Swansea (Swyneseye) was given a grant of murage dated 12/2/1338.
This was in the form of:-
This is a grant which may have been used for walls but could have been used for other civic improvements.
Wording
Grant, at the request of John de Moubray, to the bailiffs and good men of Swyneseye of murage and pavage for five years. By K.
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June 7. 1338. Lopham.
To the bailiffs and lawful men of Swayveseye. Order to supersede the exaction and levying of certain customs on things coming for sale in that town, in accordance with the king's grant to them at the request of John de Moubray for enclosing and paving the town, from 12 February last for four years, because the king has learned from several persons that they levy divers customs, by virtue of that grant, on the goods of certain men of those parts, who assert that they ought to be quit of such customs, both by liberties granted to them by the king and by approved custom, and these men assemble for that cause to attack the town by armed force.
By K. & C.
Granted by Edward III. (Regnal year 12). Granted at Westminster. Granted by K..
Primary Sources
Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1898,
Calendar of Patent Rolls Edward III (1338-40) Vol. 4 p. 6
Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1900, Calendar of Close Rolls, Edward III Vol. 4 p. 417
online copy
Secondary Sources
Coulson, Charles, 2009, Murage Grants (Handwritten list and notes)
Creighton, O.H., 2006, ''Castles of Communities': Medieval Town Defences in England; Wales and Gascony' Château Gaillard Vol. 22, p. 80
Coulson, C., 2003, Castles in Medieval Society. Fortresses in England, France, and Ireland in the Central Middle Ages (Oxford) p. 284
Turner, H.L., 1971, Town Defences in England and Wales (London) p. 218
Comments
In Swansea, Edward III licensed the burgesses of Swansea with the right to levy murage on 12th February 1338, following a request from the town’s lord, John of Mowbray, yet the grant was cancelled four months later following violent protest by those whose exemption from tax had been affected (Ref Coulson, 2003, p. 284) (Creighton)
Record created by Philip Davis. This record created 16/01/2009. Last updated on 04/06/2012. First published online 5/01/2013.
