A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



14th century, varied according to the thrifty or 

 festive tendencies of the times, but rose steadily 

 in the l8th century from ^30 in 1745 to £105 in 

 1801, [J2.2.Q in 1814, and ^^350 in 1829, when the 

 tide turned.-* In 1835 it was ^^150. No doubt the 

 increase was partly due to the difficulty of inducing 

 members of the corporation to accept an office which 

 entailed so much expenditure on ' treats ' and 

 ' feasts.''* The mayor and ex-mayors or aldermen 

 had much the same functions as the mayor and his 

 council had had before 1489.'*' Under the charter of 

 1489 they nominated the Forty Eight, and thus com- 

 pletely controlled the personnel of the corporation. ^ 

 They appointed all the corporation officials that 

 were not elected by the assembly, such as coroners, 

 chamberlains, constables, Serjeants and beadles, 

 searchers and tasters for the trades, collectors of 

 rents, the town clerk and the steward. They ad- 

 ministered a variety of charities, and their preferen- 

 tial treatment of candidates of their own poKtical 

 colour was noted severely in 1835.^ Finally they de- 

 cided when the assembly should be summoned. In 

 the 17th century the court of the mayor and aldermen 

 met fortnightly ; in the 1 8th century less frequently, 

 and the business was almost entirely confined to the 

 fiUing of offices, the dealing with charity property, 

 and the calling of assemblies. 



The two baihffs, elected annually from the com- 

 pany of the Forty Eight by the whole assemblv, 

 became members for fife of the body of ex-haihffs, 

 from wliom as a rule the mayor was chosen. They 

 received as their allowance the rent of a river meadow 

 known as the Bailiffs' Hook, which amounted in 

 1835 to £31 a year, and had then been recently 

 supplemented by a grant of 50 guineas.' Their 

 functions had come to be almost purely administrative 

 and fiscal, as the Court of Record where they sat 

 became less and less important. They were still 

 responsible for the payment of the fee farm, for the 

 arrangement of fairs and markets, and for the collec- 

 tion of tolls. They also supervised the keeping of 

 watch and ward and the upkeep of the walls till 1662.* 

 They impanelled juries and executed the writs of 

 central and local justices, the corporation success- 

 fully upholding its right to exclude the sheriff's action 

 in this matter.* 



The Forty Eight, nominated for life by the mayor 

 and aldermen from the body of freemen, served as a 

 pool from wliich the baihffs could be chosen.* They 

 could be displaced by a vote of the assembly.' With 

 the mayor and aldermen, the baihffs and ex-baiUffs, 

 they made up the common council or assembly, 

 which elected the mayor, the recorder, and the 

 bailiffs, and other corporation officials,' admitted 

 freemen, leased corporation property, and passed 

 ordinances or bye laws, though this form of activity 



practically ceased in the 1 8th century, when they had 

 come to take very little thought for the general well- 

 being of the town.* The contrast between the earlier 

 and later Assembly Books well reflects the narrowdng 

 of interests. 



Of the other town officials the Recorder was first in 

 dignity. He is first mentioned in 1478 as the person 

 before whom, with the coroners, the mayor was to 

 be sv/orn in at Northampton, instead of going up 

 to the Exchequer.'" The charter of 1495 provided 

 that the assembly should every year elect a discreet 

 man learned in the law as Recorder, to serve as a 

 justice of the peace for the borough, and be one of 

 the quorum of three, with power to hear and deter- 

 mine all felonies and trespasses committed within 

 the town.'* The office was as a rule held for life, 

 and the first recorded election (in 1568), was made by 

 the mayor and aldermen.*^ As the influence of the 

 county over the town increased, it became customary 

 to appoint some neighbouring gentleman, who often 

 served as knight of the shire or member for the 

 borough. The first honorary appointment seems to 

 have been the election in 1642 of the Earl of Man- 

 chester, a member of the family of Montagu of 

 Boughton, ' for various favours shown by him to the 

 town, and especially for having provided for its 

 defence,'^* and thenceforward the work of the office 

 seems to have been done by a deputy-recorder. 

 In 1671, the assembly elected the Earl of Peterborough 

 as Recorder, but the next year the new mayor, a 

 county gentleman, induced them to replace him 

 by the Earl of Northampton.^* For this discourtesy 

 to a royal favourite the mayor was summoned before 

 the Privy Council, and rebuked by the King, who, 

 however, allowed the election to stand.'* The Earl of 

 Northampton was formally re-elected every year until 

 his death, .ind was a most valuable friend to North- 

 ampton in forwarding tlie Bill for the rebuilding of 

 the town after the fire of 1675. When the earl begged 

 the King to delay the prorogation of parhament for 

 half an hour or so that the Bill might pass, Charles 

 observed : ' My lord, I do much wonder you should 

 be so kind to the town of Northampton which in the 

 time of the wars were so unkind to my lord of North- 

 ampton, your father.''" The earl replied : ' If it may 

 please your Majesty, I forgive them,' and the King 

 said : ' My lord, if you forgive them, I shall do the 

 same.'" On Northampton's death, however, the town 

 was forced to accept Peterborough until 1688, when 

 the recordership became, in practice, hereditary in the 

 Compton family, till the death of the last Earl of 

 Northampton in 1828. The position then ceased to be 

 honorary, and a working lawyer was appointed.'* The 

 most distinguished of tlie deputy-recorders of North- 

 ampton had been Spencer Perceval, who held the office 

 from 1787-1807, gave legal opinion and advice to the 



•' DtiTo. Ret. ii, 41-2. 



** In 1694 eight person! in succession 

 were elected .is maynr and paid the fine of 

 j^io rather than serve. Boro, Rrr, ii, 37. 



••• For the mayor's oath see Boro. Rec. 

 ii, ;3i,or Add. MS. Brit. Mu«. 34308,(0. 

 10 d. 



' For the aldermen's oath, see Add. 

 MS. 3430S, fo. 15. 



'Far!. Paperi, 1835, vol. xxv. p. 1978. 



• Ibid. p. 1967. 



* For the bailiffs' oath, see Boto. Rec. ii, 

 533, or Add. MS. 34308, fo. 1 1 d. 



'Assembly Books, 20 April 1612. 10 

 May 1722. 



• For oath of Forty Eight, see Add. MS. 

 14308, fo. 20. 



'Assembly Book, 2 May, 1778. 



• The distribution of patronage between 

 the common council and the mayor and 

 aldermen varied from time to time. Sec 

 Boro. Rec. ii, 49, 



• Pari. Paperi, 1835, vol. xxv, pp. 1967, 



"■ Boro. Rec. i, 

 " Ibid, i, 104. 



94. 



" Ibid, ii, 104. 



'= //is(. MSS. Com. Rep. viii, app. 2, 

 p. 59n. 



'• I.ee, Coll. p. 118. 



" Boro. Rec. ii, 107. 



" The second earl was killed in a 

 skirmish in 1643, and the parliamen- 

 tarians refused to give up his body to 

 his son. 



" Lee, Coll. p. I2t. 



" For the recorder's oath, see Boro. 

 Rec. i, 392. 



H 



