A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



importance were to arise from the existence of this 

 group of tenants. 



This was not the only new use made of the waste 

 by Thomas of Lancaster. In the year 1 310, on a 

 visit to the borough, the earl granted to the burgesses ^^ 

 6 Cheshire acres of moss ' adjoining the mill-pool of 

 the vill of Liverpool ' at a rental of one silver penny 

 per annum. This was in exchange for the right 

 which they had previously possessed of digging peat in 

 Toxteth Park. Important as being the first piece of 

 corporate property owned by the burgesses, this patch 

 of moss lay at the upper end and on the eastern side 

 of the Pool, and formed part of the Mosslake. The 

 rent of it appears among the revenues of the town 

 during the remainder of the 14th century ; in the 

 15 th it disappeared, being merged in that general 

 control over the whole of the waste which the bur- 

 gesses of that period quietly usurped. But in spite 

 of this gift the earl does not seem to have attached 

 much value to the borough, for in 1315 he granted 

 both castle and borough to Robert de Holand. But 

 no charter was sealed, nor did the tenants do homage ;^' 

 in consequence of which Holand's son, after the death 

 of Thomas of Lancaster, failed to obtain restitution 

 of the estate, though he petitioned Parliament and 

 obtained a favourable report from the treasurer and 

 the barons of the exchequer.*' 



The confusion produced by the turbulence of 

 Thomas of Lancaster and the weak government of 

 Edward II was felt at Liverpool as elsewhere. In 

 I 3 1 5 Adam Banastre, Henry de Lea, and William 

 de Bradshagh raised a rebellion against the earl ; and 

 marching from their rendezvous at Charnock by way 

 ofWigan, under the standard of Adam Banastre, made 

 an assault upon Liverpool Castle.'^ They were driven 

 back, and then fell upon West Derby. This is the 

 only occasion on which the castle is known to have 

 been attacked before the Civil War. 



On the attainder and execution of Thomes of Lan- 

 caster royal agents reappeared in the borough. The 

 very full accounts " which they rendered from 1322 

 to 1327 supply some of the most valuable material for 

 ascertaining the condition of the town ; and it is to this 

 time that the single court roll for the mediaeval period 

 — that for the year 1324 — belongs. In 1323 King 

 Edward II himself visited Liverpool, staying for a 

 week in the castle between 24 and 30 October. In 

 preparation for him the castle was thoroughly repaired 

 and victualled ;"' and the sum of is. Sd. in particular 

 was expended in mending the roof of the hall.'° 

 During the last troubled years of Edward II, the 

 bailiffs of Liverpool were kept busy carrying out 

 feverish orders : such as to hold ready for the king's 

 service all ships of sufficient burthen to carry 40 tuns 

 of wine, to make returns of such ships, to warn 

 mariners to beware of pirates, "' to proclaim kindly 

 usage for Flemings.*' When, in 1326, the situation 

 became really critical, the bailiffs were ordered to send 

 all ships of 50 tons and upwards to Portsmouth ;*' to 

 search all persons entering or leaving the port, and to 



seize letters prejudicial to the king ; " and to prevent 

 the export of horses, armour, or money." So, amid 

 feverish feeble strife, the reign of Edward II came to 

 an end. With it ended an epoch for Liverpool. 

 The century from 1229 to 1327 had seen a serious 

 diminution of burghal liberties, but it had also wit- 

 nessed a substantial expansion of the borough's re- 

 sources. In the next age this expansion continues, 

 and is accompanied by a remarkable revival of the 

 privileges of the burgesses, which attained their highest 

 point at the end of the century. 



The disorders which had marked the later years 

 of Edward II continued to disturb Liverpool in the 

 early years of his successor, and their echoes are 

 audible in the trials of the period of which record 

 remains. In 1332 Robert son of Thomas de Hale 

 slew Henry de Walton at Liverpool, in the church 

 before the altar ; a few days later Simon son of William 

 de Walton struck and wounded Henry Ithell, and on the 

 next day his brother Richard struck and wounded Robert 

 the Harper." In 1335 Sir William Blount, sheriff 

 of the county, was murdered in Liverpool while en- 

 gaged in the execution of his office," and four 

 years later five men, in consideration of their hav- 

 ing ' gone beyond the seas ' in the king's service," 

 were pardoned for this crime and also for the murder 

 of Henry Baret and Roger Wildgoose. As late as 

 St. Valentine's Day 1345 there was a serious disturb- 

 ance of the peace in Liverpool : " a body of lawless 

 men having entered the town in arms, with banners 

 unfurled as in war, forced their way into the court 

 where the king's justices were in session, and after 

 hurling ' insulting and contumacious words,' ' did 

 wickedly kill, mutilate, and plunder of their goods, 

 and wound very many persons there assembled, and 

 further did prevent the justices from showing jus- 

 tice . . . according to the tenour of their commis- 

 sion.' Three weeks later special justices were appointed 

 to deal with the offenders, and in July a large number 

 of persons, many of them being men of position in 

 the county, were pardoned at the request of the Earl 

 of Lancaster, on condition that they went at their 

 own charges for one year to do service to the king in 

 Gascony. 



A condition of society such as is indicated by these 

 events could scarcely be favourable to the grovrth of 

 peaceful trade ; nevertheless, the growth of Liverpool 

 continued. In 1338 the earl appears to have made 

 an addition to the approved lands in Salthouse Moor, 

 and enfeoffed a number of tenants at fines of 5 marks 

 to the acre ;" and the details of the assessment for the 

 levy of a ninth in 1340 show a number of substan- 

 tial persons to have been resident in the town." We 

 now obtain the first clear indications of the extent and 

 nature of the trade of the town, of which something 

 will be said later ; it would appear that Liverpool had 

 become one of the most considerable ports of the 

 west coast. As such, during the Scottish wars of the 

 early years of Edward III, and during the Irish wars 

 of the later years of his reign, it proved very useful as 



**•' Original in Liv. Munic. Archives, 

 " Inq. p.m. I Edw. Ill, m. 88. The 

 manor of West Derby was granted to 

 Holand 3 Feb. 1320. The charter was 

 inspected and the grant confirmed by the 

 king 22 Feb. 1320. Cal. Pat. 1317-21, 



<^^Rot. Pari, h, 18. 



»8 Coram Rege R. 254, m. 52. 



" L.T.R. Enr. Accts. Mi«c. no. 14. 



55 The walls, towers, houses, and gates 

 of the castle were ordered to be repaired 

 and the castle victualled 7 Feb. 1323. 

 Cal. Close, 1318-23, p. 627. 



»» L.T.R. Enr. Accts. loc. cit. 



«7 Ca!. Close, 1 323-7, p. 183. 



*^ Ibid. pp. 367, 378. 



«9 Ibid. p. 641. 



6 



7» Ibid. p. 537. 71 Ibid. p. 546. 



73 Assize R. no. 141 1, m, ^s. 



?» Cal. Pat. 1334-8, p. 580. 



?<Ibid. 1338-40, pp. 217, 229, 232, 

 23;- 



?Mbid. 1343-5, pp. 495-9 i Coram 

 Rege R. 344, ra. 8. 



7" Add. MS. 32105, GG. 2901. 



77 Exch. Lay Subs. bdle. 130, no. 15. 



Digitized by IVIicrosoft® 



