1326-03-25, Kenilworth

Memorandum, that the king sent his writ, dated at South Elmham, January, to the sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk ordering him to summon men of Little Yarmouth and Gorleston to appear before the king and council at Norwich on Wednesday after the octaves of St. Hilary next, shew their reasons why certain liberties claimed by the burgesses of Schedule Great Yarmouth shall not be allowed to them, the burgesses of Great to whom the king has given the above day, asserting that they hindered by the men of Little Yarmouth and Gorleston from using and divers liberties granted by the charters of the king's progenitors, the king has confirmed, and the men of Little Yarmouth and Gorleston have prayed the king to hear their reasons before causing the liberties aforesaid to be allowed to the burgesses. By p.s. At which day the sheriff testifies that the men of Little Yarmouth and Gorleston Were summoned, to wit by Geoffrey de Corton and William Man. Aud the burgesses and the said men came into chancery before Master Robert de Baldok, archdeacon of Middlesex, the chancellor, and Geoffrey le Scrop, chief justice, and others of the king's subjects sitting with them at Norwich, and the burgesses, for themselves and the community of Great Yarmouth, make plaint that they are impeded (impetiti) by the men of Little Yarmouth and Gorleston in the liberties granted to them by the charters of the king's progenitors. They say that king John granted the borough of Great Yarmouth to the burgesses at fee-ferm, willing that it should be a free borough for ever, rendering therefor to the king 55/. yearly ; and afterwards Henry III., on 25 March, in the 40th year of his reign, granted to the said burgesses that all merchandise, both of fish and of other things, coming to the port of Yarmouth found in or out of ships shall be sold and bought by the hands of the merchants bringing such merchandise without impediment from any one, so that there shall not be hereafter brokers (abroccatores) in that town by whom the sellers or buyers shali be impeded in making their sales or purchases freely to the detriment of the town; and Edward I, on 22 July, in the 34th year of his reign, granted to the burgesses and their successors, because the town was his free borough and was situated by his progenitors on his port, by reason of the profit arising from the same port to be received for the improvement of the town, that all merchandise, whether of fish or of other things, brought within his said port in ships or boats or in any other manner for the purpose of trade shall be discharged at Great Yarmouth and not elsewhere within the same port, and shall be exposed for sale by the hands of those bringing the same thither and wishing to sell the same, or by the hands of their servants, and shall be sold and bought there freely, without forestalment or brokerage (abroccamento), or any other impediment, so that no forestaller, broker, or other person whatsoever shall meet the said merchants coming towards the town with fish or other merchandise and things for sale in order to buy of the same or to make forestalment or brokerage thereof within or without the said town, under pain of forfeiture of the thing bought, whereby the said burgesses or other merchants bringing such merchandise thither shall be impeded in any way in their buying and selling at the same town, the detriment of the town. And they proffer the charters of Henry III. Edward I., confirmed by the present king, that testify the premises, the tenors whereof are given below. And they say that the men of Little and Gorleston have attracted and daily endeavour to attract by and brokerage ships laden with fish and other things, and them to discharge at those towns and their wares to be there exposed sale, and that they have not yet desisted from doing so, contrary to the charters and confirmation aforesaid, to the injury of the said borough of Great Yarmouth ; wherefore they pray for a remedy and that the liberties in the said charters shall be maintained. And the men of Little Yarmouth and Gorleston say that they have done wrong in the premises, etc. They say that the half-hundred of Lodyngwherein the said town of Little Yarmouth and Gorleston are situate, of the ancient demesne of the crown of England, etc., and that it has the custom from time out of mind, and is still the custom, before and . : 459 Schedule the making of the said charters, at all times that all merchants wishing come with ships and boats laden with fish and other merchandise to the towns of Little Yarmouth and Gorleston, which are in co. Suffolk, Jand with their ships at the said towns, and there discharge and for sale their wares freely and without impediment, and that the of the king, formerly lords of that half-hundred and town, and all lords who have hitherto held the half-hundred and town, have received had a certain custom from all ships landing there. They say that Cnut (Knoutus), sometime king of England, and king Harold, and kings successively, progenitors of the present king, have held the halfand towns in their demesne, and were seised of the profit of the custom ; and that Henry III. was seised of the aforesaid profit until gave the half-hundred and towns to one Dervelgulda de Bailliolo in for her purparty of the earldom of Chester, and that the said was extended by name amongst the other profits of the hundred and and was delivered to her, and that she received the custom all her and that after her death John de Baillioilo, then lord of the halfand towns, received the custom until he forfeited to the late king, which forfeiture the half-hundred and towns came to the late king's and he was likewise seised of the said custom, and he gave the halfwith the said towns to John de Britannia, earl of Richmond, to and the heirs male of his body, and the earl has been seised of the custom until now: whereby it seems to them that it was not the intention to do prejudice by the words contained in the said charters himself or to other lords of the half-hundred and towns aforesaid, and pray that nothing may be attempted to their prejudice, etc. And the aforesaid burgesses say that the said men ought not to be heard propound the premises against the tenor of the said charters, because are not of any community, and have no common seal, and cannot affirm right in their persons. They also say that in the book called the following words are found: Norfolk, king Edward (sic) Yarmouth, always 70 burgesses. Then it was worth with two of the soke of three hundreds 18J. by tale, and the earl's part 97. by now the king's two parts are worth 17/. 16s, 4d. blank, and the earl's 10. blank, and the sheriff has 4/. and a hawk of the land as gersuma : 4/. the burgesses give freely and by way of friendship. In the same Aithelmer had in king Edward's time a church of St. Benedict ; W. bishop has it of the bishopric, and it is worth 20s. The whole ren- 12d. of geld (gelco) ; whereby it appears clearly that the town of Great was thus a borough in the aforesaid time, and that in the time the same king Edward one Guercus held half the hundred of Ludynlanda, it appears. [The following words are also contained in the said book :] balf hundred of Ludynlanda. (xuercus held Gorleston the time of king Edward, 5 carucates (sic) of land for one mark (sic). there were 20 villeins, now 12. There were always 5 bordmanni. 5 serfs, now 3. Then in demesne 2 plough-teams (caruc ), now 1. bovates (sic) for 5 plough-teams, now 3. Wood for 5 swine. Ten of meadow, 3 salt-pans. Then four rusticz, now two (sic). Then five now two (sic). Always 300 sheep. In Yarmouth 24 fishermen to this manor. They also say that on Thursday, the eve of Midsummer, 34 Edward I, Walter, then bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, the treasurer, William Hamelton, the chancellor, Roger e Brabazon, chief justice, the barons the exchequer, the justices of the Bench and others of the king's council of the king's affairs at the exchequer, the said burgesses of Great complained of such abbrochments and forestallings by the said of Little Yarmouth and Gorleston, and prayed that a declaration might Schedule be made to them of the words contained in the charter of Henry IIL, under this form : that all merchandise, whether fish or other things, brought into the port of the said town, either by land or by sea, for the purpose of trading there, shall be exposed for sale at the said town freely and openly by the hands of those bringing the said merchandise or of their servants, so that no forestaller or broker shall meet by land or sea the said merchants coming to the town with such goods in order to buy or make brokerage of any of them, under pain of forfeiture of the thing bought. And hereupon Adam Bacun, clerk, John Kybel of Gorleston, and John de Belton of Suth Yarmouth offered themselves before the council, saying that if the said declaration were granted it would be to the prejudice and perpetual deterioration of the towns of Little Yarmouth and Gorleston, and alleging in like manner as the said men now allege, to wit that from time out of mind ships had been wont to arrive at the said towns, and that the lords of the towns received certain customs from the ships ; and that, notwithstanding such allegations of the men of Little Yarmouth and Gorleston, it was then considered by the said king's council that, as the words expressed in the said charters of kings John and Henry, confirmed by Edward I., and ag the town of Great Yarmouth is a free borough, all merchandise brought to the said port for sale, both of fish andof other things, shall be exposed to sale at the said town of Great Yarmouth and not at the towns of Little Yarmouth and Gorleston, because they are not boroughs. And Adam, John, and John were told by the council and enjoined by them on the king's behalf to signify to the men of the said towns that they were not to presume to attract to their ports any ships with any merchandise to be discharged or exposed to the sale there. And that the charter of Edward I. was made by the words above expressed by virtue of this decision. They also say that the late king, on 16 July, in the 34th year of his reign, appointed William de Ormesby, William Inge, John de Thorp, John le Breton, and Richard de Walsingham to enquire concerning such brokerages and forestalments made by the men of Little Yarmouth and Gorleston to the prejudice of the burgesses aforesaid, contrary to the tenors of the said charters, andto hear and determine the same ; before whom the said men alleged as they now allege concerning the arrival of ships and receipt of custom at Little Yarmouth and Gorleston, and they afterwards withdrew from that allegation, and showed a composition made, as they said, between the community of the said borough and the men of the said towns, which composition they asserted to be the deed of the community ; and it was at length found by a verdict of the country upon which they had placed themselves that the composition was not the deed of the said community, wherefore the community recovered their damages against many men of the said towns by the consideration of the aforesaid justices, by reasonof such forestalments and brokerages made by them. Wherefore [the burgesses] pray that their liberties granted in the charters may be maintained, notwithstanding the allegation aforesaid, from which the said men have been excluded upen so many occasions heretofore. And the men of Little Yarmouth and Gorleston say that if there were any such processes, which they do not believe, they ought not to injure them because they were not a party in the processes aforesaid, and that in like manner trespasses committed by single persons of those towns ought not to prejudice them; wherefore they pray that they may be admitted to the verification of the aforesaid allegations. And hereupon a day is given before the king's council on Monday after the second Sunday in Lent, and the burgesses are told to bring the records mentioned at that day, and the men are told to cause the extents to come at that day. The bailiffs and community of Great Yarmouth put in their places John Perbroun, Robert de Drayton, and William de Geysle to prosecute the premises against the said men. ; ITI. 461. Schedule The said men of Little Yarmouth and Gorleston put in their places Man, Simon de Belton, Richard de Hinges, William de Woderove, Jermyn, and William de Gapton to defend the premises. Upon which day the men of Great Yarmouth come before the king's at Leicester by their attorneys aforesaid, and brought before the three records under the king's exchequer seal, to wit one from the called Domesdei, and another of the process had before the king's at the exchequer, and the third of the process before William de and his fellows aforesaid, and pray, as before, that their liberties may be maintained. And the men of Little Yarmouth and come in like manner by their attorneys aforesaid, but they did show any extents whereof mention had been made in the first allegation. a day is given to the parties until Monday following. And so the is continued from day to day until Thursday following. Upon day the burgesses of Great Yarmouth come and pray as before. And men of Little Yarmouth and Gorleston do not come. And as it seemed the king's council, after seeing the charters and records aforesaid, that said men cannot make themselves a party against the burgesses to or hinder the liberties contained in the said charters, a writ shall be in chancery for the burgesses to maintain their liberties, etc., accordto the tenor of the charters as often, etc.