During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries Northampton was one of the most important towns in England. Yet, as a result of a series of catastrophic fires, little survives of its medieval built heritage and the borough archives also suffered grievously. Nonetheless important records do survive, somewhat scattered in the National Archives, at the Bodleian Library, in Northamptonshire Record Office and elsewhere.
In the first part of the volume the relationship between the Crown and and the burgesses of Northampton in the later thirteenth century is discussed, particularly concerning the governance of the town, its financial management and the maintenance of judicial systems.
The second part of the volume presents some key documents relating to thirteenth-century Northampton, including a unique group recording payment of the town’s farm while it was in the King’s hands in 1293-4, and also Northampton’s early custumal. There is a revised chronological list and biographies of Northampton’s thirteenth-century mayors and bailiffs.
Contents
- Acknowledgements
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Part 1: The Story
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Origins and Early History
- 3. The Urban Economy
- 4. Town Government
- 5. Administering Justice
- 6. Northampton in 1300
- Part 2: The Sources
- 7. The Charter of Edward I
- 8. The Bailiffs’ Account of 1293–4
- 9. The Edward I Rental and the Inquisition Post Mortem of Sir Richard Gobion
- 10. Grants of Murage and Pavage
- 11. Northampton’s Latin Custumal
- 12. The Justices in General Eyre in 1285
- 13. The Royal Prise of 1300–1
- 14. The 1274–5 Hundred Rolls
- 15. Mayors, Bailiffs and Other Officials
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index