BOROUGH OF NORTHAMPTON 



the understanding that each party returned one 

 candidate was terminated * and another tierce contest 

 took place. The corporation supported the Tory 

 interest energetically, and in 1826 went so far as to 

 vote j([i,ooo out of the borough funds towards the 

 expenses of a candidate in the ministerial interest : an 

 action condemned by the commissioners of 1835, but 

 falling far short of the party excesses of the Leicester 

 corporation.' In 1768 the number of townsmen 

 claiming votes was 1 170, and some 900 were allowed to 

 poll. In 1784 908 voted, in 1790 893,* and in 1818 

 1,287.' T'^*^ number of electors under the Reform 

 Act of 1832 was 2,497.* The last notable episode in 

 the parUamentary history of Northampton was con- 

 nected with Charles Bradlaugh. After two unsuccess- 

 ful candidatures, he was elected M.P. for Northampton 

 in 1 880. He was unseated on his refusal to take the 

 oath administered to members, and was re-elected by 

 the borough four times— in 1881, 1S82, 1884 and 1885. 

 Finally, in 1886, he was allowed to sit, and he remained 

 one of the burgesses until his death in 1891.^ By the 

 Representation of the People Act in 191 8, the borough 

 representation was reduced from two to one. The 

 borough was represented by Miss Margaret Bondfield 

 in the parhament of 1923-24. 



In 1086 the sum payable to the sheriff by the 

 burgesses was ^£30 los. ; in 11 30 the sheriff accounted 

 for ;£ioo at the Exchequer; and in 1185 the Jirma 

 burgi WIS fixed at ;(^120. The burgesses had difficulty 

 in paying this and they appear to have been badly in 

 arrears at the beginning of the reign of Henry III, so 

 that in 1227 the town was taken into the king's hand'" 

 and a cuJtos appointed. '* In 1334 the town applied in 

 vain for a reduction of the farm,'^ but in 1462 

 Edward IV remitted ^^20 of it for the next twenty 

 years, a period extended later.** In 1484 Richard III 

 increased the relief to 50 marks,** but Henry VII 

 reduced it again to ;£22.*' Under a grant of 1 5 14 the 

 farm was permanently fixed at ;^98,'* as it is to-day. 

 It has been assigned from time to time to different 

 persons, such as Robert de Crevequer in 1301," and 

 Roger de Beauchamp in 1338.** From 1351 

 ^66 13/. 4<i. of it has been payable to the Dean and 

 Chapter of Windsor,*' and the remaining £^l 6s. Sd. 

 is paid to Mr. George Finch, the representative of the 

 earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham.^" 



By acquiring the Jirma burgi, the burgesses acquired 

 the right of collecting the burgage-rents hitherto 

 payable to the king. Early deeds frequently describe 

 tenements held de pripositura ville. It is not always 

 clear whether the rents are included in the farm, or 

 whether in some cases the baiUffs are collecting them 

 on the king's behalf and accounting for them separately 

 at the Exchequer. Thus Hugh Gobion is said to 

 hold his land in chief of the king by the service of 2s. 

 payable yearly at the Exchequer by the hands of the 



prepositura of Northampton,^* whilst Richard Gobion 

 ' holds his land of the King in chief by burgage, 

 p.iying 15/. 41^. to the prepositura of Northampton 

 towards the faim of the said town.'^- In a survey of 

 1 291 of nine iiouses lately held by Jews in Northamp- 

 ton, three are said to be held de prepositura'^^ — one in 

 the Corn Row, one in the Market Place, and one not 

 specified. The rents are Sd., is. and 8(/., and in two 

 of the three instances payments are due to other 

 persons as well. In 1 361 Hawise le Botiller {nee 

 Gobion) is said to have held 8 shops in Northampton, 

 as burgage of the town, rendering to the king iid. 

 yearly towards the farm of the town.^'' The petition 

 of 1334 refers to rents that go to make up the fee farm 

 of the town,^^ and another petition in which North- 

 ampton joined with four otlier towns in 1376 shows 

 that several burgesses who held burgages of the king 

 had so wasted their land that the rents were not forth- 

 coming for the payment of the borough farm.^' In 

 1467 the rents due for the stalls in the market are 

 described as the king's, and also as the property of 

 the suitors to the town court, and they were collected 

 by the biihffs, ' fee farmers to the King within tlxis 

 town.'^' When purpresturcs were presented, it was 

 not uncommon for the encroacher to be allowed to 

 keep the land usurped, paying for it a rent to the 

 prepositura in aid of the Jirma burgi.^^ In 1 391 the 

 mayor and chamberlains are expressly given power to 

 let to farm all waste places, for rents to be paid to 

 them for the town.^' Sixteen such holdings were 

 let out by them in 1439.^ Much property had come 

 into the hands of the town by the close of the Middle 

 Ages, and by the name of ' The Chamber lands ' was 

 confirmed to the town by the charter of 1599.'* 



The condition of the town of North,;mpton in 

 1504 is shown by a rental^*' in which the town 

 is divided into streets with the lanes running off 

 on either side, into market rows and districts. Pro- 

 bably the most important area was ' Swinwel-strete,' 

 now Derngate, which was apparently the residential 

 quarter, and included the manor of Gobions and the 

 Grange. The latter, which formerly belonged to 

 Thomas Latimer, was late of Thomas Tresham, 

 and then held by John Chauncy. It included land 

 next the postern called Derngate and other adjoining 

 land. Property here belonged to the chapel of Blessed 

 Mary the Virgin in All Saints Church, and to the 

 fraternity of Holy Trinity. There were inns called 

 ' le Crown,' ' le BeU,' ' le Tabard,' and ' le BuUe,' 

 and a house called ' le Blakhall.' St. Giles Street, 

 which extended to the town wall, was mostly in- 

 habited by tradesmen, bakers and fullers and Adam 

 ' le Garlikemonger.' In Abingdon (Habyngdon) 

 Street, leading to the East Gate, was a quarry. In 

 St. Sepulchre's Lane, now probably Church Lane, 

 was a house formerly of Thomas Tresham, then in the 



* Pari. Papers, 1835, vol. xxv, p. 1976. 



• Ibid. p. 1977 J BoTo. Rec. ii, 511. 



* Poll Booki, printed at Northampton 

 in ume years. 



' Boro. Rec. ii, 509. 



' Pari. Paprri, 1835, vol. xiv, p. 1965. 



• Did. Nat. Biog. 



'» Mem. R. (K.R.) 8, -n. i d. 

 " Cat. Pal. 1225-32, p. 171. 

 >• Pari R. ii, 85. 



'• Cat. Pal. 1461-7, p. 187 J ibid. 1476- 

 85, p. 99. 



" Ibid. 1476-85, p. 434. 



" Boro. Rec. i, 202. 



"Ibid, i, 113. 



" Cat. Pal. 1292-1301, p. 610. 



" Ibid. 1338-40, p. 17. 



" Ibid. 1350-4, p. 174. 



•" Information from the town clerk. 



" Cat. Inq. ii, 78. The grant to his 

 father merely says 2S. payable at the 

 Exchequer. Roi. Carl. p. 93. 



" Chan. Inq. Ed. I, ptf. loi, no. 2. 



'* Extents and Surveys, 143. 



»' Col. Fine, 1356-68, p. 150. 



» Pari. R. ii, 85. 



19 



" Ibid, ii, 348. 



" Boro. Rec. i, 308. 



•' Assize R. 635, m 67 d. 



" Boro. Rec. i, 251. 



" Northampt. Corp. Deeds, Press C. 

 48. 



" Boro. Rec. \, 123. 



"» Recently discovered in the Andrewr 

 Collection of MSS. of Lt. Col. Packe, 

 M.V.O.,who has presented it (1929) to the 

 Mayor and Corporation of Northampton 

 to be placed with the Borough Records, of 

 which it originally formed part. 



