A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



shows that non-residents held the freedom as well as 

 residents." Certain judicial privileges of freemen are 

 mentioned ; the right to wage a single-handed law,'* 

 and exemption for the first year from service on 

 juries. '' Further regulations are found on the 

 assembly books when these begin. All members of 

 crafts could be made free of the borough by paying 

 zos.*** From 1606 there are lists of freemen from year 

 to year, as they were enrolled, down to 1833,*! and from 

 these it would appear that the fee for a freeman's son 

 was 3s. 4d., for an apprentice who had fulfilled his 

 term ids., and for an outsider ^5, in 1606. The fee for 

 outsiders was raised later. The freedom was granted 

 free to various deserving persons, and outsiders 

 marrying freemen's widows were admitted at a 

 reduced fee. In 1835*^ the commissioners found that 

 freedom could be acquired in five ways : by birth — 

 fee ^l 23. ; by marriage — fee ^^8 ^s. ; by apprentice- 

 ship — iee £1 15s. 6d. ; by purchase — feej^i5 4S. ; and 

 by gift. The freeman's oath, of loyalty to the King, 

 obedience to the mayor, contribution to town charges, 

 and keeping of the peace, is given in a 1 6th century 

 form in the iii^r Ca/;wOTrtrH?H.'' The assembly books 

 of 1568 give examples of the enforcement of these 

 duties on persons who had failed to keep their oaths 

 ' taken at the time of their admission to the freedom 

 of the town.'** A 17th century version of the oath 

 in the British Museum custumal adds the words 

 ' You shall take no apprentice for any less term than 

 seven years, by indenture, which indenture you shall 

 cause to be made by the town clerk . . . and enrolled 

 at the next court of hustings after his binding.''^ 

 This clause was cut out of the freeman's oath by a 

 resolution of the assembly on 2 May 1778. From 1660 

 to 1733 freemen, whether resident or not, had the 

 parliamentary vote ; after 1733 only residents could 

 vote. Up to 1796 the freemen still had the monopoly 

 of trade, but the privilege was dropped in the new 

 charter of that year. In 1835 ^^^ town clerk estimated 

 the number of freemen at about 400.** 



The town assembly, consisting presumably of the 

 whole body of freemen or probi homines, was held from 

 very early limes, according to Henry Lee,*' in the 

 churchyard of St. Giles for the election of the town 

 officials, and in St. Giles' churcji, according to the 

 Liber Cusliimarum, for the passing of municipal legisla- 

 tion.*® It was apparently summoned by the mayor, 

 and met on any day of the week except Saturday, the 

 market day, and only rarely on Monday, the meeting 

 day. As at Leicester and Chester,*' the meeting 

 about St. Denys' day seems to have been especially 

 important for craft business.™ In the 14th century 

 the assembly is described as a congregation, consisting 

 of the mayor, the Twenty Four, and the whole com- 

 monalty of the town.'* In the 15th century it is also 



called a colloquium generate and a comyn semble.''* In one 

 case it is said that the mayor and the Twenty-Four 

 made certain provisions and ordinances at the special 

 petition of the commonalty,'* and it seems probable 

 that the ' commonalty ' did not retain much initiative. 

 On another occasion the commonalty confirms in 

 December an ordinance made by the mayor in Septem- 

 ber.'* Important craft ordinances were passed by 

 the mayor and his council without reference to the 

 assembly.'* 



The assembly was to lose its popular character on 

 the pretext of its disorderly conduct, but there is 

 evidence of disputes within the town government 

 itself at an earlier date. In the eyre of 1329 complaint 

 was made that WilUam de Tekne (mayor 1309-10 and 

 1 3 14-15)'* and Wilham de Burgo, the town clerk, 

 had by colour of their office levied sums of money 

 from certain ex-baiUffs, broken into the common 

 chest, taken the common seal and sealed with it the 

 quittances which they gave to the bailiffs, thus de- 

 frauding the whole community. The jury, however, 

 acquitted the accused, saying that they had opened 

 the chest by the consent of the whole town because 

 of important affairs touching the welfare of the whole 

 community, and had not converted any of the town 

 funds to their own use." Again in 1326 or 1327 a 

 number of burgesses, some of whom were later mayors 

 of the town, making a confederacy with a convicted 

 clerk and a man in process of being outlawed, attacked 

 the mayor,VValter de PateshuU, who was also a coroner, 

 dragged him by the hair of his head out of his house, 

 and made him, in full court of Northampton, forswear 

 the office of coroner henceforth.'* Public opinion 

 seems to have been on the side of the rioters, for 

 though the deed was not denied, their substantial 

 fellow burgess John de Longue lalle" stood pledge 

 for five of the offenders and a royal pardon was forth- 

 coming for another.*" 



The medieval phase in the borough's constitutional 

 history ends not so much with the incorporation of 

 the town by the charter of 14 March 1459, by the 

 name of the mayor, bailiffs and burgesses of Northamp- 

 ton,*' as with the passing of the act of 1489. This act 

 was almost certainly the result of the concerted action 

 of Leicester and Northampton. There is much 

 to make such joint action natural. There are several 

 later instances of the one borough seeking the other's 

 advice.** Commercial intercourse was close ; pay- 

 ments for entering tlic Leicester gild merchant were 

 made in Northampton fair, and Northampton mer- 

 chants traded at Leicester.*' Leicester, like North- 

 ampton, had 24 jurari originally elective ;** it had a 

 weekly portman moot with competence similar to 

 the Northampton husting ; its common hall corre- 

 sponded to the Northampton assembly.** By the 



•' Boro. Rrc. i, 274. •• Ibid, i, 136. 



" Ibifl. i, 263. 



•" Assembly Book, 13 Oct. 1559. 



*' Boro. Rtc, ii, 314-20. 



" Pari. Papert 1835, vol. xxv, p. 1968. 



" lioro. Rr:. i, 352. 

 ' Ibid, ii, 313. 



" Add MS. 34308, fo. 1 2d. 



*' Part. Papm, 1835, vol. xxv, p. 1969. 



"Top. MS. (Bodl. Lib.) Northanli, 

 C9. ColJcctioni of Henry Lcc. Town 

 Clerk of Northampton 1662-171;, p. 94. 

 Cited henceforth ai I.ee, Coll. 



•• Boro. Rtc. i, 237, 247, 249, 261, etc. 



" Batcson, Rec. Boro. 0/ Leics. i, xxx. 



"• Boro. Rec. i, 235, 290, 307. 



" Ibid, i, 26ij etc. 



" Ibid. i. 300, 291. 



'» Ibid, i, 275 (1437). 



" Ibid, i, 264. '» Ibid, i, 269. 



''Mem. R. (K. R.) 83, m. 79 d; 88, 

 m. 169. 



" Ai»ize R. 63;, m. 66 d. 



'* Ibid. m. 68 d. 



" Mayor in 1333, 1334, 1340. 



•*• Various other riots in the town are 

 mentioned about this date : in March 1314 

 an attempt to disturb the holding of an 



8 



AsBizc of Novel Disseisin, [Cal. Pat. 

 '3'3"'7>P' '4') 1 in Jan. 1328 a free fight 

 between the townsmen and Mortimcr'i 

 Welshmen {Cat. Pat. 1327-30, p. 423, 

 Assize R. 631;, m. 66d.) ; in March 1332 

 resist.'incc to Justices of oyer and terminer, 

 headed by the mayor and bailiffs (Cal. 

 Pat. 1330-34, p. 291). 



•' Boro. Rec. i, 85-8. 



" Bateson, Rec. 0/ Boro. of Leics. it , 

 •34,438,47'- Boro. Rec. W, \c)i. 



" Bateson, Rec. of Boro. of Ltict. i, 

 zxix, 2;o. 



" Ibid, i, 40-42. " Ibid, it, xlvi. 



