BOROUGH OF SOUTHAMPTON 



with some others, there can be no doubt that it had 

 started on its upward growth. Amid much decay of 

 town life at this period Southampton, in common 

 with the other few ports leading to the Continent, 

 showed distinct signs of prosperity. The growing 

 importance of the place may be seen in the number 

 of powerful barons and other wealthy folk who pos- 

 sessed houses or lands within its limits. 



After Domesday the earliest notices of the town 

 and its life occur in connexion with the payment and 

 administration of its fee-farm. 



The Pipe Rolls are the most valuable authority. 

 From the earliest extant of these which touches 

 Southampton the town was being farmed in n 56 by 

 Roger the son of Folcher, whose account for the 

 third part of a year stood thus : In the treasury, 

 jz5 2s. ; payment to the chaplain of the castle for 

 the last year, 1 $s. $.d., and for the present year by 

 writ, 9/. 8</. ; fixed payments to the porter and watch- 

 men, l<)s. \d. ; to John the controller, 1 " \f)s. \d. ; 

 transport service by king's writ, 2 Js. 6d. ; balance of 

 king's farm for third part of the year, 68 8/. loJ. 1K 

 In the next account, that of William Trentegeruns, 

 sheriff, 1 " fixed tenths amounting to lS a pay- 

 ment of much earlier origin were assigned to the 

 monks of Lire and Cormeilles, who already had houses 

 in the town free of dues ; and an annual assign- 

 ment of 1 3/. \d. was made in favour of the Templars, 

 who had only been introduced into England in 

 Stephen's reign. The usual payments go on to the 

 chaplain, porter, and watchmen of the castle ; for 

 transport of the king's treasure, cages for his hawks, 

 &c., in transport service of the king and queen ; for 

 the queen's board when she came from Normandy 

 (about February, 1157), and for the king's when he 

 came from Barfleur a couple of months later. The 

 next account of the same sheriff gives a settlement 

 during life of js. land tax on Wimarch, 1 ' 7 the mother 

 of Nicholas ; payment for the king's board at 

 Brockenhurst, 16 he had evidently been enjoying 

 himself in the New Forest ; payment for catching and 

 carrying the king's deer, for carriage of his wines 

 and various transports by his writ." 8 



For the next five years the ' vicecomitissa ' of 

 Rouen rendered account for the farm. In 1 1 60 the 

 queen's last passage cost 16 121. 6d., and a good 

 deal of wine was bought for her, 3 is. l</. 1!9 In 

 1163 the 'vicecomitissa' paid 8 15*. for the trans- 

 port of the king's cows, and lev. yd. for their keep 

 while here ; for wounded clerks, I zd. ; and for con- 

 ducting the king's daughter, 6s. 4^." For the next 

 five years three burgesses accounted for the farm 

 Roger son of Milo, Fortin, and Robert of St. Law- 

 rence 131 but towards the end of their time they 

 protested vigorously that they did not hold the town 

 at farm. In their second year (1165) the 'vicecomi- 

 tissa ' rendered her final account for the old farm 



(1,423 9/. za'.), and nothing further was to be 

 required of her. 132 In 1 1 66 there is payment for the 

 ' esnecca ' in which the king crossed in Lent, j Id/.; 

 the same sum is paid by writ for the passage of the king 

 of Scotland, while the Lord Geoffrey, the king's son, 

 requiring two ships, besides the ' esnecca,' drew on 

 the farm for i o. 13 * For the last quarter of 1167 

 Richard of Limesey took up the farm. 1 " At this 

 period a change occurs. When the fee-farm first 

 appears under Henry II it is the enormous sum of 

 300 'blanch,' a sum only equalled by that which 

 London had paid, and twice as large as was paid by 

 Winchester. But for whatever reason, from 1 167 the 

 farm seems to have become settled on a basis of 200 

 ' blanch,' which continued so till the purchase of the 

 farm by the town, to be mentioned presently. In 

 1 1 68 an aid of 29 1 3/. \d. for the marriage of the 

 king's daughter was charged to the burgesses, 1 " and in 

 1171 and 1172 they owed 2 ijs. \d. for arrears 

 thereof. 13 ' In 1173 Robert of St. Lawrence 1 * 7 

 claims allowance for land in the town itself, given 

 to the lepers 138 of Southampton, worth l y. 2<t. 

 per annum, by writ of the king, 139 and in II 74 for 

 land at Portswood worth "js. zd., given to the canons 

 of St. Denys. 140 



A memorable royal visit occurred on 8 July 1 1 74, 

 when King Henry landed from Barfleur to perform 

 his vow as pilgrim to the city already famous for 

 reported miracles at Becket's shrine. 141 On Good 

 Friday, 1 1 76, the two princes, Richard afterwards 

 king and Geoffrey, were here on their way to join 

 the king at Winchester ; and the same year the king's 

 daughter, the Princess Joan, sailed for Sicily in the 

 ' esnecca ' (j l os.) with seven ships in consort 

 (10 I2s.), to be married to the king of Sicily. 

 Henry II was here apparently for the last time in 

 April, 1 1 86. He died 6 July, 1189. Before the 

 coronation of the new king on 3 September that 

 year the port was alive with the transit of great folk 

 and preparations of various kinds ; and Geoffrey the 

 son of Azo, who rendered account for the shire, was 

 charged, among other things, with 6 is. for repairs 

 to the houses within ' the tower ' of Southampton, 

 probably those generally called ' the king's houses,' as 

 if for the accommodation of the court and its 

 supplies. 



The return of Gervase, reeve (prepositus) of South- 

 ampton, shows that the royal ' esnecca ' made six 

 passages before the coming of King Richard, the 

 charge being 45."' 



William Briwer accounted for 106 ijs. 8</. of 

 the town farm in 1192-3, and in 1198-9 the 

 sheriff of the shire accounted for the same amount. 14 * 

 It appears that Hugh de Bosco, the sheriff, had 

 offered King John 20 marks to hold the town to 

 farm till Michaelmas next after the coronation ; upon 

 which it had been intimated to William Briwer that 



1M His office was to check the preposi- 

 tus of the town on the amounts paid to 

 the king ; see Madox, Excb. i, 202 ; and 

 note on Ric. of Leicester. 



i Fife R. 1155-6 (Rec. Com.), 53. 



126 Turstin was sheriff of Hants at this 

 time, William being the appointed officer 

 in the borough. 



12 7 For Wimarch see Madox, Form. 

 Angl. 252 ; Morgan, op. cit. 211. 



Pipe R. 1555-8 (Rec. Com.), 107. 



Ibid. (Pipe R. Soc.), ii, 23. 



Ibid, vi, 56. lsl Ibid, vii, 27. 



a Ibid, viii, 45. I8S Ibid, ix, 109. 

 '" Ibid, x, 189. "5 Ibid. 



186 Ibid, xvi, 43 i xviii, 88. 



187 Five years later his wife Cecilia 

 renders account for him (1178-9). Ex- 

 emp. of Town Accts. from Exch. R. 10 

 Apr. 3 Hen. IV (1402), penes Corp. 

 Southt. 



ls8 See below, St. Mary Magd. Hosp. 

 for Lepers. 



18! > Pipe R. (Pipe R. Soc.), xix, 53. 



no Ibid, xxi, 134. 



141 This wa the earliest notable pil- 



505 



grimage from this town to be followed in 

 constant succession by devotees from Nor- 

 mandy, Anjou, and Brittany. The start- 

 ing point may perhaps be detected in the 

 name Pilgrims' pit, near Biddlesgate,' 

 which was close to the ancient quay at 

 which they would land, as will be seen 

 later. 



l 43 For further details concerning the 

 royal ' esnecca ' see Davics, op. cit. 31. 



148 Exemp. of Town Accts. from Exch. 

 R. 10 Apr. 1402 (3 Hen. IV), penei 

 Corp. Southt. 



6 4 



