AMOUNDERNESS HUNDRED 



PRESTON 



A dispute as to the right of the aulnager for the 

 county to seal cloths and levy dues in Preston occurred 

 in 1571, it being contended that the charter ex- 

 empted the town and that the goods made there, viz. 

 ' narrow white kerseys,' were not included in the 

 statute. 61 The guild of 1622 endeavoured to protect 

 the burgesses in another way by keeping ' foreigners ' 

 out of the town, it being found that their living and 

 trading therein was ' to the great prejudice, loss and 

 hindrance of the free burgesses.' 62 



The records of the court leet have been preserved 

 from 1653. 63 The ancient fee-farm rent of 1$** 

 was redeemed by the corporation in 1650 and again 

 after the Restoration in i6j6. 65 The guild of 1662 

 distinguished itself by drawing up a code of by-laws 

 from the records of former guilds and thus providing 

 for the orderly government of the town. 66 Imme- 

 diately afterwards a new charter was procured from 

 Charles II, substantially the same as that of 1566, 

 but making some further provisions. 67 This was 

 followed in 1685 by an extended charter, which for 

 the first time recognized the aldermen, who were to 

 be seven in number. The mayor was to be assisted 

 in his office as a justice of the peace by the ex- 

 mayor, the senior alderman and the recorder. Two 



markets were now allowed, on Wednesday and 

 Saturday, and three fairs, beginning 1 5 August, 

 27 October and 16 March. 68 No other charter was 

 obtained till 1828, when, as, owing to the growth 

 of the town, further justices were needed, it was 

 provided that all the aldermen should act, also that 

 the mayor, ex-mayor and senior aldermen should be 

 coroners. 69 



Only seven years afterwards, in 1835, the Municipal 

 Corporations Act abolished the old constitution and 

 the first council election of the reformed corporation 

 was held on 26 December ; the aldermen were chosen 

 on 3 I December and the mayor on New Year's Day, 

 1836. The borough, which included the townships 

 of Preston and Fishwick, was at first divided into six 

 wards, and the council consisted of the mayor, twelve 

 aldermen and thirty-six councillors. 70 In consequence 

 of the growth of the town parts of Ribbleton and 

 Brockholes on the east and of Ashton on the west 

 were taken into the municipal borough in 1880 71 and 

 a further part of Ashton in i888, 72 but the number 

 of wards, though the areas were readjusted, remained 

 unchanged until 1900, when the enlarged borough 

 was divided into twelve wards St. John's, Trinity, 

 Christ Church and Avenham in the centre or ancient 



Pleadings, Hen. VIII, xii, F i ; viii, 

 W 9 ; vi, W n. Sir Thomas More was 

 then Chancellor of the duchy ; he rejected 

 the Hoghton claims and made certain 

 ' ordinances ' for the peace of the town 

 and the election of mayor ; ibid. 43-4, 

 quoting Pleadings, vi, W 1 1. Sir Richard 

 again interfered with the election in 

 Oct. 1534 ; ibid. 45. 



Disputes arose as to the nomination of 

 both elisors by the mayor, and the charter 

 of 1566, while confirming the mode of 

 election of the twenty- four, gave them 

 the choice of one of the elisors. A three 

 weeks court for trying causes of debts, 

 &c. ; the view of frankpledge on the days 

 ' accustomed from ancient times,' the 

 markets and fairs (with court of pie- 

 powder), were all expressly ratified by 

 the charter, to be held by ' the ancient 

 rent and farm due to the Crown.' 



The charter did not allay all the internal 

 disputes which had been going on respect- 

 ing the choice of the mayor, who, it will 

 be seen, had large powers. It gave the 

 elisors the right to choose an entirely new 

 body of capital burgesses each year, but 

 in practice no doubt the same persons 

 were re-elected, if willing, and in 1598 

 there is mention of a permanent body of 

 aldermen, who were eight in number. 

 It was ordered that ' the whole number 

 of benchers, commonly called aldermen,' 

 should stand and remain as they then were 

 until the next guild merchant, and that 

 the mayor should be chosen annually from 

 this body, beginning with the senior 

 member, and descending yearly according 

 to seniority ; ibid. 34. This rule was 

 confirmed by the guild of 1602, which 

 also decreed that out-burgesses who came 

 to reside within the town should not be 

 eligible as mayor or bailiff till they had 

 resided for seven years ; ibid. 36. In 

 1642 it was ordered that on an alderman 

 dying a successor should be appointed 

 from the members of the common 

 council ; ibid. 47. 



An attempt to disfranchise two bur- 

 gesses was defeated by their appeal to the 

 Exchequer Court in or before 1582 ; 

 Abram, op. cit. 33. 



61 Abram, op. cit. 26-8. The decision 

 seems to have been adverse to the town ; 

 Lanes, and Ches. Rec. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), ii, 236,256. An earlier claim 

 to this immunity was investigated in 

 1 52 1, when the mayor and burgesses also 

 claimed all the goods of felons, fugitives, 

 &c., and view of frankpledge ; Duchy of 

 Lane. Inq. p.m. v, no. 36. 



63 Abram, op. cit. 40. The making 

 of bricks for sale was likewise forbidden, 

 o that the ' wastes ' of the town might 

 not be impaired. 



There are other evidences that at that 

 time the established guilds or trade com- 

 panies were jealous of the growth of 

 independent traders. The rules of the 

 Preston Company of Drapers, Mercers, 

 Grocers, Salters, Ironmongers and Haber- 

 dashers of 1628 prohibited the sale by 

 any 'stranger' of goods belonging to these 

 trades ; ibid. 412. In 1633 the Society 

 of Skinners, Whittawers and Glovers in 

 Preston and other places made a petition 

 against unlicensed traders ; Cal. S. P. Dom. 



1 63 3-4, P- 33- 



M The records from 1653 to 1813 are 

 preserved in three folio volumes at the 

 Town Hall. An account of them, with 

 copious extracts, was published in 1905, 

 Mr. Anthony Hewitson being editor. The 

 court leet was held twice a year. The 

 Inquest, sometimes called the court baron, 

 sat frequently. The Mayor's Court was 

 held on the Friday before St. Wilfrid's 

 Day for the election of mayor, bailiff and 

 Serjeant ; their inauguration was on the 

 feast itself. The old procedure is related 

 in Whittle's Preston (1821), 194-206. 

 The principal matters in the records relate 

 to the right to carry on a trade and to 

 pasture cattle on the marsh. The court 

 leet became extinct in 1835, having long 

 ceased to be of any utility in the changed 

 conditions of the town. 



'* In 1504-5 the sheriff was directed 

 to call for 45, the rent due to the king 

 for three years from the mayor and 

 bailiffs of Preston ; Kuerden MSS. iv, 

 P 118. 



65 Baines, Lanes, (ed. 1870), ii, 448. 

 The intermediate surrender of the pur- 



95 



chase in 1660, as evidence to the loyalty 

 of the corporation, is printed in Munch. 

 Guard. N. and Q. no. 375. 



66 Abram, op. cit. 5 1-5. The guild 

 meeting was continued for six weeks to 

 allow of the codification. The orders 

 were classified under the following titles : 

 The Sabbath ; the oaths ; the town lands, 

 rents, and other revenues ; the marsh, 

 mere and town field ; geese on the marsh ; 

 swine ; brick and digging of sods ; preser- 

 vation of the common, &c. ; buying and 

 selling between foreigners and others, and 

 the tolls, stallages, pickages, lastages and 

 other customs due for the same ; house- 

 holders and their duties ; officers ; manner 

 of holding a council ; weights and measures ; 

 foreign burgesses ; restraining of foreign 

 burgesses ; duties of foreign burgesses ; 

 alehouse-keeping, tippling and victualling ; 

 bailiffs and other inferior officers ; office 

 of a Serjeant ; streets and scavengers. 



' About 2,200 burgesses were enrolled 

 at the guild of 1662, of whom something 

 less than 900 were foreign burgesses.' 



67 Ibid. 56-7. 



68 Ibid. 68 ; Duchy of Lane. Misc. Bks. 

 xxiv, 222. 



69 Abram, op. cit. 135. A description 

 of the old-fashioned way of ' beating the 

 bounds ' at Preston is given in Hewitson's 

 Preston, 1 2 1. It is included among the 

 former sports of the place. 



70 Abram, loc. cit. ; Act 2*3 

 Will. IV, cap. 64. The six wards were : 

 St. John's, south-east from Church Street 

 to the Ribble, including part of Fishwick ; 

 Christ Church, to the west ; St. George's, 

 to the north-west ; St. Peter's, north of 

 Maudland ; Trinity, the east central part 

 of the town (including the Town Hall) 

 to the northern border ; Fishwick, the 

 eastern suburb of Preston, and the greater 

 part of Fishwick township. Changes of 

 area were made in 1881, and St. George's 

 and Trinity were re-named Maudland and 

 Park respectively. 



71 Under an Improvement Act of 1880, 

 43 & 44 Viet. cap. 118. 



78 Under the Ribble Navigation Act of 

 1883, 46 & 47 Viet. cap. 115. The 

 enlargement came into force in 1889. 



