattels of felons, and fugitives, and suicides, and also of 
those who are banished from our kingdom of England, 
and infangethef,^ and outfangethef,' and in the exercise of 
which liberties they have been of late denied and dis- 
turbed—We will that the aforesaid liberties, in special and 
express words, shall be assured and confirmed to them. 
We, in consideration of the losses and injuries which our 
aforesaid men, in their lands, tenements, and mills, fre- 
quently sustain from inundations and floods, of our espe- 
cial grace, and at the petition of the aforesaid men, and 
also in consideration of a fine of forty pounds to us in 
our hanaper by them p^ud, grant, and by this our present 
Charter confirm, for ourselves and oiur heirs, as far as our 
power extends, to the said men and their successors, that 
they shall have and hold the said manor, with its appur- 

^ Infangethef was a privilege of kurds of certain manors^ to 
pass judgment of theft committed by persons within their juris- 
diction. 

' Outfangethef was a privilege enabling a lord to bring to trials 
in his own Courts any person living in his own fee that was 
charged with felony in any other place* 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1213 TO 1604. 103 

tenances^ and moreover they shall have all manner of 
chattels of felons and fugitives^ and of suicides and outlaws, 
and of those who are banished our kingdom of England, and 
infangethef and outfangethef, and all manner of forfeitures 
within the said manor and liberty, as well of the clergy 
and inhabitants as of travellers and strangers for ever, — 
We furthermore grant for ourselves and our heirs, as much 
as in us lies, to the said men and their successors, that 
they shall be free from tolls,^ murage, stallage, passage, 
and pavage, throughout our whole said kingdom for ever. 
Wherefore We will and command, for ourselves and our 
heirs, that our said men and their successors have and 
hold to themselves and their successors all and singular 
the aforesaid franchises, liberties and acquittances, which 
they and every of them shall fully enjoy and use for ever, 
as aforesaid. 

By these witnesses — the most venerable Father, 

William Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of 

all England, and others. 
Given under our hand at Westminster, the fifteenth 
day of February, in the 15th year of our reign. 

^ Arbitrary exactions of this kind still continue to be demanded 
in various manors and boroughs, and at the period of which we 
are considering, were common throughout England. In many 
instances, the purposes for which grants of tolls were made have 
been superseded by the altered state of the country, as that of 
murage, which was levied on passengers for the repair of walls of 
towns and boroughs; in like manner pontage or bridge tolls; 
passage and pavage, for the repair of streets and highways, are 
objected to, as those repairs are, generally speaking, provided for 
by express Acts of Parliament, empowering Commissioners to 
levy rates on the inhabitants of counties or boroughs for that 
purpose. Important legal decisions have recently been obtained 
in favor of the objectors to these local tolls where they were con - 



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104 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTBR, 

To give full effect to this Charter, the King' 
issued his writ of Privy Seal on the 16th February, 
1392, that is, the day after it was signed. 

(No. 5.0 

Richard, by the grace of God, King of England and 
France, and Lord of Ireland — to all Justiciaries, SheriflFs, 
Escheators, Coroners, Mayors, Constables, Bailiffs, Of- 
ficers, and others, his faithful subjects, greeting. 

Whereas King John, formerly King of England (the 
Charter here is fully recited) To you and each of you, We 
especially command, that you shall permit the said men of 
our manor of Gumecestre, now called Gurmunchestre, 
and their successors, to have and enjoy all and every of 
the liberties and acquittances aforesaid, without any man- 
ner of impediment, according to the tenor of the said 
Charters and Confirmations, each and every of them, 
against the tenor and eflFect of which you shall oflfer no 
description of molestation. 

Witness myself at Westminster, the 16th day of 
February, in the 15th year of our reign. 

Through the succeeding reigns of Henry 4th, 
5th, 6th, Edward 4th, Henry 7th, 8th, Edward 6th, 
Mary and EUzabeth, we have inspeximuse& and 
confirmations of this Charter; but as in no in- 
stance do we find in them any increase or diminu- 
tion of the privileges and liberties granted to the 
men of Gurmunchestre, it would be useless to load 
our pages with their formal recital. This Charter 

tinued to be demanded, as in the towns of Cambridge, Bos- 
ton, &c. 

1 Vide Appendix, No. 7. 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY PROM 1213 TO 1604. 105 

of Richard is important in our annals, as under its 
provisions the town was governed from 1392 to the 
year 1604, when James the First granted the men 
of Gumecestre the more enlarged Charter, by which 
they were created into a body corporate, and under 
which the municipal government of the town is 
still conducted. 

These charters and letters patent may be illus- 
trated by other documents, but principally inquisi- 
tions, for the knowledge of which we are chiefly 
indebted to the Commissioners appointed for the 
better preservation of the pubUc records, to whose 
industry, abiUty, and research, and that of the 
Sub-commissioners, the historian, antiquarian, and 
geologist, as well as the country at large, are 
imder great obligations. Their labours have be- 
come more generally known to the country through 
the " Notitia Historica" of Nicholas Harris Ni- 
colas, Esq.,"* a small but invaluable pubUcation 
to those engaged in the abstruse studies of history 
and antiquities, and whose comments on the works 
pubUshed by the Commissioners we shall occasion- 
ally take the liberty of quoting. 

The Rotuli Hundredorum, Temp. Edw. 1, in 
Tarr. Lond' et in Curia Recepta Scaccarii Westm. 

™ Nicholas Harris Nicolas, Esq. of the Inner Temple, author o( 
the " Life of William Davison, Secretary of State to Queen Eli- 
zabeth, &,cJ* and joint Editor with Henry Southern, Esq. of 
Trinity College, Cambridge, of " The Retrospective Review, and 
Historical and Antiquarian Magazine." 



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106 HISTORY OF QODMANCHESTER. 

Asservati, 2 vols, folio, contain inquisitions taken 
in pursuance of a special commission issued under 
the great seal, dated the 11th October, 2d Edw. I. 
A. D. 1274. 

The revenues of the crown arising from knights' 
fees, escheats, wardships, marriages, &c., were con- 
siderably diminished by tenants in capite alienat- 
ing without licence, and by the clergy as well as 
the laity withholding, under various pretences, 
the just dues and rights of the crown, and assum- 
ing the power of holding courts and other jura 
regalia. Exactions and oppressions had also been 
committed on the people by the nobility and other 
great men, claiming the rights of free chace, and free 
warren, and also by demanding unreasonable tolls 
in markets and fairs : and likewise by sheriffs and 
escheators, &c. under colour of the law. These 
abuses remained unreformed until the return of 
Kang Edward from the Holy Land, towards the 
end of the second year of his reign ; when it be- 
came one of his first objects to enquire into the 
demesnes, rights, and revenues of the crown on the 
one hand, and into the conduct of its officers on 
the other. The King, therefore, issued the com- 
mission above-mentioned, and the result produced 
evidence, on the oath of a jury, of the several 
hundreds and towns in every county. This evi- 
dence is arranged imder twelve heads, but we 
shall only ejiumerate those connected with our 
subject. 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1213 TO 1604. 107 

1st. All the demesne lands of the Crown^ whether an- 
tient or newly acquired. 

2d. M anors; &c. formerly in the hands of the CroMi)^ 
persons holding the same^ and how acquired. 

3d. Tenants in capite^ and tenants in antient demesne. 

4th. Fee-farms of the Crown. 

6th. Oppressions of the nobility, clergy, &c. 



Extract from the Huntingdonshire Rolls. 

A9 4. ED. 1. rot' extract' COM. HUNTEDON, NO. 2. 
M. 28. IN DOMO CAPITULARI WESTM'. COM. HUNTEDON. 



Extract' Inquisiconu £ac- 
taru p pceptu dni Regis in 
comitatib3 Line', Oxon', 
Bert, Bufe, Bed, Cantebr', 
Huntedou', Devon, Comu'b 
de jurib3 et libtatib; dni 
Regis subtractis et excesxiiis 
vicecom' coron' escaet' et 
alio^ballivo^ dni Regis quo^- 
cumq alio^ ballio^ quoquo- 
modo dnm Regem spectan- 
tib3 anno Regni Regis E fit 
Regis H. quarto. 

Hundr' de Touleslond in 
Com. Hunted', (page 198.) 

Que & mantia ee solet in 
manib3, &c. ? 

Dicunt qd villa de Gom- 
mecestr, fuit de dnico dni 



From an inquisition 
made under the precept of 
our Lord the King, in the 
counties of Lincoln, Ox- 
ford, Berks, Buckingham, 
Bedford, Cambridge, Hun- 
tingdon, Devon, &c. in the 
fourth year of the reign of 
King Edward, son of King 
Henry. 



Hundred of Toseland, in 
the county of Huntingdon. 

How many and what 
manors were in the hands 
of the King? 

It is answered, that the 
town of Gommecestr' was 
of the demesne of our Lord 



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108 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

Regis pris 1^ nuc et dedit the King,, the father of the 
dcam villa dno Edmuudo fii present King, and that 12 
suo xij annis elaps' et valet years since he gave the said 
p annu vj" libr'. town to his son Edmund, 

and that its annual farm is 
six score pounds. 



Henry the third left two sons, Edward his sue- 
cessor, and Edmund Plantagenet, first Earl of Lan- 
caster." The earldom of Leicester was conferred 
upon Edmund, with the stewardship of England, 
in 1265,° with the honour of Derby, and the castles, 
manors, and lands forfeited by Robert de Ferrers, 
Earl of Derby, and Simon de Montfort, Earl of 
Leicester.^ He had also a grant of the honour 
and castle of Monmouth"* released to him by his 
brother, Prince Edward, to whom they had been 
alienated by John de Monmouth, and obtained the 
earldom of Lancaster the day before the calends of 
July 1267, the 51st of Henry 3d. He died at Bayon, 
in France, in 1296, leaving issue three sons,' — 
Thomas, Henry, and John, by Blanch, his second 



n Collins states, that the first Earl of Lancaster, after the Con- 
quest, was Robert de Poictou, a younger son of Roger de Montgo- 
mery, Earl of Arundel, who was so made by William the Con- 
queror; but taking part with his brother, Robert de Belesme, he 
was banished England, after which Henry 2d gave his great inhe- 
ritance to Ranulph de Gernun, Earl of Chester. 

Banks's Dorm. Bar. vol. iii. p Rot. Pat. 49th H. 3d. — m, 2. 

q Pat. Rot. 40th H. 3d. — m, 2. ' Banks. 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1213 TO 1604. 109 

wife, daughter to Robert Earl of Artois, a younger 
son of Lewis 8th, King of France. The inquest 
above cited is very important, as fixing the time 
when Henry alienated from the Crown the fee- 
farm rent or demesne of Godmanchester, and be- 
stowed it on the earldom of Lancaster. From our 
Appendix it appears that the Commissioners made 
more than one report with respect to this event.^ 
In a statement of the grants made by King Henry 
3d to his son Edmund, in the 51st year of his 
reign, in the ** Calendarum Rotulorum Chartarum,'* 
published by the Commissioners in 1803, occurs 
the following entry, p. 94 : 



chart' 51°. H. 3. PARS UNICA MKM. 4. EDMUNDUS FILIUS 

REGIS. 



VCastra 



Monemuth castrum^ 

Grosemound, 

Blanchcastell^ 

Skenefrith, 

Lancastr' castr* & honor* 

Wirisdale, 

Lounesdale^ 

Novum castrum subtus Lynam 

Pykering castrum etforesta, 

Gomincester villa, 

Huntedon villa redd. 



vaccar 



>Wallia. 

V Lancastr'. 

Stafford. 
Ebor'. 

? Hunting'. 



« Appendix, No. 2, p. a. 



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110 HISTORY OF GODMANCHBSTBR. 

In the Charter Rolls of Edward 1st, Godman- 
Chester is also recited, amongst the possessions of 
Edmund Earl of Lancaster and Leicester. 

MEM. 19^ 20, 22. BDMUND FRAT' REGIS COM LANC' ET 

leicbstr'. 
23 pro sodem com. 



> Leicestr' 



Leicestr' castr' villa confirm sibi et 

Hered de Corp* 
Kenilworth bosc* et domin' liBa ^ 

chaseaetWarr' JWarr' 

Lancastr' castr' honor ^ ^ 

-,, 1 , - , V confirm' ut supra /Lancastr* 

W yresdale forest t i 

Lonesdale forest' J ^ 

Novum castrum subtus / ^ , ^^ ? o^ «• j 

> confirm ut supra > Stafford 

Pickering castr' forest' 1 } 

Sallebv i confirm' ut supra > Ebor' 

Gomecestr' concess' ut supra Hunting' 

On the death of Edmund, Thomas, his eldest 
son, succeeded his father in the earldom of Lan- 
caster; and in the 26th of Edward 1st, being 
reputed of age, did fealty and had seisin of his 
lands,* excepting the dowry of Blanch, his mother, 
then surviving. In the 4th of Edward 2d, he mar- 
ried Alice, sole daughter and heiress of Henry de 
Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, and had livery of the castle 

* Bank's Dorm, and Ext. Baronage. 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1213 TO 1604. Ill 

of Denbigh, and other lands of her inheritance. 
He was considered one of the most potent of a 
party at that time formed into a confederation for 
the redress of grievances, and being regarded as a 
person of great zeal and integrity for the public wel- 
fare, was esteemed the bulwark of the liberties of the 
people, to whose cause he ultimately fell a martyr. 
Having joined a formidable insurrection in 1322, 
in aid of the Scottish invasion, he was taken pri- 
soner in a skirmish at Borough-bridge, and from 
thence conducted to his castle at Pontefract, and 
there executed.*" Thomas, second Earl of Lancas- 
ter, dying without issue, notwithstanding his at- 
tainder, was succeeded by his brother Henry, who 
obtained livery of his lands. In 1324 he did ho- 
mage for the town of Godmanchester, and fee-farm 
rent of Huntingdon, and was allowed to assume the 
title and honour of Earl of Leicester. 

Extracte finiutn Cancel- In the seventeenth year 

lar' de S'c'da p'te de Anno of Edw. 2d.— The King ac- 

xvij Edw. 2, Ro. 80. cepted the homage of Henry 

9 cepit Homa^iim Henr' of Lancaster, brother and 

de Lancast' f ris et her' heir of Thomas late Earl of 

Thome quondam com' Lan- Lancaster, for the town of 

castr' de villa de Gumne- Gumnecestar^ and the fee- 

cestar et redditmn villate de farm rent of Hmitingdon, 

Hmityngdon cmn omnib3 with their appurtenances, 

ptin'suis&c* &c. 

« Banks, Rapin, and Hume. 



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112 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

He was shortly afterwards one of the nobles 
mainly instrumental in deposing Edward the Se- 
cond, and effecting, during his life time, the succes- 
sion of his son, Edward the Third, to the throne 
of England. In the first year of this monarch's 
reign, a. d. 1337, in a ParUament held at Westmin- 
ster, he obtained an act for reversing the attainder 
of his brother Thomas, and thereby the re-posses- 
sion of the earldoms of Lancaster and Leicester, 
together with the lands and lordships that were 
forfeited in consequence thereof; and in the same 
year was appointed Captain General of all the 
King^s forces in the marches of Scotland. He 
died the 19th of Edward the Third, and left issue 
six daughters, and one son, Henry, 4th Earl of 
Lancaster; who, having signalized himself by 
valour and successes in the wars of France, had, 
previous to his father's death, been created Earl of 
Derby."" He was subsequently rewarded with the 
earldom of Lincoln,"^ and in the 25th of Edward 3d 
advanced to the dignity of Duke of Lancaster, with 
power to have a chancery in the county of Lancas- 
ter,"" as also to enjoy all other liberties and regali- 
ties belonging to a county palatine, in as ample a 
manner as the Earl of Chester^ was known to have 

▼ Chart. Rolls, Uth Edward 3d, n. 50. 

^ Chart. Rolls, 23d Edw. 3d, n. 10. » Banks. 

y " Rex concessit Henrico duci Lancast' quod infra eundem 
comitatum habeat cancellar' suam, et alia jura regalia prout comes 
palatinus Cestriae : et quod duos milites pro communitate comi- 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1213 TO 1604. 113 

within that county. After a life devoted to the 
public service, covered with an honourable and im- 
perishable renown, he died in the 35th of Edward 
3d, leaving two daughters, Maud, who, though twice 
married, (first to Ralph, son and heir of Ralph Lord 
Stafford, and then to William Duke of Zealand,) 
died without issue ; and Blanch, who married John 
Duke of Ghent, youngest son of Edward 3d, who 
was thereupon created Duke of Lancaster;* and 
after the death of Maud enjoyed the earldom of 
Derby, Lincoln, and Leicester. 

Edward the 3d granted letters patent to John 
Duke of Lancaster, (and subsequently of Aqui- 
taine,*) bearing date the 7th of May, 1362, by the 
names of John Duke of Lancaster and Blanch his 
wife, that they and their heirs, and the men of their 
lands and fees formerly in the possession of Henry 
Duke of Lancaster, should have perpetual free- 
dom from panage, passage, pavage, lastage, stall- 
age, and other tolls throughout the kingdom of 
England, which Richard 2d confirmed by charter; 
as also a separate jurisdiction over the lands, 
manors, fees, &c. of the Duchy, confirming to it its 
peculiar Court, in which all pleas and civil matters 
regarding the tenants were to be decided, together 

tatus predict! et duos burgeuses pro quolibet burgo infra comita- 
turn predictum mittat ad parliamentum." — (Rot Pat 26th Ed- 
ward 3d, pars prima, m. 18.j 

« Chart. Rot. 36 Edw. 3d. pars unica, n. 9. 

» Rot. Pari. 13 Richard 2d, n. 21, p. 673. 

I 



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114 HISTORY OF QODMANGflESTSR. 

with right of Jura Regalia, &c. John of Ghent 
died in 1399, when his eldest son, Henry of Boling- 
broke, became seized of the Duchy in right of his 
mother, the descendant and sole heiress of Edmund, 
first Earl of Lancaster and Leicester, son of Henry 
the 3d. On the deposition of Richard 2d, and 
Henry's elevation to the throne, he retained the 
dukedom of Lancaster and the earldoms of Here- 
ford, Derby, Lincoln, and Leicester, with their im- 
mense possessions, merging their titles in the royal 
dignity. The dukedom of Lancaster, with its ap- 
pendant honors, castles, manors, fees, and liberties, 
were confirmed to hifn and his heirs by Parliament, 
and by him annexed to the Crown, of which it con- 
tinued to form part of the possessions during his 
reign and that of H& immediate successors, Henry 
5th and Henry 6tli^. Ouithe 4th of November, 
1461, Edward 4th, in the first year of his reign, 
with the advice and consent of Parliament, decreed 
that all castles, manors, domains, towns, villages, 
honors, lands, tenements, rents, services, fee-farms, 
military fees, advowsons, and hereditaments, with 
their appurtenances, of which Henry 6th, on the 3d 
of March, in the 39th year of his reign, or Henry 
6th, in the first year of his reign, were in seisin^ 
as possessions of the Duchy of Lancaster, and 
had annexed to the crown of England, should, fix)m 
the 4th of March, 1461, (the day of his accession 
to the throne,) be separated from the hereditary 
possessions of the crown^ and held in severalty of it 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY PROM 1213 TO 1604. Il5 

for ever : and that the Duchy Seal should be again 
eonsigned to the officers of the Duchy Court, and 
that the Chancellor and other officers belonging to 
the Duchy should exercise their separate jurisdic- 
tion over the manors, &c. of the Duchy, in as full 
and ample form as had been held and exercised by 
the Dukes of Lancaster at any former period. Let- 
ters patent, bearing date the 4th of January, 1465, 
were directed to the Bailiffs of Gumecestr*, con- 
firmatory of the privileges and acquittances of the 
tenants and inhabitants, as tenants of the Duchy, 
and of the jurisdiction of the Duchy over the 
manor, directing that aU suits and pleas regarding 
the tenants should be brought and tried in the 
Duchy Court. Hie fee-farm rent of Godmanches- 
ter was, from this time, paid ta the particular re- 
ceiver of the Duchy, but continued to form part of 
the crown revenues until the 15th of Charles the 
2d, when it was again alienated to Sir Edward Mon- 
tague, knight, after his elevation to the peerage. 
Sir Edward had been a distinguished military com- 
mander under the parliamentarian banners^ during 
the civil wars, and subsequently joint High- Admiral 
erf ikigland; but who, observing the pusillanimity 
of Richard's Prcrtectorate, and the national dispo- 
sition for a limited monarchy, sufficiently influenced 
the fleet to declare for the Restoration. For this 
important service he was created by Charles 2d, on 



^ Burkes Peeitige. 



i2 



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11^ HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

the 12th Jiily, 1660, Baron Montague,*" Viscount 
Hinchingbroke, and Earl of Sandwioh; presented 
with the noble order of the garter ;* and in 1663, 
farther recompensed with grants of fee-farm rents 
in the coimties of Himtingdon,® Hertford, Norfolk, 
Essex, Bedford, Northampton, SuflEblk, and Buck- 
ingham, amongst which was that of Godmanches- 
ter. To the receiver of whose descendant, John 
William, the seventh and present Earl, it continues 
to be paid. 

The following decree contains a curious decision 
in the year 1286, in which the Bailiffs of Godman- 
Chester appear tributary to the Sheriff of the coimty , 
for their view of Frank-pledge, and is the only con- 
tradiction on record to the men of Godmanchester 
then exercising their entire manorial rights. It is 



c " Edward, created Baron Montague of St. Neots, Viscount 
Montague of Hinchingbroke, and Earl of Sandwich, 12th July, 
1660. He was also M. of y* Wardrobe, Knight of y* Noble 
Order of y« Garter, and one of his Majestic s most Hon^^® Privy 
Council, Captain General o' the narrow Seas, Vice-admiral of 
England. He married Jemima, da. of John Crew, of Stanes in 
Northamptonsh., by Jemima, da. and co. h. of Edw. Walgrave, 
of Lawford in Essex, Esq. He lost his life in a seafight against 
y« Dutch, 28 May, 1672, and lieth buryed among y* kings in 
Westminster Abbey. CEtat. 47." — Sir Robert Cottons CoLfor 
Hunts. Brit.Mus, 921, P.L. 76. G. 

d Appointed by patent — " Master of the Game of Swanns in. 
the River Thames." 13 Carol. 2 *." — Rolls Court Records, 

« " 3° die feb* Con* Edw®. Comiti Sandwich, divers feod firm, 
imppm. 3° Feb. 16° Car. 2'." — Rolls Court Records. 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1213 TO 1604. 117 

taken from the Placita de Quo Warranto in the 
Tower, which inquest took place under a commis- 
sion instituted for the same objects as that which 
produced the Rotuli Hundredorum/ 

IN A PLEA OF OUR LORD THE KING^ IN THE NATURE OF A 
. QUO WARRANTO, BEFORE JOHN DE MBTIN6HAM AND 
THOMAS DE BELHOUS, JUSTICIARIES, TO THEM ASSIGNED^ 
BY THE PRECEPT OF OUR LORD THE KING, ON THE MOR- 
ROW OF THE FEAST OF ST. MICHAEL, IN THE 4tH YEAR 
OF THE REIGN OF EDWARD IST. 



Reginaldus fit RoM de 
Gomecestr' et Wiliis Cticus 
bafli de Gomecestr* p se et 
coitate ville pdce clam* fire 
^cam villam ad feodi fir- 
mam ex dimissione dni J. 
Regis avi dni Regis nuc p 
cartam sua quam p ferut et 
que testatr qd idem Rex 
dimisit mafiliu suu de Gome- 
cestre homiiiib3 suis de 
Gomecestre p sexies viginti 
libri ponde et numero p 
aimu ad feodi firmam te- 
nend q^mdiu %n reddidint 



R^inald^ the son of Ro- 
bertof Gomecestr*, and Wil- 
liam the Priest^ Bailiffs of 
Gomecestr,' for themselves 
and the commonalty of the 
said town^ claim to hold 
the said town at fee-farm^ by 
the demise of Lord John^ 
late King^ grandfather of our 
present Lord the King^ by 
the Charter which he grant- 
ed them^ and which wit- 
nesses^ that the said King 
demised his manor of Go- 
mecestre to his men of Go- 
mecestre for six twenty 
pounds a year weight and 
number^ at fee-farm, to 
hold the same so long as 
they shall truly render the 



Videpagq 106. 



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il8 



HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTSR. 



firmam ^dcam reddend in 
scaccario ad duas termifl. 

Et testat' qd iidem holes 
%n red' ^deam firmam. 

Ques est ab eis gi Keant 
visum f*nci plegii^ dnt qd 
sic, et si aliquid p ^co 
visu dnt qd non. 

Et sup hoc Gill^tus de 
Thornton qui sequit' p 
Rege dicit et vie' similit^ 
qd ipe capit viginti solidos 
p annu p visu f^nci plegii 
^^decessores suiVic'Hun- 
tedon' tempe suo idmilit' 
cepunt p^dcos vigiti solid 
de ^dcis hominib3. 



Et xij jur' de Hundro 
de Touleslund' dnt qd 
vie' ut batts bundri die 
.visus venit ad quemdam 
locu ubi tioies ^dce viUe 
debent tefie visum f^nci 
plegii et iidem fioiea p 
finem f cm statT solvut vie' 
vigittti soHdos p visu. illo 



said farm, paymg it into the 
Exchequer at two stated 
periods. And it is proved 
before us that they have 
truly paid the same. It is 
demanded of them, whether 
they hold the view of Frank- 
pledge? — ^they answer, Yes: 
and if they render for the 
same ? — ^to which they an- 
swer. No. On this Gilbert 
de Thornton, who followed 
for the King, said, and the 
jSheriff in like manner, that 
be had received twenty shil« 
lings per annum for the 
view of Frank-pledge, and 
that his predecessors. She- 
riffs for the county of Hun- 
tingdcm, in their time, in 
like manner, received twen- 
ty shillings from the said 
men. And the 12 jurors 
for the Hundred of Tose- 
land 81^, that t^e Sheriff, 
as Bailiff of the Himdred, 
on the day of the view comes 
to a certain place, where the 
men of the said town hold 
the view of Frank-pledge, 
and that the said men im- 
mediately pay the said fine 
to the Sheriff of twenty 
shillings for their view. 



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MUNICIPAL HX8T0ET FEOM 1213 TO 1604. 119 



et sic deBnt et sic f aoepe con- 
sueflit tempibus reto actis. 

lo ad judiciu^ &c. 

PoBtea venenint ^dci Re- 
ginaldiis et Wifl'mus et fine 
fe8unt p ^dico concela- 
mento p xx". 

Et recipiimt^ &c. 



and thus tiiey ought and 
have been accustomed to 
do. Ju(%ment was thereon 
given; after which the said 
Reginald and William came 
and paid the said fine for 
the said privilege^ viz. 20 
shillings. 



In the same pleas may also be found the follow- 
ing no less curious record, which suggests the pro- 
bability that the SheriflFof the county anciently held 
his toum, in a separate Court of each of the four 
hundreds of which the county is composed ; and 
that, as the custom can no longer be traced, the 
four Courts were soon after connected, and consti- 
tute what is now called the SheriflTs or County 
Court. 

PLACITA DB aUO WARRANTO. P. 304. 



Presentatu est p xij de 
Touleslimd qd dns Rex het 
et here potest quoddam 
impcamentu in Gomecestr' 
quod est antiquo dnico 
Corone suie in quodam loco 
qui vocati* le Pondfolde ante 
portas Prioris de M'ton' 
quod deservit omnib3 dis- 
t ccionib3 dni Regis in hun- 
dro pdco. 



It is presented by the 
Jury of the Hundred of 
Toseland^ that the Lord the 
King has and ought to have 
a certain toum in Gome- 
cestr', which is of the an- 
tient demesne of his crown^ 
in a place called the Ponde- 
folde^ before the doors of 
the Prior of Merton, to 
preserve the rights of the 
Lord the King, in the hun- 
dred aforesaid. 



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120 HISTORY OF QODMANCHBSTBR. 

Et testatu est p Vic' qd And it is witnessed by 

dns Rex est in seis^ de the Sheriff^ that the Lord 

^dico impcamento. the King is in seisin of the 

lo ^ est Vic' qd manute- same— 4t is therefore for 

neat inde Regem in seis* the Sheriff to maintain the 

sua, &c. King in his said seisin. 



The manor having been demised from the Crown, 
together with all things belonging to the said 
manor, though the express nature of the manor is 
set forth — antient demesne^ no royalties nor other 
claims than the fee-farm rent were reserved to the 
Crown; but the Court for the Himdred of Tose- 
land, in which it is situated, might at that time be 
held in Godmanchester, it being the most impor- 
tant place in the Hundred. 

In surveying the documents contained in this 
Chapter, we find that the town of Godmanchester, 
from the year 1213 to 1604, though not properly 
speaking an incorporated Borough, had all the ex- 
emptions and exercised the privileges of one. The 
grant of the manor in fee farm merely incorporated 
the tenants, for the express object of securing to 
them the advantages of their farm, and empowering 
their Chief Officer to levy such charges on the land 
and houses as would enable him to pay the King's 
rent. The Charter of John, in general terms, con- 
veyed to the Bailiffs, chosen by the inhabitants, all 
those manorial prerogatives which previously at- 
tached to the King's Bailiff or Collector : such as 



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MUNICIFAL HISTORY FROM 1213 TO 1604. 121 

holding customary courts^ — ^the right of escheats'^ — 
of deodands — and of amerciaments : and under the 
authority of this demise, these privileges were exer- 
cised. Neither in the Record of Domesday nor 
Charter of John, does the word Borough occur ; in 
hoth the term Manor is used : and though in the 
Charter it is not said to our men of Chimecestr' and 
their heirs, it is impUed hy the words " to hold of 
us and our heirs;'* and, consequently, intended that 
the devisees should have perpetual succession by 
the name of the men of Qumece8tr\ The inspex- 
imuses of Edward the 1st and 3d confirm the con- 
tract with the men of Gumecestr' by the Charters 
of those Monarchs, and by the inquest in 1286 ; 
and in other parts of this work, we find them hold- 
ing courts by their Bailiffs, and exercising other 
manorial rights. The men of Gumecestr' were the 
inhabitants generally at the time of the original grant; 
but immediately after the grant of the manor to the 
then tenants, a distinction was setup between those 
who were admitted to the denizenship of the town, 
and those who accidentally sojourned there ; and 
which distinction is in the Charter of Richard 2d 
(No. 4), well defined, by the words clergy y inhabi- 
tantSj travellers, and strangers, no person being then 
considered, the inhabitant of a town, or competent 

8 In Cole s voluminous MS. Escheats^ Brit. Mus. not a single 
instance is recorded of an escheat being claimed by the Crown 
from Godmanchester ; and in the Appendix, No. 2, p. n, (7th of 
Edward 1st) it is stated, that no escheats in the manor fall to the 
Crown. 



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122 HISTORY OV GODMANCHBSTBR. 

to h(dd estate in it, until he had taken the oaths of 
allegiance, and submission to the constitaited autho- 
rities. In the inquest before recited (p. 1 1 7) , in the 
reign of Edward 1st, it was demanded of the Bailiffs^ 
whether they held the view of Frank-pledge? to 
which they answered, Yes ; which view of Frank- 
pledge was a Court held at stated periods by the 
Sheriffs of counties, that the freemen of the coun- 
try might be bound to their allegiance by the pledges 
of their neighbours, and thus immediately found 
upon any accusation being preferred against th^n. 
Every free-bom man, at the age of 14,^ except re- 
ligious persons, knights and their eldest sons, was 
called upon to attend these courts, and there give 
security for his truth and behaviour to the King 
and his subjects, or to be imprisoned, so that 
neighbours usually became bound £>r each other, 
and thus were responsible for their mutual a{^pear- 
ance on any transgressions having been committed ; 
and in the event of their not being foimd, the charge 
was answered by the pledges of the accused. — 
Where separate jurisdictions existed, as in boroughs 
and manors, separate views of Frank-pledge were 
held ; and though by this inquest, in 1286, the 
l^ieriff demanded of the Bailiffs of Godmanchester 
twenty shillings as his perquisites^ at the view, 

^ Coke. 

* " According to the old common law," says Lord Coke, " the 
Bishop with the Sheriffe did goe in circuit twice every yeare, by 
every hundred within the county, which was called his tour or 
toum, which signifieth a circuit or perambulation," and had certain 



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MUNICIPAL HfSTO&T PROM 1213 TO 1604 123 

which the Jurors awarded, it was an arbitrary ex- 
action on his part,^ and subsequently resisted ; per- 
haps upon the principle of the 42d chap, of the 2d 
great Charti^ of Henry 3d^ which relates to the 
view of IVank-{dedge, wherein it is expre^ly com- 
manded, ^^ that the Sheriff Be^ no occasions;" and 
this interference of the Sheriff with the Frank- 
pledge of a manor having its own jurisdictions, was 
evidently seeking occasions. This extortion was de- 
cided by the Duchy Court as being altogether ille- 
gal, and a decree to that effect was sanctioi^ by 
the iettars patent of Edward 4th.^ 

By the statute law, every man now answers for 
himself in criminal cases, so that the view of Prank- 
pledge has virtually ceased, and the customary 
court of the Lord, called the Court Leet, supersedes 
it altogether, for therein the inhabitants of boroughs 
and manors have to answer to their names twice 
yearly, or submit to a fine, when amerciaments are 
levied upon them by the Jury for encroachments 
upon the King's or public rights. The Court 
Leet is a very antient court, being of Saxon origin, 
and enquires into all ofiences under high treason ; 

fees; but grants of manors in fee-farm^ and charters of incorpora- 
tion to towns and boroughs^ excluded the Sheriff from holding his 
toum in those places. 

J This suggestion is sanctioned by the extortions of Sheriffs in 
those times. — Vide Reeves Hist of English Saxon Law. 

^ Vide pleadings and decrees in the Duchy Court relative to 
Godmanchester, fol. 171, b. Rot. 7, No. 12. 



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124 HISTORY OP 60DMANCHESTBR/ 

hut such as are punishable with loss of life are only 
presentable here, and certified over to the Justices 
of Assize. The usual methods of punishment in 
this court are by fines* and amerciaments" — ^the 
former assessed by the Steward, and the latter by 
the Jury, being twelve customary freeholders or 
tenants. 

The Lord of the Leet, or view of Frank-pledge, 
formerly kept a pillory and stocks", in good repair, 
in his Uberty, for the punishment and terror of the 
disorderly ; there is a quaint document on record 
of the latter having been used for this purpose in 
1634: 

^^ Gumecester — ^Ad Visum Franci Hegii ifem tent in festo 
Sci Michis anno viij. Caroli R. 

^^ It being proved upon the oath of M^gret Conyers and 
others taken before the Bailiffs (that wheras the BaiUffs 
by their constitutions had cast out gleanes and peaze out 
of the houses of divers ill-disposed psons that lay at the 
backs of their chimneys and in other places of ther houses 
in great daunger of firing both ther houses and ther 
neighbours) that Dorothie Walpoole widowe did take a 
fire stick in her hand and swore by God's blood she would 
set the gleanes and peaze the Bailiffs had cast out of her 
house on fire^ and bid a red plague of God light upon the 

1 Fines axe punishments or penalties fixed by express statutes. 

™ Amerciaments are fines arbitrarily imposed ; and if grievous 
or vexatious^ a release may be sued by an ancient writ, called 
" Moderata Misericordia," 

n Vide also Appendix, No 2, k. 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY PROM 1213 TO 1604. 125 

Bailiffes and all that came mth them and that they might 
rotte like dewe against the sunne^ w^^ fire stick being 
snatched out of her hand she took up another and swore 
she would set her house on fire were it not for William 
Maile's house : for w^b her disorder Mr. Bailiffes sent her 
to the stockes from whence she was by aurthority sent to 
the house of correccon and ther punished according to her 
deserts and to the terror of all other lewde queanes not 
conformable to good govemement/' 

Fide Stock Book, No. 5. 

Another baronial court in Godmanchester is 
called a Court of Pleas,** held every three weeks, and 
which was usually attached to manors^ and baro- 
nies. The Judges of this court are the two Bailiffs 
for the time being, aided by three of the Assistants, 
who have notice served upon them in turn by the 
Sub-bailiff to that effect, and three of the twelve 
Suitors or Jurymen appointed at the Leet. Hiis 
form of court appears to have been an iminterrupted 
usage from the 35th of Elizabeth to the present 
time. 

o The general plan of the Anglo-Norman Government was, 
that the Court of Barony was appointed to decide such controver- 
sies as arose between the several vassals or subjects of the same 
barony. — Hume, vol. ii. p. 107, 4to. ed. 1762. 

p Those only are said to be legally considered manors which 
can be proved to have existed before the passing of the statute 
" Quia Emptores," 18th Edw. 1st, a. d. 1290. This act was oc- 
casioned by the great subdivision of property about that time, and 
by which the number of inferior manors was so increased, that 
almost every* little farm of 90 or 100 acres became a manor and 
held its courts. — Watson, p. 676. 



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126 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTKR. 

Gtimecester ais"! Curia Dne R^lne tent ilka eonuu 
GodmanchesterJ Richardo Naillonr et Xtofer Sandon 
1592. 

For as mucbe as ther baithe ben dyvers and sundrye 
controvsies w^bin tbis Courte aboute tbe Triall of Ac- 
tions of Trespas and otber actions for y^ yt baitbe not 
ben knowen certaine wbo sbonlde be ye bourgers bye 
whom tbe said actions ougbte (accordinge too y« aunciente 
usage heretofore had) to have Triall yt ys therfore at this 
Courte ordered bye Mr. Bailiffes and twelve men and 
Comltie y^ Mr. BaiUiffiB for their tyme beingcy three of the 
twelve men who shal be sewters of the Courte when anye 
cawse shal be tried and three or foure more or les of thos 
w^ have ben Bailliffis^ shal be the bourgers bye whom 
everye action shal be ordered and determined w^^ herto- 
fore haithe ben usuall to be tryed by the bourgers. 

In this court pleas of trespass are enquired into — 
writs of right close prosecuted — recoveries suffered 
—freedoms of tenancy and seisins of property re- 
gistered. The admi^ion of strangers to the free^ 
dom of Godmanchester appears at first to have been 
by the consent of the whole conmionalty, per assen- 
sum totius comitatisy who thus became answerable 
for each other ; but by our extracts from the Court 
Rolls, 21st and 22d Edward 4th, viz. in the yesurs 
1481 and 1482, two pledges only were then taken, 
either or both of which were answerable for the 
trespasser. In the reign of Henry 7th, the custom 
of requiring pledges was discontinued, and fromr 
ihkt period until the men of Gumecestr' were raised 
into a body politic, by their charter of 1604, free- 



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MUNICIPAL HIOTORY FEOM 1213 TO 1604. 127 

doms were generally granted by the special favour of 
the whole community (^exspeciali gra toti coitasj^ 

The Charter of Kicbard the 2d gave great addi- 
tional weight to the claims and exemptions of the men 
of Giuneccstre ; yet, notwithstanding that charter, 
they were frequently annoyed by the demand of tolls, 
it being urged that Godmanchester was not of the 
antient demesne of the kings of England, but 
merely represented to be so; when Henry the 4th, 
at the petition of the men of the manor of Grod- 
manchester, certified to the fact, by letters patent, 
on the 21st day of May, 1401/ Hie impost of 
tolls still continued to be claimed from them ; and 
at length, in the 5th year of Elizabeth, one Richard 
Anderson, baiUff of Peterborough, detained a trusd 
of clothes belonging to Robert Bird Taylor, of God- 
manchester, for stallage in Peterborough fair ; and 
Nicholas Fox, bailiff of the town of Harborough, 
seized the cattle of Thomas Tryce, of Grodmanches- 
ter, for tolls in his fair, on which it was resolved by 
the tenants of Godmanchester to bring their action 
against the parties in the Duchy Court. The ver- 
dicts recorded in these cases, exonerating them 
from tolls, were confirmed by the letters patent of 
Elizabeth, with the recital of which we shall con- 
clude this Chapter. 

^ See various forms of admission. — ^Appendix> No. 3. 
>• "A® 2«. Henric 4. — Exemplificatio libri de Domesday pro 
manerio de 6odmanehester> Mem. 6." — Patent Rolls in the Tower, 



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128 HISTORY OF G0DMANCHE8TER. 

BXEMPLIFICACON FOR T« MBN AND TBNNANTS OF GOD« 
MANCHESTBR TO BB FRBBD FROM TOLL, &C. IN T® 
TOWNBS OF PBTBRBOROUGH AND HARBOROUGH. ANNO 

BLIZ. aniNTo. 

An. 5th. Regni^ Elizabeth del gra^ Anglue Franciae et 
£liz.A.D.1563.jHibemiffi Regina fidei Defensor, 8cc. 
Omnibus ad quos presentes Itra nostra pvenerint Sidtem 
Inspeximus tenorem cujusdam decreti sive recordi in 
Camar^ Ducat nostri Lancastr^ apud Westminst' inter re- 
corda ejusdem Ducat iBm remaned et existefi in hsec 
Verba. Termino Pascha Anno Regni Regina Elizabeta 
quinto. 

Whereas the men and tennants of y« towneshipp and 
mann' of Godmanch*' in ye coimty of Huntington parcell 
of y« possessions of y« Duchey of Lancasf and especially 
one Rob* Bird of y* said towne taylour, and Thos. Trice of 
y^ same towne, exhibited their bill of complaint into this 
Co^ declaring by y« same y* where y* s* towne and mann^ 
of Godmanchester is antient demayne as mainfestly ap- 
peareth as well by y* booke of Doomesday as by other jr* 
Queen her Highnesses records remaining in her Court of 
Exchequer at Westminst and that by reason thereof y« s^ 
men tennants and inhabitants of y® said towne ought to be 
discharged free and quite of for and from y« payment of 
any toll or custome in any fair markett citty burrough and 
elswhere w*4n y« realme of England for any goods or 
cattels by them bought or sold— and also that where ye 
8* men of Godmanchester ought to be free and quite 
of for and from ye paym* of any toll custome pannage 
passage picage lastage stallage tallage carriage pesage 
terrage in any fair markett cittey burrough or elswhere 
w*>>in y« s** realme as by divers and sondry charters and 
grants thereof made by divers of the Queen her Highnesses 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1213 TO 1604. 129 

most noble progenitors Kings of this realme and con- 
firmed by her Highness ready to be shewed in this ho- 
norable Co^ more at large it did and may appeare— And 
yt ye gd jngn and tennants by force of their s* tenure and 
grantes^ tyme out of minde of any man to y* contrary 
have ben freed and quite from y« payment of any toll cus- 
tome and other paym^ afores<i according to the nature of 
there s* tenure and purporte and effect of y* s* grantes 
untill now of late y* one Richard Anderson, bayliffe of y« 
burroughe of Peterburrough in y* county of Northamton 
at y* last Payer there holden did demand of y« said Bird 
to pay toll custome and stallage and for y^ he refused the 
sd Anderson tooke a distress and detained it. And y^ 
afterwards at Harburrough at jr* last fayer there holden 
aboute M ichealmas then last past one Nicli Pox bayliffe 
of y® s^ towne of Harburrough in y* county of Lycester 
did likewise demand of y« afores* Tho. Tryce toll and 
custome for certaine cattell by him then and there bought 
and would not suffer him to pass unless he would pay or 
pawne for y* s* toll soe demanded. And y* thereupon y® 
gd Xryce delivered in pawne to y* s* Fox a pawne in gold 
and y^ by reason of those demandes and distresses soe taken 
they y* said complain** had not only ben greatly troubled 
vexed and hindered in y® s^ faires townes and marketts 
but were like to have a continuall vexa66n and wronge 
offered and done to them from tyme to tyme to there 
greate damage and thereupon prayed redress ag* y* s*^ An- 
derson and y® s^ Pox, as by y* same bill of complaint re- 
maining of record in this honorable Co'^* doth and may 
appear. Whereunto y® s^ Rich** Anderson and Nicfi. Pox 
appeared and made generall answer and y® s^ men and ten- 
nants and y® s*^ Bird and Tryce replied and y® s^ Anderson 
and Pox gefitally rejoyned and y* s*^ ptyes ware at issue 
and a comission was thereupon awarded at y® request of 

K 



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130 HISTORY OF GODMANCHBSTKR. 

y® s*^ men and tennants of Godmanchester for y* tryall of 
y* contentes in there s*^ bill of compi*. Whereupon divers 
depo8ic6ns ware taken and orderly certified into y* s^ Co'* 
of Duchey Chamber and exemplificac6ns thereof granted 
and divers dayes of hearing appointed and y« matter 
oppenlie maturely and deliberly heard and fully under- 
standed befor y® Right hon^** Sir Ambrose Cave Knight 
Chancellor of y* said Co'* and others y® councell of y« s* 
Co'* upon y® hearing of wh** s*^ matter forasmuch as it 
manifestly appeared to y® s^ Chancellor and councell of 
Y^ s** Co'* by y* hearing of y* s* deposi66ns y* y* s** Rich* 
Anderson tooke by way of distress one truss of y* sd 
Birde and y* s* Nicfi. Fox received of y® s* Tryce a French 
crowne of six shillings in pawne for y« toll of y* cattell in 
y^ s^ bill of complaint mentioned. And farther as well 
by y® hearing of jr* s^ deposic6ns as alsoe by y* vie we 
and sight of sundry charters and grants made by sundry 
of y® Queen her Highness progenitors Kings of England 
as well by authoritie of Parliament as otherwise unto y® 
Dukes of Lancaster and there heires and unto there ten- 
nants and there successors and from tyme to tyme con- 
firmed as well by o' 8<* sof^aigne lady y® Queens Ma*^ y* 
now is as also by others of her most noble progenitors 
Kings of this realme unto y® s^ Dukes of Lancaster and 
there heires and unto there tennants and there successors 
that all and every the tennants of y® s*^ Dukes and of there 
heires and y® s^ men and tennants of Godmanchester and 
there successors should and ought to goe and pass in any 
fayer markett and other place free and discharged from 
y® paym* of any toll custome pannage passage pickage 
lastage stallage carriage and terrage — and farther y* y® s* 
towne and mann' of Godmanchester of longe tyme here- 
tofore hath ben and now yet still is parcell of y® pos- 
sessons of y* s*^ Duchey of Lancaster and y* y® s*^ fran- 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1213 TO 1604. 131 

chizes liberties privileges and immunities have ben by 
3^ s* Dukes imto y^ men and tennants of Godmanchester 
and there successors by speciall words granted and con- 
firmed. And also likewise especially and namely granted 
by charter unto y* s^ men and tennants of Godmanches- 
ter and there successors by sundry other charters made 
by sundry of y® Queens Highness s^ progenitors under 
y* great seall of England and shewed to y« s^ Chancellor 
and councell of y* s^ Co'* upon y® hearing of y® s*^ matter. 
And furthermore for y* it evidently appeared to y* s^ Chan- 
cellor and councell of y* s* Co'* upon y® hearing of y* s* 
matter as well by sundry certificates, under y* seall of y* 
Queens Highness Co'* of Exchequer as by other sundry 
instruments and evidences to them then and there shewed 
that the saide towne of Godmanchester is antient demeane 
by reason whereof the inhabitants w***in y® s** towne ought 
to goe and pass free and quite as is afores'' of and from all 
manner of toll custome pannage passage pickage lastage 
stallage carriage and terrage in all marketts fayers marts 
and other places for there goods and marchandizes. It is 
therefore this present tearme of Easter in y" fifth yeare 
of o' s*" sof aigne Lady Queen Elizabeth by y® sd Chancell' 
and councell of y® s'* Co'* ordered and decreed y* y® s** Rich'*. 
Anderson shall on this side y* feaste of y* Nativitye of St. 
John Baptiste next coming deliver or cause to be delivered 
unto y« s'* Rob* Byrde the s** truss soe by him taken in 
name of a distress or the value thereof : And likewise that 
the said Nicfi. Fox shall before the said feast in like man- 
ner deliver or cause to be delivered to the s'* Tho* Tryce 
y* 8** French crowne or y* value thereof. And further- 
more y* all and singular y* men and tennants of y® said 
towne of Godmanchester shall from henceforth for ever 
pass and repass goe and come w*^ there goods and chat- 
tells and marchandizes in by and through y® marketts 

k2 



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132 HISTORY OF GODMANCHBSTER. 

fayers bouudes marts and libertyes of y* s** townes of Pe- 
terborough and Harborough and every of them w*^>out 
any toll custome or other exaction or payment for y^' goods 
cattells and marchandizes of them or of any of them to be 
hereafter asked demanded or taken. And furthermore it 
is likewise ordered and decreed by y* s* Chancell' and 
councell y* the s** Ricfi Anderson shall before y® Feast of 
St. John Baptist next coming pay unto y« s** Rob* Byrde 
for his costs and charges in this sute sustayned y^ sum of 
thirteen shillings and fower-pence. And likewise y* y« 
s Nicfi. Fox shall in like manner pay unto y^ s* Tho"- 
Tryce and before y* s** day thirteen shillings and fower- 
pence for his costs and charges in this sute by him sus- 
tajmed. — ^Nos autem tenorem decreti sive record predi8 
ad instantiam tenencifi et inhabitant de Godmanchester 
duximus exemplifica^. In cujus rei testimonium has 
ttras nostras fieri fecimus patentes dat apud palacm nrum 
Westminst sub Sigillo ducat Lancastr' prediS vicessimo 
quarto die Maii Anno Regni nostri quinto. 



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133 



CHAPTER VII. 
CHARTER OF JAMES I.* A.D. 1604. 



AMES, by the Grace of God, 
King of England, Scotland, 
France, and Ireland, Defender 
of the Faith, &c. To all to 
whom these present Letters 
shall come — ^Greeting. 

Whereas our Town of 
Gumecester, otherwise God- 
manchester, in our county of 
Huntingdon, is of the ancient 
p^^^j^ demense of our kingdom of England, and also 
is an ancient and populous town, and the men 
and inhabitants of the said town are chiefly employed 
in agriculture, which is of the greatest importance to 
the Commonwealth; and whereas in the said town, from 
time whereof the memory of man is not to the contrary, 
divers liberties, franchises, immunities, and pre-emi- 
nences, have been used and enjoyed, by reason and 
pretext, as well of divers prescriptions and customs 
in the said town used and established, as also by the 
authority of divers letters patent of our predecessors. 



" Vide Appendix, No. 8. 



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134 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTBR. 

Kings and Queens of England,-— And whereas our beloved 
subjects, the men and inhabitants of the said town, have 
humbly besought us to this effect, that we would be 
willing to shew and extend to the said men and inhabi- 
tants of the said town, our royal grace and favour, and 
that we for the better regimen, government, and im- 
provement of the said town, would graciously make, re- 
duce, and create the said men and inhabitants of the said 
town into one body corporate and politic, by the name 
of the Bailiffs, Assistants, and Conmionalty of the bo- 
rough of Gumecester, otherwise Godmanchester, in the 
county of Huntingdon, by our letters patent, in such 
manner as to us shall seem most expedient : 

And that the aforesaid town may hereafter for ever be 
and remain a free borough of peace and quietness, to the 
restraint and terror of the evil and reward of the good 
and that our peace and the due observance of our laws 
may be the better kept and preserved, and hoping that if 
the men and inhabitants of the said town and their 
successors, from this our more ample grant, are ena- 
bled to enjoy such liberties and privileges, then and in 
such case they will feel themselves more especially 
bound to show and discharge all duty and service 
which they may be able to render to us and our heirs — 
We, of our special grace, certain knowledge, and mere 
Commence- motioH, wUl, ordaiu, constitute, declare, and 
mentoforant. grant, and by these presents for ourselves, our 
heirs and successors, will, ordain, constitute, declare, and 
grant, that the aforesaid town of Gumecester, otherwise 
Godmanchester, shall be a free borough in itself; 
a Free Bo- and that the men and inhabitants of the said 

rough. 

town and their successors are and shall be in 
future for ever, by virtue of these presents, one body 
corporate and politic in deed, fact, and name — ^by the 



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CHARTER OF JAMES I. A. D. 1604. 135 

name of the Bailiffs, Assistants, and Commonalty of the 
borough of Gumecester, otherwise Godmanchester, in 
the county of Huntingdon : And we erect, make, ordain. 
Made body coustitutc, coufirm, and declare them, by these 
and"*^Mtic presents, for us our heirs and successors, by 
of Bdiiftr.At the name of the Bailiffs, Assistants, and Com- 
Commonalty, moualty of thc borough of Gumecester, other- 
wise Godmanchester, in the county of Huntingdon, one 
body corporate and politic in fact, deed, and name, really 
and fully, and that they by the said name shall have per- 
petual succession, and that they by the name of the 
Bailiffs, Assistants, and Commonalty of the borough of 
Gumecester, otherwise Godmanchester, in the county of 
Huntingdon, are and shall be in future for ever, persons 
competent and qualified by law to have, acquire, receive, 

and possess manors, lands, tenements, liberties, 
to hold d privileges, jurisdictions, franchises, and heredi- 

taments of whatsoever nature, quality, or kind 
they may be, to themselves and their successors in fee 
and perpetuity, or for the term of a year or years, or in 
any other manner whatsoever : and also goods and chat- 
tels, and any other description of property of whatsoever 
kind, name, nature, quality, or species it may be : and 
also to give, grant, let, alienate, assign, and dispose of 
lands, tenements, and hereditaments, and that all and 
every of their acts and deeds shall be made and exe- 
cuted in the aforesaid name. And that by the said 
name of the Bailiffs, Assistants, and Commonalty of 
the borough of Gumecester, otherwise Godmanchester, 
in the county of Huntingdon, they shall and may be 

able to plead and be impleaded, to answer and 

Toolead,6cc. 

be answered, to defend and be defended, in 
any courts, townships, and places, before any judges, 
justices, and other persons and officers of us our 



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136 HISTORY OF 60DMANCHBSTER. 

heirs and successors in all and singular actions, pleas, 
suits, complaints, causes, matters and demands of what* 
soever kind, name, nature, quality, or character they are or 
may be, in as ample manner and form as any other of our 
liege people of England, persons able and qualified by 
law, or as any other body corporate and politic within our 
kingdom of England are able to have, acquire, receive, pos- 
sess, enjoy, retain, give, grant, let, alienate, assign, and 
dispose, plead and be impleaded, answer and be answered, 
defend and be defended, perform, permit, or execute. 
And that the Bailiffs, Assistants, and Commonalty of 
the aforesaid boroufi^h, may have a Common 

To have a ^ 

cmnmon Seal to ratify transactions and negociations for 
themselves and their successors; and that it 
may and shall be fully lawful for the said Bailiffs, Assist- 
ants, and Commonalty, and their successors, at their plea- 
sure, from time to time, to break, change, and remodel 
their seal, as shall to them seem most expedient. 
Two BaiiHik. And furthermore we will, and by these pre- 
sents for us, our heirs and successors, grant to the 
aforesaid Bailiffs, Assistants, and Commonalty, and their 
successors, that from time to time for ever there may and 
shall be in the aforesaid borough two of the most honest 
and discreet men of the said borough chosen, as is here- 
after in these presents expressed, who shall be and be called 
Bailiffs of the aforesaid borough : and that in like man- 
ner there may and shall be in the aforesaid borough 
And twelve twclvc othcrs of the most honest and discreet 
foma c^m! Burgcsscs of the said borough, chosen as is 
hereafter in these presents expressed, who shall 
be and be called Assistants of the said borough, which 
two Bailiffs and twelve Assistants for the time being shall 
be of the Common Council of the said borough ; and that 
the aforesaid twelve Assistants for the time being shall 



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CHARTER OF JAMES I. A. D. 1604. 137 

be from time to time aiding and assisting the Bailifib of 
the said borough for the time being, in all transactions, 
negotiations, and matters touching or concerning the said 
borough. 

With power And further we will, and by these presents, 
laws. 8^. ^' for us our heirs and successors, grant to the 
aforesaid Bailiffs, Assistants, and Commonalty of the 
borough aforesaid, and their successors^ that the Bailiffs 
and Assistants of the borough aforesaid, for the time 
being, or the major part of them, of which the Bailiffs 
of the borough aforesaid for the time being we will shall 
be two, upon a public summons specially made, and 
thereon congregated together, may have and shall have 
full power and authority to form, constitute, ordain, and 
make from time to time such reasonable laws, statutes, 
constitutions, decrees, and ordinances in writing, as 
shall appear to them or the greater part of them, (of which 
the Bailiffs of the aforesaid borough for the time being we 
will shall be two,) good, wholesome, useful, honest, and 
necessary, as shall seem meet in their discretion, for the 
good regulation and government of the aforesaid borough, 
and of all and singular officers, ministers, artificers, inha- 
bitants, and residents whatsoever within the aforesaid 
borough, and the liberties of the same for the time being : 
and for the declaration after what manner and order the 
said Bailiffs, Assistants, and Commonalty, and all and 
singular officers, ministers, burgesses, artificers, inhabi- 
tants, and residents of the borough aforesaid for the time 
being, in their offices, functions, ministrations, artifices, 
and negotiations within the said borough and liberties, 
PtorthepubUc ^^^ *^^ precincts of the same for the time being, 
*****^ should behave, bear, and comport themselves for 
the greatest public good, general welfare, and best regu- 
lation of the aforesaid borough, and the victualling of the 



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138 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

said borough, and all other things and matters whatso- 
ever in any way affecting or concerning the borough 
aforesaid. And that the said Bailiffs and Assistants of the 
aforesaid borough for the time being, or the major part 
of them, of which the said Bailiffs of the aforesaid 
borough for the time being we will shall be two, as 
often as such laws, institutions, decrees, ordinances, and 
constitutions are made, formed, ordained, or resolved 
Which are to upou in manner aforesaid, and such pains, 
nJitiL"*tbr* punishments, and penalties, either by imprison- 
contain. mcut of body, or by fines and amerciaments, or 
by either or both of them towards and upon all offenders 
against the said laws, statutes, ordinances, and constitu- 
tions, or any or either of them, which the said Bailiffs 
and Assistants of the borough aforesaid for the time be- 
ing, or the major part of them^ of which the Bailiffs of the 
aforesaid borough for the time being we will shall be two, 
shall hereafter see fit to make, ordain, limit, and provide, 
as necessary, meet, and requisite for the observance of 
the said laws, ordinances, and constitutions : the said 
fines and amerciaments they may and shall have to the 
use of the said Bailiffs, Assistants, and Commonalty, 
and their successors, without any hindrance of our heirs 
or successors, and without any let or molestation of us, 
our heirs or successors, or any officer or officers, or other 
ministers of us, our heirs or successors, and without ren- 
dering thereof any account to us, our heirs or successors. 
All and singular which laws and constitutions, made as 
aforesaid, we will shall be observed under the penalties in 
them contained, so that the laws, ordinances, constitu- 
tions, imprisonments, fines, and amerciaments are rea- 
sonable, and not contrary or repugnant to the laws, 
statutes, customs, or ordinances of our kingdom of 
England. 



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CHARTER OF JAMES I. A. D. 1604. 139 

Twofintor And for the better execution of this our will 

modem Bai- , , , 

liA. and grant, we assign, nominate, create, consti- 

tute, and make, and by these presents, for us, our heirs 
and successors, we assign, nominate, create, constitute, 
and make^ our well-beloved John Peate and Henry Steven- 
son to become our first and modem Bailif]^ of the afore- 
said borough, willing that the said John Peate and Henry 
Stevenson shall be and continue in the office of Bailiff of 
the aforesaid borough from the date of these presents 
to the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel next ensu- 
ing, and from thence until two other Burgesses of the 
borough aforesaid shall be in like manner duly elected 
and sworn into their offices according to the ordinances 
and provisions in these presents hereafter set forth and 
declared, provided the said John and Henry so long shall 
live. 
Twelve first Wc also assigu, nominate, and constitute, and 

or modera 1.1 

AflsMtanu. by thcsc prcscuts for us, our heirs and succes- 
sors, we assign, nominate, and constitute, our well-beloved 
Richard Shute, Richard Naylour, Jasper Tryce, John 
Heame, Richard Campjmet, Robert Tryce, gentlemen, 
Henry Mayle, sen., John Robyns, Robert Vinter, Samuel 
Pount, William Smyth, and William Brabjm, to become 
and be our first and modem twelve Assistants of the 
Borough aforesaid, to continue in the said offices during 
their lives, unless in the mean time, for bad administra- 
tion or evil conduct on their part, or any other reasonable 
cause, by the Bailiffs and Assistants of the said borough 
for the time being, or the greater part of them, of which 
the Bailiffs of the said borough for the time being we will 
shall be two, they are amoved, or any one or more of 
them shall be amoved. 
Two Baiiiffii And further we will, and by these presents 

to be elected , ' ' ^ , 

annually. for US, our hcirs and successors, we give and 



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140 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

grant to the aforesaid Bailiffs, Assistants, and Com- 
monalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, 
that the aforesaid Bailiffs and twelve Assistants of the 
borough aforesaid for the time being, or the greater part 
of them, of which the said Bailiffs for the time being we 
will shall be two, from time to time and at all times 
hereafter, may have and shall have power and authority 
annually and every year for ever, at the Court*next before 
the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, then and there 
to be held, to choose and nominate, and that they may 
and shall be able to choose and nominate, two of the most 
honest and discreet Burgesses of the aforesaid borough, 
who shall be Bailiffs of the borough aforesaid for one 
entire year, from the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel 
then next ensuing ; and that they, after having been so 
chosen and nominated into the office of Bailiffs of the 
aforesaid borough, before they are admitted to execute 
the said office, shall take a corporal oath before the last 
Bailiffs, their predecessors, the Recorder, or his Deputy, 
the Steward, or so many of them as shall be there assem- 
bled, for the good, well, and faithful discharge of their 
office, in all duties concerning the same : and after having 
in such manner taken the said oath, they may and shall 
be able, and either of them may and shall be able, to exe- 
cute the aforesaid office of Bailiff for one entire year. 
Baiiiib dying. And further we will, and by these presents for 

others to be i • i i «• 

chosen. US, our hcirs and successors, grant to the afore- 
said Bailiffs, Assistants, and Commonalty of the borough 
aforesaid, and their successors, that if it shall chance 
that the Bailiffs of the borough aforesaid and their suc- 
cessors, or either of them, at any time within one year 
after they have been so elected and sworn, or either 
of them has been so elected and sworn, into the office of 
Bailiffs or Bailiff of the borough aforesaid, as aforesaid. 



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CHARTER OF JAMES I. A.D. 1604. 141 

shall die, or be amoved from o£GLee, that then and so 
often it is and shall be lawful for the Assistants of the 
borough aforesaid for the time being, or the greater part 
of them, to choose and appoint one other or two other of 
the Burgesses of the aforesaid borough, to be Bailiff or 
Bailiffs of the aforesaid borough, according to the ordi- 
nances and provisions above declared in these presents, 
and according to the use and custom heretofore there ob- 
served ; and that he or they so elected into the said office 
of Bailiff or Bailiffs of the borough aforesaid may have and 
exercise his or their said office during the residue of the 
said year, first taking a corporal oath in manner afore- 
said, and thus as often as circumstances may require. 
AssistaDtt And further we will, that whensoever it shall 

Jbl'dioMA^ happen that any one or more of the aforesaid 
twelve Assistants of the borough aforesaid shall die^ 
or for any reasonable cause be amoved from the of- 
fice of Assistant of the borough; which Assistants, 
or any one or more of them, for evil practices in their 
office, we will shall be amoved at the discretion of the 
Bailiffs and Assistants of the borough aforesaid for the 
time being, or the greater part of them ; that then and so 
often it is and shall be lawful for the said Bailiffs and As- 
sistants of the borough aforesaid continuing and remain- 
ing, or the greater part of them, to choose, nominate, and 
make one or more of the burgesses and inhabitants of the 
aforesaid borough, in the place or places of him or them. 
Assistant or Assistants of the borough, so chancing to die 
or be amoved, for the filling up of the aforesaid number 
of twelve Assistants, and that he or they as aforesaid so 
chosen and elected to the said office of Assistant or Assis- 
ants of the aforesaid borough, having taken a corporal 
oath before the Bailiffs and the other Assistants of the 
aforesaid borough, the Recorder, or his Deputy, and the 



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142 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

Steward of the borough, or so many of them as are present, 
for the true and faithful discharge of their office, may and 
shall be of the number of the aforesaid twelve Assistants, 
and thus from time to time as often as circumstances re- 
quire. 

johnRosM, And further we will, and by these presents 
der. for US, our heirs and successors, grant to the 

aforesaid Bailiffs, Assistants, and Commonalty of the bo- 
rough aforesaid and their successors, that they and their 
successors may and shall have in the borough aforesaid 
one discreet man, learned in the laws of England, in man- 
ner hereafter in these presents expressed, chosen and 
nominated, who shall be and be called Recorder of the 
Borough aforesaid. And we assign, constitute, and make, 
and by these presents for us, our heirs and successors, we 
assign, nominate, ordain, constitute, and make, our be- 
loved John Rosse, Esq. learned in the laws of Eng- 
land, to become and be our first and modem Recorder of 
the borough aforesaid, to continue in the said office dur- 
ing the natural life of the said John Rosse : and that from 
time to time, and at all times after the death of the afore- 
said John Rosse, the Bailiffs and Assistants of the said 
borough, or the greater part of them, of which the Bailifib 
of the borough aforesaid for the time being we will shall 
be two, may and shall be able to choose, nominate, and 
appoint one other discreet man, learned in the laws of 
England, Recorder of the aforesaid borough, and that he 
who is thus chosen, appointed, and nominated Recorder 
Puture Re. ^^ ^^^ borough aforcsaid after the deiith of the 
^lh\e at said JohnRosse, shall and may be able to exercise 
"^" **' and enjoy his office of Recorder of the borough 
aforesaid during the good pleasure of the aforesaid Bailiffs 
and Assistants of the borough aforesaid, or the greater 
part of them, of which the Bailiffs of the borough afore- 



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CHARTER OF JAMES I. A. D. 1604. 143 

said for the time being we will shall be two^ or until some 
other recorder of the Borough aforesaid shall be in like 
manner elected, appointed, and sworn into his ofEce. 
Town Clerk And further of our more ample and special 

to be sworn • -i i •■ -i • 

andremova- gracc, ccrtaiu knowledge, and mere motion, we 
matt. y^n^ and by these presents for us, our heirs 

and successors, grant to the aforesaid Bailiffs, Assist- 
ants, and Commonalty of the borough aforesaid and their 
successors, that they and their Successors for ever may and 
shall have one discreet and proper man, in manner in 
these presents hereafter expressed, chosen, and nomi- 
nated, who shall be and be called Comunis Clicus — ^in 
English, the Towne Clarke of the borough aforesaid; and 
which Town Clerk of the Borough aforesaid, so elected 
and nominated, before he is admitted to execute the said 
office, shall take a corporal oath before the Bailiffs and 
Assistants of the borough aforesaid for the time being, or 
so many of them as are present, truly and faithfully to 
execute the said office of Town Clerk of the borough afore- 
said, according to his skill in all things relating to the 
said office. And after haying taken such oath as afore- 
said, he may exercise and perform the said office of Town 
Clerk in the borough aforesaid. And we assign, nomi- 
nate, constitute, and make, and by these pre- 

HenryCrofte ' ' . 

flwt^ Town sents for us, our heirs and successors, we assign, 
nominate, constitute, and make, our beloved 
Henry Crofte to become and be our first and modern 
Town Clerk of the borough aforesaid, to continue in the 
said office during the life of the said Henry Crofte, unless 
for reasonable causes he is amoved : and that after the 
death of the said Henry Crofte, or his amotion as afore- 
said, from time to time, and at all times, at the good will 
and discretion of the aforesaid Bailiffs and Assistants of 
the borough aforesaid, (or the greater part of them,) of 



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144 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

which the Bailiffs for the time being we will shall be two^ 
they shall and may be able from time to time to choose^ 
nominate^ appoint^ and make one other fit and proper per- 
son Town Clerk of the borough aforesaid : and that he 
who^ as aforesaid^ shall be chosen^ appointed^ and nomi- 
nated Town Clerk of the borough aforesaid^ may and shall 
be able to have^ execute^ and enjoy the said office during 
the good pleasure of the Bailiffs and Assistants of the bo- 
rough aforesaid for the time being, or the greater part of 
them, of which we will that the Bailiffs for the time being 
shall be two, first taking u corporal oath as aforesaid, for 
the true and faithful discharge of his office. 
A Fair or And furthcr we will, and by these presents 
Court of Fio irrant, for us, our heirs and successors, to the 

Powder. . . 

above nominated Bailiffs, Assistants, and Com- 
monalty of the borough aforesaid and their successors, 
that they and their successors may have, hold, and keep, 
and they shall and may be able to have, hold, and keep 
in the borough aforesaid^ annually for ever, a Fair or 
Mart, to be held and commence on the Tuesday in Easter 
week every year for ever, and to continue through the whole 
of that day and through the one day next ensuing ; toge- 
ther with a Court of Pie Powder, to be held during the 
time of the said Fair or Mart, with aU liberties and free 
customs, tolls, stallage, picage, fines, amerciaments, and 
all other profits, advantages, and emoluments whatsoever 
appertaining, arising out of or contingent to the said Fair, 
Mart, and Court of Pie Powder, together with all other 
free customs and liberties whatsoever accruing or belong- 
ing to such Fair, Mart, and Court of Pie Powder, as far as 
heretofore has been enjoyed by any other of our bo- 
roughs; provided that the aforesaid Fair or Mart is not to 
the injury of any other Fair or Mart immediately ad- 
joining. 



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CHARTER OF JAMES I. A. D. 1604. 145 

Famous for And as wc are credibly informed that our 
'^' aforesaid borough of Gumecester, otherwise 
Godmanchester^ consists altogether^ or for the most part, 
of agriculture and husbandry^ and also that consequently 
the Bailiffs^ Assistants^ and Commonalty of the said 
borough^ use horses^ called stone-horses, for the plough- 
ing and cultivation of their lands^ which said horses^ 
called stone-horses, are less proper and fit for journeys ; 
and whereas a certain officer, called a Standing Post, 
constantly resides and abides in our town of Huntingdon, 
near the said borough of Gumecester, otherwise God- 
manchester, which said officer, called the Standing Post, 
and many other of our subjects, inhabitants within the 
said town of Huntingdon, from time to time, and at 
all times, keep and have certain horses for travelling, 
called hackneys, to lett to hire, which said hackneys 
are sufficiently able to execute and perform any expedi- 
tions and journeys from time to time for our service — ^We, 
being unwilling that the aforesaid Bailiffs, Assistants, and 
Commonalty of the said borough of Gumecester, otherwise 
Godmanchester, should be hindered and molested in the 
aforesaid ploughing and cultivation of their lands, will, or- 
dain, and grant, and by these presents for us, our heirs 
and successors, of our special grace, certain knowledge, 
and mere motion. We will, ordain, and grant to the afore- 
said Bailiffs, Assistants, and Commonalty of the aforesaid 
borough of Gumecester, otherwise Godmanchester, and 
StoncHomj their successors, that their horses, called stone 
SSt^'ftSi f^orseSf from time to time used and employed ii^ 
^ice^*"^' the ploughing and cultivation of their lands, and 
also their other horses, mares, and geldings employed in 
agriculture, and occupied in ploughing and tillage, and 
which are less fit and proper for travelling, hereafter for 
ever shall not be taken, nor shall any one of them be taken 



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146 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTBR. 

from their ploughs or other work in or about agriculture 
or husbandry, for any service for us, our heirs or succes- 
sors, in any journeys or expeditions of us, our heirs or 
successors, but from all such service of us, our heirs and 
successors, they shall be for ever exempt, exonerated, and 
freed, any statute, act, proclamation, ordinance, or provi- 
sion, or any other thing, cause or matter vrhatsoever, in 
anjrwise notwithstanding. 
Grant of Bo- And further of our more ample grace, certain 

roQgb and 

^morinPoe knowledge, and mere motion. We give, grant, 
iand confirm to the aforesaid BailiiBTs, Assistants, 
and Commonalty-, and their successors for ever, the afore- 
said borough of Gmnecester, otherwise Godmanchester, 
and the manor of Gumecester, otherwise Godmanches- 
ter, in the county of Huntingdon aforesaid, with all 
and singular the rights, members, and appurtenances, 
and all lands, tenements, and hereditaments to the said 
borough and manor, or either of them, now or heretofore 
belonging or appertaining, or heretofore held, known, or 
reputed to have been part, parcel, or member of the said 
borough and manor, or either of them. And also all other 
manors, messuages, lands, tenements, hereditaments, 
liberties, free customs, privileges, franchises, immunities, 
exemptions, acquittemces, and jurisdictions whatsoever, 
which the Bailiffs, Assistants, and Commonalty of the 
said borough, or the men of Gumecester, otherwise God- 
manchester, or either or both of them, by whatever name 
or whatever names heretofore incorporated have, by right 
and law held, or have used or enjoyed, or ought lawfully 
to have held, used and enjoyed, by reason or pretext of 
any charters or letters patent from any of our progenitors 
or ancestors, in whatever manner made, confirmed, or 
granted, or in whatever other lawful manner, by right, 
custom, use, prescription, or title, have hitherto lawfully 



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CHARTER OF JAMES I. A. D. 1604. 147 

used^ had^ and exercised : to have and to hold to the said 
Bailiffs^ Assistants^ and Commonalty of the borough of 
Gumecester^ otherwise Godmanchester^ in the county of 
Huntingdon, and their successors for ever, paying hence- 
forth annually to us, our heirs and successors, the antient 
fee-farm, or rent of JB120 of lawful English money, at the 
feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, and the Annuncia- 
tion of the Blessed Virgin Mary, into the hands of our 
general or particular receiver of our Dutchy of Lancaster 
for the time being, paying the same by equal portions 
yearly for ever, 
conflnnitioii We will also and grant to the aforesaid Bailiffs, 

of the Char. 

«er. Assistants, and Commonalty of the borough 

aforesaid, and their successors, that they may have, hold, 
use, and enjoy, and that they may and shall be able to 
have, hold, and enjoy for ever all the liberties, free cus- 
toms, privileges, authorities, and acquittances aforesaid, 
according to the tenor and effect of these our letters 
patent, without any hinderance or impediment of us, our 
heirs and successors whatsoever, being unwilling that the 
said Bailiffs, Assistants, and Commonalty of the borough 
aforesaid, or that any of them, by reason of the premises 
or any of them, should be injured, molested, vexed, or in 
anyway disturbed by us, our heirs or successors, or the 
Justices, Sheriffs, Escheators, or other Bailiffs or Ministers 
of us, our heirs or successors; Willing, and by these 
lodemiiity prcscuts Commanding and ordaining, as well 
ibr the past. ^^^ Treasurer, Chancellor, Barons of our Ex- 
chequer at Westminster, and other Justices of us, our 
heirs and successors, as also our Attorney and Solicitor- 
General for the time being, and every of them, and all 
other our officers and ministers whatsoever, that neither 
they nor any of them shall prosecute or continue, or cause 
to be prosecuted or continued, any suit, by writ or summons 

L 2 



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148 HISTORY OF GODMANCHBSTER. 

or quo warranto, or any other process whatsoever, against 
the aforesaid Bailiffs, Assistants, and Commonalty of the 
borough aforesaid, or any one or more of them, for any 
thing, cause, matter, offence, claim, or usurpation, or either 
of them — by them, or any of them, demanded, claimed^ 
attempted, used, exercised, or usurped before the day of 
the making of these presents. Also willing that the said 
Bailiffs, Assistants, and Commonalty, and the burgesses 
and men of the said borough, and each of them, shall in no 
wise be molested or annoyed, or shall be compelled to 
answer any or either of our aforesaid justices, officers, or 
ministers, in or for any demand, use, claim, or abuse of 
any liberties, franchises, or jurisdictions within the afore- 
said borough, or the suburbs, liberties, or precincts of the 
same, before the day of the date of these our letters 
patent. 
Sealed with Wc wiU also, and by these presents, for us, 

the Great , . _ , * . i 

Seal and our hcirs and successors, grant to the aforesaid 

DutchySeal. , ' ^ 

Bailiffs, Assistants, and Commonalty of the bo- 
rough aforesaid, and their successors, that they may and 
shall have these our letters patent, as well under our 
Great Seal of England as under our seal of the Dutchy of 
Lancaster, in due manner made and sealed, without ren- 
dering, paying, or making for the same, to us or our use, 
fine or fee, great or small, in our Hanaper or elsewhere ; 
because express mention of the true annual value, or any 
other value or certainty of the premises, or any of them, 
or of other gifts or grants through us, or any of our ances- 
tors or progenitors, to the aforesaid Bailiffs, Assistants, 
and Commonalty of the borough aforesaid, hitherto made 
in these presents, is not to be found, or in any statute, 
act, ordinance, provision, proclamation, or restriction, 
heretofore had, made, decreed, ordained, or provided, or 



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CHARTER OF JAMES 1. A. D. 1604. 149 

any other thing, cause, or matter whatsoever in restraint 
or limitation thereof. 

June 26th. In testimony of which we have caused these 

our letters to be made patent, as well under the 

Great Seal of England* as under the seal of our Dutchy of 

* It was supposed by the learned Dr. Hickes^ (in Dissert. 
Epist. p. 64,) and others, that Edward the Confessor was the first 
King of England who used a seal in his Charters, similar to the 
one we find affixed to his Charter given to Westminster Abbey 
about the year 1065, and preserved amongst the archives of that 
church, and also on one of his diplomas shewn in the monastery 
of St Denis, near Paris. Historians and lawyers commonly 
assign to St. Edward the first institution of the broad Seal of 
England. Menage and the editors of the New Latin Glossary of 
Du Cange, (tom. 6, p. 487,) erroneously attribute to William the 
Conqueror the first use of a Royal Seal in England; for, in point 
of fact, Edward the Confessor merely brought the more frequent 
use of the Royal Seal from France; yet even he gave charters at- 
tested by the subscription of illustrious witnesses, with a cross to 
each name, and without any seal, which continued the usual prac- 
tice until some time after the Conquest, at which period the use of 
the Royal Seal became more solemn and common. Montfaucon 
exhibits three or four rough seals found on some of the Charters 
of the Merovigian Kings, the oldest of which is one of Theodoric 
1st. (Antiq. de la Monarchic Fran^aise.) The ancient Kings of 
Persia and Media had their seals. (Dan. c. vi., v. 17 — c. xiv., 
V. 13 and 16; Esther, c. iii. v. 10.) Seals are also mentioned by 
profane authors. The Benedictines in their French diplomatique 
(t. iv. p. 100,) present us the heads of seals of all the ancient Kings 
of France, from Childeric, father of Cloves; of the German Em- 
perors and Kings, from Charlemagne, especially from King Henry 
2d in the eleventh century, in imitation of the Emperors from 
Constantinople ; of the Kings of Denmark, Bohemia, Hungary, 
&c. from the 12th century. 

The Charter of the Confessor, to Westminster Abbey, is sup- 



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150 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

Lancaster.— ^Witness myself at Westminster, the 26th 
day of June, in the year of our reign over England, France, 
and Ireland the second, and Scotland the thirty-seventh. 

By writ of Privy Seal, 

C. Ravbnscroft. 



The above Charter commenced a new era in the 
Municipal History of Godmanchester. It ordained 
that the Manor should from thenceforth be a Free 
Borough, and raised the inhabitants into a Body 
Corporate, by the name of The Bailiffs, Assistants, 
and Commonalty of the Borough of Godmanches- 
ter." The Corporation thus created was made 
competent to acquire manors, tenements, lands, 

posed to be the oldest specimen of a sealed instrument in Eng- 
land; but genuine Charters of the Saxon Kings> Ofia and CBthel- 
wulf, between a.d. 757 and a.d. 857, are still preserved in the 
Abbey of St. Denis, sealed with their seals, and bearing their 
effigies. Seals appear to have been but seldom used by the Anglo- 
Saxons; and even after the Norman invasion were of comparative 
rare occurrence. The Conqueror frequendy confirmed his Char- 
ters with a cross, from whence may be ascribed the custom still 
prevalent, amongst the unlettered, of subscribing to deeds by a 
mark or X . Until the reign of Henry 2d, the use of seals hardly 
extended beyond the great Barons. In the 12th century, about 
the time of the Crusades under Richard the 1st, the custom of 
signing had almost disappeared, the English Sovereigns authen- 
ticating their Charters by their seals only, which custom continued 
until the reign of Richard 2d, when royal signatures, called 
Signs-manual, came into use, though seals were still occasionally 
appended to charters and letters patent. — Thomsons Notes on 
Mag, Chart, and Antiq. P. FoL 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1604 TO 1831. 151 

&c. in fee ; to hold and possess every description 
of property ; and in like manner to let, alienate, 
grant, or assign such possessions at discretion, un- 
der a common seal ; and was further empowered to 
plead and be impleaded, to defend and be defended, 
in all Courts of Justice, and in every form of law. 
From the particular provisions in the Charter rela- 
tive to the common seal, it may appear that the 
present corporation seal was then first made ; but 
on reference to the documents to which we must 
allude in the progress of this work, it will be found 
that the twelve men who formerly exercised the 
greater part of the authorities expressed and con- 
firmed by this Charter of Incorporation, had their 
common seal, with which they ratified all agree- 
ments and contracts ; and from the form of the 
corporation seal, that of a conventual matrix, with 
the characters of the inscription, *" its origin may be 
considered coeval with the grant of the manor by 
King John.* 

The officers created by this charter have had 

^ Vide tail-piece to this Chapter. 

^ Watson asserts^ that common seals for boroughs were not 
generally introduced until the latter part of the reign of Edward 
4th, and that in the returns for the cities of London, Winchester, 
and Canterbury, a common seal was not found before the reign of 
that Monarch; but about the time of Edward 1st, seals were 
common even amongst the gentry of England, who, when arms 
had become settled and hereditary, used them as devices. Public 
bodies, as tenants in common of a manor, for the convenience of 
public business, had their common seals. 



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152 HISTORY OF 60DMANCHESTER. 

perpetual succession. The Recorders and Town 
Clerks, on vacancies occurring from deaths, resig- 
nations, or amotions, have been chosen by the 
Common Council ; and the Bailiffs from amongst 
the members of the Common Council by annual 
elections. No material alteration in the form of 
holding the Courts was adopted in consequence 
of the Charter of James, its style only having 
been changed from *' Curia Domini Regis tenet 
coram," &c. to '* Curia Ballivorum Assistantes et 
Coialt."* 

The borough of Godmanchester has two Coroners' 
for its liberty, who exercise their office by prescrip- 
tion ; and the Bailiffs annually retiring from office 
are immediately sworn Coroners for the ensuing 
year. No quarter sessions being held in the bo- 
rough, the Bailiffs and Coroners, though sworn into 
office in their own court, are re-sworn at the general 
quarter sessions for the county, and- their names 
enrolled by the Clerk of the Peace. 

Under the provisions of this Charter of 1604, 
constitutions or bye-laws were framed for the good 
government of the town, regulating the appoint- 

« This took place at a Court held Sept. 6th, 1607. 

f They had Coroners before the Charter of James. Thomas 
Collins and William Herdman were Coroners in 1554, and John 
Smyth and Thomas Mansa in 1495. " Coroner," says Cleland, 
'' does not, as is commonly supposed, mean an officer on the 
crown-side, but is a contraction of two British words corph Connor^ 
a corpse inspector.** 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1604 TO 1831. 153 

ment of subordinate officers in the Corporation, the 
manner and time of passing public accounts, impa- 
nelling of juries, keeping records, and mode of 
stocking the open fields and commons. The latter 
provisions are now rendered nugatory by the inclo- 
sure of the lordship having put the lands in seve- 
ralty. The commons in Godmanchester have lately 
been the source of anxious litigation between the 
Corporation, on behalf of the free-men of the bo- 
rough, and the inhabitants occupying commonable 
houses,^ but not having been admitted to the free- 
dom of the town. The immemorial usage of stock- 
ing the commons confined the privilege to freemen^ 

8 The houses called Commonable houses, orAntient tenements, 
were limited in number by the 44th bye-law formed under this 
charter, viz. "Item — ^Whereas we find our Commons overcharged, 
partly by such as divide their tenements, as also by such as have 
erected new tenements, the number of which do daily increase ; 
for reformation. whereof, it is now ordered by the Bailiffs and As- 
sistants, that all such tenements as were divided or erected from 
the 28th day of Sept. 1601, viz. all such as have been from that 
time, or shall be hereafter divided or new erected, shall have no 
Common at all for no manner of cattle upon the Common belong- 
ing to this Corporation, except it be known and approved to be an 
antient tenement ; and whereas we now find many such, yet in 
regard of the long continuance of some, and of the great poverty 
of others, we have and do order that they shall keep, according to 
a rate set down in the Stock Book, whereunto every one must sub- 
mit on pain of 6s, Sd,*' 

^ The right was restricted to freemen inhabiting such houses by 
antient usage and by the bye-laws 35 and 36. "Item — ^It is like- 
wise ordered, that no person or persons whatsoever within this li- 
berty, having not the freedom of the same, do put or suffer to be put 



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154 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

residing in antient tenements* or commonable 
houses ; but an award, dated Sept. 25th, 1803, 
made under an Act of Parliament* for inclosing the 
manor, assigned the right to the owners and occu- 
piers of commonable houses, without reference to 
the qualification of freedom ; and a late judgment^ 
in the Court of Common Pleas has confirmed the 
claims set up by the owners of such houses ; and 
thus, although the case has not been submitted to 
a jury, the future right and custom may be consi- 
dered settled. 

By the following extract from the corporation 
records, we find that a commission was issued in 
1607 relative to Godmanchester, which gave some 
temporary anxiety to the customary tenants of the 
manor, as to the nature and extent of their tenure. 

" Gumecestre alias Godmanchester, ye \6th of May, 1607. 

'* This yeare came one Mr. Thorpe, w*** a commission 
under ye Duchie Seialle, to survaie and marke all y® tym- 
ber and trees growinge w*hin this mannor^ who was an- 
swered by this certifficat followinge : 

^^ Mr. Thorpe, we have confered w**» our neigboures 

on the Common any manner of cattle, upon pain to forfeit, &c. so 
often as they offend." " Item — ^It is ordered that no freeman do keep 
any manner of cattle upon the Common, except he be continually 
constant in this town, and then to keep upon the Common for that 
said house or tenement wherein he dwelleth, according to the cus- 
tom of this manor, under the pain aforesaid.** 

> Passed 43d George 3d. 

J Nov. 20th, 1830.— By the Lord Chief Justice Tindal, Mr. 
Justice Gazelee, Mr. Justice Bosanquet, and Mr. Justice Alderson. 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1604 TO 1831. 155 

consarninge yo' comiBsion^ who8 opinniones are generallye 
y* consideringe o' tennor is AuncientDemeasne and prcell 
of y* possessios of y* Duchie of Lancaster^ that wee holde 
y« said mannor, w^*^ all and singuler rights, membres, and 
apptn^ces whatsoever ; and all lands, tenets, and here- 
ditamets to y® same borowghe and mannor belonginge, in 
fee-farm of y* King's Ma*** by charter, for y« yearly rent 
of one hundred and twenty pounds p ani3. And therfor 
wee hope the intent and meaninge of y® King's Ma**®* co- 
mission was not to survaie any tymber or trees w*hin o"* 
sayd mannor." 

The answer was admitted good; and no further 
molestation attempted. 

In Hilary Term, 1617, a plea was set up that 
the manor was absolutely forfeited to the Crown, 
for that 

*^ King John, by his letters patent, granted to the men 
of Gumecester and their successors for ever his manor of 
Gumecester, with the appurtenances, &c. for six times 
£20 p an£l pondere et numero, to be paid into the receipt 
of the Exchequer, at two payments — viz. at Easter and 
Michaelmas, To have and to hold the said manor as 
aforesaid, so long as they shall well pay the said rent as 
aforesaid. 

^' But they have not paid it pondere et numero, there- 
fore the said manor is forfeited to the King, and he may 
seize it at his pleasure." 

To this they answered, that 

" The fee-farm rent of six score pounds p ani3 hath 
been always paid well and truly to the general or pticular 
receivours of the Kings and Queens of this realm, and of 
the Dukes of Lancaster, at Easter and Michaelmas yearly. 



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156 HISTORY OP GODMANCHESTER. 

in good and lawful English money, and therefore the said 
manor is not forfeited. But admit that we had not paid 
it pondere as well as numeroy which word pondere im- 
plies no more than lawfuU or currant, according to the 
King's stamp sterling, or according to his prlamacon, 
yet since his Ma**^" coming to the Crown he hath granted 
us a new charter in secondo of his raigne, and thereby in- 
larged o^ priviledges. And in the same granted and con- 
firmed the mannor of Godmanchester to the Bailiffs, As- 
sistants, and Cominaltie of Godmanchester for ever — 
solvendi in recept scaccarii sui vel generali receptori vel 
pticulari receptori ducat sui Lane' p. tempore existen ; — 
in these words following : antiqfi reddi? centfl et viginti 
libras bene et legalis monetae Angliae, &c. 

" So as if we had not paid the said rent untill the dale 
of his Ma***" graunt and confirmacon pondere et numero, 
and had thereby made forfeit thereof — yet his Ma**® of his 
more ampliori gratia hath again graunted and confirmed 
unto us the said mannor, paying JB120 of good and 
lawfull English money, and seing it hath since, as ever, 
bene as well and dulie and carefullie paid in good star- 
linge cojnie as anie rents in England are paid, we have 
great cause to hope that we shall rest at quiet without 
molestacon or grievance in this behalfe. 

" The auditors have always given us a discharge of all 
o' Bailiffs accompts — oneratis allocatisque recesserunt 
inde quieti, and therefore we presume that our money was 
paid in sufficient — tm pondere qm numero." 

This answer was also deemed satisfactory ; the 
liability of being called upon for payment in tale 
having ceased on the grant of King James's 
Charter. 

On the 4th of June, 1684, during the bailifFship 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1604 TO 1831. 157 

of Robert Vinter and Reuben Clarke, the Charter 
was surrendered to Charles 2d, under the common 
seal, and presented to the King on the 18th of June 
in the same year, with a petition from the Bailiffs, 
Assistants, and Commonalty for a re-grant, with 
such enlargement of powers and liberties, and such 
corrections, as might be deemed proper. 

" SURRENDER OF CHARTER TO CHARLES 2d. 

" To all to whom these presents shall come. — ^The 
BailijBTs^ Assistants, and Commonalty of the Borough of 
Gumecester, alias Godmanchester, in the county of Hun- 
tingdon, send greeting. — Know ye, that the said Bailiffs, 
Assistants, and Commonalty, for good considerations 
them thereto moving, have granted, and by these pre- 
sents do grant, to our most gracious Sovereign Lord King 
Charles the Second, his heirs and successors, all and 
singular the manors, messuages, lands, tenements, rents, 
and hereditaments, with the appurtenances whatsoever, 
whereof or wherein the said Bailiffs, Assistants, and Com- 
monalty are now or at any time heretofore have been any 
ways seized, possessed, or interested, in right of their 
Corporation, or in their corporate capacity by any ways 
howsoever. 

" And farther, for the considerations aforesaid, the said 
Bailiffs, Assistants, and Comonalty have granted, surren- 
dered, and yielded up unto our said Sovereign Lord the 
King's most excellent Majesty, all franchises, charters, 
letters patent of incorporation, powers, privileges, liber- 
tys, and immunities whatsoever, at any time or times 
heretofore granted or holden or enjoyed by the said 
Bailiffs, Assistants, and Commonalty, or their or any of 
their predecessors, by any ways or means, or by what 



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158 HISTORY OF GODMANCHBSTBR. 

name or names soever. — ^In witness whereof the said 
Bailiffs^ Assistants, and Commonalty in Burgh-mote as- 
sembled, have hereunto affixed their common seal, this 
14th day of June, in the 36th year of the reign of our 
Sovereign Lord King Charles 2d, in the year of our Lord 
Christ 1684." 

"to the king's most excellent majesty. 

^^ The humble petition of your Majesty's most obedient 
subjects the Bailiffs, Assistants, and Comalty of the Bo- 
rough of Godmanchester, humbly shews, 

^^That your Majesty's poor tenants, the petitioners, are 
and have been incorporated ever since thel4th year of your 
dread Sovereign's Royal Progenitor King John, which has 
been continued by the gracious confirmation of your Ma- 
jesty's predecessors till this present. But now, in mani- 
festation of their loyalty, they do unanimously lay down 
their Charter and themselves at your Majesty's disposal. 
Humbly imploring your Majesty to restore them their 
former privileges, with such correction as your Majesty 
in your princely wisdom shall think fit. And, as in duty 
bound, they shall ever pray for your Majesty's long life, 
peaceable and prosperous reign." 

The surrender and petition were presented to the 
King at Windsor, and on the following day the 
Charter was returned to the Secretary of State's 
Office, with this notification attached to it : 

" At the Court at Windsor, June I9th, 1684. 
^^ His Majesty is graciously pleased to refer this petition 
to Mr. Attorney or Mr. Solicitor-General, to consider 
thereof, and of what alterations are fit to be made in the 
new Charter ; and to report what may be fit for his Ma- 
jesty to do upon the whole matter : and then his Majesty 
will declare his farther pleasure. " Sunderland." 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1604 TO 1831. 159 

The Charter does not appear to have been re- 
stored by Charles 2d, possibly from the circum- 
stance of his dying a few months after the above 
recorded event ; but James 2d, in the first year of 
his reign, granted to the men of Godmanchester an 
entire new Charter, bearing date April 6th, 1685. 

The Charter of James 2d was very similar to the 
Charter of James the 1st, and gave no farther in- 
crease of privileges than the holding of a second 
fair, on the Tuesday after the feast of St. Simon 
and St. Jude. It was publicly read at the Court 
Hall in Godmanchester on the 14th of April, 1685; 
and the Courts of the Bailifis, which, in conse- 
quence of the surrender of the Charter to Charles 
2d, had been suspended from the 5th of June, 
1684, were resumed, the first being held on Thurs- 
day,* the 16th of April, 1685. By royal proclama- 
tion on the 17th of October, 1688, corporations 
were commanded to resume their old charters ; 
and thus, after four years' continuance, the Charter 
of James 2d became a dead letter, and the Charter 
of 1604 was restored to the borough, under the 
authority of which the Corporation continues to 
exercise its authorities. 

^ The Courts were held on Thursdays from the time of the ori- 
ginal grant of the manor by King John> until the year 1808> when 
the Court-day was changed to Wednesday, the first being held on 
Wednesday, Feb. 24th, 1808. 



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160 HISTORY OF 60DMANCHESTER. 

OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION. 
HIGH STEWARDS. 

[a.d. 1631 .] — In the Charter of James 2d, bearing 
date April 6th, 1685, occurs the first appointment 
by charter of a Capital Seneschal or High Steward 
to the Borough of Godmanchester ; and in which 
Charter, Charles Earl of Manchester is nominated 
and appointed for life ; nevertheless, we find Ed- 
ward Viscount Mandeville, an ancestor of that 
nobleman, holding the office of High Steward in 
the year 1631. 

This distinguished nobleman^ was the eldest son 
of Sir Henry Montagu, first Earl of Manchester. 
Sir Henry Montagu represented the city of London 
in the first Parliament of King James 1st, held at 
Westminster on the 19th March, 1604, and in 1616 
was appointed Lord Chief Justice of the Court of 
King's Bench. In 1620 he was nominated Lord 
Treasurer of England, and elevated on the 19th of 
December, in the same year, to the peerage, by the 
style of Baron Montagu of Kimbolton and Viscount 
Mandeville. After the accession of Charles 1st, 
on the 5th of February, 1626, his Lordship was 
advanced to the dignity of an earldom, as Earl 
of Manchester, and subsequently nominated Lord 
Privy Seal. His Grace died on the 7th of Novem- 
ber, 1642, and was succeeded by his son, the above 

* Burke and Debrett. 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1604 TO 1831. 161 

mentioned Edward^ who was summoned to the 
upper house during the life-time of his father, as 
Baron Kimbolton. He was an active and success- 
ful general of the parliamentary forces during the 
civil wars, and particularly distinguished himself 
in the celebrated battle with and victory over 
Prince Rupert at Marston Moor, in which engage- 
ment Cromwell acted as his lieutenant-general. 
He took no part in the trial or execution of King 
Charles, but retired from Parliament until the year 
1660, when he formed one of the assemblage of 
Peers who voted for the restoration of Charles the 
2d, and was by them deputed to congratulate the 
King in their name upon his return to the capital. 
This duty he discharged at Whitehall on the 29th 
of May, 1660. His Lordship died on the 5th of 
May, 1671, and was succeeded by his eldest son — 

[a. D. 1671.] — Robert, third Earl of Manches- 
ter, who, on the death of his father, was appointed 
High Steward of Godmanchester. His Lordship 
died in 1682, and was succeeded by his son — 

[a. D. 1682.] — Charles, fourth Earl of Manchester, 
and who in the same year was elected High Steward 
of Godmanchester, which office was confirmed to 
him for life by the Charter of James 2d, 1685. 
Having espoused the cause of William of Orange, 
he accompanied that prince into Ireland, and was 
present at the battle of the Boyne, and the subset 
quently unsuccessful siege of Limerick. In 1696 
his Lordship was appointed Ambassador Extraordi- 

M 



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162 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

nary to the Court of France; in 1701, constituted 
principal Secretary of State ; and in 1707, Ambas- 
sador Extraordinary to the Court of Vienna. Upon 
the accession of George 1st he was continued in 
the Lord-Lieutenancy of the county of Hunting- 
don, sworn of the Privy Council, appointed one of 
the Lords of his Majesty's bed-chamber, and finally 
created Duke of Manchester on the 30th of April, 
1719. His Grace died on the 20th of January, 
1721 , and was succeeded in his titles by his son — 

[a. d. 1721.] — ^William, second Duke of Man- 
chester, who, on the 24th of January, in the same 
year, was elected High Steward of Godmanchester. 
WiUiam, second Duke of Manchester, died with- 
out issue on the 21st of October, 1739, when his 
honors devolved upon this brother — 

[a. D. 1739.] — Robert, third Duke of Manches- 
ter, and who, in 1739, was appointed High Steward 
of Godmanchester. His Lordship died on the 1 st 
of May, 1762, and was succeeded by his son — 

[a.b. 1762.] — George, fourth Duke of Manches- 
ter, who, on the 6th of May, in the same year, was 
elected High Steward of Godmanchester. His 
Grace was appointed Master of the Horse in 1780, 
and died on the 2d of September, 1788, when he 
was succeeded by his only surviving son — 

[a. d. 1792.]— William, fifth Duke of Manches- 
ter, the present peer. " On the 4th of January, 
1792,°' the Most Noble William Duke of Man- 

« Corporation Records. 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1604 TO 1831. 163 

Chester was elected High Steward of Grodmanches- 
ter, on the death of his father, the Most Noble 
George, late Duke of Manchester. The freedom 
of the town was voted to him, and a deed of office 
ordered to be engrossed." 

His Lordship was appointed in 1808, Captain- 
general and Governor of the Island of Jamaica, 
which office he held until 1828, when, on his 
return to England, he was appointed Postmaster 
(Jeneral, from which office he was removed on 
the formation of the Whig Administration, under 
the auspices of Earl Grey, in 1830. His Grace 
is Lord Lieutenant and Gustos Rotolorum of the 
county of Huntingdon, and continues to hold the 
office of High Steward of the borough of God- 
manchester. 



RECORDERS. 

[a. D. 1604.] — John Rosse, appointed by charter 
the first Recorder, June 26th, second of James 1st. 

[a. D. 1617.] —Thomas Hetley, Esq., elected 
Recorder by the Common Council of the borough, 
and who, in conjunction with Henry Cromwell, 
second son of Sir Henry Cromwell, and father of 
the Protector, represented the borough of Hunting- 
don in Parliament in the year 1603. 

[a. D. 1636.] — Robert Bernard, Esq., ° was pre- 

«* ** Gumecester alias Godmanchester. — ^Ad vis franci pleg ibm 

M 2 



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164 HISTORY OF GOPMANCHESTER. 

sented with his freedom, and elected Recorder of 
the borough of Godmanchester, with a salary of 
forty shillings per annum. He was descended 
from an antient family at Abinton, near North- 
ampton, but residing at Huntingdon, was appointed 
with Dr. Beard and Oliver Cromwell (subsequently 
the Protector) Justice of the Peace for that borough 
in the Charter of Incorporation, July 15th, 1630.° 
In 1639 he was elected one of the representatives 
in parUament for the borough of Huntingdon, but 
retired from its representation in the following 
year, and appears to have taken no active part in 
public business during that eventful period ; but 
soon after the Restoration, June 21st, 1660, he was 
admitted Serjeant at Law, and on July 1st, 1662, 
created by Charles 2d a Baronet. He died in 1666, 
and lies buried in the north aisle of the parish 
church of Abinton. 

[a. d. 1669.] — ^John Heron, Esq., elected Re- 
corder. '' He was a descendant from Sir John 

tent in festo Sci Michis Arch. An viij Caxoli R. Ad banc Cur 
Robtus Bernard Armiger ex spiali gratia Ballivor et Assisten- 
cium jurat est in libtatem Burgi pred et admissus est. Fin re- 
mittit quia in officiu Recordator electus est. Ad banc Cur 
predcus Robertus Bernard Armiger constitutus electus et jurat 
est Recordator Burgi pred*ci per Ballios Assisten et Comunitat 
Burgi pd babend et gaudend p termino vite sue cum Annual 
Feodo quadragint solidor exeunt de terris et tenement burgi, 
solvend ad . festum Anunciacionis bte Marie Virginis et Sci 
Michis Archangeli per equales porciones." — Stock Book A. 
o Hunt. Chart. 6 Car. 1. 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1604 TO 1831. 165 

Heron,^ of Cheperhase or Chipchase Castle, in Nor- 
thumberland, Knight, who came into England with 
William the Conqueror." He is farther described 
as having been '^a councellor at law and a justice," 
in a volume of heraldic collections amongst the 
Cottonian MSS. Brit. Mus. No. 921. He died 
April 2d, 1679. 

P The Heron pedigree, and the families into which they have 
married. 

Sir John Heron married — , daughter and heiress of Sir William 
Cheperhase^ of Cheperhase Castle in Northumberland, Knight, of 
y^ race of y« Saxons, and by her had issue Sir Roger Heron; who 

by , daughter of Lord Dyle, had issue Sir Thomas ; who by 

, daughter of Sir William Danwell, had issue Sir William j 

who by , daughter of Sir William Sanwerth, had issue Sir 

Thomas; who by , daughter of Sh* William Sulton, had issue 

James Heron, Esq.; who by , daughter of Sir William Sel- 

ton. Baron of Selton, had issue James Heron, Esq.; who by , 

daughter of Sir John Mamey, had issue Sir John; who by , 

daughter of Sir William Throgmorton, had issue Sir Thomas; 

who by , daughter of Sir William Barton, had issue Sir 

John ; who by , daughter of Sir John Sorwell, had issue Sir 

William; who by , daughter of Sir William Denton, had 

issue Sir William; who by , daughter of Sir William Mul- 

grave, had issue Sir John; who by , daughter of Sir Thomas 

Winter, had two sons, viz. Sir John Heron of Chipchase, his 
eldest son, and Thomas Heron, his second son, merchant of New- 
castle, which Thomas married , daughter of Sir William 

Shastowe, Maior of Newcastle, by whom he had issue Robert 
Heron of Newcastle, merchant; who by , daughter of Alder- 
man Andei*son, of Newcastle, had issue Robert Heron, y* eldest 
son, who came into Lincolnshire ; John Heron, second son, came 
into Yorkshire, alibi Sir Edward Heron of Stamford, after of 



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166 



HISTORY OF 60DMANCHESTER. 



[a. d. 1679.]— Robert, Earl of Ailesbury. He 
was the only son of Thomas Bruce ,^ third Lord 
Bruce of Kinloss, who was raised to the Scottish 
Earldom of Elgin, July 18th, 1633 ; and on whom 
the barony of Bruce of Whorlton, in the county of 
York, was conferred by King Charles 1st, August 
1st, 1641. On the death of his father he became 
second Earl of Elgin, Baron Bruce of Kinloss, and 



Langtoft, Serjeant at Law and Baron of y^ Exchequer. Richard 
Heron, of Tidenham, in Norfolk, who was father of the following; 
Robert Heron, of Godmanchester, in Huntingdonshire, had 
three wives: y^ first wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas 
Tryce of Godmanchester, gent.; John Heron, eldest son <^ 
Robert and Elizabeth abovesaid = An da. of Simon White* 



1 



Robert Heron, to 
whom his father 
^ve his land at 
Tydenham in Nor- 
folk, married , 

da. of , Bury, 

of Mildred in Cam- 
bridgeshire^ 



William, to whom 
his father gave his 
land at Brampton 
and Chateris. 



I 



John Heron, to 
whom his faliher 
gave his land at 
Godmanchester. 



Dorothy, da. of 
Sir Robert Lovet, 
of , in Bucks. 



Richard. 



Joseph. 



Alice, daughter of 
Francis Gray, near 
Wellingboro*, Nor- 
thamptonshire. 



John Heron, of 

Godmanchester, 

Esq., Councellor 

at Law, Justice, 

died April 2, 1679. 

A Cheveron between three Herons. 

Cotton MSS. Brit. Mu$. 921 

See also Visitation of Hunts, 1613.— jBri7. Mm. 



<i Burke*8 Peerage. 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1604 TO 1831. 167 

Baron Bruce of Whorlton. He was a zealous and 
firm adherent to King Charles the first, to whom 
he rendered many important services, in consider- 
ation of which, and his Lordship's active exertionsf 
in promoting the Restoration, he was elevated to 
the English peerage on the 18th of March, 1663-4, 
by the style of Baron Bruce of Skelton, in the 
county of York ; Viscount Bruce of Ampthill, in 
the county of Bedford ; and Earl of Ailesbury, in 
the county of Bucks. He was elected Recorder of 
Godmanchester' on the death of John Heron, Esq., 
in 1679; and after having served his Majesty Charles 
2d, in various capacities, and assisting at the coro- 
nation of James 2d, died on the 20th of October, 
1685, and was succeeded by — 

[a.d. 1685.]— Tliomas, third Earl of Elgin, and 
second Earl of Ailesbury, who the same year was 
appointed Recorder of the borough of Godman- 
chester. Charles Shepherd, Esq., of Hilton, Hunts, 
was nominated his deputy, and sworn into that 
oflSice Dec. 7th, 1685. The attachment of this 
nobleman to the house of Stuart led to his im- 
peachment and imprisonment; but having obtained 
permission from King WilUam to leave the king- 
dom, he retired to Brussels, where he died in 
1736.'' 

[a. d. 1692.] — ^John Montague, Esq., was chosen 
Recorder, who appointed John Pocklington, Esq., 

' This office was confirmed to him hy the Charter of James l^d. 
» Crabb s Hist. Diet. 



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168 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

his deputy. John Montague, Esq., died in 1693, 
and — 

[a. D. 1 693.] — Sir Edmund Gardner, Knight,* was 
chosen Recorder. He died in 1694, and — 

[a. d. 1694.] — John Pocklington, Esq., was 
elected Recorder, and sworn into office on the 7th 
of November in the same year. 

[a. D. 1715.] — ^John Pocklington, Esq., resigned 
the office of Recorder on being chosen an Irish 
Judge, and John Raby, Esq. was appointed and 
sworn Recorder. He was admitted Serjeant at 
Law in 1723, about which time he was chosen Re- 
corder of the borough of Huntingdon, and died 
January 26th, 1 73 1 .'' He was buried in St. Mary's 
church, Huntingdon, on the north-east angle of 
the nave of which is a mural monument to his 
memory. 

[a. d. 1731.] — Charles Clarke, Esq. of Lincoln's 
Inn, was chosen Recorder on Feb. 3d, and sworn 
into office on March 13th, 1731. He was ap- 
pointed one of the Barons of the Exchequer, and 
died in 1750, of an infectious disorder caught at 
the Old Bailey Sessions. 

[a. d. 1750.] — ^John, fourth Earl of Sandwich, 
was elected Recorder of Godmanchester. This 

* Sir Edmund Gardner, Knight,, was buried in St. Mary s 
Church, Huntingdon, Nov. 6th, 1694. His alliances are noticed 
in a mural monument of the Carcassonett family, on the south- 
east angle of the nave. 

" St. Mary's Register, Huntingdon. 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1604 TO 1831. 169 

celebrated statesman and antiquary was born in 
1718, and son of Edward Viscount Hinchingbrook, 
who died in 1722, by Elizabeth, only daughter of 
Alexander Popham, Esq., of Littlecote, in the 
county of Wilts. He succeeded to the peerage on 
the death of his grandfather, Edward, third Earl of 
Sandwich, 20th of October, 1729. Having studied 
at Eton, he removed to Trinity College, Cambridge, 
from whence, on leaving the University, he set out 
on his travels, and in 1738 and 1739 visited Sicily, 
Malta, Turkey, Egypt, and other countries border- 
ing on the Mediterranean. He brought home a 
valuable collection of antiquities, particularly a 
marble vase, obtained at Athens, which he pre- 
sented to the college where he was educated. An 
account of his '* Voyage round the Mediterranean," 
drawn up by himself, with Memoirs of his Life, 
by his Chaplain, the Rev. J. Cooke, was published 
after his death in 1799, 4to., and a second edition 
of the work appeared in 1807. After his return 
home he was appointed a Lord of the Admiralty ; 
and in 1746 despatched to the Congress of Breda 
as Minister Plenipotentiary. In 1748 he was em- 
ployed as Diplomatist, and assisted at the Congress 
of Aix-la-Chapelle, and subsequently was appointed 
Secretary of State and first Lord of the Admiralty. 
On the death of Baron Clarke, he was presented 
with the freedom of Godmanchester, and elected 
Recorder May 9th, 1750 ; in 1752 he was chosen, 
and served the office of BaiUfF, but retired from the 



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170 HISTORY OF GODMANCHSSTBR. 

oflSce of Assistant Dec. 18th, 1756, though he con- 
tinued to exercise that of Recorder until his death 
in 1792. 

[a. d. 1793.] — On the death of John, the fourth 
Earl of Sandwich, he was succeeded in the peerage 
by his only surviving son, John, the fifth Earl, 
who was elected Recorder of Godmanchester at a 
Common Council, held the 30th of August, 1792, 
and took the oaths of office and was presented 
with his freedom Oct. 2d, 1793. His Lordship 
held the post of Master of the King's Stag Hounds, 
from which he retired on the accession of the Gren- 
ville and Whi^ administration in 1806 ; and upon 
their secession from office, he obtained the lucra- 
tive appointment of Post-master General. He died 
June 15th, 1814, and was succeeded in his titles 
and hereditary claims by his son — 

[a.d. 1814.] — George John, the sixth Earl of 
Sandwich, who the same year was elected Recorder 
of Godmanchester. George John, Earl of Sand- 
wich, died at Albano, near Rome, in the year 1818. 
On July 9th, 1804, his Lordship married Louisa 
Harriett, daughter of the Earl of Belmore, by whom 
he had issue Harriet Mary, married in 1823 to 
William Bingham Baring, Esq., M. P.; Csuroline 
Katherine; and John William, the present Earl of 
Sand^wich, a minor, bom Nov. 8th, 1811. 

[a. D. 1818.] — On the death of John George, 
the sixth Earl of Sandwich, William Assheton, the 
second Lord Suffield, was elected Recorder of the 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1604 TO 1831. 171 

borough, and sworn into office Sept. 29tli, 1818. 
The paternal surname of Lord Suffield was Mor- 
den, which was relinquished for that of Harbord, 
his maternal grandfather, by Sir William Morden, 
K. B., who was created a Baronet 22d of March, 
1745. He died in 1770, and was succeeded by Sir 
Harbord Harbord, M.P. for the city of Norwich, 
who was advanced to the honour of the peerage 
August 8th, 1786, by the style and title of Baron 
Suffield, of Suffield, in the county of Norfolk. He 
died in 1810, and was succeeded in his title by 
WiUiam Assheton (his eldest son) the second Baron, 
who, dying in 1821 without issue, his style and 
honors devolved upon his brother, the Honour- 
able Edward Harbord, present and third Lord 
Suffield. 

[a.d. 1821.]— On the death of Lord Suffield, 
Henry Sweeting, Esq., Solicitor, Huntingdon, was 
elected Recorder of Godmanchester, and took the 
oaths of office August 29th, 1821. 



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172 



HISTORY OF GODMANCHEBTfill. 



BAILIFFS OF GODMAN CHESTER^ FROM THE GRANT OF THE 
CHARTER OF INCORPORATION BY KING JAMES^ JUNE 26, 
A.D. 1604TOA.D. 1831. 



A.D. 




A.D. 




1604. 


John Peat, and 1 ^ 
Henry Stevenson. J 


1616. 


H. Stevenson, who died. 






when Henry Kendall, 




Samuel Pont, and 1 j, 
Edward Lockington. J 




Coroner, resumed oflGlce, 






William Maile. 


1605. 


Richard Shute, 


1617. 


John Sheapearde, 




Richard Nailour. 




Thomas Trice. 


1606. 


Robert Trice, 


1618. 


Robert Trice, 




.John Robing. 




John Heame. 


1607. 


Robert Vinter, 


1619. 


Thomas Maile, 




John Proby. 




Richard Stevenson. 


1608. 


John Sheapearde, 


1620. 


Edmund Torkinton, 




John Heame. 




Thomas Pont. 


1609. 


William Maile, 


1621. 


William Maile, 




John Robins. 




Henry Kendall. 


1610. 


Samuel Pont, 


1622. 


Robert Vinter, 




Edmund Torkinton. 




John Shepard. 


1611. 


Robert Trice, 


1623. 


Thomas Maile, 




Henry Kendall. 




John Heme. 


1612. 


William Maile, 


1624. 


Thomas Trice, 




John Sheapeai'de. 




Richard Stevenson. 


1613. 


Thomas Maile, 


1626. 


Edmund Torkinton, 




John Robins. 




William Clarke. 


1614. 


Robert Trice, 


1626. 


WiUiam Maile, 




John Heame. 




Thomas Pont. 


1616. 


William Bush, 


1627. 


Robert Vinter, 




Heniy Kendall. 




Henry Kendall. 



a First or modern Bailiffs by Charter. 

** Elected in form prescribed by the Charter, June 26th, 1604 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1604 TO 1831. 173 



1631. 



1632. 



A. D. 

1628. Thomas Trice, jun., 
John Shepard. 

1629. Samuel Abed, 
Richard Stevenson. 

1630. J. Goldesborough, Esq. 
John Heme. 
William Heme, 
Thomas Pont. 
Robert Vinter, 

John Clarke. 

1633. Thomas Tryce, 
Henry Carlis. 

1634. WiUiam Clarke, 
Henry Kendall. 
Jasper Robins, 
John Maile. 
William Heame, 
Richard Stevenson. 
John Goldesborough, 

Esq., who died, and 
William HeiEime, Co- 
roner, resumed office, 

Heniy Carlis. 

Robert Maile, 

Henry Kendall. 

Robert Vinter, 

John Clarke. 

William Heame, 

Robert Green, who died, 
and John Clarke, the 
Coroner, resumed of- 
fice. 

Henry Stevenson, jun. 

Thomas Maile. 

Robert Maile. 

Thomas Silke. 



1635. 



1636. 



1637. 



1638. 



1639. 



1640. 



1641. 



1642. 



A. D. 

1643. Roger Bush, 
Jasper Robins. 

1644. WiUiam Clarke, 
Henry Kendall. 

1645. William Heame, 
Robert Abbott. 

1646. Robert Vinter, 
Robert Stevenson. 

1647. Thomas MaQe, 
John Clarke. 

1648. Robert Maile, 
Thomas SUke. 

1649. Roger Bush, 
Thomas Pont. 

1650. Nathaniel Trice, 
Robert Vinter, jun. 

1 65 1 . John Lockington, 
Jasper Robins. 

1652. Robert Vinter, sen. 
Robert Abbott. 

1653. Nicholas Wright, 
Thomas Silke. 

1654. Samuel Pont, 
Thomas Maile. 

1655. John Tryce, 
Thomas Pont. 

1656. William Franklyn, 
Robert Baker. 

1657. James Mayle, 
Nathaniel Tryce. 

1658. Thomas Pont, 
Robert Vinter, sen. 

1659. Roger Bush, 
Robert Vinter, jun. 

1660. WiUiam Franklyn, 
John Heron, Esq. 



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174 



HISTORY OF OODMANCHBSTBR. 



A.D. 




A.D. 




1661. 


Thomas Maile, 


1679. 


John Tryce, 




Samud Pont. 




Robert Taylor. 


1662. 


James Mayle, 


1680. 


Robert Baker, 




William Ladds. 




Samuel Skeggi. 


1663. 


Wmiam Clarke, 


1681. 


Robert Stocker, 




Samuel Fox. 




Nicholas Bush. 


1664. 


Roger Bush, 


1682. 


Thomas Betts, 




Jobn Stocker. 




John Wright. 


1665. 


Jobn Stevenson, 


1683. 


Reuben Clarke, 




Thomas Mayle. 




Robert Vinter. 


1666. 


William Franklyn. 


1684. 


Thomas Tryce, 




James Pans. 




Robert Stocker. 


1667. 


William Clarke, jun. 


1685. 


Samuel Fox, sen. 




Rnben Clarke. 




(William Robins was 


1668. 


William Ladds, 




elected, but refusing to 




Robert Baker. 




serve, was fined ^ve 


1669. 


John Stevenson, 




pounds.) 




John Stocker. 




William Ladds. 


1670. 


William Franklyn, 


1686. 


William Thurston, 




John Tiyce. 




AUured Clarke. 


1671. 


Thomas Maile, 


1687. 


Thomas Betts, 




William Bush. 




John Wright. 


1672. 


Ruben Clarke, 


1688. 


Sir John Hewitt, by his 




Robert Taylor. 




Deputy, Robert Vinter, 


1673. 


Henry Fitton, 




Reuben Clarke. 




William Ladds. 


1689. 


Robert Baker, 


1674. 


John Tryce, 




Thomas Maile. 




Robert Baker. 


1690. 


William Ladds, 


1675. 


William Franklyn, 




John Clarke. 




John Stocker. 


1691. 


Thomas Tryce, 


1676. 


William Bush, 




Samuel Skeggs. 




Ruben Clarice. 


1692. 


Robert Taylor, who 


1677. 


John Stevenson, 




died, when Thomas 




Joseph Silke. 




Tryce, the Coroner, 


1678. 


Henry Fitton, 




resumed ofliee. 




Thomas Tr3rce. 




Robert Vinter. 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1604 TO 1831. 175 



A.D. 




A.D 




1693. 


Thomas Betts, 


1707. 


William Negus. 




John Stevenson. 


1708. 


. Aired Clarke, 


1694. 


Thomas Maile> 




John Stevenson. 




Aired Clarke. 


1709. 


Robert Stocker;* but 


1695. 


Thomas Tryce, 




deemed incapacitated 




John PeU. 




Arom residing at Hun- 


1696. 


Samnd Skeggs, 




tingdon. Wm. Bennet 




Thomas Bentley. 




sworn in his stead. 


1697. 


Robert Vinter, 




John Wright. 




Francis Negus. 


1710. 


John Negus, sen. 


1698. 


Robert Throckmwton, 




Thomas Stocker. 




Esq., who is described 


1711. 


John Negus, jun. 




" Parliament-man for 




William Bennett. 




the County of Hun- 


1712. 


Robert Vinter, jun. 




tingdon, 




John Nogus, sen. 




Ab-ed Clarke. 


1713. 


William Nailour, who 


1699. 


William NaSour, 




died, when Coroner, 




Robert Stocker. 




Robert Vinter, jun. re- 


1700. 


RobCTt Vinter, 




sumed office. 




Reverend John Allen. 




Samuel Skeggs. 


1701. 


John PcJll, 


1714. 


John Negus, jun. 




Thomas Stodier 




Aired Claire. 


1702. 


Samuel Skeggs, 


1715. 


John Stevenson, 




Thomas Benfley. 




Robert Stocker. 


1703. 


Robert Vinter, 


1716. 


John Wright, 




Abed ClM^e. 




Thomas Pattison. 


1704. 


John Stevonson, 


1717. 


Thos. Stodker, who died. 




Francis Negus. 




when Coroner, John 


1705. 


Richard Carrier, 




Wright, resumed office 




Robert Stooker. 




John Skeggs. 


1706. 


John Wright elected. 


1718. 


William Bennett, 




but refusing to serve. 




Samuel Skeggs. 




fined £10. 


1719. 


John Negus, jun. 




Samuel Skeggs, 




Allured Clarke. 




Thomas Stocker. 


1720. 


John Stevenson, 


1707. 


Francis Negus, 




Thomas Dowseing. 



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176 



HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 



A.D. 




AD. 




1721. 


Robert Vinter, 


1738. 


Thomas Dowseing, 




John Negus. 




Robert Stevenson. 


1722. 


Robert Stocker. 


1739. 


Original Jackson, 




Sam. Skeggs, who died^ 




John Skeggs. 




when Coroner, John 


1740. 


Philip Chapman, 




Negus resumed office. 




John Mehew. 


1723. 


John Wright, 


1741. 


John Negus, 




Thomas Stocker, 




Richard Caryer. 


1724. 


Thomas Pattison, 


1742. 


Alured Clarke, 




Robert Stocker. 




Thomas Dowseing. 


1725. 


John Skeggs, 


1743. 


Phillip Chapman, 




Thomas Mehew. 




Thomas Mehew. 


1726. 


William Bennett, 


1744. 


James Stocker, 




John Negus, jun. 




John Mehew. 


1727. 


John Stevenson, 


1745. 


Robert Stevenson, 




WiUiam Aked. 




John Martin. 


1728. 


John Negus, sen.. 


1746 


Richard Beaumont, 




Robert Stevenson. 




Philip Keene. 


1729. 


John Negus, jun.. 


1747. 


John Skeggs, 




Abed Clarke. 




Original Jackson. 


1730. 


Robert Stocker, 


1748. 


John Wright, 




Original Jackson. 




Thomas Mehew. 


1731. 


John Negus, 


1749. 


John Mehew, 




Philb'p Chapman. 




John Jackson. 


1732. 


John Mehew, 


1750. 


Philip Keene, 




John Skeggs. 




Richard Beaumont. 


1733. 


William Bennet, 


1751. 


Robert Stevenson, 




Robert Stevenson. 




Thomas Mehew. 


1734. 


Robert Stocker, 


1752. 


Original Jackson, by his 




Original Jackson. 




Deputy, John Jackson. 


1735. 


AJred Clarke, 




Earl of Sandwich, by his 




John Negus. 




Deputy, John Wright 


1736. 


Phillip Chapman, 


1753. 


Richard Beaumont, 




Thomas Dowseing. 




John Jackson. 


1737. 


Richard Caiyer, 


1754. 


Thomas Mehew, 




Thomas Mehew. 




John Wright. 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1604 TO 1831. 177 



A.D. 




A.D. 




1755. 


John Mehew, 


1772. 


William Fox, 




Philip Keene. 




The Rev. Castle Sherard 


1756. 


Robert Stevenson, 


1773. 


Thomas Stocker, 




James Stocker. 




Thomas Wright. 


1757. 


William Mehew, 


1774. 


James Stocker, 




Thomas Stocker. 




Rev. Castle Sherard, by 


1758. 


John Jackson, 




his Deputy, Thomas 




Hugh Ferrar. 




Clarke. 


1759. 


Richard Beaumont, 


1775. 


William Mehew, 




John Wright. 




Thomas Dexter. 


1760. 


Thomas Mehew, 


1776. 


Thomas Stocker, 




James Stocker. 




William Fox. 


1761. 


John Mehew, 


1777. 


David Veasey, 




William Fox. 




Charles Beaumont. 


1762. 


Robert Stevenson, 


1778. 


Richard Beaumont, 




Thomas Clarke. 




Thomas Wright 


1763. 


William Mehew, 


1779. 


Thomas Dexter, 




Thomas Stocker. 




General Clarke, by his 


1764. 


Hugh Ferrar, 




Deputy, William Me- 




The Rev. John Clarke, 




hew. 




by his Deputy, James 


1780. 


John Martin, 




Stockier. 




John Tiaxon. 


1765. 


John Wright, 


1781. 


Edward Martin, 




Richard Beaumont. 




William Mehew. 


1766. 


James Stocker, 


1782. 


Rev. Castle Sherard, by 




John Mehew. 




his Deputy, William 


1767. 


William Mehew, 




Mehew. 




William Fox. 




Thomas Stocker. 


1768. 


Thomas Stocker, 


1783. 


Thomas Wright, 




Thomas Dexter. 




John Laxon. 


1769. 


Richard Beaumont, 


1784. 


John Martin, 




Thomas Wright. 




John Dexter. 


1770. 


James Stocker, 


1785. 


William Mehew, 




Thomas Clarke. 




Edward Martin. 


1771. 


William Mehew, 


1786. 


Rev. Castle Sherard, 




Charles Beaumont. 


. 


John Jackson. 

N 



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178 



HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTEB. 



AD. 




A.D. 




1787. 


Thomas Stocker, 


1805. 


John Brown, 




John Laxon. 




David Veasey. 


1788. 


Thomas Wright, 


1806. 


Charles Pope, 




John Martin. 




John Lancaster. 


1789. 


William Mehew, 


1807. 


John Martin, 




Edward Martin. 




Thomas Fox. 


1790. 


Richard Miles, 


1808. 


P.Cockerill, 




John Scott. 




Richard Miles. 


1791. 


Rev. Castle Sherard, 


1809. 


David Veasey, 




Thomas Clarke, Esq. 




Robert Hicks, 


1792. 


Charles Beaumont, 


1810. 


John Pasheller, 




James Stocker. 




John Dexter. 


1793. 


John Dexter, 


1811. 


Charles Pope, 




Charles Pope. 




Rev. George Sherard. 


1794. 


John Martin, 


1812. 


John Lancaster, sen. 




Robert WaUer. 




Robert Wright. 


1795. 


David Veasey, 


1813. 


John Martin, 




Edward Martin. 




Thomas Fox. 


1796. 


Richard Miles, 


1814. 


P. Cockerill, 




John Scott. 




Richard Miles. 


1797. 


Rev. Castle Sherard, 


1815. 


David Veasey, 




Lieut.-General Clarke. 




Robert Hicks, surgeon 


1798. 


Charles Beaumont, 


1816. 


John Pasheller, 




James Stocker. 




John Lancaster, jun. 


1799. 


John Dexter, 


1817. 


Charles Pope, 




John Scott. 




Thomas Fox. 


1800. 


Thomas Fox, 


1818. 


Rev. J. Chartres, 




Charles Pope. 




Samuel Bates. 


1801. 


John Martin, 


1819. 


Robert Hicks, 




John Lancaster. 




James Strangward. 


1802. 


David Veasey, 


1820. 


Charles Pope, 




Robert Waller. 




John Lancaster. 


1803. 


Richard Miles, 


1821. 


Richard Miles, 




Charles Beaumont. 




Thomas Fox. 


1804. 


Richard George Sherard 


1822. 


Samuel Bates, 




John Pasheller. 




John Kbby. 



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MUNICIPAL HISTORY FROM 1604 TO 1831. 179 



A.D. 




A.D. 




1823. 


Robert Hicks, 


1827. 


Thomas Fox, 




Edward Martin. 




Charles Coe. 


1824. 


James Strangward, 


1828. 


Samuel Bates, 




Thomas Maile. 




Downes Martin. 


1825. 


John T Lancaster, 


1829. 


Edward Martin, 




John Hicks. 




John Kisby. 


1826. 


Richard Miles, 


1830. 


James Strangward, 




Robert Fox, surgeon. 




John Lancaster. 



n2 



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180 



HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 




CHAPTER VIII. 
NAVIGATION AND DRAINAGE. 

SSENTIALLY connected 
with the Navigation and 
Drainage of this country 
as is the Corporation of 
Godmanchester, but vague 
notions are entertained with 
respect to the origin and 
extent of its powers, and 
how beneficially they might be exercised : we shall 
therefore enter somewhat comprehensively into the 
consideration of them, in order to lay the subject 
fairly before those, without whose co-operation they 
cannot be made effectively available to these im- 
portant objects. 

The navigation from the North Sea by the port 
of Lynn to the towns of Bedford, Biggleswade, and 
Shefibrd, in Bedfordshire, is by the river Ouse, 
which, in its course, forms the north and west 
boundaries of Godmanchester, and by its immediate 
proximity to the town, gives to the inhabitants all 



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NAVIGATIOJ^ AND DRAINAGE. 181 

the advantages with which it is fraught. It is a 
noble river, in many places rivalling the Humber 
and the Severn in beauty ; has numerous springs 
and rivulets tributary to its waters, which are far- 
ther supplied by the drainage it facilitates to the 
extensive tract of inland country through which it 
runs. It rises at a place called Ousewell,* near 
Brackley , in Northamptonshire, from whence, after 
a circuit of 160 miles, it passes through the port of 
Lynn into the German Ocean. At a short distance 
from its origin, it is joined by a small stream from 
Towcester, whence, taking an easterly course, 
somewhat inclined northward, through Bucking- 
hamshire, it enters Bedfordshire between Brayfield 
and Tuny, and descending by many windings to- 
wards the south, unites at Newport Pagnell with a 
second stream, with which it flows in conjunction 
to the town of Bedford, where it becomes navigable. 
At a short distance from Bedford it is joined by the 
Hyee from Woburn, and at Tempsford Bridge by 
the river Ivel, navigable from Biggleswade and 
Shefford, and enters Huntingdonshire at the mar- 
ket town of Saint Neots, proceeding through a di- 
versified and beautiful valley to the towns of God- 
manchester and Huntingdon. 

It then passes the villages of Hartford, Houghton^ 
and Hemingford, and flowing onwards through the 
populous and opulent town of Saint Ives, enters 

a Wells on the Bedford Level. 



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182 HISTORY OF GODMANCHBSTER. 

Cambridgeshire at Haddenham, near Earitli. Here 
its antient course is in a great degree arrested by 
the Hermitage Sluice, and a new character given 
to it, by the artificial rivers and other works which 
from time to time have been formed for the drainage 
and improvement of that extensive and important 
tract of fen land, called the Great Bedford Level.'^ 
At Haddenham the river Ouse formerly divided into 
two branches, one falling by Earith, where it now 
again divides, and for the most part proceeds 
through the cut made by the Adventurers, called 
the " hundred feet," running in a straight line from 

«> " The History of the Great Level of the Fens, called the 
Bedford Levels with the Constitution and Laws of the Bedford 
Level Corporation/ has recently heen published by Samuel Wells> 
Esq. Register of the Corporation, in 2 vols, royal 8vo. The 
first contains a comprehensive account of the origin and progress 
of the drainage of that extensive district by the early Adven- 
turers, and the completion of their object by the Honourable the 
Corporation of the Bedford Level; the rivers, canals, sluices, and 
other public works, forming a practical dissertation on their im- 
portance and government The 2d. vol. consists of '' a collection 
of the Laws which form the constitution of the Bedford Level 
Corporation," with curious antient documents of high literaiy 
interest and great local importance, constituting together a 
valuable compendium of information, filling up a chasm in the 
Topographical History of our Country, and which will remain 
an honourable memorial of the Authors devotedness to the 
interests and services of that numerous, intelligent, and wealthy 
body of proprietors, of whom he is so efficient an officer. Mr. 
Wells has also published a well-executed Map, taken from actual 
survey, illustrative of his History, and the present state of the Fens. 



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NAVIGATION AND DRAIN A6B. 183 

thence to Denver Sluice ; but the residue of its wa- 
ters pursue their antient channel by the Old West 
River, through the Hermitage Sluice, in the direc- 
tion of Harrimeer, where they are joined by the 
Cam and the Grant ; from whence, approaching 
the city of Ely, they diverge eastward to Prickwil- 
low, where they receive the waters of the Lark or 
MildenhaU river, and beyond Littleport-chair those 
of the Brandon or lesser Ouse ; whence, taking a 
N.W. direction to Denver Sluice, they there unite 
with the lower end of the hundred feet cut, and 
form the great river Ouse, which, flowing on in the 
majesty of its accumulated waters, proceeds by 
Downham, Stow, and Magdalen bridges, from 
whence, until lately, by a circuitous channel, but 
now through the Eau-brink cut, it enters the har- 
bour of the port of Lynn. 

The second original branch, called the West-wa- 
ter, proceeded from Earith in a northerly direction, 
by Chatteris-ferry, to Benwick, where it united 
with the river Nene, with which it continued to 
Shrewsness Point, and being there joined by the 
Old Welney river, (a branch thrown off from the 
West Biver before described, at littleport, and pro- 
ceeding from thence by Welney,) they continued in 
one course by Upwell, Outwell, and Elm (dividing 
the Isle of Ely from Norfolk) to Wisbech, then 
passing by Gunthorp to Cross Keys Wash, or Wis- 
bech Outfall, it entered the German Ocean. This 
old course of the West-water and the branch by 



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184 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

Welney are now nearly grown up, though still 
fonning, in many places, the boundary line between 
the Isle of Ely and the counties of Huntingdon and 
Norfolk. 

The works of the Adventurers for the drainage 
of the Fens, and the present course of the Ouse- 
water, have entirely closed the antient navigation"" 
which existed between the port of Wisbech and this 
county) as far as the borough of Huntingdon ; ne- 
vertheless, the enquiring reader may find in Watt- 
son's ** History of Wisbech," many curious state- 
ments, and much ingenious reasoning, upon this 
event, which in some measure lead to the compara- 
tive decay of that harbour, which he insists was 
antiently the only outfall for our upland waters. 

Mr. Wattson's argimient, we may briefly remark, 
is, that the Welney river from Littleport was the 
original and chief course of the Ouse to the sea, to 
the entire exclusion of the outfall at Lynn, and that 
the junction of the great Ouse with the Brandon 
or lesser Ouse, by Littleport-chair, was a mere ar- 
tificial cut, made for the purpose of drainage, when 
the neglect of sewers, &c. had so silted up Wisbech 
harbour, that it became an inefficient outfall, and 

c A navigation is restored between these districts by a Canal 
made from Wisbech to Outwell, being a distance of about six 
miles^ and which, being there joined by the river Nene, follows 
its course to Salter's Lode Sluice, where, a little below Denver 
Sluice, it enters the river Ouse. — ^The Wisbech Canal Act was 
passed in the year 1793. 



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NAVIGATION AND DRAINAGE. 185 

observes,* " it was probably made in the time of 
Edward 1st, about 1274/^ 

By Inquests in the reign of Edward 1st, which 
we shall immediately refer to, it appears that an 
ancient navie:ation for vessels of burthen between 
the ports of Lynn and other ports, and the town of 
Huntingdon, had at that time been but recently 
obstructed. But what is equally destructive of Mr. 
Wattson's argument, is, that in no one of these 
inquests is the port of Wisbech named in express 
words, but only '* the ports of Lenn and other 
ports," so that the period assigned for this supposed 
cut is either erroneous, or the supposition of a cut 
altogether fallacious. To this we may add, the 
river is called the Ouse both above and below this 
reputed cut, which is commonly called the ten-mile 
river,® which, had they been two distinct uncon- 
nected rivers, would not have obtained. Mr. W. 
admits too much on the mere statement of Dugdale 
and Wadeslade : the former observes,^ that *' the 
river Ouse, its outfall by Wisbech decaying, was 
not only cut straight, but by a new river made 
from Ldttleport-chair to Rebeck, was let fall into 

^ History of Wisbech, p. 24. 

« Mr. Wells adopts the same opinions, perhaps on the same 
authorities : " The River from Little-port Bridge to Denver 
Sluice is called the ten-mile river. It is not known at what 
period the antient course of the old River was diverted from its 
outfall by Wisbech into its present channel to Lynn.** — Wells's 
History of the Bedford Level, ^ Dugdale, p. 372. 



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186 HISTORY OF GODMANCHBSTER. 

Ouse Parva or Brandon Water, and thence by 
Salter's Lode to Lynn Haven, its former course to 
Littleport being by WeUenhee or WeUe, and so to 
the North Sea at Wisbech ;" and the latter,* that 
" a record vouched by Mr. Hexham, surveyor to 
William Earl of Arundel, shews that at some time 
there was no river between Littleport-chair and 
Rebeck." There cannot be a question, but that 
anterior to and in the reign of Edward 1st, the up- 
land waters found their way naturally by the river 
Ouse, and furnished for themselves a sufficient scour 
to both ports, but that the silting-up of Wisbech 
harbour, occasioned by a defective system of em- 
banking, calculated to promote the partial instead 
of the general interests of the fens, and the subse- 
quent neglect of works of sewers, destroyed it, as 
an outfall, and thus diverted nearly the whole of 
the waters to Lynn, by the Old West River, which, 
aided by the operation of the " hundred feet river," 
lead to the growing up of the Old West-water and 
the Welney Rivers. 

The present course of the Ouse, as above de- 
scribed, the drainage dependent upon it, the antient 
and present state of its navigation, as far as is con- 
nected with the town of Godmanchester, are all 
that can properly be considered in this work. 

The navigation of the river Ouse from Godman- 
chester and Huntingdon, to the ports of Lynn and 

9 Badeslade — see History of Wisbech, p. 24. 



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NAVIGATION AND DRAINAGE. 187 

Wisbech, was, doubtless, more effective in antient 
times than at the present day, when the unob- 
structed course of the waters worked their own 
channel and scour, and the principal barriers to 
their free course were some comparatively few 
public bridges, as at Huntingdon and St. Ives. 
The erection of mills, and accompanying bars across 
the stream to force the waters through them, by 
the King, (in royal manors,) public bodies, or pri- 
vate individuals, lead to the silting-up of the river; 
hence, in all complaints relative to the obstruction 
of this navigation, we find that these are the chief 
causes alleged. In Domesday -book, the only mills 
returned as being then on the Ouse,^ were 

Brampton 2 mills red . . 100 solid, to King Edw. the Conf. 

Godmanchester. . 3 mills red . . 100 solid, to King Edward. 

Buckden 1 mill red . . 30 solid, to the Bp. of Lincoln. 

Pachstone 3 mills red . . 64 solid, to King Edward. 

which miUs (there being no documentary evidence 
to falsify the position) precluded the possibility of 
the navigation having at that time extended be- 
yond Godmanchester. Sir Robert Cotton' has pre- 
scribed to it these limits : — '' To this shire-town, 
and benefit of the neighbour countries, this river 
was navigable, until the power of Grey, a minion 

^ The mill at Huntingdon, it is true, is noticed in Domesday; 
but being on a mere tributary stream, and not the main course of 
the Ouse, is not inserted above. 

' In Speed's Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain — Art. 
H un tingdonshire. 



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188 



HISTORY OF 60DMANCHESTER. 



of the time, stopt thut passage, and with it all re- 
dress either by law or parliament." 

Amongst the Hundred Rolls in the Tower, in the 
4th of Edward 1st, is an inquest relative to the 
then state of the river, when the town of Hunting- 
don answered : 

A® 4 EDW. 1. ROT. extract' COM HUNTED* NO. 2. 
VILLATA DE HUNTED*. 



Dicut qd naves que venire 
solebat cum iScandisis suis 
ad Burgum de Hunted' de 
ptib3 de Lenn et aliis ptib3 
impediunt' p quodda stagnu 
levatum p Reginaldum de 
Grey ad dapnu Burgi et 
tocius p«rie et capiunt pas- 
sagiu ubi nult cap solebat. 



'' That ships which an- 
tiently were accustomed to 
navigate with their mer- 
chandise to the Borough of 
Huntingdon from the Port 
of Lenn^ and other ports, 
are prevented by an ob- 
struction in the river, form- 
ed by Reginald de Grey, to 
the injury of the borough 
and neighbourhood, and 
that they took tolls for the 
same, which are now lost; 

^^ And that the said ships 
are obstructed at Houton,by 
a barrier made by the Abbot 
of Ramsey. 

'^ And in like manner at 
Herford, by a barrier form- 
ed by the Prior of Hunting- 
don." 

This Reginald de Grey was an influential person 
in the Courts of Henry 3d and Edward 1st, for 
which reason possibly his encroachment on the 



Dicunt et qd ^dce naves 
impediunt' p exclus' ABbtis 
de Rames* fcas apud Hou- 
ton. 

Et similr p exclus' Prior 
Hmit' apud Herford. 



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NAVIGATION AND DRAINAGE. 189 

river, though so destructive to the navigation and 
injurious to the country, was connived at. We 
find his name subscribed as a witness to the '' Carta 
fundationis Abbatiae Dernhallensis in Agro Ces- 
trensi,"^ where he is called '* Reginald de Grey 
tunc Justiciario Cestriae, a.d. 1270;" and also in 
the chart ^ of the lands and possessions of the con- 
vent and abbey of St. Edmunds, Nov. 16, 1281, the 
10th of Edward the 1st. In the 56th of Henry 3d, 
a.d, 1272, his lands at Hemingford, &c. escheated"* 
to the crown in default of homage, but were re- 
stored to him on the payment of a fine, and about 
this period we may conjecture that he built the first 
mills ever erected there. In 1276, 4th of Edward 
1st, Hemingford was returned to the Crown Office 
as being in the fee'' of Reginald de Grey,° but in the 
4th of Edward the 2d, was granted to John de Grey,^ 

^ Cart. 64, Hen. 3d. — Dugdales Mon, Ang, 

^ Ex registro Abbatiae S.Edmundi in officio Due. Lane, fol.84. 

™ " Dicunt q*d Rats de Waldeschef subescaetor Reg* cepit 
seis^m de t*ris Regin de Grey apud Hemmyngford et Gillingg' 
anno r Reg' H. p*ris Reg' nu c Ivi. &c. et tenet se'iam p vij dies 
p'ea ven'unt hoies Regin' de Grey," &c. — Rotul. Hun.4Edw. 1. 

"> " D'sectis antiquis' cons' sviciis et aliis rebz, &c. 
Hemmyngford de feod Regin de Grey.** — Rot Hun. 4 Ed, I, 

o He was, moreover, an honorary or parliamentary baron by 
reason of his tenure, and received writ of summons to parliament 
in the 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 30, 32, 33, 34, and 35 Edward 1st, and 
the 1st and 2d of Edward 2d. 

P Towsland. Johes de Gray fil Reginald de Gray dat Regi I" 
p. m. de Toulesland tent de R. in Cap. ut de Honor Hunt de 
ppart Robbi de Brus in man' R. existen p s'vic dimid feod mil 



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190 HISTORY OF 60DMANCHBSTER. 

his son and successor,*^ to be held, subject to ser- 
vice in capite of the King. 

From all which we may conclude that the parish 
or manor, called Hemingford Grey, in the time of 
Edward 1st, was the property of Reginald de Grey, 
to which his name was appended to distinguish its 
boundaries from the lands then in possession of the 
Abbots of Ramsey, which were given to them by 
King Hardicanute, a.d. 1041,' and from the Lords 
of the Fee, called Hemingford Abbots. 

To a subsequent inquest held on the 7th of 
Edward 1st, the inhabitants of Huntingdon an- 
swered — 

*' That Reginald de Grey has done great injury to the 
high river of our Lord the King, between Hemingford 
and Huntingdon^ by diverting its course through his 
mills* at Hemingford^ so that boats and ships^ which were 

et 25« — ^p quibusdm teutis in Hemyngford tent de R. in Cap p 
sVic 4 ptis un* feod mil. — Cole*s Esch. Brit, Mus. Temp, Edw. 
scdus. M.ff. R. 4, Edw. 2d. 

4 He received writs of summons to parliament in the 2, S, 6, 
6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16th of Edward 2d.^Duffdales 
Lists of Summons, 8fc. 

' As Hardicanute died a. d. 1042, and reigned only two years 
the gift of Hemingford to the Abbots of Ramsey was most proba- 
bly in A.D. 1041. His festival was celebrated on the 6th of June, 
" Sexto Idus Junii obiit Hardcnute rex, qui dedit Hemingford;*' 
and in the Rent Roll of the Abbey it was valued at £15 per ann. 
Lelandi Collectan, vol. i. p. 842 6c 844. 

> Mills were erected on branch-streams cut from the river, and 
falling into the river again at some distance lower down ; bars of 
clay and gravel were then placed entirely across the main river. 



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NAVIGATION AND DRAINAGE. 191 

accustomed to navigate to the said borough of our Lord 
the King, are in consequence prevented. 

*' And they say that the Abbot of Ramsey has caused a 
barrier to be placed in the high river of our Lord the 
King at his mills at Houton,* where ships and boats 
were accustomed to pass to the borough of our Lord 
the King, and that in like manner they are there ob- 
structed." 

In a Quo Warranto plea before Commissioners 
appointed under the Great Seal, to investigate 

of such height as to keep up heads of water, thus forcing the chief 
current through the mills, destropng all navigation by the antient 
channel, and by their obstruction to its course, causing it to over- 
flow and drown the contiguous low lands and meadows after heavy 
rains or sudden thaws of ice and snow. 

* The gift of Houton and Witton, to the monks of Ramsey, oc- 
curred amongst its earhest endowments ; they were presented by 
Alfwold, the brother of Ailwin the founder, who died A. D. 990. 

" In what manner the town of Hoeton was granted to us. 

" Alfwold, of pious memory, brother to Ailwyn the alderman, 
a person eminent amongst his contemporaries for the four great 
accomplishments of secular wisdom, military prowess, nobility of 
birth, and elegant manners, rivalling the faith and devotion of his 
brother, gave to God and St. Benedict of Ramsey, Hoeton and 
Witton, Ripton also with Wenington, Bitherne and Elinton, with 
the noble munificence of a soul, whose bounty will be recorded for 
ever ; providing for himself in the same place the recompence of 
being remembered, and the credit of being buried there. But 
at his request, and with consent of the Friars of Ramsey, Alfild, 
his lawful wife, held all the said lands, except Hoeton and Witton, 
during her Hfe, as usufructuary, in the name of the church ; to 
give up, at her death, the possession of them to the said church, 
under the just title of the first donation." — History of Ramsey 
Monastery, chap. 3 1st. 



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192 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER 

these matters, bearing date the llthof October, 
2d of Edward Ist. 

" The hand-writing of the said Countess Alfild^ wife of the 
ahove-mentioned Earl Alfwold, containing how just before her 
death she gave up to the church of Ramsey, Ripton, and Wen- 
ington, and Elinton and Bitheme. 

" In the name of the Most High Lord God, I, Alfild, make 
known to all my friends what disposition I have made of all my 
substance and possessions, which my husband. Earl Alfwold, 
granted to me and my children. First then I give to God, and to 
St Mary, and to St. Benedict of Ramsey, the land of Ripton, and 
the land of Wenington, and the land of Elinton, in the same 
manner as my aforesaid husband Alfwold, in his life-time, gave 
the same by word of mouth to the church. I grant also to 
^noth, my daughter's son, that if the Friars of Ramsey are wil- 
ling to receive him as a monk, the land at Bitheme shall pass 
with him, into the possession of Ramsey ; but if they refuse to 
receive him, nevertheless I give the aforesaid lands to the said 
church for the health of my soul. I also give to Almar, my chap- 
lain, my lands at Clopton, to be held free during his life ; and 
after his decease, let them pass, with the rest of my lands, to the 
church of Ramsey. And I intreat God Almighty, that, whoso- 
ever, either of my parents, or any other, shall presume to contra- 
vene this writing, or make any change in the above donations, 
that person may incur, together with the reprobate angels, the 
wrath of the Everlasting Judge— Amen." — HistRamsey, ch. 32d. 
'*Anno Dccccxc obiit Alfwoldus comes frater Ailwini, quidedit 

Ramesise Hotton et Witton, Rippon cum Weington, Bithern 

cum EUinton, et Ramesia sepelitur."-— ^a: Regislro de Rams. 

GENEALOGY OF ALFWOLD, 4tH SON OF DUKE JETHELSTAN. 

In the days of King ^thelstan there was a certain Duke in the 
East-angles named Athelstan, half Kineg — ^that is half King. 
He took to wife Alfwen, who nursed and educated Edgar, &c. 
The said Duke Athelstan had by his wife four sons — Ist Ethel- 
wold; 2d, Alfwold; 3d, Ethelfinis; 4th, Ailwine, the founder of 
Ramsey Abbey. — Ex Registro de Ramsey. 



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NAVIGATION AND DRAINAGE. 



193 



Presentatfi fuit alias co- 
ram Sampsone Folyot et 
Edm de Caldecote qd naves 
que venire solebant et debet 
cu michandizis suis apud 
Huntedon' burgu de ptib3 
de Len* et aliis ptib3 impe- 
dite sunt p stagnu Regin' 
de Grey et similt' p exclusas 
AlSbtis de Rameiseye apud 
Hoghton' et p exclusas 
prioris de Hunt' apud Her- 
ford' et similit' p cursu 
aque et in pte »p manuopa- 
com ABbtis de Rameseye et 
hoium suo^ feus est quidam 
pvus rivulus qui quidam 
rivulus att<^hit maximam 
ptem aque antiqui cursus 
ita qd naves f^nsire non 
possunt nee uno alveo nee 
alio ad magnu det^mentu 
villate de Huntedon et toti^ 
patrie. 



Et sup hoc Attorn' ABb- 
tis de Rameseye req*si- 
tus si ffiit ad nocumentu 
pdci ABbtis si pdas alveus 
obstructus sit^ — dicit qd sic. 



It was presented before 
Sampson Folyot and Ed- 
mund de Caldecote^ that 
ships which were accustom- 
ed and had right to navigate 
with their merchandise to 
the borough of Huntingdon^ 
from the ports of Len and 
other ports, are hindered by 
the obstructions of Reginald 
de Grey, and also by dams 
formed across the river by 
the Abbot of Ramsey at 
Hoghton, and in like man- 
ner by dams of the Prior 
of Huntingdon, at Her- 
ford; and also in part by 
a certain small river or 
water course, made by the 
Abbot of Ramsey and his 
agents, which said rivulet 
diverts the greater part of 
the waters from their an- 
tient course, so that ships 
cannot navigate by the one 
stream or the other, to the 
great injury of the town of 
Huntingdon and the whole 
neighbourhood. 

Upon which it was de- 
manded of the Attorney of 
the Abbot of Ramsey, whe- 
ther it would be to the in- 
jury of the said Abbot, if 



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194 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

Et sup hoc ^ceptu est vie' the aforesaid water-course 
qd fac' pdcam ABbtem ve- were blocked up ? who re- 
nire et simili? Beginaldu de plied^ that it would. Where- 
Grey coram Thes' et Baron' upon a precept was directed 
de Sc»cio apud Westm' in to the SheriflF, commanding 
crastino Sci Andr' &c. that he cause the aforesaid 

Placita de Quo Warranto ^^bot, and in like manner 
Temp. Ed. IK Reginald de Grey, to appear 

before the Treasurer and Ba- 
rons of the Exchequer at 
Westminster on the morrow 
of St. Andrew, &c* 
These Inquests indubitably prove, that, pre- 
vious to the erection of mills at Hemingford, 
Houghton, and Hartford, there was an eflfective 
navigation to the ports of Lynn, &c. from Hun- 
tingdon, and consequently from Godmanchester. 
In these pleas the suitors appear chiefly to have 
been the inhabitants of Huntingdon, who felt ag- 
grieved at their loss of port tolls and gernerage, 
and who, perhaps, foresaw the impoverishment of 
their town, from its commercial importance being 
destroyed, an issue fully reaUzed, though but Uttle 
considered amongst the causes which led to the 
decay of that once populous, extensive, and opulent 
Borough.*" From the defective registry of antient 

" It is curious to observe that these effects are attributed by 
Historians to the ravages of the plague; and even in a grant of 
Gernerage to the inhabitants of Huntingdon^ in aid of the fee- 
fann rent in the 37th Edward 3d, the same cause for the impo- 
verishment of the town is principally urged : " We, considering 
that the said town of Huntingdon, as well by mortal pestilence as 



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NAVIGATION AND DRAINAGE. 195 

law records, and destruction of the valuable MSS. 
of religious houses at the Reformation, it is impos- 
sible now to ascertain what farther proceedings, if 
any, were instituted by the inhabitants of Hun- 
tingdon against Reginald de Grey, the Abbot of 
Ramsey and Prior of Huntingdon ; indeed they 
appear from henceforth acting but a very subordi- 
nate part in any eflforts to restore the navigation; 
and the domination of the Abbot and Prior over 
the whole course of the stream continued until the 
commencement of the fifteenth century. The ob- 
structions in the river, and consequent frequent 
inundations of the town and meadows of Grodman- 
chester, led to continual protests from its tenants 
and inhabitants, who, at length carrying their com- 
plaints into the Dutchy Court, obtained, A. D. 1415,'' 
a decree against the Prior of Huntingdon, whereby 
Commissioners were appointed *' to view the pre- 
mises at Hartford, and the level and course of the 
water, and to assign a floodgate or lawseyard, or 

by various other sudden adversities, is so weakened and destroyed 
that a fourth part of the same totvn is not inhabited" &c. In 
this grant '* various other sudden adversities*' are allowed to have 
had their influence, and it must occur to the most ordinary ob- 
server, that the effects of depopulation from plague or accidental 
sickness would speedily have been remedied if a profitable invest- 
ment of capital had continued ; but the destruction of the navi- 
gation permanently crippled the commerce of Huntingdon, by 
destroying it as an inland port, reducing its traders to a depen- 
dence on its mere home consumption, and the traffic of the im- 
mediate neighbourhood. 
* Record in Due. Lane. 

o2 



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196 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

floodgates or lawseyards, conveniently to turn the 
course of the water to the said miUs in such place, 
&c., and of such reasonable height, length, breadth, 
&c., as they might see fit, doing least hurt to 
the parties, and the said tenants and others, in- 
habitants adjoining." This partial reformation 
proving inefiectual in the prevention of floods, the 
men of Godmanchester, in times of high-water, 
formed gulls and breaks in the banks of the river 
above Houghton and Hemingford; and, resolute on 
restoring the navigation, cut through the dams across 
the stream at both those places, to the annoyance 
of the Abbot and his tenants, and the injury of their 
mills, when, after divers actions at common law 
filed by the Abbot, ** w*"^ caused greate losse and 
grudging upon both p'ties," an arrangement of 
their claims took place, and an indenture of agree- 
ment with respect to them was formed under the 
direction of the Dutchy Court, protecting the Abbot 
and convent, and their successors, in the property 
of the mills, by restraining the men of Godman- 
chester from making gulls, &c., and setting forth 
that '* the damminges and excluses shal be made 
and pitched of such reasonable and convenient 
height, that by keeping upp of water by the said 
excluses the meadowes and pastures of the said 
towne of Gumecester adioyneng to the said river 
shal not be drowned nor surrounded w*^ water. 
And if any default now or hereafter happen to be 
in the setting of the said excluses or dammynges. 



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NAVIGATION AND DRAINAGE. 197 

that then such defaultes at all tymes shal be re- 
formed by the oversight of the Councele of the said 
Dutchey for the tyme being, and not by the said 
Bailiffes, Men, Coialtie, Tennants, Residents, and 
Inhabitants, their heirs or successors, nor none of 
them." This indenture, bearing date Nov. 10th, 
A.D. 1467, 7th of Edward 4th, placing the control 
of the waters under the supervision of the Dutchy 
Court, defined also the right of fishing mutually 
claimed by the contending parties; and what was 
of manifold more importance to this and the neigh- 
bouring county of Bedford, laid the foundation of 
^that navigation which has been in no small degree 
instrumental in restoring them to whatever com- 
mercial importance they have since attained. It 
recites — 

*' That the said Bailiffes, Men, Coialtie, Tenants, Re- 
sidents and Inhabitants, their heires and successors, shall 
have henceforth free passage in the said river w*^ such 
shepps, boates, and all manner vessels, more and less, as 
the said river may beare in all places to come fro the said 
towne of Huntingdon unto a banke nigh one of the said 
miUs, called the drawing place, and there to be discharged 
of their carriage and lay it on the said banke, and there 
over the said banke the said vessels to be pulled over, and 
soe shoven furth into the said river againe beneath the 
said excluses, and then in all convenient and goodly hast 
to be charged agen w*hout any thing paying therefore/' 

A clumsy method of navigation it must be con- 
fessed, but which, however imperfect it may appear, 
not only lead to the future opening- of the river. 



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198 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

but brought their contentions for a time to an 
amicable issue, and caused the subsequent exemp- 
tion from navigation tolls at the sluices since 
erected at Houghton and Hemingford, and the 
staunch below St. Ives, to which the tenants of 
Godmanchester, in common with others, would 
have been now subject. At the suit of both par- 
ties, this indenture was confirmed by the letters- 
patent of Henry the Sixth, a.d. 1470.^ 

The rise of the river after heavy rains or sudden 
thaws of ice and snow, still subjecting the meadows 
to frequent floods, the liability of the Abbot of 
Ramsey to make reparation in the Dutchy Court 
for damages sustained, and the hierarchy of catho- 
hcism trembling in the exercise of its declining 
power, induced the Abbot to remove the bank of 
earth and build *'ov'whart the medyll course of the 
said ryver a greate frame of woodwark with vij 
fludgats," which, under proper management, might 
have facilitated the passage of the waters down- 
wards ; but even this obstruction in their natural 
channel forced a considerable part of the upland 
waters through an antient water course, called 
Gumecestre drayne, (now the back-waters,) which 
in times of and after floods proved highly service- 

y The letters-patent are dated the 49th year of his reign and 
the first year of his restoration. Henry the Sixth was this year 
restored to the throne hy the Earl of Warwick, hut died a few 
days after the fatal hattle of Tewksbury, which was fought on the 
4th of May, 1471. 



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NAVIGATION AND DRAINAGE. 199 

able in the drainage of the meadows, and yet was 
so regulated by gates, at other times, as not to di- 
vert sufficient water from the main river, to injure 
the mills at Houghton. Notwithstanding this pre- 
caution, the Abbot thought proper to bank it up, 
which induced '' the King's tenants at Godman- 
chester and Huntjmgdon" to proceed against him 
in the Dutchy Court, where they obtained a decree 
in Michaelmas Term, 1515, restraining the Abbot 
from obstructing the water through Godmanchester 
drain, and ordering, for the protection of the mea- 
dows, the erection of a lawseyard, at the sole ex- 
pense of the Abbot, at the junction of the lordships 
of Grodmanchester and Hemingford,^ for the con- 
tinual passage of waste water ; and further com- 
manding the tenants and farmers of his mills to 
draw their gates in times of floods, or in default 
thereof vesting a discretionary power of doing so 
in the tenants of Godmanchester, " w^out let, in- 
terupcion, or gayneseying of the seid Abbott, his 
successours, their seid tenants and fermers, or of 
any of them, and them styll to kepe upp drawen tyll 
the seid fluds and outrageous waters ben past and 
abayted ;" and also to remove " dammes and gulls 
for the avoyding of the seid water w*out any lett, 
vexacion, or disturbance of the seid Abbot, or any 
other for hym. ' ' This decree of 1 5 1 5 was confirmed 

» Where the rivulet complained of in the Quo Warranto 
Plea, p. 193, had been formed. 



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200 HISTORY OF 60DMANCHESTER. 

by the letters patent of Henry 8th, bearing date 
June 20th, 1524: and which, being the basis on 
which subsequent legislative enactments have con- 
firmed the authority of the Corporation of Godman- 
chester over the sluices at Hemingford and Hough- 
ton, and the staunch below St. Ives, we here insert, 

Henricus octavus dei gra^ Anglie et Francie Rex — fidei 
defensor et Dns Hifenie Omnib3 ad quos pffltes tre nre^ 
puenin? Sattm. — Inspeximus tenorem cuiusdifi actus 
sive decretum in Caifia ducat Lane' apud Westifl inter 
Record et in filia^ eiusdifi Duca? ibm remanefi et exis- 
tend in hec verba. 

TERMING S'CI MICHIS A©. Ri, H. viij ^vij©. 

Whereas complajoit hath befl made to the Chancells 
and Counceill of the Duchie of Lanc^ on the behalff of 
the kyngs tenants and inhabitauntes of his townes of 
Godmanchester and Huntyngdon ten'^nts of the seid 
Duchie agenst the Abbot of Ramsey that where as the 
Kyng's seid townes of Godmanchester and Huntyngdon 
ar^ set buylded uppon the Kyng's high streme or ryver 
called Owse, whiche streme descendyth from Huntjoig- 
don brigge toward the See plajme eastward till hit cometh 
to Howghton a towne of the seid Abbotts of Ramsey and 
howe that at that towne of^whart the medyll course of the 
seid ryver is set a greate frame of woodwark wth vij flud- 
gats, wherby the seid water ys devyded and compelled 
oofi) pt therof to goo and hold his course north east to 
certejm corne mylles of the seid Abbott a litell ther besyd 
and thother pt of the seid water soe devyded to have his 
course south east to a fulling mille of the seid Abbott till 
that a greate dame or banke of erthe there of^thwart the 
course of that pt of the water was made by the seid Abbott 



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NAVIGATION AND DRAINAGE. 201 

and howe that nowe of late the same Abbott made a 
nother greate dame or bank of erthe of^thwart oon other 
water course called Gumeces? Drayne comyng out of pt of 
the comefelds medowes and pastures of the seid towne of 
Godmachester and descending undr a bryggecalled Hemyng 
ford brygge towardes the See. So that alle the water as well 
of the hoole ryver as of the seid drayne was compelled by 
reason of the seid fludgats and dammes to go thurgh the 
seid come mylles or ells to retorn agayne westwades and 
surrounde and of^flowe the medowes pastures and erable 
felds of the Kyng's seid townes of Gumnechester and Hun- 
tingdon as many moo townes estwards towards Seynt 
Nedys to the hurt and domage of the seid townes and in- 
habitaunts of the same and further of that the seid Abbott 
mysuseth hymself in the seid streme as in the seid com- 
plajmt therof made appereth more at large. Wheruppon 
the seid Abbott was called before the seid Chanceller and 
Counceil and before them made his aunswere and for th 
examinacion of the seid compleynt and other the ^Wsses 
a Commyssion was directed to certejoi psones to examyn 
the seid complajoite and other the pmisses aswell by vine 
of the grounde^ othe^ witness examjoiacofl^ as otherwise. 
Wheruppon the seid Commyssioners according to ther 
seid auctoritie endevored themselfs and cert)rfied that they 
not oonly enquered of the seid complajoite and other the 
^misses by the othes of the moost auncient psones long 
dwellers and abyders in those pts, but also vewed the seid 
stremes and water courses and the miUes dammes flud- 
gats of late yeres rereryd upon the same not oonly by the 
seid now Abbott^ but also by the Erie of Kent the which 
rearing and misuse of the same is the greate losse and 
anoyance of alle the Kyng's tenants and alle other inhabi- 
tauntes thereabouts and greater shulde be yf hit shuld so 



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202 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

contynue w^out reformadon as iu the seyd certyficat 
appereth more at large. 

Whereuppon Maister Woode of Ljmcoln's Inne and 
Willm Grace being of Councell w* the seid Abbott were 
called before the seid Chancells and Councell not oonly 
to the hering of the seid certyficat but also to the syght 
of a carte whiche was made and brou^t forth of the seid 
water courses of Owse and other the pmisses by the sight 
wlierof and also by the seid cert3rficat it appered and 
coude not be denyed but by the misordering of the seid 
mylles dammes and fludgats in keping hye and stopping 
upp of the seid waters of Owse and drajoie fenre of^e and 
above that hit hath byn used to be kept in tymes past and 
by occasion of the same as well the medowes and pas- 
tures as the errable felds there of all the ten<^nts and 
inhabitauntes thereabout were yerely surrounded and 
of^flowen to the greate impofysshement of alle theKyng's 
seid tenants and the inhabitauntes in the countre there- 
abouts and to their utter undoing yf hit shulde be suf- 
fered soe to contenue. For reformacion whereof and for 
that the seid water courses mylles and fludgats may and 
shuld b.e herafter in suche wyse ordered that the seid 
meadowes fealds and pastures be not at ony tyme sur- 
rounded except in tyme of outragious flods hit is by the 
seid Chaunceller and Councell as well by assent of the 
Councell of the seid Abbott as by assent of the Kyng's 
seid teni^nts decreed and ordered in manner and forme 
folowyng 

Fyrst — that from hensforth there be not at ony tyme 
ony damme or dammes or estoppyngs made by the seid 
Abbott or by his successors nor by ony other for them 
of^thwart ony pt of the seid water course called GumicesP 
Drayne wherby the water of that dreyn shuld or myght 



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NAVIGATION AND DRAINAGE. 203 

be letted of his course or estopped at ony tyme : hit is 
also ordered by the seid Chauncellcr and Coonceill that 
in all convenyent hast there shall be a lawseyard of 
tymbre made that shall conteyne in brede from syde to 
syde 24 foote to be fyxed and sett uppon the syde of the 
seid ryver or water of Owse the oofi pt therof uppon the 
soyle or grounde of the seid Abbott in Hemjmford me- 
dowe and the other pte therof uppon the Kyng's soyle or 
grounde in Gumaces? aforeseid and that alk the tymbre 
and other stuff of and for the seid lawseyard, and the 
caryage of the same aswell for the newe makyng nowe 
thereof as at alle tymes hereafter for the repayring of the 
same to be pvyded at the oonly costs and charges of the 
seid Abbott and his successours and the workmanship 
nowe therof and at alle other tymes hereafter for and in 
the repayring to be at the costs and charges aswell of the 
seid Abbott and of his successours as of the K3mg's seid 
tenants evynly to be djrvyded. 

And Furthermore hit is ordeyned that a comyssion 
shal be dyrected under the Duchi6 Sealle to 

that they iiij or too of them wherof the seid — ' be 

oofil by vertue of the seid Comyssion do see that after the 
seid lawseyard be made framed and redy to be sett u^ 
the same lawsyard be pjrtched set and fyxed in the place 
beforesaid at suche reasonable and Convenyent hyght 
under the hyght of the bank of the seid ryver that so- 
moche water of the same ryver may be reSved and kept in 
to goo to the seid mylles as by the seid C5missioners 
shal be thought resonable for the necessarie going of the 
same mylles wk>ut drownyng of the seid londs medowes 
and pastures (except it be in tyme of outragious flods) 
and the residue of alle the seid water discending by the 
seid ryver to be suffered at alle tymes to goo and holde 
his course of*r the seid lawseyard and from thens to the 



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204 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

seid drayne called Gunnecestur Drayne w^out lett at eny 
tyme of the seid Abbott or of his successours : and that 
in tyme of suche fluds and rage of waters the same Abbott 
and his successours ther tenants and fermers of there seid 
mylles in alle convenyent and goodly hast for the speady 
and hasty avvoyding of the seid waters from tyme to 
tyme to drawe and pull up alle the seid fludgats wherby 
the seid outragious waters may aswell passe and goo that 
wayes as of^e the seid lawseward : and in case the seid 
Abbott his successours ther seid tenHits and fermers or 
any of them at any tyme wold be remyssed or necligent 
in this doings then and so often by force of this orden^nce 
and directon it shalbe laufiiU to the Kyng's seid tenants 
and to efy of them to drawe and pull upp the seid flud- 
gats w*out let interupcion or gayneseying of the seid 
Abbott his successours their seid tenets and fermers or 
of any of them and them styll to kepe upp drawen tyll the 
seid fluds and outrageous waters ben past and abayted. 

And hit is further ordered by the seid Chaunceller and 
Counceill that unto suche tyme as the seid lawseyard be 
framed made and set upp in maner and forme aboveseid 
that aswell the seid Abbott as the King's seid tenants doo 
use themselfs in evy^thing according to such ordure and 
dereccions as of late was taken betwene them by the 
Kyng's late seid Comissioners wherunto the seid pties 
assented and subscribed their names : that is to say that 
the seid Abbott shall at his liBtie and pleasure make or 
cause to be made and also amende alle suche goulls breks 
and banks wherby ony water goth from his seid milles 
out of the water and ryver of Owse and also to have holde 
kepe and enjoy alle the seid water milles fludgats and 
dammes stonding upon the seid water of Owse as they 
nowe doo stonde w*out any lett or interupcion of any of 
the King's seid tenants of Gunnecester and that the seid 



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NAVIGATION AND DRAINAGE. 205 

Abbott and his Assignes shall kepe out and not to suffire 
any water of the seid ryver of Owse to surrounde and 
of^flowe any of the medowes leasures and pastures or 
erable grounds of the King's seid tenants of Gunnyces? by 
reason of the seid fludgats dammes mylles and breks in 
the default of the seid Abbott and his Assignes onles yt 
be by reason of outragious or greate fluds of water. And 
yf the seid Abbott or his Assignes otherwyse misordure 
themselffs at eny tyme to come that then the seid Abbott 
is content and agreed^ and also graunteth that hit shall be 
lawful to theKyng's seid tenants that so truely shall fynde 
them grieved to take upp the fludgats of the seid Abbott 
and other dammes and gulls for the avoyding of the seid 
water w*out any lett vexacion or disturbance of the seid 
Abbott or any other for hym. 

Nos autem tenorem Record pdict ad instanciam Ballior^ 
de Gunnecestr^ nr^ et Coita? eiusdm duximus exemplifi- 
cand p pontes In cuius Rei testioni^ has tras nr^as feci- 
mus patentes. Dat Londofit sub sigillo Ducat firi Lan8 
^dicti vicesimo die Junii Anno Regni firi sextodecimo. 

By this decree the regulation of the waters was 
transferred from the Dutchy Court to the men of 
Godmanchester, leaving the abuse of their autho- 
rity to the remedy of an action by plea of tres- 
pass. The exercise of this newly delegated power 
soon led to contentions between the rival interests 
of the landholders and millers at Houghton and 
Hemingford ; and early in the reign of Queen Eli- 
zabeth various contentions at common law rela- 
tive to opening gulls, &c. took place between the 
men of Godmanchester and Richard Tryce, Esq., 
who had become tenant of the mills at Houghton 



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206 HISTORY OF GODMANCHBSTER* 

on a lease of <£12 per annum, and who also, being 
then tenant of Hemingford mills, obstructed the 
passage of the waters there, '* by a bank over- 
whart the river.'* These vexatious litigations 
and proceedings were arrested on the petition of 
John Normanton and John Heme, Bailiffs and 
men of Godmanchester, to Sir Ralph Sadler, Knt., 
Chancellor of the Dutchy, who directed that a Com- 
mission of Sewers should be held at Huntingdon, 
touching the premises, and which Commission of 
Sewers reformed the abuse by recognizing the De- 
cree of 1515, and ordering the obstruction to be 
removed. 

A.n. 159K — "A Comission pf Sewers kepte att Huntington 
the 25th Day of July in the 34 Eliz. before the Right 
Reverend Father in God William Lord Bgp of Lin- 
colne and divers others* 
20 Ar. " Itm. — ^It is further presented by the Jury afore- 
said that Richard Tryce Esq. hathe caused a bancke to be 
made overwhart the river at the end of a holt of Robert 
Sissons in the parrish of Hemingeford to the turning of 
the water of the river to his milles at Hemingeford to the 
great damage of the surroundinge of the medowes there- 
abouts : for redresse whereof we the aforesaid Commis- 
sioners doe order by these psents that the said bancke of 
earthe made in the said river and all other things belong- 
inge to the same beinge impediments and annoyances 
to the passage of the water in the said river accordinge 
to the auncient course shal be clensed and clearly taken 
away to the bottome of the said river by the said Richard 
Tryce his Executors or Assignes before the first day of 
July next ensuinge and the same afterwards to be kept 



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NAVIGATION AND DRAINAGE. 207 

open by him and his assignes upon payne of forfeiture of 
twenty pounds to the Queens Ma^^^ her heires and succes- 
sors for not doinge the same. 

^^ The names of such townes whose medowes and pas- 
tures are surrounded by the stoppedge of the warter by 
the aforenamed bancke of earth upon any great raine. 
Offord Cluny Huntingdon Brampton 

Bugden Hartford Godmanchester 

Witton Houghton Hemingford Abbots 

And likewise in 7 Hen. 8, there is a decree under the 
Duchie Scale that yt shal be lawfuU for the men of God- 
manchester to pull upp the bancks and gulls in tyme of 
fluds w^ weare then belonginge unto the Abbot of Ram- 
sey, yf that fludgats were not erected for the avoidinge of 
the same waters whci» they have always done upon occa- 
tion, w^^ said gulls and bancks are the next adioyning 
unto the aforenamed banck.*' 

Even at this period, the close of the 16th cen- 
tury, no improvement in the method of navigating 
the river had been effected upon the one established 
by the men of Godmanchester in the indenture of 
1467; nor, until the 3d of Charles the 1st, was any 
systematic attempt made to attain this important 
object: when Arnold Spencer, under the autho- 
rity and protection of letters-patent, granted to him 
and his assigns, engaged in the undertaking. By 
subsequent letters-patent, dated 1 1th of December, 
1638, (14th Charles 1st,) which recite that Arnold 
Spencer, by virtue of letters-patent, dated 3d Jan. 
1628, *' hath made navigable and completed our 
river of Ouse, from a town called St. Ives to a town 
called St. Neots, and thence to within four miles of 



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208 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

Bedford/' — " the only and, absolute use and benefit 
of all and singular the water-carriage in and upon 
the said river Ouse from St. Ives to St. Neots, and 
so far as the same is made navigable higher up/' 
are assured to the said Arnold Spencer, his heirs 
and assigns, on the payment of a yearly fee-farm 
rent of £6 ISs. 4d,, with a provision that the said 
'* Arnold Spencer, his heirs and assigns, at his and 
their proper charge and cost, from time to time, as 
often as it shall be necessary, shall repair, sustain, 
and maintain, all bridges and locks in all places 
by him or any of them to be made upon the ri- 
ver aforesaid.'' As part of Spencer's scheme, the 
original staunch was built at Saint Ives ; the 
sluices and locks at Houghton, Hemingford, God- 
manchester, and other places first made ; and 
with these that faulty system of navigation was 
commenced, which perpetuated the evil of summer 
floods, with their ruinous effects on the meadow 
lands: for, instead of scouring out the river, and 
removing the sand banks and bars formed of 
accumulated silt by the obstructions, which had 
so long prevented the free course of the waters, the 
river was banked in, and the gates of the sluices 
constructed of such a height, that the gravels and 
sand-banks might be navigated over. 

Whether this ineflfective method of opening the 
river proved at that time abortive, and ruinous to the 
plans of Spencer, and his consequent abandonment 
of them, or from any demise of the interest he had 



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NAVIGATION AND DRAINAGE. 209 

thus acquired in the navigation, an Act of Parlia- 
ment was passed in the 1 6th and 1 7th of Charles 
2d, cap. 12, entitled, *'An Act for making divers 
rivers navigable and otherwise passable for boats, 
barges, and other vessels," vesting the rights and 
profits of the navigation of the river Ouse, toge- 
ther with powers of making additional works, 
and extending it to the town of Bedford, in Sir 
Humphrey Bennet, Knight, and six others, and their 
Assigns. The Justices of the Peace for the time 
being of the counties through which the river runs 
were, by the Act, appointed Commissioners for 
awarding due compensation to those damnified by 
the forming of water-courses, hailing-paths, locks, 
sluices, dams, or other works necessarily conpected 
with the navigation. The preamble of the Act 
sets forth, *' That the said river being made navi- 
gable and passable for boats, barges, and other 
vessels, &c., will bring great advantages and profit 
to his Majesty's subjects, by preservation of mea- 
dows from summer floods, and to the improvement 
of the value of land and of trade, and the ease of 
repairing the high-ways," &c.; it is, therefore, in 
order to give a due limitation to the demands of 
the adventurers for water-carriage, provided, **that 
the said Sir Humphrey Bennet and others, autho- 
rized as aforesaid, for the making of the premises 
aforesaid, their and every of their respective heirs 
or assigns for ever, and no other, shall have use and 
employ barges, boats, lighters, or any other vessel 



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210 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

or vessels upon the said rivers, new rivers, rivulets, 
water-courses, brooks, streams, or new channels, 
or any other ways use the premises or any part 
thereof, having first given satisfaction ; and shall 
have, hold, and peaceably and quietly enjoy, re- 
ceive, demand, and take all and every the commo- 
dities, benefits, and advantages whatsoever, which 
shall or may from time to time, and at all times 
hereafter, be made, arise, grow, or become due, or 
payable for the carrying of com, wood, iron, salt, 
timber, coal, or any other commodity or carriage 
whatsoever, by barge, boat, and Ughter, or other- 
ways up or down the said rivers, or new rivers, 
rivulets, brooks, streams, water-courses, or new 
channels, or the said locks, wears, sluices, turn- 
pikes, pens for water, cranes, wharfs, bridges, 
ways and foot-rails, or wharf-houses, in recom- 
pence of their great charges in making, keep- 
ing, and maintaining the said rivers, and new 
rivers, rivulets, brooks, streams, water-courses, 
and new channels navigable or passable ; and the 
said locks, wears, sluices, turnpikes, pens for 
water, boats, barges, cranes and wharfs, and 
the said ways and passage&>. bridges and foot-rails 
useftd, by force and virtue of this Act, any law, 
statute, usage, and custom to the contrary in any 
wise notwithstanding; provided always, that the 
carriage of goods by water shall not exceed the 
moiety of the carriage by land, to and from the re- 
spective places aforesaid ; accordingly as hath been 



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NAVIGATION AND DRAINAGE. 211 

usually paid for the like carriage in the several 
months in the year 1663. And for ascertaining the 
rates of land-carriage as aforesaid, the Commis- 
sioners in this Act, or any five of them, are hereby 
empowered to examine witnesses upon oath," &c. 
Provision is farther made, that " in case the said 
undertakers, or their respective heirs and assigns, 
or some of them, do not by or before the 1st of 
November, 1791, make the river Ouse above-men- 
tioned navigable, so as barges, lighters, and other 
such like vessels, may pass laden at all times in 
the year, (the weather being open and the river 
within its usual and common banks,) from the place 
below Eton Mills, upon the said river, where it 
now ceaseth to be passable for such vessels, to the 
town of Bedford ; and from thenceforward, the 
Commissioners appointed by this Act for the 
county of Bedford, may appoint and empower any 
other person or persons, who, their heirs or as- 
signs, shall undertake and perfect the said naviga- 
tion, upon the terms and limitations mentioned in 
this Act," &c. The tenants of Godmanchester are 
not expressly mentioned in the Act, but their pri- 
vileges were reserved by the following clause : ' ' Pro- 
vided always, that all such boats of such burthen, 
in such manner, and for such uses as have been 
used or accustomed to pass in or upon any of the 
said rivers, or any of them, before the making, new 
cleansing, or scouring the said rivers, or enlarging 
the passages thereof, and other the aforesaid pre- 

p2 



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212 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

mises and the making this Act, shall and may 
continue freely to go or pass in or upon the said 
rivers, and other the premises, so far and in such a 
manner as was or is accustomed before the deepen- 
ing, enlarging, or making thereof; this Act, or any 
thing herein contained to the contrary, in any wise 
notwithstanding. " 

The result of the undertaking of these adven- 
turers is now as problematical as is that of Spencer's. 
In 1689, the proprietorship of the navigation was 
vested in Henry Ashley, Esq., of Gray's Inn, in 
the county of Middlesex, who had succeeded his 
father in the possession of the property, and who 
had for some time been lessee on a term of years 
then unexpired, of the sluices in Godmanchester. 
In that year the Bailiffs, Assistants and Common- 
alty, conveyed, for the consideration of <£120, to 
H. Ashley, Esq., the younger, the fee simple of a 
piece of ground in Godmanchester, called ** the Mill 
Holts,* and aU those sluices on the said piece of 
ground built, erected, and being the free passage 
and re-passage for barges and lighters through the 
said sluices, and all the profits," &c., at a reserved 
rent of five shillings per annum, with a farther re- 
servation of their free passage through the sluices 
at Godmanchester, Hemingford, and Houghton, 
and their control over the waters for the necessary 
protection of the meadows, in these words : " The 
said Henry Ashley,^ for himself, his heirs and 

a Ashley s lease. ^ ib. 



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NAVIGATION AND DRAINAGE. 213 

assigns, doth covenant, promise, and grant to and 
with the said Bailiffs, Assistants and Commonalty, 
and their successors, that it shall and may be law- 
ful to and for all and every the Freemen and Bm*- 
gesses inhabiting and dwelling in the borough of 
Gumecester, alias Godmanchester, to have free 
liberty of passage and re-passage unto and through 
the said sluices in Godmanchester aforesaid, by 
these presents conveyed or mentioned, and in- 
tended to be conveyed ; and also through both the 
sluices below Godmanchester towards St. Ives, the 
one standing in or near Houghton and the other 
in or near Hemingford Grey, in the said county of 
Huntingdon; with boats and lighters, both empty 
and freighted, and laden with all and any manner 
of burthens, goods, wares, loadings, materials for 
building, firing and coals, com and grain, or any 
other thing whatsoever which shall be for their 
own use, or expence, or which shall be employed for 
any public use within the said borough, and not 
otherwise ; at all times for ever hereafter, without 
paying any manner of toll, sum or sums of money, 
to the said Henry Ashley, his heirs, executors, ad- 
ministrators, or assigns, or to his or their agents, 
tenants, or servants, or any other person whatso- 
ever, for or by reason of their passage or re-passage 
through the said sluices, through any or either of 
them. 

'* And moreover, that it shall and may be lawful 
for the miller of the said Godmanchester mills, for 



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214 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

the time being, and in his default or omission, for 
such person or persons, officer or officers, as shall 
be thereupon appointed by the BaiU£fs of Godman- 
chester for the time being, for ever hereafter, upon 
every likelihood and appearance of any floods or out- 
rage of watery to set open and keep open, or else 
to take off the gates of the aforesaid [Godmanches- 
ter] sluices ; and also the gates of the sluices in 
and near Houghton ; and also the gates of the 
sluices in and near the miU of Hemingford Grey, 
in the said county of Huntingdon; and lay them 
upon the lands by the side of the said sluices, 
until the water be fallen and the flood well abated/* 
In 1719, the still imperfect state of the naviga- 
tion induced Ashley to apply to the Legislature for 
farther powers to remedy its defects, when an Act 
of ParUament was passed (6th Geo. I. cap. xxix.) 
called '* An Act for preserving and improving the 
Navigation of the river Ouse, in the county of 
Huntingdon ;'" the preamble of which recites, that 
'* whereas the river Ouse, which runs through the 
counties of Huntingdon and Bedford, is become so 
shallow at or near St. Ives and other places in the 
said coimty of Huntingdon, that by reason thereof, 
and by reason of the decay of a certain work, for- 
merly built and standing in the said river below St. 
Ives, commonly called St. Ives Staunch, boats and 
Ughters cannot pass up the said river to St. Ives 
aforesaid, much less higher up the said river, as 
they used to do, except it be in times of flood or 



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NAVIGATION AND DRAINAGE. 215 

high waters, to the great loss and detriment not 
only of the town of St. Ives aforesaid, but likewise 
of the counties of Huntingdon and Bedford, and 
other adjacent counties, which used to be supplied 
with coals and other commodities, by means of 
the navigation up the said river.'* By this Act, 
Ashley was empowered to repair and amend the 
passage for boats, Ughters, &c., to cleanse the river 
at Holywell and elsewhere, to repair or re-build St. 
Ives Staunch, and execute all other necessary 
works, giving such compensation to owners of 
lands injured as should be settled by arbitration, 
or the Justices of the Peace in Quarter Sessions at 
Himtingdon. In consideration of which, additional 
tolls were to be demanded from those who navi- 
gated the river. Some apprehensions appear to 
have been felt as to the elSfects of the new staunch 
about to be erected producing floods or other in- 
conveniences, to guard against which the following 
important clause was introduced: '' And for the 
better government, use, and regulation of the said 
new staunch or new work so to be erected as 
aforesaid, according to the intent and meaning of 
this Act ; and for prevention of any mischiefs and 
inconveniences which may ensue to the great level 
of the fens called Bedford Level, and the naviga- 
tion of the river Ouse, and other the navigations 
and works of draining within the said Great Level, 
as well from inundations in times of floods, as of 
scarcity and want of water in dry seasons, or ^ny 



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216 HISTORY OF GODMANCHBSTER. 

other emergencies, and also for the prevention of 
any abuses or ill uses to be made of the said staimch 
and works, and the powers and authorities hereby 
given to the said Henry Ashley, his heirs and as- 
signs ; and for the more eflFectual improving and 
preserving the navigation of the said river from the 
town of St. Ives to the port of Lynn, and of the 
waters within the same from being diverted out of 
the natural current of the said river : Be it there- 
fore further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that 
six of the Justices of the Peace for the said county 
of Huntingdon for the time being, to be yearly 
named and appointed at the General Quarter Ses- 
sions of the Peace held for the said county next 
after Easter, and a like number of the Commis- 
sioners of Sewers within the said Great Level of the 
Fens, to be yearly appointed by the Governor, 
Bailiffs, and Commonalty of the Company of Con- 
servators of the Great Level of the Fens at their 
meeting in April, shall be, and they are hereby 
constituted Commissioners, as well for the govern- 
ment, use, and regulation of the said staunch and 
the new work, and for the preventions of the mis- 
chiefs and inconveniences before mentioned, and 
preservation of the navigation and waters of the 
said river as aforesaid; and the said Commissioners 
or any five or more of them, of which number two 
at least to be of the number appointed by the said 
Justices for the said county of Huntingdon, and 
not less than two of the number appointed by the 



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NAVIGATION AND DRAINAGE. 217 

Commissioners of Sewers within the said Great 
Level, shall and may from time to time assemble 
and meet together, when where and as often as 
they shall see occasion, and the major part of them 
so assembled shall make such orders and decrees, 
as well for the due regulation and government of 
the said staunch, according to the intent and 
meaning of this Act, as for the prevention of the 
said mischiefs and inconveniences and preservation 
of the said navigation, and rivers and waters 
therein, and otherwise touching the premises, and 
by and under such reasonable pains and penalties, 
as to them shall seem meet and convenient ; and 
shall enforce the due execution of the same by all 
such lawful ways and means as the said Commis- 
sioners of Sewers within the said Great Level, or 
any other Commissioners of Sewers, by force and 
virtue of any powers and authorities to them given, 
or by any laws now in force relating to Commis- 
sioners of Sewers, can or may lawfully do ; the first 
meeting of the said Commissioners to be at the 
said town of St. Ives, in the said county of Hun- 
tingdon." 

The powers exercised by the Corporation of 
Godmanchester in regulating the sluices are not 
only generally admitted in this Act, but specially 
protected, and thus set forth: *' Provided always, 
that this Act, or any thing herein contained, shall 
not extend or be construed to extend to impeach 
or make void any of the rights, privileges, or usages 



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218 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

of the said antient Corporation of Godmanchester^ 
in the said county of Huntingdon, or the inhabi- 
tants thereof, heretofore used, or accustomed, for 
prevention of the overflowing of the meadow- 
grounds of or belonging to the said inhabitants, 
and for carrying off' the waters from the same by 
cutting of banks, making of gulls, removing of 
obstructions, or otherwise making or opening a 
more free and easy passage for the waters. 

" And it is hereby further enacted, that from 
time to time, and at all times hereafter as often as 
need shall require, the Bailiff's and Assistants of 
the said Corporation of Godmanchester, for the 
time being, or any four or more of them, by war- 
rant under their hands directed to the keeper of 
the said staunch and works for the time being, 
shall and may require him to take up and remove 
the said staunch and works, so as the waters may 
have a more free and easy passage ; which warrant, 
for the better notice of all persons concerned, shall 
be publicly set up and affixed at the staunch and 
works, or upon the great bridge in St. Ives, in the 
county of Huntingdon; of which warrant so set up 
and affixed, all persons concerned are to take im- 
mediate notice. And in case the said proprietor, 
owner, or keeper of the staunch or works for the 
time being, shall not within half an hour after such 
warrant is so set up and affixed as aforesaid, take up 
and remove the said staunch and works, that then 
and in such case it shall and may be lawful for the 



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NAVIGATION AND DRAINAGE. 219 

said Bailiffs, Assistants, and Commonalty of the 
said borough of Godmanchester, or any other per- 
son or persons authorized as aforesaid, to take up 
and remove the same as aforesaid, and so to remain 
and continue until the said meadows shall be out 
of danger of being overflowed by the said waters, 
doing as little damage to the said works as may be; 
the charge or expence thereof to be repaid and re- 
imbursed by the proprietor or owner of the said 
works for the time being, to such person or persons 
who shall bear or pay the same, before the said 
staunch or works be set down again." 

We have now adduced conclusive evidence of 
the navigation of the river Ouse in antient times, 
and carefully traced the progress of the present 
navigation, from its restoration to the last legis- 
lative enactment with respect to it. No com- 
plaints of floods or inundations are in existence 
previous to the erection of the mills at Houghton 
and Hemingford, but followed as immediate conse- 
quences of the bars thrown across the river to force 
the waters through those mills; hence, the Charter 
of Richard 2d sets forth, that ** We, in considera- 
tion of the losses and injuries which our aforesaid 
men, in their lands, tenements, and mills, fre- 
quently sustain from inundations and floods," &c.,*^ 
and the various cabals between the men of God- 
manchester and the Abbot of Ramsey, and the 
defensive though inefficient powers vested in the 

^ P. 102. 



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220 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

former by the indenture of 1415, and their confir- 
mation by subsequent Acts of Parliament. 

In closing our Chapter on the connection of the 
Corporation of Godmanchester with the navigation 
and drainage of this part of the country, we must ob- 
serve that, defective as they are, their improvement 
would be fraught with some difficulties from the ap- 
parently contrasted interests connected with them; 
and that, however great may appear the powers 
vested in the Corporation of Godmanchester, of 
running the waters in times of floods, they are and 
must remain comparatively of little service to the 
public, and the exercise of them continue a source 
of litigation and anxiety to the Corporators,^ until 
an union of interests is felt to exist between 
the landholders, navigation commissioners, and 
miUers, upon the stream, and some comprehen- 
sive plan formed and operated upon of rendering 
the navigation and drainage more perfect, by 
scouring the river and brooks, and having at aU 
times at comjnand a freer outlet for the water. 
This general consolidation of interests, which would 
be equally beneficial to all parties, can perhaps 
only be effected by the exercise of the authorities 
vested in the Commissioners appointed by the 

d The millers contending on the one hand^ that the gates are 
sometimes unnecessarily drawn, after heavy rains, to their great 
injury ; and the landholders, on the other, urging that their mea- 
dows are flooded and their crops destroyed, by not running the 
waters sufficiently early. 



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NAVIGATION AND DRAINAGE. 221 

Statutes 16th and I7th Charles 2d, and the 6th of 
George 1st, and an application to the Legislature 
for power to impose upon the meadows and lands 
liable to floods, and the immense revenues® of the* 
Navigation Proprietors, under a Commission of 
Sewers, or otherwise, such taxes as would be equit- 
able for the protection of the lands, and the re- 
medying that shameful state of the river which 
renders the navigation pecuUarly dangerous, and 
occasionally obstructs the passage of barges for 
days, and even weeks, in the summer season. 

THE NAMES OF STAUNCHES AND SLUICES 

BETWEEN ST. IVES AND BEDFORD. 

Tolls for Coals. 

St Ives Staunch Id, per Chaldron/ 

Hemingford Sluice 3 ditto 

Houghton Ditto 3 ditto 

Godmanchester Ditto 3 ditto 

Brampton Ditto 3 ditto 

Offord Ditto 3 ditto 

Belfour Staunch 1 ditto 

St. Neot's Sluice 3 ditto 

Eaton Ditto 6 ditto 

Tempsford Staunch 1 ditto 

Roxton Sluice 3 ditto 

« The hest calculation that can be procured of the quantity of 
coals, com, &c., passing through St Ives Staunch, in the year 
1830, gives this estimate : — Coals, 55,000 to 60,000 chaldrons ; 
com, 40,000 quarters; sundry merchandise, as deals, stone for 
lime, slate, silt, reed, oil cake, &c. &c. about 15,000 tons. 

^ The tonnage on merchandise varies in the same proportion 
at the different sluices and staunches, viz. from Id, to 3d. per ton. 



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222 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

Tolls for Coals. 

Great Barford Staunch 1^. per Chaldron. 

Old Mills Sluice 3 ditto 

Willingham Ditto • • 3 ditto 

Castle Staunch 1 ditto 

Castle Sluice 3 ditto 

Carrington Sluice 3 ditto 

Duck Ditto 3 ditto 

Upper Ditto 3 ditto 

Tolls from Tempsford Little Staunch to Biggleswade^ 
Is. 6d, per Chaldron. 

Bedford to Biggleswade Sandy Staunch 

Tempsford Little Staunch Ditto Sluice 

Ditto Sluice Becon Staunch 

Blunham Ditto Widow Ray Sluice 

South Mill Ditto Horscroft Ditto 

Tolls from Biggleswade to Shefibrd^ 2s. 6d. per Chaldron. 

Biggleswade Sluice to Shefibrd Clifton Sluice 
Holme Sluice Shefibrd Ditto 

Stanford Ditto 



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223 



CHAPTER IX. 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 



DGAR, the royal patron 
of Ramsey Abbey, soon 
after its foundation, pre- 
sented the church of God- 
manchester to that reli- 
gious house, and the con- 
firmation of his grant, as 
preserved by the monks 
of Ramsey, to the sup- 
pression of monastic institutions in the reign of 
Henry 8th, is the most antient notice of a church 
in Godmanchester. That a church or oratory was 
sustained in Godmanchester by the Anglo-Saxons, 
and continued during its Danish occupation, we 
may readily admit, Christianity having been the 
prevailing religion in the former period, and the 
East- Anglian Danes, under Guthrum or Athelstan, 
not only having submitted to baptism but prac- 
tised Christian rites, as is evinced by the coins* of 

A The tail-piece to this Chapter is a faithful delineation of a 
coin of Guthrum^ in the curious and valuable collection of Joseph 



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224 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

that monarch bearing the cross. The Abbey of 
Ramsey was founded a. d. 969,^ by Earl Ailwine, in 
conjunction with Oswald, Archbishop of York ; and 
the endowment of Edgar was effected through the 
instrumentality of Oswald, who was subsequently 
its Prior, and ultimately Abbot. The register*" of 

Barratt; Esq.^ of Bath. On the ohverse^ in Saxon characters^ is 
the inscription Aethilstan — on the reverse is Mon . Monet or 
Mon his Monneyer. "His coins^ of which several varieties 
have been preserved, must have been struck subsequently to his 
conversion, as they all bear his Anglo-Saxon name, and are 
marked with the symbol of Christianity. They resemble in tjrpe 
those of his predecessor, excepting that the letters AN are never 
added to his title. The first of these letters, however, is fre- 
quently found within the inner circle of the obverse.*' — Rudings 
Ann. of the Coinage of Britain, vol. i. p. 241. 

^ " Anno domini dcccclxix sanctus Oswaldus et Dux Ail- 
winus Ramesiam construxerunt.** — Ex Registro, fol.217. 

^ '' Incliti regis Edgari donaria, quibus ecclesiam Ramesien- 
sem insignivit. Quum igitur prima hujus basilicae jacerentur 
fundamenta, illustris Rex -^dgarus, prece et instantia Archi- 
praesulis Oswaldi provocatus, in necessarios incepti aedificii 
sumptus quinque hidas apud Burwell liberalitate regali scripto 
suo eidem Ecclesiae perpetu6 possidendas confirmavit Itemque 
idem Rex, ad petitionem ejusdem sancti pontificis, in devotionis 
suae memoriale aetemum, dedit ecclesiae Ramesiensi et fratribus 
ibidem Deo servientibus et per sucessiva tempoia servituris, eccle- 
siam de Guthmuncester, cum tribus hidis terrae et regalis muni- 
ficentiae donum scripto quod hodi^ apud nos habetur, confirmavit. 
Qualiter autem haec ecclesia cum memorata ruris portione h, nobis 
alienata sit, in sequentibus nosse cupienti curabimus indicare. 
Perpendens praeteria jam dictus Rex Christianissimus saepe me- 
moratam Ramesiensem ecclesiam in divina religione succrescere, 
et gregem ibidem Deo famulantium tam merito quam numero 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 225 

Ramsey recites, that King Edgar, at the instance of 
Archbishop Oswald, made a perpetual grant to the 
monastery of five hides of land at Burwell, and that 
at the petition of the said Holy Pontiff, and as a per- 
petual memorial of his piety, he farther gave to the 
church of Ramsey, and the brethren there conse- 
crated to God and his service, and their successors 
for ever, the church of Guthmuncester, with three 
hides of land; but that, notwithstanding the deed 
of gift and confirmation was preserved amongst the 
records of the monastery, the church and land were 
not in charge. That, moreover, the said most 
Christian King, ever having in regard the prosperity 
of the church of Ramsey, and the brethren of the 
said church, and the increase of true religion 
amongst them, as a farther instance of his piety, 
and to promote the peace and tranquillity of his 
reign, also granted them a hide of land in Stukely, 
formerly belonging to one Tuke, and two bells 
valued at twenty pounds. This grant of Godman- 
chester church, which was amongst the earliest 
endowments of Ramsey Abbey, as Edgar died on 
the 8th of July, 975,^ proved of no avail to the 

adaugeri^ ad devotionis suae cumulum^ pro pace et firmitate regni 
sui, dedit eis etiam unam hidam terrae, quae fuerat cujusdam viri 
Tukem nomine, in Stivecle et duas campanas viginti librirum 
pretio comparatas.** — Ex Regist d^ Rams, in Scac. — Dugdales 
Mon, Aug, v 

d *' Edganis Rex Angliae obiitviij idusJulii, qui dedit quinque 
hidas terras in Burewelle et ecclesiam de Gomicestre cum tribus 
bidis."— i;^. Reg. f 41. 

Q 



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226 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

monks, for in their ** Annui reditus terrarum," 
Burwell is valued at ^20 and Stukely at £7 per 
annum, and no notice occurs of any income deriva- 
ble from Godmanchester. 

In Domesday-book, the church and priest® of 
Godmanchester are mentioned; but no information 
as to the value of the church, presentation to the 
vicarage, or other matters relative thereto, is fur- 
nished by that compilation; nor until the reign of 
Stephen do we find any authentic appropriation of 
its revenues, when that monarch bestowed them on 
the newly-erected Priory of Merton,' in Surrey. 
Some Canons regular of the order of St. Austin, 
settled at Merton a. d. 1117, under the patronage 
and at the maintenance of Gilbert Norman, Sheriff 
of Surrey,*^ at whose petition Henry 1st granted a 
charter for the foundation of the Priory of Merton, 

« Vide page 62. 

^ ''Appropriations of tythes of parishes to ecclesiastical bodies 
was stopt by a decree of the Lateran Council, held A® 1180, 
* Ecclesias et Decimas de Manu Laicorum, sine consensu Epis- 
coporum Religiosos recipere prohibemus.' Chaunceys History of 
Hartfordskire, p. 31, where there is also the History and Laws of 
Vicarages." — Coles MSS, Brit. Mus. vol. xxiii. 

Selden contends that tithes were not introduced into England 
until towards the end of the 8th century, viz. a. d. 786, when 
parishes and ecclesiastical benefices were settled. About the year 
794, Offa, the Mercian King, and the most potent of all the Saxon 
princes of his time in this island, made a law, whereby he gave 
unto the church the tithes of all his kingdom. — Watson, 

8 Dugdale describes him, " Vicecomes Surregiae Cantabrigiae et 
Huntingdoniae tempore Gulielmorum aut Henrici primi." 



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, BCCLBSIASTICAL HISTORY. 227 

which he subsequently endowed with the town of 
Merton. In the succeeding reign, King Stephen^ 
gave to the Priory the church* of Gumecestr', as 
appears by the Merton registry ; and the institution 
continued to flourish, increasing in wealth and im- 
portance until its suppression, when its revenues 
were stated £1039 15^. 3d. Speed, and ,£957 19^. 
5id. Dugdale,^ now upwards of .£20,000 per ann. 
The Priory was in the diocese of Wynton (Win- 
chester,) and dedicated to St. Mary ; it stood on 
the Wandle, occupying, with its gardens and ap- 
purtenances, sixty acres of ground, in a fruitful 
valley on the western bank of the river Vandal, 
which abounds with fine trout. Henry 3d held a 
Parliament at Merton in 1236, when the statutes, 
called the Statutes of Merton, were enacted, and 
when also the increasing powers and grasping am- 
bition of the church received a check from the 
Barons: the prelates having proposed to supersede 
the common by the introduction of the imperial 
and canon laws, were answered — '' We will not 
alter the laws of England." The Prior of Merton 

^ Stephen reigned fromDec.2, 1 135, to Oct. 25th, 1 154 ; thedate 
of the grant being lost, we must refer it to the intervening period. 

* *' Stephanus Rex dedit Ecclesiam de Gumecestr.'* — Ex Re- 
gistro de Merton in Col. Lelandi, vol. 1st, p. 71. 

J The apparent discrepancy in the value of religious houses at 
the Reformation, as stated by Speed and Dugdale, arises from the 
former giving the gross revenue; but as there were always eleemo- 
synary charges upon those establishments, Dugdale, after deduct- 
ing these, gives the revenue available to the establishment. 

q2 



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228 HISTORY OF GODMANCHBSTER. 

sat in parliament as a mitred Abbot. The Priory 
was suppressed in the 26th of Henry 8th, and the 
site granted 5th and 6th of William and Mary, to- 
wards the endowment of a monastery erected by 
the latter at Shene. The only relic of the Priory 
now standing is a dilapidated window of the chapel, 
built in the style of the 15th century, and the 
greater part of the site is occupied by three manu- 
factories for printing calicos, and a copper mill. 

By an Inquisition in the archives of Lincoln (no 
date), taken in the time of Hugo Wealls, formerly 
Bishop of Lincoln, who was raised to that dignity 
A. D. 1209, in the 1 1th year of King John, and who 
continued to hold the see until the 7th of February, 
1234,^ headed '* Gumecester,'' it appears that — 

** Robert, the Priest, was presented by the Prior 
and Convent of Merton to the perpetual vicarage of 
the church of Godmanchester, and instituted per- 
petual Vicar of the said church ; which said Vicar, 
instituted at the aforesaid presentation of the Prior 
and Convent 6f Merton, receives, as vicarial dues, 
all oflFerings called altarage,^ and all tenths and 
profits of the said church, besides the tenth sheaf, 
and holds the lands and tenements of the church ; 
and has in occupation, that is to say, land which 
was arable and which rendered five shillings, and 
a separate occupation which rendered three shil- 

k An. 19, Henrie 3».— Vide Appendix, No. 9. 
* Altarage — the tithes of wool, lambs, calves, pigs, and other 
small tithes, with the offerings. 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 229 

lings, and four acres of meadow in Brampton 
Meadow,"" &c. 

''And the said Vicar is required to discharge the 
ordinary duties of and himself administer in the said 
church, and he shall provide that divine service is 
properly and sufficiently discharged in the same." 

In the Quo Warranto Plea,*" a.d. 1276, allusion 
is made to the house of the Prior of Merton, and in 
the seisin of John Chaderlee,*" in 1367, the park of 
the Prior is spoken of ; nevertheless it is evident, 
that the residence of the Prior at Godmanchester 
was incompatible with the discharge of his pastoral 
duties at Merton, and that consequently such house, 
&c. was occupied by the Vicar or other officiating 
Minister in his name. 

To an Inquisition taken in the 7th of Edward 
Ist,^ it was answered — 

°* It was not unusual; in Catholic times^ for churches to he 
endowed with lands in contiguous parishes from pious donations, 
hut which endowments were confiscated at the Reformation. 

"Henry William, of Gumecester, gave to the Vicars of Herford, 
near Huntingdon, for ever, and they are fully seized in the same, 
one rood of meadow on this condition : that the Vicar of Herford 
and his successors shall annually for ever during Lent, celehrate 
twelve masses for the souls of the said Henry and Alice his wife, 
and on their paying annually a penny-halfpenny toward the rent 
of the Bailiffs of Gumecester. . The said rood of land lies in the 
east meadow of the aforesaid town, called Reed Meadow, adjoining 
a rood of Margaret Dyewalls on the east, and the dam of the mill 
at Herford." — Ex Record de Curia de Herford, 

n Vide p. 119. o Vide p. 84. 

p Vide Appendix, No. 2 — d and e. 



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230 HISTORY OF GODMANCHBSTER. 

^^ That the Prior of Merton holds the church of Gome- 
cestr' from the gift of the predecessors of the Lord Ed- 
ward, now King of England, but from whose gift and 
from what time is unknown. 

" Also that the said Prior holds forty-eight acres of 
land in Gomecestr', a gift to the aforesaid church. 

*^ Also that the said Prior holds fifteen acres of meadow, 
in severalty, for the tenth of the hay of the whole town. 

'* The Austin Canons hold of the Prior of Merton two 
messuages and a croft in fee of the church, and pay for the 
same eight shillings per year. 

" William Bulgun holds a messuage of the said Prior, 
and pays per year two shillings. 

^^ William M areschal holds a messuage of the s^d 
Prior, and pays three shillings per year. 

^^ Symon Porcarus holds a messuage of the said Prior, 
and pays, per year, eight-pence. 

" William Molend holds a messuage of the said Prior, 
and pays eighteen-pence. 

^^ William de M anele holds a messuage of the said 
Prior, and pays, per year, two shillings. 

^^ John Mareschal holds a messuage, and pays to the 
said Prior twelve-pence. 

^^ William Hon holds a messuage and a croft, paying 
to the Prior of Merton five shillings. 

^* Henry Parker holds a messuage, and pays to the 
Prior of Merton four shillings and eight-pence. 

^^ Roger of Matishall holds a messuage, and pays to the 
Prior of Merton two shillings. 

" Also the Prior of Merton receives for the tenth of the 
mills twenty-six shillings and eight-pence. 

^^ The Prior of Merton holds sixty- six acres and a half 
of land, and eight acres and a half of meadow, and two 
messuages, for which he pays to the Lord Edmund to- 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 231 

wards the fee-farm of the town, five pounds, for every acre 
eight-pence/' 

In the year 1288, Pope Nicholas the 4th granted 
the tenths^ of all ecclesiastical benefices to King 
Edward 1st for six years, towards defraying the 
expences of an expedition to the Holy Land ; and 
that they might be collected to their ftdl value, a 
taxation by the King's precept took place. The 
province of Canterbury was finished in 1291, and 
that of York in the following year, the whole being 
under the direction of John de Pontifera, or Pon- 
tois. Bishop of Winchester, and Oliver Sutton, 
Bishop of Lincoln.' A copy of this taxation was 

q "The tenths, the Pope (after the example of the High Priest 
among the Jews, who had of the Levites a tenth part of the tithes) 
claimed as due to himself hy divine right And this portion or 
trihute was hy ordinance yielded to the Pope in the 20th of Ed- 
ward 1st, and a valuation then made of the ecclesiastical livings 
within this realm, to the end the Pope might know and be an- 
swered of that yearly revenue ; so that the ecclesiastical livings 
chargeable with the tenth (which was called spiritual) to the Pope, 
were not chargeable with the temporal tenths or fifteenths granted 
to the King by Parliament, lest they should be doubly charged; 
but their possessions acquired after that taxation, were liable to 
the temporal tenths or fifteenths, because they were not charged to 
the other. The Popes often granted the same for certain terms 
. to divers of the Kings of England, as by our Historians doth ap- 
pear."— 2rf Inst. 627, 628. 

' This* taxation is a most important record, because all the 
taxes, both to our Kings and Popes, were regulated by it, until 
the survey made in the 26th of Henry 8th, entitled, " Valor Ec- 
clesiasticus.** The Statutes of Colleges which were founded be- 
fore the Reformation, are inteq)reted by this " Taxatio Eccle- 



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232 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

published by the Commissioners in one vol. fol. in 
1802, which enables us to record the then estimated 
value of the rectory and vicarage, and other ap- 
pendages to the church. 

TAXATIO ECCLESIASTICA ANGLIJE ET WALLIiE AUCTORITATJ^ 
P. NICHOLAI IV. CIRCA A.D. 1291. 

Archidiaconatus Huntyngdon 
Decanatus de Sco Neoto. 

Line' Sp' 

Ecctia de Gurmecestr' 40 

Vicar' ejusdem 8 

Decanatus sci Neoti. 

Unc' Temp. 

Prior de M'tone h't in Goremecestr' 

in tris redd' et curtil' 1 10 

Idem h't ibidem in fruct' greg' et aial. . 1 12 

This taxation of Pope Nicholas comprehended 
not only the rectorial and vicarial dues, but the 
yearly value of a donation of forty-six acres of ara- 
ble land and thirty-four acres of meadow, and the 
rental of certain houses included in the same gift, 
as appears by the following extract from the ** No- 
narum Inquisitiones in Curia Scaccarii, Temp. Regis 
Edward 3^" These Inquisitions were taken upon 
the oath of Commissioners, pursuant to a commis- 
sion dated the 26th of January, 1341, wherein 
assessors and venditors were empowered to levy, 

siastica;*' according to which their benefices^ under a certain 
value, are exempted from the restriction in the statute, 2 1st Henry 
8th, concerning Pluralities. — Nicolas, 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 233 

for the King's use, the ninth of com, wool, and 
lambs, according to the value at which churches 
were taxed, as stated in Pope Nicholas's Valor, if 
the value of the ninth amounted to as much as the 
tax, and to levy more if the true value of the ninth 
exceeded the tax; but if the value of the ninth was 
less than the tax, they were directed only to levy 
the true value of the ninth. The origin of the re- 
cords called Nonarum Inquisitiones, the authority 
by which they were taken, and the manner of 
taking them, iappear in the Statutes of the 14th and 
15th of Edward 3d, in the commissions themselves, 
and other records in the Exchequer. *' At the 
ParUament^ held at Westminster the Wednesday 
next after Mid-lent, 14th Edward 3d, March 29th, 
1340, a grant was made to the King of the ninth 
lamb, the ninth fleece, and the ninth sheaf, to be 
taken by two years, then next to come; and of 
cities and boroughs the very ninth part of all their 
goods and chattels ; and of merchant's foreign 
which dwell not in cities nor boroughs, and also of 
the people that dwell in forests, &c. one fifteenth. 
Venditors and assessors where thereon appointed 
for every county in England, to assess and sell the 
ninth and fifteenth ; and three commissions were 
issued, directed to assessors and venditors ap- 
pointed under the Great Seal by the King and his 
Council." 

8 Vide their History, published by the Commissioners. 



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234 



HISTORY OP GODMANCHESTER. 



nonarum inquisiciones 
com' hunt/ 
Nona garbar' veil' et 
agnor' d'no regi concessa 
in Com' Hunt' tarn vendita 
q'm co'missa p' WiUm' le 
M oigne et Hugone' de Croft 
et soc' 8U08 assessores ven- 
ditor's et collector's ejus- 
dem none in com' p'dco'^ 
&c. &c. anno regni d'ni 
Regis Edwardi Anglie nu'c 
quarto-decimo regni vero 
sui Franc' primo iux di- 
versas co'missiones eisdem 
Assessor' directas. 

Nona garb' &c. co'missa 
p' inquisic'ones fcas de 
vero valore ejusdm' none 
iux tenorem t'cie comis- 
sionis. 

Decanatus de S'to Neoto. 
Gurmecestr' Tax' xlviij". 

Idm r' de xxiiij" de nona 
garba^ velle? et agno^ ejus- 
dm pochie comissa Thome 
Hopay Johi Baroun^ Galfro 
Manypeny Henr' Colewat 
et al' lioib3 ejusdm vill' 
cuj^i' ecctia cum vicaria 
ejusd' taxat' ad xlviij". Et 
sic eadm nona non attingit 
ad tax' p xxiv" nee attinge 
potest eo qd magna pars 



INQUISITIONS OF NINTHS. 
COUNTY OF HUNTINGDON. 

The ninth sheaf, fleece, 
and lamb, granted to our 
Lord the King, in the coun- 
ty of Huntingdon, as sold 
and collected by William le 
M oigne and Hugo de Croft, 
and their associates, &c.&c. 
assessors and venditors of 
the said ninth in the said 
county, in the 14th year of 
the Lord Edward, King of 
England, &c. 



The ninth sheaf, &c. 
taken by inquisition made 
of the true value of the 9tii 
under the third commis- 
sion. 

Deanery of Saint Neots, 
Gurmecestr*, taxed at jB48. 

They return £24 for the 
9th sheaf, fleece, and lamb, 
of the said parish, by the 
inquest of Thomas Hopay, 
John Baroun, Galfred Ma- 
nypeny, Henry Colewat, and 
others, men of the said 
town; the church and vi- 
carage of which is taxed at 
£48. And yet the said 9th 
does not amount to the tax 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 



235 



by £24, nor can it be made 
to do so^ for that the greater 
part of the said tax arises 
from a gift to the church 
of 46 acres of arable land, 
34 acres of meadow, and 
fourteen pounds of annual 
rents ; and also from obla- 
tions^ offerings, mortuaries, 
milk, and gardenage, all of 
which are valued in the said 
tax, and which gift and 
other commodities may be 
rated at £34 a year, as is 
computed on oath by Thos. 
Hopay, John Baroun, Gal- 
fred Manipeny, Henry Cole- 
wat, John Glewe, William 
Aired, William le Rede, 
Galfred atte Russhes, John 
Milcent, Richard le Rede, 
Wm. Gile, and Henry Ma- 
nipeny, sworn before the 
said assessors. 
No circumstance of inaportance, regarding the 
church or its revenues, occurs from this period 
until the formation of the '* Valor Ecclesiasticus," 
A. D. 1534. In the 26th of Henry 8th, an Act of 
Parliament was passed, directing a new ecclesiasti- 
cal survey to be made, in order to ascertain the 
yearly values of all the possessions, manors, lands, 
tenements, hereditaments, &c. appertaining to any 
monastery, priory, church, parsonage, vicarage. 



taxacois ejudm emergit de 
dote ecctie scil de xlvj acr' 
Pre arabil xxxiiij acr' pti et 
de quatuor decim"' de red- 
dit* ass* 'emergit eciam de 
oblatoib3 obventoib3 mor- 
tuar* lactag* curtilag' et 
aliis comoditatib3 in dcam 
taxam concurrentib3 que 
dos et comodit pdic? value- 
rut eodm anno xxiiij^* si- 
cut comptm est p sa- 
crum Thome Hopay, JoHis 
Baroun, Galfri Manipeny, 
Henr' Colewat, Jofiis Glewe, 
Witti Abed, Witti le Rede, 
Galfri atte Russhes, Johis 
Milcent, Rici le Rede, Witti 
Gile, et Henr* Manipeny, 
cor' pfat' assessor' jur'. 



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236 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

free chapel, &c. within this reahn, Wales, Calais, 
Berwick, and the Marches. The report made in 
pursuance of this Act was returned into his Majes- 
ty's Court of First Fruits and Tenths, where it is 
still preserved. First-fruits and tenths were ori- 
ginally part of the Papal usurpations over the 
clergy of these kingdoms,* first introduced by Pan- 
dulph'', the Pope's Legate, during the reigns of 
John and Henry 3d, in the see of Norwich, and 
afterwards attempted to be made universaF by the 
Popes, Clement 5th and John 22d, about the begin- 
ning of the 14th century. The first-fruits, primi- 
tiae or annates, were the first year's whole profits 
of the spiritual preferments, according to a rate or 
valor made under the direction of Pope Innocent 
4th, by Walter, Bishop of Norwich, in 38th Henry 
3d, and afterwards advanced in value by commis- 
sion from Pope Nicholas 4th, a.d. 1291, 20th Ed- 
ward 1st, and still farther increased by this Valor 
Ecclesiasticus, a.d. 1534. 

Tenths consist of the tenth part of the yearly 
value of Uvings, according to the tax or valor at 

* Blackstone s Com. vol. i. p. 284. 

" "As to the time when this practice began^ it is observed, that 
ever since the 12th century, some Bishops or Abbots have either 
by custom or particular privilege, received annates of benefices 
belonging to their patronage or jurisdiction." — Collyers Ecc, 
Hist 

▼ The reason alleged by the Canonists for the exaction of first- 
fruits by the Pope was '' pro conservando decenti statu suo, ut qui 
omnium curam habend de communi alatur.** — God. Rep, Can. 337. 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 237 

which they have been assessed at diflferent periods. 
On renouncing the papal dominion, first-fruits 
and tenths were annexed to the Crown by Act of 
Parliament in the 26th of Henry 8th, from which 
they were separated by the 1st and 2d of Phihp and 
Mary, and appropriated to the erection of new 
monasteries on the revival of the Romish reUgion. 
By the 1st of Elizabeth, cap. 4, they were re- 
annexed to the Crown, and so continued till the 
reign of Queen Anne. First-fruits and tenths were 
not, strictly speaking, at the Reformation converted 
into a portion of the actual revenues of the Crown, 
as Henry's collectors, for the most part, procured 
impropriations of them to themselves, in the same 
way that reUgious houses, on their suppression, 
their sites and lands were obtained from the Crown 
at nominal purchases, or through grants for terms 
of years or Uves. 

On Monday, 7th of February, a.d. 1704, Queen 
Anne sent the following message to the House of 
Commons, which was delivered in writing by Mr. 
Secretary Hodges : 

« Anne R. 

" Her Majesty having taken into her serious consi- 
deration, the mean and insufficient maintenance belong- 
ing to the Clergy in divers parts of this kingdom, to 
give them some ease, hath been pleased to remit the 
arrears of the tenths of the poor Clergy ; and, for augmen- 
tation of their maintenance, her Majesty is pleased to 
declare that she will make a grant of her whole revenue 



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238 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

arising out of first-fruits and tenths^ as far as it now is 
or shall become free from incumbrances^ to be applied to 
this purpose ; and if the House of Commons can find any- 
proper method by which her Majesty's good intentions 
to the poor Clergy may be made more effectual, it will be 
a great advantage to the public, and very acceptable to 
her Majesty." 

This message was followed by an inamediate and 
unanimous resolution of the House, that an humble 
address should be presented to her Majesty, thank- 
ing her for her pious concern for the poor Clergy 
in remitting this branch of her revenue to the aug- 
mentation of. their maintenance; and an Act of 
ParUament was passed in the 2d and 3d Sessions 
of her reign, chap. 11, intituled, " An Act for 
making more effectual her Majesty's gracious in- 
tentions for the augmentation of the maintenance 
of the poor Clergy, by enabling her Majesty to 
grant, in perpetuity, the revenues of the first-fruits 
and tenths ; and also for enabling any other per- 
sons to make grants for the same purpose." To 
bring this Act into immediate operation, letters- 
patent were granted on the 3rd of November, 
1704, in which distinguished persons therein named, 
filling the highest offices in church and state, and 
their successors in those offices, were formed into 
a Corporate Body, by the name of the '' Governors 
of the Bounty of Queen Anne for the augmen- 
tation of the maintenance of poor Clergy," with a 
common seal, to have perpetual succession, for the 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 239 

future equitable appropriation of the funds^ thus 
arising. 

The 43d Geo. 3, cap. vii., is confirmator)^ of the 
Act passed in the 2d and 3d of Queen Anne, ena- 
bling lay-men to leave lands, tenements, and here- 
ditaments in fee, by will or donation, to the Gover- 
nor's of Queen Anne's Bounty, which statute of 
Anne had been somewhat frustrated in its purposes 
by the ''Act to restrain the disposition of lands, 
whereby the same became unalienable," passed in 
the 9th of George 2d. Other statutes have been 
passed enlarging the powers and farther protecting 
the Governors, under the sanction and authority of 
which the first-fruits and tenths continue to be re- 
ceived and applied to the augmentation of poor 
livings.* 

By reference to that portion of the Valor Eccle- 
siasticus of Henry 8th, relative to Godmanchester, 
it appears that the appropriation of the rectory 
continued up to that time in the Prior of Merton, to 

^ Eleven parliamentary grants were made in aid of the Gover- 
nors, of £100,000 each, between the years 1809 and 1820. A 
particular History of this Corporation, the Livings augmented, 
and other matters relative thereto, was published in 1826 by 
their Secretary, Christopher Hodgson, Esq. 

» The Governors of Queen Anne's Bounty having granted 
six several lots of £200 each for the augmentation of the perpe- 
tual curacy of Little Ravely, in the county of Huntingdon, pur- 
chased in Godmanchester field 26 acres, 1 rood, and 19 perches 
of arable land, which is commonly called " Queen Anne's 
Bounty." 



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240 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

whom the churches of Alconbury^ and Yelling are 
also assigned. 

VALOR ECCLBSIASTICUS, A.D. 1534. 

Godma'chester Rectoria. 
Valet in proficuis gvenien' de rectoria^ 
ibm ad l^ per annu ultra omiod' offla f |^., 
ut dicit' non r' hie q appriat' monas- C 
terio de Marten ideo hie in one .) 

PRIORATUS DE MERTON. 

Com' Hunting' vaitin sp'oai* 

Reef de Acomburye cum decimis 

il^m xxiiiy^L, 

Reef de Godmanchester 1" ^j^^jy ± J 

Et pence ecctise de Yellynge . . . .iiijii 

In toto ut p diet' declar' inde examiat 

GODMANCHESTER. 

Thomas Byllington est Vicarius ifem 
Valet in proficuis de vicaria il^m tam in 
decimis personal' alteragio quam obla- 



f 



. ,.,..!., - . aXVUj XIX mi 

cion et alijs decim unacu exit mans et ( 

terr' gleb' s' c8ibus annis 

Repris' 
In denar' solut' versus 1 ^- *•...*? ^ 

feodi firm' dni Reg» iBmJ ~ ^^^ ^^^ f 

ArcKno Hunt' pro pcur'-j O ^ ^ 

et sinodal' j J 

Et reman' xvij — iiijob 

Xma inde , j xiiij — ob 



y " Temp. Edw. 5. — Item. Advoc Ecclesiae de Alkmundbury 
solebat esse in man', predecess* R. et dat* fuit Prior et Conventu 
in Merton in pprios usus. — Coles Escheats, Plut. ccx. F. p. 175, 
Brit Mus, 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 241 

By this survey the value of the rectory is raised 
from <£40, as rated in Pope Nicholas's taxation, to 
<£50 per annum, and the vicarage from £8 to J18 
19^. 4d. gross revenue; and after deducting the 
fee-farm rent for the glebe, and procuration fees 
at visitations, a clear annual income is left of 
£17 Os. 4id.j without including the Chauntry and 
Guilds, On the suppression of the Priory of Merton 
by Henry 8th, he gave the rectory of Godmanchester 
to the Colle^ate Church of Westminster, to the 
Dean and Chapter of which the presentation to the 
vicarage was also transferred. They were for a 
short time disturbed in the enjoyment of this pro- 
perty, by the Sequestrators employed under the 
Commonwealth's men, who, finding the vicarage 
vacant in 1651, presented thereto the Rev. John 
Badcock ; but, on the restoration of Charles 2d, 
though Mr. Badcock was not removed, the rectory 
and vicarage were confirmed to the church of West- 
minster. The following was the antient custom of 
tithing with the Parson and Vicar, but which was 
superseded by rectorial and vicarial allotments of 
land, at the inclosure of the parish ; the former held 
by lessees of the Dean and Chapter of Westmin- 
ster,* on certain lives, and the latter being occupied 
by tenancy under the Vicar for the time being. 

• Tithes, as well as allotments in lieu of tithes, are frequently 
let on leases for lives, and have been so from a very early period. 
By a Saxon Charter, tithes were granted " terram quatuor manen- 
tium pro diebus trium hominum," for three lives, as used at this 
day. — Heames Discourses, vol. i. p. 9. 

B 



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242 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

ANTIBNT CUSTOMS OP TITHING WITH THE PARSON AND 
VICAR IN GODMANCHESTER, (a.D. 1590.) 

^^ 1st. The town is to pay to the Parsonage yearly, at 
Easter, for the tithe of their water-mills, wind-mill, and 
their fulling-mills, £1 6*. 8d. N. B. The Farmer is to 
discharge the rent by his lease. (Mr. Anger's opinion is, 
that no custom can prescribe against a composition being 
evident.) 

^^ 2d. The tithe-corn and all other grain ought to be 
psdd yearly, according to the old usage and custom, viz. 
Every owner, or his deputy, shall set forth his tenth 
sheaf of his wheat, rye, barley, oats, beans, peas, fetches, 
or tares : or the tenth hove or shock of wheat, rye, or all 
other grain thrown out of their crops • And that no man 
shall make within this liberty above 10 hoves or shocks 
of a land, except great and long headlands, and such like, 
which will make 20, 30, 40, of a land. 

'^ 3d. The town is to pay the Vicar of the church yearly, 
at Easter, for the tithes of their water, as it hath been ac- 
customed, 45., the which money is discharged yearly by 
the farmers of the waters. 

" 4th. That every householder within this liberty shall 
yearly pay to the Vicar, at Easter, for their offerings, 2rf., 
and for waxshot |rf., which is now made Id. by the inha- 
bitants, and given to the Vicar to find wine for the com- 
munion at Easter. (^^ Dr. Swabbe saith of this custom, 
it is too young, and therefore against law.'') 

^^ 5th. All householders, farmers, and tenants, within this 
liberty, shall pay the money of the holy loaf in due order 
and form, and cross one after another as they have been 
accustomed to do : the which money is now appointed for 
the finding the communion bread and wine at Midsum- 
mer, Michaelmas, and Christmas. (This cannot be any 
custom now, as our Vicar doth say.) 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 243 

^^ 6th. The Vicar is to have at Easter for every hen 2 
eggs^ and for cocks 3 eggs; and for every duck 2, and for 
drakes 3 ; and for every goose 2, and for the gander 3 ; 
and for every turkey-hen 2, and for the cock 3. And no 
tithe chickens^ ducklings^ or goslings^ or turkeys, to be 
demanded or required within this liberty. 

^^ 7th. All men's sons and daughters who receive the 
sacrament shall pay to the Vicar, at Easter, for their 
ofiferings, every one of them Id. (Mr. Barnwell, our 
Vicar, says, that they that have stock or crops should 
pay 2d.) 

^^ 8th. All servants and apprentices that take no wages 
but their finding, shall pay every one of them \d. 

^* 9th. All servants and journeymen which receive wages, 
both men and maids, shall pay every one of them 2d. 

^^ 10th. All persons that have their gardens furnished 
with roses, lavender, isope, rosemary, thyme, strawberries, 
and all other flowers and herbs, and do sell of the same, 
shall pay to the Vicar, at Easter, a garden penny. The 
Vicar hath a smoke-penny, which they call hearth-penny. 

^^ 11th. Every cow and calf sold before Candlemas-day, 
the sellers of them to pay, because he or they which have 
bought them are charged to pay to the Vicar, at Easter 
next, for every cow and calf so bought, 2|c?. ; and for 
every gise-cow sold before Candlemas-day, the Vicar is 
to have of the purchaser \d. 

^^ 12th. Every cow and calf sold after Candlemas-day, he 
or they that sold them stand charged, as it hath been ac- 
customed, to pay to the Vicar, at Easter next, for every 
'"ow and calf so sold, 2\d. ; and for every gess-cow sold 
after Candlemas-day, the Vicar to have of him that sold 
the gess-cow, \d. 

" 13th. If any cow being with calf shall be sold after 
Candlemas-day, which cow shall have a calf before Easter- 

r2 



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244 HISTORY OF 60DMANCHGSTER. 

day, then the seller shall pay to the Vicar, at Easter 
next, if the calf shall live, 2id, ; but if the calf do die> 
l^rf. by custom. 

^^ 14th. Every heifer that hath a calf, and every cow that 
hath a calf, that hath not been bought and sold as above- 
said, then the owners shall pay to the Vicar, at Easter, 
2|e^., and no tithe-calf or tithe-milk to be demanded or 
required. 

^^ 15th. For sheep dead before Candlemas-day, there is 
nothing paid for the pelts of them ; but for those pelts 
dead after Candlemas, for each of them at Easter | penny. 

^^ 16th. If there be any person or persons within this 
liberty that doth sell any ewes with lamb, or any other 
gest-ware, before Candlemas-day, the sellers are discharged 
of tithe by old custom, but the buyers of them are to pay 
to the Vicar at St. Helen's-day tithe lamb, and also at 
Shear-day tithe wool. 

^^ 17th. Ewes and lambs, or ewes with lamb, sold after 
Candlemas-day and before St. Helen's, the sellers of the 
same shall pay to the Vicar, at St. Helen's-day, | penny 
the ewe and a halfyenny the lamb, as it hath been accus- 
tomed 5 and also the buyers shall pay for the residue of 
the lambs that were to come, halfpence. 

^*18th. The sellers of wethers, wether shear hogs, or any 
other gest-ware, after Candlemas-day and before Easter, 
shall pay to the Vicar at Shear-day, halfpence. 

^^ 19th. Owners of sheep and lambs not bought or sold 
after Candlemas-day shall pay to the Vicar at St. He- 
len's-day tithe-lamb, and at Shear-day tithe-wool; and 
for the lambs, when the owner hath taken three of the 
best, the Vicar is to take one, and so to go through the 
whole number. 

^^20th. The Vicar to have a tithe-lamb at nine, when the 
owner of the lambs has taken three, then the Vicar is to 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 245 

tike one where he will of the six, and to pay to the owner 
halfpenny. 

^^ 21st. The Vicar is to have a tithe-lamb at eight, when 
the party that owneth the lambs hath taken two ; then the 
Vicar is to have one out of the six, and pay to the owner 
of the lambs Id. 

" 22d. The Vicar to have a tithe-lamb at seven, when the 
owner hath taken two of the seven where he will; then the 
Vicar is to take one of the five which is left where he will, 
and to pay to the owner 3^d. 

^^ 23d. Persons having five or six lambs eyned, or less in 
number, having no more in all, the Vicar to have | penny 
for the ewe and 2^d. for the lamb, and no tithe-wool. 

^^ 24th. Also it hath been of old time used, that neither 
tithe-fish, tithe-wood, or tithe willows, shall be at any 
time paid j nor yet tithe-calf, tithe-milk, or any tithe- 
hay, neither tithe-goslings, ducklings, chickens, nor tur- 
keys within this liberty. 

^^ 26th. Persons having two or three sows, and either of 
them hath seven pigs living to be a fortnight old, shall 
pay the Vicar three tithe-pigs of the said three sows, and 
the Vicar to pay the owner farthings, as it hath been ac- 
customed ; for the owner is to take two at seven, and two 
at eight, and three at nine, and three at ten, according to 
custom. 

^^26th. Persons having two or three sows, and either of 
them having six pigs living at a fortnight old, shall pay 
the Vicar one farthing for each, as it hath been of old time, 
and no tithe-pig to be demanded. 

^^ 27th. All dove-houses shall pay the tenth of their 
young pigeons at all times as they do draw them, or other- 
wise to agree with the Vicar for money. 

" 28th. The Vicar to have also the tenth of fruit, viz. of 
quinces, wardens, pears, apples, wildings, crabs, and wal- 



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246 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTBR. 

nnts^ at all such times as they are pulled; and every 
owner shall send his tithe home to the Vicar, either by 
charfiiUs, or bushelsfull, or else by basketsfull, according 
to custom. 

^^29th. Hemp or flax grown within this liberty shall pay 
to the Vicar, yearly, the tenth bent or bundle, when it is 
watered according to antient custom. 

^^ 30th. All persons keeping bees shall pay to the Vicar, 
at the time of drawing, one-tenth of the honey and also the 
tenth of the wax, as it hath been accustomed." 



Allotments of Land in lieu of Tithes^ made by Commissioners 

appointed under an Act of Parliament, passed 43d Geo. dd.^ 

for dividing and inclosing the Parish of Godmanchester^ in 

their Award dated Sept 25th^ 1803. 

A. R. p. 
To the Dean and r East Field 153 3 10 ^ 

Chapter of Saint \Hudpool and Leys .. 33 3 14/ 

Peters Collegiate 7,^ ^-.jr . o o ooV ^' ^' **• 

Church, West- \WestMeadow 3 3 38>6gQ 3 39 

minster, as Rec- VEast Garden Field . . 17 33 V 

tors impropriate V Forest and Depden . .460 24 ^ 
for Tithes. 

r Parks ............ 30 1 6^ 

To the same for J ^^^^^^^^^^ & Depden 104 32 f 

Glebe. \ Reed Meadow 16 25 r^^ ^ ^^ 

(^ West Meadow 4 3 35^ 

824 2 17 

To the Vicar for ^ ^ast Field 25 1 231 

Tithes. \ West Field and Leys 79 1 33 \ 172 30 
(Forest Field 67 1 14 ) 

rr^ ♦!,« - ^ r ^ I^ the Rushes 4 3 29 v 

To die same for > ,« , ^J 22 29 

Glebe. ^Forest Field 17 1 0$ 

194 1 19 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 247 

THE CHAUNTRY AND GUILDS. 

The earliest mention of the term Guild, Milner* 
refers to the reign of Ethelwolph, observing, that 
in the year 856 the trade and commerce of Win- 
chester ** flourishing exceedingly, our principal 
citizens formed themselves under the royal protec- 
tion into a society, called a Guild, being the first 
association of this nature by the space of a whole 
century recorded in history." Guilds or social 
confederations existed amongst the Anglo-Saxons,** 
and appear to have been much upon the principle 
of modern Benefit Societies, every member or 
family contributing yearly at Easter Irf., and on the 
death of any of the brethren, Id. for the soul's 
scot, thereby forming a fund to meet the exigen- 
cies of the Guild, as legal exactions, burial of its 
members, &c. In mercantile towns and sea-ports 
there were Guilds, or fraternities of men, for the 
purpose of commerce, and the Gi-halla, or Guild- 
hall of the Burghers of Dover, is mentioned in 
Domesday-book. Thus Guilds originally were as- 
sociations of men for particular objects, as mutual 
protection or commerce; and when religious frater- 
nities were formed, the term Guild was adopted by 
them. The word chauntry implying a brotherhood 
for the singing and celebration of masses, — ^the 
words Chauntry and Guild have frequently been 
used as synonimous terms. The origin of religious 

« History of Winchester. ^ Watson's Hist, of Wisbech. 



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248 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

Guilds, and the endowment of Chauntrys, was in 
the pious dispositions of our Catholic forefathers, 
who seldom bequeathed property without appro- 
priating a portion of it for the good of their souls, 
or, in other words, for the maintenance of anniver- 
saries, obits, luminaries, &c. 

Anniversaries were the annual celebration of 
mass on the day of the death of the founder; obits 
were masses at the funeral solemnity; and lumina^ 
ries were lights occasionally placed before images 
and on shrines; and, according to bequests of this 
nature, the number of those that were kept con- 
tinually burning, as well as the size of that on the 
high altar, was regulated/ The multiplication of 
religious houses throughout the kingdom, and the 
influence of the priesthood over the laity, by the 
commencement of the 13th century, accumulated 
the wealth and lands of the church so enormously, 
that it threatened in its rent-roll ultimately to 
engross the whole empire, as whatever lands it be- 
came seized of were thenceforth inalienable. The 
wholesome stimulus to honourable exertion, which 
the probable attainment of property holds out to 
the enterprising and meritorious, was thus in some 

c Bately mentions a curious assize for regulating tapers, an- 
tiently used at Canterbury. ** The Pascal-taper^ representing 
Christ, the chief of the church, the pillar of light, &c., was to con- 
tain 300 pounds of wax : the taper at the feasts, ten pounds; the 
processional ones, three pounds ; that on the altar, one pound ; 
and those used daily in processions and masses, two pounds each.** 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 249 

measure withdrawn, and the dangerous experiment 
threatened of reducing the people to the temporal 
power of the clergy, and erecting them into an 
ecclesiastical phalanx more potent than royalty it- 
self. Amongst other inconveniences which might 
be enumerated, from the appropriation of lands to 
monastic purposes, in the then civil state of the 
country, we may observe, that services due from 
those estates for the defence of the realm were 
withdrawn, thereby increasing the burdens of the 
laity, religious houses being exonerated from those 
services ; the lords also were defrauded of their 
rights to escheats, reUefs, reversions, and ward- 
ships, on which account, in many antient deeds of 
feoflFment,*^ clauses were entered, rendering it law- 
frd to give or sell the lands to any persons except- 
ing Ecclesiastics or Jews. In the 41st of Edward 
3d, John Chaderlee was admitted to the freedom of 
Godmanchesterwith this express stipulation,® "and 
the aforesaid John shall neither sell or alienate any 
lands or tenements that he may acquire to strangers 
or ecclesiastics,' to the injury and prejudice of the 

d Coke. « Vide Appendix, No. 3, b. 

' The possibility of lands, &c. falling into mortmain, through 
becoming the legal estate of ecclesiastics, was carefully guarded 
against down to the period of the Reformation, as illustrated by 
this Court entry, a.d. 1547.. 

*' Gumecester. l^^ *®°** ^^'"^ ^^® ^^^^ P'^^ P^®* ^®*^' 
lAnuncronis Vte Marie Virginis A® Regni 

Henrici viijo — xx3cviij. 

" Mem. — ^That John Slowe and William Herdman, Bailiffs of 



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250 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

liberties of the said town." Bishop Kermet, in his 
Glossary at the end of his '* Parochial Antiquities," 
under the word ReUgiosi, has the same allusion.* 
In order to check this increasing power of the 
church, a statute was framed in the 9th of Henry 
3d, to restrain the superstitious prodigality of the 
people, particularly in a manner which deprived 
the Bang and Lords of Manors of their respec- 
tive rights, which was called the Statute of Mort- 
main,^ which enacted, " that it shall not be lawful 

the forsaid towne, w^^ the assent and cosent of Walter Coll3rnd, 
Henry Frere, Thomas Trise, w*^ all other ther copany, being the 
twelve men, w^^ other srtyne men of the said towne, y* y» to saye, 
William Sewest, Gent°, Ric Robjms, John Vynt*, Johe BoUjud, 
w^^ other srtyne men, be ther hoUe assent be agreid and dothe 
grant y* Cristofer Robie, Clarke, vicar of the sayd towne, y* he 
shall purchase w*^in the sayd towne of Gumecest* ether tenements, 
meddowe, leie, or land arable, any custome to y« cotra'ry not- 
w%tand3rng, providyd allwaye y^ the said Cristofer Robie shall not 
geve nor sell the teneme'ts, meddws, leie nor land arable so bowt by 
h3rme or by any p*son for hym not into mortemayne nor to none 
unfiranchesid mane, under the pajme of furfity of the said tene- 
ments, meddowes, leie or land so gevyne or sowlid.** — Vide Stock 
Book, No. 2. 

e The words used in deeds of conveyance, he observes, were 
** Tenend sibi et hseredibus suis vel cuicunque vendere vel assig- 
nare voluerint exceptis Religiosis et Judseis. 

^ Mortrmain — in mortua manu. Hottoman, in his Commen- 
taries de Verbis Feudal, says, — ^Manus-mortua, locutio est, quae 
usurpatur de iis quorum possessio ut ita dicam, immortalis est, 
qui nunquam haeredem habere desinunt. Qua de causa, res nun- 
quam ad priorem dominum revertitur. Skene observes, that 
" dimittere terras ad manum mortuam est idem atque dimittere 
ad multitudinem sive universatim, quae nunquam moritur.*' 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 251 

from henceforth, to any person to give his lands to 
any religious house, and to take the same land 
again to hold of the same house; nor shall it be 
lawful to any house of religion to take lands of any 
and to lease the same to him from whom it was re- 
ceived ; if any from henceforth give his lands to 
any reUgious house, and thereupon be convict, the 
gift shall be utterly void, and the land shall accrue 
to the Lord of the Fee/ This statute was con- 
firmed by the 2d of Henry 3d's great charters. 
Edward 1st, regardless of the denunciations of the 
Vatican, summoned a Parliament in 1279, for the 
purpose of enacting that '' from that time none 
should either give, sell, bequeath, or change any 
lands, tenements, or rents, to any religious body 
without Ucence from the King for that purpose." 
Sir William Blackstone says of this statute, that 
'^ it closed the great gulph in which all the landed 
property of the kingdom was in danger of being 
swallowed up ;" and that it was called the Statute 
of Mortmain, because it was intended to prevent 
estates falling into hands of no service to the King 

> Forfeitures^ in cases of alienation, accrued to the immediate 
Lord of the Fee ; so the tenant who intended to alienate, first 
conveyed his lands to the Religious House, and instantly took 
them back to hold of the Monastery, which instantaneous seisin 
was not held to occasion forfeiture. Then, by pretext of some 
other forfeiture, alienation, or escheat, the bretheren entered into 
the lands, &c. by right of their newly- acquired seigniory, as im- 
mediate Lords of the Fee. 



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252 HISTORY OF OODMANCHBSTIR. 

or public without hope of ever changing owners, 
and which were consequently considered dead 
hands. Sir William Temple, in describing the 
state of the clergy at the Norman Conquest, and in 
the reign of King John, observes, that " they had 
mighty possessions in lands throughout the king- 
dom, as well as other riches, from the bounty of 
pious princes, of devout and innocent people, and 
from many others, who thought to expiate crimes 
or cover ill lives by donations to the church. These 
possessions were esteemed sacred; and, as much 
went into this stock every age, and nothing ever 
'went out, so all the lands of the kingdom might, in 
the course of ages, have held of the church, if this 
current had not been stopped by the statute of 
Mortmain in the time of Edward 1st. It is re- 
corded, that of 62,000 knights' fees that were 
reckoned in England during the reign of the first 
Norman King, there were in that of King John 
28,000 in the hands of the church." Notwith- 
standing these enactments, the clergy continued to 
gain accession of territories. Endowments for the 
foundation of religious Guilds and Chauntries, as of 
those in Godmanchester, were generally in land ; 
large donations were efiected by the payment of a 
fine, and accumulated smaller donations produced 
considerable revenues, when the clergy erected 
themselves into fraternities to regulate the tem- 
poral affairs of the Guilds and Chaimtries, and 
carry the wills of the founders into effect. We 



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BCCLBSIASTICAL HISTORY. 



253 



shall preface our notice of the Guilds and Chauntry 
of Godmanchester by the following extracts from 
antient wills in the Archdeacon's office at Hun- 
tingdon.'' 

THE WILL OF THOMAS ROBYN^ DBC. 13tH^ 1306. 

gumecbstr'. 



In Dei Nomine Amen. 
Die Mercurii in festo Sci 
Luce Anno Difi millmo tri- 
centesimo sexto. Ego Tho- 
mas Robyn de Gumecestr' 
in mentis sanitate et bone 
memorie condo testimen- 
tum meum in hunc modum. 
Imprimis comendo Animam 
meam deo omnipotenti et 
beate Marie Virgini et 
omib3 Scis et corpus meum 
ad sepeliend in cimiterio 
ecctie tJte Marie de Gume- 
cestr*. Itm lego unfi prin- 
cipale scdni morem Ville 
pdict ad pcedendum corpus 
mefi in die sepulture mei. 
Itm lego sumo altari eiusdm 
Ecctie unfi q*rt ord. Itm 
lego Priori de Merton Rec- 
tor eiusdm ecctie di' q*rt 



In the name of God^ 
Amen. On the Wednesday 
after the feast of St. Lucia^ 
in the year of our Liord 
1306, I, Thomas Robyn, of 
Godmanchester, of sound 
mind and memory, in this 
manner make my last will 
and testament. In the first 
place, I commend my soul 
to Almighty God, the bles- 
sed Virgin Mary, and all 
saints, and my body to be 
buried in the cemetry of the 
church of the Blessed Mary 
at Godmanchester. Also I 
leave my principal, accord- 
ing to the custom of the 
place, for the quiet inter- 
ment of my body on the day 
of my burial. Also I leave 
to the high altar of the said 



^ The Registry of the Arch-deaconry of Huntingdon^ at Hun- 
tingdon^ contains original wills from 1483 to the present time, 
exceptmg fi-om the years 1650 to 1651, and from 1653 to 1660, 
that for 1652 being there. 



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254 



HISTORY OF OODMANCHESTER. 



ord. Itm lego fabrice ecctie 
^dict 10s. et fraternitaP 
Glide Sci Jotiis Baptiste in 
ecctia ^dict existefi dimid 
qart ord et glide fratemitat 
corpis Xrl in eadifi ecctia 
existefi unam Rod prati 
iacent in hude pole que 
quondam fiiit patris mei et 
unG qart ord. Itm lego 
cuitt lumini eiusdem ecctie 
vjd. Itm lego ad distri- 
buend paupib3 in die sepul- 
ture mea 10s. Itm in ex- 
pensis faciend eodm die 
tuta corpus meG quinq^ 
mar8. Itm lego dno Will- 
mo Capellano ecctie pdict 
vjd. Itm lego dno Lau- 
rencio Capetto xxcf. et cuitt 
Capellano reliquor^ in eadm 
ecctia celebrancni vjrf. et 
cuitt clico eiusdm ecclie 4rf. 
Itm lego Capellano beate 
Marie Virgine infronte Pri- 
oratus Canonicor^ de Hunt 
Kxs. Itm Priori et Con- 
vent eiusdm Priorati xx^. 
^-ut orent p aia mea et oS. 
benefactor^ meor^. Itm do 
et lego rectis herebibj meis 
unam acram tre in Beres^ 
croft liBe et quiete imppifi 
ut remonent et teneant an- 



church a quarter of barley^ 
Also I leave to the Prior of 
Merton, rector of the sjdd 
church, half a quarter of 
barley. Also I leave to the 
fabric of the said church 
10^., and to the fraternity 
of the Guild of St. John the 
Baptist, in the said church, 
half a quarter of barley; 
and to the fraternity of 
the Guild of Corpus Xri in 
the said church, a rood of 
meadow lying in Hudpool, 
which formerly was my fa- 
thers, and a quarter of bar- 
ley. Also I leave to every 
light in the said church 6d. 
Also I leave to be distri- 
buted to the poor, on the 
day of my burial, 10*.; also 
to be expended, in the 
taking due care of my body 
on the said day, five marcs. 
Also I leave to Syr William, 
chaplain of the said church, 
6rf. Also I leave to Syr 
Lawrence, the Priest, 20d., 
and to every Priest officiat- 
ing in the said church, 6d, ; 
and to every Deacon of the 
sdd church, 4d. Also I 
leave to the Chaplain of the 
Blessed Virgin Mary, before 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 



255 



nuatim diem AnniBarii mei 
etEmme Uxoris mee imppe9 
in miss placebo et dirige put 
moris est et aliis obsequis 
dominus. — ^After which fol- 
lows the disposition of his 
property, — Vide original 
Will in the Archives of the 
Borough. 



the Priory of the Canons of 
Hunt° 20^. 5 also to the 
Prior and Convent of the 
said Priory, 20^., that they 
may pray for my soul and 
the souls of my benefactors. 
Also I leave to my right 
and lawful heirs an acre of 
land in Bascroft, that they 
may keep and observe an- 
nually the day of my anni- 
versary, and that of Emma 
my wife, for ever, by offer- 
ing mass, placeto,and dirige, 
and other solemnities, as the 
custom is. 



GUMECESTER. AGNES LANE, AUGUST 5tH, 1483. 

Item lego fratemitati I leave to the fraternity 



Gilde Scae TintaP dd acr^ 
pti iacent in Morelande, in9 
pti Johis Agedde et pti 
JoKis Bonefoy et una acr^ 
pti iacent in le Redemedowe 
obsrvnS Annivsar^ mefl et 
Thome Lane Marit mei 
anuatim. Item lego ad sus- 
tentac6em miss de Thoifi 
xxc?. Item lego p flamea 
emenda E. Godmstriaxxc?. 



of the Guild of the Holy 
Trinity half an acre of mea- 
dow, lying in Moreland, be- 
tween the meadows of John 
Agedde and John Bonefoy, 
and one acre of meadow ly- 
ing in Redemeadow, for the 
annual celebration of my 
anniversary, and that of my 
husband, Thomas Lane. — 
Item, I leave for a mass for 
the soul of Thomas, 20d. 
Item, I leave for the main- 
tenance of the light in God- 
manchester Church, 20(2. 



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256 



HISTORY OF GODMANCHBSTER. 



gumecestr". johes felde^ FEBRUARY 26th^ 1485. 



Itm volo qd dicta Isabella 
u£ mea sustinet die obit°^ 
mei et anni^sar^ mefi an- 
nuatim durante vita sua of- 
ferendi in missa Id. 



Also I will that my afore- 
said wife Isabella^ for the 
due performance of my obit 
and anniversary^ shall an- 
nually offer at mass Id, so 
long as she shall live. 



6umecestr\ thom froste^ may IOfh, 1491. 



Itm lego fratemitati Gilde 
Corporis Xri dd acra prati 
in Gorse-holme. Item lego 
Capellano cantarie beate 
Marie de Gumecestr' pre- 
dict una Roda terrse arrabil 
iacent in le Estfelde^ &c. 
hendi sibi et succ' suis ca- 
pefl: diet Cantarie. 



GUMECESTR 



WILLIAM 



In dei Noie Amen^ xv die 
Mens Mali Anno dm' 1498. 
Ego Wittm Fryer de Gu- 
mechester, Lincoln dioc 
condo testamentG meG in 
hoc modfi. In primis lego 
Aniam meam deo pat oipo- 
tenti Beate Marie et oibj 
Scis Corpusqj meum sepe- 
liendG in Cemitorfi de Gu- 



Also I leave to the fra- 
ternity of the Guild of Cor- 
pus Christi half an acre of 
meadow lying inGorsholme. 
Also I leave to the Chap- 
Isdn of the Chauntry of the 
Blessed Virgin Mary, in 
Gumecestr* aforesaid, one 
acre of arable land lying 
in Eastfield, to have and 
to hold to himself and his 
successors. Chaplains to the 
said Chauntry. 

FRYER, MAY 16tH, 1498. 

In the name of God, 
Amen, the 15th day of the 
month of May, in the year 
of our Lord 1498. I, Wil- 
liam Fryer, of Gumecestr* 
in the diocese of Lincoln, 
make my testament in 
this manner. In the first 
place, I leave my soul to 
Almighty God the Father, 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 257 

mechester ^dict. Itm lego the Blessed Mary and all the 
principal mefi ut mors est. holy Saints ; and my body 
Itm lego fabrise Ecclise Lin- to be buried in the cemetery 
colfi iiijef. Itm lego sumo of Godmanchester aforesaid, 
altari de Gumechestr* p^dict I leave my principal accord- 
pro decimis oblit xijd. Itm ing to the custom of the 
lego Rectori istius Eccliae town. Also I leave to the 
p decimis oblitis xijrf. mother church at Lincoln 

4rf. Also I leave to the 
high altar of Godmanches- 
ter aforesaid^ for tithes for- 
gotten^ 2d. Also I leave to 
the Rector of the aforesaid 
church, for tithes forgotten, 
12d. 

WILLIAM BURDER, 1534. 

Item — ^I bequeathe to the highe aultre of Gumecestr for 
my tithis forgettune 4d. 

We shall not multiply instances in their nature 
so similar, but whilst extracting from old Wills, we 
may, in justice to the donor and as a literary mor- 
^eau, record one more specimen of about the same 
era: 

GUMECESTER. WILLIAM DALTON, 27tH NOV. 1543. 

^^In ye name ofiF ow' lorde God Amen the 27th day ofiF 
novembr in the yere oflf ow' lorde God mocccccxliij I 
Wyllym Dalton off Gumecestr off Lincoln dioces being in 
hoUe mynde and p%tte remembranc I make my testament 
in this maffl. Impriifi I gyve and bequyth my souU to 
all mytty god and to ow' Blessed Lady Seint Mary and to 
all the hole company hevyn and my body to be beryd in the 
cherch off the towne off Gumecestr' afforsyd in the place 

s 



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258 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

wher the sepulcur ys accustomed to stond, Itm I gyve to 
the Mother Cherch of Lyncoln 8d. Itm I gyve my pryn- 
cipall after the custom and mafl oflf the town. Itm I gyve 
to the hygh altur ofiF the seyd towne ffor tyth fiforgotten 
3^. and 4d. Itm to the bell ofiF the same cherch 20s. 
Itm to the terch 3s. 4d. Itm I wyll that eviy prst beyng 
at my dyrge in the day off my beryall shall have 6c/. evry 
pysh clarke 2d. evry chylde Id. Itm I wyll that 100 
quartern oflf whet be made in brede and to be dalte among 
poore pepell in the day oflf my beryall and as moch at my 
month day. Itm I gyve to evry one oflf my godchylds a 
ewe and a lam. Itm I gyve to Jeyne my wyffe soe long 
as she ys wedow my meS callyd the George and after I 
wyll that Thomas my sone have yt and to hys heyhers 
and lake of such heyhers I wyll yt shall be solde by myn 
executors and the mony ther oflf to be dysposyd flfor the 
helth oflf my soull and my flfrends souUs. Itm I gyve to 
Jeyn my wyflfe my mes whych I latte bowght oflf Thomas 
Carnall some tyme John Lawes and 50 accurs oflf londe 
in evry flfelde lyke oflf the left in my name and 100 accurs 
oflf medow oflf the left in lyke mafit and 3 accurs oflf layys 
lyyng one the Est layys. Itm I gyve to the same Jeyne 
my wyflfe 4 coupuU oflf shyp oflf the left. Itm I gyve to 
the same Jeyne £xx. Itm I gyve to Thomas my sone 2 
mylchers and 2 hekflforths. Itm to Agnys my dawter 2 
mylchers and 2 hekflforths and 10 shype a flfether bede and 
a matres. Itm I gyve to John my sonne my tenant wych 
Thomas Cenyt dwellyth in and to hys heyhers and flfor 
the lake oflf heyhers to remygn to Thomas my sone and 
to his heyhers and flfor the lake oflf such heyhers to Augnys 
my dawter and to her heyhers and flfor the lake oflf such 
heyhers to be sold by my executors and dysposed flfor the 
helth oflf my soull. Itm to the same John my sone 10 
shype, the residue of all my goods I bequythe to my exe- 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 259 

cutors whome ordygn and make Jeyne my wyflfe John 
Kendale and Wyllym Herwood my trusty and true exe- 
cutors under thys mafl my debts payed and my legacies 
pformed I wyll that all the ressydue off my goods remygn 
to Jeyn my wyffe and I gyve to John Kendale and to 
Wyllym Herwood evry off them ffor ther labor 40^. to se 
thys my wyll pformed wettenes Wylljon Mynt Henry 
Ffrere w*^ others yere and day aboveseyd pvyded allvey 
that the rents and pffyts off the meS and temnt and cattell 
that I have lemettyd to Thomas John and Agnis my 
chyldem be att the knell and gydyng off my executrs and 
executrix tyll such tyme as they be off ffidl age of xx** 
yers and discrescyon ffor my ffsending off them. And the 
rents to keep reprc6ns and the rest off the pfiytts and 
rents to be delivd when they be abyll to occupye them as 
shal be thought and seen best by my executors." 

THE CHAUNTRY OP THE BLESSED MARY — OR ROODES. 

The origin of this Chauntry is very remote, and 
may be referred as far back as the reign of Edward 
the 1st. ; in the early part of which reign Chaun- 
tries^ were first established in England. The fol- 
lowing document is from the *' Rotul. Orig. in 
Curia Scaccarii Abbrev." 

Temp. Edw. 1. In the reign of Edward 1st. 

In Origin de Anno. ft.E. Original Rolls. 

fil ft. H. xxxi. 3Ist of King Edward, son 

Extracte finium &c. in sche- of King Henry. Roll xij . 

dul'. Hunt. Ro. xij. Hunts. 

Rogs Strateshill capellan" Roger Strateshill, a priest, 

finem fecit cum ft. p decem paid a fine of ten shillings 

solid' p licenc' ft. fiend qd to the King, for licence to 

1 Grose. 

s 2 



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260 



HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 



dare possit unum messua- 
gium^ unum curtilagium^ 
triginta et unam acras tre 
et quatuor acras pti in Gur- 
mundcestr' cuidam Capel- 
lano missam beate Mar' in 
capella he Mar' in ecclia 
Gurmundcestr' singlis diebj 
celebraturo. 



present a messuage and gar- 
den^ together with 31 acres 
of land and four acres of 
meadow in Gurmundcestr'^ 
to the officiating priest of 
the chapel of the Blessed 
Mary, in the church of the 
Blessed Mary in Gurmund- 
cestr', for the daily celebra- 
tion of mass. 



This fine of ten shillings was paid in conformity 
with the Act passed a. d. 1279, 7th of Edward 1st, to 
prevent alienation of lands, &c. in mortmain, with- 
out licence from the King."" The Chauntry thus 
founded in 1302, received in 1315 an important ac- 
cession from the gift of one Henry Rude, or Rode, 
whose petition to the King for permission to alien- 
ate lands, &c. in mortmain to the Chauntry, lead 
to an inquisition as to how far it would be prejudi- 
cial to the King or his assigns, when the jury 
returned this answer. 



9o Edw. 2i. 

No. 66. Henr' Rude pro 

Cantar' de Guncestre. 

Gunecestre terr' itJm 

Hunting*. 
Villa de Gunnecestre est 
et semper fuit de antiquo 



9th of Edward 2d. 
Henry Rude, for the Chaun- 
try of Guncestre. 
Gunecestre, County of 

Huntingdon. 
The town of Gunneces- 
tre is, and always was, 



™ Edward 3d seized the revenues of twelve Chauntries for not 
having licence of mortmain^ and gave them to the Ahbey of St. 
Mary Graces. 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 



261 



dnico dfii Regis et tempore 
Regis Jotlis homines dee 
ville ceperunt de dco Rege 
JoUe totam dcam villam in- 
tegram sine ullo retene- 
mento cum oibus libtat^ &c. 

Inquis ad quod damnum 
Turr' Lond. 



of the antient demesne of 
our Lford the King^ and in 
the time of King John^ the 
men of the said town were 
seized from the said King 
John of the whole town, 
without any reservation, to- 
gether with all liberties, &c. 



On which a fine of 100 shillings was levied, and 
the endowment sanctioned with the royal assent, 
and confirmed by letters-patent. 



In Origin' de Anno ft. E. 
filft.E. xo. 

Extracte grossar' finium, 
&c. Ro. 11. 

Henr' Rude finem fecit 
cum ft. p centum solid' p 
licenc' dandi laic* feod' in 
Gumecestr' ad manum mor- 
tuam cuidam capellano di- 
vina celebrat' in ecctia beate 
Marie de Gumecestre Kend, 
&c. 



Extract from Original 
Rolls. 

The Tenth of Edward 2d. 
Roll 11th. 

Henry Rude paid a fine 
of 100 shillings to the King, 
for licence to present in 
mortmain, an endowment 
to the officiating Chaplain 
of the church of the blessed 
Mary in Gumecestre, to 
have and to hold, &c. 



Rot. Pat. in Turr' Lond. 

Temp. E. 2i. An. x. 
Pars 1\ Mem. 29. 

Gumecestr' p Cantar' fac 
in Eciie t5e Marie ibm. 



Patent Rolls. 

The Tenth of Edward 2d. 

Parti. Mem. 29. 

Gumecestr'. -— For the 

Chauntry established in the 

church of the blessed Mary. 



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262 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

1 mess. 30 acr^ terr^ et 4 One messuage^ 30 acres 
acr^ prati iISm p quer^ de of land, and four acres of 
Hen. Rode. meadow, by the gift of 

Henry Rode. 

The Chauntry of Saint Mary or Roodes" was not 
only liberally endowed by the donations of Roger 
Strateshill and Henry Rode, but farther enriched 
by the gifts of others, as in the above recited Will 
of Thomas Frost. It was invested in the BailiflFs 
and Commonalty of the town, who, in 1499, ap- 
pointed Sir Thomas Osse residentiary Chaplain by 
the following deed of indenture : 

To all Christian People® to whom these presents, in 
writing, shall come. William Oxwell and John Laxton, 
Bailiffs of the town of Godmancbester, and the Common- 
alty of the said town, send greetings, in the Lord Eternal. 
— ^Know ye, that we the said Bailiffs and Commonalty have 
assigned, granted, and yielded, and by these presents in- 
dented under our hands, have confirmed to SirP Thomas 
Osse, Chaplain, our Chauntry called ^^ Seynt Marie 
Chauntree," together with its appurtenances, to have and 
to hold the said Chauntry, with all lands, tenements, 

o The Chauntry of Roodes gained the additional name of the 
Chauntry of St. Mary, from the circumstance of the church in 
which it was celebrated being dedicated to St. Maiy. 

^ The Latin original is in good preservation in the Record 
Chamber of the Corporation. 

p The style. Sir Thomas Osse, Chaplain, and Syr John Cop- 
gray, in the Guild of Corpus Christi, will appear peculiar; but it 
was usual, m Catholic times, to prefix the title of " Sur" or " Syr* 
to the names of certain Ecclesiastics, instead of " Reverend." 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 263 

grovages^ curtilages^ closes^ meadows^ pastures^ and pas- 
turages belonging to the said Chauntry^ on the day of the 
signing of these presents, of whatsoever kind or nature 
they may be, during the life of him the said Sir Thomas 
Osse, without any reservation, except the reparation of 
the houses of the said Chauntry, and the payment of the 
fee-farm rent due to the said town ; on this condition, 
that on every seventh day, that is to say, on the holy sab- 
bath, as chief Deacon in the church of the said town, he 
shall read and teach the Evangelists, and that every day, 
in like manner as on the holy sabbath, when mass is per- 
formed, after the Offertory, he shall pray and say in Eng- 
lish these words, ^^ Ye shall pray for the good state, welfare, 
and pspite of the Bayliffs of this town, and all the Comyn- 
alte of the same, fundars of this Ghauntre. And for the 
soUys of all the sayd Comynalte and all the good decas of 
the same past to the ificy of God, for their sowUis and all 
cristyn sowlys/' De profundis, &c. Cfi oramb3 sive Col- 
Curates, Chaplains, Vicars, and Rectors, were styled Sir, to dis- 
tinguish them from Masters of Arts, or Mag. Art. — Vide Nichollss 
Anecdotes. 

In reply to a commission held at Ely under the Act of Parlia- 
ment, temp. Edw. 6', to enquire into the constitution of the 
Trinity Guild at Wisbech, it was answered, with respect to the 
names of the priests. 

Sir Nicholas Myller, 
Sir Thomas Cameron, 
Sir Robert Lynde. 

Vide Watsons Hist, of Wisbech, 

In the acknowledgment of the King s supremacy by the Prior 
and Brethren of St. Neotfs Priory, Hunts, they all sign, Dominus 
or Sir. — Vide Gorhams Hist, of St, Neotts. — Vide also Rohynss 
Will, Page 254. 



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264 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

lect Inclina dne^ &c. Fidelifi Deus^ &c. Sub uno p dnm. 
And every day in like manner when mass is celebrated, 
he shall say, for the good estate of the Bailiffs and» Com- 
monalty, Oramus Deus qui Caritatis dona, &c. and Versus 
se teneb : And he shall observe and keep all and singular 
the anniversaries of the said Chauntry, now or hereafter 
set forth in the Registry and various Wills, for the due per- 
formance of which, he shall have and enjoy all and sin- 
gular the donations hitherto made or hereafter granted to 
the said Chauntry. 

In consideration of which grant, release, and confirma- 
tion, the aforesaid Sir Thomas engages himself by his 
sacerdotal pledge, continually to reside in the aforesaid 
town during his life, on the Chauntry aforesaid, and also 
to discharge and perform the duties above recited. And 
it shall not be lawful for the said Sir Thomas either to 
alienate or assign his right in the said chauntry and tene- 
ments, grovages, curtilages, closes, pastures, and pastur- 
ages, with their appurtenances to others, without licence of 
the said Bailiffs and Commonalty and their successors 
first and fully obtained. In testimony of which, to this 
part of the said indenture remaining with the said Bailiffs 
and Commonalty, the said Thomas Osse has affixed his 
seal. Given at Gumecester aforesaid, the 20th day of 
May, in the year of our Lord one thousand four hundred 
and ninety-nine. 

The Chauntry of St. Mary or Roodes was as- 
sessed, in the Valor Ecclesiasticus of Henry 8th, 
at £7 7s. md. per annum. 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 



265 



CANTARIA IN GODMANC HESTER, A. D. 1534. 






ly 



d. 
iiij 



ThomasPeynton, Capellanus 

ibxn. 
Valet in profi- ' 
cuis proveni- 
en'decantaria 
i'Bm tam in te- 
nement' terr' 
arabilib3 prat* 
pascuisetpas- 
tur'eidemcan- 
tarie pertinen* 
per annu 

Repris'. 
In denar' so- ' 
lut' versus fe- 
ed' firm' ville 
de Godman- 
chester per 

annu 

Et reman' . . vij vij xiob 
Xma inde. . — xiiij ixob 



>i 



XV 



iiijob 



Thomas Peynton, Chaplain, 
£. s. d. 
Profits accruing 
to the Chauntry, 
either from te- 
nements, arable 
land,meadows,pas- 
tures or pasturage 
belonging to the 
Chauntry, per an- 
num 9 3 4 



From which de- 
duct towards the 
fee-farm rent of 
the town of God- 
manchester, per 

annum 1 15 

Clear ann.revenue 7 7 



The Tenth 



111 
14 111 



THE GUILD OR CHAUNTRY OF CORPUS CHRISTI. 

The foundation of this Guild was, perhaps, as 
antient as that of St. Mary's. In the 35th of Ed- 
ward 1st, Thomas Robyns^ left '' to the fraternity 
of the Guild of Corpus Christi a rood of meadow 
lying in Hudpool, and a quarter of barley,"^ which 
impUes that the fraternity was at that time a regu- 

q Vide Robyns s Will, page 254. 



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266 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

larly organised body. With respect to the early 
history of this and the two following Guilds, it is 
involved in that general desolation of historical 
facts, consequent on the ruthless destruction of 
monastic Ubraries, ecclesiastical registries, and ma- 
nuscripts, at the Reformation, prior to which event 
reUgious houses were almost the sole repositories of 
records, of registers,' of learning, and of the arts. 
In 1471, Syr John Copgray, Vicar of Alconbury, 
left to this Chauntry, by will, twenty acres of 
meadow, by which donation the possessions of the 
Chauntry were increased to forty acres of meadow 
and grovage, lying intermixed with the lands of 
Godmanchester : upon which John Alrede and 
John Bygge, Masters or Governors^ of the Frater- 
nity of Corpus Christi in Godmanchester, con- 

' On the contemplated overthrow of the Monastic Orders in 
England, Parish Registers were ordered to he kept in churches. 
" This month of September, a. d. 1539, Thomas Cromwell, Lord 
Privy Seal, &c., sent forth instructions to all Bishops and Curates 
throughout the realm, charging them to see that a Book of Re- 
gister was provided and kept in every parish church, wherein 
shall be written every wedding, christening, and burying within 
the same parish for ever." — Stows Chronicle, 

The earliest registers of Godmanchester parish commence a. d. 
1603 ; if any were kept previous to that date, they are now lost. 

" Magistri, Gardiani — ^Masters or Governors, were the chief 
oflficers of the Guild. Each Guild had commonly two or four 
stewards, called Gardiani, Scabini, Scavini, Skyvens, or Magistri, 
who were annually elected from the brethren, and when sworn, 
entrusted with the goods and chattels of the fraternity; their duty 
was to employ them for the good of the Guild, collect rents, &c. 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 267 

veyed the Chauntry by deed, indented* to Sir Robert 
Dobyn, Chaplain, for life, on condition that he 
should constantly reside on the said Chauntry in 
Godmanchester , and on every Sabbath-day celebrate 
the mass of the Holy Trinity, with certain appointed 
prayers and collects ; and that in the course of the 
service he should stand before the altar, and say, in 
EngUsh — 

^^ Ye schall pray especially for the good state, welfare, 
and psgite of all the brethern and sistern of this Gyld of 
Corpus Xri, and for all the sawles of the same past to the 
mercy of God, and euspecyaly for the sawle of Syr John 
Copgray, sum tyme vicary of Alkinbury, and chiefe foun- 
der of this Gylde, and for the sowles of hys parentis, for 
their sowles, and all cristen sowles/' 

The deed was sealed by the parties in the Guild- 
hall {Oylda-Aula) of Godmanchester, on the festival 
of Corpus Xri, a. d. 1471 . In the 6th of Henry 7th,on 
the death of Sir Robert Dobyn, John Ozwell, Clerk, 
was appointed officiating Chaplain to the Chauntry 
of Corpus Christi, and by deeds'^ indented, stipu- 
lated with Thomas Laxton and Edward Barre, 
Masters or Guardians of the Guild, for the posses- 
sion of the Guild, together with an annuity of 
eight marcs of EngUsh money ; annually to be 
paid by the said Guardians at the Feast of the Na- 
tivity, the Feast of St. John the Baptist, the Feast 
of St. Michael the Archangel, and at Easter, dur- 

^ The Latin original is amongst the Corporation Records. 
"The Latin original is amongst the Records of the Corporation, 



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268 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

ing the life of the said John Ozwell, on condition 
that he should constantly reside on the said Chaun- 
try in Grodmanchester, and perform similar sacer- 
dotal duties to those specified in the above recited 
contract between the Governors of the Guild and Sir 
Robert Dobyn. The deeds of covenant were sealed 
on the Feast of St. Mathew the Apostle, a.d. 1490. 
This Chauntry, Uke the former, continued to re- 
ceive accessions of endowment, as in the Will of 
Thomas Froste, in 1491, to the time of its sup- 
pression. 

THE GUILD OF THE HOLY TRINITY. 

By the Will of Agnes Lane, August 5th, 1483, 
we find half an acre of meadow lying inMoreland, 
left to the Fraternity of the Guild of the Holy 
Trinity ; and in the Will of Thomas Hewind, Nov. 
8th, 1495, in the Archdeacon's Registry Office in 
Huntingdon. 

Gumecestr'. 

Item lego fratitat See I leave to the Fraternity 

Trinitat' iBm una acra di^ of the Holy Trinity, in 

acre terrae arral^ in Bas- Gumecestr' aforesaid, an 

croft iuxt le hadland rec- acre and a half of arable 

torie. land in Bascroft, near the 

rectory headland. 

Notwithstanding these endowments in the name 
of the Guild of the Holy Trinity, it is most pro- 
bable that the Fraternity was merged into the 
Guild of Corpus Christi, from the Guardians of that 
Guild stipulating with Sir Robert Dobyn that he 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 



269 



should, on every Sabbath-day, celebrate the mass 
of the Holy Trinity. 



THE GUILD OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST. 

But little is on record relative to this antient 
Guild. As early as the year 1306'' we find it men- 
tioned in the Will of Thomas Robyns, *' to the 
Fraternity of the Guild of Saint John the Baptist, 
half a quarter of barley;" from which period we 
pass through a long lapse of time to the year 1534, 
without finding more than incidental allusions to 
it. With the copy of a Court-entry of the above 
date we shall close our notice of this Guild. 



Gumecestr'. 
Curia tent ibifl die Jovis 
pp post festfi See Katerine 
vginis A** Regis Henr^ viij 



Ad banc Curia^ venerut 
Jofies Frere et Thomas 
Pacy gardiani Gilde fra? 
Sci Jo^es Baptiste in ecctia 
beate Marie de Gumecester 
ac ceperunt seasin de et in 
duas acr^ de leys plant cu 
balucib in le Est fylde juxta 
le Cowe-way ex pte boriali. 



At a Court held at God- 
manchester on the Thurs- 
day next after the Feast of 
Saint Catherine the Virgin, 
in the 26th year of the reign 
of King Henry 8th. 

To this Court came John 
Frere and Thomas Pacy, 
Guardians of the Fraternity 
of the Guild of Saint John 
the Baptist, in the church 
of the blessed Mary in God- 
manchester, and took seisin 
of and in two acres of leys 
in East-field, near Cow-way 
to the North. 



V Vide page 254. ^ Vide Court Rolls, 26th Henry 8th. 



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270 



HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 



Necnou de et in decern 
acris et una virga t«re arra- 
bilib^ unde una acra et dP 
jacet juxta Cambrig way ex 
pte orient, et ij hadlandys in 
Barscop content di^ acr^, et 
due acr^ et di^ in Fowre- 
horse-fylde juxta Thomas 
Pacy ex pte orient et acr^ 
et di^ et una virga in le 
West-fylde juxta Robtu 
Kynge ex pte boriali, et di^ 
acr^ in dicto capo juxta 
Jofiem Vynter ex pte orient 
et tres virgas in eodem capo 
juxta Thomas Pacy ex pte 
orient et di^ acr^ in eodem 
Campo sup Althorpe Hyll 
et duo acr^ jacent juxta 
Elena^ Bydar vidua ex pte 
australi in le Lowse-fylde — 
tiend et tenendfi ^dicto 
legs cfi tris ^dict pfatis 
Jofii Frere et Thome Pacy 
ad usu fra^inta? Sci Johis 
in Ecctia ^dicta ex dono et 
legacone Jotiis Aired Pres- 
biteris, et Seissiti sunt et 
soluer^ p Garsuma ut in 
Capite. Garsum 2^. 



And also of and in ten 
acres and a rood of arable 
land, of which one acre and 
a half lies near Cambridge- 
way to the east, and two 
headlands in Bascroft, con- 
taining half an acre, and 
two acres and a half in 
Four-horse-field, near Tho- 
mas Pacys, on the east; and 
one acre and a half and one 
rood in the West-field, near 
Robert King's, on the north; 
and half an acre in the same 
field, near John Vinter's, on 
the east; and three roods 
in the same field, near Tho- 
mas Pacy's, on the east; 
and half an acre in the same 
field on Althorp Hill, and 
two acres lying near Elenor 
Bydar's, widow, on the 
south, in Lowse-field — ^To 
have and to hold the said 
leys and lands to the afore- 
said John Frere and Tho- 
mas Pacy, to the use of the 
Fraternity of Saint John 
the Baptist, in the aforesaid 
church ; by the gift and do- 
nation of John Aired Pres- 
biter ; and they are seised 
accordingly, and have paid 
Garson, to wit two shillings. 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 271 

Whether the whole of these Chauntries and 
Guilds were comprehended, or merely that of 
Roodes, in the Valor of Henry 8th, is not stated. — 
The work of ecclesiastical spoliation was now about 
to commence. By an Act of Parliament passed in 
March, a.d. 1535, the suppression of one hundred 
and eighty-one lesser monasteries took place, whose 
revenues amounted to .^32,000 per annum, which 
were seized upon by the Crown, together with 
plate, jewels, shrines, &c. producing in the whole, 
by their sale, upwards of <3eiOO,000 in specie. In 
1540, the suppression of the larger monasteries 
was also effected by an Act of Parliament passed 
31st Henry 8th, entitled, '' An Act whereby all 
manors, lands, profits, and hereditaments, belong, 
ing to any monasteries or other reUgious houses 
dissolved, or hereafter by any means to be dissolved, 
are assured to the King's Highness, his heirs and 
successors for ever." Under these enactments the 
accumulated wealth of the church was wrested from 
its devotees, in a manner and under pretexts which 
it is not our province here to enlarge upon : the 
sacred edifices, which the piety of ages had 
erected and consecrated to reUgion and learning, 
were overthrown; and, in the demoUtion of the 
sanctuaries of antiquity, history, and Uterature, 
their valuable libraries and important manuscripts 
were involved in one common ruin. In all, 1 148 
monasteries were destroyed, whose rental produced 
£183,707 per annum, and their immense posses- 



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272 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

sions, in a great measure, impropriated by free 
grants to laymen; though in some instances effected 
by almost nominal purchases. 

In the reign of Edward the 6th, the great work 
of monastic destruction commenced by his father, 
was completed. That Monarch was but little more 
than nine years of age when he ascended the throne, 
and his preceptors. Dr. Cox and Sir John Clarke, 
names well known in the History of the Reformation, 
advised the continuance of those measures which 
lead to the entire overthrow of CathoUcism in this 
kingdom. One of the first Acts of his Parliament, 
entitled, *' An Act for Chauntries CoUegiate," con- 
ferred upon the King all Chauntries, free Chapels, 
&c. which had been unmolested in the preceding 
reign. It provided, '* that the King should have 
and enjoy all lands theretofore by any person given, 
to be employed wholly to the founding and main- 
tenance of any anniversary or obit, or any Ught or 
lamp in any church ; that all fraternities and bro- 
therhoods should be given to the King, with all 
manors, lands, &c. appertaining to the same ; and 
that Commissioners should be appointed to survey 
all lay Corporations, Guilds, and Fraternities, and 
inspect the evidence, writings, &c." By this Act 
of ParUament, those endowments only were pre- 
served which had been formed for the purpose of 
founding granunar schools. In the following year, 
A.D. 1548, 90 Colleges, 110 Hospitals, and 2374 
Chauntries and free Chapels were suppressed, in- 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 273 

eluding those of Godmanchester, their jewels and 
other moveables carried into the Exchequer, and 
their manors, lands, &c annexed to the Crown, and 
subsequently variously impropriated, after the man- 
ner of the possessions of the dissolved monasteries, 
abbeys, &c. 

By letters-patent, dated May 26th, a.d. 1582, 
Queen Elizabeth granted the lands, houses, &c. of 
the Chauntry and Guilds in Godmanchester to John 
Pounte, on a term of twenty-one years, at a re- 
served rent of £35 I6s. lOd,, whose interest in 
the premises was subsequently purchased by Peter 
Proby, gentleman, of London, who, on the 7th day 
of May, A.D. 1592, obtained a farther demise of 
them from the Crown for twenty-one years, at the 
rent of *£35 16«. lOd. per annum, £5 I5s. 5d. of 
which was yearly remitted as being the rent-charge 
upon the lands and houses of the Chauntries towards 
the fee-farm rent of the town, and a farther sum 
of four shiUings, being an eleemosynary charge due 
from the Chauntries to the poor of the town. 

We shall here recite the covenant between Peter 
Proby and the Crown, as it contains a specification 
of the property of the Chauntry and Guilds, and 
the manner of their demise for a term of years. 

This Indenture,* made between the most excellent 
Princess our Lady Elizabeth, by the grace of God Queen 
of England, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, 
&c. on the one part, and Peter Proby, gentleman, of Lon- 

» The Latin original is amongst the Corporation records. 

T 



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274 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

don, OH the other part, witnesseth — ^That whereas our 
aforesaid Queen, by deed indented and sealed with the 
Dutchy Seal of Lancaster, at the Palace at Westminster, 
bearing date the 26th of May, in the twenty-fourth year 
of her reign, granted, yielded, and demised at lease to 
John Pounte all the Chauntry called Roodes, and all the 
Guild of Corpus Christi, and all the Guild of the Holy 
Trinity called Trinity Guild, in Godmanchester, in the 
county of Huntingdon, and all and singular the lands, 
tenements, and hereditaments, and other possessions 
whatsoever, given, granted, intended, and ordained for the 
founding and supporting of various obits, anniversaries, 
and lights in the parish church of Godmanchester aforesaid, 
in the said county of Huntingdon. And all and singu- 
lar the lands, tenements, and hereditaments to the said 
Chauntry and Guilds, and all manner of possessions that to 
either or all of them were in any way appertaining, and 
which were particularly expressed and recited in the afore- 
said Indenture — that is to say, a tenement in Godman- 
chester aforesaid, lately in the tenure of John Senews ; 
another edifice or building, in the tenure of Thomas Pey- 
ton, then lately (Chaplain) of the said Chauntry 3 and 
also 54f acres of arable land, lately in the tenure of fid- 
ward Wilson, and 22 acres and one rood of meadow, lately 
in the tenure of the said Edward ; and also 71 acres of 
pasture land, and a bam and an orchard, lately in the 
tenure of the said £dward ; which lands and tenements 
lately belonged to the aforesaid Chauntry of Roodes, and 
were parcel of the possessions of the said Chauntry, and 
situated, lying, and being in Godmanchester aforesaid. 
And also one house or tenement, lately in the tenure of 
Robert Farmary, and 80 acres and a half and one rood of 
meadow, lying in East-meadow, West-meadow, Small- 
thorns, Reed-meadow, Hudpool, and Moreland, lately in 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 275 

the separate tenures of various inhabitants of the town 
aforesaid, and the aforesaid Guild, called Corpus Christi 
Guild, then lately belonging to and being parcel of the 
possessions of the said late Guild. And also a tenement, 
lately in the tenure of Edmund Archpold, and a small 
grove of wood, lately in the tenure of the Bailiflfs of the 
said town of Godmanchester, and 22 acres of meadow, 
lying and being in the above-named meadows, and lately 
in the tenure of various inhabitants of the said town and 
Guild of the Holy Trinity, lately belonging to and forming 
part of the possessions of the said late Guild of the Holy 
Trinity. And also 41 acres and a half of meadow, Ipng 
in the above-named meadows, and late in the occupation 
of various inhabitants of the said town, which said mea- 
dows last specified were formerly given and granted for 
the finding and maintenance of various lamps, lights, and 
obits in the parish church of Godmanchester aforesaid, in 
the said county of Huntingdon. All and singular which 
lands, tenements, &c., as above-mentioned, are situate, 
lying, and being in Godmanchester aforesaid, and were 
lately given and granted to the Lord Edward the Sixth, 
late King of England, by virtue and authority of Parlia- 
ment, and by the legislation and authority of Parliament 
were late annexed to the said Dutchy of Lancaster, and all 
woods and underwoods in and upon the premises, or in 
any way whatever appertaining to them (except the 
above-named small grove before demised) for the said 
Queen, her heirs and successors. To have and to hold 
all and singular the lands, tenements, and premises above 
specified, with their appurtenances, to John Pounte and 
his assigns, from the Feast of the Annunciation of the 
Blessed Virgin Mary then last past, previous to the date 
of the before recited Indenture until the term of twenty-one 
years from that period next following, shall be fully and 

T 2 



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276 HISTORY OF GODMANCHEST£R« 

completely expired. Pajdng for the same amiually to the 
aforesaid Queen^ her heirs and successors^ £35 16^. lOd* 
of lawful English money, at the Feast of St. Michael the 
Archangel, and at Easter, by equal proportions annually 
during the said term, as is more fully and at large ex- 
plained and recited in the aforesaid Indenture ; which said 
Indenture of the premises made to the aforesaid John 
Pounte, and all his title and interest during the said term 
of years in the aforesaid Indenture and premises, the said 
Peter Proby now has, as the aforesaid Queen is given to 
understand ; therefore, in consideration of the premises, 
and the possession of them, and the possession of the 
aforesaid Indenture and his title for the term of years, 
and his interest in the premises, that is to say, from Easter 
in the 34th year of the reign of our Lady Queen Elizabeth, 
and which the said Peter Proby, before our Chancellor and 
Council in the aforesaid Dutchy, in the Court of the said 
Dutchy at Westminster, of our said Queen, has returned and 
restored to our said Queen, and cancelled, and there also 
the said cancelling took place to the intention and effect 
that the aforesaid Queen should do with respect to the pre- 
mises what she deemed best and most advisable ; which 
said gift of release to the aforesaid Queen is hereby 
acknowledged, and by these presents in due form ac- 
knowledged. Whereupon our Lady the Queen, for good 
and sufficient considerations previously made by the said 
Peter Proby to our said Queen, and in consideration of 
the said Gift of Release, by the advice and consent of her 
Council of her said Dutchy of Lancaster, yields, grants, 
and demises at fee-farm to the aforesaid Peter Proby, 
gentleman, all that Chauntry of Roods, and all that Guild 
of Corpus Christi, and all that Guild of the Holy Trinity, 
(here follows a recapitulation of the grant with the mere 
verbal additions of plus aut minus to the lands enumer- 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 277 

ated,) to have and to hold all and singular the lands^ tene* 
ments^ and meadows, &c, the premises, as above specified, 
with their appurtenances, to the aforesaid Peter Proby 
and his assigns from the Feast of the Annunciation of the 
Blessed Virgin Mary last past previous to the said date, 
to the end of the term of twenty-one years then next fol- 
lowing; paying for the same annually to the aforesaid 
Queen, her heirs and successors, £35 16s. lOd. of lawful 
English money, at the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel 
and at Easter, by equal proportions annually during the said 
term. And the aforesaid Farmer, for himself, his heirs, 
executors, administrators and assigns, agrees and under- 
takes with the aforesaid Queen, her heirs and succes- 
sors, every third year during the said term, to make and 
assess a new and true rental of the lands, tenements, 
grovages, &c. the before-recited premises, and to deliver 
the said rental into the hands of the Auditor of the said 
premises, or his Deputy for the time being. Auditor at 
Higham Ferrars. And the aforesaid Queen by these pre- 
sents agrees for herself, her heirs and successors, annually 
during the said term, to excuse, remit, and indemnify the 
said Farmer, his executors and assigns, of the aforesaid 
rent, jg5 19^ 5d. chargeable on the said premises, that 
is to say, to the Bailiffs of Godmanchester aforesaid 
£5 lbs. 5d.f and to the poor of the said town four shil- 
lings annually. And the aforesaid Farmer, for himself, 
bis executors, administrators and assigns, bargains and 
agrees with the aforesaid now Queen, her heirs and suc- 
cessors, that he, his executors, administrators and assigns, 
will well and suflftcieutly keep, repair, build, make and 
maintain all and singular the houses, buildings, &c. the 
premises above specified with their appurtenances, and 
will from time to time dike, ditch, and fence, and do all 
manner of repairs in and upon the premises during the 



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278 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

said term ; in shorty to the end of the said term will keep^ 
sustain^ build, make, and maintain all and every thing 
thus demised. In consideration of which the said Farmer 
and his assigns shall have of the aforesaid Queen, her 
heirs and successors, good and sufficient timber growing 
in and upon the premises, to be taken with the consent 
and under the direction of the Supervisor of the Woods of 
our Lady the Queen, her heirs and successors, in the 
aforesaid Dutchy. And also shall have good and sufficient 
fireboote, ploughboote, and carteboote growing upon the 
premises, to be used thereon and not elsewhere, at the in- 
dividual cost and expenses of the said Farmer and his 
assigns during the said term. And if it shall happen that 
the annual rent of £35 I6s. lOd. is in part or altogether 
in arrear, and not paid to our General-receiver of the pre- 
mises or his Deputy, within forty days next after either of 
the above feasts at which it ought to be paid, or in the 
event of this Indenture not being enrolled for the space 
of one year now following before our Auditor of the Pre- 
mises for the time being, that then these presents of 
demise and grant are revoked and of none eflfect in law. — 
In testimony of which, &c. given at the Palace of West- 
minster aforesaid, under the Seal of our said Dutchy, 
the 7th day of May, in the year of the Reign of our Lady 
Queen Elizabeth the thirty-fourth. 

On the town being incorporated by James the 
First, A.D. 1604, the Bailiffs and Assistants were 
induced by Richard Shute, their Town Clerk, to 
proceed by Bill in the Dutchy Court, to recover 
from Peter Proby the Chauntry lands, averring 
that the general words of the new charter conveyed 
to them all the right and title the King had to 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 279 

those lands as parcel of the manor ; and as a pre- 
lude to the litigation, advised them to grant a per- 
petual annuity to the King and his heirs of «£30 a 
year/ being the amount of the reserved rent to the 
Crown, after deducting the fee-farm rent in the 
demise to Peter Proby. This was over-ruled by 
the Court, and deemed a vexatious proceeding 
against the Devisee, on which Shute demanded of 
the Corporation his costs and expenses. The Cor- 
poration, disappointed with not having obtained 
the Chauntry lands, and irritated by their liability 
to the annuity, refused to pay Shute, and he in 
turn became Plaintiff in the Dutchy Court against 
them. The matter was in vain referred to the 
consideration of the Recorder, who declined ar- 
bitrating, but reported thereon to Sir Thomas 
Parrey, Knight, Chancellor of the Dutchy, when, 
after various replications on the part of the Cor- 
poration and answers by Shute, the Court ordered 
a release from the annuity, and a suspension of the 
payment of Shute's costs, until he procured the 
Corporation a release under the Great Seal from 
the annuity and arrearages, in which state of the 
business Shute died. Sir Thomas Panton, of South 
Lambeth, in Surrey, Knt., and '' Dame Marie, his 
wiefe, sole executrix of Richard Shute, gentleman, 
deceased," by indenture* with Henry Mayle, then 
Bailiff, on the part of the Corporation, compounded 

y This grant bears date July 12th, 1604. 
« July 2d, 1614. 



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280 HISTORY OF GODMANCHBSTBR. 

the claims of Shute for £2(X, and undertook to ob- 
tain a release from the annuity and the arrearages 
thereof for the further consideration of four-score 
pounds. The release passed the Great Seal and 
the Dutchy Seal on the 23d of June, a. d. 1615, 
An. Reg. Jacob. 13**, and the Corporation claim to 
the Chauntry lands was relinquished. 

Previous to the falling inof Proby's lease, James 
the 1st granted, by letters-patent, dated Jan. 17th, 
A. D. 1607, to WiUiam Lord Mounteagle, and at 
his instance, to Edward Newporte, Esq., and John 
Crompton, Gentleman, the lands, tenements, &c. 
belonging to the Chaimtry and Guilds to be held 
as of the Manor of East Greenwich, in Kent, re- 
serving a crown rent of £29 17 s. 5rf., and the 
accustomed fee-farm rent payable in common from 
these as all other lands in Godmanchester ; but in 
consequence of the Corporation claim to the Chaun- 
try lands being at that time in agitation, the fee- 
farm rent by the new Devisee was withheld, on 
which an application for the recovery of it was 
made against him by suit in the Dutchy Court, 
which recognized the grant to Lord Mounteagle, 
and issued a decree,* commanding the payment of 
the fee-farm rent, bearing date Feb. 15th, a. d. 1608. 

At some period subsequent to these events, (the 
date of which, and in what manner effected, we 
have been unable to ascertain,) the lands, &c. of 

» Vide Decree of the Dutchy Court, in the Record Chamber. 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 2Sl 

the Chaimtries and Giiilds have been annexed to 
the rectory, on whose lessee the old crown rent of 
^30 per annum is charged as an annuity in aug- 
mentation of the vicarage, as also with the sum 
of ^5 19^. 5rf. to the annual fee-farm rent of the 
town. 



CHURCH PEES, 1822. 

In a terrier of the parish of Godmanchester, in the county 
of Huntingdon and diocese of Lincoln^ bearing date 
July 2d5 one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two^ 
and signed by W. C. Ridley, officiating Minister, for 
James Chartres, Vicar; John Lancaster, William 
Reeve, Churchwardens 3 Thomas Fox, Richard Miles, 
James Strangward, James Veasey, John Kisby, John 
Kisby, jun. William Briggs, John Burley, Thos. Maile, 
Robert Maile, Inhabitants, is contained as follows : 

Surplice Fees to Minister. 

£, s. d. 
^^ An oblation at every churching of women ..006 

Item — At every wedding by publication of banns 6 

Item — ^For every wedding by licence . • • • 14 

Item — ^For every funeral taken in church without 

a sermon 050 

Item— For ditto, where the intermeAt is in 

church or chancel, double fees. 

Vicarage Falue. 

'* Item — ^Also thirty pounds per annum paid by the Rector 
of .the parish to the Vicar. The lands allotted to the 
vicarage are valued by the Commissioners under the in* 



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282 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

closure at £343 Ss. 9d.y exclusive of surplice fees^ and 
the £30 paid by the Rector to the Vicar. 

Parish Clerk. 

" There is also due to the Parish Clerk, from every 
family, 4rf. Marriage by banns, 2s. ; by licence, 5s. By 
funerals, vrhen taken in church, 3^. Not going in 
church, 2s» Ever^ interment in church or chancel, double 
fees. For every christening, I*. ; and for every procla- 
mation, dcL 

Sexton. 
" There is also due to the Sexton, for digging grave, 
tolling the bell, and the like at the funeral, 2^ • 8d." 

A true extract, having been examined with the 
original Terrier, remaining in the Registry 
of the Lord Bishop of Lincoln. 

(Signed) Robert Swan, 

Dep. Reg. 

Godmanchester, County of Huntingdon. 
Sexton. 

^^ Sexton's fees omitted when the Terrier was made and 
delivered, and stands dated the 17th day of July, 1822; 

^^ item — For every wedding by banns, 6d. Item — ^For 
every wedding by licence, 2*. 6d. Item— For tolling bell 
and digging grave, 2*. 8d. Item — For tolling bell at a 
funeral. Is. 6d. Item— For every funeral taken in church. 
Is. Item — For every interment in church or chancel, 
double fees." 

We, the Minister, Churchwardens, and other parish- 
ioners, do hereby certify that the above fees are correct, 
as witness our hands this 23d day of August, 1823, James 
Chartres, Minister ; John Lancaster, Wm. Reeve, Church- 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 283 

wardens ; James Strangward, Thomas Fox, Charles Pope, 
Samuel Bates, Richard MUes, Thos. MaUe, Parishioners. 

A true extract, having been examined with the 
original Terrier remaining in the Registry 
of the Lord Bishop of Lincoln. 

(Signed) Robert Swan. 

Lincoln, 3lst Oct 1826. Dep. Reg. 



NOTICES OF VICARS, CHAPLAINS, AND CURATES 
OF GODMANCHESTER, 

FROM A.D. 1209 TO A. D. 1831. 
A. D. 

1209. Between the years 1209 and 1234 Robertus Clicus, 

presented to the Vicarage.^ 
1303. Rogerus Strateshill, Capellanus.^^ 
1306. Dns William, Capellanus; and Dns Lawrence, 

Capellanus.* 
1367- Dns Henricus, Vicar Ecctiae de Gumeces?.« 
1431. John Copegray, Chapelyn of Gumecestr*^ 
1457. Jofiis Grene, Vicar Ecctiae de Gumecestr'^ 
1471. Diis Robertus Dobyn, appointed Chaplain of 

Corpus Christi Guild.'* 
1483. Dm Jofies Oxen, Capell'* 

^ Vide p. 228, and Appendix, No. 9. 

c Vide Rot Orig. p. 259. d Vide Robyn's Will, p. 254. 

® Was used in a Plea of Trespass by Alexander Aired. — Vide 
Court Rolls, 42dEdw. Sd. 

^ Vide Arbitrium de Pontibus. 

e Admitted to the seisin of land in the Court Rolls, 35th of 
Heniy 6tb. 

^ Vide p. 266. 

* Took seisin of a house. — Vide Court Rolls, a.d. 1483. 



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284 HISTORY OF 60DMANCHBSTER. 

1490. Johanes Ozwell^ Clerk^ appointed Chaplam of 

Corpus Christi Guild J 
1499. Diis Thomas Osse, appointed Chaplain to the 

Chauntry.'' 

1503. M aystr Robert Dieton, Vicar of Godmanchester.^ 

1504. Robert Aston, Vicar.™ 

1534. John Aired, Presbiter, left property to the Guild of 

St. John the Baptist. 
1534. Thorns Byllington, est Vicarius.° 
1534. Thomas Pejmton, Chaplain of the Chauntry.^ 
1542. Cristofer Robie Clarke, Vicar, allowed to hold land 

conditionally.^ 
1550. William Samuel, Vicar, admitted to the Freedom of 

Godmanchester.^ 
1558. Robert Durant, Vicar of Godmanchester/ 
1590. Mr. Barnwell, Vicar. 
1604. Rev. John Wibame, Vicar, who officiated to March 

1634; after whom the Cure was discharged by 

the Rev. G. Nelson, to June 1635.« 
1636. Rev. D. Gardiner, Vicar, who officiated until March 

29th, 1644, when it was sequestered from him, 

and served by occasional Ministers until the 

year 1651.* 

i Vide p. 267. * vide p. 262. 

1 Alluded to in the Court Rolls of that year. ™ Ibid. 

n Valor Ecclesiasticus, p. 240. <> Ibid. p Vide p. 249. 

q ''Ad banc Cur* venit WiUm Samuell^ Vicar de Godman- 
chestr' et admissus est ad lib^tatem ville et solvit p'fin m ut in ca- 
pite et jurat est Fin. 6*. SdJ* — Vide Court Rolls, 

' Vide Pleadings in the Star Chamber relative to the Free 
School. 

■ " Mr. John Wibame, Batcheloure in Divinity and Vicar of 
this Parish, was buried the 15th day of June, 1635.** — Godm. 
Burial Reg. 

^ Vol. 459 of the Lansdown MSS. Brit. Mus. professes to be 



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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 285 

1651. The Rev. John Badcock^ Vicar, presented thereto 

by the Sequestrators and Commissioners of the 

Commonwealth.^* 
1691. The Rev. James Heywood, Vicar, presented by the 

Dean and Chapter of Westminster.'* 
1729. The Rev. Charles Potter, Vicar .▼ He officiated 

four years himself, and then by four successive 

Curates, viz: the Rev. John Dowsing, Rev. 

Skinner Spencer, Rev. William Warner, and 

Rev. Charles Southgate. 
1759. The Rev. William Williams, Vicar,^ who officiated 

for fifteen years, viz. to 1774. The Cure was 

" A Register of Church Livings, with their actual incomes, and 
the names of the Patrons and Incumbents. At p. 95, it states 
that there is ' no incumbent; the Cure is supplied by hired mi- 
nisters, it being sequestered from Afr. Gamer, the Vicar/ It is 
supposed to have been made about the year 1644, for the use of 
the Commissioners appointed in the ' Act for ejecting scandalous, 
ignorant, and insufficient Ministers.* ^'-^Vide Index to Lansdovm 
MSS. Brit. Mus, 

^ In 1651, " Mr. John Badcock was presented thereto by the 
Sequestrators and Commissioners of those times. Mr. Badcock 
complying, it seems, with the terms of the Bartholomew Act, sat 
Vicar here from 1651 to 1691, viz. 40 ann. : and in the same 
year, about Midsummer, the Dean and Chapter of Westminster 
presented to the vacancy (upon Mr. Badcock's decease) James 
Heywood, A.M., then student of Christ Church, Oxon, who is, 
through God's mercy and good providence, the present Vicar of 
Godmanchester and Lecturer of Huntingdon." — Vide the above 
in the MS. of James Heywood, prefixed to a Parish Register, 
" dated 22 die Nov. An. Bom, 1721."— Upwards of 2000 Minis- 
ters were ejected by what is called the Bartholomew Act, which 
passed August 24th, 1662, for non-conforming. 

V Institution Rolls, Buckden Palace. ^ Ibid. 



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286 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

subsequently performed under him by the Rev. 
William Panchen. 

1777' The Rev. Thomas Rutterforth, licensed Prelector, 
August, 1777-' 

1782. The Rev. Matthew Salmon, Vicar.y The Cure 
served by the Rev. Castle Sherard, then Lessee 
of the Rectorial Tithes, and the Rev. William 
Panchen. 

1797. The Rev. Joseph Wattson, Vicar.* 

1806. The Rev. James Chartres, Vicar;* who was served 
in the Cure by the Rev. P. C. Sherard to 1810, 
Rev. J. R. Wardle to 1813, Rev. Thomas Stan- 
ley, LL.D. to 1815, and who then officiated 
himself untU 1823. 

1823. The Rev. WiUiam Tournay, D.D., Vicar.b The 
Cure was performed by the Rev. Henry Parsons. 

1829. The Rev. Charles Gray, present Vicar, whose Cure 
is performed by the Rev. James Smyth. ^ 

« Institution Rolls, Buckden Palace. y Ibid. » Ibid. 

» Ibid. ^ Ibid. ^ Xbia. 



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287 



CHAPTER X. 



THE CHURCH. 




N our Ecclesiastical His- 
tory is noticed the early 
existence of a Church in 
Godmanchester, and which, 
probably, in some form, 
however rude, originated 
when Christianity became 
the adopted religion of the 
country. In the reigns of Edgar, William the 
Conqueror, and Stephen, the revenues of the 
Church were appropriated ; but the precise date of 
erection of the present structure, which is entered 
by a descent of three steps, is now involved in 
doubt ; the remains of its rood loft, and style of 
architecture, refer it to the middle Catholic ages, 
when ornamental tracery was generally introduced 
in our religious edifices. It is built in the light 
and mixed Gothic or early English style, so much 
adopted in the reign of Henry 7th, and consists of 
a naive, aisles, and chancel, the roofs of which 



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288 HISTORY OF 60DMANCHESTER. 

are of timber covered with lead. The naive is 
separated from the aisles on each side by five 
corresponding high pointed arches* rising from light 
shafts, and from the chancel by a large high 
pointed arch, now partly panneled up, and bearing 
in front of it the King's arms, splendidly embla- 
zoned. The interior of the Church was remodelled 
in the year 1827, when the reading desk and pulpit, 
formerly situated in the north centre of the naive, 
were removed to the south junction of the naive 
and chancel, where the minister may be heard and 
seen by the congregation to the greatest advantage. 
Before the corresponding pillar at the north en- 
trance of the chancel, is the Bailiffs' pew, which, 
together with those of the Assistants, Town Clerk, 
and Sub-bailiff, fiU up the eastern termination of 
the naive. The Assistants' seats, with their lofty 
wainscot backs, possess much of their antient 
splendour, but their original character is concealed 
by the erection of modem pews before them. TTiey 
form a continuation of curiously carved comfortable 
arm chairs, with turn-up seats, fashioned after the 
manner of cathedral prebendal stalls, and their 

a In the reign of Henry 3d, a style of architecture was 
introduced, which, from its singular high pointed arch, and to 
distinguish it from the semicircular Saxon, universally went 
by the name of Gothic; but it has been suggested, that the 
term. English would be more appropriate, there being very 
little doubt that the high pointed arch, struck from two centres, 
was invented in this country, where it was brought to its highest 
state of perfection. 



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THE CHURCH. 289 

reading desks are ornamented and relieved by 
grotesque representations of birds, heads of men, 
animals, and monsters.^ In the Bailiffs' pew are 
the following inscriptions on a carved oak pannel, 
the former of which probably refers to some general 
repairs of the Church : 

This seat was Rebuilt 

1758, 
John Jackson, Esq, 

and 
Hugh Ferrar, Gent. 
BaiUffs. 
The naive is appropriated to rustic benches, and 
at its western extremity is the baptismal font, and 
a modem gallery for the choir. TTie font is of an 
hexagonal form, hewn out of a block of lime- 
stone, and some imperfect sculptures, on its front 
and sides, are still visible.'' The aisles are well 

^ Grotesque figures and carvings, which are so common in 
Churches, were invented hy Marchion of Arezzo, an architect 
in the employ of Pope Innocent the 3d, who died in 1216. 
They were first used only to support columns, but were after- 
wards applied to spouts, and various other purposes. 

History of Stamford. 

^ " Fonts were antiently adorned with images and carvings of 
saints and holy men, to the end, that such as were baptized 
might have before their eyes the representation of those persons, 
eminent for holiness and virtue, whose actions they were to 
imitate.** — Staveleys Hist, of Churches, 

U 



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290 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

pewed, and the windows are divided by mullions 
into several lights, in which are contained some 
relics of painted glass, which, being irregularly 
distributed, indicate that the windows have been 
illumined with Scripture representations. 

The only remains of the rood loft** now left, is a 

d In Sleaford Church, Lincolnshire^ is a richly carved canopied 

Screen, dividing the hody of the Church from the Chancel, the 

upper part of which formed the Rood Loft, which is still entire. — 

In the Churchwardens* accompts of St. Helen's, hy J. Ward, 

(Archaeologia, vol. i.) are various items as charges for the Rood 

Loft and Lights. 

A. D. s. d. 

1555. An. 1 and 2 Phil, and Mary — ^Payde for making 

the roode and peynting the same . • • • 5 4 

For making the roode lyghtes 10 6 

Received for the holye looft lyghtes 33 4 

For the roode lyghtes at Chrismas 23 2ob 

1557. Received of the Paryshe for the roode lyghtes at 

Chrismas 21 9 

Of the Clarke for the holy loft 36 8 

Payde for peynting the roode of Marie and John 

and the Patron of the Churche 6 8 

For the roode Mary and John, with the Patron 

of the Church 18 

For making the roode lyghtes • 15 5 

For the roode Mary and John and the Patron . . 7 

1558. Received for roode lyghtes at Chrismas 18 6 

1559. For roode lyghtes at Chrismas 18 3ob 

1560 or 3d of Eliz'»»— Of Wm. Dalye for the holye lofte 6 4 

1561 or 4th of Eliz*i» — ^To the Somner for bringing the 

order for the roode loft 8 

To the Carpenter and others for taking down 
the roode lofte, and stopping the holes in the 
wall where the joices stoode 15 8 



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THE CHURCH. 291 

winding flight of stone steps, in a circular tower 
exterior to* the Church, at the south junction of the 
naive and chancel, the entrances to which are con- 
cealed by the Assistants' pew, pulpit, and reading- 

To the peynter for wrighting the Scripture where 
the roode lofte stoode^ and overthwarte the 

same isle 3 4 

Mr. Ward observes, that by the roode was meant either a 
crucifix, or the image of some saint, erected in Popish Churches. 
And here that name is given to the images of Mary and John ; 
as also to that of St Helen, the patroness of the Church. These 
images were set in shrines or tabernacles, and the place where 
they stood was called the Roode-loft, which was commonly over, 
or near the passage out of the body of the Church into the 
chancel. Fuller, in his History of Waltham Abbey, says, " And, 
wot you what spiritual mystery was couched in this position 
thereof? The Church (forsooth) typified the Church militant; 
the chancel represents the Church triumphant, and all who will 
pass out of the former into the latter, must go under the rood- 
lofl, i. e. carry the cross and be acquainted with affliction ;** this, 
he adds, because Harpsfield (Fox, Act and Man. p. 1690) con- 
fesseth himself ignorant of the rood situation. Anno. 1554, or 
the 1st of Mary, in the Churchwardens' account at Waltham 
Abbey, " payde for Mary and John that stand in the rood-loft, 
26s. 8d, — Christ on the cross saw his mother and the disciple 
whom he lov^d standing by." — ^John, 19th chap., 26th verse. In 
apish imitation whereof (when perfectly made with all the appur- 
tenances thereof) the rood was attended with these two images. — 
Vide Fuller's Hist p. 17. In the year 1548, the 1st of King 
Edward 6th, such images and their shrines were ordered to be 
taken down, as mentioned by Bishop Burnet in his History of the 
Reformation, vol. ii. b. 1, p. 61; but they are restored again by 
Queen Mary on her accession in the above-recited account of St 
Helens; and in 1561, or the 4th of Elizabeth, finally abolished. 

u2 



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292 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

desk. Not having discovered any records relative 
to the rood loft, or its final demolition, we must 
refer that event to the year 1573,* 15th of Eliza- 

« In Stiype's Memorials^ vol. iii. is contained " An Account 
of Cardinal Pole*8 Visitation of the Diocese of Lincoln^ a. d. 
1556,** to examine into the due resumption of Catholic ceremonials 
and conformities, and amongst others, ** whether they had a rood 
in their churches, of decent stature, with Maiy and John, and the 
image of the patron of the church ?** Godmanchester is not re- 
turned amongst the presentments cited hy Stiype, therefore most 
prohahly the rood loft at that time was still entire; hut, as Stiype 
has only recorded some amongst many that were made, we must 
not infer that Godmanchester was altogether exempted from eccle- 
siastical censure, particularly when we consider the varied nature 
of the following presentments: — 

*' One HuUock, curate of Ail Saints in Huntingdon, admi- 
nistered the Sacrament to several persons without auricular con- 
fessions, using only a general confession in the English tongue, 
such as was accustomed in the time of the schism. He was cast 
into gaol, then enjoined public penance; and that being performed, 
he was discharged from ministering any more in the diocess of 
Lincoln, and so he departed." '' Several in Huntington, for 
eating flesh in Lent without a dispensation, were cast into prison, 
and enjoyned to carry fagots two several days.** . " The vicar of 
Spaldwick was presented for carrying in his arms his child, which 
he had in wedlock in the time of the schism, to the scandal of 
others. He was enjoyned to carry it no more, and to make a re- 
cantation in the church.** " One Bumehy, of Brampton, when 
vicar of the church, on Palm Sunday, opened the doors of the 
church with the staff of the cross, and said in sport, ' What a 
sport have we towards ? Will our vicar run at quintine with God 
Almighty.* He submitted himself, and was enjoyned publick 
penance." " Enjoyned to the parish of Brampton to re-edify a 
rood-loft and four stone crosses in that parish.*' " Three of St 



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THE CHURCH. 293 

beth; and which circumstance, perhaps, rendered 
necessary those repairs and alterations in the 
Church intended to have been commemorated by 
the inscription of that date in the Bailiffs' pew. 
The principal entrance to the Church is by a 
handsome south porch, 



which bears ample testimony of the relaxed devo- 
tion of our days; for, as neither pilgrim nor penitent 
is to be found loitering in the cloisters or precincts 
of our holy mansions, waiting for the absolution 
and benediction of the parish priest, this fine 
antique porch is deformed and inclosed with fold- 

Ives who had fled because of religion^ now appearing^ submitted 
themselves and recanted the heresies which they held; and being 
absolved from their excommunication^ were put into prison, and 
afterwards carried faggots." " The vicar of Steukly gave the 
sacrament to some not confessed, and to some that desired auricular 
confession he denied it He was cast into prison, and made a 
recantation before his parishioners.** " It was enjoyned to the 
parishioners of St. Neots, to re-build all the altars that were before 
the schism in the church, and that they should set up a rood-loft 
with the images, and this to be done by a parish rate." 



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294 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

ing doors, and its windows blocked up with taste- 
less plaster. Churches and church porches were 
formerly places of resort at festivals, and upon 
other public occasions, an interesting instance of 
which may be seen in the following curious com- 
mand from the Bailiffs in the 16th of Elizabeth, 
at the time of a general dearth : 

*^ AN. DOM. 1573. — ^AN ORDER IN THE TIME OF DEARTH 
FROM MR. BAILIFFS FOR THB PORE. 

*^ Gumecest'. 
" You that be the pore of this prishe. Whereas cer- 
taine of you did make your moune to Mast' Bailiffs, that 
come and grayne \vas so deare that you where not able to 
by either busshell or halfe busshell, and as for pecks of 
grayne you colde seldom gett any for your money. And 
as seldom colde you gett either peny wheaten loffe peny 
bowsbolde, or two peny wheaten or howsboUde loffes for 
your mony at any of the baker's hands to serve your 
needs. Wherefore Mast' Bailieffs haith wylled me to gyve 
you to understand that they have not onely earnestly 
entreated Mr. Carter, farmer of the psanage, before he 
went forth, who gave his bailye a commndemet, who doth 
not deny the same, but that any pore body shall have at 
all tymes, during the dearth of grayne, as the market 
doth requyre, either bushell, half bushell, or peck, so long 
as they have any, but also straightly have charged and 
comanded all the comon bakers of this tawne, upon paine 
of punysbmet by the body, or fyne to be sett upon their 
heads, at Mr. Bailieff's disscrecyons, for their contempt 
in doing the contrary ; to have both peny and two-peny 
wheaten and bowsholde breade once or twise every weeke, 
and to keepe the assysse thereof, as they will answere it 



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THE CHURCH. 295 

at their parrelle, that the pore may have breade for their 
mony, and for y* the bakers nor any of them shall make 
excuse, and say, when the pore come to their howsses for 
wheaten or howsholde breade, yf you had come when we 
had yt you myght have had ynoughe; this excuse is 
thought to be made of them bycause their is lyttle gaine 
in that kynde of brede, yf they kepe thassize, and so 
myght Mr. BailiefF's commndemet be made frusstrat and 
voyed, and the pore people still to lacke suche breade'^ 
they have neede of. Wherefore to prevent such excuses 
of the bakers^ Mast' Bailieffs hath further charged and 
commnded all the comon bakers of this towne, and every 
of them, upon the paine above named, not only to bake 
peny and two-peny wheaten and howsholde breade, but 
also they and every of them shall twise every weeke — 
that is to say, on towisday and on friday in every weeke, 
weekelye, so long as the derth of grayne continueth be- 
twene the owres of nyne and twellve of y® clocke in the 
forenoone on every of y® foresaid ij dayes, and in the 
Church porche shall sytt, stand, or bee by the space of 
two owres on every of the foresaid ij daies at the least. 
And every of the foresaid bakers at the place abovenamed, 
eche of them having a dozen and a halfe of brede, there to 
sell to the pore, to say, sixe peny weaten loaves, vj peny 
howeshold loves, and thre topeny howsholde loaves a pece 
of every of y« bakers aforesaid, under the paine above- 
named. And if it happen so that the foresaid tewisday or 
fryday fall upon an holy day, that then all the bakers 
aforesaide shal be w*^ their breade upon the afore ap- 
pointed ij dayes at ye place before-named, by seven of the 
clocke in ye mornyng, and then and there shall tarry un- 
till viij of the clocke, that is one hole howre. And yf so 
muche breade as is appointed will not suffize the pore's 
necessities, then the bakers shall have commndemet to 



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296 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

provide more. Masf^ BailiefFs haith appointed an ofiycer 
for every of the daies aforenamed weekly, to see that 
every of the bakers, namely, as folowith, Robert Evens, 
the wife of Roger Bushe, Walter Grene, John Chambers, 
Thomas Fyssher, and Harry Butterman, do kepe the afore 
appointed dayes, tymes, and places, and the same of every 
sort of breade aforenamed, provyded that if the pore 
people doe not fetche the breade away for their mony, 
on the dayes and betweene the howres above appointed, 
that then the bakers may have it away, and sell it to any 
other at their pleasure. 

" The first day y* the bakers shall begyne to sell 
their breade in the Church porche shall be upon 
tewisday next, and therfore you of the pore that 
have nede of suche breade may be there at the 
tyme of the daye afore appointed, and have both 
wheaten and howseholde breade of all sorts for 
your mony." 

Over this porch is the Record Chamber/ in 
which all Corporation documents are preserved. 

f This place appears to have long been, if not always, the Re- 
cord Chamber^ from the following entry in the second year of 
James 2d. : 
" Gumecester alias 1 " For as much as Mr. Bailiffs and the 

Godmanchester. J major part of the Assistants are mett toge- 
ther this nine and twenty of December, 1687, to consult the 
affairs and concerns of the Burr, aforesaid. Amongst others^ 
have and doe order that Samuel Fox, jun. p'rsent Town Clark, 
doe upon the 10th day of Jan. next, deliver into the hands of the 
p'sent Bailiffs, in the Chamber over the porch, all those books and 
other writings, that any manner of way belong, or which the 
Town or Burrough has any right too, or concern in, as well books 
of entry es, or wast books, &c." — Stock Book A. p. 589. 



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THE CHURCH. 297 

The grant of the manor by King John, and confir- 
mations in subsequent reigns; the Charter of Incor- 
poration by James the 1st, and the enlarged but 
revoked Charter of James the 2d ; the Court Rolls, 
Stock-books, and Rentals, by which the fee-farm 
rent has been collected for centiuies ; are there de- 
posited, as also the surrenders or transfers of pro- 
perty, which are carefully registered. 

At the eastern extremity of the chancel, which is 
repaired by the lessee of the Dean and Chapter of 
Westminster, is a handsome wainscot altar-piece, 
erected a. d. 1731, the gift of Madam Worley,*^ 
who was biuied in the chancel. In the south wall, 
near the communion-table, is a double piscina, con- 
sisting of carved columns and arches, where pro- 
bably chaUces and other holy vessels were placed, 
or which may point out the situation where the 
Guilds celebrated their respective anniversaries. 
Some of the former Vicars of Godmanchester, and 
the immediate ancestors of the present Rowley 
family, are here interred, whose memories are re- 
corded by neat mural entablatures and slabs.^ 

e The cost of the altar-piece^ for materials and workmanship, 
was £80 17s. Old, The original hill is in the Record Chamher. 

^ Epitaphs and monumental inscriptions, even in England, are 
of great antiquity. King Arthur, who instituted the military 
order of the Knights of the Round Tahle, and superseded Pa- 
ganism at York hy the estahlishment of Christianity, died in 542, 
and his epitaph was inscrihed on the inside of his leaden coffin. 
The next, in point of time, is considered to he that of St Augus^ 
tine, who was sent to England hy St Gregory, to assist in con- 



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298 



HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 



At the entrance of the chancel, in the middle of 
the naive, is the only brass monumental plate re- 
maining; it formerly contained three figures ; the 
centre represents a man in a devout attitude. 




verting the English, and who, by favour of Ethelbert, became 
Archbishop of Canterbury, a. d. 604. Opinions are various as 
to the time when the custom of burying in Churches originated. 
In the earlier ages of Christianity monuments were erected in 
public path-ways, and by the side of roads, as mementos to tra- 
vellers of their own mortality. In the seventh century, abbots 
were buried in the Chapter-house, and monks in the Cloisters; 
and St. Cuthbert, whose festival in the Romish Calendar is fixed 
for March 20th, in or about the year 680, is said to have been the 
first who added yards to churches for the reception of the dead. 



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THE CHURCH. 299 

On his right and left was a female joining in holy 
communion, the indentations of which, as well as 
those of the inscriptions below, are well defined. 
In the confiscation and plunder of church property 
at the Reformation, and the no less destructive 
zeal of Presbyterianism at the Commonwealth, 
altars, shrines, and images were broken down and 
utterly destroyed, and even brasses on tombs forci- 
bly wrenched off or mutilated, so that but few in- 
scriptions are now to be found of an earlier date 
than the reign of Henry 8th. The walls of the 
aisles are adorned with chaste mural monuments 
and entablatures. 

Monumental Inscriptions in the Chancel. 
Near this place lies interred the body of Martha, the 
wife of Geo. Rowley, Gent, who departed this life Nov. 

In most instances^ pubHc cemetries were at some distance from 
the monasteries^ and planted with trees and flowers^ and preserved 
with great care from every species of profanation. The modes of 
interment amongst the antient British tribes are ably discussed 
by Sir R. C. Hoare, Bart., in his valuable description of the An- 
tiquities, and more particularly Druidical Barrows of Wiltshire. 
With regard to the Romans, it is generally thought that the 
custom of burning dead bodies ceased with the Antonines ; but 
Lethiullier observes (Archaeologia, v. i. p. 76,) that it must have 
continued to the reign of the last Emperor who took that name, 
viz. Hehogabalus, since more than thirty years after the death of 
Marcus Aurelius we have a clear account of the burning of the 
Emperor Severus, who died at York. At this period it is pre- 
sumed the custom of sepulture became general ; but it has been 
strongly argued, that the custom did not usually obtain until afler 
the thorough establishment of Christianity. 



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300 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

21, 1765, aged 29; and left issue two sons, (viz.) Owsley, 
aged 10, and George, aged 5 years. She was the only 
daughter of y® late Thomas Maylam, of Woodchurch, in 
the county of Kent, Gent. 



Here lieth the body of George Rowley, Esq., who de- 
parted this life the 18th Sept. 1798, in the 67th year of 
his age. 

On the North Side of the Communion Table, on a Mural 
Monument, 
In memory of Geoflfry Hawking, Clerk, Rector of 
Higham Gobion, Bedfordshire, who died in the year 1727- 
He was son of Geoffry Hawkins, A.M. Clerk, Rector of 
Chesterton, Huntingdonshire, who was one of the suffer- 
ing Clergy in 1641. Also of Mary, his wife, who was the 
widow of Richard Carryer, Gentleman, and died in the 
year 1760. In this Church lies interred, Hannah Worley, 
Widow, who erected the Altar in the Chancel, in the year 
1731 ; and died in the year 1771. 



On Stone Slabs in the floor of the Chancel are these Inscriptions. 
Mr. Richard Caryer died July 12th, 1744. Aged 35. 



Mr. Richard Caryer departed June ye 18th, 1709, in ye 
34 year of his age. In memory of Mr. Robert Vickery, 
who died the 24 Sept. 1785. Aged 63. 



In memory of the Reverend Mr. Richard Caryer, who 
died Jan. 18, 1770, in the 41st year of his age. 



In memory of Mrs. Eliz. Vickery, Wid. of Mr. Rob. 
Vickery, who departed this life Jan. the 10th. 1796. 
Aged 56 years. 



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THE CHURCH. 301 

To the memory of a most deserving and dearly beloved 
son^ Thomas Dodgson^ Esq. whose mortal remains are 
here interred. This stone was inscribed by the direction 
of his affectionate and afflicted parents, Charles, Bishop 
of £lphin, in the kingdom of Ireland, and Frances Rad- 
cliffe Dodgson. He was a student of distinguished merit, 
of St. John's College, Cambridge, and died at Farm Hall, 
the 14th January, 1794, in the 19th year of his age; most 
sincerely lamented by all who knew him. 



At the West termination of the Naive, on a neat Mural Entabla- 
ture, on the South side of the Gallery. 
This monument of the instability of human happiness 
calls to remembrance Elizabeth, the wife of Edward 
Martin, and only daughter of Mr. John Meadows, of Ket- 
tering, who died the 25th of February, 1805. Aged 24 
years. MUd, afiBsible, chearful and affectionate, she seemed 
to live for the happiness of others. Early inclined to 
things sacred, she was ready to every good work. The 
Gospely which in life was dear to her, proved in death her 
all-sufficient support. Reader, expect the day that shall 
declare her character and thine, and let her happy end in- 
duce thee to tread the paths of piety. 



On the North side of the Gallery, 
In memory of Robert Hicks, Gent. Surgeon and Apo- 
thecary, who, during a residence of 37 years, practised 
successfully in his profession, and repeatedly filled the 
office of Bailiff in this Borough. He was, at all times, 
anxious to promote the public good, and, by his last will 
and testament, confided to trustees his dwelling-house in 
Post-street, and two other houses next adjoining, to be 
by them appropriated to the use and support of the Free 
Grammar School of Queen Elizabeth. 



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302 HISTORY OF OODMANCHESTER. 

He died without issue 30th of July, 1825. Aged 59. — 
Also of Mary, widow of the Rev. S. Hicks, Rector of 
Westlingworth, Beds., who died March 1st, 1805. Aged 
72.— Also of John Hicks, who died Sept. 9th, 1827. 
Aged 56. 

Hunc propter locum compositi jacent cineres, Thos. 
Betts, Geut. in hacce villa ssepius Balvici et ibidem Justi- 
tiarii Pacis Studiosissimi. Nee non quod morti cecidit. 
Hujus a latere inhumata est pia uxor Eliz*^»». 

Quos (serius licet absentes) tota hsec inexpletum dolet 
Vicinia. Ecclesia Lseta Ambos agnovit suos. Pullata 
ambos luget. At (ea lege vivimus) huic ambos Mors 
haud improvisa appulit. 

Obiit, f^^^^ 1 Septembris. . . . 1696 
I Altera 23*^ Junii •.,... 1700 

iEtate vix non pares < 

Necnodum in Serpo queeras Sapientia prim' est, ad 
mortem sapere, ac addidicisseDeum. In Christo (vixistis 
enim) requiescite utriq^. Quos pietas et causa fides dedit 
esse beatos Ulteriusq^ dabit : siquid Pietasq^ Fides% ulte- 
rius valet. Hoc dabii hoc par nobile coelo. 



In the South Aisle. 
In memory of Thomas Townsend, late of this parish, 
who died the 29th of Jan. 1792. Aged 67.— Also Martha, 
his wife, who died 2d Oct. 1789. Aged 75.— Also John 
Townsend, son of the above Thomas and Martha Towns- 
end, who died 9th of Nov. 1799. Aged 59.— Also Ann, 
his wife, who died 25th Sept. 1817. Aged 82.— Also 
James Stratten, Esq. late of Hackney, in the county of 
Middlesex, son-in-law of the above Thomas and Martha 
Townsend, who died 21st of July, 1800. Aged 60.— Also 



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THE CHURCH. 303 

George Turney, son-in-law of the above George and Ann 
Townsend, who died 10th of April, 1^5. Aged 64. — Also 
Ann, daughter of John and Ann ToMTisend, and wife of 
the above George Turney, who died the 15th Sept. 1826. 
Aged 62. 

On a handsome Mural Monument at the eastern extremity of the 

Naive. 

In memory of Alured Clarke, Esq. who died Oct. 28th, 
1744. Aged 86. He first married Sarah Askham, by 
whom he had Reuben Clarke, D.D. Archdeacon of Essex* 
His second wife was Ann Trimnell, with whom he lived 
fifty-five years, and had by her Alured Clarke, D.D. late 
Dean of Exeter, (who died May 31st, I7^y) ^i^d Charles, 
one of the Barons of the Exchequer. 

He was an active, useful, upright magistrate in this 
town above sixty years, a lover of justice, and friend to 
the publick. His earnestness to reconcile differences 
amongst neighbours; his zeal to do good both to his 
friends and foes; his constant industry and incessant care 
of his family; his generous, open, cheerful temper; 
his humanity, good nature, and universal benevolence, 
(through a long life spent without guile ;) rendered him 
beloved, respected, and honoured by all who knew him. 

Reader ! his example is worthy your imitation, for he 
was a truly honest, virtuous, good man. 



In the centre Aisle, on the Floor, 
Alured Clarke, Esq. died 28th Oct. 1744. Aged 86. 
John Clarke, Esq. died Dec. 3d, 1745. Aged 79. Ann, 
the wife of Alured Clarke, Esq. died May 26th, 1766. 

Aged 88. 

On a Mural Entablature in the South Aisle. 
Near this place are deposited the remains of Jos** Bull, 



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304 HISTORY OF 60DMANCHESTER. 

late of this town, Gent, who died Dec. 16th, 1764. Aged 
63. And Ann, his widow, who died Jan. 28th, 1780. 
Aged 80. And of Elizabeth, their daughter, who died 
June 14th, 1791. Aged 47. 

On a Mural Monument. 
Near this place are deposited the remains of Edward 
Martin, Gent., one of the Assistants of this Borough, 
who died Feb. 11th, 1799. Aged 66 years. Near this 
place also, Harriet, infant daughter of the said Edward 
Martin, Gent., who died Sept. 17th, 1781. Also Alice, 
relict of the above Edward Martin, who died Oct. 14th, 
1801. Aged 66 years. 

On a Slab, on tlie Floor. 
Here lies the remains of John Martin, Gent., who died 
August 16th, 1762. Aged 36 yeares. 

(and) 
Here lies the remains of Jane, the relict of John Martin, 
Gent, who died Nov. 23d, 1783. Aged 66 yeares. 



THE TOWER AND STEEPLE 
Are of modem elevation, having been erected in 
the year 1623. In surveying the annals of time, 
it is curious to observe the transitions and events 
which occur in the lapse of ages. We have seen 
in the History of our Church, that it was intended 
by Edgar to have been tributary to the Abbey of 
Ramsey, parochial Churches being generally held 
of some Abbey, Monastery, or Nunnery, in the 
earlier ages of Christianity, when its ecclesiastical 
institutions were reduced to a regular system of 
canonical government. By the sweeping eflfects of 



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THE CHURCH. 305 

the Reformation we have noticed the destruction of 
Monastic Establishments, Guilds and Fraternities, 
and the appropriation of their revenues, their con- 
fiscation to the state, or the sale or grant of them 
to lay-men ; and now, after a period of 650 years 
from its foundation, we find the dilapidated walls 
of the ruined venerable abbey about to be in part 
applied to the building of our tower and steeple. 
Jn noticing which event, we may presume that, as 
they were erected with stone* from Ramsey Abbey, 
Huntingdon Priory, and Hinchingbrook Nunnery, 
a brief account of their origin and destruction will 
not be considered irrelevant to this work. 



* In *' the accompt for the steeple off Mathew Maile and John 
Stevenson^ Churchwardens, from Easter An' o D'ni 1624, for one 
whole yeare next ensuing, taken hefore Mr. Bailiffs and the As- 
sistants at the Court Hall," occur numerous entries similar to the 
following :-— " To Richard Bates, for ij tunne of stoane from 
Hunt° Prioiy, 44«. ; to Wm. Rawlins, for ij load of stoane hring- 
ing from Ramsey, 6«. ; to Rohert Chamherlain, for hringing stoane 
from Ramsey, 468. &c. Pd to Isaac Ireland, in full, of a har- 
gaine of stoane from the Priory last year, dB3 ; for ij tunn of 
astoler from Hinchinghrook, 13^. 4td,; to Wright, for carriage of 
stoane from y« Ahhey-yard to y« water-side, 6s,; to Bell, for 4 
tunn of inside stone and 9 foot of astoler, I2s, ; to Storer, for 
carriage thereof from the Ahhey-yard to the water-side, 2s, 6d ; 
to Homer himself, in getting stone from Ramsey Ahhey-yard to 
the water-side, 6 daies, 14s. 2rf.; to his two sonnes at work with 
him 13 daies, Ss, Sd, ; allowed for Mr. Kendal s mare 13 daies to 
draw down the stone, 195. 6d, ; to Homer, for helping to load 
stoanes at Huntington Priory, and helping to lay it up in the 
church-yard, 2*.*' &c. &c. &c. 

X 



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306 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTBR. 

RAMSEY ABBEY.^ 

BENEDICTINE OR BLACK MONKS,^ A.D. 969. 

''On the 12th day of November, a.d. 969, 

Ailwine, Earl of the East Angles, at the instance 

of Oswald, Archbishop of York, founded the 

Monastery of Ramsey,"* and in the year following 

sent thither Ednote from Wigome, who, having 

^ An Abbey was a religious society of men or women living 
together in an establishment^ under the government of an Abbot 
or Abbess. Of these some were so considerable that the Abbots 
received summons to Parliament* and sat and voted in the House 
of Lords^ and exercised epbcopal powers within the limits of their 
houses, &c. Such was that of Ramsey; it was therefore called a 
mitred one. 

1 The most antient order of Monks is the Benedictine. It was 
so called from St. Benedict, a native of Nursia, in the dukedom of 
Spoletto, in Italy. He was bom about the year 480, and died 
about 543. His rule was not confirmed until fifly-two years after 
his death, when it received the sanction of Pope Gregory the 
Great. The form and colour of their habits was at first left to 
the discretion of their Abbot, who varied them according to the 
season and climate, but subsequently it was ordained that they 
should wear a loose gown of black stuff reaching down to the 
heels, with a cowl or hood of the same, and a scapulary. Under 
this another habit of the same size, made of white flannel, and 
boots on their legs. From the colour of their outer habit they 
were generally called Black Monks.'^Grose. 

™ Bishop SdUingfleet and others suppose the first English Mo- 
nastery was founded at Glastonbury by St. Patrick, A. D. 425, 
whilst others doubt whether St. Patrick ever was at Glastonbury. 
About the year 512, British Historians report that St. Dubritius, 
Archbishop of St. David's, founded twelve monasteries, and 
taught his monks to live after the manner of the Asians and Afri- 
cans, by the work of their hands. Camden thinks that Congellus 



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THE CHURCH. 307 

completed the chapel previously began, commenced 
the sacerdotal functions of a Monk.'' In 972, the 
fourth year from the foundation, the aforesaid Os- 
wald translated thither twelve Monks from West- 
biri ; and on the sixth ide (8th day) of Novem- 
ber, A. D. 974, the holy Dunstan of Canterbury, 
and Oswald of York, consecrated the Church to 
the blessed Mary, all holy Virgins, and St. Benedict. 
After which foundation, both Earl Ailwine and the 
pious Oswald lived twenty-four years ; and in the 
year 998 passed from this temporal life to an eter- 
nal one; the pious Oswald on the second calend 
(31st day) of March, and the aforesaid Earl on the 
eighth calend (25th day) of May.''° 

first brought the monastic life into England, towards the year 530, 
but Tanner observes, that " it was certainly here before that time.** 
These contradictions prove that the exact period is unknown. — 
CrTOses Antiq., Tanners Not. Mon., and Stillin^eefs OHg. of 
Brit Churches, 

° The difference between a Monk and a Friar is, that a Monk 
belonged to a Monastery endowed with lands for its support, and 
a Friar to one having no endowments but the mere gardens and 
immediate ground of the Monastery, the brethren chiefly subsist- 
ing on the alms of the people of the immediate neighbourhood. 

o De fundatione Abbathie Ramesiensis. Ex Regist de Ram- 
sey in Scaccario, ex parte rememorator. 

Anno Domini nongentesimo sexagesimo nono^ Ailwinus, dux 
Orientalium Anglorum, instigante Oswaldo Eboracensi Archiepis- 
copo, fundavit monasterium Ramesiense, duodecimo die Novembris, 
et anno sequenti de Wigorina misit ibidem Ednotum, qui emendata 
capella quam invenit> fecit officinas monachorum, et quarto anno 
sequenti, videlicet anno nongentesimo septuagesimo secundo, misit 
Oswaldus prsedictus ibidem duodecim monachos de Westbiri, et 

x2 



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308 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

The founder was variously called Ailwine, Ayl- 
win, Ethelwine, and Egelwine ; and on the death 
of his brother Ethelwold, who was slain by Edgar 
with a dart when hunting, in a paroxysm of jea- 
lousy and passion, succeeded to the favour of that 
monarch, and was by him created Alderman of 
England^ and Earl of the East Angles. His power 
and his possessions were immense : he liberally 
endowed many religious houses, and to the Abbey 
of Ramsey gave, in all, 200 hides of land. He was 
buried in the Abbey, and this epitaph was put upon 
his tomb : ' 

" Hie requiescit Ailwinus, inclyti regis Edgari cognatus^ 
totius Angliae Aldermannus^ et hujus sacri coenobii^ mira- 
culos^^ fundator."*! 

anno tertio sequente scilicet nongentisimo septaagesimo quarto^ 
sanctus Dunstanus^ Cantuariensis^ et Oswaldus Eboracensis, 
sexto Idus Novembris^ primam ecclesiam beate Marise et omni- 
bus Sanctis virginibus et sancto Benedicto consecrdrunt Post 
cajus fundationem^ tarn dux Ailwinus^ quam sanctus Oswaldus 
vixernnt viginti quatuor annos. Et Anno 998 de bac vita tern- 
porali transierunt ad aetemam ; scilicet sanctus Oswaldus secundo 
calendas Martii et dux praedictus octavo calendas Maii. — Dugdale 
Mon, Ang, 

p Aldermen in the time of the Anglo-Saxons were governors 
of counties, and after the Danish times were frequently called 
earls. Comes in Latin — ^Alderman in Saxon — and Earl in Dano- 
Saxon, were synonymous, as appears by the Saxon Annals, by 
Alfred's Translation of Bede, and other antient Historians. Ho- 
vendon says, that Alderman is in English what Senior is in Latin, 
and that those whom the Romans called Senators, the Saxons 
called Aldermen. 

*i Lelandi Collect, v. iii. p. 44. 



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THE CHURCH. 309 

His anniversary was registered for the 25th of 
May/ 

From the foundation of the Abbey to the Refor- 
mation, it continued receiving accessions of terri- 
tory, donations of jewels, and other valuables, until 
its annual rental amounted to «£1716 I2s. 4d. Dug- 
dale, and <3ei987 15^. 3d. Speed. It was granted 
in the 31st Henry 8th to Sir Richard Cromwell, 
alias Williams, to be held in capite by Knights' ser- 
vice, for the comparatively trifling consideration of 
c£4963 4s. 2d. To him succeeded the Golden 
Knight, Sir Henry, who rebuilt the Manor-house 
out of the ruins of the Abbey, and whose son. Sir 
Oliver, made it his principal residence. The next 
inheritor was his grandson, Henry Cromwell, Esq. 
who died suddenly, after a defeat at an election 
contest, without heirs male, when the estate de- 
scended to his sisters and co-heiresses, Carina and 
Elizabeth, from whom it was purchased by the cele- 
brated Colonel Silas Titus, who in 1703 bequeathed 
it to his wife and two daughters. Catherine the 
eldest became sole survivor, and held the estate in 
her own right till 1732 ; when dying, she left it to 
two confidential servants, who sold it to Coulson 
Fellowes, Esq. in or about 1736, to whose grand- 
son,William Henry Fellowes, Esq., the present pos- 
sessor, it has descended by right of inheritance. 

' " Octavo cal. Mail obiit Ailwinus comes, fundator Rame- 
siensis monasterii, qui dedit plurima oraamenta pretiosa et cc 
hidas terrae." 



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310 HISTORY OF 60DMANCHESTBR. 

HINCHINGBROOK NUNNERY- 

was situated about half a mile west of the town of 
Huntingdon, and commanded an extensive and de- 
lightful view of the rich valley watered by the river 
Ouse, the hiUs of Buckden and Buckworth, and 
beyond the former, part of the county of Bedford. 
It was a small Benedictine Priory, dedicated to St. 
James, and founded by William the Conqueror, for 
the reception of the Nuns of Eltesley in Cambridge- 
shire, on the suppression of their establishment at 
that place, where St. Pandonia, the Scottish virgin, 
was buried.* King William appears to have been 

* The date of the first foundation of nunneries^ or houses for 
religious women in this country, is enveloped in obscurity. They 
are supposed to be nearly of equal antiquity with those for monks. 
Leland states that Merlin's mother, who is reported to have lived 
about the year 440, was a nun at Caermaerthen; and it is said 
St. David's mother was a nun. The first English nunnery is 
thought to have been erected at Folkstone, in Kent, by King 
Eadbald, a. d. 630 ; soon after which several others were founded, 
particularly that of Baring, in Essex, a.d. 676, and another by 
St. Mildred, in the Isle of Thanet, a. d. 694. — Grose. 

^ '' It appearithe by the Legende of S. Pandom'a that she was 
a K3mge of Scotts Dowghtar, and after flienge them that would 
have deflowrid hir, she cam to a kynnswoman of hirs, priorese of 
a nunrey at Eltesley, in Cambridgeshire, 4 myles from Seint 
Neotes, and aftar dyenge was b3rried in Eltesley, by a Well cawled 
S. Pandonia Welle. She was translatyd into Eltesley churche, 
anno, 1344, as it aperithe by the lessons of hir translation made 
by one Ser Richard, parishe priste there. Some say that the 
olde priory was by the vicarage."— L^/ancfs Itinerary, vol. viii. 
part ii, p. 92. 



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THE CHURCH. 311 

a great favourer of the monastic order, from his 
speech on the point of death, as quoted by Speed : 
'' Seauenteene Monasteries of Monkes, and sixe of 
holy Nunnes haue been founded by myselfe and my 
nobility, whose carters I haue freely confirmed, 
and doe by princely authority confirme against all 
emulations and troubles : in them Grod is serued, 
and for his sake many poore people relieued." — 
This establishment continued to flourish till the 
general dissolution of small religious houses in the 
26th of Henry 8th, when there were only four nuns'" 
remaining ; the amount of spiritual and temporal 
revenues, at its suppression, was £19. 9^. 2d. Speed, 
and £17. Is. 4d. Dugdale. The last Prioress was 
Alice Wylton. The Priory and its appurtenances 
were granted 29th Henry 8th to Sir Richard Wil- 
liams, alias Cromwell, and on its scite was erected 
the splendid country mansion of that chivalrous 
family, whose descendant, Sir Oliver, so far re- 
duced the family property by the improvidence of 
a lavish hospitality and prodigal expenditure, that 
he sold the house and demesnes 20th of June, 1627, 
to Sir Sydney Montague, of Barnwell, Knt., the 
father of the 1st Earl of Sandwich, from whom it 
has descended to John William, the 7th Earl, whose 
country residence it now is. 



« Their habit was a black robe and scapulary, under which 
was a tunic of white undyed wool; when they went to the choir 
they also wore a black cowl. 



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312 HISTORY OF GODMANCHBSTER. 

HUNTINGDON PRIORY. 

AUSTIN SEC. CANONS^ — DEDICATED TO THE VIRGIN MART. 

The origin of this Priory is very obscure and 
must be of antient date, being alluded to in a char- 
ter to Thomey Abbey ,^ from King Edgar, in the 
year 973. It originally stood in the situation now 
occupied by St. Mary's Church, but in the reign of 
King Stephen, or Henry the 2d, was removed to a 
more retired and convenient site without the eas- 
tern boundaries of the present town, by Eustacius, 
Viscount or Sheriff of the county, who was sur- 
named Lovetot, from holding the barony of Lovetot 
in capite from the King. Eustace and the Empress 
Maude were liberal benefactors of this Priory ; and 
by royal grants, papal confirmations, and private 
endowments, it continued gaining donations of 
land, appropriations of churches, and rising in 
wealth until the dissolution, when its annual reve- 

V Canons were either regular or secular. The secular canons 
intermixed more with the laity than the regulars, and took upon 
them the cure of souls, which regulars could not do without a 
dispensation. They differed but little from ordinary priests, unless 
in this particular, that they were under the government of local 
statutes. In some instances, as at Huntingdon, they lived toge< 
ther in a conventual manner under one roof; but in others they 
lived separately, after the manner of modem prebends to cathe- 
drals. Their dress was a long black cassoc, with a white rochet 
over it, and over that a black cloak and hood. These canons wore 
beards, and caps on their heads. 

^ Ex Reg. Abbat de Thomey, penes Comitem, Westmorland, 
An. 163(8, fol. 1. 



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THE CHURCH. 313 

nues amounted to <3ei87 13^. 8d. Dugdale, and 
^232 Os. Od^.ob. Speed. The lands and possessions 
of the Priory were distributed in several counties, 
and given by Henry 8th to various dependants. 
The site of the Priory, with its members and appur- 
tenances, was granted in 1542, the 33d of Henry 
8th, to Sir Richard Williams, alias Cromwell. In 
1631 it was sold, with the residue of his patiernal 
inheritance, by Oliver Cromwell, the future Pro- 
tector, to Richard Oakley and Richard Owen, 
Esqrs., and by them conveyed, in 1651, to Hugh 
Williams and GriflSth Bodurda, of Lincoln's Inn, 
of whom it was purchased by Edward Montague, 
Esq., in 1655, the 7th year of the Protectorate, and 
has from that period descended, as part of the 
Hinchingbrook estate, to John William, the present 
Earl of Sandwich. The surrender of the Priory 
bears date June 1 1th, 1539, and is signed by Hugh 
Oliver, the last Prior, and eight Canons. 



Whether, from the ordinary dilapidations of time, 
or any accidental circumstances, does not appear ; 
but in the year 1623, under an order from the Dio- 
cesan, representing the ruinous and insecure state 
of the tower and steeple of Godmanchester Church, 
an estimate was made for their being taken down 
and wholly rebuilt. The computed expence being 
«£ 800, arrangements were made for the collection of 
the money in the five following years: levies were 
accordingly ordered for the prosecution of the work. 



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314 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTBR. 

and the hou8es,lands, sheep, and cows of the lordship 
assessed to a rate, the number of which, by a court 
entry of that date, was thus delivered in upon oath. 

" The number of acres of lands and leys given in to- 
wards the new building of the steeple^ was 3629^ at 4rf. 
per acre ; meadow 468, at 12(L per acre ; tenements 195, 
rated at 3s. 6d. each ; half-tenements 83, rated at 20d. 
each; sheep 2159, cows 640, at Id. each." 

Subsequently the sheep and cows were omitted 
in the rate, and the lands and tenements only 
charged, as appears by the first levy, which is con- 
tained on a parchment roll of three skins. The 
first skin is headed — 



*^ A levy made the xxviijth day of May, 1623, for and 
towards the taking dowue of the shattered and decayed 
steple and breach, and rebuilding againe the same, and 
repaire of the Church, to the honor of Almighty God and 
Christian religion, wich levy is rated and taxed after the 
rate of xijd. for every acre of meadowe, iiijc^. for every 
acre of arable land, layes, and the severall inclosures and 
pightels about the towne, and about the tenements and 
homestalles, are rated after the rates that they are yearely 
letten, and such as have not used to be letten are rated as 
they are yearely worth proportionablie, according as their 
neighbours are letten, and every vj*. yearely rent thereof 
is taxed and rated at iiijif. according to the rate of an 
acre of arable land. And every whole auntient tenem^ 
or homestall, besides the grasinge or mowinge ground 
theronto adioyninge, is rated and taxed at iij^. iiije/., 
and every divided tenem^ or homestall, and newe erecSn 
is rated at xxrf. And this proportion is to be holden 



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THE CHURCH. 515 

more or lesse, as necessitie shall require, untill the wprke 
be finished. 

^^ And this first levy to be assessed and collected in 
manner following : viz. one 4th part to be paid presently, 
another 4th part at Michaelmas next, another 4th part at 
Christmas next, and the last 4th part at the annunciation 
of the most blessed Virgin Mary thence next ensewinge/' 

Then follows a list of 114 names of resident 
householders, and the sum affixed to each at which 
they were respectively assessed, beginning with — 

8. d. 

" John Goldesburgh, Esq xj viij 

Mr. Thomas Trice, sen xlviij — 

&c. &c. &c/' 

On the second skin are contained 131 names; 

and on the third, which is headed '* the forren 

tenants," twelve names, among whom are those of — 

£. s. d. 
^^ The Lady Morley, gardian to her-v 

yongest sonne for his meadowes J ^ 

Mrs. Cromwell. • • • < . . . . — ij — 

&c. &c. &c.'* 

The total siun assessed by the levy was <£134. 
As. Qd. 

At this period the taxation of the kingdom prin- 
cipally consisted in benevolences and subsidies, 
which were in frequent demand from the people of 
England; and three new subsidies having been 
granted to James, a.d. 1624, to make preparations 
for a contemplated war with Spain, the following 
Petition was presented by the townsmen of God- 



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316 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

manchester, urging their incapacity of payment 
from the extreme poverty of their town, and the 
taxation they were then subject to in re-building 
the steeple. 

*^ Hunts. — ^To the right Wo" his Magy Commissers for 
the taking of the first Subsidy of three 
entire Subsidies. Ano xxj Jac. Regis. 
" The Humble Petition of the Townsmen of God- 
manchester. 

^^That wheras there are (not onely) sixteen of the best 
farmes in our towne decayed within these xx yeares last 
past^ and the said farm-houses inhabited by cottagers^ but 
also our steeple now being downe to the ground, the re- 
paire therof, by the computac6n of a very expert artisan 
and surveyor, will cost the parish £800, whereof £134 
was last yeare assessed and paid, and £134 more is al- 
ready taxed to be paid, and the rest likewise is to be done 
in three yeares more, by the appointment of our Diocesan. 
Our humble suit is, (the prmisses considered) you will be 
pleased to accept of such taxa66n as we shall be able to 
pay to your subsidies, which, although it be lesse than 
hertofore we paid, yet we shall present our assessment 
at a higher rate than we are well able to pay. And we 
shall be bound to pray,'* &c. 

The Tower is of a square form and embattled, sur- 
mounted by an elegant and lofty Spire one hundred 
and fifty feet in height, which forms the most beau- 
tiful feature in the landscape from the siirrounding 
country. It is entered by a Norman door-way, 
which is the more interesting from its antiquity, 
having been removed from the Monastery of Ram- 



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THE CHURCH. 317 

sey,'' without the addition of any modem work. 
Over this door-way is the fleur-de-Jis, with, the 
words '* Bnrgu Gumecestre," surmounted by the 
date of the erection, '' 1623." By a flight of stone 
steps, in a neat turret at the south-east comer of 
the Tower, we arrive at the Belfrey, over which, in 
the Steeple, is an excellent and melodious set of 
eight bells,^ cast from the metal of the old bells, by 
Thomas Downham of Norfolk, a.d. 1794. The 
old bells were five in nimiber — 

cwt. qra. lb. 

The 1st containing. 9 3 18 of metal. 

2d 11 3 7 

3d 13 3 24 

4tb. (Cast by a shepherd at the Angel Inn) 19 20 

6th 29 2 20 

Total 84 2 5 



« In the Churchwardens' account for re-building the Steeple are 
these items^ (amongs tthe expences incurred at Ramsey Abbey,) — 
" To Tom Cowper for work in taking downe and loading the 
door, lOs,', to Foster, the mason, helping him seven daies, 7«.; to 
Cooke and Drage for thirteen daies helping him at 6d. per diem, 
68. 6d. in toto." 

f "Bells, (saysWeever,) were formerly baptized, anointed, exor- 
cised, and blessed by the Bishop, and were then imagined to have 
the power of calming storms^ causing fair weather, re-creating the 
dead, and driving devils out of the air. The great bells of Lin- 
coln and Oxford were baptized by the name of Thomas, in honour 
of Thomas k Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury — and being of 
immense size they are called Great Tom." Croyland Abbey is 
reputed to have had the first ring of beUs in England; they were 
six in number. 



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318 HISTORY OF 60DMANCHBSTER. 

They were taken down in the year 1794 and re- 
cast, at an expence of ^120, which was defrayed hy 
a liberal subscription. The new bells were opened 
on the 6th of May, 1795, by the Cambridge and 
Soham youths; and in 1797, the Soham youths 
farther celebrated their erection, by ringing upon 
them a peal of 5780 changes in three hours and a 
half. 

The weight of the present bells and their inscrip- 
tions are as follow : — 

cwt. qn. lb. 

1st — ^Thomas Osbom, Downham, fecit, 1794, Intactum 

Sillo. Percute Dulce Cano 6 3 7 

2d.— T. Osbom, Founder, 1794 7 16 

3d.— T. Osbom, Founder, 1794 7 1 6 

4tb.-T.Osbom,Fecit,f^JtSrd";:r,^SS^^ 7 3 20 

6th.— T. Osbom, Fecit, 1794 9 3 14 

6th.— 10 1 7 

7th.— T. Osbom, Fecit, 1794 14 3 16 

8th. — Rev. Castle Sherard, Rector; J°® Martin, Ro- 
bert Waller, Bailifffe; John Scott, Richard 

Miles, Churchwardens; T. Osbom, Fecit, 1794 20 2 11 

84 3 12 



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319 



CHAPTER XL 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

UCH has been said on 
the tenure or service by 
which the Manor of God- 
manchester is held, and 
the probability suggested 
of its having been an- 
tiently thatof the plough,* 
which was exchanged for 
a money rent by Edward 
the Confessor, or perhaps before his reign. This 
conclusion may be drawn from the circumstance of 
agriculture having always been the chief employ- 
ment of the inhabitants ; and by a custom which 
was continued to the reign of James 1st, of meet- 
ing the Kings of England, when on their royal 
progresses they passed through the manor, with 
ploughs and other implements of husbandry ; the 
fact of which custom is confirmed by the concur- 

« Vide p. 77— 78. 



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320 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTfiR. 

rent testimony of Historians, and whose deduction 
might be founded upon tradition, that by ** that 
custom they held their lands/* In the '* Pro- 
gresses,^ processions, and magnificent festivities of 
King James the Rrst,*' &c. is contained '' the true 
narration*^ of the entertainment of his Royal Ma- 
jestic, from the time of his departure from Eden- 
brough till his receiving at London ; with all, or the 
most speciall occurrences," which furnishes an in- 
teresting account of the King's progress through 
Godmanchester. King James left Hinchingbrook 
29th of April, a.d. 1603.—" Thence with regall 
thankes for his entertainment he departed to 
Roiston ; and as he passed through Godman- 
chester, a towne close by Huntingdon, the Bai- 
lifies of the towne met him and acknowledged 
their alleageance. There convoying him through 
their towne, they presented him with three score 
and ten teeme of horse all traced, two faire new 
ploughs, in shew of their husbandrie ; which, while 
his Majestic being very well delighted with the 
sight, demanded why they ofiered him so many 
horses and ploughs ; he was resolved, that it was 

^ By John Nichols, F.S.A. Lond. Edinb. and Perth, 1828. 

^ "At London: printed by Thomas Creede for Thomas Mil- 
lington, 1603." — ^At the sale of the library of Mr. Gough, in 
1810, a copy of this scarce little Tract was sold to Mr. George 
Chalmers for £4 lOs, In the sale of Mr. Garrick*s Library, 
1823, a copy of it, bound up with several other Tracts, sold for 
£53. 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 321 

their aiinciente custome, whensoever any King of 
England passed through their towne, so to present 
his Excellence. Besides, they added, that they 
held their lands by that tenure, being the King's 
tenants : his Majestic not only tooke well in worth 
their good mindes, but bad them use well their 
ploughs, being glad he was landlord of so many 
good husbandmen in one towne. I trust his High- 
nesse, when he knows well the wrong, will take 
order for those, as her Majestic** began, that turn 
plough-land to pastorage; and where many good 
husbandmen dwelt, there is now nothing left but a 
great house without fire ; the Lord commonly at 
sojoume neere London, and for the husbandmen 
and ploughs he only maintaines a sheepeheard and 
his dog. But what do I do talking of sheepe, when 
I am to follow the gestes of a King ? I will leave 
them and their wolvish Lords, that have eaten up 
poor husbandmen like sheepe, and proceede where 
I left. His Majestic being past Grodmanchester, 
held on his way towardes Royston.'' 

Sir Richard Baker, Knight,® the Chronicler of 
the Kings of England, describing James's progress 

^ Allusion is here made to the enactments of Elizabeth^ regu- 
lating the extent and occupation of farms. In the 7th year of 
Edward 1st, a. d. 1278, (vide Appendix, No. 2,) 534 tenants were 
assessed to the fee-farm rent; in 1827, 422 tenants were assessed. 

« Chronicle of the Kings of England, from the time of the 
Roman Government unto the death of King James. — Fol. Lon- 
don, 1666, p. 427. 

Y 



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322 HISTORY OF GODMANCltCSTER. 

from Hinchingbrook, observes, ** from thence he 
rode towards Royston, and as he passed through 
Godmanchester, a town close by Hmitingdon, the 
Bailiffs of the town presented him with seventy teem 
of horses, all traced to fair new ploughs ; at which 
the King wondering, they said it was their antient 
custom so to do when any King of England passed 
through their town, and by which, as being the 
King's tenants, they held their land." Sir Robert 
Cotton' says of Godmanchester, that " it is seated 
by as fruitful and flowery meadows as any this 
kingdom yieldeth, ;pd is the most spacious of any 
one parish in fertile tillage, oft' having waited on 
the Sovereign Lords with nine score ploughs in a 
rural pomp." Camden remarks, ** that there is no 
place in all England that has so many stout hinds, 
or employs more ploughs, for they make thdr boast 
of having formerly received the Kings of England 
in their progress this way with nine score ploughs, 
brought forth in a rustical kind of pomp for a gal- 
lant shew." 

The Charter of James recites, that Godmanches- 
ter ** is an antient and populous town, and the 
men and inhabitants of the said town are chiefly 
employed in agriculture, which is of the greatest 
importance to the commonwealth;" and by the 
provisions of the Charter, the horses, &c. of the in- 
habitants are specially exempted from the King's 

f Speed's Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine. — FoL 1676. 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 323 

service. Tlie Averia Carucce, or beasts of the plough , 
have, accordmg to Avoury,*^ been often thus privi- 
leged by law. 

In 1633, Charles 1st made a journey into Scot- 
land, attended by his Court, in order to hold a 
Parliament, and for the purpose of his Coronation, 
when, on passing through Godmanchester, the ce- 

s '^ Agriculture or tillage is of great account in law^ as being 
very profitable for the common wealthy wherein the goodnesse of 
the habit is best known by the privation ; for by laying of lands 
used in tilth for pasture^ six midne inconveniences do daily en- 
crease. First) Idlenesses which is the ground and begining of all 
mischiefs. 2d. Depopulatipui and decay of townes ; for where 
in some townes 200 persons were occupied, and lived by their 
lawful labors, by converting tillage into pasture, there have been 
maintained but two or three heardsmen ; and where men have 
been accounted sheepe of God*s pasture, now become sheep-men 
of these pastures. 3d. Husbandry, which is one of the greatest 
commodities of the realm, is decayed. 4th. Churches are de- 
stroyed, and the service of God neglected by diminution of church 
livings, (as by decay of tythes, &c.) 5th. Iiyury and wrong is 
done to patrons and God's ministers; and, 6th. The defence of 
the land against forraine enemies is enfeebled and impaired, the 
bodies of husbandmen being more strong and able, and patient of 
cold, heat;, and hunger, than of any other. 

''The two consequents that follow of these inconveniences, 
are, first;, the displeasure of Almighty God ; and, secondly, the 
subversion of the polity and good government of the realm ; and 
all this appeareth in our bookes. And the common law giveth 
arable land (which antiently is called hyde and gaine,) the prehe- 
minency and precedency before meadowes, pastures, woods, 
mynes, and all other grounds whatsoever; and Averia Caruca, 
the beasts of the plough, have in some cases more priviledge than 
other cattell have." — Avowry , Temp,E. I. 

y2 



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324 HISTORY OF GODMANCHE8TER. 

remony of meeting the King with a procession of 
ploughs was either discontinued or no record of the 
circumstance made ; hut the inhabitants were taxed 
with a levy for the payment of a "guilt peece of 
plate" presented to the King, and fees due to his Ma- 
jesty's officers on their progress through the town, 
as allowed in the account of John Clarke, then 
Bailiff.** 

In A.D. 1634, on the return of his Majesty from 
Scotland, a second levy* was made to present the 

^ ''The accomnpt of the said Mr. Bailiff for money rec. upon 

a levie made for the p'sentinge the Kiiig*s Ma**« w**» a peece 

of plate, and for Officers* fees at his Progresse into Scotland, 

going through this Corporation the 15th day of May, 1633. 

Imp" the said Bailiff accoumpteth to have rec. upon £ s. d, 

a leyie then made •••• 54 9 8j 

And he accoumpteth toliave payed to the 

guilt peece of plate, and for the case, £ s, d, 

and for hringinge it to London 14 3 8 ^ 

And he payed for Officers' fees, as hy > 52 7 

a receipt under ther hand 38 3 4 1 



} 



Soe resteth in the said Mr. Bailiff's hand. ... £2 2 8| 

* The Bailiffs of the Town 1 For Fees due to his Majesty's 

of Godmanchester. J Servants for their homage to his 

Majesty the 15th day of July, 1634. 

£ s. d. 
To the Gentlemen Ushers — ^Daily Waiters 5 

To the Gentlemen Ushers of the Privy Chamher .... 5 

To the Sergeant at Arms 3 6 8 

To the King's Harhinger 3 6 8 

To the King s Marshal 1 

To the Gentlemen Ushers — Quarter Waiters 1 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 325 

*' Queen's Ma"* w*^ a peece of plate," and for 
Officers' fees, as appears by the Receiver-General's 
demand, and the account of Mr. Bailiff Trice.'' 

The imposition of these fees (on the Progress 
of Charles through Godmanchester,) would now 
be considered arbitrary exactions. Royal pro- 
gresses in the earUer periods of English History 

£ 8. d. 

To the Sewers of the Chamber 10 

To the Yeomen of the Wardrobe 16 8 

To the Yeomen Ushers 1 

To the Grooms of the Stoles 1 

To the Footman 2 

To the Yeomen for the Month 2 

To the Porters of the Gate 10 

To the Sergeant of the Trumpeters ••••• 1 

To the Trumpeters 2 

To the Surveyor of the Ways 10 

To the Yeomen of the Fields 10 

To the Door-keeper 10 

To the Yeomen Harbingers 1 

To the Foresters 

SmaTotis £34 

Wlam Delhicke. 

" Rec* by me, Thomas Bartholemew, General-receiver for all 
his Majesty's servants, for Bailiffs' fees, all those several sums of 
money abovesaid, amounting to the sum of thirly-four pounds, 
in full discharge of all fees due to his Majesty's servants from the 
Bailiffs abovesaid, this 17th of July, 1634, 1 say in full discharge. 

'* Thos. Bartholemew.'* 

k '* The account of Mr. Bailiff Tiyce, upon his receipts, upon a 
levie made for p'sentinge the Queene's Ma"® w*^> a peece of 
plate when the Kinge and Queene's Mat*e» went there p'gresse 



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326 HISTORY OF OODMANCHESTER. 

were found even more oppressive to the people, as 
the Court and its followers accompanied the King, 
and not only received free maintenance in their 
route, but were guilty of gross outrages where 
they lodged, by extorting money from their hosts, 
and the commission of the most licentious acts. 
In the reign of Henry 1st, his ^^ attendants, in his 
progresses,^ plundered every thing that came in 
their way, so that the country was laid waste 
wherever the King travelled ; for which reason, 
people, when they knew of his approach, left their 
houses, carrying away what provisions they could, 
sheltering themselves in woods and bye-places, for 
fear their provisions should be taken away by the 
King's purveyors. These things called loudly for 

through this Corporation, the 15th daye of July, Anno Do- 
mini 1634, and for discharge of Officers* fees. 
Imprimis— the said Mr. Bailiff accoumpteth to have £ s. d. 

receaved upon a levie made as aforesaid 54 

And he hath dishurssed for a peece of 

guilt plate p'sented to the Queene, 

and for charges in hringinge it from 

London 11 7 

Item — ^paid for Officers* fees as by his 

p*ticular appeareth 36 6 0| 

Item — spent in goeinge to London to ad- >48 3 11 

vise how to compell those to pay their 

leavie who refused, and expended upon 

the King's officers 1 10 1 1 



fiallance £5 16 1 

* Eadmer. Pegge s Curialia. 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 327 

redress; it was therefore made public by the King's 
command, that whoever, belonging to the Court, 
spoiled any goods of those who entertained them 
in their progresses, or abused the persons of their 
hosts, should, on proof, have their eyes put out, or 
their hands and feet cut off.'' Royal progresses 
were formerly so common, and the cost of them so 
serious a grievance to the public, that the people ge- 
nerally petitioned against their frequent occurrence. 
The chief employment of the inhabitants of God- 
manchester continues to be agriculture, but many 
private families are resident in the town, who are 
supplied with the necessaries and conveniences 
of life by a flourishing retail trade. It is well 
situated for the principal markets of the county, 
being immediately contiguous to Huntingdon, five 
miles from St. Ives, and eight miles from St. 
Neots, to both which places the navigation extends; 
and being on the great communication between 
London and the northern parts of the kingdom, 
coaches at various hours of the day pass through 
the town, which is farther accommodated with 
several vans and waggons. The houses are Well 
built, and having gardens attached to them, oc- 
cupy a considerable extent of ground; they are 
airy, and the inhabitants healthy,"" who attain, in 
many instances, a very advanced age. 

™ By a Court entry it appears that in 1593 the plague visited 
Godmanchester. — " xviij die Decembris 1593, M<*. y* uppon the 
daie and yeare above written all thes men, whos names are next 
under written, for y* thew would not paie thos somes of monye 



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328 



HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 



By the Censuses, a.d. 1801, and a.d. 1831," the 
parish contained — 



A D. 


HOUSES. 


PERSONS. 


OCCUPATIONS. 




1 




1 




s 


1 


1 




III 


1801 
1831 


337 
475 


378 

474 


10 
23 


751 
1070 


822 

1076 


159 
151 


202 
207 


1172 
116 


1673 
2146 



A.D. 1831, to queries upon other points, it was 
answered, as follows : 

Number of males 20 years 
old 499 

Occupiers of land employ- 
ing labourers 15 

Ditto not emplo3ring la- 
bourers 19 



Male servants upwards of 

20 years old 14 

Ditto under 20 years old 28 

Female servants 77 

Labourers employed in 

agriculture 177 



193 



15 



Males employed in trade, 
&c 

Wholesale merchants, ca- 
pitalists, bankers, pro- 
fessional persons, and 
other educated men • • 

Labourers employed in the 
three preceding classes 
and in other labour not 
agricultural 35 

Other males 20 years old, 
not included in the above 
and not being servants.. 31 



wci» thew and everye of them were taxed at toward y® paiement of 
£vj levied bye the Baillifis and xij men, w^^ the consent of y^ most 
p rte of the chiefest of y® inhabitaunts, to be paied to one Willy- 
man, wci» did untartark to be painfull and carfuU abowt y* people 
infected w*^ y« plage wthin this townne ware dismissed of their 
liberties and fraunchises w^^ thew have in this townne and manr." 
In the Parish Register of 1605 there are 35 burials, marked as of 
victims to this dreadful scourge of the human race. 

» By the Census of 181 1 the number of inhabitants was 1779; 
by that of 1821,1953/ 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 



329 



The poor rates in Godmanchester have gradually 
increased from their first institution, 43d of Eliz. 
and now amount to a sum incredibly large, if com- 
pared with levies of an earlier date; to shew which 
progressive increase the following extracts from the 
parish accounts and other sources are subjoined : — 

" AN ACCOUNT OF EXPENCES FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE POOR 
OF GODMANCHESTER, A.D. 1630— 6tH OF CHARLES IST. 

Thomas Tiyce, Samuel Pont, "^ 

e, J 



Henry Stevenson, Thomas Maile, 



Overseers, 



Disbursements. £. s, d. 
Weekly payment to the 

poor for the year ... 12 13 9 

Payments to do. during 

illness 18 3 

Payments to the Clerk 
of the Peace hy order 
of the Justices, for 22 
pairs of indentures 
for the hinding poor 
children apprentice, 
at I6d» per pair • • . . 1 7 6 

To divers poor not re- 
ceiving weekly col- 
lection, in time of 
sickness, and for 
nurses; and for war- 
rants of distraint for 
rates in arrear ; cash 
paid Justices' Clerk & 
the Bailiffs of God- 
manchester, in giving 
up the yearly account 8 12 1 



Receipts. 
Cash of the last 

Overseers . . 
Ditto for sundry 

arrears . . • . • 
Ditto heing the 

amount of 

poor's rate for 

the year . 



6 



18 






21 6 1 



22 10 10} 



Balance due to 
the Overseers 



3 17 8J 



£26 8 7 



£26 8 7 



N.B. The numher of inhabitants at the last census was 1950/' 



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330 HISTORY OF OODMANCHESTER. 

Expenditure for the year ending Easter^ 1776, as £. #. d. 
returned to parliament under 16th Geo. III. c. 40 378 2 11 
Medium average of money annuaUy raised by as- 
sessments according to the return made under 

16th Geo. in. c. 40 398 1110 

Medium average of annual expenditure on account 
of the years ending Easter, 1783, 4, and 5, as 
returned to parliament under 26th Geo. III. c. 56 437 12 6 
Ditto assessments for the same years in the same 

return 526 9 9 

Expenditure in maintenance of the poor, 1790 ... 716 3 1 

Ditto for the year ending Easter 1800 ... 1154 14 5| 

Total expenditure for the poor 1803. •• 1000 6 4| 

Total money raised by the poor rates and other 
rates within the year ending Easter, 1803, being 
4«. in the pound 1032 19 6| 



RETURN TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, 7TH OF GEO. IV. 
A.D. 1826. 

1st. Money levied by assessment on 
land occupied for agricultural pur- 
poses, including nurseries and 
gardens cultivated for profit, also 
money levied by assessment on 
tithes £1371 17 1| 

2d. Do. by do. on dwelling-houses 
and out-houses thereunto attached, 
&c 397 10 

3d. Do. by do. on buildings for 

mills, warehouses, &c 20 2 

4th. Do. by do. on canals, naviga- 
tions, &c 60 10 

Total money levied by assessment for the poor's 
rate and county rate £1849 17 3J 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 331 

RETURN MADE TO THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS, 
NOV. A.D, 1827. 

Overseers Return, 

£. s. d. 
Amount levied on lands 1456 6 7 

Do. on bouses and lands 494 15 5 

1951 2 

Churchwardens Return. 

Amount levied on lands 69 6 

Do. on houses and lands 34 13 

103 19 

Surveyors' of the Highways Return. 

Amount levied on lands 132 19 

Do. on houses and lands 30 10 6 

163 9 6 

Total amount levied for the year 2218 10 6 

Poor rates for the year ending Lady- 
day, 1830 2016 7 

Other rates, as Highway rates . « . . 42 19 4| 
Church do. &c 51 13 4| 

Total levied by assessment, 1830 • . « . 2110 19 9 

Poor rates for the year ending Lady- 
day, 1831 1954 18 11 

Other rates, as Highway rates * . • • 42 19 4| 
Church rates, &c. . • 33 4 1 J 

Total kvied by assessment, 1831 .£2031 2 5 



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332 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

CHARITIES. 

The charitable foundations in Gk)dmanchester 
have been numerous, and would, had they been 
properly preserved and applied, have amounted to 
a considerable annual distribution of alms and 
other benefits to the poor. Many on record are 
now entirely lost, and of the principal one that 
remains, the Free Grammar School, the endow- 
ment has been so frittered away, that the institution 
is but of comparatively little benefit to the town. 
We shall notice these charities in the chronological 
order of their foundations, distinguishing those 
that are still available to the intentions of the 
donors. 

RECTORIAL CORN DISTRIBUTED ON GOOD-FRIDAY. 

By an inquest held at Sleaford, in the diocese of 
Lincoln, a.d. 1440, it was presented, on the part 
of the men of Godmanchester, that the Prior and 
Convent of Merton received the tenths and other 
profits of the church, which they appropriated to 
their own use, withholding the antient customary 
distribution of alms to the poor : which allegation, 
on the part of the Prior and Convent, was denied : 
nevertheless it was ultimately arranged between 
the parties, that the Prior and Convent should 
annually, during Lent, on the first day of every 
week, deliver three quarters of wheat, three quar- 
ters of rye, and one quarter of barley, to the 
Vicar and Bailiffs for the time being, to be distri^ 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 333 

buted amongst the most needy parishioners ; this, at 
some subsequent period, has been reduced to three 
quarters of wheat and four quarters of barley, 
which is annually divided amongst the poor on 
Good-Friday by the Vicar and Bailiflfs, and given 
away at the Rectory Bam. 

" To the faithful of the Holy Mother Church, to 
whom these presents shall come.© 

** William, by divine permission Bishop of Lincoln, 
sends greetings in the Lord eternal and a perpetual record 
to this eflfect : — Whereas lately in our archdeaconry of 
Huntingdon we have visited the churches, clergy, and 
people of the same, according to our custom, to whom 
previous notice by Inquisition had been given, when it 
was alleged that the Prior and Convent of the Priory of 
Merton, of the order of Saint Augustin, holds the parish 
church of Gumecester, in our said diocese and archdea- 
conry, to their own use, and that they receive the tenths 
and altarage of the said church, and that they have not 
for many years distributed, nor now distribute, any of the 
fruits of the said church in alms to the poor parishioners 
of the said church. We therefore commanded the said 

Prior and Convent to appear before us, on pain of . 

And the Prior and Convent appeared before our well-be- 
loved son in the Lord, Master John Derby, our Commis- 
sioner, in the parish church of Sleford, in our said dio- 
cese, by Brother William West, Canon of the said Priory, 
appointed on behalf of the Prior and Convent ; and the 
parishioners of the said parish church of Gumecestr' afore- 
said appeared bySirThos. Baker, in like manner appointed 
by the said parishioners, duly and properly authorized, on 

o Vide Appendix, No. 10. 



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334 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

the fifteenth day of March last past^ and were deliberately 
heard in judgement. On the part of the aforesaid Parish- 
ioners^ against the said Prior and Convent^ it was pre- 
sented^ that the said Prior and Convent had not for many 
years distributed any part, as is above recited, of the 
fruits of the said church of Godmanchester aforesaid, 
amongst the poor parishioners of the said church, who 
every year, on every Wednesday and Friday, accord- 
ing to antient custom, were used and accustomed to 
distribute amongst the most needy poor parishioners of 
the said church of Godmanchester three measures of 
grain, that is to say, one measure of wheat, one measure 
of rye, and one measure of peas. To which, on the part 
of the said Prior and Convent, it was answered, that the 
statement on the part of the parishioners was untrue: yet 
on their part, after due deliberation and to effect an ami- 
cable arrangement in the distribution of alms, it was thus 
determined, agreed, and settled before our said Commis- 
sioner, Master John Derby, then sitting in judgment on 
the said complaint, that the stewards of the household of the 
Priory of Merton aforesaid, or those who, for the time be- 
ing, were deputed in the said church, should on the first day 
of every week during Lent, for ever in future, deliver, or 
cause to be delivered to the Vicar and Bailiffs of the town 
of Gumecestr' aforesaid, for the time being, in the name 
of the said Prior and Convent, of the fruits of the said 
church in alms, three quarters of pure wheat, three quar- 
ters of rye, and one quarter of pure barley, to be distri- 
buted at the discretion of the Vicar and Bailiffs amongst 
the poor parishioners of the said town. 

"Which to be faithfully discharged and observed on the 
part of the Prior and Convent of Merton aforesaid, the 
said William West, in the name of the said parties, swore, 
by the blessing of God, on the book of the Holy Evange- 
lists, a corporal oath. 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 335 

" Whereupon the said Master John Derby, with the con- 
sent and at the instance of the aforesaid Parishioners and 
the Prior and Convent of Merton aforesaid, decreed in 
writing this form and regulation touching and concerning 
the said alms ; in testimony of the ratification of which, 
the said parties afi&xed their seals. 

^' Given in our Convocation at , under our 

seal, this twenty-seventh day of January, one 
thousand four hundred and forty-three." 



sewster's charity. 

-In testam*'' Nich^ Sewster nuper de 
Godmanchester in Com. Hunt, def ' in Cur' Pre- 
rogat' Cant, remanen' sic continetur inter alia 
ut sequitur. 

** In the name of God, Amen, — T, Nicholas Sew- 
ster, of Godmanchester, in the countie of Hunt., 
Esquire, and in the diocese of Lincoln, the 29*^ 
daie of Decembre, in the fiveth yeare of the raigne 
of Kinge Edward the Sixt, and in the yeare of 
oure Lorde God a thousand fyve hundrethe fyftie 
and one, being of whole and p'fect memorie and 
minde, thanks be to Almightie God, do make, 
constitute, and ordaine, this my last Will and 
Testament, &c. Also to the Gierke of the poore 
of Godmanchestr', fourtie shillings, at the discre- 
tion of the Bailys and xij men, to be lente to the 
poore yearlie as other monneyys. Also to the 
pore men's box at Godmanchester, xx5., &c. Also 
I will, that Will"" Frior, my ten*nte, shall have 
his dwellinge yn my ten^ntrie during his lyffe 



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336 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

firelie, paing no rente. And that my executors 
bestow, immediatlie after my decease, xx^. uppon 
the reparacions of yt, or w*hin xij monethes after; 
and after the decease of the saide Will"", yt to 
remaine to be an ahnes-house for ev' at the dys- 
cretion of the BaiUes and Vicer then beinge," &c. 
The tenement is situated in Earning Street, ^ and 
continues to be occupied as an alms-house. 



QUEEN Elizabeth's free grammar school, 
A.D. 1558. 

The circumstances connected with the founda- 
tion of this School have long been involved in 
mystery, and the appropriation of the endowment 
to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, with the excep- 
tion of a rent-charge of £20 per annum, appear- 
ing so utterly opposed to all equity and reason, has 
been a constant source of irritation and dissatisfac- 
tion to the townsmen at large ; in order to allay 
that irritation, and put the question of recovery of 
the school estates at rest, we shall enter somewhat 
into detail respecting the original foundation, and 
its present application. 

On the 24th of April, 1558,^ (4th and 5th PhiUp 

P Erningestrete, Ermin Street, or Herming Street (vide p. 6) 
from Hermes, (Mercury,) to whom that antient British track-way 
was consecrated. 

^ There is a memorandum in a Stock Book, (4th and 5th of 
Philip and Mary,) which refers to a former surrender of Rohins on 
the 18th of April. " M<* y* Richard Rohyns lyeing syck, surren- 
dered into ye Bylyffs hands all his lands and tenements w^in this 
lordship." 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 337 

and Mary), one Richard Robins surrendered his 
estates in Godmanchester, according to the custom 
of the manor, into the hands of Thomas Wiseman 
and Roger Bush, then Bailiffs, to the use and for the 
foundation of a Free Grammar School in God- 
manchester ;^ after which surrender, being danger- 
ously ill, on the 20th of September, 1558, he made 
and published a Will, wherein he bequeathed his 
said estates in trust to executors and overseers, 
appointing that so much of them should be sold 
as would purchase land of the annual rent or 
value of <s£20. a year, with which a School was to 
be endowed in Godmanchester, under the super- 
vision of such College as Thomas, then Bishop of 
Lincoln, should appoint, and that the residue of 
his estates should be equally divided amongst his 
surviving children/ 

1. Agnes, the elder, 3. Agnes, the younger, 

who married who manied 

Thomas Trjee-^ Heniy Stocker. 

2. Dorothy, who 4th. Elizaheth, who 

married married 

William Scott. Gilbert Smith. 

Eight or nine days subsequent to making this 

<i Vide Court Rolls of the Borough. 

*■ Vide Pleadings in the Star Chamber. 

« In " a volume of Collections, heraldic and topographical, for 
the county of Huntingdon, in the hand-writing of Sir Robert 
Cotton, with some interleaved additions by Mr. Astry," we find 



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338 



HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 



Will, Robins died; upon whose death* Thomas 
Tryce, William Scott, Henry Stocker, and Gilbert 



this genealogy or descent from Richard Rohins, the founder of 
the Free School. — Brit Mus, Cotton Col v. 921. 

TbM. Tryce de Oodmanehefter. s Agnes, danghter of Ricbard Robiiifl. 
Erm on a Cbereron S, a Lion rap. O a Chief O dwrged with three Mallets of the third. 



UvingI 



ITryo 



Richard Tryce de 
Stokely Magna. 



rTryo 



Jasper Tryces 
de Brami^. 



s Mary, da. of Reginald 
Cbatres, in ye Isle 
of Ely. 



.1. 



Robert' Tryce = da. oi — 
Godmanr. livi 
in I«13. 



ri = Coraeles Dnport Thomas = daughter of Walter Robe, of Clifton in Beds . 

of Doport of Leicester. I 



Tryce married Mary 
da. of Robert Mid- 
diemore, by Ann Fowb. 

Thomas married 
Mary, da. of — 



Nathaniel John Tryce = 
I Esq. died 



Mar. 934. 



=Jane, da. and heir of 
J(dm Waters, ci Terring* 
ton inNorftdlt, by Frances, 
da. and b. of J(dm Tianham i~j j j 
of Clenchwarton, in Nor- Etan.Sam.Peter. 
folk. Clerk. (..Ellz. 



Sam. Pont. 
I 



Thomas == Elizabeth, da. 
and heir of Richard Asta- 
cey, of Hontingdon, Gent. 



Frances = Robert Vinter. 



Mary s= Thomas Mayle. 



I I I 

Jasper. Ebzabeth. Jane. 

* Robert, son of Richard Heron, of Tydfenham, in Norfolk, 
whose descent is noticed in pp.165 and 166 of this work, married 
Elizabeth, daughter of this Thomas Trice ; and in the Visitation 
of Hunts, 1613, Cotton M.S. their descendants are thus traced: 

Richardos Heron, de Tydenham in Norfolk. 

Robert Heron de=Eli2abetha fliia Thome Trice. 
Oodmanchester. | de Oodmancbester. 



Thomas. Franciscos. WiUielmos. Trice Heron. | | 

Johannes Heron = Anna fllia Catharina, 



de Oodmanchester, 



Symonis noptaRico 
White, de Naylor,de 
Hunting. Offord Dacy, 
don. in Com. 

Hnnts. 



Maria uxor 
— Gatwood, 
dec<»nCan- 



Wuimns. Mattheus. Johannes. Maria nnpta Robertas Heron =:filia Bury, Anna nnpta White nnptm 
Bestney Betts, filios et Heres. de-MlIdrede Edmundo Johanni Ma- 
de Chateres in in Com. Holenbedye, son, de He- 
InsolaEly. Cantab. deKymboU mingford. 

ton. 

Anna etat 4 Annor et Amplios. 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 339 

Smith, in right of their respective wives, as joint 
heirs of Rohins under the will, took possession of 
the estates. The Bailiffs, on behalf of the whole 
town, claimed the entire property for the endow- 
ment of a Free Grammar School, Robins having 
incapacitated himself from bequeathing the property 
by will, in the absolute surrender of the 24th of 
April. Henry Stocker and Agnes his wife, Qil- 
bert Smith and EUzabeth his wife, unwilling to 
contend the issue at law, on February 28th, 1559, 
surrendered into the hands of the BaiUffs their 
right and title to their respective fourth parts, under 
their father's will, to the use of a Free Grammar 
School,"" agreeably to the surrender of Robins. 

On the 10th of May, 1561, (3d of EUzabeth,) 
letters patent passed the Great Seal for the founda- 
tion of the School, appointing William Samuel, 
then Vicar, and others therein named, '' Governors 
of the possessions, revenues, and goods of the 
Free Grammar School of Queen EUzabeth, in 
Godmanchester," and "that they and their suc- 
cessors might have, receive, and purchase to them 
and their successors, to the maintenance and sus- 
tentation of the said Free School, manors, lands, 
tenements, &c. to the yearly value of «£33. 6^. 8c?. 
or under." 

The Governors of the School, thus created by 
charter, entered upon the estates of Robins, and 



« Vide Court Rolls. 



z 2 



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340 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

by ejectment dispossessed Trice and Scott, and de- 
mised the houses and lands for a term of years, at 
an annual rent of ,5620, which yearly rent they 
appropriated to the purposes of the School. 

Thos. Trice had by Agnes his = William Scott and Dorothy his 

wife three children, wife had several sons, 

viz. the youngest of which was 

1st Richard, 2d Jasper, Robert. 
3d Robert 

On the death of Thomas and Agnes Trice, and 
William and Dorothy Scott, Robert Scott and 
Robert Trice, their youngest sons, and heirs by the 
custom of Godmanchester, and Henry Stocker 
and Agnes his wife, and Gilbert Smith and EUza- 
beth his wife, as joint heirs of Richard Robins, 
sued, by writ of right close, for the recovery of the 
property, on which, at a view of frank pledge held 
in Godmanchester on the 17th of April, 1576, 
(18th of EUzabeth,) the Governors were admitted 
to the seisin of the estates, and proper entries and 
registers, in the Court Book"" and Court Rolls, of 
their now vested right duly made. 

In 1580, the heirs generally of Robins com- 
menced a Star Chamber suit against the Gover- 
nors, on a plea that the absolute surrender of 
Robins, in 1558, was a forgery; the surrender of 
Stocker and Smith and their wives informal ; and 
that the will of Robins had not been complied 

^ Vide Court Rolls and Court Book No. 3, p. 118, where 
there is also a specification of the property. 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 34 1 

with, by the sale of any part of his estates and 
the purchase of other lands; or in the charity 
having been placed under the supervision of any 
College, as dir.ected by his will. After various 
answers and repUes, their contentions were closed 
by a decree of the Court in Trinity Term, 1 583, which 
barred all claim on the part of Stocker and Smith 
and their heirs, in consequence of their respective 
surrenders, but referred those of Scott and Trice to 
a jury, which ultimately negatived them ; and 
which decree farther directed, that as it appeared 
by the will of Robins to have been his intention, 
the school estates should thereafter be vested in 
some College in Cambridge, with the reservation of 
an annual rent-charge of «5620, to be appUed by the 
Governors to the maintenance of the school. 

In 1586 the decree was carried into full effect. 
The Governors of the school surrendered the es- 
tates of Robins into the hands of the BaiUffs, at a 
Court held on the 3d of June, to the use of Sir 
Walter Mildmay, Bart, then Chancellor, who, at 
the next Court, held on the 24th of June, was, by 
John Aired his Attorney, admitted to the seisin of 
them. At the same Court, Sir W. Mildmay, by 
Attorney, surrendered the estates into the hands of 
the Bailiffs for the use of the Master, Fellows, and 
Scholars of Emmanuel College, Cambridge,^ who, 

w Sir W. Mildmay, Bart, Chancellor and one of the Privy 
Council of Queen Elizabeth^ founded Emmanuel College, Cam- 
bridge, AiD. 1584. 



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342 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

by Attorney, at a Court held on the 27th of August, 
took seisin of them, Sir W. Mildmay having pre- 
viously (on the 20th of July), by deeds indented, 
secured to the Governors in trust for the use of the 
school, two annuities or annual rent-charges out 
of the estates, one of .flS 68. 8d. the other of 
£6 I3s. 4c?., making together the sum of ^20, 
which continues to be paid from the funds of 
Emmanuel College to the Master of the school. 

The school estates are now held under lease of 
the College, by Henry Sweeting, Esq. of Hunting- 
don, and are in the occupation of Mr. Lancaster, 
and commonly known by the name of the College 
lands. 

The School-House is in part occupied as a resi- 
dence for the Master, and is a handsome substan- 
tial building; but from the deficiency of funds 
for its repairs, is in a dilapidated state. Over 
the original entrance to the school, (which was for- 
merly a neat corridor, but which is now converted 
into a sitting room for the Master,) under a geome- 
trical sun-dial, is this inscription : 

EUz. Reg. Hujus 
Scholae Fundatrix. 

Tlie school-room is lofty; 45 feet in length, 
and 20 feet in breadth within ; 50 feet in length 
and 24 feet in breadth without the walls. The 
present school-master is Mr. Richard Gaunt; 
60 boys are educated upon the foundation, in 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 343 

reading, writing, and arithmetic, the Master's 
salary being increased from <5620 to <£40 a year, 
by an annual donation of ^20 presented by Henry 
Sweeting, Esq., the Recorder of the borough. 



A.D. 1560. LEGACIES AND DONATIONS PAID TO 

THE TWELVE MEN TO BE LENT TO THE POOR. 

£. 8. d, 

Mem. — That one Armeborowe did give 
to be deUvered into the hands of the 
twelve men of the town of Godman- 
chester, twenty shillings, to be lent 
yearly to the poor people of the same 
town, they putting in sufficient securi- 
ties unto the said twelve men for re- 
paying the same 1 

Also Alice West did give for the same 

intent and purpose 4 

Also Richard Robins did give likewise. 4 

Also John Bullyn did give for the same 

intent and purpose 2 

Mem. — ^That John Godwin and Richard Newman^ 
Executors to the last will and testament of the 
ahove s<* John Bullyn, have paid and did deliver 
the aforesd £2 Os. Od. unto the twelve men of God' 
on the 17*J» of October, 1560. 

Also Thos. Upchurch did give and be- 
queath, likewise to be lent to the poor, 
as is before expressed 2 

Also Mr. Nicholas Sewster did give and 

bequeath, to be lent as aforesaid 2 



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344 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

Also Mr. John Nicholls did give and £. s. d. 

bequeath, to be lent as aforesaid 1 

Also Mr. Robert Hbarnb did give and 

bequeath, to be lent as aforesaid 6 13 4 

Also Henry Careless did give to be 

lent as aforesaid to the poor 10 

Also Mr. RoB^. Tryce did give to be lent 

as aforesaid 3 6 8 



Total to be lent to the Poor <f 26 10 

This Charity is now lost. • 



upchurch's charity, a.d. 1570 — now lost. 

Thomas Upchurch, by will dated December 4, 
1 570, bequeathed to John Upchurch, his nephew, 
his messuage with the appurtenances, situated in 
West Street, and certain lands, leys, and meadows 
thereto belonging, with this provision — 

^^ Also I will that the said John Upchurch and his 
heirs male^ and whosoever of his heirs shall have and 
enjoy the said messuage and other the aforesaid premises^ 
shall every year distribute for ever, on the 1st of March^ 
to the poor of Godmanchester^ one quarter of good malt 
and one quarter of good barley^ in the presence of the 
Bailiffs for the time being, or their deputy or dq)uties." 

In 1662, August 12th, (14th Charles 2d,) the 
messuage and lands having been sold by Robert 
Upchurch, in small allotments, to various persons, 
as appears by a terrier in the Court-book of that 
date, it was arranged that a money rent should be 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 345 

paid by them for their respective proportions. These 
rents being withheld, the parties were presented by a 
Jury before *' the Commissioners appointed for Cha- 
ritable Uses," who issued a decree,"" dated January 
15th, 1678, commanding the payment of the arrears 
then due, and the future distribution of the charity 
in malt and barley, but which has been long dis- 
continued. 

THOMAS east's CHARITY OF BARLEY. 

The house of John Maule, Esq. situate in West 
Street, was charged by Thomas East with a quarter 
of barley, to be annually distributed amongst the 
poor, on the 1st of March, with Upchurch's cha- 
rity. This alms-corn is now refused, on the plea 
that Upchurch's grain is no longer given away. 
It was last paid about the year 1810 by Bichard 
Miles, then tenant. 



STEWKLEY S CHARITY. 

Margaret Stewkley by her will charged a house, 
situate near St. Anne's Lane, (in 1831 the property 
of the late Mr. Robert Martin,) with bread to the 
poor of Godmanchester, on Good Friday, in every 
year, to the value of Ss. 4d. 



Chambers's charity. 

Henry Chambers left a rent-charge of 3^. 4d. 

upon his house, the White Horse, to the poor 

yearly. The house was situated near the mills, 

and re-built by Henry Dobson, and is now the pro- 

» Vide decree amongst the Corporation Records. 



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346 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

perty of Mr. Edward Laundy ; the rent charge has 
for some years been discontinued. 



fishborn's^ charities. 

Richard Fishborn charged his estate at Hart- 
ford with ten shillings yearly, viz. four half-crowns 
to be given to the Bailiffs of Godmanchester, for 
four poor widows of Godmanchester not receiving 
parochial relief. The estate is now the property 

y The benevolent Richard Fishborn^ founder of the Evening 
Sunday Lecture at Huntingdon^ believed himself a native of that 
place^ as appears by this extract from his will^ *^ Whereas I am 
desirous to do good unto the town of Huntingdon where I was 
bom^ and yet am not acquainted with the state and wants of the 
same town," &c.; but a general and plausible tradition prevails that 
he was bom within the parish of Godmanchester. '' His parents 
were tramps or travelling paupers, and his mother being big with 
child and near her time, was sent from Huntingdon here, least the 
offspring should become chargeable to the town; that by the way 
she fell in labour, and was delivered of a son, who was baptized 
Richard." This legend is borne out by the universal custom of 
urging paupers on their journey from one parish to another; added 
to the circumstance of Godmanchester parish commencing in the 
centre of the bridge over the Ouse, which divides the two manors : 
it is certain that he was baptized in our church ; and that no 
record of a baptism of the same name is to be found in any of the 
parishes of Huntingdon. *' Ric*us Fishborn ffilius Joh'is 
Fishborn baptizat fuit 17 die Januarii, Anno D'mi, 1562." 
Fishborn might very readily fall into an error with respect to the 
place of his nativity, as, from his entire ignorance of '' its state 
and wants," and his humble birth, it is probable that he never 
visited it after infancy. According to Fuller, he was, early 
in life, servant to Sir Baptist Hicks, (Viscount Camden); sub- 
sequently a merchant in the city of London, and a member of the 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 347 

and in the occupation of Mr. Leonard Waller, by 
whom the rent-charge is paid. 

Fishbom also gave money to purchase land for 
apprenticing poor boys of Godmanchester, which, 
in 1724, produced £2 a year. An equivalent of 
land at the time of the inclosure was allotted to the 
Corporation, the rent of which continues to be pro- 
perly appUed. 

ROBERT granger's CHARITY OF CORN IN BREAD, 
ANNUALLY DISTRIBUTED ON GOOD-FRIDAY. 

A.D. 1578. — '* Robert Granger did, by his last 
will and testament bearing date 1 0th October, 1578, 
will, that after his decease, on the Good-Friday 
before Easter-day, there shall be given yearly to 
the poor in Godmanchester, as much bread as may 
be made of a comb of wheat ; and that his daughter 
Ann should find it, and bake it into half-penny 
loaves against the day of distributing thereof. The 
distribution to be made by her and the two Church- 
wardens in Godmanchester during her abiding in 
the mansion-house, and after her departure the 
house to be charged with it for ever; and if they 
which dwell therein refuse to pay the comb of 
wheat baked into bread, that then it shall be lawful 
for the Churchwardens to distrain in the said house 
and grounds for the aforesaid comb of wheat." 

Mercer s Company. By successful speculations^ he amassed so 
considerable a property, that he left £10,700 in charitable do- 
nations. He died unmarried, and was buried in Mercers chapel, 
London, May 10th» 1625. — Lansdovm M,S, British Museum. 



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348 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

The house, which is now divided into two tene- 
ments, is situated in East-street, and is the pro- 
perty of Edward Martin, Esq. who annually pays 
to the Churchwardens the value of a comb of 
wheat, which is distributed amongst the poor on 
Good-Friday. 



DRYDEN^S CHARITY A.D. 1703. 

John Dryden, Esq. of Chesterton, Hunts, a.d. 
1703, lent to the Bailiffs, Assistants, and Com- 
monalty of Godmanchester, ,56 100, for the purpose 
of apprenticing annually a poor freeman's son with 
a premium of <£5, they being bound in a bond to 
that effect, which contains this provision. 

** The condition of the obligation is such, that if the 
above-bound Bailiffs, Assistants, and Comalty of the bo- 
rough of Gumecester, alias Godmanchester, in the county 
of Huntingdon, do yearly, after the date hereof, put out 
one poor freeman* s child, of the boro' afores^, apprentice 
to any trade that shall be by them thought convenient^ 
paying £5 to the master of every such apprentice, until 
such time as the s^ Bailiffs, Assist^ and Coialty, or their 
successors, purchase lands or tenements in the county of 
Huntingdon, of the value of £5 per annum, and settle the 
same on such trustees as the above-named John Dryden 
shall, by any writing under his hand and seal, nominate 
and appoint ; and for want of such nomination, then on 
sucb person or persons as the Bailiffs and Assist^ shall 
appoint, that the rents, issues, and profits thereof may 
yearly for ever be paid unto the Bailiffs for the time being, 
and be by them yearly paid for the putting out apprentice 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 349 

one poor freeman's child as aforesaid^ by the s* BailiflFs, 
Assist*", and Coialty, and for no other use, intent, or pur- 
pose whatsoever, that then this obligation to be void, or 
else to be and remain in full force & eflfect/' — Date Feby 
12tii, 2o Anne Reg. 

Dryden died in January, 1707, as recorded on 
his monument in Chesterton church, up to which 
period no investment of the money in land had 
taken place. — By Will he converted the loan into 
a gift, increasing the amoxmt to <£200, by this item: 

" I give unto (the town of Huntingdon j£200, to the 
town of St. Ives JB200,) to Godmanchester j£200, (and to 
Ramsey JB200,) to be disposed of to such charitable uses 
as the Justices of the Peace of the county of Huntingdon, 
together with the most substantial inhabitants in the 
several towns, shall think most convenient for the advan- 
tage of each town.'* 

In 1708 the <56200 was appropriated, with the 
consent of the Magistrates,^ to the purchasing of 
21 acres and 1^ rood of arable land, two acres of 
leyes and two acres of meadow, in Godmanchester 
lordship, of John Raby and Ann his wife, which was 
vested in the Bailiffs, Assistants, and Commonalty 
for the purposes of Dryden's will. From this period 

• ** And whereas John Driden^ late of Chesterton, in the county 
of Huntingdon, deceased, in his life-time, by his will in writings 
amongst other legacyes and devises did give and bequeath to the 
town of Godmanchester the sume of £200, to be disposed of to 
such charitable uses within the s<^ town as the Justices of the 
Peace of the county of Hunt: together with the most substantial 
inh'itants of the s^ town should think most convenient for the 
benefit of the s^ town; and whereas the most substantial inh*itants 
of the town did p pose to the Justices of the Peace for the s<* 



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350 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

to the year 1723, the rents and profits of the land 
were given to apprenticing poor children, when it 
was deemed advisahle to build four alms-houses 
upon Dryden's foundation, and leave a permanent 
eleemosynary charge of £5 a year upon the land, 
in accordance with the original stipulation between 
the Corporation and Dryden, which sum is annually 
applied to putting out apprentice a poor freeman's 
child. 

Four alms-houses, at the south end of which is 
this inscription, 

*' These Houses was built by order of the 

Bailiffs and their Assistants, with charity Money 

given by John Drayden, Esq. who 

was Knight of the Shire for this County 

of Huntingdon many years. 1723. 

Mr. Robert Stockbr, 

Mr. John Skeggs, 

Bailiffs." 

were built in Church Lane by the Bailiffs in 1723, 

in whose accounts of that year occur these charges 

for their erection: — 

*^ 1723, moneys pd by Mr. Bailiffe Negus towards 
building the almes-house in Church Lane — 

coun1y> that the s^ £200 should be layed out for the p'chasing of 
lands^ tenements^ and hereditaments> and that the same should be 
vested in the Bayliffs, Assistants^ and Com'alty in trusty and^hat 
the rents> issues and p'fits thereof yearly ariseing should be layed 
out for the putting out such of the poor children of the s* town 
apprentices in such manner as the Bayliffs^ Assistants^ and Vicar 
of Godmanchester for the time being, or the major part of them> 
should think fitt, wch s^ pp'sal was, by the 8^ Justices, wholly 
approved." — Vide Covenant between the Corporation and Rahy. 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 351 

Pd Tho». James, Carpenter .£17 4 

Pd W°»- Cole, Bricklayer 3? 

Thompson, the Stone-cutter 17 

Moneys p^ by M'. Bailiff Stocker to 
W°». Cole for and towards the 

almes-houses 5 3 



CHRISTOPHER FISHER S CHARITY FOR APPRENTICES, 
A.D. 1674. 

" March 21st, 1678.*— Anno Regni Charles 2d, 
the thirtieth, Gumecester aUas Godmanchester. 

* ' Memorandum — ^That whereas Mr. Joseph Baker 
and Mr. George Brent, executors of the last will 
and testament of Mr. Christopher Fisher, did in the 
year 1674, in pursuance of the powers given them 
in the said will, purchase two acres and three roods 
of meadow in Reed Meadow, which was by the said 
will to raise the sum of <£5, to put out apprentice 
some poor boy of the said town of Godman'. 

''Which said meadow, so purchased, was demised 
by the said executors unto Henry Fitton, at the 
rent of fifty shiUings per annum. 

"And that the first two years* rent due at St. Mi- 
chael's, 1675, and that the rent issuing out of the 
premises for other two years, ended S. Michael, 
1677, was this present day, by the said Mr. H. 
Fitton, tenant to the premises, and by the order of 
the said Mr. Joseph Baker and Mr. George Brent, 
paid into the hands of Mr. Wm. Smith of Godman', 

a Vide old Stock Book. 



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352 HISTORY OF QODMANCHESTER. 

cordwinder, for his taking apprentice one William 
Stevenson, a poor boy of the said town, to be in- 
structed in the said trade of cordwinder for the 
space of seven years, from the Feast of our blessed 
Virgin Mary, (called the Annunciation), next en- 
suing. 

" Ex assensu totius Curiae in plena Curia tent, 
die et Anno sup' diet. 

*' Sam. Fox, aerk.'' 
It does not appear in whom the property was 
vested, or that the meadow land was claimed for 
charitable uses at the time of the inclosure, and 
consequently this Charity may be considered lost. 



BANKES'S CHARITY. A.D. 1707. 

Extract from Mr. Joseph Bankes's Will, Nov. 
19th, 1707. 
"Item — I give and bequeath unto the said Mary, 
my dear and loving wife, all my messuages, lands, 
ten*% and heredit** and estates whatsoever, lying 
and being in Dunton, Newton, and Milhoe, in the 
county of Bedford, to have and to hold the same 
unto my said wife for and during the term of her 
natural life; and after her decease, I give and be- 
queath the same to the said Thomas Parrott, her 
said son, to have and to hold to him for and during 
the term of his natural life ; and after his decease, 
I give and bequeath the same to the said Frances 
Ambrose, Eliz. Ambrose, Jane Ambrose, Mary 
Ambrose, and Eliz. Stevens, and to their heirs and 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 353 

assigns for ever, equally to be divided amongst 
them, subject nevertheless to this condition and 
payment hereafter mentioned : — that my said wife, 
and the said Thomas Parrott, and the said Frances, 
Eliz^*", Jane, and Mary Ambrose, andEliz*^ Stevens, 
and their heirs and assigns for ever, as they shall 
severally become possessed of my estate at Dunton, 
Newton, and Milhoe, &c.; pay yearly out of the 
rents, issues, and profits thereof for ever, to the 
minister, churchwardens, and overseers of the poor 
of Godmanchester aforesaid, in the county of Hun- 
tingdon, for the time being, the sum of <^ 12 of law- 
ful money of Great Britain yearly for ever upon 
the Feast of St. Bartholomew, to be disposed and 
applied to such uses and purposes as are here- 
inafter expressed — ^viz. £5 to be distributed on the 
Feast of St. Bartholomew and New Year's-day, 
by even portions yearly for ever, for the use and 
to the poor of Godmanchester afores*^, as the mi- 
nister, churchwardens, and overseers of the poor 
for the time being shall think fit, by giving one 
shilling to each of such fifty poor persons. 

** The first payment to be made on the Bartholo- 
mew-day that shall happen next after my decease, 
and so yearly after upon that day for ever. To be 
by them the said minister, churchwardens, and 
overseers for the time being, upon Bartholomew- 
day and New Year's-day, distributed amongst the 
s"^ poor inhabitants of Godmanchester aforesaid in 
manner aforesaid." 

A A 



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354 HISTOEY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

The twelve pounds a year continue to be paid, 
seven pounds of which are annually appUed to 
putting out a poor boy apprentice, and the remain- 
ing five pounds are distributed in bread to the most 
needy poor on Good Friday. 



CHAEITY BOY AND OAR. A.D. 1727. 

Richard Croft, basket-maker, took seisin of the 
Boy and Oar, and the record contains this provision: 
'' It is to be remembered that the said messuage or 
tenement and premises aforesaid are chargeable with 
and subject to and for the payment of ten shillings 
yearly, and every year for ever, on the 24th day of 
June in every year, to the Master or Usher of the 
Grammar School in Godmanchester aforesaid, and 
three shiUings and four-pence yearly on Good- 
Friday, for ever, for bread to be distributed among 
the poor people in Godmanchester, by the church- 
wardens and overseers of the poor for the time 
being." 

The tenement was the property of the late Jona- 
than Hulm, and the eleemosynary charges are duly 
paid and applied. 



MANSOR'S charity A.D. 1738. 

Mrs. Barbary Mansor, by will, left money in 
trust to Mr. Original Jackson and Mr. John 
Skeggs, for the purpose of building tenements for 
poor widows not receiving alms. Three tenements 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 355 

were accordingly erected in Pinfold-lane, which are 
occupied as aim-houses, over the centre door of 
which is this inscription carved in stone. 

'* These Houses Were 
Built With Charity 
Money Given By Mrs. 
Barbary Mansor For 
Three Poor Widows Not 
TakeingAlms. 1738." 



THE SCHOOL OF INDUSTRY FOR GIRLS, A. D. 1800. 

This establishment was commenced by Mrs. 
Phoebe Fuller.'' a Member of the Society of Friends 
or Quakers, in the year 1800, and who in the fol- 
lowing year was assisted in her benevolent design 
by several famiUes in Grodmanchester, amongst 
whom and by whose exertions funds were raised for 
its immediate necessities, which have since been 
liberally supplied by donations, subscriptions, the 
produce of the work done in the school, and by col- 

^ The grand-daughter of Henry Gray, Esq. also a Member of 
the Society of Friends, many of whom reside in Godmanchester. 
On the female wards of the workhouse is this memorial of his 
philanthropy : " H. Gray, of Godmanchester, Esquire, gave forty 
guineas towards building this part of the workhouse. 1791." — 
Other dissenters of various religious denominations abound in 
Godmanchester. The Particular Baptists and Independents have 
meeting-houses, which are attended by numerous congregations 
resident in the town and neighbouring villages. 

A A 2 



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356 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

lections after a sermon annually preached in the 
church, in aid of the institution. The room origi- 
nally hired for a school-room being found inade- 
quate and otherwise inconvenient, the Bailiffs, As- 
sistants, and Commonalty, at a special meeting held 
at the Horse Shoe Inn, March 7th, 1809, granted 
a plot of ground, then a road-way or thoroughfare, 
on the south side of the Court Hall, for the site of 
a suitable building, where a school-house and resi- 
dence for the Mistress has been erected, the ex- 
penses attending which were defrayed by subscrip- 
tions amongst the inhabitants at large. The number 
of children educated in the establishment is now 
24, and has varied with the state of the funds, 
averaging about 30 from the time of its institution. 
The revenues for the year 1830 were — 

£. s. d. 
Balance in hand, Dec. 3l8t, 1829 13 10 

Subscriptions for the Year laSO 26 5 

Collection after a Sermon preached by the Rev. 

C. Gray, Vicar 12 10 

Receipts for Work during the year 13 9 6 

£65 5 4 



** Rules for the Government of the School of 
Industry for Girls, in the parish of God- 
manchester; established in 1801: and supported 
by voluntary contribution, for the purpose of 
instructing children, whose parents are unable to 
provide the means of so doing. 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 357 

" 1. That every subscriber to this Charity paying annually one 
guinea to the treasurer, for the use and benefit of the institution, 
shall have the liberty of recommending one child at a time to the 
choice of the committee ; and those who subscribe two guineas, 
may send two children ; and so in proportion for every guinea 
subscribed. Also that any benefaction will be thankfully received 
from such persons as do not choose to be annual subscribers. 

" 2. That a committee be elected annually, who, with a trea- 
surer, shall superintend and direct the management of the school ; 
also, that they are to meet for that purpose the first Thursday in 
every month, at eleven in the forenoon; and every subscriber 
voluntarily attending shall be considered of the committee, but 
not less than three shall have the power of acting. 

''3. That a mistress be appointed, who shall teach the girls 
reading, knitting, sewing, and spinning, for which she shall 
receive a weekly salary : also, that the mistress shall take care of 
the manners of the children, discourage idleness, suppress vice 
and immorality, and teach them the principles of the christian 
religion. 

'* 4. That the children are to be at school by nine o clock in the 
morning, and go home at twelve ; return at two in the afternoon, 
and go home at five, except when the days are so short that they 
cannot see to work so late as five, when they will be allowed 
but one hour for dinner, or an hour and a half, according to 
the length of the days: and their parents are expected to 
take care that this rule (as well as all others) is strictly at- 
tended to. 

" 5. That the mistress shall keep a book, in which she shall 
enter the names of those whose parents, from any particular 
circumstance, keep them at home, as a check against frivolous 
excuses of any kind, and in order to their exclusion, whenever 
this practice becomes too frequent; also if a child is absent a 
month from illness, and does not appear likely to recover soon, 
another shall be admitted, and the child so excluded shall be re- 
admitted as soon as an opportunity offers. 

'' 6. That the children belonging to this school, are to assemble 



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358 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

in the school-room twice every Sunday, and walk two and two, 
in a decent orderly manner, to and from Church, under the care 
of their mistress ; and no excuse, except sickness, shall be ad- 
mitted for their not attending divine service. 

'' 7. That no child shall be admitted into this school under the 
age of eight years> or be continued longer than the age of four- 
teen, (unless it should appear to the committee to be desirable 
they should remain another year); and by way of encouragement 
to girls, who after leaving the schoc^ with credit, enter into 
service and remain in their places for one year, and then bring 
a good character to the committee to entitle them to a premium, 
they shall receive one pound ; and if they remain a second year 
in the same place, they shall receive ten shillings more ; but to 
those who are hired within the parish of Godmanchester, only 
half that sum will be given : but no reward will be given afler 
they are 18 years old. 

'* 8. That one or more of the committee be appointed to visit 
the school twice a week for one month, and to make a report 
at the next monthly meeting, upon the conduct of the mistress 
and the improvement and behaviour of the children. 

** 9. That the children be required to appear at school neat and 
clean : and to preserve their new clothes by keeping in repair 
and wearing their old ones as long as possible. — ^The cloaks and 
pincloths given to the children are for general use, and not to be 
taken away with them when they leave the school. — ^The other 
articles of clothing are only lent for the first year, and if a child 
leave the school within a year after they are given them, they 
must be delivered to the mistress. 

" 10. That the surplus of the money collected and earned by 
the children (after the weekly payment of the mistress is made, 
and books, &c. paid for, for the use of the school) shall be 
applied in the way that appears to the committee most beneficial 
to the children. 

"11. That a general meeting of the subscribers shall be held 
annually at the school-house, on the Thursday before Easter, for 
auditing the treasurers accounts." 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 359 

THE NEW SCHOOL OF INDUSTRY FOR GIRLS 

was established on the 6th of October, 1815, and is 
open to the admission of children of all religious 
denominations, who attend the respective places of 
worship appointed by their parents. They are 
educated in reading, plain-work, and knitting. The 
children are admitted at eight years of age, and 
dismissed at thirteen, during which time a gown is 
annually presented to each, and on leaving the 
school a cloth cloak of their own choice. No ad- 
mission or other fees are allowed to be taken by 
the Mistress, whose salary and other incidental 
expenses are paid out of funds raised by donations, 
voluntary subscriptions, and the produce of the 
work done in the school. The annual revenues are 
about twenty guineas, the judicious management of 
which has formed a small accumulating fund, now 
amounting to £43, and which, when more ample, is 
to be appropriated to the erection of a school-house. 
Present number of children educated, twenty. — 
Books read, — Bible and Prayer-book. 



In addition to these various charitable endow- 
ments and institutions, we may notice that coals 
and cloathing are annually distributed amongst, 
and blankets lent to, the poor, during the winter 
season. These are suppUed by general subscrip- 
tions, forming but one fund, and in the promotion 
of this work of benevolence and charity. Church- 
men and Dissenters unite their exertions. 



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360 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

The Court Hall is a very antient and singular 
structure, and was formerly, in the literal sense of the 
word, an open court, having been accessible to the 
public on all sides. It is now surrounded by a wall, 
and its covering or roof, in which is a Council Cham- 
ber, is supported by stout oak posts. At various 
periods, for the last two centuries, entries occur in 
the accompts of the Bailiffs, of simis of money 
appUed to its repair, but the date of its erection is 
unknown. In this Court-House the public busi- 
ness of the borough is transacted, but the private 
deliberations of the Corporation take place at 
special meetings held by adjournment at the 
Horse Shoe Inn. 



The revenues of the Corporation are principally 
derived from letting a small allotment of land 
awarded by the Commissioners at the time of the 
inclosure, in lieu of their royalties, and the mano- 
rial mills, the interior of which have been recently 
remodelled, and entirely rebuilt, at a considerable 
expenditure, and now constitute a valuable property. 



The right of mintage was never attached to the 
manor of Godmanchester ; but trade tokens have 
been found there, two of which, stamped and cir- 
culated at the commencement of the 17th century, 
form the tail-pieces of this and the succeeding 
Chapter. 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 36 1 

COMMUNICATION WITH HUNTINGDON. 

A commodious and substantial stone bridge, 
consisting of six arches, over the river Ouse, four 
of which are of sufficient dimensions to admit of 
navigation with barges under them, connects the 
borough of Huntingdon with Grodmanchester, and 
a mark or cross is placed in the centre of the 
bridge, to point out the boundaries of the two 
lordships. The present structure was probably 
erected in the reign of Edward I. as it appears by a 
quo warranto plea in the 43d of Henry III. a. d. 
1259,*" that an important litigation was then com- 
menced between the inhabitants of the county 

c Pieas at Westminster, 43 Hen. HI. Rotulo 19. a.d. 1259.— 
" The whole county of Huntingdon complams of the hurgesses 
of Huntingdon, for that the repairs of the hridge at Huntingdon fall 
upon the same county, and that the burgesses, by carrjring dung 
over the said bridge to certain lands which they have purchased, 
and which they lead through the town to Gumecester, and to other 
places in those parts; and also the com off the same lands into 
their granaries, in the town of Huntingdon, by which means the 
aforesaid bridge (to the reparation of which they afford no 
assistance) is shaken and impaired. 

" And the burgesses appear and say that they have a right to 
carry dung, and have been wont to do so in all past times, at their 
own pleasure, to their lands in Gumecester and in those parts, 
and their com and compost from the same parts of Huntingdon. 
They say, moreover, that the whole county of Huntingdon is free 
from the toll given in the town of Huntingdon, for the repairs of 
the aforesaid bridge. 

" And the county well know that the aforesaid burgesses have 
been wont to pass and repass along the aforesaid bridge at their 



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362 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

and the burgesses of Huntingdon, as to who was 
liable to the repair of the then dilapidated and 
dangerous bridge. Their contentions were settled 
by an inquest* held in the 4th of Edward I. a.d. 
1276, when this judgment was given :— 

Plita Corone — cora Johe In a Plea of the Crown 

de Vulleb3 Wifto de held at Huntingdon, on the 

suis Justic itinerantib3 apud Feast of St. Michael, in the 
Hunt^ in |s5 Sci Micfiis fourth year of the reign of 
Anno regni ft Edw. filii ft King Edward, son of King 
Henrici quarto. Henry, before John deVuUeb 

and William de y his 

justices itinerant. 
Villat' de Hunt' ven : p xij Hunt. County of Hunting- 
jur : don. 

Hunt, de Pontib3 & Cal- The twelve jurors return 
cetis &c. dicunt qd in aquis as to the bridges and cause- 
pons de Hunt' ita fractus way, and say that the bridge 
est qd holes prarie equites over the river at Hunting- 
& pedites vix transire pos- don is so broken that it is 
sunt vel ducere carucas suas almost impassable for pas- 
own pleasure, with merchandize and all sorts of goods, as well as 
the aforesaid com and dung produced in Gumecester and in the 
parts adjacent 

'' And because the burgesses are unable to shew why they 
should be free from the reparation of the bridge, by reason of the 
toll from which the county is free, on account of the repairs of 
the bridge: it is considered that the burgesses should be free of 
the bridge for such merchandize only as they should carry beyond 
the bridge. And it is ordered that the sheriff bind all those who 
carry dung beyond the bridge to contribute to the support 
thereof." 

^ The original inquest is contained in the Record Chamber 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 



363 



prop? debilitatem eiusdem 
pontis ad magnum piclum 
omnia transiuntm & nocu- 
metum totius prie. 



Et dicunt qd ^dcus pons 
debet rep^ari p tiitantes to- 
tius comitatus vidett p qua- 
tuor hundred de Towesland 
Leightonstone Norman- 
crosse et Hurstingstone : 



Ita qd unu quodq^ hun- 
dred tenet ad sua ptem p^dci 
pontis faciend suis sump- 
tib3. 

Et quia p^dicus pons non 
dum rept' ideo tota coitas 
pdcor hundred (in una) et 
prept^ est viz qd repar^ 
fact pdcm pontem ad cust 
&c. infra quindena |sto Sci 
Martini sup forisfactur cent 
librar. 



Item dixunt qd Calceta & 
parvi pontes int' Hunt & Gu- 
mecester ita dixunt et de- 



sengers on horseback or on 
foot^ and that on account of 
the weakness of the said 
bridge, they cannot convey 
over it their implements of 
husbandry, to the great dan- 
ger of all travellers and the 
injury of the whole country. 

And they say that the 
said bridge ought to be re- 
paired by the inhabitants of 
the whole county, to wit, of 
the four hundreds of Towes- 
land, Leightonstone, Nor- 
mancrosse, and Hursting- 
stone. 

Also, that each of the 
four hundreds is liable to 
the repairing of its own 
part, at its own separate 
charge. 

And because the said 
bridge is not so repaired, it 
is ordered, that is to say, 
that the commonalty of the 
four hundreds (in one) shall 
make reparation of the said 
bridge within fifteen days 
from the feast of St. Mar- 
tinus, under the penalty of 
forfeiting £100. 

And they return as to the 
causeway and the seven 
small bridges betweenHunt- 



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364 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

trovant. Q* Prioris de Hunt' tingdon and Gumecester, 
qui eos debet repare qd that they award and find^ 
hoies de patria & alienigene that the Prior of Hunting- 
transire non possunt ad don ought to repair them^ 
grave nocumentum &c. but that they are impassable 

by either the inhabitants or 

others, to the great injury, 

&c. 

Et ^rept est viz qd re- And by the award of the 

pari faciat ^vos pontes & jury it is ordered, to wit, 

Calceta ad cust ipius Prioris that the repair and mainte- 

p visum jur' &c. nance of the small bridges 

and causeway shall be made 
at the costs of the said Prior. 

It being decided by this Inquest that each of the 
four Hundreds of the County were chargeable to 
the repair of a separate fourth part of the bridge, it 
is highly probable that the antient bridge diflFered 
materially in form from the present one, and that 
from its then insecurity it was built of wood, as was 
the case with most bridges at that time; but that 
soon after the verdict here recorded, the present 
bridge was built, as from the strength of its foun- 
dations and the stability of the whole structure, it is 
impossible that, at any period since its erection, 
it can have been in the ruinous state above de- 
scribed. 

The causeway noticed in this Inquest was a 
raised roadway, eight feet in breadth, between 
Godmanchester and Huntingdon, and the bridges 
(part of the foundations of which are still remain- 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 365 

ing) were made in the causeway to facilitate the 
passage of the waters during floods. The repair of 
these bridges, and the state of the causeway, was 
of the utmost consequence to the public, as the 
road which ran parallel with and about two hun- 
dred yards from the causeway was utterly impas- 
sable during floods, at which times only the cause- 
way was used, being at others closed by a chain at 
either end. The Prior of Huntingdon had become 
liable to the perpetual repairs of the causeway and 
bridges in a contract with the Bailifis and men of 
Godmanchester, by which he and his successors 
had occupation of a piece of land lying between 
the causeway and the river, which lead to frequent 
disputes and litigations between them, from the 
bridges and causeway being allowed to fall into a 
state of dilapidation. Such was the case at the 
time of the above Inquest, but more particularly so 
in the early part of the 15th century, when the fol- 
lowing Arbitrium de Pontibus was delivered in by 
the arbitrators, which confirmed the decision of the 
jurors, in a.d. 1276. 

ARBITRIUM DB PONTIBUS*. 

** This endenture in Englyssh maad betwyyen John 
Maddyngley, Pryour of the chanownes of Huntyngdon, 
and the conent of the same place^ of the on ptye, and 
John Quenyve and John Manypeny, Ballyves of the town 
of Gumecester, and the comownes of the same town, of 
the othir ptye, berith wytnesse that the fyfthe day of the 

» From the Black Letter Original in the Record Chamher. 



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366 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

monethe of Octobr, in the tenthe yeer of Kyng Kerry 
the Syxte, it was fully acordyd and detmynyd befoure 
arbjrtroures chosen of both ptyes, that is for to lete 
Wyllyam Penteneye, srvant to the noble and worthy 
Prynce, Duk of Gloucestr, Wyllyam Westwode, clerk and 
srvant of the worthy lady^ Countesse of Stafford and Her- 
ford, John Copegrey, chapeleyn of Gumecestr, and Thomas 
Charweston^ of Huntjmgdon, gentilman. They gevyn 
plejm arbjrtrement that the seyd Pryour and the coiient 
aught be dewe composycyon to make and repayre sevene 
brygges betwene the town of Gumecestr and the grete 
brygge nexte Huntyngdon, of the whethe the flores of 
the syxte seyd brygges shall be evene and equjrpotent to 
the flore of the Pool Brygge nexte Gumecestr, so that 
whenne the watter rennyght on the flore of the poole 
brygge, that the wtter shal renne on the flores of the 
other syxe brygges, excepte that the flore of the secunde 
arche of the brygge nexte the grete brygge above-seyd 
shall be lowere than the flore of the poole brygge be foure 
enchyes of the statute for a lawsherd. 

** Also the same arbytroures have geven pleyn arbjrtry- 
ment that there shal be set floodgates, and be maad be the 
seyd Pryour and his cohent in the place where as they 
were set and stood last besyde the reede medewe, in the 
fyfthe yeere of the seyd Kyng Herry, reservyd the brede 
and the depenesse as it was of the day of the makyng of 
this psent, to the heighte of the flore of the poole brygge 
aboveseyd, so that when the water rennyht on the flore of 
the poole brygge that the water renne on the seyd flood- 
gates lette of nether ptye, wheche shall be maad be the 
feste of Sjmt Petyr, wheche is clepyd Adumota nexte 
sevyng the date of this p^sent. 

^^ And in the mene tyme it was ordeynyd that the same 
floodgates shal be stoppyd, and a tre leyd on of the 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 367 

heighte of the flore of the poole brygge aboveseyd, so that 
the water may renne on the same tre as aboveseyd. And 
if it so be that the foreseyd flood-gates be not maad and 
set there be the seyd feste of Seynt Petyr that thanne it 
shall be levefuU to the seyd Bayllyves and comownes to 
pull up and take away the same tre and damnyng, that 
the water may renne and have his cours as it dede at the 
day of the makyng of this psent into the tyme that 
bothe ptyes be otherwyse acordyd wyth, that the seyd tre 
and damning be not maad to the tyme that the seyd law- 
sherd be fully maad and endyd as it is above acordyd. 

"Also what tyme the seyd flood-gates be maad and set, 
that the water ryse gretly to the heighte of half a nette 
yerde above the seyd flood-gates in noysannz of medewes 
and pastures of bothe sydes, than the Pryor shal so drawe 
the seyd flood-gates tyl the water be resonabely abatyd, 
and if they be not drawne at the mesure aboveseyd if it 
nede, it is ordeynyd be the forseyed arbitroures that the 
Bayllyves of the seyd town of Gumecestr for the tyme beyng 
shal so drawe the seyd flood-gates tyl the water be reson- 
abely abatyd as it is aboveseyd, so that no psons imas- 
sygnyd be the seyd Pryour and Bayllyves shall medele or 
entermete of drawyng of the seyd flood-gates, and if he do 
he shall be corecte be the abyes of the seyd Pryour and 
Bayllyves. 

" And in wytnessyng of these poyntes, artyculys, and 
acordes aboveseyd, as wel the seyd Pryor and his conent 
as the Bayllyves and the comownes to this psent, the day 
and yeere aboveseyd, have put ther comown sceles and 
cygnetz. And if it so be that the seyd Bayllyves, ther 
successoures, or the comowners of Gumecestre aboveseyd, 
act hereafter contrarye or geynesey the comune scele of the 
same town, thaune in these actys and acordes the comune 
scele of the seyd Pryorye shal stonde in non efFecte. 



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368 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

*^ And if it may be foundyn that any psone of ethir 
ptye wyllefiilly do or offende any thyng in these artycules 
and poyntes aboveseyd^ he to come into the peyne of xxs. 
to the ptys that fyndjrth hym grevyd be th'assent and 
consent of the seyd Pryour and Baylies; and if they 
among them may not acorde, that they chuse them an 
umpere to jugge and de^myne the trespasour to pay the 
quantyte for his gylte to the same ptys grevyn." 

The floodgates here mentioned were those alluded 
to in our Chapter on Drainage,® for the preserva- 
tion of the waters and security of the millers at 
Hartford and Houghton ; and it will be observed 
that the Bailiffs of Godmanchester, who were then 
at issue with the Abbot of Ramsey as to the pro- 
tection of their meadows in times of floods, reserved 
to themselves the entire control of these gates. 
Notwithstanding this arbitration of a. d. 1431 , vex- 
atious and expensive litigations soon recommenced 
between the parties, touching the premises, which 
were left to arbitrators mutually appointed, who 
deUvered their letters of award,' solemnly sealed in 
St. Mary^s Church, ^^mtingdon, on Good Friday, 
A.D. I486, the provisions of which effected a termi- 
nation of their disputes. 

On the suppression of the Priory of Huntingdon, 
the ** Calse Holme'' fell into the occupation of 
Thomas Wyseman, and Samuel Wyseman, his son, 
who undertook the repairs of the causeway and 
bridges ; but in 1 570 it was urged by the Bailiffs 

e Page 199, line 2. ^ Vide Appendix, No. 11. 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 369 

and men of Godmanchester, that '' the saide 
bridges and ealsey haith sythens the dissoluc'on of 
the said Pryory remayned in reuyne and decay, to 
the nousance of the Queene's people;" and the 
Wysemans were called upon for the performance of 
their contract, upon which a lease*^ was entered 
into between the Bailiffs and twelve men on the 
one part, and Thomas Wyseman and Samuel Wyse- 
man his son, on the other part, securing to them 
and their heirs the perpetual enjoyment of the 
Causeway Holme, on the conditions to which the 
Priors of Huntingdon had formerly been subject. 

Various occupants appear subsequently to have 
held the land, on similar stipulations, until the 
year 1637, when one Robert Cook, on attempting 
to pass over the causeway, during a flood, fell into 
the water, and with difficulty escaped being drown- 
ed. Cook purchased the fee simple of the Cause- 
way Holme, and by will, having first bequeathed 
a rent charge of £5 per annum to be distributed 
amongst the poor of Huntingdon, left the residue 
of the profits of the land to the future repair of the 
causeway and bridges. In 1710, the 9th of Queea 
Anne, an Act of Parliament was passed ** for re- 
pairing and amending the highways leading from 
Royston, in the county of Hertford, to Wansford 
Bridge, in the county of Huntingdon," appointing 
Commissioners or Trustees for the general manage- 

B Dated April Sth, 12« Eliz. 

B B 



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370 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

ment of the whole road. In 1765, the bridges and 
causeway being in a bad and ruinous state, and the 
low road frequently impassable, the Trustees ob- 
tained a new Act, which empowered them " to 
amend, widen, enlarge, and repair any causeway 
or bridges upon or on the side or sides of the said 
road, and to build, or cause to be built, any other 
bridge, &c. for horses, horses and carriages, &c. to 
pass over in times of floods, vesting all bridges and 
other works in the hands of the Trustees." This 
Act continued the liability of all persons, lands, 
tenements, &c. who either by law, custom, or 
usage, had been liable and chargeable to the repair 
of the road, bridges, &c., requiring the tenants and 
occupiers of such lands and tenements to pay their 
respective rents to the Treasurer of the Trustees. 
From this period the Trustees repaired the bridges 
and causeway, and took the rents and profits of 
Cook's Close.^ 

The continual expense of the causeway and 
bridges, induced the Commissioners, appointed by 
the last-mentioned act, to lay before Charles Nalson 
Cole and Thomas Gilbert, Esquires, a.d. 1776, a 
case, wherein they state that ** they had expended 
upon the same, within the last ten years, a simi 
not less than <£ 500, being more than the fee simple 

^ In an agreement between the Trustees and William Graves 
for three years, dated April 18th, 1768, for the Bridge Close, at 
£6. per annum, it is stated to be vested in the Trustees for the re- 
pair of the said bridges, after first allowing the poor of Hunting- 
don the annual sum of £6, 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 371 

the lands are worth which were left for the repair 
of the bridges, and still the same are in a very 
ruinous state, being constantly in want of repair, 
and in time of floods exceeding dangerous for tra- 
vellers, there not being sufficient width for two 
carriages to pass, and the length being near a 
quarter of a mile ; and sometimes the causeways 
blow up by the weight of water which lies against 
them, and in that case carriages, horses, and foot 
people are obliged to be ferried over ;" they there- 
fore proposed to make a road sixty feet wide, with 
a foot-way of ten feet railed off" from Huntingdon 
Bridge to the Bull Inn, in Godmanchester, at an 
estimated expence of .£1700. 

They therefore demanded — 

^^ Whether, under the circumstances of the case, by 
virtue of the several particular acts passed for repairing 
the highways leading from Royston to Wansford, which 
includes the present road, the trustees have a sufficient 
power given them to make a new road with arches, 
bridges, and causeways over and across the common land 
leading from Huntingdon Bridge to the Bull Inn in God- 
manchester, lying between the two present roads, and 
whether they have a power to take down the present 
causeways, arches and bridges, and to appropriate the 
materials thereof towards the erection of the new in- 
tended ones, and to stop up the two old roads to prevent 
passengers from passing over them ?" 

To which it was answered — 

^^The surveyors of turnpikes have the same power 
under the General Turnpike Act of 13 Geo. III. c. 84, to 

BB 2 



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372 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

divert and stop roads^ with the approbation of the trustees, 
that the surveyors have under the General Highway Act 
of 13th Geo. III. c. 78, and may apply the fund created 
by the act under which they are surveyors to such pur- 
poses. The power is given by the General Turnpike Act, but 
they must in the execution pursue the General Highway 
Act. The small bridges are, by the 13th Geo. III. cap. 5, 
part of the Royston road or turnpike road. The sur- 
veyors may, having obtained an order from the trustees, 
and having obtained the consent of the owners of the 
land through which the intended new road is purposed to 
be carried, by an application to justices at a special ses- 
sions, under the General Highway Act, proceed to execute 
the intended new road." 

And, secondly, they answered to other queries 
respecting Cook's lands : 

" That the profits of Mr. Cook's lands are applicable 
under the Royston Turnpike Act, the General Highway Act 
and the General Turnpike Act, to the future repair of the 
new intended road. The repair of the bridges and cause- 
way is laid on the trustees of the Royston Act, who have 
by their act a clause under which Cook's lands are made 
part of their funds. By the General Highway Act, lands 
charged for the maintenance of old roads stopped up, are 
liable to the same charge for the new road made in lieu of 
the old road." 

The opinion being conclusive as to the powers 
of the Trustees, they determined to close the old 
road, abolish the antient causeway, and to form a 
new road between the causeway and the old road, 
elevated beyond the reach of the highest floods, 



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MISCELLANEOUS. 373 

and by their judicious arrangements the plan was 
quickly carried into execution. 

In A.D. 1784 an excellent road was completed 
from the Bull Inn, Godmanchester, to Huntingdon 
Bridge, being a distance of 572 yards, 60 feet wide, 
with a foot-path ten feet wide, neatly railed off for 
the accommodation of foot-passengers, preserving 
under them a free passage for the waters, during 
times of floods, by the erection of two substantial 
bridges,* each containing eight capacious arches, 
whereby the dangers and inconveniences of former 
times are now effectually prevented. 

* On a rail upon the bridge nearest Godmanchester is this 
inscription, — " Robertus Cooke, ex aquis emersus, hoc viatoribus 
sAcrum, A.D. 1637" 



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374 



CHAPTER XII. 



BIOGRAPHY. 




AVING fuUy investigated 
the antient and modem 
History of Godmanches- 
ter, and amply set forth 
and illustrated its pecu- 
liar customs, we shall 
conclude bur labours 
with a short Biographi- 
cal Memoir of William 
of Godmanchester, who was elected Abbot of 
Ramsey a.d. 1267; and Stephen Marshall, the 
celebrated Smectymnian, during the Common- 
wealth. 

GULIELMUS DE GURMECESTER 
succeeded Hugh de Sulgrave, as Abbot of Ramsey, 
in 1267. As but little is known of him, saving 
what may be collected Ex Registro de Ramsey, we 
shall confine our biographical notice to their short 
but comprehensive memoir of him. 



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BIOGRAPHY. 375 

** Abbot William.* — He was elected to the Ab- 
bacy, and received the confirmation of the Legate 
Ottobon in the year 1267. He purchased of Beren- 
garius le Moygne the manors of Bernewell, Heming- 
ton, Crouthorpe, and Littleport, with the presen- 
tation to the church of St. Andrew's in Bernewell, 
in the year 1276 ; in the same year he finished the 
Refectory, and in the year following, at his own 
costs, formed an aqueduct from Ramsey to the 
Abbey, and presented many gifts to the church 
of Ramsey. He presided as Abbot eighteen years, 
and in the nineteenth was attacked with paralysis, 
in consequence of which infirmity he voluntarily 
resigned the crosier, and, relinquishing office, died 
after having lingered fourteen months." 

Out of the above grants to the Abbey, he 
founded many charitable donations to the poor, to 
be distributed in bread, cloathing, and money, of 
which the Valor Ecclesiasticus, as published by 
the Record Commissioners, gives the following Ust: 

* " Abbas WiUielmus. — ^Iste electus est in abbatem et confir- 
matus per Ottobonum legatum anno MCClxvij. Iste perquisivit 
de Berengario le Moygne maneria de Bernewell, Hemington, 
Crouthorpe, et Littlethorp, cum advocatione ecclesiae sancti An- 
dreas de Bernewell Anno Domini MCClxxvj et hoc anno intravit 
conventus primo in Refectorium, et anno sequenti fecit conductum 
aquae in Ramesia sumptibus propriis, et multa alia perquisita fecit 
ecclesiae Ramesiensi, Iste fuit Abbas octodecim annos, et in de- 
cimo nono anno percussus fuit paralysi, propter quod resignavit 
baculum et sponte cessit ab officio suo, et vixit post per unum 
annum et menses duo obiit." — Ex Regist Dugdale, 



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376 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

Monasteriu' de Ramsey in Com' Hunt* ex fiindacione 
Comitis Ailwini ubi Johannes Warbois est modo Abbas 
et Incumbens. 

Elimos' annuatim distribut' 

Ex fiindacione Withni Gormancestr' nuper Abbt" iBm. 

£ s. d. 

Denar' petit' ^ tot' denar* p incum- 
bent' monaster' predicti solut' pro 

xxxix quart' fn ad vj" viij** le quart' 

pro pane inde fiend' voc Knightes- 

loves dat' xiij paupibus vocat Freers 

cuitt eorum una septim' x pan' et 

altra sept' xj pan' attingen' ad 

mimu p dictas ij sept' xiij" xiij pan' 

et sititer deliBat' ad le stoross ^ 

pueris paupibus voc Le Amery vj 

pan' de eodem fro cotidie q*atting' 

ad sumam de iiij^iiij pan' p diet ij 

septim' et sic limoi panes tam pro 

xiij>^ paupibus q'^m pro pueris paupii 

p diet' ij septiman' extendunt ad 

xvij«xvij pan' fact' et pissat' de j 

quart' et iiij*>' ffi et sic juxta ratam 

per totum annu xxxix quar? ffi. . . xiij — — 
Et in elimos' dat paupibus ad septem 

festa principal — — xxj 

Et in vestur' xvj fratrum voc Freers 

commarat' in Ramsey cuitit eorum 

ij» vid pro vestura per annu . . — xl — 

Et in elimos' dat' xiij paupibus voc 

Bretherne cuitt eoru per annu ij« 

viijd ex fundacbe predicti Abbt* 

Gormancestr' — xxxiiij viij 

Et in elimos' dat iijb? paupibus voc 



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BIOGRAPHY. 377 

Godd" cuitt eoru p diem ob per 

annu — xliij xiob 

Et in efimos' dat' aliis iij paupibus co- 
tidie tarn ex^neis quam infra villain 
de Ramsey morant' cuitt' eorum 
per diem q* per annu — xxij ixob q* 



In toto . . JBxx iiij i q* 

These relations of him are honourable to his 
memory, and good testimonies that his piety was 
sincere, and his zeal in the cause of the church un- 
questionable. The Refectory finished by William 
of Godmanchester was begun by Hugo de Sulgrave, 
his predecessor, who was elected Abbot in 1254. 



THE LIFE OF STEPHEN MARSHALL. 
Stephen Marshall, the celebrated Parliamentarian 
Divine and head of the Smectymnians, was born at 
Godmanchester in the close of the 16th century. 
In the year 1615, he was entered a student of 
Emmanuel College, Cambridge,^ where he took 
the degree of B. A., and soon after became Minis- 
ter of Finchingfield, in Essex. There he opened a 
Conventicle, the first known in that neighbour- 
hood, and by the popularity of his sermons, 
acquired such reputation, that he was frequently 
selected to preach before the long Parliament, who 
consulted him in all afiairs relating to religion.^ 

*» *' Steph: Marshall, Col. Eman. con v. 2 admissus. in matri- 
culam Acad. Cant. April 1, 1616.*' — Reg. CoL Em, Baker, 
c Neale. 



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378 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

**The prevalence of the Presbyterian sect** in the 
Parliament, fully evinced itself from the beginning ; 
Marshall and Burgess, two Puritanical Clergymen, 
were chosen to preach before them, and entertained 
them with discourses seven hours in length," an 
improbability, which is observed upon by Godwin,® 
**that the most considerable of the Parliament 
sermons were printed, and that scarcely one of 
them would occupy more than one hour in the de- 
livery." The sermons of Marshall and other schis- 
matics were delivered with an earnest solemnity, 
powerfully to impress the importance of their doc- 
trines, which, being directed at the entire over- 
throw of monarchial state, and episcopalian church 
governments, and enforced with fanatical zeal, occu- 
pied more time than from modern custom can be 
given credence to; for even *' Hampden^ resolved 
to fly to the other extremity of the globe, where he 
and his friends might enjoy lectures and discourses 
of any length or form which pleased them." 

On the triumph of the puritan party in the 
church, Marshall relinquished his ministry in 
Essex, and resided in London. Fuller,*^ a cele- 
brated royalist and clergyman, states, that ** after 
many years' discontinuance he returned to Cam- 
bridge, took the degree of B.D. performing his 
exercise with general applause ;" and that '' in the 

d Hume and Nalson. 

« Godwin's Commonwealth^ vol. i. p. 11. 

f Godwin. e Fullers Worthies, 1662. 



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BIOGRAPHY. 379 

late long-lasting parliament, no man was more gra- 
cious with the principal members thereof ; he was 
their trumpet by whom they sounded their solemn 
fasts, preaching more sermons upon that occasion 
than any four of his function. In their sickness he 
was their confessor, in their assembly their coun- 
cillor, in their treaties their chaplain, in their dis- 
putations their champion."*" Marshall was ap- 
pointed one of the Assembly of Divines for and 
against Episcopacy, and employed in most, if not 
all, the negociations between the King and the 
Parliament. 

In 1640,' the Presbyterian Ministers began to 
whisper sedition amongst their congregations, and 
soon after openly to preach in their conventicles, 
that for the cause of religion it was not only lawful 
but meritorious*" for subjects to take up arms against 
their Sovereigns.* 

^ "Even the Archbishop of Canterbury had never so great an 
influence upon the counsels at Courts as Dr. Burgess and Mr. 
Marshall had then upon the Houses." — Clarendon, 

^ Wood's Athen. Oxoniensis. 

^ Their favourite text upon these occasions, was from the 23d 
V. of the 5th chapter of Judges, " Curse ye, Merez, said the Angel 
of the Lord; curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof, because 
they came not to the help of the Lord against the mighty." In 
their infuriated zeal, they not only inveighed against, but in plain 
terms pronounced God's own curse against all those who came 
not with their utmost power and strength to destroy and root out 
all the malignants who in any degree opposed the Parliament — 
Clarendons Rebellion. 

1 "The Parliament declared the King had no mind to peace. 



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380 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

In 1641 was published the celebrated book, so 
often quoted in disputes between the Episcopalians 
and the Presbytery, *' An Answer to a Book enti* 
tied ^An Humble Remonstrance^' ^ in which the ori- 
ginal Liturgy and Episcopacy is discussed, and 
Queries propounded concerning both. The parity 
of Bishops and Presbyters in Scripture demon- 
strated ; the occasion of their imparaties in Anti- 
quity discovered ; the disparity of the antient and 
our modem Bishops manifested ; the Antiquity of 
Ruling Elders in the Church vindicated ; the pre- 
latical Church bounded. Written by Smectym- 
nuus."" 

The word ''Smectjmmuus" was composed of the 
initials of its author's names, S tephen M arshall, 
Edmund Calamy, Thomas Young, Matthew 
N ewcomen, and W illiam S purstow, and the book 
was written with the vehemence and in the aspe- 
rity of language with which the Puritans assailed 

and thereupon laid aside all farther debates to that purpose, and 
ordered their General to march to Windsor with the army, to be 
so much nearer the King's forces; for the better recruiting 
whereof, two ef the most eminent Chaplains> Dr. Downing and 
Mr. Marshall, publickly avowed, ' that the soldiers lately taken 
prisoner at Brentford, and discharged and released by the King, 
upon their oaths that they would never again bear arms against 
him, were not obliged by that oath, but by their power absolved 
therefrom,' and so engaged again those miserable wretches in a 
second Rebellion." — Clarendon, 

« Written by Dr. Joseph Hall, Bishop of Exeter. 

n London, 1641. 4to. 



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BIOGRAPHY. 381 

the church. It was divided into eighteen sections, 
in all of which, particularly the last, the differences 
between the Prelatists and Puritans are set forth and 
aggravated with great acrimony. Then follow six- 
teen queries, the last of which runs thus : '* Whe- 
ther,** having proved that God never set such a 
Government in his Church as our Episcopal Go- 
vernment is, we may lawfully any longer be subject 
to it, be present at their Courts, obey their injunc- 
tions, and especially be instruments in publishing 
and executing their excommunications and absolu- 
tions.*' The Appendix contains ** an Historical 
Narration of those bitter fruits. Pride, Rebellion, 
Treason, Unthankfulness," &c. which it states 
have issued from Episcopacy; concluding with, 
'' The inhuman butcheriefe,^ bloodsheddings, and 
cruelties of Gardiner, Bonner, and the rest of the 
Bishops in Queen Mary's days, are so fresh in 
every man's memory, as that we conceive it a 
thing altogether unnecessary to make mention of 
them. Only we fear lest the guilt of the blood 
then shed should yet remain to be required at the 
hands of this nation, because it hath not publicly 
endeavoured to appease the wrath of God, by a so- 
lemn and general humiliation for it. What the prac- 
tices of the Prelates have been ever since, from the 
beginning of Queen Elizabeth's reign to this very day , 
would fill a volume, like Ezekiel's roll, with lamenta- 

o Smectymn: p. 82. p Ibid, p. 93. 



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382 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

tion, inourning,and woe, to record. For it hath been 
their great design to hinder all further reformation ; 
to bring in doctrines of popery, arminianism, and 
libertinism ; to maintain, propagate, and much 
increase the burden of human ceremonies ; to keep 
out and beat down the preaching of the word ; to 
silence the faithful preachers of it ; to oppose and 
persecute the most zealous professors ; and to turn 
aU religion into a pompous outside ; and to tread 
down the power of godliness, insomuch as it is 
come to an ordinary proverb, that when any thing 
was spoiled, we used to say, the Bishop's foot is in 
it. And in all this, and much more which might 
be said, fulfilling Bishop Bonner's prophecy, who, 
when he saw that in King Edward's Reformation 
there was a reservation of ceremonies and hierarchy, 
is creditably reported to have used these words, 
' Since they have begun to taste our broth, it mil 
not be long ere they eat of our beef " 

On the appearance of Smectymnuus, which was 
considered by the Puritans to have given the death- 
blow to Prelacy, Doctor HaU published a vindi- 
cation of the Humble Remonstrance, to which the 
Smectymnians replied. Milton became a zealous 
partizan of the Church and State Reformers, and 
published ** Animadversions upon the Remon- 
strant's defence against Smectymnuus," to which 
Dr. Hall's son replied, in '* A modest Confutation 
of a late Scurrilous Libel," which may rather be 
considered an attack upon the private character of 



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BIOGRAPHY. 383 

Milton, than a confutation of the arguments of 
his literary antagonist. Milton then published his 
''Apology for Smectymnuus," and seized the oppor- 
tunity of justifying the chastity of his life and habits, 
and his motives for entering into the controversy. 
" And where my morning haunts are he wisses 
not — rU tell him.^ Those morning haunts are 
where they should be, at home ; not sleeping, or 
concocting the surfeits of an irregular feast, but up 
and stirring ; in winter, often ere the sound of any 
bell awaken men to labour or devotion ; in summer, 
as oft with the bird that first rouses, or not much 
tardier, to read good authors, or cause them to 
be read, till the attention be weary, or memory 
have its fiill fraught ; then with useful and generous 
labours preserving the body's health and hardiness, 
to render lightsome, clear, and not lumpish obe- 
dience to the mind, the cause of religion and our 
country's liberty, when it shall require firm hearts 
in sound bodies to stand and cover their stations, 
rather than see the ruin of our protestation, and 
enforcement of a slavish life." In a subsequent 
paper he reverts to the subject :' **For me, I have 
determined to lay up, as the best treasure and 
solace of a good old age, if God vouchsafe it me, 
the honest liberty of free speech from my youth, 
where I shall think it available in so dear a con- 

«i Milton's Apology. 

*■ " Reasons for Church-government urged against Prelaty, in 
two Books." 



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384 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

cemment as the Church's good. By this little 
dihgence, mark what a privilege I have gained 
with good men and saints, to claim my right of 
lamenting the tribulations of the Church if she 
should suffer, when others that have ventured 
nothing for her sake, have not the honour to be 
admitted mourners. But if she lift up her droop- 
ing head and prosper, among those that have some- 
thing more than wished her welfare, I have my 
charter and freehold of rejoicing to me and my 
heirs.'' These tracts were followed up by one 
*' Of Prelatical Episcopacy, and whether it may be 
deduced from the apostolical times," &c.; and 
another, '* Of Reformation touching Church Dis- 
cipline in England, &c. in two Books." We have 
made this free mention of Milton, as connected with 
the controversy in which Marshall was engaged, 
to shew that it was considered in the times in which 
he lived, a cause worthy of the learning and talent 
of one of his most powerful and virtuous contem- 
poraries. 

Dr. Wilkins, afterwards Bishop of Chester, in 
his Ecclesiastes, or a Discourse concerning the 
gift of Preaching, calls Smectymnuus ** a capital 
work against Episcopacy :" and Dr. Calamy, in his 
Postscript to the Abridgment of Baxter's Life, 
professing to instruct the curious reader as to the 
books best calculated to form a true notion of the 
merits of non-conformity, and Neale, in his History 
of the Puritans, mention it in similar terms. 



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BIOGRAPHY. 385 

The death of Pym, at the close of the year 1643, 
was considered by the Puritans and the Republican 
party, a national calswiity. He" had been one of 
the most conspicuous Members at the beginning of 
the long Parliament, and Clarendon calls him ** the 
most popular man that ever lived." On this oc- 
casion Marshall preached a sermon, which was 
printed in the following year, and entitled " The 
Church's Lamentation for the Good Man's Loss," 
—on Micah the 7th chap. v. i. and ii.,* and ex- 
pressive as is the text, the commentary is a strain 
of panegyric and lamentation, frequently bordering 
on bombast. Pym is compared to John the Baptist, 
** for that he was taken away violently, after but 
two or three years' working," and '' he was a man 
whom God went about to bribe," &c. 

In 1643,"" Marshall was selected by Parliament, 
with his son-in-law Philip Nye, (an Independent,) 
Minister of Kimbolton, Hunts., and sent in com- 
mission to Scotland to expedite the covenant. 
Soon after this he published his Sermon on Infant 
Baptism, which was answered, in 1645, by John 
Tombes, a celebrated Anabaptist. 

» Godwin. 

* "Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the sum- 
mer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage : there is no 
cluster to eat: my soul desired the first ripe fruit. The good 
man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright 
among men: they all lie in wait for hlood; they hunt every 
man his brother with a net." 

u Baker. 

C C 



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386 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

In 1646/ "Stephen Marshall with Joseph Caryl, 
both by that tune notorious Independents, and 
great siders with the army rajsed by the ParUament 
to pluck down the King* and his party, were ap- 
pointed Chaplains to the Commissioners sent by the 
said Parliament to the King, then at Newcastle, 
in order for an accommodation of peace. Thence, 
by easy joumies, they accompanied the King and 
Commissioners to Holdenby, in Northamptonshire; 
where his Majesty making some contmuance, with- 
out any of his Chaplains in ordinary to wait upon 
him, because they disreUshed the covenant ; they 
the said Ministers, upon desire of the Commis- 
sioners, did offer their service to preach before 
the King, and say grace at meals, but they were 
both by him denied, the King always saying grace 
himself with an audible voice, standing under the 
state ; so that Caryl and Marshall, to whom the 
King nevertheless was civil, did take so great 
disgust at his Majesty's refusals, that they did 
ever after mightily promote the independent slan- 
der of the King's obstinacy. Tis said, that Mar- 
shall did on a time put himself more forward than 
was meet, to say grace, and while he was long in 
forming his chaps, as the manner was among the 
saints, and making ugly faces, his Majesty said 
grace himself, and was fallen to his meat, and had 
eaten up some part of his dinner before Marshall 
had ended the blessing." 

▼ Wood's Athense Oxoniensis. 



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BIOGRAPHY. 387 

About this period the Smectymnians and officers 
of the Parliament army began to wear handker- 
chiefs about their necks, which afterwards degene- 
rated into cravats, when their cant, grimace, nasal 
twang, and pecuUarity of dress, became subjects 
of ridicule in the loyal songs of the Royalists, as 
in Butler's Geneva Ballad : 

" To draw in proselytes, like bees. 

With pleasing twang, he tones his prose. 
He gives his handkerchief a squeeze, 

And draws John Calvin through his nose.'* 

And in another poem, Oliver's Court : 

" If he be one of the canting tribe, 
Both a Pharisee and Scribe, 
And hath learn'd the snivelling tone. 
Of a flux'd devotion. 
Cursing from his swearing tub 
The Cavalier's to Beelzebub ; 
Let him repair,'" &c. 

The facetious Ralpho, the loyal Squire of Hudi- 
bras"^ represents the functions of the Scribes, Com- 
missioners, and Triers, with the humour and fidelity 
of a Hogarth : 

*^ Whose business is, by cunning sleight. 
To cast a figure for men's light ; 
To find in lines of beard and face. 
The physiognomy of Grace ;" 

^ Hudib. c. 3, 1. 1154. 



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388 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

Again, by 

" The handkerchief* about the neck, 
(Canonical cravat of Smeck, 
From whom the institution came. 
When Church and State they set on flame. 
And worn by them as badges then 
Of spiritual warfaring men,) 
Judge rightly, if Regeneration 
Be of the newest cut in fashion/* 

The Triers and Commissioners in that Puritan 
age pretended to great judgment in matters of re- 
generation, merely from the dress and looks of those 
who underwent their inquisition. Dr. Eachard 
says, ** they would scarce let a round-faced man 
go to heaven. If he had but a little blood in his 
cheeks, his condition was accounted very danger- 
ous, and it was almost an infallible sign of reproba- 
tion." Dr. South, in one of his sermons, observes, 
** that they would pretend to know men's hearts 
and the inward bent of their spirits, as they ex- 
pressed it, by their very looks." How disgusting 
an humiUation to the fallen Charles, to be subject 
to the officious impertinence of such a set of godly 
cut-throats y as they are emphatically called by 
Walker, in his History of Independency. 

In 1647, the Rev. Henry Hanunond, son of Dr. 
Hammond, physician to Prince Henry, pubUshed a 
vindication of Christ's representing Saint Peter, 
against the exceptions of Marshall, who was this 

» Hudib. c. 3, 1. 1165. 



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BIOGRAPHY. 389 

year selected by the Parliament, in conjunction 
with Charles Hearle/ and sent with the Commis- 
sioners to Scotland, to *' give them a right under- 
standing of the affairs in England." Marshall now 
possessed the highest confidence of the Parliament, 
and perhaps more particularly that of Cromwell, 
the future Protector, who, in the spring of the fol- 
lowing year, writing to his '* noble friend. Colonel 
Richard Norton" (from Farnham, March 23d, 1648) 
says,* *' For news out of the north there is little, 
only the mal partye is prevailinge in the par^""* of 
S — . They are earnest for a warr, the ministers 
oppose as yett. Mr. Marshall is returned, whoe 
sayis soe, and soe doe many of our letters ; their 
great committee of dangers have 2 malig. for one 
right." 

After this last expedition into Scotland, Marshall 
gradually withdrew from the public, and retiring 
to Ipswich, passed there the two last years of his 
life ; when, according to Eachard, " this great 
Shimei, being taken with a desperate sickness, de- 
parted the world mad and raving." We must not 
be surprised at this ungenerous aspersion, for a 
man of Marshall's notoriety and strong religious 
predilections, whose ministerial vocations connected 
him with all the important events of the age in 
which he lived, was loaded with the encomiums of 
his own faction, and equally abused by the Roy- 

y Athen. Ox6n. ^ Noble's Life of Cromwell. 



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390 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

alists and Episcopalians, who designated lum as the 
Geneva Bull,* a famous incendiary, and the arch- 
flamen of the rebeUious rout.^ The charge of in- 
consistency has been brought against him, in con- 
sequence of his having been materially instrumental 
in forming the Directory,'' and then having married 
his daughter by the form prescribed in the Common 
Prayer: but in this Marshall merely evinced the 
prudence of an anxious parent, and. excused him- 
self on the plea that was urged by the Protector 
Cromwell, that " he was unwilling to have his 
daughter w— — d and turned upon his hands for 
want of a legal marriage," the statute for establish- 
ing the Liturgy not having been repealed. The 
Rev. G. Firman, in his preface to one of Marshall's 
posthumous Sermons, observes, that '' he had left 
few such labourers as himself behind him ; that he 
was a Christian by practice as well as profession; 
that he lived by faith and died by faith, and was an 
example to the beUevers in word, in conversation, 
in charity, in faith and purity." That *' when he 
and others were talking with Mr. Marshall about 
his death, he replied, / cannot say as he, I have not 

A Foulis> Eacbard. 

^ Dngdale calls him the " Bell-wether of that blessed flock 
Presbyterianorum ante-signamus/ and mentions his being ap- 
pointed> with two others^ to pray and preach with the members of 
the House of Commons on the day fixed for the " Humiliation 
and Fast,** after the news had arrived of Charles being removed 
from Holmby or Holdenby House, by Colonel Joyce. 

c Dr. Grey. 



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BIOGRAPHY. 



391 



SO lived that I should now be afraid to die ; but this 
I can say, / have so learned Christ that I am not 
afraid to die. He retained his mental faculties to 
his dying hour, but lost the use of his hands and 
appetite, insomuch that he could take but little food 
for some months previous to his death." Other 
encomiasts of Marshall** have observed, that if all 
the Bishops had been of the spirit and temper of 
Archbishop Usher, the Presbyterians of that of 
Marshall, and the Independents like Mr. Jer. Bur- 
roughs, the divisions of the church would have 
been easily compromised. 

His remains were solemnly interred in the south 
aisle of the Collegiate Church of St. Peter, West- 
minster, Nov. 23d, 1655 f and after the Restora- 
tion were exhumed ,f with those of Joseph Mede, 
Thomas May the poet, and William Strong, a mi- 
nister, on the 14th of September, 1661, and buried 
in one large pit in the church-yard of St. Margaret, 
before the back-door of the lodgings belonging to 
one of the prebendaries of Westminster. 



d Baxter and Neale. 
f Wood's Ath. Oxon. 



e Wood's Fasti Oxon. 




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APPENDIX. 



No. 1. 
KING John's grant of thb manor to thb men of 

GODMANCHBSTBR^ AT FEB FARM, 20tH OF MAY, 1213. 

JoHANNBs Dei gra^ Rex Anglie Dns Hibnie Dux Nor- 
many Aqui? Comes Andeg^ Archiepis Epis Abbatib3 Co- 
mitib3 Baronib3 JustiS Vicecomitib3 Prepositis & omnib3 
Ballivis & fidelib3 suis SltnJ. Seiatis, nos concessisse & 
hac Carta nostra confirmasse Homiuib3 nostris de Gume- 
cestr' Maflium nostrum de Gumecestr' tenend de nobis 
& Heredib3 nostris ad feodi firmam cum Omnib ad 
firmam illius Manii ptinentib3 g sexcies viginti libr^ ponde 
& numo p Annum Scilicet medietatem ad festum Sci 
Micfi & aliam medietatem ad Pascli ad Scaccarium nos- 
trum. Quare volum^ & firmit^ precipimus qd pdci homines 
nostri de Gumecestr' habeant & teneant de nobis & 
heredib3 nostris ^dictum Maiiium de Gumecestr' bene & 
in pace libe & quiete & integre cum omnib3 libtatib3 ad 
firmam pdti Manii ^inentib3 p p^dcam firmam Annuam 
scilicet sexcies viginti lib*s sicut ^dictum est q^diu nobis 
pdcam firmam bene reddiderent. — Test. Diio P. Winton 
Epo. Willo Com Sarr fre iiro. Willo com Arundell. 
Willo Briewerr. Hugone de Nevill. Willo de Hare- 



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11 HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

court Senes8 nro. Johe fil Hugon. Henr fil Com Petro 
de Maulay. Data p manum Magri Ricard de Marisco 
Archidiacon Northumbr' apd Turrim Lond vicesima die 
Mali Anno Regni nri quarto-decimo. 



No. 2. 

ROTULI HUNDREDORUM— IN tur. lond. A« 7°Ed.1. 
COM^ HUNT'. 

Inquisitiones capt' ex pte Sni Regis in Comitatu Hun- 
tingdon' a** regni Regis Edwardi primi septimo 
tarn de dnicis dni Regis & teod feodalib3 eschaetis 
libertatib3 ac rebus cunctis feod & tenement' dni 
Reg' contingeptibus quam aliorum quo^cumq^, et 
qui ea tenent in dnico ut in dnico^ in villanis ut 
in villanis, in Svis ut in Svis, in cotariis ut in cota- 
riis, et postmod in li'bis tenentib3 ut in lilSis tenen* 
tib3, et in boscis & in parcis, in chaciis, & in 
warennis, in aquis, in ripariis & oib3 li%tatib3 & 
feriis mercatis & aliis tenuris quib3cumq), & quo- 
cunq^ modo, & de quibus, sive de mediis, sive de 
aliis & de quib3 feoct & aliis tenuris Scutagium dari 
consuevit & dari debet & quantum de feoct hono|f 
quo^cuq^ & qui feoda ilia tenent quali? & quomodo 
& a quo tempe. 

Oqmiscbstr'. 
. . . . nd t 4^^ & q^t dnica maneria Rex lit in manu 

sua, &c. 
. . . nt qd Rex n5 lit aliq^ maneria in manu sua. in 
comitatu Hunt'. 
a . . nq^r' que maneria solebant ee in mwib3 dni 
Reg' & ^decesso; suof &c. 



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APPENDIX. Ill 

. . . nt qd GrOMBCBSTR* cu q°dam bosco q* vocat' Ra- 

YENBSHO qui nuc assartatr que 83 nesciunt 

quo waranto neq^ a quo tempore. 
. • • unt qd Bramtone, Alkemondebir' cu Lim- 
MTNOE, Herford CU RiPTONA solebaut .... Reg". 
• . • nt qd holes de Gomecestr' tenent Gombcbstr* 

p carta dni Reg' JoHis p sexies viginti 

duob3 ?minis anni London' in scaccar' & qd Rex 

Henric^ gtulit ^dictu reddit' sexies vig 

Eadwardo fit suo & jam tenuit p xijc*"* annos. 
6 • • . nt qd holes de Gombcbstr' solebant tire li'bam pis- 
cariam de . . . . Webb usq^ ad Hayle S3 nunc . . . 
ntf g Episcopu Lincolniens' Galfrid le Moyne Wiltm 
de Brouton' Nicholau de Seg*ve Pore de Yvon* 
Psona de Boutona Forem Hunt* Abbat' de Rameseya 
Reginald le Grey Magistrm JoKm Clarel & g dnum 
Jolim Milit' de Offord Dacy Jofim Dulay potestate 
eo$ & auctoritate ppria. 
c Rna inquir' que & q*ntu q^libet lilSe tenens p carta vt 
libere sokemann^ aut bondus tenet in dcis mantiis 
de dno Rege in capite vt p mediu & g quod Sviciu. 

Ad hoc dicunt qd li'bi sokemanni sunt nee est bondus 
in? eos & solebant tener' de dno Rege in capite S3 
mo tenent de dno Edmundo tanq^m g mediu cui dns 
H. Rex mantiu de Gombcbstr' 9tulit g cartam. 
d Prior de MHon' tenet ecciam de Gombcbstr' de dono 
f^decesso^ dni E. Reg' Angt q* nuc est S3 de cuj^ 
dono & a qo temge ignorant. 

Itm idm For t3 xlviij acr' ?re in Gombcbstr' un' eccia 
^ca dotat'. 

Km idm P*or tenet xv ac*s pHi in q°dam sepali loco p 
decima toci^ feni ville. 

Aug^tin^ de Canonicis ten3 de Fore de M'tona ij mes' 
& unu croftu de feod eccie & solvit eidem viij s. g a. 

a 2 



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IV HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

Witts Bulgun t3 j mes' de eod Fore & solvit p annu 

ijs. 
Witts Mareschallus tj j mes' de eod Fore & solvit p 

annu iij s. 
Symon Porcari^ t3 j mes' de eod Fore & solvit p ann' 

viij. d. 
Witts Molend t3 j mes* de eod Fore & solvit xviij d. 
Witts de Hanele tj j mes' de eod Fore & solvit p annu 

ijs. 
JoKs Mareschallus t3 j mes' & solvit eid Fori xij d. 
Witts Hou t3 j mes' & j croftu solvendo Fori de 

M'ton' V s. 
Henric^ Porter t3 j mes' & solvit Fori de M'tone 

iiij s. viij d. 
Rog' de Matishale t3 j mes' & solvit Fori de M'ton* 

ij s. iiij d. 
Idem For de M'ton pcip' p decima molendinof xxvj s, 

viij d. 
For Hunt' tenet q^ddam p^tu ad faciendu calcetu inter 

Gomecestr' & Hunt' & ali Gombcbstr' 

S3 quo waranto & a quo tempore nesciunt. 
e For de M'ton' tenet Ixvj ac*s & dimid ?re & viij ac»s 

pati & dimid & duo mes' p quib3 solvit .... £ad- 

mundo ad firma ville p annu 1 s. s. p q*libet ac* 

viij d. 
/ JoBs fit Symonis tenet j mes' & iiij ac*s Pre & iij rodas . 

pHi solvendo ad firma ville xxxviij 

Witts fit Symonis unu mes' & j croftu & xiij ac*8 ?re 

& ij ac*s pHi solv' ad f'ma ville x s. 
Philipp^ de la Barre j mes' & iij ac*s & dimid Pre & 

dim* ac*m pHi solvendo ad fnna ville xxxij d. 
Symo Sema ij mes' & j croftu & xvj ac*s Pre & dimid & 

iij ac»s pHi solv' ad f'ma ville xiij s. 
[Then follow 530 Names of Occupiers, with their 

respective Assessments to the Fee-Farm Rent.] 



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APPENDIX. V 

Omes isti p^ominati solv' f''me ville p redditib3 

assisis. 
Km de pasturis iiij" & v ac*s solv' fme ville xxxyj s. 
Km p piscariis aq*rum solv* f'me ville xiiij s. 
Km de molendinis cu hulmo que 9tinet viij ac*s pHi & 

solv firme viUe xv». 
g Inq*r' si aliq^s liber sokemann^ de antiq® dnico alii 

sokemaiio vendidit vt alio m'^ alienaf^it aliq^d tenendi 

lite p carta, 
Dicut qd nichil sic vendit' vt alienat'. 
Km inqu^renS p singula hundreda q^ntu qilib3 archieps 

eps &c. 
h De ft capitulo nicfil sciunt nisi qd dns Eadmud^ rescipit 

f'ma ville scit3 centu & xx lib*s ab lioib3 ville tanq*m 

feofmarius Reg* p cartam. 
Km inq*r' q*ntu q*lib3 archieps eps &c. 
De hoc capitulo nictt sciunt nisi qd dns Edmund^ tenet 

villa sicut ^dictu est ex dono dni H. Reg' Pat^s £• 

Reg' &c- 
Km inq^r* de q*b3 feod & tenur' &c, ^cutagiu dari deb3 

& consuevit. 
Dicunt qd nichil inde inter eos. 
i Km inq*r' q*ntu ?re vt tenement! q*lib3 villan^ &c. 

Dicunt qd nichil inde sciut. 
J Km inq*r q* lint Qmunem pichar' aut picharia se- 

pale &c. 
Dicunt qd ftnt 9mune pichar' tanq*m ptinente ad lil^tate 

^dicti maiiii ex 9cessione dni J. Reg'. 
Km inq*r' si aliq* tenentes de dno Rege in capite p 

baronia &c. 
De hoc capitulo nichil ad eos. 
k Km inq*r' q* clamant lire liBtates q*li? & quo modo. 
Dicut qd clamant lire p carta Reg' Joliis li'btate tanq^m 

spectante ad man!iu piscandi ab Haylb usq^ Swiftis- 



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VI HISTORY OF GODMANCHBSTBR. 

WERE & inde uti solebant 83 m? dist'bant' p Epm 

Lincot & p ce?os hominib3 p>sc»pt' in alio capitulo. 
Itm inq'r' qui tint furc' tumbellas &c. 
De hoc nicfi ivX eos nisi de fiirc' qd debent Kre eas sicut 

Rex fiuit qn mantiu fuit in manu sua, 
Itm inq^r' q* ab antiq** li^as chacias & war'. 
De fi capitulo nichil in? eos. 
Km inq*r' qui de novo a^p*av' s* libas chacias. 
De hoc capitut nichil sciunt. 
Itm iuquir' qui Kntes chacias & warennas ferias & 

i8cata &c. 
De hoc capitulo nichil sciunt. 
m Itm inq*r' si aliq^ religiosi teneant aliq^s eccias in usus 

pp*os q*5 advocac6es ad 3nm Reg' debent ptinere. 
Dicunt qd Pk)r de M'ton» ten3 ecciam de Gombcestr' 

in pp*08 usus ex don' jpdecesso^ dni E Reg* set de 

cuj^ dono & a qo tempe ignorant. 
n Km inq*r' si q ?re vt tene^ment' debent ee exchaet' dni 

Reg' vt in custodia sua sint in manu sua vt in manib3 

alio^ & si 1 mani'b3 alio^ in qo^ manib3 p que q*^li? q^ 

mP q® waranto p que & a q** tepe. 
Dicunt qd de ll capitulo nicK sciut. 
Itm inq*r* q' feod milit'. 
De H capitulo nicti sciunt. 
Itm inq^r' de sectis antiq^s subt^ct' &c. 
De hoc capitulo nicH sciunt. 
Km inq'r' de feod reg* & feodali'b3 &c. 
De 1l capitulo nicH in? eos. 
Km inq*r' q' hundred sunt in manu dni Reg* & q°t 1 

manib3 alio^. 
Dicunt qd hundred de Toulislund & hund de Ley- 

TUNBSTON sut in manu dni Reg' himd de Hyrsting- 

STON est 1 manu Abbatis de RASiMESEiB p dnm R. 

ad firma & hund de Normancros est in manu Abbat* 

de ToRNBYE p dnm Reg' ad firma« 



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APPENDIX. VU 

Km inq*r' si heres alicuj^ ten3 de dno Rege in capite &c. 

De l[ capitulo nich in? eos. 

Km inq*r' si aliq» dna vt puella &c. 

De l[ capitulo nicli in? eos. 

Km inq*r' si aliq' ?re vt tenement' q' ee debent eschaet' 
dni Reg\ 

De hoc capitulo nicti sciunt. 

Km inqV' si aliq^d de feudo dni Reg' &c. 

De fi capto n^ in? eos. 

Km inq'r' q* sunt illi q* debent fa8e ward ad castr' dni 
Reg'. 

De ti capto nicti in? eos. 
o Km inq^r' q* c'sus aq*? ripar' dni Reg' dif?int & molen- 
din' stagn' aut gurgit' levaf^int &c. 

Dicunt qd Reg' le Grey Abbas de Rammeseye & For 
Hunt' levaverut gurgites ita qd naves q f^sire sole- 
bant usqj ad burgu Hunt' ad 9modu toci^ pvincie m® 
no possut venire n^ p nave n^ p batellu. 

Km inq*r' q' patmat^ abbatia^ 8cc. 

De ti capto nicti sciunt. 
p Km inq*r' de ?ris Normano^ &c. 

De ti capto nicti sciunt. 

Km inq*r' q^ & q°t burgag' placeas vt ?ras vacuas Rex 
tit in civitatib3 &c. 

De isto capto nicti in? eos. 

Km inq*r' de f'mar' dni Reg* tenentibj civitat' burg' vt 
aliq> mafiia. 

De hoc capitulo dicunt qd Rex tit qd tire debet q^ciens 
tat casus evefiit. 

Km inq*r' si qui religiosi viri intVerint feod dni Reg' 
in toto vt in parte ubi dns Rex amittit custodias vt 
maritagia heredum quali? & a q^ tempe. 

Dicunt qd no est aliq*s qui sic int*vit. 



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VUl 



HI9TORT OF GODMANCHESTEK. 



No. 3. 

ADMISSIONS TO THS UBERTIKS, A.D. 1367. 
COURT ROLLS 41 ST EDWARD 3d. 



Cur' de Gumecestre tent die 
Jovis px ps fifl Omi Scor 
Anno Reg' E. trtii post 
Conquestu Ixj. Tiic Balli 
Alafi Aired JoKis Munde- 
ford. 

Fin Qs. Sd. 
a Richus Dene p assensu 
toci comitatis int»vit libta- 
tem eidm & iura9 e sedm 
consuetudiem Manii de Gu- 
mecestr* ob forma que se- 
qui9 yid^ qd ipe de ce?o sit 
fidet pdce comitati & obe- 
diens Ballis & cons? ville 
eiusdm et qd solva? omes 
redditus & taxacoes suas 
& omia alia ofita trar ten 
suor penes se portabi?. Et 
^Ac% Ricfius libtatem suam 
hebit & optinebit dfi morat 
trahat in ^dca villa et qu 



Court of Godmanchester^ 
held on the Thursday next 
after the Feast of All 
Saints, in the 41st year of 
the Reign of Edward the 
3d, after the Conquest.— 
Alexander Aired and John 
Mundeford Bailiffs. 

Richard Dene, by consent 
of the whole community 
was admitted to his liberties^ 
and sworn according to the 
custom of the Manor of 
Godmanchester in manner 
following — that is to say, 
that he pledges himself to 
be one of the Commonalty, 
and obedient to the Bai- 
liffs, and constantly resid- 
ing in the said town : and 
that he will pay all dues, 
taxes, and other burdens 
le\ded upon his lands and 
tenements, to the utmost of 
his power. And the said 
Richard shall have and en- 
joy his liberties so long as 
he continues to reside in 
the said town; and when 



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APPENDIX. 



IX 



de villa ^dca recedat tuc 
carebit libtate sua^ et si 
aliqua tr' vi tefi! adquisierit 
no ex* libtatem ^dca tr' & 
tefi! sua alienet neq, venda? 
et se iurat est. 



he shall leave the said town, 
he shall forfeit his liber- 
ties; and if he shall have 
acquired any lands or te- 
nements^ he shall neither 
alienate or sell them to un- 
franchised persons — and he 
is sworn accordingly. 



Cur^deGumecestre ten? die 
Jovis in |to See Katine 
Virg Anno Regn' E. tertii 
Post Conq xli; tuc Balli 
Alanus Aired Jofines Mun- 
deford. 



Fin 3s. Ad. 
b Johnes Chaderlee venit 
hie in Cur' & p assensu toti 
comitatis int^vit li'Btatem 
de Gumecestre et iurat e 
scdm consuetudiem Maflii 
ob forma que sequi? vid^qd 
ipe de ce?o sit fidel comitati 
de Gumecestre & obediens 
Ballis etcons?ville^dceetqd 



At a Court held at Godman- 
chester, ort the Thursday 
in the Festival of Saint 
Katherine the Virgin, in 
the 41st year of the Reign 
of Edward 3rd, after the 

Conquest. Alexander 

Aired and John Munde- 
ford. Bailiffs. 

John Chaderlee came hi- 
ther to the Court, and with 
the consent of the whole 
Commonalty was admitted 
to the liberties of Godman- 
chester, and sworn accord- 
ing to the custom of the 
Manor, in form following, 
that is to say, — that he 
will be faithful to the Com- 
monalty of Godmanchester, 
and obedient to the Bailiffs, 
and constantly resident in 
the said town. And that he 



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X HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTBR. 

Bolvat omes reddi? & tax- will pay all rents, charges, 
acoes & omia alia onra and other imposts upon his 
Srar & ten suor ptm bene lands and tenements faith- 
& fideli? solvat. Ac pdict fully and truly; and the 
Jofines 9ras & tefi que ad- aforesaid John shall neither 
quisierit viris forinse? n sell or alienate any lands or 
religiosis venda? n aliene in tenements that he may ac 
dampnu & ^udiciu libtatis quire, to strangers, or eccle- 
yille ^dce. siastics, to the injury and 

prejudice of the liberties of 
the said town. 



GUMECESTRE. 



Cur ten? ibm die decollac6is Sci Johis Bapte Ao Rni 
E. 4— xxi°>o. 

Ad h*nc cur^ Tho^s Brewst admiss e ad libP viUe p 
pleg Thos. Brewst, sen', and JoK Page, sen', solvo fiii natal 
dm & iuratus est. 

c Ad ead cur^ Thoas. Blassett admiss e ad lib? ville p 
pleg^ Willi Tooke & Thome Reynold dies solvo fiii Sci 
Michi & iuratus est. Fin. xx^. 

d Ad banc Cur^ Johes Armowgh admiss est ad lib? 
ville p pleg John Sterlyng & Job Barrett ut pateat in 
capite dies soluo fin nal dm. 

d Ad h*nc Cur^ Thofi Warde admiss e ad lib? ville p 
pleg Job Shillynge & Jofi — solvit manib3 iij* iiij^ &c. 

Gumecestre — Cur ten? ibm die Jovis px post Pent 
Anno E. iiij** xxij°. 

d Ad banc Cur^ Ric Walsheflfe admiss e ad lib? ville p 
fin patent cap p pleg Tho» Frost & P. Cave dies soluo Nat 
Sci Johes Baptiste. Fine vj". 



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APPENDIX. XI 

d Ad banc Cur^ Johes Felde & Willi fili eius admiss 
sint ad libtat ville p fin pateut p pleg Job Barnard & Joh 
Cylby dies soluo Natis Sci Jobis Baptiste. Fin. 26». 

Gumecestre — Cur tent^ ibm die Jovis px an fest Sci 
Bartbomei A® Regni E. 4. xxij°. 

d Ad b*nc Cur^ Ricus Townsende admiss e ad libta9 
ville p pleg Will Stodall & Job Bayns p fin pateut in ca- 
pite dies soluo ad fin natal dm vj^ viij^ & resid solut in 
manib3. Fin xiij> iiijd. 

Many freedoms were granted tbis year, andtbe fine re- 
mained stationary at tbirteen sbillings and four-pence* 

Gumecestr^ Cur^ ten? il&m die Jovis px post festu 
Anunciac6is beat Marie A® Regni Henrici 7 — ^xxiiij. 

Ad banc Cur^ venit JoKis Lokyngton et readmiss est ad 
lib? viUe qui p divsis malefact con? libert et vicinos fuit 
excfiat et iuratus est et dat de fino put in capit manucapt. 

In tbe reign of Henry 7tb tbe fine^ varied, and tbe form 
of pledges ceased. 

Gumecestr^ Curia tent ibm die jovis prox post festu 
omifi S8or Ao Rni H. 8. xxij^ 

Ad banc Cur^ venit Robtus Harrys et ex speciali gra 
toti Coitat admissus^^est ad libtatem ville & juratus est & 
solvit finem ut in ciq>ite. Fin. iij> iiijd. 

In tbe Reigns of Edward 6tb and Pbilip and Mary the 
same words. 

Elizabeth 1563.— Cur tent ant Pascb Ao R. vo- 

d Ad banc Cur^ venit Jacobus Symson ex speciali gra 
toci coitat et admiss est ad libtat ville p & solvit finem 
put cap in Capit et jurat est. Fin.'viij*. 

In 1674.— 26 Carol 2o.— Augusti 27o. 

d Ad banc Cur^. — ^WiUus King Cordwinder & Willus 
filius suis etat duo annor^ ex spial gra^ & favor Ballior 
Burgi pr^di admissi sunt in libtm Burgi pr^di & solv p fin. 



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Xll HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

No. 4. 

GRANT OF felon's GOODS, WBIFS AND STRAYS AS AP- 
PURTENANCES OF THE MANOR. 
RICHARD 2d. AN. REG. 4°. (aN. DOM. 1381,) MARCH 28tH. 

Ricardus dei gra^ Rex Angt et Franfi et Dns Hibffl Vice- 
comiti et Escaetori suis in Com hun? qui nunc sunt vel qui 
p tempore erunt sattm. Cum Dns JoKes quondam Rex 
Angt progenitor nr^ p cartam suam quam dns £ quondam 
Rex Angl abavus nr^ Ac dns £ nup> Rex Angl avus nr^ 
p tras suas patentee confirmavunt concessisset confirmas- 
set hoife suis de Gumecestre Manim sufl de Gumecestre 
tenend de se et heredib suis ad feodi firmam eft omib ad 
firmam illius Manii ptinentib3 p sexies viginti libras ad 
seem suft £t voluisset et ferm? ^cepisset qd pdci hoies 
sui de Gumecestre herent et tenerent de se et heredib3 
suis ^dcam Manifi de Gumecestre bene et in pace libe et 
quite et integre eft omib3 libtatib3 ad firmam pd Msuiii 
ptinentib p ^dcam firmam annuam scilt sexies viginti 
libras sicut pdcm est q»mdiu sibi ^dcam firmam bene 
redderent. £t nos concessiones et confirma&6nes ^dcas 
ratas hentes et qHas eas p nobis et heredib nris quantu 
in nobis est ^atis boib de Gumecestre et heredib3 ^^ 
successorib3 suis tioib3 Maiiii ^dci ratificamifi appro- 
bamifi concessenfi et confirmamifi sicut carta et tre p^dce 
ronabili? testan? et f>ut iidem fioies et antecessores sui 
Ma3m ^dcifi hactenus ronabili? tenuerunt put in iris 
nris patentib3 inde confeccis plenius contineS. Onor^ 
quidem f^bor^ genaim et libtatu ^extu isdem ttoies et 
antecessores sui ttoies iiram pdca iam villa de Gurmun- 
chestre vulgari? nuncupati Catalla felonfl et fugitivor^ 
necnon aialia et Catalla que dicunt Waif et Stray ibidem 
accidencia tanq^ ad firma suam ^dcam ptinencia a tem- 
pore confeccionis carte pdci Regis Jottis progenitoris nri 



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APPENDIX. XiU 

semp hactefit huerint et ttere debeant sicut dicunt. Vol^ 
p^cipiifi qd si vob [constare porto ita esse tunc hoies nros 
Msmii pdci huiusmodi catalla felonfl et fugitivor^ ac alalia 
et catalla que dicunt Waif et Stray ibidem accidencia 
absq^ impedimento aliquo seu calumpina here pmittatis- 
put ea here debent ipiq^ et antecessores sui hoies Manii 
pdci ea a tempore ^dco hucusq^ here consueverunt iposq^ 
holes lihtatib; illis et omib3 aliis ad firmam Manii pdci 
ptinentib3 quib3 virtute carte trar et confirmac6um 
pdcar^ hactenus ronabili? usi sunt et gavisi utl et gandere 
pmittatis iuxta tenorem carte Irar^ et confirmac6is iire 
pdtar^ iposqj contifl tenorem non eardem molestantes in 
aliquo seu q'uantes. 

T. me ipo apud Westifl xxviij die Marcii Anno r 
a quarto. 

SCARLE. 



No. 5, 

CERTIFICATE OF GODMANCHBSTBR BEING ANCIENT DE- 
MESNE^ THEREFORE FREE OF TOLLS, &C. — RICHARD 2d. 
AN. REGNI 4°, A. D. 1381. 

Rlcardus dei gra^ Rex Angt et Fran8 et Dns Hibffl 
omnihs et singulis Maioribus Constabulariis Ballivis et 
aliis Ministris ubicumq^ infra regnu nrifi Angt constltutis 
ad quos psentes Ire pnerunt saltm. Cum scdm consuetu- 
dinem in regno nro Angt hactenus aptemam et approba- 
tam hoies de antique dnico corone Angi quieti sint et 
esse debeant a pstac6e theolonei p totu^ regnfi iinfl Vob et 
cuilibet vrmi p^cipimt et mandaifi qd hoies de manio nro de 
Gumecestre lam vulgarit nuncupate Gurmimchestre quod 



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XIV HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

est de antique dnico corone Angt de huiusmodo theolonio 

de reb^ et bonis snis vob alicubi ^stand quietos esse 

pmittatis iuxta consuetudinem ^dcam. Et districcoem 

siquam ^fatis tioib seu eor^ alicui ea occ6ne fecitis sine 

diione relaxetis eisdem. — ^T. me ipo apud Westifl xxviij 

die Marcii Anno r§ nri quarto. 

Scarle. 



No. 6. 

RICHARD 2d's charter, BEING A CONFIRBfATION OF FOR- 
MER CHARTERS, EXPRESSING THE PRIV" OF FELON's 
GOODS, INFANGTHEF, OUTFANGTHEF, freedom of TOLLS, 
&C. AN. REGNI 150 (a. DOM. 1392.) FEB** 15. — FINE £40. 

Ricardus Dei gracia Rex Anglie et Francie et Dominus 
Hibnie Archiepis Epis Abbib3 Prioribus Ducibus Comi- 
tibj Baronibus JustiS Vicecomitib3 Prepositis Ministris 
et omnibus Ballivis et fidelibus suis salutem. Sciatis 
quod cum dominus Johannes quondum Rex Angl Pgeni- 
tor noster p cartam suam quam dominus E quondam Rex, 
Angl filius Regis Henr^ p cartam suam ac dns E. nup 
Rex Angi Anus nr^ p cartam suam et nos similiter p 
cartam nram confirmanimus concessisset et p dcam car- 
tam suam confirmasset hominib3 suis de Gumcestre 
Msmium suum de Gumcestre tenend de ipo Rege Johanne 
et heredibus suis ad feodi firmam cum omnib; ad firmam 
illius Manii ptinentib3 p sexies viginti libras pondere et 
numo p annu piit in cartis et confirmacionib3 pdcis 
plenius continetur. Jamq^ homines iiri pdci Manii de 
Gumcestr^ nobis supplicavint qd cum ipi virtute dee carte 
ipius Regis Johis et f bor^ geflalium in eadem contentor^ 
inter alias dif^sas franchesias et libertates habuerintcatalla 



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APPENDIX. XV 

felonum et fugitivor^ et felonum de seipsis. Ac eciam 
iUor^ qui regnum nr^m Angl abiuraverunt et infangethef 
et outfangethef quousq^ iam tarde de libertatibus illis 
impetiti fuerunt et pturbati. Delimus libertates ^dcas 
eis p f ba spialia et ex^ssa concedere et confirmare. Nos 
attendentes dampna et depdita que homines nri ^dci in 
terris et tefi ac molendinis suis eiusdem Manfi p inun- 
da668 aquar^ dulcium sepius paciunf. De gra^ nra^ 
spali et ad supplica66em hoifi ^dcor^ nee non p finem 
quadriginta librar^ nobis in hanapio nro p ipos solutar^ 
concessimus et p ^enti carta nostra confirmanimusp nobis 
et heredibus iiris qnantum in nobis est eisdem hominib3 
et successorib3 suis qd ipi heant et teneant ctcam Manium 
cum ^ifi et insup qd lieant omimoda catalla felonum. et 
fugitivor^ et felonum de seipsis necnon vtlagator^ et 
eciam illor qui regnum iirifl Angl abiuravunt et infange- 
thef et outfangethef et omimodas alias forisfcuras infra 
dcm Manium et lit^atem eiusdem tam de indigenis et re- 
sidentibus q>m de fornicecis et extraneis imppifi. Con- 
cessimus insup p nobis et heredib3 nris quantum in nobis 
est eisdem hominib3 et successoribus suis qd ipi quieti 
sint de theolonio muragio stallagio passagio et pavagio p 
totum re^um nrifi supradcm im^petuum." Quare vo- 
lumus et firmiter pcipimus p nobis et heredibus nris qd 
predci hoies nri et successores sui lieant et teneant sibi 
et successoribus suis pdcis omes et singulas franche^ias 
libertates et quietancias pdcas eis q^ et ear^ qualibet 
plene gaudeant et utant imppm sicut ^dcm est. Hiis 
testib3 venerabilib3 pri^b3 W. Archiepo Cantuar^ totus 
An^ primate. Thoma Archiepo Ebor^ Angl primate 
Cancellar nro. P. Londofl W. Wyntofit W. Dunotm. 
Sar Thes nri Epis. Johanne Aquitannie et Lancastr^ et 
Thoma Gloucestr^ ducibus Avunculis nris carissimis 
Henr^ Derb. Arundell, et Johanne Huntyngdon camario 



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XVI HISTORY or GODMANCHESTER. 

nostro et fratre iiro carissimo Comitibus Jcrfianne Deve- 
reux milite Senescallo hospic nri magro. Edmundo Staf- 
ford Custode primati sigilli iiri et avis. Dat p manum 
nram apud Westinonasterium quinto decimo die februari 
Anno Regni nri quinto decimo. 

p l&re de primato sigillo. Scarle. 



No. 7. • 

Ricardus Dei gra^ Rex Anglie et Francie et Dns Hibfl 
Omni'bs et singulis JustiS Vicecomitib3 Escaetoribj 
Coronatorib3 Maiorib3 Constabulariis Ballivis Ministris 
et aliis fidelib3 suis ad quos psentes tre pvenint sattm. 
Cum Dom. Johannes quondam Rex Angl (Verba Chartae 
recitat' usque) sup'^dcam imppm pftt in cartis et confir- 
ma66ib3 pdcis plenius continet'. Vob et cuilt vrfi 
mandaifi firunt immigentes qd fioies dci Manii de Gum- 
cestr' iam vocati Gurmuncestre et successores suos omib3 
et singulis libtatib3 et quietanciis ^dcis absq^ impedi- 
mento aliquo uti et gandere pmittatis iuxta tenorem 
cartar^ et confirmacioem pdcar^ ipos aut eor^ aliquem 
conf" tenorem et effcifi eardem non molestantes in aliquo 
seu g*uantes. T. me ipo apud Westifl xvj die Febr. Anno 
r. n. quinto decimo. 

SCARLE. 



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APPENDIX. XVll 



No. 8. 

The Charter of James 1st having been translated and 
embodied in the work, we shall not here insert a copy of 
the original, as it is destitute of all literary interest ; and 
for other purposes may be referred to in the Record 
Chamber. 



No. 9. 

INSTITUTION OF, AND PRESENTATION TO, THE VICARAGE. 
INQUISITIO. 

Tempore dni Hugoni Wealls, olim Episci Lincoln qui 
coepit possessionem Eclesise Lincoln Anno dni mill°>o 
ducentimo nono. Anno duodecimo Johannis Rex Angliae. 
Et vixit Epus Lincoln usque T^ Februarii, 1234, viz. 
19mo Henry 3* Rex Anglic. 

Gumecester. — Rob' Clicus presentat per Priorem et 
Conventu de Merton ad perpetuam Vicariam Eclesise de 
Gumecester predictum per inquisitionem, super eadem 
Ek^lesiffi Vicarius perpetuus institutus. Qui quidemVi- 
carius ad presentationem predictum Prioris et Conventus 
de Merton instituenct pripiet noie Vicaries omnes obven- 
turos Altaris et omnes decimas et alios preventus ejusdem 
Eclesise, prseter decimas garbarum et terra Eclesiae cum 
tentibus ejusdem. Et habet mansu scil* Terra quae fuit 
Arrabit que consuevit Redda quinque solidos : et aliud 
mansu qui fuit rad qui consuevit solvere tres solidos : et 
quatuor acras prati in prato de Brampton cum onere, &c. 
Et debet idem Vicarius sustinere Orationem ordinatim 
Cepalia qu Archidatia et in propria persona in eadem 
Eclesiae ministrabit et providebit quod suflBcientur et 
honesta divina celebrantur in eodem. 



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XVlll HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

No. 10. 
INQUEST RELATING TO RECTORIAL CORN, TO BE DISTRI- 
BUTED TO THE POOR OF GODMANCHESTER ON THE FIRST 

DAY OF EVERY WEEK DURING LBNl . — A, D. 1443. 

(p. 333.) 

Universis sancte matris ecctie fidiis ad quos preseutes 
tre pvenerint Willraus permissione divina Lincoln Epus 
salutem in domino sempitemam et ppetuam memoriam 
rei teste. Nuper siquideni dum Archidiaconatus nr^ de 
Huntyngdon ecctiasq^ clerum et pplm eiusdem in nfo or- 
dinario visitaremus per inquisicionem iiram pparatoriam 

— reperimus nobis derectu fore et delatum qd 

Prior et Conventiis Prioratus de Merton ordinis sancti 
Augustini babet ecctiam parocbialem de Gumecester iire 
dioc et Arcbinatus predict in pprios usus Rentes ac omia 
eiusdem ecclie decimis et altariis percipientis nicbil oifino 
de fructibus ipius ecctie nomine elemosine in? paupes 
eiusdem ecctie parochianos nee habent vas? Annis distri- 
buerunt nee curarunt sic distribuere. Nos igitur prefator 

priorem et conventum super penam coram nobis ad 

iudicifi evocari vero Prior et Conventus coram 

dilecto in Xre filio M^^o Johanni Derby comissario iiro 
in ecctia parocbiali de Sleford dicte nre dioc per frem 
Wittm West dicti prioratus Canonicum ex parte Prions 
et conventus procuratorem ac parochiam die ecctie parocti 
de Gumecestr pdic? per dnm Thomam Baker ac etiam 
procuratorem eordem gocfinor et sufficient con- 
stitutes quintodecim die mensis Marcii ultimo pretiti ad 
judicis comparuerunt et deinde pars ^fatorum Parochia- 
norum contra ^atos Priorem et conventum articulando 
abieri? qd iidem Prior et conventus nicbil ^ut supius est 
expressumde fructibus dicte ecctie de Gumecestre predict 
in? paupes parochianos eiusdem ecctie a longo retro 
Annis distribuerunt qui singulis annis singulis diebus 



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APPENDIX. XIX 

M^curii et Venis antiqua consuetudine solebant et con- 
suevenint distribuere in? paupes parochianos dicte Ecctie 
de Gumeces? maxime indigentes tres modios granor^ 
vidett unfi modifi frumenti^ unfi modifi silignis et unff 
modifi pisarum. Ad que rondem pars dictorum prior et 
conventus dixit narrata per partem eorundem parochia- 
norum vera non esse. Tandem partes eodem cum deli- 
beracione matura ad concordiam et ad elemosinam faciend 

amicabilit mutus — '. tractantes et coram eodem 

Magro Johanne Derby Comissario nro eodem die iudicia- 
li? sedente comparentes sic conquieverunt concordarunt 
et condestenderunt qd procuratores domus sive Prioratus 
de Merton pdicta qui pro tempore fitint in dicta ecctia 
deputat singulis primis septimanis quadragesimo singulis 
annis futuris liberabunt seu facient liberari Vicario et 
Ballivis viUe de Gumecestr' predict qui pro tempore 
fuerint nomine dictor prioris et conventus de fructibus 
illius ecctie in elemosina tria quartia puri frumenti tria 
quartia sitiginis et unum quartuum pur^ ordei in? paupes 
parochianos eiusdem ecctie iux^ discrecionem Vicarii et 
Ballivorum huiusmod disBbuend. Ad que faciend et 
fideli? obsr^vand dicta pars prioris et conventus de Merton 
predict nomine dominorum suorfi diet Wittm West ad 
sanita dei evingelia tacto libro ^facit corporate et iuravit, 
unde idem Mag' Johannis Derby de consensu et peticione 
parochinor^ et pfator priorem et conventum de Merton 
predic? ad Kmod elemosinam in forma et modo ^missis 
faciendam — precepti sui — — condempnavit. In 
quorum omfl testimonifi sigillum obser^ ad causas feci- 

mus appoui. Da? in Castro nre de sigilli Kmod 

apposicoem xxvij die Mensis Januarii Anno domixii mil- 
lesimo quadringen>no quadragesimo tercio. 

[The blanks occnrring in tliis Inquest point oni erasures in the original, 
the shattered parchment of which is in the Record Chamber.] 

b2 



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XX HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

No. 11. 

ARBITRATION BETWEEN THE PRIOR OF HUNTINGDON AND 
MEN OF GODMANCHESTER^ RESPECTING THE CAUSE- 
WAY AND SEVEN SMALL BRIDGES, A.D. 1496. (P. 368.) 

To all Xfen People to whom theis pnt Lres of 
Award endented shall come. 

Robert Synett, of the town of Huntingdon, oon of the 
King's Justices of his Pease, to be consrved in j^ countie 
of Huntingdon, assigned Thorns Elsam Bailly, of the said 
town, and John Horwode, yong^, of Herford beside Hun- 
tingdon forsaid, Gentilmen, senden greeting in our Lord 
ef lasting.— —Wheras the Ref*nde Father in God, John 
Cokfeld, Prior of the Priory of Channons, or of the House 
and Church of our Lady Saint Mary Virgyn, of Hunting- 
don, on that oon partie ; — and John Mynstechambyr, oon of 
the Justices of Peas, to be consrved of o' said Souvaryn 
Lord the King, in his said countie of Huntingdon, as- 
signed, and John Bayons, now Bailiff of the town of 
Gumecestre, on y« other ptie, of thair comen assent, the 
xx*i» dale of January, y* 2d yere of y® reigne of o' said 
Souvaryn Lord King Henry the 7th, submitted thann to 
stand and oubey to tharbitrement, lawse, ordeiince, decree, 
and jugement of us the said Robert Synett, Thorns Elsam, 
and John Horwod, arbitrators by the said pties of thair 
comen assent, indifferently chosen of, for, and upon the 
right, title, and possession of a annuall rent yerely groyng 
out of certain acres and rodes of medowe lying among 
other in a holme, now called Cawseholme, lying by the 
cawce and finale brigg ledyng the waie from Gumecestre 
forsaid to y^ burgh of Huntingdon. And of and upon all 
man' of actons, suytt, demands, quereles and stryves, that 
by reason and occasion of any clayme for the said rent in 



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APPENDIX. XXI 

any mafl wise betwix the said pties, had or moeved from 
the begynnyng of the world unto the daie of the date of 
certain agreements of and for arbitrement betwix the said 
pties therupon made^ bering date the daie and yere above- 
said. And suche arbitrement, lawe, ordennce, decree, 
and jugement of us the said arbitrours of and in the 
pmisses, the said pties agree truely to kepe, hold, and ful- 
fill, both pties ben bownden eithre to other in JBIOO of 
monaie, so that the same arbitrement, lawe, ordennce, 
decree, and jugement of us the said arbitrours now made 
and holden in arbitrement, from the 15th of August next 
comyng aft' the date of thies puts, as by the said obli- 
gacons wherof the same aft' the fome forsaid wer re- 
hersed be ^louth, in the howse of John Tythinth of Hun- 
tingdon forsaied before both pties, as male appere more 

at large. ^Know ye that we, the said arbitrours, taking 

upon us the oflftce and charge of arbitrement for the ap- 
peassing and ceassing of the longe contynued stryves, 
decensyons, and the importable charges of a certyn suyt 
in the lawe, which, as we understond, have cost the said 
church and howse of Huntingdon, as well in the dales of 
the Prio' that now is as in the dales of his pdecessors, 
more than vast sums, whereby the same now is greatly 
empovished and decaid : And for the well and peas of the 
pmisses, and of love betwen the sapae parties from hens- 
forward to be had, contynued, and norished, have seen 
thevidence and argument of either of the said pties, 
touching, among other things, the said rent ; and herd 
thair allegeance, answers, and replicacons upon the same ; 
and also brought the said pties to ye'd before us, and 
somoned by easy meanes, offres, and profres, betwene 
them the pties. And with gode advisement and ripe de- 
libacon therupon had, We have demed, ordeigned, de- 
creed, juged, and arbitred, the date of making of these 



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XXU HISTORY OF GODMANCHBSTER. 

pnts of and upon the premisses^ the full aggrement and 
assent of bothe the said pties first had in forme that 
foloweth. — ^That is to witte — ^First, wher^ We, the said 
arbitrours, before the dale of yeylding this our award, 
conceyved and did to make y« obligacons consealed w* con- 
dicons endorced upon the same, in the form of the whiche 
the Prio' and Conuent of Channons of Huntingdon shulde 
be bownde to the said Balliffe of Gumecestre in C mrcs 
of la^yfuU monie of England, to be paid to the said Bail- 
liffs and their Successours Bailliffs, if the same Prio', 
Conuent, or their Successours shuld disoubey this our 
award, decree, and arbitrement. And in the other obli- 
gacon the said BailliflFs and Comaltie in like mafl shulde 
be bownde to the said Prio^ and Conuent as in the same 
obligacons and condicons appereth more at large, which 
obligacons were delyvred to bothe pties in c<myenaible 
season to have sealed and to have been delyvred to us be- 
fore the geving of this our arbitrement, and then eithre 
partie to have recyved agen his own single obligaS for- 
said. And in Saint Mary's Church of Huntingdon, at 
Corpie Xristi aultre, the dale of the date of theis pfits 
before we entered to our said arbitrement, the said Bail- 
liffs and Comalty the obligacon sealed under their comen 
seal. And than and there were redy to have delyvred to 
us the same, if the said Prio' wolde have ther delyvred to 
us the other obligacon, sealed with his comen seal, which 
obligacon was not than sealed, but he promysed that the 
same shuld be sealed, wherupon and for our award shuld 
be effectual and not in vayn. And for that we had the 
other two sengle obligacons as abovesaid, the oon sealed 
und the seal of the said Prio' and the other und the sevall 
scales of the said Bailliffs of Gumecestre, with condicons 
rehersed be mouth as is above written. 

We, the said arbitrours, delyf red than to the Prio' the 



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APPENDIX. XXIU 

said sin^e obligacon of the BailliiFs under their seales. 
And to the Bailiffs the said single obligacon of the said 
Prio% sealed with his seale as their several dede, in cas 
this our award were by any of thaim gties suittors^ or any 
other for them^ or by their means disoubeid, as is before 
rehersed. Wherefore and spially that a fynall peas may 
be had between the said gties for evmore, We award, 
ordeign, decree, and deign, that as well the said Prio' as 
the said Bailiffs shall w*in vj dales aft' Easter dale next 
comyng delivr^ to us the said arbitrours, or to oon of us 
their said ij obligacons w^ condicons endorced to them 
delivered to seale as is forsaid, sealed imd their comen 
seales, as is specified in the same obligacon. Also we 
award, ordeigne, decree, and deme, that the said Prio' and 
Conuent, and their successours, shall, w^out any mafi), let, 
intupcon, or greef for be the said Bailliffs and Coialtie, 
or of their successours for evmore, reteyn and kepe from 
hensforth peasable possession of, and in all the said pas- 
ture or medowe, called Cawseholme, l3dng betwix the 
small brygges and cawse that extend themself from the 
said town of Gumecestre unto the greate brygge of Hun- 
tingdon, w^ all mafi of prffts and comodities of wilowes 
and other trees growyng or to growe in and upon the 
same medowe, except and resrved all way to the Chaun- 
try Preste of the town of Gumecestre forsaid and to his 
successours for evmore, a rode of medowe lying in the 
said pasture or medowe in the west-head or end of the 
same towards Gumecestre, w* the proffitts of the wilowes 
and other trees next aboute the said rode, in as good and 
peasable wise, and in as ample maffl and fo'me as the 
Chauntry Preste that now is ther, or any of his predeces- 
sours have had and enioyed the same, which rode w* th' 
apprtenaces we knowe welle have ben out of tyme of any 
mannes mynde that now is, belonging to the Chauntrye 



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XXIV HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

of Gumecestre forsaid. Also We award, ordeign, decree, 
and deme that the said Prior and Conuent, and their succ 
shall paie yerely at the ffeste of Saint Michell tharchan- 
gell for evmore by the hands of the said Prio' or his suc- 
cessours Prioi^s, or by the hands of oon of their Brethren 
or Fraternity at the said town of Gumecestr* to the Bail- 
liiFs ther, and their successours, Bailli£Es, an annuell rent of 
18rf., for the rent of the said medowe, except before 
except. And that the paiement of the said rent begyn at 
the flfest of Saint Michell tharchangell next folowing the 
date hereof, which shall be in the yere of our Lord God, 
1487, and so yerely in ggetuite at like Feste. And for as 
moche as we fjmde that for the ease of the said Prio"^ and 
his Successours, a brigge mighte be laide on the Dyke 
rennyng betwene the said cawse and the said Holme, for 
carriage of hay out of the same Holme, and to lede into 
the same bests at suche tyme as shall please the said 
Priours. We award, ordeyn, decree, and deme, that as 
often as the hay in said medowe shall be redy to carry, that 
the said Prio' and Conuent, and their successours, may ley 
on the diche a brigge in the place ther it hath ben used 
to ley before time, that is to say, at thende of the same 
Holme towards the said greate brigge of Huntingdon from 
the said cawse to the said Holme, provided alway that the 
water in the said diche be not letted by any pte of the said 
brigge of the redy cours and passage, as it hath or 
may have before the layer of the same brigge. And if it 
shall happen the water to arise before the tyme that the 
Said brigge of easement be adborded and taken away, by 
the said Prio' for the tyme beyng, or his assignes, in suche 
heght and wise that the water in the said diche may not 
have redy cours and passage, than it shall be leaful to the 
said BaiUiffs for the tyme being, or their assignes, to 
w^drawe the said brigge, and ley it on the next lande unto 



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APPENDIX. XXV 

tyme the said water be abated. Also We award, ordeyn, 
decree and deme that the Chauntry Preste of Gumecester 
forsaid, and his successours, Chauntry Prestes ther, duryng 
tyme of leyer of the brigge forsaid, on the said diche laide 
by the said Prio' for the tyme beyng, may leefiilly, w*out 
let or interuption of any psone, make cariage.of his own 
hay or other things out or into, or from his said rode in 
the said Holme at his or their plesure. Also for as much 
as we find that the repayr of the cawse and smalle brigges 
betweene the said townes of Huntingdon and Gumecestre 
aforsaid belongeth to the Prio' and Coniient forsaid, and 
that for fault of reparacon the free-stones of the.said small 
brigges and other flag-stones, with the gravell of the.said 
cawse, at divers tymes befor these dales, and yet daiely 
fallen down into the diches on both. sides of the said 
cawce, and so will do as hertfor^ in like manStr — ^whiche 
shuld be growe to greate hurt if the said Prio"" and Conuent 
of Huntingdon did not stop the same again. We, the 
said arbitrours in th pmsses authorize, for the more ease 
of the said Prio' and Conuent, to take up agen.the said 
free stones, and also to take means nigh to the said cawce 
for enhawnsyng of the same, and to dense the diche next 
the said Holme for defence of the same. Also we award, 
ordeyn, decree, and deme that the said Prio' and his Suc- 
cessours, at any tyme that they shall repair the said 
brigges or cawce, may take up out of both diches on 
either side of the said small brigges or cawce suche free 
stones, gravel, and other means that they shall fynde w*in 
the same diches for repair forsaid oonly, and so of pieces 
of tymber and other thyngs in either of the said diches, 
and take them up at ther plsure that serveth unto the said 
repair in any mafl wise w*out impediment, hurt, greve, 
or gaynsaying in anywise of the said Bailiffs and Coialtie, 
or their successours, or any of them for evmore Pro- 



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XXVI HISTORY OF GODMANCHESTER. 

vided always^ that in the taking up of the said stones^ 
gravelly means setting or takyng up of piles^ the several 
grounds of the said Bailiffs and Comaltie^ nor the wilowes 
growyng on the south est sideof the said Holme^ or on 
either side of that diche ther^, in no mafi wise be hurtt or 
let by the said Prio% his Successours or Assigns^ w*out 
licence of the said Bailliffs or their successours^ Bailliffs of 
the said town of Gumecestre. 

On this We awards ordeyn, and deme^ that if any am* 
biguite or difficultie herafter be fowned^ taken^ or con- 
ceyved by the said parties^ or any of tham^ in any worde, 
reason, or rehersell of y® same, or any ptie therof, that 
than both pties and any of tham shall have recours to us 
the said arbitrours, or any of us ded to tham or hym that 
shall survyve. And our or any of our in that cas, expo- 
sicon, and reformacon therin, shall pforme and fullfill. — 
In witnesse of all the pifiisses to theis ow' pnt tres of 
award endented. We, the said Arbitrours, have put our 
scales. Geveu at Huntingdon, in Saint Mary Church, 
on Good-fridaie, the ij*** yere of the reyne of o' Sovraign 
Lord King Henry the Seventh. 



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INDEX. 



Fkge 

Abbot of Ramsey, obstructs the navigation 188, 191, 193 

Abbot of Ramsey, William of Godmanchester, Life of, . . .. 374 

Acre, antient measure of, uncertain 68 

Admissions to Denizensbip, various • 121, 126 

No. 3 of Appendix viii 

Albion, origin of the word 1 

Alfred ascends the Thr(me 15, 43 

harrassed by Guthrum 45 

conquers the Danes 48 

enters into alliance with Guthrum 50 

Amerciaments and Fines . . . . • • • 124 

Anne's, Queen, bounty of, • • 237 

Anniversaries, religious 248 

Antient Demesne : desoiption of, . • 72 

tenures and customs of Tenants in, ... . 73 

privileges of Tenants in, 80 

tenants in, amenable to their own Courts 83 

Arbitrium de Pontibus w . . . . • 4 365 

Arbitration relative to the Causeway, a. d. 1486 368 

Appendix, No. 11 xx 

Ashley, Proprietor of the Navigation, a. d. 1689 • . ^ 212 

his Lease with the Corporation of Godmanchester 212 

Bailiffis, annual election of, 139, 152 

List of, 172 

Bedford Level, Wells's History of,. . . . (note) 182 

Bells,Church, , 317 

Bordarii 62, 67 

Borough English, customs of, 90 

Britannia, origin of the word ••••»•. 2 

first discovered to be an Island 10 

British Roads » > • . '• 6, 15 

Britons, Antient, their mode of living, religion, and govern- 
ment 3 

conquered by the Romans 7 

revolt under Caractacus 8 

revolt under Boadicea 8 

abandoned by the Romans 11 

Subdued by the Saxons 12 

Bridge, Huntingdon, • « • 361 



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xxviii INDEX. 

Page 

Bridges and Causeway between Huntingdon and Godman- 

chester 363 

Arbitration relative to. Appendix, No. 11 xx 

Burgage tenure, nature of, 90 

descent of property in, ib. 

Burials, antient modes of, 297 

Carucate of Land 62, 64 

Caruca, aPlough • • 62, 67 

Carvings, grotesque, introduced into Churches. . {note) . . . • 289 
Causeway, antient, between Huntingdon and Godmanchester 363 

Charities, list and description of, 332 

Charter of John 78, 96 

Appendix, No. 1 i 

Fac-simile of — ^Frontispiece 

Richard 2d, for Felon's Goods 98 

Appendix, No. 4, xii 

freedom from customary Tolls . . 100 

Appendix, No. 5, xiii 

general, confirmatory of John s Charter 

and previous Grants 101 

Appendix, No. 6, xiv 

James, 153, 159 

James 2d, c 159 

James 1st, surrendered to Charles 2d, 157 

restored by Proclamation 159 

Chauntries, origin of, and how endowed, 247, 252 

suppressed and impropriated 272 

Chauntry of the Blessed Mary or Roodes , • 259 

lands of, demised, with specification of them . . 273 

granted to Lord Mounteagle * 280 

annexed to the Rectory, with rent- 
charge to the Vicarage 281 

Church noticed in Domesd^-book 62, 67, 226 

given by Edgar to Kamsey Abbey 223 

Stephen to Merton Priory 226 

Hemy 8th, to the Collegiate Church of 

Westminster 241 

Fruits of, withheld from the Poor, 332 

Fees of, . 281 

description of the, 287 

Coins, Roman , 30 

Commons, litigations respecting the, 153 

Cook, Robert, 369 

Corporation Seal, Title-page 158,159 

Coroners 152 

Courts, Manorial (note) 125 

Court Leet 123 

of Pie Powder • 144 



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INDEX. xxix 

Page 

Court of Pleas 125 

Court-day changed 159 

Court Hall 360 

Daneffeld 14, 62, 63 

David, Earl of Huntingdon 38 

Danish invasions 15, 42 

settlement at Godmanchester 53 

Dearth, order in time of. 294 

Domesday-book, History of, 57 

extract from, and illustration 62 

Drainage and Navigation 180 

contentions relative to, 194 

decree of the Dutchy of Lancaster concerning the, 199 

Commission of Sewers relative to, 206 

Durolipons 17, 70 

Dutchy of Lancaster created 112 

annexed to, and separated from, the Crown, .... 114 

Ecclesiastical Histoiy • • 223 

Ecclesiastics and Jews incapable of holding lands 249 

Egbert, first sole Monarch of England, 13 

England, origin of the name, 12 

Epitaphs and Monumental Inscriptions 297 

Escheator, office of, (note) >. 98 

Escheats 121 

Estates, descent of, in Borough English, 90 

Fair or Mart 144 

Fee-farm, nature of, 120 

grant of a Manor in, gives Manorial Rights, and 
creates a Corporation for the purpose of col- 
lecting the rent « . « 120 

Fee-faim Rent, origin of, and tenure in, 72 

Godmanchester granted in, 78 

Counties and Towns granted in, 76 

of Godmanchester, granted to Edmund 

Plantagenet, first Earl of Lancaster .... 108 
annexed by Henry 4th to the Crown 

Revenues 1 14 

granted to Edward Montague, first Earl 

of Sandwich 116 

First Fruits, Ecclesiastical, their nature and appropriation . . 236 
transferred to the Governors of Queen Anne's 

Bounty 237 

Frank Pledge 116 

Garson 88 

Godmanchester, a probable British Settlement 6, 15 

a Roman Station 17 



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XXX INDEX. 

Page 

Godmanchester, a Danish Encampment. • • 53 

granted in fee-farm 78 

created a Borough hy Charter 133^ 150 

its various names 40, 53, 62, 70,&c. 

Grey, Reginald de, obstructs the Navigation at Heming- 

ford 188, 190,193 

Guilds, origin of, 247 

suppressed • 272 

Guild of Corpus Christi 265 

the Holy Trinity 268 

Saint John the Baptist 269 

€ruthrum, his contentions with Alfred 43 

conversion to Christianity 48 

occupation of Godmanchester 53 

death of, « 55 

coin of, 223, 286 

Hand and Glove, surrender by the, 84 

Hemingford Abbots, given to the Abbots of Ramsey .... 190 
Hemingford Grey, the property of Reginald de Grey .... 190 

Hemingford Mills erected 189 

Heron Pedigree 165, 338 

Hides of Land 62, 64 

High Stewards, list of, 160 

Hinchingbrook Nunnery 310 

Houghton, given to Ramsey Abbey • . . • • 191 

Huntingdon Castle 32 

Priory 312 

Prior of, obstructs the Navigation at Hart- 
ford 188, 193 

Husbandry, its importance. • • • (note) • • • • • 323 

Iceni — ^their territories ••..••.••• • 5, 8 

Iliclosure of the Manor • 154 

Independents, Religious, »...•• 354 

Infangethef 102 

Inspeximus of Edward 1st 97 

Edward3d 97 

Richard 2d 97 

Henry 4th, 5th, 6th, Edward 4th, Henry 
7th and 8th, Edward 6th, Mary and 

Elizabeth 104 

Land, value of, a. d. 1624 79 

Lancaster, Earls and Dukes of, 108 

Dutchy of, created 1 12 

Tenants of, their privileges 1 13 

exemplification of, 128 

Lize, Simon de St., *....... 38 



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INDEX. Xxxi 

Luminaries, Religious • • • 340 

Manor, what constitutes a, • • 12 

Marshall, Stephen, life of, * 376 

Merton, Priory of, 226 

Mills, Manorial, 62, 68, 187 

Mortmain, statute of, • 250 

Nayigation • • « 180 

Antient, ohstructed hy Mills 187, 188, 194 

destruction of, ruinous to Huntingdon 194 

imperfectly restored, a.d. 1467 197 

undertaken hy Arnold Spencer, a.d. 1628. . . . 207 
Sir Humphrey Bennet, Knight, 
and others, hy Act of Parliament, 16th and 

. 17th of Charles 2d, cap. 12 209 

vested in Henry Ashley, Esq. . • . . ^ • • 212 

present state of the, and Reyenues of the, .... 221 

Ninths, Inquisitions of, ^ 232 

Nicholas's (Pope) Ecclesiastical survey 231 

Ohits, religious,* •• ^ •••.••.•...*»••• <,••••••*•• 240 

Ouse, rise and course of the Riyer,. .•.•••• ... «•••••••.. 180 

antient navigation of. • '.•%••...•••.••• 185 

Outfangethef *..... m2 

Parliament, .antient wages of Members of> • ^ • ^ (note) .... 80 
Tenants, in anlieBt. /demesne, exempt from 

™ . , ^ p?y^ ^ 

Particular Baptists ••••,«• • • . 354 

Plague ...... ^.M^ v.. 327 

Pole, Cardinal, visitation of • • . • (note) • 292 

Poor Rates « • 329 

P<^ulation • > ^8 

Puogresses Royal ......* .,%.. 319,326 

of James 1st 319 

Charles 1st 323, 324 

Ramsey Abbey, History of, ^ •••••% v • 306 

Abbot of, obstructs the Navigation at 

Houghton 188, 190, 193 

Record Chamber 296 

Recorders, list of, ••••••.•••••. • » • . • » ^ 163 

Right-Close, writ of, 81 

Road to Huntingdon, antient state of, 361 

new 373 

Rood Loft 290 

Romans conquer the Britons 7 

abandon them to the Picts and Scots • . • 11 



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xxxii INDEX. 

Page 

Roman Roads 19 

Watch Tower 30 

Royal Seals (note) 149 

Titles (note) 96 

St. Ives Staunch, built by Arnold Spencer 208 

Saxon Heptarchy established 12 

School, Free Grammar, of Queen Elizabeth, 336 

of Industry for Girls 355 

New School of Industry for Girls 359 

Seal, Godmanchester Corporation, Title-page, 151, 179 

Seals, common, of Towns and Manors 136, 151 

SheriflTs toum > 122 

held in Godmanchester . • 119 

Sockmen 74 

Stocks and Pillory to be kept in manors 124 

Surrender and Seisin •• 83 

Tale, payments in,. . . • 68, 155 

Tenures, various, • 72 

Tenths, Ecclesiastical 236 

Tithing, antient custom of, 242 

Tithes, allotments of Land in lieu of, 246 

Tower and Steeple, Church, 304, 313 

Tokens, Local, • 360 

Tolls, customary,. • • • 103 

Freedom from, as tenants in antient demesne . . 100 

Appendix, No. 5 xiii 

to the Tenants of the Dutchy of Lan- 
caster, 113 

exemplification of 128 

Valor Ecclesiasticus r 235. 239 

Vicarage instituted 228 

value of, A.D. 1291 232 

1534 ... 240 

1822 281 

augmented by a Rent-charge from the Rectory, . . 281 

Vicars of Godmanchester, list of, 283 

Villeins and ViUenage 13, 62, 65 

Waltheof, Earl of Huntingdon, 35 

William of Godmanchester, Abbot of Ramsey, Life of, ... . 373 

Wills, extracts from antient, 253 

Witton given to Ramsey Abbey , 191 



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LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 



Adeane, H. J.^ Esq., M.P., Babraham Hall One Royal 

Asliton^ Miss, Huntingdon One Royal 

Ashton, O., Esq. 4 Cambridge One Royal 

Aold, Robert, Esq., Scottish Hall^ Crane Court, London One Demy 

Bailey, Robert, Esq., Temple, London One Royal 

Balls, T. M., Esq., 61, Coleman Street, London One Demy 

Banks^ John, M.D., Louth One Royal 

Barratt, H. T., Esq., Huntingdon One Royal 

Barratt, Joseph, Esq., Bath « One Royal 

Barratt, Charles, Esq., Exchequer Office, London One Royal 

Bates, S. Esq., Godmanchester One Royal 

Baumgartner, J. T., M.D., Godmanchester One Royal 

Beart, Robert, Esq., Godmanchester One Royal 

Bedford Leyel, the Honorable the Corporation of the, Two Royal 

Bird, Mr., Huntingdon One Royal 

Bourn, Mrs., Grantham One Royal 

Braham, Rey. S., Chaplain to his R. H. the Duke of Sussex, > ^ „ , 

Vicar of Willesborough, Kent, Canon of Canterbury 5 ^ 

Brett, Mr. Surgeon, One Royal 

Brown, Rev. G. A., Trinity College, Cambridge One Royal 

Caniogton, Wm., Esq., Shefford, Beds. One Demy 

C arter, Mr., Huntingdon One Demy 

Chichester, the Lord Bishop of, One Royal 

Christmas, Mr., Godmanchester One Demy 

Coleman, Mr., Godmanchester One Demy 

Cooch, S.R, Esq., Huntingdon One Demy 

Cooke, Mr., Huntingdon One Demy 

Daintree, J. C, Esq., Fen Drayton One Royal 

Davis, Rev. H. L., Papworth One Royal 

Day, G. G., Esq., Solicitor, St Ives Six Royal 

Drakard, Mr., Stamford One Royal 

Edwards, Rev. E., Rector of Offord Cluny, and Vicar of All > q^^ j^^^ 

Saints, Huntingdon . . . « • 5 

Ekin, Mr., Cambridge One Royal 

Falkner, Mrs., Godmanchester One Demy 



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XXXIV LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 

Fawkes, William, Esq., Somershara One Demy 

Fell, Rev. J., Huntingdon, Rector of Wilberton, Cambridgeshire One Royal 

Fisher, Fr., Esq., Town Clerk, Doncastcr One Royal 

Fox, Mrs., Huntingdon One Royal 

Fox, Mr., Stamford One Royal 

Fox, Miss, Huntingdon One Royal 

Fox, John, Esq., Old Jewry, London One Royal 

Fox, Mr., Ballington, Essex One Demy 

Fox, Mr. Thomas, Oodmanchester , One Demy 

Fox, Mr. G. M., Huntingdon One Demy 

Fox, Mr., Newgate Street, London One Royal 

Franks, Mr., Oodmanchester One Royal 

French, Mr., Oodmanchester One Demy 

Oadsby, Mr., Oodmanchester One Demy 

Oermas, Monsieur, Huntingdon One Demy 

Ooggs, Mr., Huntingdon One Royal 

Goodliffe, Mr., Woodwalton, Hunts One Royal 

Goodrick, Mr., Huntingdon One Demy 

Gray, Rer. H., Vicar of Oodmanchester One Royal 

Hall, William, Esq., Leyton, Essex ■ One Royal 

Harding, Rey. Mr., Kent One Royal 

Harper, Mr., Huntingdon One Demy 

Harratt, Mr. William, Huntingdon One Demy 

Hatfield, Mr. Weston, Cambridge One Royal 

Heathcote, John, Esq., Connington One Demy 

Hodgson, Lieutenant, Oodmanchester One Demy 

Holmes, Captain, Camberwell One Demy 

Howson, Mr., Huntingdon One Demy 

Howson, Mr. James, Huntingdon One Demy 

Howson, Mr. E., Huntingdon One Demy 

Hulme, John, Esq., Manchester One Demy 

Hunneybun, Martin, Esq., Solicitor One Royal 

Hyland, Mr, Huntingdon One Demy 

Inskip, Mr. T., Shefford, Beds One Royal 

James, H. O., Esq., Huntingdon One Demy 

Johnson, Mr., Stamford One Demy 

Knight, J., Esq., Milton, Cambridgeshire . . * One Royal 



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LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. XJ^XV 

Lancaster, Mr., Godmanchester One Demy 

Larke, Mr., Huntingdon One Demy 

Lascelles, Rev. Mr., Cambridge One Royal 

Last, Mr., Organist, Huntingdon One Royal 

Laundy, Mr. Edward, Godmanchester One Royal 

Mangles, Martin, Esq., Brampton One Demy 

Margetts, Rey. H., Vicar of Saint Mary's, Huntingdon. ....... One Demy 

Margetts, Messrs., Huntingdon One Demy 

Martin, Edward, Esq., Godmanchester One Royal 

Martin, D., Esq., Godmanchester One Royal 

Maule, Rev. H., Huntingdon One Demy 

Maule, O. F., Esq., Solicitor, Huntingdon One Royal 

Maxwell, Mr., Godmanchester , One Demy 

Meek, John, Esq., Old Jewry, London One Royal 

Milton, Lord Viscount J 2°® 5°^^ 

t Two Demy 

Mollineaux, Captain, Godmanchester One Royal 

Montague, — , Esq., Surgeon, Thrapston One Royal 

Moseley, Henry, Esq., Margate One Royal 

Musgrove, Mrs., Huntingdon One Royal 

Negus, Edward, Esq One Royal 

Oliver, Henry, Esq., Stilton One Royal 

Osbom, Lord Francis Godolphin, M.P., Gog-Magog Hills, Cambs. One Demy 

Parsons, Rev. H., Hemingford One Demy 

Pettinger, Miss, Godmanchester One Demy 

Phillips, Sir R., Knt, Chelsea One Demy 

Pocock, Mr. Jamesi Huntingdon , One Demy 

Price, John, Esq., Solicitor, Huntingdon One Royal 

Prjrme, Professor, Cambridge Otie Demy 

Reily, J. Esq One Royal 

Robertson, Mrs., Theatre, Lincoln One Demy 

Robertson, William, Esq., Grantham One Royal 

Rogers, J., Esq., Alderman of Grantham. . . ., One Royal 

Rooper, Rev. T., Abbotts Ripton, Hunts One Royal 

Rooper, J. B., Esq , M.P., Abbotts Ripton One Royal 

Rooper, Rev. W., Ripton] , One Royal 

Rowley, D., Esq., St. Neots One Demy 



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XXXVi LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 

Sandwich, The Right Hon. the Earl of One Royal 

Smyth, Rev. F.^ Godmanchester One Demy 

Standley, R P., Esq., Paxton Place, Hunts. . . .* | ^°^ ^^^f 

Strangward, Mr., Oodmanchester One Demy 

Strathavon, Lord, Ortnn Hall, Hunts Two Royal 

Storton, John, Esq., Alconbory One Royal 

Storton, Mr. William, Surgeon One Demy 

Sweeting, Henry, Esq., Huntingdon, Recorder of Oodmanchester One Royal 
Sweeting, John, Esq., Huntingdon One Royal 

Taylor, Rey. Richard, Coyeney One Royal 

Taylor, Mr. O., John-street, Bedford-row, London One Royal 

Thackeray, Frederick, M.D., Cambridge One Royal 

Theed, Rey. E., Rector of Fletton, Hunts One Royal 

Theed, William, Esq., Hilton One Royal 

Thompson, J. S., Esq., Hilton One Demy 

Toller, Mrs., St Neots, Hunts. One Demy 

Tulloch, Mr., Huntingdon One Demy 

Turner, Richard, Esq., Grantham One Royal 

Veasey, William, Esq., Peterboro' , One Demy 

Veasey, David, Jun., Esq., Huntingdon. . . . • One Demy 

Yyse, , Esq., Surgeon, Stilton One Royal 

Walton, Mr., Wennington One Demy 

Walker, Mrs. One Royal 

Ward, W., Esq., Surgeon, Huntingdon One Royal 

Warner, Mr. R., Fleckney One Royal 

Watson, J. H., Esq., Solicitor, London One Royal 

Wells, Samuel, Esq., Register of the Bedford Level Corporation Two Royal 

White, Rev. J. Buckden One Demy 

Wilson, Jonah, Esq., Huntingdon One Royal 

Winter, T., Esq., Solicitor, Grantham One Royal 

Winter, T., Esq., Lincoln One Royal 

Wing, John, Esq., Solicitor, Wisbech One Royal 

Wright, Mr., Godmanchester . . One Demy 



FINIS. 



PRINTBD BT GEORGE TATLOB, 
LITTLE JAMES.8TRKET, GRAY'S INN. 



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