A HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE 



of the four fairs of later years was Trinity or Chapel 

 Fair, which was in existence at least by 1461, and 

 which was confirmed by a grant of 19 July, i^g6. Kl 

 The profits were divided between the town and the 

 chapel, a place of some honour with pilgrims. 191 The 

 opening of the fair was attended with certain 

 'solemnities,' the whole body of burgesses being 

 bound to attend Mr. Mayor to the ' proclamation ' ; 

 the watch and guard of halberdiers being set, and the 

 bailiff ready with his pie-powder court. After the 

 proclamation,* 9 * which was somewhat lengthy and 

 quaint, a pole was raised on which was fixed a large 

 glove, or rather gloved hand, still existing. The 

 senior bailiff then took possession of the fair, as chief 

 magistrate for the time within its precincts and presi- 

 dent of its court, and duly entertained the corporation 

 in his booth. The glories of the opening day began 

 to fade about 1840 and finally became extinguished ; 

 and the fair, now reduced to one day, is held in the 

 cattle ground near the railway. The three remaining 

 fairs were Shrovetide, held on the Tuesday and two 

 following days before Shrove Sunday ; Above Bar 

 Fair, held on St. Mark's Day (25 April) and two days 

 following ; and St. Andrew's, kept on the Tuesday 

 before St. Andrew's Day (30 November) and two 

 succeeding days. These fairs with pie-powder courts 

 stood on a patent of Elizabeth* 94 (1600), probably 

 but a grant of confirmation ; at least as regards Shrove- 

 tide and Above Bar Fairs, since the court-leet book of 

 1596 calls attention to them. Above Bar Fair was 

 abolished in 1875 ; the two other fairs had dis- 

 appeared, after a lingering existence, before 1834. 



There have been several official seals of the town, 

 most of which bear the characteristic one-masted ship, 

 generally with a star and crescent on the mainsail of 

 the vessel or elsewhere, the earlier having a steerage 

 oar at the side, a rudder appearing towards the middle 

 of the fourteenth century. * 95 A fine obverse, pre- 

 sented 196 in 1587, shows a magnificent three-masted 

 ship in full sail, with the newly given town arms on 

 the mainsail ; the older obverse was a one-masted 

 vessel, no ship in England having had more than one 

 mast till about 1514. On the forecastle were two 

 men blowing with trumpets. The legend on the 

 newer obverse is Sigillum commune villas Soutkamptoniae. 

 The original reverse, still in use, bears in a central 

 canopied niche the Virgin and Child ; within a niche 

 on either side is a figure in adoring attitude ; the 

 legend is ' Mater Virgo Dei tu miserere nobis.' Casts 

 of these and of various other official seals are in the 

 Hartley Museum. 



The present arms of the borough were granted by 



patent, 4 August 1575, with a crest of a golden 

 castle on a green mount, 'out of the castell a quene in 

 her imperial majestie, holding in the right hand the 

 sword of justice, in the left the balance of equitie.' 

 The supporters are two lions or standing in the fore part 

 of two ships upon the sea. The patent states that the 

 town had bornearms since its incorporation by Henry VI. 

 The regalia of the borough consists of six maces, 19 ' the 

 silver oar, the badge of admiralty, and a two-handed 

 sword of state ; the chain and the coins belonging to 

 the mayoralty have already been mentioned. 



The great prosperity of Southampton, which com- 

 menced with the Norman Conquest, probably con- 

 tinued till the loss of the French possessions in 

 1451-3, and the town seems to have taken third 

 place in mercantile rank in 1204 5, when its fifteenths 

 amounted to 712 3/. jd., being only distanced by 

 those of London, .836 I zt. ioj., and those of Boston, 

 780 i s /. 3 ^ 8 



The wine trade was settled here at the beginning 

 of the period. The early Close Rolls abound in writs 

 to the bailiffs concerning the wine trade generally or 

 the king's wines, whether prisage or otherwise, or the 

 wines of wealthy folk, all which must have kept the 

 port alive. Wine was the chief import, but beer was 

 at least an occasional export. 299 Coeval with this 

 early trade are many of the vaults and cellars in the 

 older parts of the town. 300 



The wool trade was on orderly footing here in the 

 reign of Edward I ; and it appears from a suit of 

 1275 that the custody of the town- or weighing-beam 

 was in the hands of the earl of Warwick, who held a 

 tenement in the town by ser- 

 vice of weighing. 301 In 1299 

 Nicholas de Barbeflet, so * a 

 wealthy burgess, obtained by 

 royal grant the tronage and 

 pesage of wools for export from 

 Southampton for six years at the 

 rent of 40^. per annum. 303 In 

 1316 a grant of the pesage, 

 which had belonged to Guy, 

 earl of Warwick (d. August, 

 1315), was made to William 

 Mauncel, at the above rent. 304 

 In 1327 thecollectorshipof wool 

 in the port of Southampton and along the coast as far 

 as Weymouth was in the hands of Geoffry Hogheles, 

 and for some years we find the townsmen hold:ng the 

 collectorship. The Beauchamp family retained their 

 office. Earl Thomas died in 1369, seised among 

 other possessions of two messuages in Southampton 



BEAUCHAMP, Earl of 

 Warwick. Gules a 

 fesse bepwcsn six cross- 

 lets or. 



291 Original grant penes Corp., also Pat. 

 II Hen. VII, pt. 2, m. 10 (12). 



292 It was here in the ' chapel of our 

 Lady of Grace' that Henry VIII made his 

 offerings of half a mark in August, 1510, 

 and of io>. in August, 1516 (L. and P. 

 Hen, yill, ii, pp. 1447, 1472), and hither 

 Mold Petis was desired to come on pil- 

 grimage to secure the effect of certain 

 powders (ibid, iv (3), 5293). A vestige 

 of the ancient chapel or hermitage may 

 still be detected at ' chapel.' Davies, op. 

 cit. 232. 



293 Book of Oaths and Ordinances, 1478 

 (end of first part). 



894 Hist. MSS. Com. Ref. ri, App. iii, 53. 



296 The earliest seal showing rudder 



appears to belong to 1338-43. On the 



date of rudder, see Nicholas, Hist, of 

 Royal Navy, i, 370-2. 



296 Town Journ. (Corp. MSS.), 23 Aug. 

 1587. 



"*7 The more ancient of these are shown 

 in the Hartley Museum. The making 

 of one is detailed in the steward's book 

 of 1482-3. See Hope & Jewitt, Corf. 

 Plate, i, 260. M8 Madox, Exch. i, 772. 



299 Close, 8 June, 9 Hen. Ill (1225). 



800 A vaulted apartment, though of 

 somewhat later date, in Simnel Street 

 should here be mentioned. 



801 Ahbrc-v. Plac. (Rec. Com.), 1 88, 190. 



802 Nic. de Barbeflet or de Shirley was 

 the originator of the town water-works by 

 granting to the Friars Minor of South- 

 ampton (1290) his spring of Calwell or 

 Colwell in the manor of Shirley, whence 



520 



the water was to be taken, in method 

 specified, to the house of the Friars. In 

 1311 the Friars granted some use of this 

 water to the town ; but being too poor 

 to keep the water system in repair they 

 conveyed ' le conduit hede ' to the town 

 in 1420. In 1594 Roger Pedley under- 

 took to improve the water-works. But 

 in 1739 the town applied to Parliament, 

 and the management of the water was 

 vested in a commission. An Act of 1836 

 repealed all former, and fresh works were 

 commenced. Subsequently other Acts, 

 both of Parliamen and of the town, have 

 contributed to the favourable condition of 

 the water-supply at the present day. Sec 

 Davies, op. cit. 114-19. 



8 Rot. Orig. (Rec. Com.), i, 109. 



804 Ibid. 196. 



