A HISTORY OF DURHAM 



specially appropriated as a trading centre. 

 Whilst the lands were held in common, there 

 would be no necessity for more than one borough, 

 and that borough would appear to have been 

 the Old Borough and not the Bishop's Borough, 

 which, until the Framwcllgatc Bridge was built, 

 was much more difficult of access from the 

 surrounding country than the Old Borough. 



Though the founding of the Bishop's Borough 

 would doubtless draw some trade away, it was 

 the building of Elvet Bridge and the creation of 

 the borough of Elvet by Bishop Pudsey which 

 seriously affected the Old Borough. Until 

 Elvet Bridge was built, all traffic from the south 

 passed through the Old Borough along South 

 Street, but when a readier access to the Bishop's 

 Borough and the Castle was provided through 

 Elvet, the importance of the Old Borough was 

 seriously diminished, as its only thoroughfare 

 became the road leading to the west of the county 

 by Brancepeth and Willington. Of the trade 

 carried on in this borough we know but little. 

 The Marescalcia Roll of the convent for 1392'* 

 mentions a weaver, a tailor, a seller of wool, 

 several shoemakers, bakers and brewers. The 

 fulling mill at the west end of the dam just 

 below the cathedral would help to attract trade, 

 whilst at the Clock Mill'* on the Milburn, 

 which formed the northern boundary of the 

 borough,"^ the local corn would be ground. 

 The quarry at the southern end of South Street '* 

 and the convent stew-ponds and orchard " to 

 the west of South Street should also be men- 

 tioned. Lastly, Potters Bank recalls an industry 

 long extinct.'^ 



The burgesses of the Old Borough, unlike their 

 brethren of Elvet, do not appear to have obtained 

 any charter from the convent : their rights being 

 based on ancient usage, no such grant was 

 probably necessary. They do not appear to 

 have ever obtained the right to elect their bailiff 

 or to have leased the profits of the borough. 



'8 Durh. Ace. R. (Surtees Soc), ii, 349. 



'* The Clock Mill appears to have been the least 

 important of the city mills. 



'^ The Milburn now runs in a culvert under the 

 ' North Road ' for the greater part of its length. 



'* In Durh. Treas. Almoner's Rental for 1424 the 

 quarry is stated to be next ' Farthlngcroft,' the small 

 field just south of the ' White Gates.' The quarry 

 belonged to the Sacrist ; a large amount of stone has 

 been worked from it in the Middle Ages ; there is no 

 trace in the accounts of any working in recent times. 



" The new part of St. Margaret's Churchyard 

 was formerly the orchard (Durh. Treas. Almoner's 

 Rental, 1424). Until quite recently traces of tlie 

 stew-ponds were visible behind (west of) St. Mar- 

 garet's Rectory. 



" No reference to actual working has been found 

 before the 17th century in the Chapter Records, but 

 the surname Potter was not uncommon in the Middle 

 Ages : see Durh. Acc.R.i^MTleei Soc), Index, sub nom. 



As in the case of Elvet, the convent appears to 

 have retained direct control over the borough, 

 to have appointed the bailiffs'* and to have 

 received the profits. The centre of jurisdiction 

 was the Tolbooth, situate at the north end of 

 Crossgate,^ where the courts were held, and to 

 maintain his jurisdiction the Prior had a prison 

 in South Street.*'- 



The survival of the draft entries for the Cross- 

 gate Court Book ^^ at the beginning of the 

 i6th century enables a fuller account of the 

 working of this court to be given than of any of 

 the other borough courts. First it must be 

 noted that Crossgate as well as Elvet was with- 

 drawn from the ordinary manorial jurisdiction 

 of the Prior and convent, whose Halmote Books 

 contain no entries relating to either Crossgate 

 or Elvet. The court sat every week if necessary 

 for the dispatch, of business,*' and thrice a year 

 - — in January, April and October — the ' curia 

 capitalis ' was held, at which a jury was sworn 

 to make presentments. In addition to debt 

 collecting, the work of the court was most 

 varied ; many are the injunctions against pigs 

 being allowed to run loose in the street; card 

 playing and other illicit games, and drinking 

 after 9 p.m. were forbidden ; bad language was 

 discouraged and bad characters required to 

 remove themselves. Ale tasters were appointed 

 and fines inflicted on ale sellers for not calling 

 them in, and bad meat was condemned. De- 

 spite much fining, the condition of the streets 

 left much to be desired owing to the presence 

 of refuse and manure.®* The use of the borough 

 well in the Banks for washing clothes was 

 forbidden, and the tenants of South Street 

 ordered to repair the vennel leading to it. 

 Tailors not of the Gild were reported as work- 

 ing, whilst a Scot was ordered to remove himself.** 



'* The fact that there was only one bailiff and that 

 he held office for a considerable period is in marked 

 contrast to the Bishop's Borough and indicates that 

 the method of selection was different. 



*" Durh. Treas. Sacrist's Rental, 1500. 



*i Durh. Treas. Almoner's Rental, 1424. It was 

 evidently near tlie southern end of the street. 



*2 Durh. Treas. The entries cover the period from 

 1498-1524. The 'curia capitalis' is stated to be 

 held before the sacrist, of whose estate the lordship 

 of Crossgate formed part. There are some older 

 rolls (Doc. iv, no. 229) relating to the latter part of 

 the 14th century, the entries in which relate almost 

 entirely to actions for debt. 



*' In 1 501 the court sat on 23 days. 



** The existence of pasture rights on the adjoining 

 moor was not an unmixed blessing so far as the 

 pubUc health was concerned. The cows were kept 

 in the houses, and the consequent accumulation 

 of manure must have rendered the houses unhealthy. 

 See below, p. 62, as to the Elvet regulations. 



*^ ' William Maser is forbidden for the future to 

 show hospitality to any vagabonds or Scots for more 



60 



