Coventry (Coventre) was given a grant of murage dated 16/11/1423.
This was in the form of:-
Wording
Licence for William Babyngton and William Botener (in accordance with letters patent of the late king, licensing the mayor and commonalty of Coventre to acquire in mortmain), lands, tenements, rents and services, to the value of 40l. a year, in consideration of the heavy charges borne by them for walling the town), to assign to the present mayor and the commonalty a messuage in Coventry, held of the king in burgage of the clear annual value of 13s. 4d. as was found by inquisition returned into Chancery by John Borugh, escheator of the said late king, in the county of Warwick, in part satisfaction to the extent of 2 marks of the lands, tenements, rents and services aforesaid. Licence also for the said mayor and community to receive, and hold the same. For 100s., paid in the hanaper.
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Licence in Mortmain for the Mayor and Community in Relief of Taxes.
2 Henry VI. November 16th (1423).—Letters Patent of licence to William Babyngton and William Botener to give and assign for ever, the Statute of Mortmain notwithstanting, to the Mayor and community of Coventre a messuage with appurtenances in Coventre, yielding thirteen shillings and four pence, to be held by the said Mayor and community in part satisfaction of a grant, made by the present King's father to the same Mayor and community, of licence to acquire lands and tenements, &c. to the yearly value of 40l., within the said city and the precinct thereof, towards the support of the burdens of the same city: The aforementioned grant by Henry V. having been made in consideration of the heavy burdens sustained by the Mayor and community in respect to the murage of their city, and of the fact that they neither possess nor ever have possessed any means for sustaining the murage and other burdens, apart from collections imposed upon the poor folk of the same city to their manifest injury.
Granted by Henry VI. (Regnal year 2). Granted at Westminster. Granted by For 100s., paid in the hanaper..
Primary Sources
Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1901,
Calendar of Patent Rolls Henry VI (1422-29) Vol. 1 p. 138
online copyHMC, 1899, 'The corporation of Coventry: Charters, letters patent, etc.'
The Manuscripts of Shrewsbury and Coventry Corporations : Fourth report Appendix: Part X p. 118
online copy
Secondary Sources
Turner, H.L., 1971,
Town Defences in England and Wales (London) p. 43 (Ref: Hist. Mss. Comm., 47th Rep., 118)
Joan C. Lancaster and Margaret Tomlinson, 1969, in Stephens, W.B.(ed),
VCH Warwickshire Vol. 8 p. 1-23
online copy
Record created by Philip Davis. This record created 24/01/2009. Last updated on 05/01/2013. First published online 5/01/2013.
