BOROUGH OF NORTHAMPTON 



working in the 14th century, shared by Northampton 

 with Leicester, Oxford, Stamford and Nottingham.'" 

 Nevertheless, Northampton, as we have seen, had its 

 own seal for the cloth subsidy. James Hart, writing 

 in 1633, speaks of the ruins of great buildings once 

 employed in the clothing trade,'* but the only building 

 recorded is the Wool Hall, and 14th century notices 

 of Northampton refer rather to the wool trade than 

 to the dotli industry. In 1274 six burgesses had been 

 presented for exporting wool to foreign parts, contrary 

 to the king's prohibition, one being responsible for 

 68 and another for 80 sacks. ^^ Northampton sent four 

 of its merchants to the merchants' assembly of 1337 

 which formed the syndicate that cornered the wool of 

 England for the benefit of Edward III,'* ana there are 

 other indications of a wool trade of some importance.'* 

 But in its «n3ol trade no less than its cloth trade it was 

 completely outdistanced by other towns and counties 

 of England.'* 



The frequent presence of the king and court must 

 have stimulated various other crafts besides the 

 textile. In 1224, when besieging Bedford, Henry 

 was able to call on the smiths of Northampton for 

 4,000 quarrels, well headed and feathered, and for 

 150 good pickaxes." Two cartloads of Gloucester 

 iron were also to be sent from Northampton to 

 Bedford for the king's works there. Hides, both 

 white and tanned, were demanded, and with them two 

 saddlers with their craftsmen for making targes." 

 The trades mentioned in 1274 not concerned with the 

 clothing or leather industries were mostly victualling ; 

 vintners, spicers, mustarders, fishmongers." A gold- 

 smith is mentioned in 1233 ; '* a tanner and a parch- 

 ment maker in 1247.*' In 1325 37 pairs of shoes and 

 two of boots were stolen from one shop ;2' and there 

 were a Tanner's Street, a Glovery, a Saddlery and a 

 " Cordwauria " near All Saints' in 1332.^ In the 

 eyre roll of 1329 there is mention of weavers, skinners, 

 barbers, dyers, tailors, shearmen, brewers, taverners, 

 garlic-mongers (or aillours), masons, cordwainers, 

 cobblers, curriers, and a romonqeour?^ 



Amongst the economic ingredients of medieval 

 Northampton, the Jews ought not to be overlooked. 

 Jews of Northampton occur on the Pipe Rolls from 

 1 1 70,** and there was an anti-Semitic riot here in 1190 

 which St. Hugh intervened to check.^ In 1 194 

 Northampton with 39 Jews comes fifth on the hst of 

 English towns with Jewries, after London (112), 

 Lincoln (82), Norwich (42), and Gloucester (40).** 



In that year a chest was set up at Northampton, as 

 elsewhere, for the deposit of Jewish bonds and deeds, 

 and two Jews and two Christians appointed as custo- 

 dians. Henry III commanded in 1237, not for the 

 first time, that no Jew hould live in Northampton- 

 shire outside the king's town of Northampton,*' and 

 showed his sense of responsibility for them by his 

 command to the leading burgesses in June 1264 to 

 protect the Jews who had taken refuge in the castle 

 during the disorders of the spring.** Some of the 

 Jews who had deposited their chattels with Christians 

 for safe-keeping in the emergency found it difficult to 

 recover them later.*' The Plea Rolls of the Jewish 

 Exchequer shew us the Jews of Northampton acting 

 as bankers for both town and -ounty. Burgesses 

 like Robert son of Henry or Robert of Leicester 

 borrowed money from them at the illegal rate of \od. 

 a week in the pound ;^ knights of the shire, Uke 

 Robert de Pavely of Paulers Pury or Hugh de 

 Chanceaux of Upton, pledged their manors to them." 

 In the 1 3th century the Jewish community in North- 

 ampton must have been shrinking steadily. A 

 number of houses once possessed by Jews in North- 

 ampton are mentioned as being granted by the king 

 to other persons, such as to the Master of the Temple 

 in 1215,'* the earl of Winchester in 1218,^ Philip 

 Marc in 1219,'* Stephen de Scgrave in 1229,** and 

 Robert de Mara in 1248.3' In 1277 the Northampton 

 Jews were charged with a ritual murder,*' and in 1278 

 a general attack on them for clipping and forging coin 

 led to the execution and forfeiture of many Northamp- 

 ton Jews.** A series of grants of houses once belong- 

 ing to Jews are enrolled on the Charter Roll 1280- 

 1286.** When the Jews were finally expelled in 1290 

 the inquest into their houses, rents and tenements 

 showed that 5 houses were held in Northampton by five 

 separate Jews, and the community of the Jews held 

 a synagogue, two houses near its entry, two houses 

 outside the north gate and a burial ground.*" A later 

 document suggests that the synagogue of the Jews, 

 granted to the Abbot of St. James in 1 291,*' lay in 

 Silver Street.** Other Jews' houses are described as 

 Iving in the Corn Row,** in the market place,** in 

 Larttwychene,*^ in Berewardstrete,** in the Corne- 

 chepyng,*' whilst Henry Lee describes as Jewish 

 three houses standing before the fire of 1675, one near 

 the Red Lion in the Horsemarket, one near the Ram 

 in the Sheepmarket, and one in Silver Street.** The 

 Jewish community then were not confined to one 



" Etig. Hist. Rev. xxxix, 22. 



" Hart, Diet cj the Dneased, p. 149. 



'• Rot. HunJ. ii, 4. 



'* Unwin, Finance and Trade under 

 Edward 11 Jj p. 189. 



'* Woolmonger Street is mentioned 

 1329 (Aiiize R. 635, m. 67 d.) A bond of 

 I3i9i> extant for the delivery of a half- 

 tack of good ewes* wool by a Northampton 

 merchant to a man of Ashby St. Ledgers. 

 Anct. D. (P.R.O.) A. 9616. 



'• Eng. Hilt. Rev. xxxix, p. 34 ; Pari. R. 



». ^75- 

 " Roi. Litt. Clam, i, 612, 613, 615. 

 " Ibid, i, 606. 

 " Rot. Hund. ii, 1-5. 

 '• Anct. D. (P.R.O.) C. 2280. 

 «• Assize R. 614 B. m. 48. 

 " Ibid. 635, m. 64. 

 "Add. Ch. 61 17. 

 " Assize R. 635, mm. 61-70. 

 •* Jacobs, Jeui oj Angevin England, p. 73 



" y.C.H. Nvrihanu. ii, 11. 



"Jacobs, op. cit. pp. 378 381. In 

 1255 the relative position of Northamp- 

 ton was a good deal lower ; the share of 

 the Northampton Jewry in the tallage 

 of that year was equal to that of Bedford 

 and Bristol, and below those of Oxford, 

 Worcester, Winchester, York and Canter- 

 bury. Cat. Pat. 1247-58, p. 443. 



•' Cat. Close, 1234-7, p. 425. 



" Cal. Pat. 1258-66, p. 320-1. The 

 baronial party was re sponsible for massacres 

 of Jews at London and Canterbury in 

 April 1264. Annal. Mon. (Rolls Set.), iii, 

 230 ; Liber de Ant. Leg. p. 62. 



»• Rigg, Cal. PUa R. of Exc. oj Jews, 



V- '9'- 



•• Ibid. pp. 34, 39. 



"Ibid. pp. 114, 287; Cal. Pat. 

 1266-72, p. 534. 



" Rot. Litt. Claui. i, 196. 



" Ibid, i, 366. 



27 



» Ibid, i, 386. 



" Cal. Close, 1227-31, p. 276. 



" Ibid. 1247-51, p. 130. 



>' y.C.n. Northanls. ii, 13. 



"Annal. Mon. (Rolls Ser.), iii, 279; 

 Cal. Pat 1272-81, p. 362. 



»• Chart. R. 73, mm. 2, 3, 4 ; 7+ m- 4 i 

 75 m. 2. 



'" Extents and Surveys, 143, 1-2, no. 40. 

 See Cal. Pal. 1281-92, p. 381, for safe 

 conduct oversea to a Northampton Jew 

 mentioned in the Extent. 



" Cal. Pat. 1313-17, p. 199. 



" Cox and Serjeantson, Hist, of Cb. of 

 Holy Sepulchre, Nortbampl., p. 126. 



" Extents and Surreys, 143, 1-2, no. 

 40. 



" Ibid. 



" Ibid. 



" Chart. R. 74, m. 4. 



•' Cal. Pat. 1358-61, p. 211. 



♦' Lee, Coll. p. 95. 



