b ,-,L+ THE COUNCIL IN THE MARCHES OF WALES A STUDY IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT DURING THE SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES CAROLINE A. J. SKEEL, D.LiT., F.R.HlST.S. FORMER STUDENT OF GIRTON COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE ; LECTURER IN HISTORY, WESTFIELD COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON ; AUTHOR OF " TRAVEL IN THE FIRST CENTURY A.D." (CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS) THESIS APPROVED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF LITERATURE IN THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON 6irton Colleoe Studies II LONDON HUGH REES, Ltd., 124, Pall Mall, S.W. 1904 PREFACE o rn ^ The following essay is an attempt to bring together in a connected form the scattered material that exists for the history of the Council in the Marches of Wales. The fullest account of the Council has hitherto been that by Judge Lewis in Y Cymmrodor, Vol. XII., which is sup- co plemented by Mr. Lleufer Thomas's article in Vol. XIII. 'Z But Judge Lewis's account extends only to the year c> 1575, and since its publication much additional infor- 1— mation has become available, partly through the further •■"^ calendaring of the Domestic State Papers, and the publication of the Acts of the Privy Council (down to 1597) and of the Historical MSS. Commission Reports. I acknowledge with gratitude the help I have received from many, especially the permission accorded me by 33 the Earl of Ellesmere to transcribe the documents pre- '^ served at the Bridgewater Trust Office, Walkden, near ^ Manchester. To the Muniment Keeper, Strachan Holme, Esq., and to the officials at Walkden I am indebted for much personal kindness. I have also to thank the Town Clerk of Shrewsbury, H. C. Clarke, Esq., and the Borough Clerk of Ludlow, J. H. Williams, Esq., for permission to transcribe the MSS. under their care, and for their courteous and ready help. To J. R. Phillips, Esq., of Shrewsbury, I owe the loan of a valuable transcript of 270307' iv PREFACE an important sixteenth-century case. I have also to thank F. Madan, Esq., of the Bodleian Library, H. R. H. Southam, Esq., F.S.A., late Mayor of Shrewsbury Miss Auden, of Condover, and A. W. Weyman, Esq., of Ludlow, for much kindly interest. To Professor Tout and to J. E. Morris, Esq., I am indebted for several helpful suggestions. I also welcome this opportunity of thanking those especially who have helped me both by direct teaching and by the example of their work — Hubert Hall, Esq., of the Public Record Office, and Passmore Edwards Lecturer at the School of Economics, and I. S. Leadam, Esq., Creighton Lecturer in Historical Sources. In conclusion I desire to express my grateful ac- knowledgments to the Publication Committee of Girton College for the grant it has made towards the printing of this thesis. It was first written in candidature for the Degree of Doctor of Literature in the University of London, and is now included in the Series of Girton College Studies. C. A. J. SKEEL. Westfield College, Hampstead. October^ 1904. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION PAGE THE LORDSHIPS MARCHER I-17 CHAPTER I THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES UP TO 1 5 25 . . 1 8-48 CHAPTER II THE princess's COUNCIL. THE PRESIDENCY OF BISHOP ROWLAND LEE ....... 49-80 CHAPTER III lee's SUCCESSORS, 1543-59. THE PRESIDENCY OF SIR HENRY SYDNEY, 1559-86 .... 81-II3 CHAPTER IV THE PRESIDENCY OF THE EARL OF PEMBROKE, 1586-1601 II4-128 CHAPTER V THE DECLINE OF THE COUNCIL. CONFLICTS OVER JURISDICTION. THE PRESIDENCY OF THE EARL OF BRIDGEWATER, 163I-42 . . . 129-165 vi CONTENTS CHAPTER VI PAGE THE REVIVAL OF THE COUNCIL AT THE RESTORATION. ITS ABOLITION IN 1689 166-179 CHAPTER Vn MEETING-PLACES OF THE COUNCIL : LUDLOW, BEWDLEY, SHREWSBURY, HEREFORD, BRIDGENORTH . . 180-216 CHAPTER Vni THE PROCEDURE OF THE COUNCIL .... 2 1 7-234 CHAPTER IX FINANCES OF THE COUNCIL. THE MANAGEMENT OF THE HOUSEHOLD AT LUDLOW CASTLE . . . 235-251 CHAPTER X THE ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES OF THE COUNCIL . . 252-268 CONCLUSION 269-283 APPENDIX I THE TITLE OF THE COUNCIL 285-286 APPENDIX II LIST OF LORDS PRESIDENT 287 APPENDIX III OFFICIALS OF THE COUNCIL IN THE MARCHES . . 288-289 APPENDIX IV OWNERSHIP OF THE MARCHER LORDSHIPS IN THE REIGNS OF HENRY VII. AND HENRY VIII. . . 290-293 INDEX 295 LIST OF AUTHORITIES AUTHORITIES FOR THE HISTORY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES The documents relating to the Council may be classified as follows : I. State Papers, including : {a) Instructions and the preparatory drafts and comments, correspondence between the Privy Council and the Lord President, warrants for payment of fees, papers relating to the Council's jurisdiction, etc., etc. ; {b) records of fines paid into the Exchequer. Under the former head {a) a considerable mass of material is pre- served, partly in the British Museum, partly among the State Papers Domestic in the Public Record Office, and partly in the Privy Council Office. Of the Exchequer records only a few papers are preserved (list given below). In all probability the separate collection of papers relating to Wales (which undoubtedly existed before the Act of Union) ' was continued down to the seventeenth century. It was probably kept with the State Papers, the Council Office Records, and the Signet Office Records, under the Old Banquetting House at Whitehall. Loss was doubtless occasioned by the moving of the State Papers in 1614 and again in 1618; still more by the Whitehall fire of 1619, when the old Council chests were broken up and the surviving papers placed in presses with the State Papers Domestic. A trace of this central collection occurs in a list written by Sir Ralph Sadler in 155 1, "L'resand Matiers touching the M'ches of Wales." ^ II. The actual records of the proceedings of the Council at Ludlow and elsewhere. — These have, with few exceptions, perished. At one ' Exchequer Records. Treasury of Receipt Department, Liber A., Nos. 3 (Papal Bulls), 15, 16 (Welsh Wars). - State Paper Office Documents, Vol. I., 1546-1666, f. 20. For this and the preceding reference I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. Hubert Hall. viii LIST OF AUTHORITIES time they must have been numerous, to judge by the large number of cases (often two hundred to three hundred a term) brought before the Court. In the earlier days of the Council its Acts and decrees were registered "in faire paper bookes of great volumes fully and at large like as in the Chancery." Safe keeping of the records is urged again and again in the instructions, though with little effect, in spite of Sir Henry Sydney's provision of rooms under the court-house for the express purpose. But though carelessness may account for the loss of some of the Council records, it is certain that large numbers survived down to 1642. They are not mentioned in the list of goods at Ludlow Castle inventoried and sold by order of the Council of State in October, 1650. Of course, some may have been destroyed when the castle was taken by Brereton in 1646 ; but had this been the case with all, we should have expected some reference to it after the Restoration. Dineley, the author of the Beaufort Progress, though quick to notice tokens of the ravages committed in the late war, says nothing of the records. It would seem, therefore, that the bulk at any rate survived till 1689, when the Court was abolished. Judge Lewis, in his History of the Council in the Marches down to 1575, writes that a few years back it became important, for the purposes of an action tried |in one of the Welsh Courts, to find, if possible, the records ot the Court for the reign of Queen Elizabeth. A firm of eminent record agents was engaged to make search at the Record Office, the British Museum, Ludlow, Bewdley, and elsewhere, but with no result. He adds, "it is pretty certain that the records of the Court have for the most part, if not altogether, been destroyed. If any still exist, they will probably be found in old libraries, belonging to persons whose ancestors or the ancestors of whose predecessors in title were officials connected with the Court." Since the above words were written the Historical MSS. Com- mission has brought to light some documents which are undoubtedly contemporary records of the Court — viz. the MSS. preserved at the Bridgewater Trust Office, Walkden, Lancashire. These documents, which are fully described in Chapter V., have been used for the first time in the present essay, and are of service in supplementing the material afforded by the Dovaston MS., on which Clive largely based his History of Ludlow. III. Ofdcrs and letters fro7?i the Council preserved in the jnunicipal and other collections of MSS. — The chief of these are the collections of Shrewsbury, Ludlow, and Hereford ; some references also occur in those of Chester and Bridgenorth. LIST OF AUTHORITIES ix In the compilation of the following list much help has been derived from Mr. Owen's Catalogue of MSS. in the British Museum, relating to Wales, and from the Bibliography prefixed to Miss Cora Scofield's Dissertation on the Star Chamber. MANUSCRIPTS British Museum 1. Cotfonian MSS. Vitellius, C. i., f. 2 (Ordinances at Shrewsbury, i8 Edw. IV.). ,, ,, ff. 3-5 (Cromwell's Remembrances). ,, ,, f. 6 (List of Assistants to the King's Commissioners). ,, ,, ff. 7-20 (Instructions for the Princess's Council). ,, ,, ff. 134-5 (Four Counties Case; the King's Speech). „ ,, f. 191 (List of Lords President). ,, ,, ff. 197, 204 (Abstract of Lord Eure's Instructions and of Instructions for the Council of the North). „ „ f. 205 (Letter to Sir Herbert Croft : Four Counties Case). ,, ,, f. 206 (Letter from Lord Eure). ,, ,, f. 207 (Letter from Queen Mary to Bishop Bourne). ,, ,, ff. 208-9 (Exemption of Cheshire). Titus, A. xxvi., f. 229 (Description of the Council of the Marches ; Comparison with the French Parlements). „ B. i., f. 321 (Letter from Dr. Sampson to Wolsey describing the Princess Mary), M f. 150 ] ,, „ f. 461 H Cromwell's Remembrances). Cleopatra, E. VI., f.3i2j ,, ,, f. 328 (Household of the Princess Mary). 2. Lansdowne MSS. 12, ff. 163-4 (Fees of Officers). 22, ff. 166-70 (Abuses in Council). 28, ff. 124-5 (Fees ; List of Debts). 32, ff. 126^-7 (Fines, 1581). 38, f. 95 (Letter from Sir James Croft). 38, f. 97 (List of Fees and Fines, 25 Eliz.). 38, f. 99 (List of Fines, 19-25 Eliz.). 45, ff. 8-ix (Brief of the Instructions for Wales, September, 1585). X LIST OF AUTHORITIES 49, f. 82 (Instructions to Sir Henry Sydney. Printed by Clive, PP- 309-34)- 49, ff. 173-86 {I'e Instructions). 49, f. 188 (Provision of Grain). 49, f. 189 (^c Instructions). 49, ff. 1 90- 1 {7-e Instructions). 49, ff. 195-6 (Notes of Instructions). 49, ff. 197-207 (Instructions to the Earl of Pembroke, 1586). 51, ff. 103-14 (Brief Collections of the Present State of the Court. See pp. 219-25). 53, f. 138 (Letter from the Earl of Pembroke to Lord Burghley). 60, ff. 103-12 {re Instructions). 63, ff. S8-98 (List of Possible Members of the Council, etc.). 63, f. 179 (Forces to be sent to Milford Haven and the Isle of Wight). 63, f. 187 (Charges against the Earl of Pembroke). 63, f. 193 (Need of Fit Councillors). 67, f. 242 (Abuses in the Court). 67, f. 243 (Reforms begun by the Earl of Pembroke). 76, f. \\\b-<^ (Reforms needed). 79) f- 33 (Reforms needed and not accomplished). 84, flf. 84-5 (Charges of Extortion against Certain Persons before the Court of the Marches). 87, f. 24-6 (Case of Simon Cotherington). 87, f. 124 (List of Servants in the Ludlow Household). Ill, ff. 1-5 (The Office of the Queen's Solicitor in Wales). Ill, ff. 6-7 (Charges of Extortion against William Thomas and Others). Ill, f. 12 (Ecclesiastical Commission). Ill, f. 20 (Repairs done by Sir Henry Sydney at Tickenhill). Ill, ff. 21-4 (Debts owing and Fines due). Ill, ff. 25, 29, 31-7 (Remembrances concerning the Court). 155, ff. 222(^-49^ (Instructions to Sir Henry Sydney). 156, f. 394 (Caesar Papers ; Payment of Diet Money). 159, f. 50 (Religious Condition of Wales). 165, f. 264 {re Instructions). 216, ff. 34-9 (Treatise on the Government of Wales). 216, ff. 46-501^ (State of the Cause concerning the Lord President and Council in the Marches of Wales). LIST OF AUTHORITIES xi 3. Har grave MSS. 418, ff. 2-66 (Instructions to the Earl of Bridgewater, 1633). 489 (The Estate of the Prince of Wales). 4. Harleian AISS. 141, ff. 2S-85 (Description of the Dominion of Wales). 368, ff. 177-9 (Petitions to the Council). 4898 (Inventory of Goods at Ludlow Castle and Bewdley House). 5353 (Manninghara's Diary). 6807, ff. 3-6 (Household of the Princess Mary). 5^ Additio7ial MSS. Eg. 2345, Liber Pacis (giving the Commissions of the Peace for Wales and the Four Border Counties, with Cheshire and Warwickshire, the Sheriffs for Wales, and the Councillors in the Principality and the Marches of Wales). Eg. 2642, f. 2^26 (Names of the Council and Lords President of the Marches). Eg. 2642, f. 273<^ (List of Founders and Owners of Ludlow Castle). Eg. 2790, f. 12 (Instructions of 1574). Eg. 2790, f. 23 (Orders for the Council of the Marches of Wales). Eg. 2790, ff. 30 ei seqq. (Instructions for the Council of the North : Reference to Wales in §§ 11 and 44). 14,905 (Commission for the Eisteddfod of October, 1567). 14,907, f. 126 (Lists of Lords President). 14,936, f. 52^ „ „ „ 14,945, f. 10 25,244 (Papers relating to the Jurisdiction of the Council of the Marches, 1 569-1612.) 32,091, f. 107 (Malet Collection: Letter from Henry VIII. to the Duke of Buckingham). Royal MSS., 18, B. VII., f. 277 (Copy of Entry Book for the Trinity Term of 1617). Public Record Office. The following documents, in addition to the State Papers Domestic^ contain matter bearing on the Council of the Marches : Accounts, etc.. Exchequer Q. R. Rolls. Bundle 119, Nos. 5, 11, 12. ,, 120, Nos. 8, 20. „ 533, Nos. 22, 24-6. xii LIST OF AUTHORITIES Privy Council Office. The Council Register (MS. Volumes up to 1689). The Bodleian Library. Ashmolean MSS. 824, XXII. (Description of Various Courts of Record). Clarendon MSS., Nos. 1475, 1485, 1535, 1538 (Committee for con- sidering the Jurisdiction of the Councils of Wales and the North). Tanner MSS., 91, 9, f. 137 (Objections to Instructions). ,, ,, 91, 9, f. 138 (Criticism of the Bill of March, 1606, for the Better Explaining of 34 H. VIII., c. 26). The Bridgewater Trust Office, Walkden. Ludlow Castle Papers, passim. Welsh Council Papers, /aw?>«. Welsh Shrievalty Papers, Bundle 6. Books of Hearing for Hilary Term, 1632 (Nos. 35 and 36 in Welsh Council Papers). Books of Hearing for 1633 to 1640. Instructions to Lord Zouch and to the Earl of Bridgewater. Royal Papers, No. 88 (Forests). The Guildhall, Shrewsbury. The MSS. numbered as follows in the Calendar of the Borough Records : Box IX. 559; Box LXVIII. 2621, 2624, 2630; Box LXXVI. 2698, 2700, 2702; Box LXXVII. 2761, 2762. The Record Room, Ludlow. Miscellaneous MSS. (Uncalendared) relating to the Council (Orders for Stay of Action in the Bailiffs' Court, etc.). LIST OF AUTHORITIES xiii PRINTED BOOKS (a) State Papers, Historical Collections, etc. Statutes at Large. Rolls of Parliament. Journals of the House of Lords. Journals of the House of Commons. Calendars of State Papers, Domestic Series, Henry VHI. to William HI. Calendars of Patent Rolls, Edward IV. to Richard HI. Issues of the Exchequer, by Frederick Devon. London, 1837. Rymer's Fcedera. Proceedings and Ordinances of the Privy Council of England, edited by Sir Harris Nicolas, 1834-7. Acts of the Privy Council of England. New Series (for the years 1542-97). The Paston Letters, 1422- 1509, edited by James Gairdner. London, 1896. Hall's Chronicle, ed. 1809 (reprint). Grafton's Chronicle, ed. 1809 (reprint from the 1569 edition). Holinshed's Chronicle, ed. 1586. Camden : Britannia, ed. 1772. Strype : The Life and Acts of John Whitgift, D.D. Oxford, 1822. Letters written by John Chamberlain during the Reign of Queen Elizabeth. Camden Society, 1861. John Manningham's Diary. Camden Society, 1868. Rushworth's Historical Collections, 1659. (/^) Other Works. Arguments proving the Jurisdiction used by the President and Counsell in the Marches of Wales over the Four English Counties to be Illegal, 1 64 1. Baxter : Reliquiae Baxterianae, 1696. Bentham : History of Ely, 1817. Biographia Britannica, 1778. Blount : Law Dictionary, ed. 17 17. Burton : History of Bewdley, 1883 Cambria Triumphans, 1661. Cambrian Plutarch, by J. H. Parry, 1824. Cambrian Register, 1796-1818. xiv LIST OF AUTHORITIES Churchyard : The Worthines of Wales, ed. 1776 (reprint of the edition of 1587). Churton : Lives of William Smyth and Sir Robert Sutton, 1800. Clarendon: History of the Great Rebellion. Oxford, 1888. Clarendon: Life of, ed. 1759. Clark: Land of Morgan, 1880. Clark: Cartae et alia Munimenta de Glamorgan, 1885-93. Clark: Mediaeval and Military Architecture in England, 1884. Clive : Documents connected with the History of Ludlow, 1822. Coke : The Fourth Part of the Institutes of the Lawes of England concerning the Jurisdiction of Courts, Fourth edition, 1669. Coke : Book of Entries, 1614. Collins: Letters and Memorials of State (Sydney Papers), 1746. Cooper: AthenEe Cantabrigienses, 1858, etc. Cowell : The Interpreter or Booke containing the Signification of Words. Cambridge, 1607. Croke : Reports, ed. 1790-2. Crompton : L'Authoritie et Jurisdiction des Courts de la Majestie de la Roygne. London, 1594. Dictionary of National Biography. Dineley : Beaufort Progress, ed. 1888. Diurnall Occurrences or Dayly Proceedings of both Houses in this Great and Happy Parliament from November 3rd, 1640, to November 3rd, 1641. Doddridge (Sir John) : An Historical Account of the Ancient and Modern State of Wales, etc., ed. 17 14. Duncumb: History of the County of Hereford, 1804. Dyer: Reports, 1794. Edwards (Owen) : Wales, 1901. Eyton : Antiquities of Shropshire, 1854-60. Fuller : Worthies of England, 181 1. Lord Herbert of Cherbury: Autobiography, ed. 1886. Jones : History of Brecknockshire, ed. 1898. Leadam : Select Cases in the Court of Requests. Selden Society, 1898. Leland : Itinerary, ed. 1770. Lloyd (J. Y. W.) : History of the Princes, the Lords Marchers, etc., 1881-7. Lyson : Gloucestershire Antiquities, 1803. Madden : Privy Purse E.\penses of the Princess Mary, 1831. Madox : Baronia Anglica, 1741. Masson : Milton's Works, 1890. Morris (J. E.) : Welsh Wars of Edward I., 1901. LIST OF AUTHORITIES xv Ormerod : History of Cheshire, ed. 1882, Owen and Blakevvay : History of Shrewsbury, 1825. Parliamentary Proceedings of the Long Parhament, 1651. Pennant : Tour in Wales, ed. 1883. Penry : Exhortation to the Governors and People of Wales, 1588. Phillips : Memoirs of the Civil War in Wales and the Marches, 1878. Powel: Historie of Cambria, 1584. Price (Sir John): Description of Wales, ed. 181 2. Prothero : Select Statutes and Other Constitutional Documents illus- trative of the Reigns of Elizabeth and James I., 1894. Reeves and Finlason : History of English Law to the Reign of Elizabeth, 1869. Rhys and Brynmor Jones: The Welsh People, 1900. Rudder: History of Gloucestershire, 1799. Scofield : A Study of the Court of Star Chamber. Chicago, 1900. Seyer : Charters and Letters Patent of Bristol, 181 2, Speeches and Passages of this Great and Happy Parliament, 1641. Spedding and Ellis: Bacon's Works, Vol. VH., 1872, Tanner: Bibliotheca Britannico-Hibernica, 1748. Verney : Notes of Proceedings in the Long Parliament. Camden Society, 1845. Vergil (Polydore) : Historia Anglica, ed. 1603. Warrington : History of Wales, 1823. Woodward : History of Wales, 1853. Wright (Thomas) : History of Ludlow, 1841-52. Wright (Thomas) : Historical and Descriptive Sketch of Ludlow Castle and Church, i86g. Wynn : History of the Gwydir Family, ed. 1776. Wynne : History of Wales, ed. 1812. Calendars, Periodical Publications, etc. Historical MSS. Commission Reports. Third Report, Appendix. MSS. of Lord de I'lsle and Dudley. MSS. of Whitehall Dod, Esq. Fourth Report, Appendix. Lord Bagot's MSS. ,, ,, Lord Mostyn's MSS. Eighth Report, Appendix. Chester MSS. Tenth Report, Parts HI. and IV. Bridgenorth MSS. „ „ Mr. Lloyd Gatacre's MSS. „ „ Mr. Zachary Lloyd's MSS Eleventh Report, App. VII. Bridgewater MSS. xvi LIST OF AUTHORITIES Thirteenth Report, App. IV. Dovaston MS. Hereford MSS. Fifteenth Report, App. X. Shrewsbury MSS. Report on MSS. in the Welsh Language, Vol. I., 1898. Mostyn MSS., No. 158. Catalogue of MSS. relating to Wales in the British Museum, by Edward Owen, 1900. Calendar of the Records of the Corporation of Gloucester, 1893. Calendar of the Shrewsbury Borough Records, 1896. Worcestershire County Records. Quarter Sessions Rolls, Part II. Archaeologia, XXXVII. (Article by H. S. Milman on the Political Geography of Wales). Archaeologia Cambrensis, Vol. II., pp. 149, et seqq., and p. 335, et seqq,, Vol. III., pp. 66-8 (Proceedings of the Great Court of the Lordships of Bromfield and Yale in 1467). Cymmrodorion Society Publications. Y Cymmrodor, Vol. IX. [(Article on the Welsh Shires by Professor Tout). Y Cymmrodor, Vol. XII. (Article on the Court of the Marches, by Judge Lewis). Y Cymmrodor, Vol. XIII. (Further Notes on the Court of the Marches, by D. Lleufer Thomas), Cymmrodorion Record Series (George Owen's Description of Pembrokeshire, edited by H. Owen). Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. XCIII. (George Owen's Description of Wales). Shropshire Archaeological and Natural History Society Transactions, Second Series, Vols. I., II. (The Trained Soldiers of Shropshire in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth). Shropshire Archaeological and Natural History Society Transactions, Second Series, Vols. I., II., IV. (Ludlow Churchwardens' Ac- counts). Society of Antiquaries, Collection of Ordinances for the Government of the Royal Household, 1790, ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA P. 2, line 21, for ' Burleigh,' read ' Burghley.' P. 65, line 3, for ' or Place,' read 'o'r Plas,' i.e. of the Place or House. P. 76, line 2. This was written before I had the opportunity of reading the article by Mr. Llewellyn Williams in Y Cymiurodor, vol. xvi., on * A Welsh Conspiracy,' in which the story of Rhys ap Griffith is for the first time fully told. P. 78, line 8, for ' information given.' read ' information laid.' P. 86, line 6, for ' P'arl.' read ' Duke.' P. 96, line 3 from foot of page, for ' Sidney,' read ' Sydney.' P. 172, line 3, for ' Langharne,' read ' Laugharne.' P. 176, line 9, for 'July 4th, 1689,' read 'July 14th, 1684.' P. 183. Since this was written, some important excavations have been made at Ludlow Castle, which have thrown light on the original purpose of some of the existing buildings. P. 186, line 7 from foot of page, for ' wardrode,' read 'wardrobe.' P. 193, last line, ' Inckell ' is some kind of tape or braid. P. 214, line 25, insert ' and ' between ' lodging ' and ' utensils,' P. 256, line 13: for ' viligance,' read ' vigilance.' THE Council in the Marches of Wales INTRODUCTION Among the extraordinary Courts of the Tudor and Stuart periods special interest attaches to the " Court of the Council in the Dominion and Principality of Wales, and the Marches of the same." ^ Its history, extending over more than two centuries, throws much light on methods of government, and also on the social condition of the people within its jurisdiction. The Court was a means of ensuring order in districts long vexed by war, faction, and unpunished crime. It did something to render the union of England and Wales advantageous to both countries ; and in spite of many faults, it may be regarded as a fairly successful attempt to grapple with difficulties, the origin of which lay far back in the past. From a purely constitutional point of view it deserves closer study than it has hitherto received. Its relations w'ith the Privy Council, the Star Chamber, and the various local authorities, illustrate that development of both central and local government which especially characterizes the England of the Tudors. In the constitutional struggle of the seventeenth century the Court occupied some place, ' For the various titles of the Court and Council, see Appendix I. I 2 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES owing to its conflicts with the Common Law Courts respecting jurisdiction, and its use as an instrument of personal govern- ment. Even after its partial abolition by the Long Parliament in 1 64 1, it continued to some extent up to the outbreak of the Civil War ; it was revived at the Restoration, and was not finally abolished till the first year of the reign of William and Mary. Much of what has just been said would apply with equal — in- deed, with greater — force to other extraordinary Courts, especially to the Star Chamber. But in one respect the Council of the Marches has an advantage over even that great tribunal — namely, in its associations with some of the most famous names of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Of those who actually presided over the Council the most distinguished are Bishop Rowland Lee and Sir Henry Sydney ; but many other notable persons were in some way or other connected with its work. Several of these were of royal blood, as Prince Edward, afterwards Edward V. ; Prince Arthur, Henry VII. 's eldest and short-lived son; and the Princess Mary, who passed the happiest years, doubtless, of her life on the Welsh Border. Others were states- men, such as Lord Burleigh, whose extant memoranda show the minute care with which he supervised the Council's work. Others, again, were lawyers, such as Sir Thomas Englefield in Lee's time, William Gerard a generation later, and Bacon himself, who argued strongly in favour of the Council's juris- diction over the four Border counties. Lastly, with the Council are linked the names of Milton, Butler, and Baxter. Milton's Comus was acted in the Great Hall of Ludlow Castle, to celebrate the Earl of Bridgewater's entry on his office as Lord President. Butler wrote his Hudibras while steward of the castle and secretary to the Earl of Carbery, and Richard Baxter, in his autobiography, gives a vivid description of Ludlow town as he knew it, full of needy suitors and grasping clerks. To understand the conditions under which the Council existed, it is necessary to go back four centuries earlier than the date of its institution — to the time when the Norman barons found in the piecemeal conquest of Wales an outlet for the independence INTRODUCTION 3 sternly denied them in England. Collision between the Welsh and Normans was inevitable ; the latter were simply following out the policy which the English Harold had begun. Four years after Senlac, Chester fell, and the completion of the conquest of England was the beginning of the conquest of Wales. This was not undertaken by the Norman kings ; they had neither time nor inclination for warfare in the rugged mountainous country, where success was doubtful and plunder scarce. The Conqueror was content to plant along the Welsh Border a line of castles for protection against invasion. In them were placed men who, with their Norman instinct for fighting and plunder, might be trusted to conquer Wales for their own profit. The task would be hard enough, he thought, to prevent them from growing over-powerful as against himself.^ The conquest of Wales naturally began from three distinct bases. Chester points to the region north of the Berwyn Mountains and west of Snowdon ; Shrew^sbury opens the way to Powys and the Upper Severn ; Hereford commands the entrance to the moorlands and valleys between Plinlimmon and the Black Mountains. At these three gates, therefore, William placed three of his ablest and most trusted followers : Hugh of Avranches, his own nephew, in Chester ; Roger of Mont- gomery, once regent of Normandy, in Shrewsbury ; William FitzOsbern, the best soldier at Senlac, in Hereford. Chester and Shrewsbury were counties palatine, and their rulers were to all intents and purposes independent. An outwork dependent on Chester was Rhuddlan, held by Hugh's man Robert. For a time the conquest went on apace under the earls and their followers. Castles were built, and near them in many cases grew up bourgs, where " Francigenae burgenses " {t'.e. Norman adventurers) lived in enjoyment of certain privileges as tenants of some great lord. These burgess rights, it would seem, were introduced by FitzOsbern from Breteuil in Normandy to Hereford, Shrewsbury, Ludlow, and elsewhere, whence in time they were passed on to Rhuddlan and Montgomery, Cardiff and Haverford- ' For the earlier pages of this Introduction I am much indebted to Mr. Morris's Welsh Wars of Edward I. 4 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES west.^ Then came a check. First the Welsh, by Viking aid, slew Hugh of Montgomery, Roger's second son, and regained Anglesey. His death left his elder brother, Robert of Belleme, the holder of immense possessions — the county palatine of Shrewsbury, the Earldom of Arundel, and broad lands in Normandy and Ponthieu. In the opening years of Henry I.'s reign Robert aimed at securing practical independence of the Crown. He was crushed ; his brother Arnulf, who had settled in Cardigan, fared no better, and the palatine Earldom of Shrews- bury ceased to exist. Henry had destroyed a dangerous rival, but at the same time he had checked Norman expansion to the west, except in so far as the Mortimers conquered along the Upper Severn. Meanwhile, the Earls of Chester had plenty of fighting against the Welsh ; castles were built, such as Mold and Hawarden ; sometimes Rhuddlan and Diganwy were occupied, but the Four Cantreds lying between the Dee and the Conway were not conquered. The reason for this seems to be partly geographical ; the strip along the northern coast between the mountains and the sea was so narrow that invaders had no cover from the Welsh, who held the mountain sides in force. Hence they could not advance up-stream along the Clwyd or the Conway, while their transport resources were inadequate for conquest by land.^ Another reason may be found in the jealousy with which the barons of the North Welsh Border were watched by the Crown after the fall of Robert of Belleme. If power was not to be gained by war, there was no incentive for them to fight against a troublesome foe. Doubt- less royal expeditions, such as those of Henry 11. and John, penetrated at times as far as Snowdon ; but they achieved nothing. The heavy feudal cavalry were lured into the mountains by the retreating Welsh, only to find themselves driven to with- draw through bad weather and lack of supplies. The result was that, owing to the geographical conditions and the lack of preparation for royal conquest by the independent action of ' Articles by Miss Bateson in Eng. Hist. Review, 1900, especially pp. 76, 302, 306, 307, 520 ; cf. Morris, pp. 4, 5. - Morris, p. 8. INTRODUCTION 5 Lords Marchers, the Princes of Gwynedd were able to retain their independence, and the fortress of Snowdon came to be regarded as the centre of Welsh unity. In South Wales a different state of things prevailed. The Norman lords had in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire bases far superior to Chester, also a good route along the coast whence they could work up the valleys of the Wye, the Usk, the Taff, and the Towy. From the time of Rufus onwards the conquest of South Wales steadily progressed. The Lower Usk and the land of Morgan were secured by Robert Fitzhamon, Brecknock by Bernard of Newmarch, the Carmarthen coast by William de Londres, Pembroke by Arnulf of Montgomery. The last- named was crushed by the fall of his brother Robert of Belleme, but his place was taken by Henry L's friend, Gilbert de Clare, who built castles in Pembroke and Cardigan. His younger brother Walter settled on the Wye in Monmouth, where he founded Tintern Abbey. From the elder brother descended two branches, the Earls of Hereford and the Earls of Pembroke ; the marriage of his great-grandson, Richard de Clare, Earl of Hertford, with Amicia, heiress of Gloucester and Glamorgan, made him the most powerful of all the Marcher Lords. The younger branch, the Earls of Pembroke, held not only Pembroke itself, but the lands along the Wye and westwards towards the Usk. Other powerful families acquired Marcher Lordships, as that of Braose in Gower, and also (through marriage with the heiress of Bernard of Newmarch) in Brecknock and northern Monmouth. In the middle of the thirteenth century the Clare and Braose lands were divided. Those belonging to the younger branch of the Clares had passed to William the Marshal, husband of Strongbow's daughter Isabel, and thence to his three heiresses. In this way new families gained lands in the Marches — Valence, Norfolk, Cantilupe, Hastings, Bohun ; while the Mortimers of Wigmore, by acquiring Builth on the Wye, and St. Clears, west of Carmarthen, became powerful not only in Central, but also in South-West Wales. About the same time as the division of the Braose inheritance the March of Ewyas between Breck- nock and Herefordshire, held by the Lacy family, was also 6 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES divided. Of the two heiresses, one married Geoffrey de Genevile (who obtained the lordship of Ludlow) ; the other, Theobald, de Verdun. On the southern coast, to the west of Gower (still held by a branch of the Braose family), was the March of Kidwelly, belonging to the Chaworths; further west was the March of Llanstephan, held by the Camvilles. To the north the Border was held by the Mortimers, along the Upper Severn ; the Fitzalans in Clun and Oswestry,^ the Corbets at Cawes, the I'Estranges in Ellesmere and Knockin. After 1237, by the extinction of the line of earls, Chester had reverted to the Crown. Between the days of William Rufus and those of Edward L grew up, slowly, indeed, but all the more surely, the famous " custom of the March." The position of the Lords Marchers was thoroughly anomalous as compared with that of the ordinary English baron. Their analogues must be sought, not in England, but in France, or, better still, in Germany, where the margraves held somewhat the same position against the Slavs as they did against the Welsh. For several reasons they re- ceived at the time of their conquests no charters defining their privileges. When the king granted to any noble such lands in Wales as he might win, it was impossible to fix any definite limits within which privileges might be exercised. Again, even after a lord had conquered Welsh territory, he had always to fear expul- sion, and would not be inclined to sue for a charter. Lastly, the powers exercised with a Lordship Marcher were " of soe high a nature, soe royall and soe united to y® Crowne, yt by the lawes of this land yt lay not in y® power of y® King to seuer y® same from his imperiall crowne." It seemed better, therefore, to allow the lords to exercise these powers on their own authority than to make a grant which would be of no effect. Within the lordships the king's writ did not run, but the lords had their own Courts and officers. A powerful lordship such as Glamorgan contained its own sheriffs, chancery, and chancellor. Great Seal, civil and criminal Court, where sentence of death could be passed. The ' They, however, held by feudal tenure, not as Lords Marchers (Morris, p. 22). INTRODUCTION 7 lords further enjoyed iura regalia, including rights to waifs, strays, infangthef and outfangthef, treasure-trove, deodands, goods of felons, wreck, wharfage, custom of strangers, and so forth. They also had a right to the goods of tenants dying intestate within their lordships, unless a special exemption had been granted. Further, they were permitted of their own absolute power to incorporate towns and boroughs without seeking leave or licence from the king. Feuds between Lords Marchers were decided in practice by private war, in theory by the king.^ If the above privileges were considerable, so also were the duties incumbent on a Lord Marcher. He was expected to keep his castle safe against Welsh attacks, and to be ready to serve the king in person with his vassals when called upon. Further, the conquests he made were carried on at his own expense. The contemporary records of the wars waged by Edward I. and Edward II. show what an important part was played by the Lords Marchers. They had far more military experience than the ordinary English baron, and their Welsh followers, especially the archers, proved of the utmost value. ^ Each Lord Marcher was a tenant-in-chief of the Crown ; at the same time he granted out manors to sub-tenants, who paid him the usual feudal dues. Some of his tenants held per baroniam ; others by grand or petty serjeanty, socage, or villein- age. Interference within a Marcher Lordship was only possible when a lord became so oppressive as to force his tenants in a body to appeal to the king for redress.^ The Lord of ' George Owen's Treatise on the Government of Wales, Lansdovvne MSS. 216: cf. Madox, Baronia Anglica, pp. 154-6; Clark, Cartae et alia Munimenta de Glamorgan, Vol. IV., p. 253, and Land of Morgan, p, 15 ; Eyton's Shropshire, Vol. VII., p. 257. The usual description of a Lordship^ Marcher is " ubi breve regis non currit," or " ubi rex non apponit manum suam " (Eyton, Shropshire, Vol. XI., p. 247). * For the quotas recognised as due from the Lords Marchers in 1277,. see Morris, p. 62. ^ E.g. the complaint of the tenants of Gower against Richard de Peshale and Alina his wife, heiress of William de Braose (Clark, Cartae, etc. Vol. I., pp. 279-82, Nos. CCLIX., CCLX.). 8 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Glamorgan at one time held, sede vacante, the temporalities of the Bishopric of Llandaff, and he was always patron of the principal abbeys and of the boroughs within his jurisdiction. When a Marcher Lordship was, by escheat or during a minority, vested in the Crown, the personal service due from the military tenants to the lord Avas not transferred to the Crown, but could be compounded for in money. Another noteworthy point in the relations of Marcher Lords to the Crown is this : In their case inquisitiones post mortem were held by the escheator of the next English shire adjoining their lordships, in virtue of a writ under the Great Seal issuing from the Chancery at Westminster.^ The Lords Marchers were not backward in asserting their privileges even against the king. In 1199 the Sheriff of Hereford, when ordered by the king's Court to take possession of Bradwardine Castle, protested his inability, it being outside his bailiwick. William de Braose, in whose land it lay, declared that neither king, sheriff, nor justice had any right to enter his liberty. 2 The baronial war of the thirteenth century brings out clearly the position of the Lords Marchers; they held the balance of power between Llewelyn and the Crown, and sided with the one or the other according to their own interests. The accession of Edward I., which boded ill to the independence of Wales under Llewelyn, threatened equally the independence of the marcher lords. Even as Earl of Chester he had instituted at Carmarthen a County Court, to which the neighbouring lords were compelled to do suit and service. After his accession, he set himself to put the Marchers on the same legal footing as the Crown tenants in England. It was no easy task, for their help against the Welsh was indispensable, and even Edward had to walk warily. The strength of March privilege ' E.g. the inqnisitio post mortem of Thos. Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, directed to the escheators of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and the Marches of Wales, 20 Nov., 43 E, III., 1369 (Clark, Cartae, etc., Vol. IV., No. MCXCIII.). - Eyton's Shropshire, Vol. I., p. 235 (from Rot. Pip., 8 and 9 Ric. I., Salop). INTRODUCTION 9 is seen in the oft-told story of John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, who replied to the quo warranto writ which questioned his right to the lordships of Bromfield and Yale, by unsheathing an old rusty sword and crying, " Behold my title ! By this sword my forefathers, who came in with William the Bastard, obtained their lands, and by it will I hold and defend them against any who shall endeavour to dispossess me." Equally significant is the fact that in the Welsh wars the Lords Marchers hardly ever took the king's pay, and rarely went abroad or to Scotland.^ The completion of the conquest of Wales in 1283 brought the question of March privilege to the front. Henceforth there was no independent Welsh territory left to conquer, for the royal power extended over the five shires of Anglesey, Carnarvon, Merioneth, Cardigan, and Carmarthen, as well as over Chester and Flint. The custom of private war, which had hitherto prevailed in the Marches, seemed to a law-loving king such as Edward an intolerable anachronism. He insisted on replacing it by legal process in the dispute between John GiiTard and the Earl of Hereford, and some years later in that between the Earls of Hereford and Gloucester. In both cases Edward gained his point, but he had a heavy price to pay in after years, when, in the fierce struggle over the confirmation of the charters, the proudest of the baronage were ranged against him. To the very end of his reign he was hampered in his attempt to conquer Scotland by baronial opposition dating from the Welsh wars.^ Although Edward was only partially successful in his attack on March privilege, yet his conquest of Wales meant that in the long run it would disappear. The Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 gave English law and organization to the old Principality of Wales and its dependencies of the south. The three northern shires of Anglesey, Carnarvon, and Merioneth were placed under ' Morris, p. 6i. ^ For details, see Morris, pp. 202, 22o, et seqq. Cf. tlie process in Parliament between the Crown and William de Braose concerning the liberties of Gowersland, 28 E. I. (Clark, Cartae, etc., Vol. IV., No. MLXXIV., pp. 10-18). 10 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES the Justice of Snowdon ; Flint was to be under the Justice of Chester, and Cardigan and Carmarthen under the Justice of South Wales. Sheriffs, coroners, and bailiffs were to be appointed for each shire. The conquered Welsh were to be kept down by castles such as Conway, Carnarvon, Criccieth, and Harlech in the north-west ; Kidwelly and Caerphilly in the south. Beneath them towns were built or restored, and received charters modelled on that of Hereford ; they were allowed to create a gild-merchant which monopolised the trade of the district. In some towns {e.g. Carnarvon and Conway) Welsh burgesses were excluded ; in others {e.g. Denbigh) they were admitted from the first. Between the newly conquered districts and the western shires of England lay the crescent-shaped March, extending from the Clwyd to the Dee, thence to the Severn, and thence round to the western sea.^ For the next two centuries no king had both strength and leisure to resume the campaign against March privilege which Edward I. had begun. The apprehension with which the Crown regarded the Marcher Lords may be inferred from the statute of 1354, enacting that they "shall be perpetually attending and annexed to the Crown of England, as they and their Ancestors have been in all times past, and not to the Principality of Wales, in whose hands soever the same Principality be or hereafter shall come." It was evidently felt that in case Wales ever came under an entirely separate government, the Lords Marchers might, without some such proviso, prefer to throw in their lot with Wales rather than England. That they were regarded with dislike by the neighbouring local authorities appears from a ' The Statute of Rhuddlan (cl. 4) throws much light on the condition of Wales at the time ; the sheriff is to inquire, e.g., " of Mascherers that sell and buy stolen Meat knowingly ; of Whittawers, that is, those that whiten Hides of Oxen and Horses, knowing the same to have been stolen, that they may not be known again ; of Redubbers of stolen Cloths, that turn them into a new Shape and change the old one, as making a Coat or Surcoat of a Cloak and the like ; of them that shear Sheep bj- Night in the Folds, and that flay them and any other Beasts ; and of them that take and collect by Night the Ears of Corn in Autumn and carry them away." INTRODUCTION ti protest made by several of their number in the ninth year of Edward III. They complain that their tenants had been out- lawed to their impoverishment and the prejudice of their lords' franchises, and request that if such tenants can certify by record of Domesday or otherwise that offences committed by them were committed " outside the body of the county," a writ may be directed to the sheriffs and Justices for surcease of proceedings and reversal of outlawry. The lords, it is added, are ready to do justice to all suitors in their Courts. The king's answer, as might be expected, is not encouraging : " Let any who feels himself aggrieved, come to the Chancery and show his grievance, and he shall thereon have his remedy and right." ^ The chief holders of these privileges, the Mortimers, came to be themselves heirs to the crown of England. The heiress of another great Marcher family, Mary de Bohun, became the wife of Henry Bolingbroke and ultimately Queen. Henry's chief difficulties lay in Wales, where he had to face the national leader, Glendower, and Glendower's-son-in-law, Edmund Mortimer. But this peasant revolt was short-lived, and in Henry V.'s reign the social discontent which had been its cause was lessened by the departure of hundreds of Welsh mercenaries to serve in France. During the Wars of the Roses the power of the rival claimants to the throne lay in Wales and the Marches. From the great Mortimer estates, whose centre was Ludlow, the Duke of York drew his armies, while the west of Wales, from Pembroke to Anglesey, was strongly Lancastrian. For a generation the dreary dynastic struggle continued, reducing divided Wales to utter misery, till at last the Welshman, Henry Tudor, defeated the heir of the Mortimers on Bosworth Field. The condition of Wales and the Marches during these two centuries may to some extent be gathered from the Rolls of Parliament and the Statute Book. In the former are numerous complaints by the inhabitants of the Border counties against the people of Cheshire and the Welsh, especially those dwelling in the lordships marchers. Among the offences mentioned are kid- napping, felonies, trespasses, and unlawful distresses. The strong ' Rolls II., p. 91 (9 E. III.). 12 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES language of the petitions and the drastic measures proposed reveal clearly the hostility existing at that date between English and Welsh. The cautious replies by the king, and his refusal in some cases to adopt the remedies proposed, show that March privilege could not be lightly set aside.' A typical petition is that sent up in the thirteenth year of Richard II. by the counties of Gloucester, Worcester, Hereford, and Salop against the Welsh practice of kidnapping. They pray that the Justices of the Peace, sheriffs, and coroners, on hearing of such outrages, may send letters under their seals to the seneschals of the lordships where the offenders dwell, requiring due punishment and satisfaction, and that if this is not accorded, the seneschal may be held answerable to the king. The reply given was that the king would discuss the matter with the Lords Marchers and devise a fitting remedy.^ Similar petitions occur in every reign, especially those of Henry IV. and Henry VI. More striking than the recitals of general grievances are the petitions from individuals, especially in the first half of the fifteenth century. As an instance may be quoted the complaint of Robert Whitington and his son Guy, who were attacked on their way home from Hereford by about thirty men " armed and arrayed in manner of war," carried off to a mountain, robbed, and threatened with transportation into Wales, unless they gave sureties to cease and let fall all manner of personal actions against their captors " from the beginning of the world to the Feast of All Saints following." Guy Whitington was sent in search of the necessary securities, and, on providing them, was, together with his father, released.^ ' Rolls II. sS^b, 397« ; III. Sib, 139, 201, 280, 295Z1, 3086, 391, 4746, 612a, and 6156; IV. 526, 69a, 3296; V. 15, 17, 53, 151^, 155«. Allowance must be made for exaggeration in these petitions ; we hear much of the outrages committed by the Welsh, and little or nothing of the oppression by which they were doubtless often caused. - Ibid., III. 2'j2b, 273rt. ^ Ibid., IV. 99: cf. v., pp. 15, 17, and Wright's Ludlow, pp. 267, et seqq. A flagrant instance of Border turbulence is the conduct of Adam de Orleton (Bishop of Hereford), a partisan of Roger de Mortimer in 1321-2 — see Wright, ad loc. ; cf. Rymer (Record Edition), Vol. III., p. 126 (Commission in 1347 for inquiry respecting certain outlaws in Gloucestershire). INTRODUCTION 13 The Statute Book contains a long list of laws against turbulence in Wales and the Border, based largely on the petitions referred to above. From the Statute of Gloucester in 1378, for more than a century, complaints occur of " routs and unlawful confederacies," forcible entry, rape, siege of houses, and overbearing of justices. The legislation of Henry IV. is marked by peculiar severity against the Welsh, forbidding them to become citizens or burgesses, or to purchase lands and tenements in any city, borough, or market town, or to hold any civic office. No Englishman was to be convicted by a Welshman ; an English burgess marrying a Welshwoman was to lose his franchise ; and no Welshman was to hold office under the king or be of the Council of any English lord. Other Acts recite how the Welsh retaliated on their English masters. "Sometimes by day and sometimes by night" they came within the counties adjoining the Marches of Wales, and took distresses of horses, sheep, and cattle, driving them away to the seigniories where they dwelt, and retaining them "till gree be made at their will." Traders coming out of the Border counties were arrested and sued " with intent to grieve them with divers outrageous amerciaments and costs." No better remedy could be devised at the moment than to allow the English to arrest persons and property coming out of Wales. The blame for the prevalent disorder was cast largely on the lords of the Marches, who were bidden to set " sufficient Stuffing and Ward in their Castles and Seigniories of Wales " to guard against its repetition. Later it was ordained that persons belonging to any seigniory of South Wales, and committing felonies or robberies, were to be taken to the gaol of the county where they were caught, or else charged to make satis- faction to the injured parties as ordered by the lord of the seigniory. The common practice of " disclaiming " was for- bidden — i.e, no felon was to evade the jurisdiction of the lord in whose territory he committed a crime on the plea that he was a native of another lordship.^ ' Statutes of the Realm: i H. IV., c. i8; 2 H. IV., cc. 12, i6, 17, 18 19, 20, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34; 9 H. IV., cc. 3, 4. Special exemptions from the statute debarring Welshmen from offices and 14 . THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Throughout Henry V.'s and Henry VI. 's reign statutes of the same character were passed to very Uttle effect. In 1449 it is said that " riots, maims and murders " went unpunished, so that " the people of the said Parts daily abound and increase in evil Governance." The next year saw the outbreak of Cade's Rebellion, the prelude to the Civil War. Bad as the state of the Marches had been in time of nominal peace, it must hence- forth have been infinitely worse.^ This is certainly the impression given by the proceedings of the great Court of the lordships of Bromfield and Yale, held in 1467 at Castle Leon or Holt Castle before Commissioners appointed by the Duke of Norfolk and Sir Edward Nevill, Lord of Abergavenny. The purpose was to issue ordinances for the punishment of certain grave crimes committed with impunity within the lordship. The ordinances enjoined that livery was to be granted to menial servants only, that vagabonds were to quit the lordship by Hallowmas next, that no one was to carry weapons in any town, village, fair, or market unless he were waiting on an officer of the Court, and that assistance was to be given to such officers in the execution of their duty. Other ordinances dealt with the capture of thieves, the taxation of fines, and the duties of stewards and bailiffs, negligence and extortion being especially prohibited. The presentments that follow deal with murder, theft, assault, abduction, receiving of stolen goods, and similar offences.^ Some idea of the strife and bloodshed that prevailed in Wales franchises were often granted as matters of special favour — e.g. Cal. Pat. Rolls, 8 E. IV., Pt, II., m. 26, p. 107. The ordinances of the Privy Council show the anxiety felt as to the condition of Wales and the Border in the fifteenth century — e.g. Sir Harris Nicolas, Vol. V., pp. 82 92, 210-12. In 33 H. VI. the " Domini Marchearum " appear at the head of the committee /';-o Wallia (Rolls V. 280). ' Ibid., 1 H. v., c. 6 ; 2 H. v., c. 5 ; 20 H. VI., c. 3 ; 25 H. VI. ; 28 H. VI., c. 4. ^ Printed in Archaologia Canibycnsis, Vol. II., p. 147, et scqq., and p. 335, et scqq. and Vol. III., pp. 66-8; also in J. Y. W. Lloyd, History of the Princes, the Lords Marchers, and the Ancient Nobility of Powys Fadog, Vol. II., pp. 74-90. INTRODUCTION 15 towards the end of the fifteenth century may be gathered from the History of the Gwydir Family, compiled by Sir John Wynn. We read in his graphic pages how the Earl of Pembroke consumed Llanrwst and all the Vale of Conway " to cold coals, whereof the print is yet extant, the very stones of the ruins of manie habitations, in and along my demaynes, carrying yet the colour of the fire." It is not surprising to read a little later on that "in those dayes in that wild worlde every man stood upon his guard and went not abroad but in sort and soe armed, as if he went to the field to encountre with his enemies." There was ample need, as shown by the story of the feud between Jevan ap Robert and Howell ap Rhys ap Howell Vaughan, one episode of which was Howell's attack on Jevan's house during the latter's absence at Carnarvon assizes. The house contained a large number of llawrudds, or outlaws, who, Wynn remarks, were kept by their friends as "very precious jewels," safe from the vengeance of the law. The attack was delivered early in the morning ; and as soon as the outlaws awoke they " betooke themselves to their weapons and bestirred themselves hand- somely." The leader in the defence was Jevan's wife, who " stood at the fireside lookeing on her mayd boyling of worte to make metheglyn, which seething worte was bestowed liberally among the assailants, and did helpe the defendants to thrust back them that were entered and afterward to defend the house." The attack continued all day and all night, till the following morning Howell's people retired discomfited, and he himself was advised by a kinsman, David ap Jenkin, to take Jevan as his brother-in-law, neighbour, and friend, " for," quoth David, " I will not be one with you to assault his house when he is at home, seeing I find such hot resistance in his absence." Equally troubled was the Ufe of Jevan's son Meredith, who, after living till he was twenty with his foster-father near Car- narvon, and marrying the daughter of the county sheriff, bought a lease of the Castle of Dolwyddelan, and there took up his abode. It was a wild place, once the home of an outlaw, who, after a year's exile in Ireland, had returned in the summer-time with a number of followers all clad in green. In true Robin i6 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Hood fashion they lurked by day and walked by night, for fear of adversaries ; the country folk who chanced to see them ran away, taking them for fairies. In Meredith's time the Conway Valley was troubled by a veritable "wasp's nest, a lordship belonging to St. John of Jerusalem called Spytty Jevan, which had privilege of sanctuary." Here the king's laws were of no force, thieves and murderers flocked thither, and for twenty miles round no spot was safe from their incursions. Meredith's friends might well ask why he was leaving his old home to dwell among the thieves and bondmen of Nantconway. His answer is char- acteristic of the times : " He should find elbow-room," he said, " in that vast country among the bondmen, and he had rather fight with outlawes and thieves than with his owne blood and kindred ; for if I live in mine own house in Evioneth (S.W. of Carnarvon- shire), I must either kill mine owne kinsmen, or be killed by them." Meredith did good service in extirpating outlaws and bandits, and died in peace and honour at Gwydir in 1525. But when he went to church on Sunday he always left his house at Penanmen (in Dolwyddelan) bolted and barred, and a watch- man stationed on a rock, whence both house and church were visible. Though guarded by twenty stout archers, he durst never go and return the same way to church or any other place through the woods, lest ambush should be laid for him.^ The slightest sketch of the condition of the Welsh Border in the Middle Ages is enough to show how urgent was the need of strong government. Many causes contributed to the wretched state of things existing in the fifteenth century. First and foremost was the age-long hatred between conqueror and conquered — a hatred which had grown fiercer than ever through the oppression that had undoubtedly marked English rule since the days of Edward I. Then there were the privileges of the Marcher Lords, which, however inevitable they had once been, were now regarded by all except the possessors as useless anachronisms. As far as the administration of justice went, Wales was a congeries of petty states in which no extradition treaties existed. Closely connected with these privileges was. ' History of the Gwydir Family, />«ss«;«. INTRODUCTION 17 the practice of livery, which continued to flourish in Wales long after it had died out in other parts of the kingdom. What was needed was some authority which should ensure the due punishment of crimes, and impartial justice even between men of differing race. Centuries before an attempt had been made to improve the condition of the Marches. Richard de Belmeis, Bishop of London, after the fall of Roger de Montgomery (once his patron), had been sent to Shropshire as the royal agent in the forfeited palatinate. The exact nature of his office is not clear : though called a sheriff, he was not one of the ordinary type, for he had a sheriff under him. It may be said, perhaps, that "he stood to Shropshire in the same relation in which the Justiciar stood to the whole of England in the absence of the King." His judicial decisions had equal authority with those of the king, and were recorded in regal style in letters patent. His jurisdiction extended beyond Shropshire into Staffordshire and possibly Herefordshire.^ An office similar in some respects to his was the Wardenship of the Marches, held, for example, by Fulk Fitzwarine at the time of Richard I.'s departure for the Holy Land,- and by Henry, Prince of Wales, during Glendower's rebellion. But this office, like that of the Wardenship of the Northern Marches, was military rather than judicial in character. No permanent improvement could be made until the powers of the Marcher Lords passed to the Crown, as to a large extent they had by the reign of Henry VII., who, through the death of Richard III., gained all the estates of the Earldom of March. He was able to carry out the repressive measures begun by Edward IV., who in this, as in many other respects, anticipated the policy of the Tudors. ' Eyton's Shropshire, Vol. I., p. 245, and Diet. Nat. Biog., Vol. IV., pp. 198-200. 2 Wright's Ludlow, p. 61. CHAPTER I THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES UP TO 1525 The early history of the Council of the Marches is obscure, owing to the disappearance of most of its records earlier than the reign of Henry VIII. No account of its origin has come down to us of an earlier date than the presidency of Sir Henry Sydney. Among the documents copied by Collins from the Sydney papers^ at Penshurst is one 1 bearing the following title : " Collections made by Sir Henry Sydney, Knight of the Garter, Lord President of the Marches of Wales. Touchinge the Antiquitie, Aucthoritie and Jurisdiction of the Lord President and Councell of the Marches of Wales and touching the authority of the Lord President when he hath not been in Place with the Councell." From the concluding words it may be con- jectured that the document was drawn up about the year 1565, when Sydney was appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland. The institution of the Council of the Marches is described in the following terms : " The Lorde President and Counsail of the Domynion and Pryncipallitie of Wales and the Marches of the same, were established in the Tyme of Kinge Edward Illlth. and ever sythens, untill the Making of the Statutes of An. 27, 30j 33j 34 of Hen. VIII had Contynuance. Who before that Time, by Commissions and Instruccions from the King harde and determyned Causes arrising within that Pryncipallitie, as also in the County of Worcester, and other English shires adjoining. And have since the making of those Statutes, by Commission and Instruccion, likewise hard and determyned Causes ; taking ' Collins, Letters and Memorials of State, p. i . 18 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 19 the Benefit of that Statute in further Strengthnyng of their Aucthoritie. And thereby the hole Countrey of Wales have been, by the Government of the same Lord President and Counsaill, sythens the establishment of the same, brought from their disobedient, barbarous, and (as may be termed) lawless Incivihtie, to the civil and obedient Estate they now remayne. And all the English Counties, bordering thereon, brought to be affrayed from such spoyles and Felonyes as the Welsh before that Tyme, usually by invading their Borders, annoyed them with." Some further details may be gathered from Bowel's History of Wales, published in 1584.^ It is here stated that " Edward the Fourth, in his wars against Henry the Sixth, was very much assisted by the Welsh ; in recompence of which service, he designed to reform matters so in Wales as that intolerable oppression, which they had hitherto endured, should be regulated and taken off. And to that end, he meant to establish a court within the said principality, and constituted John, Bishop of Worcester, president of the prince's council in the marches ; who, together with Anthony, Earl of Rivers, sat in the town-hall of Shrewsbury, and constituted certain ordinances for the public good and tranquillity of that place. But the matter proceeded no farther ; for the troubles and disquietness of his kingdom, coming heavy upon him, and the shortness of his reign after his establishment not permitting, he was forced to leave that to others which himself thought once to bring about." Much the same account is given by William Gerard (a prominent member of the Council during Sydney's Presidency), who sketched its origin in certain discourses addressed to Walsingham in 1575.^ From these notices we may gather that a Council in the Marches originated during the reign of Edward IV., but was not ' Wynne's edition, i8i2, p. 324. - State Papers Domestic, Elizabeth, Vol. CVII., Nos. 4-15 (calendared in the volume for 1547-80). Large parts of these discourses are printed in the valuable article on the Court of the President and Council of Wales and the Marches from 1478 to 1575, by Judge Lewis, in Vol. XIL of Y Cymmrodor (1897). 20 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES made a permanent institution till the reign of Henry VII. ^ It was clearly a development of the Council attached to the Prince of Wales. A document of Henry VIII. 's reign,^ entitled a "Table of the councillors of the princes of Wales," gives the following list of princes who had a Council assigned them : Edward, the eldest son of Edward I. ; Edward the Black Prince ; Henry, the eldest son of Henry IV. ; Edward, the eldest son of Henry VI. ; Edward, the eldest son of Edward IV. ; Prince Arthur and Prince Henry, the sons of Henry VII. ; and, lastly, the Lady Mary. Of these, the first who had a Council to govern in the Marches is stated to be Edward, the eldest son of Edward IV. The entry relating to him runs thus : " Edw. eldest son of Edw. IV. " I. The Queen. 2. Archbishop of Canterbury. 3. Duke of Clarence. 4. Duke of Gloucester. 5. Bishop of Bath and Wells. 6. Bishop of Durham. 7. Lord Ryvers. 8. The Abbot of Westminster, Chancelor to ye Prince. 9. Sir William Hastings. Lord Chamberlain to ye King. 10. Richard Fynes, Lord Dacre's steward, ii. Sir John Fog, Knight. 12. Sir John Scott. 13. Tho. Vaughan, chamberlain to ye Prince. 14. John Alcott [i.e. Alcock]. 15. Rich. Fowler. Theis Councelors were as- signed unto him untill 14 yeers of age to assist him in dis- posing and guyding of his estate. And he had allso a Councell to gouern in the Marches of Wales, whereof the Bishop of Worcester [i.e. the John Alcock above mentioned] was Precedent." This list was evidently copied from the letters patent of July 8th, II E. IV., which is quoted by Doddridge in his Historical Account of the Ancient and Modern State of the Principality of Wales, etc. (2nd edition, London, 1714, p. 24). Early in the seventeenth century, when the Council's jurisdic- tion over the Border counties was being called in question, several lists of Lords President were drawn up, with a view to show that the Council had existed long before the Act of ' See Gerard's statement, summarised by Judge Lewis in the above- mentioned article, p. 18. ^ Gairdner, Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIIL, Vol. XIV., Pt. L, 518. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 21 Union passed in 1536. Such a list occurs in Cottonian MSS., Vitellius, C. i., f. 191 ^; it is headed by the names, "The Earle Riuers " and " lohannes Ep'us Wigorn," both under date 18 E. IV. Little reliance can be placed on matters of detail in a list compiled about a century and a quarter after the institution of the Council.^ Other lists drawn up about thirty years later (during the Presidency of the Earl of Bridgewater in Charles L's reign) are obviously incorrect, for John, Bishop of Worcester, appears as beginning office in 1485 (i H. VII.), and Anthony Wenfoile (sic), Lord Rivers, is put down for 17 H. VII., 1492. This last startling statement has evoked from some reader of the MS. an indignant pencil comment, "Impossible, he was dead long before."^ On the authority of the first-mentioned list, the date 18 E. IV. or thereabouts has usually been given by those modern writers who have dealt with the origin of the Council of the Marches.^ The ultimate authority would appear to be a document among the Shrewsbury MSS., bearing date April loth, 1478 (18 E. IV.). A copy occurs among the Cottonian MSS., Vitellius, C. i., f. 2. It recites that on April loth, in the eighteenth year of King Edward IV., the Lord Bishop of Worcester, President, and Lord Antony, Earl Rivers, governor to the lord prince, and others of the prince's Council, being in the town hall of Shrewsbury,^ ordained certain ordinances to be made and observed within the said town from henceforth. The bailiffs were to execute their office " truly and endifferently." ' Judge Lewis (Y Cymmrodor, XII., p. 23, footnote) points out that Clive, in his History of Ludlow, p. 150, quotes this document wrongly as f. 2556, which is a mistake for 2556, the old numbering of f. 1 91, and further confuses it with Lansdowne MSS. 255, f. 422a, ^ Brit. Mus. Add. MSS., 14907, f. 126 ; 14936, f. 52* ; 14945, f. 10. Of these, the third gives the dates for the Presidencies of the Earl of Pembroke, Gilbert Bourne, and Sir Henry Sydney, omitted in the other two lists. With this exception the lists correspond. ^ He was executed on June 25th, 1483. ■* E.g. Judge Lewis in the article referred to above. * Judge Lewis points out Clive's error in inserting " Ludlow " after the words "in the Town Hall aforesaid" on p. 151 of his History of I^udlow, 22 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES If they saw any person come into the town and abide two days suspiciously without any lawful errand or occupation, they were on the third day to put him in prison, " there to remayne till he have found surety of his good abearinge, or else to avoid the town." A negligent bailiff was to be fined ;^ioo, half of which was to go to the king and half to the town. The wardens and "four men " of the various crafts were empowered to commit men to prison, and the bailiffs were not to release such prisoners without their consent. The wardens and four men were to make regulations for the craftsmen, and those refusing to obey were to be put out of the craft and banished the town. Negligence on the part of the wardens was to be punished by a fine of ;^2o, half of which was to go to the king and half to the town. It should be noted that the document contains absolutely nothing to prove that the Council, over which Bishop Alcock presided, originated in 1478 ; the letters patent of July 8th, II E. IV., are conclusive evidence that it was appointed in 147 1. We may conjecture that those in the seventeenth century who upheld the authority of the Council of the Marches were eager to seize on any dated record of its work, and jumped to the quite unwarranted conclusion that it began in 1478. When, however, we turn to the biographies of Bishop Alcock, we find in most cases, not 1478, but 1476, given as the date of his appointment to the Presidency of the prince's Council. The latter date is given by Tanner in the Bibliotheca Britannico- Hibernica, and repeated on his authority in the Biographia Britannica.^ Cooper, in the Athense Cantabrigienses, writes : "In 1476 he [Alcock] was translated to Worcester, and became Lord President of Wales, being apparently the first occupant of that office." He adds later, however, a correction to the effect that the appointment as Lord President was made in 1478.^ How much reliance need be placed on Tanner's statement is shown by his insertion, without a word of comment or correction, ' Tanner, Bibliotheca Britannico-Hibernica, ed. 1748, pp. 23, 24; Bio- graphia Britannica, ed. 1778, Vol. I., pp. 119, I20. The date 1476 is also given in the article on Alcock in Diet. Nat. Biog. * Cooper, Athenae Cantabrigienses, Vol. I., pp. 3, 519. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 23 of the following quotation from Antony Wood, MS. Glyn : "et tandem A. MCCCCLXXXVI (i486) Eliensis episcopus et prseses consilii regis Edwardi IV." The detailed notice of Alcock in Bentham's History of Ely gives the date of his Welsh appointment as 1478.^ It would seem that the date 1476 is just as conjectural as 1478, being based apparently on the date of Alcock's translation to the See of Worcester in the former year. No doubt Alcock may have been more active in the affairs of the Principality and the Marches after 1476, but the Patent Rolls and other evidence show that even before that date they must have occupied a considerable share of his attention. The biographers of Alcock are all loud in his praise. Fuller writes that " his prudence appeared in that he was preferred Lord Chancellor of England by King Henry the Seventh, a prince of excellent palate to taste men's abilities, and a Dunce was no dish for his diet." Even Bale's bitter pen " drops nothing but honey on his memory, commending him for a most mortified man, given to learning and Piety from his Childhood, growing from grace to grace so that in his age none in England was higher for holiness." ^ He was successively Bishop of Rochester, Worcester, and Ely, but is best remembered as the founder of Jesus College, Cambridge. He also endowed Peterhouse and restored Great St. Mary's, Cambridge. The cathedral and episcopal palace of Ely, and the church of Little Malvern, owed much to his lavish generosity. Another work of his connected with the Marches was the foundation, in 1484, of a chantry in the parish church of St. Lawrence, Ludlow, in conjunction with Agnes, Edward, and John Beaupie.^ On Edward IV.'s death, the Protector Richard removed him from the office of preceptor to the young King Edward V. In i486 he was translated from Worcester to Ely, and in the same year he christened Prince Arthur. In 1500 he died at Wisbech, and was buried in Ely Cathedral. Barclay, in ' Bentham, History of Ely, Vol. I., p. 182. - Fuller, Worthies of England, ed. 1811, Vol. II., p. 521. 3 Pat. Rolls, 2 Ric. III., Pt. I., m. 16 (Cal., p. 473); cf. Churchyard, Worthines of Wales, ed. 1776 (reprint), p. 78. 24 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES his Eclogues, has a quaint elegy on the dead prelate, con- cluding with these lines : "The mightie walls of Ely monastery The stones, rocks and towres semblably The marble pillours and images eche one Swete all for sorrow, when this Cocke was gone." ' The most trustworthy information on the origin and work of the prince's Council is contained in the Patent Rolls of Edward IV. from the year 147 1 onwards. In that year the fifteen persons enumerated above were appointed as administrators of the Principality of Wales, the Duchy of Cornwall, and the county of Chester for the Prince of Wales, till he should reach the age of fourteen years. A proviso was added that they should grant no office for life or for a term of years, but only during the pleasure of the prince.^ The prince was then aged nine months, having been born on November 2nd or 3rd, 1470 ; he had already been created Prince of Wales on June 26th, 147 1. A year and a half later, in February, 1473, ^ larger Council was appointed (twenty-five in number), with the following extensive powers : " to administer his possessions within the principality of Wales, the duchy of Cornwall, the counties of Chester and Flint and else- where, to grant licences for ecclesiastical elections, to receive fealties, to present to churches and other benefices, to dispose of custodies of lands and marriages of heirs, to grant pardons, to appoint and remove stewards, sheriffs, bailiffs, reeves, chamber- lains, escheators and other ministers and officers, and to grant letters patent, providing that no office shall be granted for life ' Quoted from Clive's History of Ludlow, 152; cf. Bentham's History of Ely, Vol. II., pp. 98, 99, quoting also from Barclay: " He all was a Cock, he wakened us from slepe, And while we slumbered, he did our folds kepe." Cf. Ibid., Vol. I., p. 183 : "His device was a Cock, of which allusion to his Name he was extremely fond ; as appears by his placing the figure of that Bird with moral Sentences upon Scrolls in almost every part of the pnblick buildings which he erected." - Pat. Rolls, II E. IV., Pt. I., m. I, July Sth, 1471 (Cal., p. 283). THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 25 or for a term of years, but during the pleasure of the said prince only." ^ By 1473 the prince had already been sent down to the Border with his mother, for on April 2nd of that year Sir John Paston wrote to his brother : " Men sey the Qwyen with the prince shall come owt off Walys and Kepe thys Esterne with the Kyng at Leycetr, and some seye nowther off them shall com then" ^ In the September following, Alcock was given a position of special prominence among the councillors of the prince. Ordinances were then published for the " virtuous guiding of the young child and the good rule of his household," and the task of supervision was confided to Alcock and Rivers.^ Rivers was especially entrusted with the care of the prince's person, and minute indeed are the regulations deaUng with worship, study, meals, and play. At mealtimes were to be read to him "such noble storyes as behoveth to a Prince to understande," and the persons appointed to attend him all night were " to inforce themselves to make him joyoux and merry towardes his bedde." That Alcock was regarded as the earl's colleague in the care of the prince may be seen from the following ordinance : " Item, we will that the generall receavor of the Dutchie of Cornewall, the chamber- layne of Chester and Flynte, the chamberlayne of North Wales, the chamberlayne of South Wales, at dayes and tymes due and accustomed bringe in all such sommes of money as then shal be due unto our said sonne, and to deliver yt unto his Counsayle attendinge upon him ; and the sayde money to be put into a cheste unto three Keyes, our dearest wife the Queene to have one, the bishopp of Rochester and the Earle Ryvers to have the ' Pat. Rolls, 12 E. IV., Pt. II., 111. 21, February 20th, 1473 (Cal., p. 366). The names added are: "The Bishop of Carlisle, John Earl of Shrewsbury, Walter Devereux of Ferrers, Knt., John Nedeham, Knt., Richard Chokke, Knt., Master John Martyn, clerk, William Alyngton, Richard Haute, John Sulyard and Geoffrey Coytemore." Alcock appears in each list : in the second as J. Bishop of Rochester; in the former as " Master John Alcock." 2 Paston Letters, ed. Gairdner, Vol. III., p. 83, No. 721, April 2nd, 1473. ^ Collection of Ordinances and Regulations for the government of the royal household, made in divers reigns from King Edward III. to King William and Queen Mary. Published by the Society of Antiquaries, 1790. 26 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES other twoe, and alwaye the receyte of the same money to be entred in a booke, and in Hkewise the paymente of all such charges as of necessytie muste needes be borne for our sayde Sonne, and that our sayde sonnes signette be put into the sayde cofifre, and not to be occupyed but by the advise of his Counsayle." A later entry in the Patent Rolls for 1473 fixes the date of Alcock's appointment as president. On November loth is the entry of his appointment as teacher of the king's son the prince, that he may be brought up in "virtue and cunning, and as president of his council." ^ Some notices extant in the Patent Rolls may serve to show the kind of work done by the prince's Council as a body or by individual members. In 1474 a Commission was issued to Earl Rivers and ten other persons (including Walter Devereux of Ferrers, Knt., and the Sheriff of Hereford) to array the king's lieges of the county of Hereford against five persons who did not appear before the king and Council when summoned to answer for divers offences committed by them in Wales and the Marches, but withdrew to Wales, and there stirred up insurrection. The persons commissioned were to arrest them, their aiders and abettors, put them in safe custody, and give assistance against them to the prince when required by him or his Council. ^ Important entries occur in the year 1476, showing the efforts made by the king towards the better government of the Marches. In January a general Commission of oyer and terminer was granted to the Prince of Wales within the counties of Salop, Hereford, Gloucester, and Worcester, and the Marches of Wales adjacent, and Wales, with power to array men-at-arms, archers, and others if necessary, and with authority to substitute other persons for himself, provided that one of the Justices of either bench should be one of those thus substituted in the said counties.^ This was followed in February by a Commission to ' Pat. Rolls, 13 E. IV., Pt. I., m. 3, 1473, November loth (Cal., p. 401). ■^ Ibid., 13 E. IV., Pt. II., m. \0d, 1474, February 26th (Cal, p. 429). A Commission similar to the above was issued to Earl Rivers and five persons, including the Sheriff of Gloucester, and another to the earl and eleven persons, including the Sheriff of Shropshire. 3 Ibid., E. IV., 1476, January 2nd (Cal., p. 574). THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 27 the prince and his Council to be at Ludlow on March 24th, to discuss with the Lords of the Marches (to whom the king had written separately) the ways and means for the punishment of many homicides, murders, robberies, spoliations, and oppressions in Wales and the Marches of the same, for which the king was going in person to those parts after Easter.^ Closely connected with this Commission was the appointment, on March i6th, of the prince and such persons as by the advice of his Council he might substitute, to inquire about all liberties, privileges, and franchises in the counties of Salop, Hereford, and Gloucester, and the Marches of Wales adjacent, which should be taken into the king's hands, and all escapes of robbers and felons in the same counties and Marches.^ Lastly, in December, the power was granted to the prince of appointing Justices of oyer and terminer in the counties of Salop, Hereford, Gloucester, and the Marches of Wales adjacent, provided that one of the king's Justices of one or other bench were one, and saving to the king the amercements belonging to him ; he was also empowered to array the men of those parts, if necessary, for the punishment of malefactors, and to hear and determine inquiries into the exercise of offices in those parts. ^ ' Pat. Rolls, 1476, February 23rd (Cal., p. 574). - Ibid., li.ld, March i6th (Cal., p. 605). ^ Ibid., 16 E. IV., Pt. II., m. 22 (Cal., p. 5). It is of some interest, in connection with Henry VIII. 's legislation, to note how grants of Marcher Lordships were worded at this time. In 1462 Edward IV. granted to Richard, Duke of Gloucester, the lordship of Chirk, "with knights' fees, fealties, advowsons, franchises, liberties, customs, wards, marriages, reliefs, suits, escheats, year, day, and waste, stray, soc and sac, tholl and them, infangtheff and outfangtheft", sheriff's turns, wreck of sea," etc., etc. (Pat. Rolls, 2 E. IV., Pt. II., .September 9th, 1462, Cal., p. 228). A more detailed grant is that made in 1465 to the stout Yorkist partisan. Sir William Herbert, for his services against the Welsh Lancastrians : " And the said William and his heirs and assigns shall have within the said limits all royal rights, prerogatives and customs belonging to royal lordships and all royal courts and other jurisdictions, powers, and authorities, as in any other royal lordship in Wales or the marches of Wales, with all fines, amercements, issues and profits from the same before their stewards at Raglan, with power of oyer and terminer, an authentic seal for commissions writs and warrants, and power of appointing justices to hold sessions in 28 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES There is but little more that can be said as to Alcock's work in the Marches, save that his name appears frequently on Com- missions of the peace in the Border counties,^ and that in 1483 he was on the Commission for assessment of a subsidy in the counties of Worcester, Hereford, and Gloucester.^ In 1487 he and Earl Rivers were granted custody of "all castles, lordships, towns, manors, lands, rents, services, possessions, and heredita- ments, with advowsons of churches, chapels and chantries ex- ceeding the tax of twenty marks, knights' fees, franchises, liberties, warrens, courts, leets, cantreds, commotes, and other commodities late of Edward Charlton, knt., late lord of Powys, tenant-in- chief." 3 From the scanty evidence extant, the following inferences may fairly be drawn: First, that the Council, appointed in 147 1 to administer the Prince of Wales's possessions, received by com- mission from the king considerable judicial and military powers in Wales and the Marches. Secondly, that Edward IV. fully realised the necessity of curtailing the privileges of the Marcher Lords, so as to secure the due punishment of offenders.^ Thirdly, eyre and other sessions and courts, and they shall have chattel of felons, fugitives and outlaws, deodands, escheats and forfeitures, as the King has in the said lordships of Usk and Monnemouth or as Richard Earl of Warwick and Anne his wife have in her right in the manor and lordship of Bergevenny, or the lord of any other royal lordship in Wales, and no justices, stewards, escheators, coroners, ringilds, or other officers or ministers of the King shall interfere." All the lands comprised in the above grant were to form one royal lordship of Raglan, held in chief by the service of one knight's fee. The tenants and residents within its limits were ex- onerated from suits and attendance at the king's courts within the lordship of Usk and Monmouth (Pat. Rolls, 5 E. IV., Pt. I., m. 22, 1465. March 9th, Cal., p. 425). ' He is mentioned in the Commission for Gloucestershire seven times, for Herefordshire six times, for Shropshire seven times, for Warwickshire five times, and for Worcestershire seven times: the earliest Commission con- taining his name is that of 1473, the latest that of 1485 (Cal. Pat. Rolls, E. IV,, E. v., and Ric. III.). " Pat. Rolls, E. v., m. ^d, 1483, April 27th, Cal., pp. 354-5. 3 Ibid., 18 E. IV., Pt. II., m. 17 (Cal., p. 130). * Hall in his Chronicle says that Prince Edward was sent by his father " for justice to be doeen in the Marches of Wales, to the end that by the THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 29 that there is no contemporary evidence for the appointment of Bishop Alcock as Lord President of the Council in the Marches ; his appointment in 1473 was as President of the prince's Council. Lastly, it does not appear that anything more than a beginning was made in the work of reducing the Marches to order ; nor is this surprising when we consider the troubled course of Edward's reign. The definite establishment of the Council in the Marches, properly so called, was the work not of Edward IV., but of Henry VII. On the accession of Edward V. and his departure from Ludlow in 1483, it may be doubted whether the Council of the Marches did not for a while fall into abeyance. No record of it occurs till the reign of Henry VII., who, as a Welshman and as owing his crown largely to AVelsh help, was naturally anxious to improve the condition of Wales and the Marches. In the early years of his reign various Commissions were issued — e.g. to Sir William Stanley, Justice of North Wales, and Jasper, Duke of Bedford, Justice of South Wales, to hear and determine causes in Wales and the Marches thereof.^ In 1491 Sir Reginald Pole, Constable of Harlech Castle and sheriff for life of Merioneth, was sent into the Principahty and Marches of Wales with offers of the king's grace and pardon to all persons guilty or suspected of treason. In the ninth year of Henry VII. 's reign, the prince's Council is once more mentioned. The occasion was a quarrel between the towns of Bewdley and Kidderminster, and the order given on January 31st, 9 H. VII., was that the feud should cease, and that all future differences should be brought before the prince and his Council, whose award was to be final. ^ Among the signatures appended to the award is that of John Alcock, now Bishop of Ely. Prince Arthur, who was born in authoritie of hys presence the wilde Welshemenne and evill disposed personnes should refrain from their accustomed murthers and outrages " (cf. Grafton, Vol. II., p. 83, ed. 1809). ' Cottonian MSS., Cleopatra, c. iii., f. 380, and Pat. Rolls, i H. VII., February 28th (quoted by Churton, Life of Bishop Smyth, pp. 57, ct. seqq.^. - History of Bewdley, by J. R. Burton, p. 33 (quoted from Blakeway MSS.). 30 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES i486, had already at the age of six been made Guardian of the Kingdom.^ Soon afterwards he was included, with Archbishop Morton, Bishop Smyth, and others, in the Commission of the Peace for the county of Warwick. On March 20th, 1492-3, he was constituted his majesty's Justice in the counties of Salop, Hereford, and Gloucester and the Marches of Wales adjoining, to inquire of all liberties, privileges, and franchises possessed or claimed by any person, which were to be seized into the king's hands, and of all escapes and felons. These inquisitions, taken from time to time, were to be certified into the Chancery. The same Commission gave him power to substitute proper persons under him for the better fulfilment of his trust. It is probable that at this time a Council was appointed for Prince Arthur, but no definite proof can be adduced.^ Some information as to the Council's proceedings at this time is to be found in the Shrewsbury MSS., which show that Prince Arthur and his Council often visited the town from 1494 onwards, and were entertained at the expense of the burgesses.^ A letter from the Council to the bailiffs of Shrewsbury probably belongs to this period. It is headed " By the Prince," and concludes with the formula used by the Council in its letters : " Yeven under o" Signet at the Castell of Ludlow the Vth day of Deccmbr." The Council ask the bailiffs to redress a nuisance affecting the Dominican priory at Shrewsbury. In 1 501 the prince was married at St. Paul's to Catherine of Aragon, and, according to Powel, went soon after his wedding into Wales with Doctor William Smyth, as President of his Council.^ The members of the Council numbered ten.^ Smyth, > Rymer, Foedera, ed. 171 1, Vol. XII., pp. 487-8. ^ So Churton, Life of Bishop Smyth, p. 60. ^ Shrewsbury MSS., Box LXXVI., No. 2761 ; and Owen and Blakeway, History of Shrewsbury, Vol. II., p. 449. ■• Clive, History of Ludlow, p. 153. ^ They were : Sir Henry Vernon, Sir Richard Crofts Sir David Philips, Sir William Udall, Sir Thomas Englefield, Sir Peter I^ewton, Sir Richard Pole, John Wilson, Henry Marian, Charles Bothe (Churton, Life of Bishop Smyth, p. 63). The same names, though in a different order and with differences of spelling, are given in Gairdner, Letters and Papers of the THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 31 Bishop of Lincoln, is chiefly remembered as the founder of Brasenose College, where a portrait of him is preserved bearing the inscription " Primus Walliae prseses." He has usually been regarded as the first regularly appointed Lord President, but it is not easy to see in what his position differed from that of Alcock. So far as our scanty information goes, it would seem that the work done by the two was much the same. Great preparations were made for the prince's return to the Marches. Tickenhill House, near Bewdley (where he had been married by proxy), had been enlarged and made into a palace ; but within five months of his wedding the young prince died. For the next few years little is known of the Council. In 15 12 Smyth was succeeded as Lord President by Geoffrey Blythe, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, who held office till 1524. After Prince Arthur's death may be placed the transition from the " Prince's Council " to the " Council in the Marches of Wales." Blythe had been made Bishop of Coventry and Lich- field in 1502, on his return from a special embassy to Ladislaus II., King of Hungary and Bohemia.^ Soon after this he was accused of treason, but honourably acquitted himself of the charge, and letters patent for his pardon were issued on February i8th, 1508-9.2 He was a benefactor of both Eton and King's College, bequeathing to the latter a great standing cup given him by Ladislaus : another of his gifts was " a pair of great organs," valued at ;^40, Among the Welsh Council Papers in the Bridge- water MSS. is a letter addressed from Hereford, A° 12 H. VIII. to " the righte reuerend father in God our righte trustie and welbeloued the Bushopp.of Chester, president of our Counsell in the Marches of Wales and to our trustie and righte welbeeloued Reign of Henry VIII., Vol. XIV., Pt. I., 518; also by Polydore Vergil, who Latinizes some of them almost out of recognition (Historia Anglica, ed. 1603, Lib. XXVI., p. 1546). Polydore Vergil writes that the prince was sent into Wales to gain experience in government, and was honoured cum pro- batissimoruni honiuinm fainilia. ' Diet. Nat. Biog., Vol. V., pp. 276-7. '■^ Rymer, Focdera, cd. 1712, Vol. XIII., 246, from Pat. Rolls, 24 H. VII. p. I, m, 21. The pardon is comprehensive of all mannerj of offences beginning with "murdra" and ending with " imbraciarias." 32 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES all other of our said Counsaill, our Commissioners in the said Marches." " Henry R. By the Kinge. " Right reuerend father in God, righte trustie and righte wel- beloued and trustie and righte welbeloued, wee greete yow well, and send unto you hereinclosed a bill of Complaint to us pre- sented on the behalf of our welbeloued subiecte Johane Brace against Sir Henry Martin preist, and other specified in the said bill. Wee intending Justice to bee equally mynistered unto every of our subiectes and considering your aucthorytie under us, for the due mynistracon of the same to our said subiectes in those partes doe groundlye and substanciallye examine the Contentes of the said bill, and thereuppon sett and Conclude such fynall end and determinacon in the same, as shall accord with righte and good Conscience. So as in your defaultes for lack of due administracon of Justice in this behalf, wee bee now further molested with anie pursuite to bee made unto us in this matter. As wee trust yow. Geeven under our Signett at our Manner of Greenwich the xxjth day of ffebruarye. "Joh'es Stokeley '^ ex mandato Regis."^ This letter is of much interest, as showing that the Council of the Marches had come to be regarded as a means of relieving the Privy Council of some portion of its judicial work. The same conclusion may be drawn from the frequent Commissions issued in the early years of Henry VHI.'s reign. In 1510, while Bishop Smyth was still Lord President, he and five associates were empowered, as Justices of North and South Wales and the counties of Shropshire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Worcester- shire, Cheshire, and Flint, to punish rebellions, insurrections, murders, etc., and to muster and array the fencible men in the above-mentioned places. ^ In 15 12 George, Bishop of Coventry ' Bridgewater MSS., Welsh Council Papers, No. 60. The words " direct you to," or something to that effect, appear to have fallen out between "in those partes doe" and "groundlye and substanciallye." ^ Brewer, Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII., I. 956. The Commission was repeated in March, 1512, with the addition of one name. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 33 and Lichfield {i.e. Bishop Blythe), and the five associates mentioned in 15 10, were commissioned to inquire into insurrections, re- belUons, Lollards, etc., in South Wales, in the same six Border counties, and in the lordships of South and North Wales. This last clause is significant as presaging stricter control over the Marcher Lords.^ In succeeding years similar Commissions were issued — in 1513, 1515, 1518, and 1522.2 The jurisdiction of the Council of the Marches is mentioned in- cidentally in a letter to the Chamberlain of North Wales (Charles Brandon) for a proclamation to be issued against disturbances on the king's departure for France in 1513.^ Persons aggrieved might, it is said, seek redress from the Council of the Marches. The Chamberlain, it is worth noting, not the Lord President, was entrusted with the duty of seeing order kept in the Marches during the king's absence over sea. Thus in 1523 Charles Brandon, now Duke of Suffolk, Justice of North Wales and steward of various lordships, was commissioned to assemble the king's tenants in Anglesey, Carnarvon, and Merioneth in the said lordships and wherever else he was steward, and to muster them for the war. Some fear seems to have been felt that Richard de la Pole might land in Wales. Surrey, writing to Wolsey on October 23rd, 1523, advised that Sir Rice ap Thomas be warned.^ In 1520 Welsh horsemen had been ordered over to Ireland to serve under Sir Rice, and in 1522 a commission had been issued to some persons in the hundred and lordships of Elsmer, Hamton, etc., against the French.^ These notices are of interest as showing the high value set upon the Welsh for military service. Among minor entries are some relating to the appointing of officials — e.g. a letter to the Archbishop of ' Brewer, I. 3289. - Ibid., I. 4198; II., Pt. I. 726, 815; II., Pt. II. 4141. 4528; III., Pt. II. 2145 (7). * Ibid., I. 4060, 695. * Ibid., III., Pt. I. 860. This is, of course, the famous Sir Rhys ap Thomas (1451-1527), supporter of Henry VII. and Justiciary and Chief Governor in South Wales (The Cambrian Plutarch, pp 273, et seqq. The Cambrian Register, Vol. I., pp. 49-144). " Ibid., III., Pt. II. 2685 (iv). 3 34 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Canterbury (the chancellor) for letters patent to Lord Ferres (Ferrers), appointing him one of the king's Commissioners and one of the king's Council in the Marches of Wales. The letter is dated " at the field on the north-east side of Tiroan [Terouenne] 17 Aug. 1513."^ A patent dated 3 H. VIII. appoints Henry Knight as clerk of the signet to the king's Council in the Principality of North and South Wales, in the counties of Salop, Hereford, Gloucester, Worcester, Chester, and Flint, and in the Marches of Wales. The patent states that the office was held by Peter Newton in the reign of Henry VII. ^ The condition of the Marcher Lordships receives some light from the full details extant as to the possessions of the Duke of Buckingham. He was Lord of Brecknock and many other lord- ships in Wales and the Border, and may not unfitly be regarded as the last of the great Lords Marchers. His wealth and influence, not to speak of his royal blood, made him a dangerous rival. Among the charges brought against him at his indictment (May 8th, 1521) was that on May loth, in the ninth year of Henry VIII., and at other times he sent Gilbert, his chancellor, from Thornbury, his Gloucestershire seat, to the king and Council at London and East Greenwich ; his purpose was to obtain a licence for re- taining certain subjects of the king dweUing in the counties of Hereford, Gloucester, and Somerset, and for carrying arms and habiliments of war at his pleasure into Wales, with the view of fortifying himself against the king.^ The king was doubtless jealous of Buckingham's wealth ; his yearly income is stated to have been over;^6,ooo, and Thornbury alone was worth ^£22,^ iis. $^d. per annum. Among the Bagot MSS. is his household book from November 5th, 23 H. VIII., to March 22nd following : it is there stated that the Feast of Epiphany was kept (evidently at Thornbury Castle) by a party numbering 459, of whom 134 were gentry.^ Many entries of ' Brewer, I. 4404. 2 Idzd., I. 1513, 1839. ' Ibid., III., Pt. I. 1284 (i). Particulars of Buckingham's possessions are given later on in the same document. * Hist. MSS. Commission, Fourth Report, App. Lord Bagot's MSS., p. 3276. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 35 interest relating to Wales and the Border occur in the lists of his possessions and his private accounts. Brecknock is described as " a very proper walled town, well builded and as well paved, with many honest inhabitants in the same, enclosed on the west side thereof with the castle which is a good and strong hold with all houses of office and lodgings builded after the old fashion, except there is a goodly hall set on height only with lights in either end and none upon the sides. And as unto the roof of the said hall, it is newly and costly made with pendants after a goodly fashion ; and into the castle water is conveyed by conduit." The castle at Caurs is " in great ruins." There are many bondmen on the lordship, both rich and poor. So at Thornbury there was " a good number of bondmen, as appears by the Court Rolls." Some of the entries in the accounts deserve mention — e.g. " offering to John Broune steward of the guild of St. John Evangelist, Ludlow, my Lady's grace being made a sister there, 75. 4^."; "to a Welsh harper at St. Anne's, i^. ; to Master Millet, clerk of the signet, for -writing three letters to be sent from the King into Wales concerning the Duke's causes, 20s" A copy of a valuable letter is extant among the British Museum Additional MSS., in which the king informs the duke that the accustomed measures for keeping the peace in his lordships have not been taken. ^ " Bra Henr. Regis diici Buck. " Henry Rex. By the King. " Right trustie and right entierlie^welbeloued Cousyn we greet you well. And whereas for the more assured conseruacon of our peax and for the good rest and tranquillitie of our subiectes in our marches of Wales It hath bene alwaies heretofore used as well within our Lordshippes as within the Lordshippes of Lordes Marchers of Wales and of all other Inheritors within the same marches That euery man beinge betwene the ages of eightene and three score tenne yeres haue bene bounden with suertyes some for theire apparance and good abearinge and some for theire apparance onlie before the cheife and hed ' Brit. Mus. Add. MSS. 32091, f. 107 (Malet Collection). 36 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES officers of the saide Lordshippes as at a certen daie by them lymited. By reason of which bondes and apparaunces good Rule and order hath bene used and kepte in those partes. We are now crediblie informed that in the Lordshippes to you belonginge within our saide marches fewe or no persons be put under anie such bondes but remaine clerely at libertie contrarie to the usage accustomed which thinge is in your default and negligence. And by meane thereof many and diuerse murders, Rapes, Roberies, Riottes, and other misdemeanors have bene of late and dailie be committed and left clerelie un- punished within the same to the high displeasure of God, the disorder and transgression of our lawes, the great hurte, damage and inquietnes of our subiectes, and to our no litle displeasure and myscontentacon. Wherefore we entendinge to have these enormyties spedilie reformed, and our Subiectes there to lye in rest, welthe and tranquihtie as apperteynethe, wel and straightlie chardge and commaunde you that with all convenient diligence upon the sight hereof ye all doubtes and dilacions put aparte do take of euery man betweene the said ages and inhabited within any of your Lordes (sic) of Brecknock, Huntynton, Hay, Kynton, Newport, Cantercelly, Penkethley and Caurse, sufficient bondes and suerties for th' apparance and good aberinge of them in such manner and forme as heretofore hath bene accustomed. That is to sale, suche of them for theire apparaunce and good aberinge bothe, and such other of them for their apparance onely, as it hath bene in the tyme of our deerest fader of famous memory and other our noble progenitors used and none other- wise. And thereupon ye by your letteres do make unto us plaine and true Certyficate of that which ye shall haue done in the premisses on this side the last daie of the monethe of August next ensewinge without any failinge. As we trust you. Yeven under our signett at our Mannor of Woodstocke the sixt daie of June." The letter is followed by a note : " I haue seen and reddithis L're. W. Burghley." A Latin note follows to the effect that the letter was inrolled THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 37 in the Chancery at the request of Edward, Lord Stafford, A° 36 Eliz.i The history of the Council of the Marches during the first two Tudor reigns must naturally be considered in relation to the legislation dealing with Wales and the Border. The enormous possessions of the Earldom of March were by the death of Richard III. forfeited to the Crown, and in the Act 4 H. VII., cc. 14 and 15, it was enacted that owing to the " vexacion trouble and disceite of the subgettis of the King our Sovereign Lord," through the use of the seal of the Marches, all feoffments, gifts, grants, etc., of lands, tenements, etc., pertaining to the earldom were in future to be made under the Great Seal.- A later Act, II H. VIII., c. 33, made void divers leases and offices within " the Principality of Wales, in the counties Palatine of Chester and Flint and in divers other Castles, Manors, Lordships, Lands and tenements in the Marches of Wales, and in the Counties of Here- ford and Salop, parcels of the Earldom of March." The reason given is that the existing rents are less than might reasonably be demanded. Provisos, however, are made in favour of certain persons — viz. the Bailiff of Bewdley, the Constable of Ludlow Castle and Sir Rice ap Thomas (Chamberlain of South Wales and Captain of Aberystwith Castle). The succeeding Act, 1 1 H. VII., c. 34, annulled an Act of 22 E. IV., which arranged an ex- change of lands between the then Prince of Wales and the Earl of Huntingdon. A list of lordships is given, which is useful for comparison with the Act 27 H. VIII., c. 26, by which the Marcher Lordships were turned into shire ground. Noteworthy phrases are the "March" of Wales and the earldom of "the March." The possession by the Crown of the great Mortimer inheritance much facilitated the measures taken by Henry VIII. to reduce the privileges of the few remaining Marcher Lords. ' Buckingham was on bad terms with his Brecknock tenants, and their complaints against him came before the Star Chamber (Brewer, Vol. IV., Pt. II. 5098, esp. ff. 9, 18). * This seal of the Marches is mentioned in a charter for the manumission of a villein in Orleton, Herefordshire, quoted by Clive, History of Ludlow, p. 15. 2791507 38 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Between 1535 and 1544 numerous Acts were passed affecting Wales and the Marches ; they were in the main, doubtless, the work of Cromwell, in whose Remembrances the condition of Wales is often mentioned. The first Act, 26 H. VIII., c. 4, dealt with the punishment of perjury committed by jurors in the Lordships Marchers. Owing to lack of supervision, the jurors sworn for trial of murders, felons, and their accessories had been worked upon to secure their acquittal, " openly and notoriously knowen contrarie to equyte and justice." An officer was to be sworn to keep the jury withoiiit bread, drink, meat, fire or light, or speech with any person save himself, during the interval between the charge and the verdict. In case of untrue acquittals by jurors in Wales, the Lord President and the Council of the Marches were to inflict punishment by fine or imprisonment. The succeeding Act, 26 H. VIIL, c. 5, deals with the facilities for escape into South Wales or the Forest of Dean given to robbers, etc., in the counties of Gloucester and Somerset by keepers of ferries over the Severn. Ferrymen were forbidden to carry any passengers between sunset and sunrise ; they were to have " good knowledge " of their passengers, and to give information about them when demanded; also they were to give sureties, when called on by Justices of the Peace, not to carry over any suspected persons. The Act 26 H. VIIL, c. 6, shows the prevalence of murder and felony within the Lordships Marchers. The preamble speaks of the " theftes, murders, rebellions, wilfull burninge of Houses and other scelerous Dedes and abhomynable malifactes to the highe dyspleasure of God, inquyetacion of the Kynges well disposed subjectes, and disturbance of the publike weale ; which malefactis and scelerous dedes be so rooted and fyxed yn the same people, that they be not like to sease onlesse some sharpe correccion and punyshmente for redresse and amputacion of the premysses be provyded accordinge to the demerites of the offendours." The chief provisions of this lengthy Act are as follows : i. All persons dwelling within Wales or in the Lordships Marchers of the same were, when summoned, to appear at the Sessions Court before the Justice, steward, or other THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 39 officer in the appointed place, on penalty of fines, which were to be taxed by the officers to the king's use, if it were within any of the king's Lordships Marchers and to the use of the lord for the time being if it were within any other Lordship Marcher. 2. The king's Commissioners and the Council of the Marches were empowered to punish (by damages, fine, etc.) un- lawful exactions and imprisonment by officers within Marcher Lordships. 3. No weapons were to be brought to Courts, churches, fairs, or other places. 4. No " comorthas " ^ were to be allowed on any pretext. 5. No "arthel"^ was to be cast for the discontinuing of any Court in Wales ; sessions and Courts were to be kept in the surest and most peaceable places within the Marcher Lordships. 6. For punishment of offences committed within the Marches of Wales the trial was to be in the next English county. Acquittal in any Marcher Lordship was to be no bar against indictment within two years after the commission of the offence. 7. Justices in England might award process into the Marches against offenders, and certify outlawries and attainders to the officers of the Marches, who were thereupon to apprehend and convey offenders from one lordship to another into England. ' See Judge Lewis, Y Cymmrodor, XII., pp. 42-7. The word, he explains, is a verb derived from cymhorth = help, and means, to contribute in money, kind, or labour to some one who has met with misfortune. Pennant, writing in 1773 (Tours in Wales, ed. 1883, Vol. III., pp. 355-6)? says that they were frequent in his time for spinning, works of husbandry, coal carriage, etc. - Judge Lewis (Y Cymmrodor, XII., p. 34) explains the word thus: " Exiles who to avoid punishment fled from the jurisdiction where they had committed a crime and placed themselves under the protection of the Lord of the commote, who undertook to defend them, were called gwyr arddelw (men of avowal), arthelmen, or advocarii." Apparently many criminals got off scot-free by producing some person or persons to avouch, their innocence. 40 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 8. The Justices of gaol delivery, with the assent of the Lord President and two of the king's Commissioners or two of the Council of the Marches, might discharge offenders who paid a fine or gave surety for good behaviour. 9. The liberties of the Lords Marchers were to be respected. 10. Offences committed in Merionethshire were to be tried in Carnarvon and Anglesey. 11. If an offender had escaped from one lordship to another, he was to be delivered up by the officers of the place where he had taken refuge to the officers of the lordship where his offence had been committed, or else to the officer of the Commissioners or the Council. This was an attempt to remedy the abuse that " the Lords Marchers have and do pretend a custom and privilege that none of the King's ministers or subjects may enter to pursue, apprehend and attach any offender escaping from another lordship." The result was that offenders went unpunished, " to the anymacyon and encouragynge of other yll-dysposed people." In the same year was passed an Act (26 H. VIII., c. 1 1) for the punishment of Welshmen attempting any assaults or affrays upon the inhabitants of Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, and Shropshire. It is stated that when lawful process had been attempted against the friends of dwellers in Wales or the Marches, the inhabitants of the above counties had been beaten, maimed, grievously wounded, and sometimes murdered for attempting to pursue such felons. The penalty imposed was one year's imprisonment over and above the punishment inflicted in the ordinary course of law. The last Welsh Act of the year is entitled " An Acte for purgacion of Convictes in Wales" (26 H. VIII., c. 12). Welsh clerks con- victed of petty treason, murder, robbery, etc., were to give surety before two Justices of the shire where the ordinary's prison was situated, or else of the shire adjoining. The chief result of the year's legislation was to remove the trial of serious offences from the Lordships Marchers to the adjoining counties. Next year's Act (27 H. VIII., c. 5) aimed at improving the administration of justice in the counties of Chester THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 41 and Flint, Anglesey, Carnarvon, Merioneth, Cardigan, Carmarthen, Pembroke, and Glamorgan. Justices of the peace, of the quorum, and of gaol delivery were to be appointed for them under the Great Seal. The Act next but one on the Statute Book (27 H. VIII., c. 7) deals with certain abuses in the forests of Wales : the keepers and walkers were accustomed to exact pay- ments from those who passed through the forests of Wales or the Marches, unless they carried " tokens " or were " yearly tributers or chensers." A detestable custom, recalling the days of the Normans or Angevins, was that travellers found twenty-four feet out of the highway lost a joint of their hands, or else had to pay a fine to the foresters.^ Stray beasts were captured and marked with the forest mark, so that the owners could not get them back except by purchase. The Act abolished all such odious customs ; all the king's subjects were to be allowed to pass through the forests without paying toll, and stray cattle were to be restored to their owners upon payment for their keep during detention. All the above-mentioned Acts were merely preparatory to the great Act of Union passed in 1536 (27 H. VIII., c. 26), " An Acte for Lawes and Justice to be ministred in Wales in like fourme as it is in this Realme." By this was effected the incorporation of Wales with England, with like liberties to subjects born there as in England. The disorders in the Marcher Lordships are recited in much the same terms as in preceding Acts, and, with a view to prevent them in future, it is enacted that the lordships are to be annexed to sundry shires in England and Wales, or to be grouped into entirely new counties. The five new counties were : 1. Monmouth, to include twenty -four specified lordships, town- ships, etc. 2. Brecknock, to include sixteen specified lordships, townships, etc. 3. Radnor, to include sixteen specified lordships, townships, etc. 4. Montgomery, to include twelve specified lordships, townships, etc. 5. Denbigh, to include ten specified lordships, townships, etc. ' Cf. Lord Herbert of Cherbury, Life of Henry VIIL, London, 1706, p. 189. 42 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES The following old Welsh counties received additions of certain lordships : 1. Glamorgan, 9. 2. Pembroke, 13. 3. Cardigan, 3. 4 Merioneth, i. Certain lordships were also annexed to three of the English Border counties — viz. : 1. Herefordshire, 10. 2. Shropshire, 6. 3. Gloucestershire, 3.^ Further provisions of the Act were : 1. All Courts were to be kept in the English tongue. 2. Temporal Lords Marchers were to have half the forfeitures on recognisances. 3. The division of the new shires into hundreds was to be carried out by Commissioners. 4. An inquiry was to be made into the laws and customs of Wales, and such as might be fit were to be preserved. 5. Wales was to send knights and burgesses to Parliament.^ 6. Temporal Lords Marchers were to keep their hberties, in- cluding all such mises ^ and profits of tenants as in times past, and were to hold all Courts baron. Courts leet and lawdays, etc., as heretofore. Within the precincts of their lordships they were to have all waifs, strays, infangthef, outfangthef, treasure-trove, deodands, goods and chattels of felons and persons condemned of felony and murder ' For full details as to this " shiring " of Wales, see Professor Tout's article in Y Cymmrodor, Vol. IX., Pt. II. (1888). - Two knights for co. Monmouth and two burgesses for the borough ; one knight for each of cos. Brecknock, Radnor, Montgomery, and Denbigh, and one burgess for each of their shire towns ; one kpight and one burgess for the remaining counties and shire towns except the shire town of Merioneth, which had no representation. ' A mise was a payment by the people to the Prince of Wales or to their lord (in the case of Lordships Marchers) for his allowance of their laws and ancient customs and for a general pardon of offences (cf. Hargrave MSS. 489). THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 43 or put in exigent for murder, also wreck " de mere," wharfage, and customs of strangers as in times past, and as though such privileges were granted them by a royal charter. 7. Lands in Wales were to remain partible among heirs male. 8. The king was empowered to suspend or revoke the Act or any part of it within the next three years, and also to erect Courts in Wales within five years after the end of the Parliament then sitting. Next year the Act 28 H. VIII., c. 3, gave the king authority to allot the townships of Wales afresh at any time within the next three years, and to appoint the shire towns. Three years later the statute 31 H. VIII., c. 11, states that, owing to more urgent business, the king had had no time to accomplish the allotment ; the same power was therefore continued to him for the next three years. This new " shiring " took some time to accompUsh, as may be seen from the Act 32 H. VIII., c. 4, which provides that " treasons or misprisions of treason committed within the Princi- pality and dominion of Wales and the Marches of the same, or elsewhere within any the King's dominions, where his Grace's original writs in his chancery commonly runneth not, shall be tried by the oaths of twelve men inhabiting within any such shires and before such Commissioners as the King shall from time to time appoint." After the Act of 1536 Marcher Lordships ceased to differ for all practical purposes from any others. A few references to the rights appertaining to them are, however, to be found in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The saving of a moiety of forfeitures and fees to Lords Marchers, with the continuance of certain other privileges mentioned in the Act of 1536, was the subject of the Statute i & 2 Ph. and M., c. 15. It is also mentioned in a case described at length in Coke's Book of Entries, pp. 549-51. Thomas Cornewall appealed to the two above-mentioned statutes in defence of his claim to the goods and chattels of felons within the lordships of Stapleton and Lugharneys, which at the date of the suit (42 Eliz.) were included in CO. Hereford, but had, before 27 H. VIII., c. 26, been Lordships 44 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Marchers. The tenacity of Marcher privilege is shown by the insertion of the following clause in two Acts passed in 1533 — three years, that is, before the Union. In an Act concerning the rearing of calves is the proviso " that every Lorde Marcher have the forfaites, profittes, and advauntages only of every suche offender and offenders against the purveyeng of this Acte within their Seignories, Liberties, and Fraunchesies Roiall." The same clause occurs in the Act 24 H. VIII., c. 9, against killing of weanlings. As late as 1632 the rights of Marcher Lords came up in a petition addressed to the Privy Council by John Green and others of the parish of Chirk, against Sir Thomas Middleton and his tenants for refusing to contribute towards the repair of the church. Sir Thomas alleged that "the Lordship of Chirck is a Lordship Marcher and hath enjoyed many immunities and Privileges tyme out of minde and amongst others that it had a free Chapell endowed with the Tythe of all the ancient Demesne Lands of the Castle there, for the maintenance thereof and of a Chaplaine. And the said Demeasnes haue bin euer free from anie ceasment for the reparacion of the Parish Church and were neuer rated, nor questioned to be rated in the memorie of man." ^ The Privy Council, after hearing the allegations on both sides, ordered that Sir Thomas should, of his own free gift (and according to his own offer), contribute toward the repair of the church. The Act which completed the union of England and Wales was not passed till the Parliament of 34 & 35 H. VIII. The statute entitled " An Acte for certaine Ordinaunces in the Kinges Majesties Domynion and Principalitie of Wales " is the most important statute affecting the Council in the Marches, for its jurisdiction is recognised and continued, and its relations to the new Great Sessions Courts clearly laid down (34 & 35 H. VIIL, c. 26). The third clause runs thus : " Item, that there shalbe and remaine a President and Counsaill in the saide Dominion and Principalitie of Wales and the Marches of the same, with all Officers, Clerkes and Incidentes to the same, in maner and forme ■as hath heretofore been used and accustomed ; whiche President ' Privy Council Register, Charles I., May i6th, 1632. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 45 and Counsaill shall have power and auctorytie to here and determyne by there wisdoomes and discreacions such causes and matiers as be or hereafter shalbe assigned to them by the Kings Ma'tie, as heretofore hath been accustomed and used." ^ The fourth and following clauses deal with the Great Sessions for Wales. The Justice of Chester was to hold sessions twice a year in the counties of Denbigh, Flint, Montgomery ; the Justice of North Wales in the counties of Carnarvon, Merioneth, and Anglesey ; another Justice was appointed for the shires of Radnor, Brecknock, and Glamorgan, and a fourth for Carmarthen- shire, Pembrokeshire, and Cardiganshire. The Justice of Chester's fee was to be ;;^ioo per annum ; the three other Justices were to be paid ;^5o per annum. Each session was to last six days. Stewards of manors might continue to hold Courts and hold pleas by plaint under the sum of forty shillings, but they were not to inquire of felony, and no fresh manorial Court was to be erected. Officers of corporate towns might determine actions (by juries of six men according to English law), and within the next seven years the king might dissolve corporations erected by Lords Marchers, and erect others by patent. Several clauses deal in detail with the working of the great sessions. An important clause, showing the connection of the Council of the Marches with local officials, is the 21st, which provides that Justices of the Peace (not more than eight in each county) were to be appointed by the Chancellor of England, by Commission under the Great Seal, on the advice of the Lord President and Council and the Justices, or three of them. The Justices of the peace were to take their oaths before the Chancellor, or before the Lord President or one of the Justices, by virtue of the king's ' This is not the first mention of the Council in an Act of Parliament. In the Subsidy Act of 1540 (32 H. VIII., c. 50, not inrolled in Chancery) the Council in the Marches is mentioned, with the Councils of the North and West, as a source of expense to the king. The following words are of interest: "By reason wherof his true subjectes poor and riche without tracte of tyme or any greate charges or expenses, have undelayed Just\'ce daylye admi'stred unto them." This Act is not mentioned in the jurisdiction controversy of the seventeenth century (Bacon's Works, Spedding & Ellis,, Vol. VII., pp. 609, etc.). 46 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES writ of Dedimus potestatem. Quarter-sessions were to be held as in England. The clause respecting Welsh sheriffs is also important for the present purpose. They were to be nominated yearly by the Lord President, the Council, and the Justices of Wales, or by three of them, the Lord President being one. A list of three substantial persons in each of the twelve shires was to be drawn up and certified to the lords of the Council every year, crastino Animarum. Out of the three nominated for each shire, the king was to appoint one who would take his oath before the President and Justices or one of them. The sheriffs' duties are thus described : " Item, that everye of the said Shiriefes shall have full power and auctorytie within the lymites of theyre Shiriefwick, to do and use theyre offices, as Shiriefes in Englande, and shall accomplish and execute without any favour, drede or corrupcion all maner of Writtes, Proces, Judgementes and Execucions and all maner common Justice apperteyning to theyre offices of Shiriefs, and all lawfull comaundementes and preceptes of the saide President, Counsaill and Justices of Wales and allso of the Justices of the Peax, Eschetoures, and Crowners, and everie of them, in all things apperteyning to theyre officers and auctoryties" (clause 22). This clause of the Act is frequently referred to in the declining days of the Marches Court. After further defining the duties of sheriffs in Wales, the Act con- cludes with the following ordinances : that legal fees were to be fixed by the President, Council, and Justices, and that no fines were to be allowed for murder and felony. Permission, however, was given for reprieves till the king's pleasures should be known. Such were the measures by which the incorporation of Wales with England was effected. A natural question to ask is, How were they regarded by the Welsh ? Some answer may be got from Lord Herbert of Cherbury's Life of Henry VHI., in which is a lengthy oration purporting to have been delivered to the king by a Welsh gentleman in favour of Wales. It may perhaps be taken as representing the feeling of at any rate the more enlightened Welshmen towards the union which they saw to be inevitable.^ The speaker petitions that the Welsh may be received ' P. 190 (ed. 1706). THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 47 and adopted into the same laws and privileges as those enjoyed by the king's other subjects. He recounts the gallant resistance in defence of their liberty made against Romans, Saxons, and Danes. " Kings of England," he proudly adds, " weary of their attempts in person against us did formerly give not only our Country to those who could conquer it, but also permitted them Jura Regalia within their several precincts ; so it was impossible to come to an agreement, while so many that undertook this work, usurp'd Martial and absolute power and jurisdiction in all they acquired, without establishing any equal Justice. And that all offenders for the rest, flying from one Lordship Marcher (for so they were term'd) to another, did both avoid the punishment of Law and easily commit those Robberies which have formerly tainted the honour of our parts. So that until the vigorous Laws not only of several Conquerors of England, but the attempters on our parts, were brought to an equal moderation, no Union, how much soever affected by us, could ensue." The Welsh had submitted to Edward I., " a Prince who made both many and equaller laws than any before him." They had defended the ill-fated Edward of Carnarvon " when not only the English forsook him, but ourselves might have recover'd our former liberty, had we desir'd it." To Edward III. and Richard II. they had been strictly loyal ; if they had resisted Henry IV., the attitude of foreigners toward him was surely excuse enough. Welshmen had shed their blood ungrudgingly for England on the fields of France, and they had not taken advantage of the Civil Wars to regain their independence. To Henry VII., " bearing his Name and Blood " from them, their devotion, they plead, has never failed. They beg, therefore, for defence against their detractors, who mock the ruggedness alike of their mountains and their speech. Their mountains at least supply not only Wales but England, with good beef and mutton, while Welshmen speak their language in the throat, " as believing that words which sound so deep, pro- ceed from the heart." The survival of Welsh will mean that " your Highness will have but the more Tongues to serve you : it shall not hinder us to study English, when it were but to learn how we might better serve and obey your Highness : To 48 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES whose Laws we most humbly desire again to be adopted and doubt not, but if in all Countries Mountains have afforded as eminent Wits and Spirits as any other part, ours also by your Highness's good favour and imployment may receive that esteem." The Welshman spoke truly. In spite of much oppression and neglect, his countrymen of the sixteenth century were passionate in their loyalty to the Tudor line. In the days of the Civil War Harlech was the last castle to hold out for the beaten king, and it was a Welshman, Judge Jenkins, who defied the House of Commons from its own bar as a den of thieves, responding to its threat to hang him by saying that he would hang with the Bible under one arm and Magna Carta under the other. ^ ' Owen Edwards, Wales, p. 373. CHAPTER II THE PRINCESS'S COUNCIL. THE PRESIDENCY OF BISHOP ROWLAND LEE The condition of Wales and the Marches seemed to Wolsey in 1525 to need drastic measures. The separate jurisdictions of the various lordships continued to encourage criminals, and the time had clearly come for reducing the Border to complete submission to the royal authority. Accordingly, in 1525, follow- ing the precedent of Henry VII. in the case of Prince Arthur, the king appointed a household for his daughter the Princess Mary. A certain number of persons were selected as councillors attendant on her person and as Commissioners in Wales and the Marches for the instructions given them.^ The new President of the Council was John Veysey, or Voysey {alias Harman), who in 15 19 had been appointed Bishop of Exeter. Two years before he had served as a Commissioner in the inclosures inquisi- tion (1517), and in 1520 he accompanied the king to the Field of the Cloth of Gold. He was accounted the best courtier among the bishops, and had quickly risen into royal favour. He seems to have paid but little attention to his duties as Lord President, to judge from the state of things found by his successor, Rowland Lee. His name, however, appears in several documents relating to the Council business.^ The duties of the Commissioners are set forth at length in the ' The councillors numbered fifteen (see the list in Madden, Privy Purse Expenses of the Princess Mary, Introduction). * Brewer, Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII., IV., Pt. L 157 (7), and Pt. II. 4470; Gairdner, VI. 83, 169. 49 4 50 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Cottonian MSS., Vitellius, c. i., ff. 7-18.^ The preamble to the instructions recites that the long absence of a prince from Wales or the Marches has " altered and subverted the Good Order, Quiet and Tranquillitie of the Country," and caused " due Administracion of Justice by Meanes of sondry Contrarieties to be hetherunto hindred and neglected." The object of sending the commissioners is, first, that "the King's loving Subiects in the said Principalitie and Marches may be relieved from the necessity of repairing to the Council or to the King's ordinary Courts at Westminster " ; secondly, that " the said Countreyes may hereafter be reduced unto the pristine and sound Good Estate and Order, due Justice administered, poor Men's causes rightfully redressed, Offendours and Malefactours to be punished, good Men condignly cherished and rewarded, and also the Parties there about, by Meane of good HospitaUitie, refreshed." The Commissioners were amply furnished with authority " as well for Thadministracion of Justice, | as for all other things requisite and expedient to be done concerninge the Premisses " — viz. (i) a Commission of oyer and determiner; (2) a Commission for the administration of justice and decision of causes, griefs, and complaints to be made between party and party. The clauses that follow deal with the regulations for the princess's household, and are printed for the most part in Madden's Privy Purse Expenses of the Princess Mary. Then come the clauses (fif. 10-18) that deal with the duties of the Commissioners : a summary of them will be found in the chapter on the Council's procedure. Supplementary instructions to the princess's Council are dated July 20, 18 H. VIII., and deal with the following matters : forfeitures, keeping of the harness at Cardiff, prohibition of comorthas, fines, proclamations, etc., etc.* Two clauses are especially noteworthy — viz. (t) "Item, for the good ordering of such Lordships as be called Lordships Royall and the inhabitantes of the same, and to th' intent Th' offences which contrary to Justice be daylie comitted * The preamble to the instructions (with a summary of their main points) is printed in Collins, Letters and Memorials of State, pp. 4-6. 2 Cottonian MSS., Vitellius, C. i., f. 20. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 51 within the same might be dulye repressed and punished. It is the Kinges pleasure that the said Lord President and Com- missioners shall call afore them at tymes and places to them thought convenient all and singular such persons both spirituall and temporall as pretendeth to have any lordshipps Royall, bindeinge them by Indentures after such forme and manner as diuvers Lordes and persons haveinge such Lordships were bounden in the Kinges dayes of blessed memory that dead is." (2) " Item, forasmuch as by pretence of libertyes and sanctu- aryes, many haynous offenders remaine unpunished and that it is thought to the Kinge and his Counsayle that such as pretend to have such sanctuaries and liberties have not sufficient grauntes thereof, and if they have, they extend them further than they purport. It is therefore the King's pleasure that quo ■warra?ito shalbe put in execucion in all manner places within the limittes of their Commission from tyme to tyme as they shall think convenient and as the case shall require." The princess's household was arranged on an elaborate scale, as shown by the lists of officials and servants and by the house- hold accounts. Damask, velvet, and cloth were delivered out of the wardrobe for her attendants, and chapel furniture was sent down from London, consisting of copes, altar vestments, cushions, and mass books.^ She was sent to the Marches in September, 1525, being then under ten years of age. Her appearance is described in a letter from Dr. Sampson to Wolsey, dated September 3rd, 1525, on the occasion of her visit to her father at King's Langley, probably to bid him farewell before her de- parture : " My lady princesse com hither on satirday, suyrly sir off hyr age os goodly a childe os evyr I have seyn, and off os good gesture and countenance. . . . Hyr grace was not oonly welle accompanyed with a goodly nombre ; but allso with dyvers persons of granite, venerandam habendam canitiein. I saw not the courte, sir, better furnished with sage personages many days then now." ^ ' Brewer, Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII., Vol. IV., Pt. I., •577) ^-9' See also Madden, Privy Purse Expenses of the Princess Mary, Introduction, and Harl. MSS. 6S07, ff. 3-6. - Madden, p. xlii., and Cottonian MSS., 'Tit. B. i., f. 321 (formerly 314). 52 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Little is known of Mary's life during this period. She must have divided her time between Thornbury, her first residence, Ludlow, and Tickenhill, near Bewdley (which, according to Leland,^ was built by Henry VII. for Prince Arthur and re- paired for the princess). A letter, dated November, 1525 or 1526, from Tewkesbury, addressed by six of the princess's Council to Wolsey, speaks of the great repair of strangers to the Lady Mary expected at the coming Christmastide, and asks his Grace's pleasure respecting " a ship of silver for the almes disshe," Christmas entertainments, " Lorde of Misrule," " enter- ludes, disgysynges," and the like, and also about New Year's gifts for the king and queen, his Grace {i.e. Wolsey himself), and the French queen. The princess seems to have stayed in the Marches throughout 1526, the year in which Wolsey was labouring to bring about her marriage to Francis I. or his second son Henry, Duke of Orleans. But in April, 1527, she was summoned from Ludlow to meet the French Commissioners and take part in the enter- tainments provided for them at Greenwich. After long negotiation, it had been decided that Mary should marry either Francis or his son : the former, should he remain a widower till she arrived at marriageable age ; the latter if he {i.e. Francis) should marry Eleonora, sister of the emperor. Soon after the French am- bassador left England, the first rumours of the divorce scheme began. Up to the conclusion of the case the princess seems to have been with her mother, but was afterwards separated from her entirely. Her establishment in the Marches was soon reduced, as appears from a letter addressed by the princess's Council to Wolsey on March 25th, 1528. They write that, according to instructions, the princess's household had been discharged, and trust that Wolsey will grant the attendants their wages till they can be provided for. To stop complaints, the writers had " devised letters for the King to send to certain abbots within the limits of the Council's commission," according to the bill enclosed. The enclosure is a circular letter to be ' Leland, Itin., Vol. IV., f. 1836. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 53 addressed to thirty-four abbots in the Marches, stating that for her own better education and for the consolation of the king and queen it has been ordered that the princess should reside near the king's person. As the Council of the Marches would be encumbered by having to move a great household from place to place in her absence, her officers and servants have been allowed to go home. But as several of them are destitute of houses or friends to resort to, the abbot is requested to take so many (a blank is left here) of them in the meantime " unto his convenient finding." The writers add that if Wolsey would bestow sixty-nine of the poorest of the princess's servants among these houses, it would be "a full gracious deed." ^ This vicarious form of benevolence was doubtless carried out. The accounts of the Treasurer of the Chamber for March 21, H. VIII., give further proof of the breaking-up of the Ludlow household. "To Wm. Cholmeley, for conveying from Ludlow to London of sundry chapel stuff, plate, &c., delivered at the setting up of the Princess's household, ;^2o." ^ Meanwhile, the Commissioners remained in the Marches, well provided with work, to judge from the incidental notices of disturbances both there and in Wales. On January 9th, 1526, Walter Devereux, Lord Ferrers, wrote to the Lord President that, contrary to a previous understanding (confirmed by proclamation in Westminster Hall and within the precincts of the Commission), subpoenas to appear at Westminster had been served in Carmarthen and Cardigan. The inhabitants of both shires " saith plainly that they will not pay one groat at this present Candlemas next coming, nor never after, if any man do appear ' Brewer, IV., Pt. II. 4096 ; cf. 3874. - Gairdner, V., p. 318. Up to October 1st, 1533, Mary still had an establishment numbering one hundred and sixty-two persons ; but soon after the birth of Elizabeth (September, 1533) she was ordered to lay aside the name and style of princess, and bestow them on her half-sister. Her refusal to comply with this command brought her into disgrace with the king. In December, 1533) Commissioners (four in number) were appointed "for the diminishing the house and ordering of the Lady Mary," but no details of their proceedings are extant. Harl. MSS. 6807, ff. 7-9, and Cottonian MSS. Cleop. E. vi,, f. 328 (formerly 316). 54 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES otherwise than they have been accumed [sic], but they had hever run into the woods." Lord Ferrers, writing to his nephew Thomas Arundel on January 13th, explains that the inhabitants have been accustomed to pay the king one thousand four hundred marks at his entering and seven hundred marks a year ever after, at Candlemas ; but both shires refuse to pay next Candlemas, if denied their old liberties. This, he adds, is the most serious thing that has occurred since he first knew Wales. ^ Two years later, October i6th, 1528, a petition was sent up to the Council by the bailiff of Brecknock and other burgesses stating that justice was not kept, that the king's tenants were impoverished and his revenues decayed. In reply, a lengthy document was issued under the title of " Decrees and Direccions made by oure soueraigne lord King Henry the eyght by the advyse and assent of his most (ho)norable counsayle consideryng the peticion put unto his highnes by his hole tenants and subgettes of his towne and lordship of Breknok in Southwales." After the recital of the various complaints come details as to the future management of the revenue accruing from the lordship, and the necessity of preventing the growth of arrears. An in- dication that, however unsatisfactory the condition of things in Brecknock, it was an improvement on what had prevailed there in the past, is given in the following passage : " For as muche as the generalitie of the poer people ther do apply themselfe diligently in husbondry labores, tyllage and plowynge more then hath byn seen sithe the tyme of eny man's memory levyng. And also that ther be not soo many universalle misdoers and offenders as in tymes passed owre seid souereign^ lord is pleased and also it is decreed for the comfort of his good people, tenantes and resiantes soo endevorynge themselfe in and abowte tillage, that the severall somes of and for good abearynge and apparaunces of and for every person fyndyng convenient suerties therfore to be but myld, that is to say xls. for apparaunces and xls. for the good abearynge, provided alway that eny suche person or persons that be or shalbe notoryously offenders and ' Brewer, IV., Pt. I., 1872, 1887, 2201. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 55 mysdoers to be bounden at convenyent suerties for their appar- ances and good abearynges in as grete somes as shalbe thought requisite by the discrecion of the officers ther for the tyme beyng havyng the Auctorite to take such bandes by recognisaunces or other wyse." ^ In some parts there were said to be even open insurrections, as in Carmarthen in the summer of 1529. Lord Ferrers, Chamber- lain of South Wales, informed Wolsey that at the instigation of Rece Griffith and Lady Haward {i.e. Sir Rhys ap Griffith and his wife, a daughter of the Duke of Norfolk), the greatest insurrection in Wales within the memory of any one had broken out. Procla- mations, however, were issued in the king's name, divers of his servants and true subjects had come to the rescue, and the captains and ringleaders had returned home.^ It must be re- membered, however, that Lord Ferrers and the young Sir Rhys ap Griffith were deadly enemies, and that the information given above was much exaggerated. An account of the matter is given by Ellis Griffith in his MS. history among the Mostyn Papers.^ He says that when Sir Rhys went down to Wales the whole country turned out to welcome him, whereupon Lord Ferrers grew jealous. The two rivals happened to come to Carmarthen at the same time, and an open quarrel resulted from a fight between their retainers. They were promptly summoned before the Star Chamber, where in Wolsey's presence they hurled at each other accusations of violence, oppression, and bribery. At last both parties were censured for their misdoings, Lord Ferrers especially for his bad temper and want of sense in quarrelling with one young enough to be his son, whose youth must be his excuse. They were finally dismissed with the com- mand that they were to make peace with their respective followers, and to depart thence by land and water arm in arm to the palace and the Fleet. Next year (1530) a warrant was addressed to Walter Lord ' Brewer, IV., Pt. II., 5098. - Ibid., IV., Pt. III. 5682, 5693. ' Hist. MSS. Commission, Reports on MSS. in the Welsh language, Vol. I., 1898. Mostyn MSS., No. 158, Preface, p. 9 (translation). 56 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Ferrers, as Justice in South Wales, to apprehend James ap Griffith ap Howell, who had fortified himself in the Castle of Emlyn, South Wales.i A little later, one Thomas Philips, writing to Cromwell, speaks of the great decay in Wales especially as to the breed of cattle, and insists that the evil cannot be amended till these four articles are enforced : 1. That officers in Wales be restrained from taking fines for felony and murder. 2. That they be compelled to restore tracks. 3. That the retinue of officers in commission with the princess in Council do not, as now, delay justice. 4. That yearling calves be not sold. He desires that such a Council be established in the Marches that the best officer in Wales shall quake if found in default.^ By 1533 the condition of Wales was exciting much uneasiness. Sir E. Croft, writing to Cromwell and Paulet, excuses himself by lack of time for not carrying out the survey of woods within his office. The Lord President of the Council was away, and only four Commissioners were available to determine matters. Wales was " far out of order," and many murders in Oswestry and Powys had gone unpunished, because the chief of the Council were spiritual men without power to inflict the death penalty for felony or murder. He wishes " some man to be sent down to us to use the sword of justice where he shall see cause through- out the principality ; otherwise the Welsh will v/ax so wild it will not be easy to bring them into order again." ^ Throughout the year the words, " The necessity of looking into the state of Wales," or words to that effect, constantly occur in Cromwell's Remembrances.* The chief changes planned by Cromwell were : that according to the old laws no Welshman was to hold office in Wales ; that murders committed in Wales and the Marches might be tried in the Star Chamber ; that no one should hold two offices in Wales ; that the Justice of Chester should not ' Brewer, IV., Pt. III. 6709 (7). - Gairdner, V. 991. ' Ibtd, VI. 2IO. " Ibid., VI. 386, 727. Cottonian MSS., Tit. B. I. 150, 461. Cleop. E. VI. -xiz. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 57 hold his office by deputy ; and lastly, that the payment of fines and forfeitures should be rigorously enforced on Welshmen con- victed in the Star Chamber or before the king's Commissioners in the Marches. Complaints against laxity of administration were increasing ; ^^ 1533 John Salysbury writes from Denbigh to Cromwell : " Unless you write to the President of the Marches that the indictments (of the Bishop of St. Asaph and Robert ap Rice for prsemunire) should be tried in the country where the offence was done, in consideration of the royal prerogative, no obedience here will be paid to the laws." Thomas Crofte writes in the same year : " More than a hundred have been slain in the Marches of Wales since the Bishop of Exeter was President there, and not one of them punished." ^ Still, some amount of work was done, as can be gathered from incidental notices. We read of men imprisoned in Ludlow Castle for seditious words;- of an examination into the murder of four men of the lordship of Elvell (adjoining Hereford) ; ^ and of a Commission to inquire into certain extortions by officers in the Marches of Wales.'* That the latter offence was common enough is proved by the succeeding entry to the effect that the deputy steward and Heutenant of Elvell had been proved guilty of embezzling ^150 on fines, forfeits, and heriots.^ Among other charges mentioned are breach of the peace by a certain Walter Herbert, and the withholding of a pension due to the Vicar of 1 Gairdner, VI, 946. 2 Brewer, IV., Pt. II. 4140. ' Gairdner, V. 199. " Ibid., VI. 83. ^ Ibid., VI. 84. With this may be compared the Articles against certain Officers in Glamorgan, printed in Mr. Clark's Cartae et alia Munimenta de Glamorgan, Vol. II., p. 277, No. ccccxxix., from P.R.O. Wallia Miscell. Bag, No. 23. Morgan Matthews, coroner of the shire, and a certain Nicholas Williams had between them embezzled fines due to the king to the amount of ;^82. Lawrence, the deputy recorder and Court clerk of the shire and its members, who was bound to show the king's auditors a list of fines and forfeitures, had for twelve years kept a double set of books to the king's great loss. He had also taken 20s. from a claimant to the Manor of Castelton as a reward for stealing a fine of record out of the king's exchequer at Cardiff. 58 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Bradwey by the Abbot of Pershore.^ A case that was before the Commissioners for four years was that between the Prior of Worcester and certain tenants, who affirmed that their old customs in the lordship of Lyndrige were infringed. The prior stoutly upheld the rights of his house and denied the truth of the charge.^ An interesting petition to the " Pryncesse Counsaill " occurs among the Hereford MSS. Sir William Hunt, priest, petitions against the occupation of two shops (belonging to his vicarage) by Ph. Baskervile, Esq., without paying any rent. Baskervile, it is alleged, has added them to his own house, making one of them a porch, and " manysshing your orator yf he will medle therwith or selle any distresse that he will kyll and sle, and also he is a strong gent, there that your poor orator is not able to opteyne remedye agaynst hym." The petitioner begs for letters from the Council directing the mayor to inquire into the matter.^ With this petition may be mentioned a letter from the Council to the Mayor of Hereford concerning an affray, asking for information concerning Thomas Baskervile, one of the parties concerned.^ In addition to its judicial duties, the Council performed a certain amount of administrative work. In August, 1525, the Lord President and seven other members wrote to Sir A. Windsor and two others about ordnance and artillery to be delivered for the princess into the Marches of Wales.^ The members of the Commission who appear to have been most active are Lord Ferrers, Chief Justice of South Wales and Steward of the Household ; ^ Sir E. Croft, the Vice-Chamberlain ; Sir Ralph Egerton, the Treasurer ; Richard Sydnour, the Surveyor ; and George Bromley, one of the Councillors learned in the law. The Lord President, writing to Wolsey in 1528, begs for some prefer- ment for some of the princess's servants. Bromley, he says, ' Gairdner, VI. 298. 2 Ibid., VI. 747. 3 Hist. MSS. Commission, Hereford MSS., p. 310, * Ibid., p. 314. ^ Brewer, IV., Pt. I. 1577 (4), p. 709. " He was also Chamberlain of South Wales and of the counties of Carmarthen and Cardigan. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 59 has done long service, and his fee is ^50 ; Croft is a man of inflexible justice, and will do well in Worcestershire ; Russell, the Secretary, does well, and had in the Duke of Buckingham's, time the keepership of the park of Maxtoke, now vacant. Salter says his ofifices in North Wales do not sustain his costs in riding thither.^ The Lord President himself was of much the same opinion as Salter, for in 1533 he wrote to Cromwell, "I beg to have convenient days of payment for my convicts lately escaped,. for though I am in the Marches partly at the king's charges, I spare of my revenue little at the year's end." ^ Under Bishop Voysey the condition of the Marches had become intolerable. A strong hand was needed to repress the lawlessness and discontent which almost inevitably marked the transition stage in the history of Wales. A suitable instrument was found in the person of Rowland Lee, one of the many whom Wolsey's patronage had raised to power. Between the years 1528 and 1534 he had been one of the king's chief agents in his dealings with the monks and the clergy and also in the divorce proceedings. The man who had plied Fisher with questions during his imprisonment in the Tower, had sought to shake the resolution of Queen Catherine, and had attempted, though in vain, to " drive reason into the obstinate heads of the Friars Observant," was not likely to flinch from the duties awaiting him in Wales. By a curious coincidence he had in earlier life been connected with two former Lords President. Bishop Smyth had in 15 12 ordained him priest, and invested him with a prebend; Bishop Blythe had in 1527 made him his chancellor. In June 1534, he was elected bishop of the great East Midland see of Coventry and Lichfield (colloquially called Chester), and in May he was appointed Lord President of the king's Council in the Marches of Wales. ^ Of all those who presided over this Council, Lee undoubtedly stands out most clearly, and has left a most lasting impression on the country subject to his jurisdiction. How strong this im- pression was a generation after he had passed away may be seen ' Brewer, IV., Pt. II. 4470. - Gairdner, VI. 169. •* Diet. Nat. Biog. 60 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES from the discourse by William Gerard, to which reference has already been made. Writing to Walsingham in 1575, he speaks of Lee as " stowte of nature, readie-witted, roughe in speeche, not affable to any of the walshrie, an extreme severe ponisher of offendors, desirous to gayne [as he did indeed] credit with the Kinge and comendacon for his service. Suche one as hadd no neede of the office for any wante of lyvinge, for besides the Kinges allowaunce he spente the Revenue of his Bishoprick in that service." Gerard goes on to speak of Lee's worthy helper, Justice Englefield, " for lerninge and discrete modest behavoor comparable with anie in the Realme," and of Bromley, Holt, and others, who shared his task. These in the beginning, he adds, " spent their holle tyme in travellinge yeerlie eythr throughe Wales or a great parte of the same in causes towchinge Civill governement, and by that travell knewe the people and founde theire disposicon, favored and preferred to auctoritie and office in theire Contreys suche howe meane of lyvinge soever theye were, as theye founde diligente and willinge to serve in discoveringe and tryinge owte of off'ences and offendors. Theye likewise deforced and discountenanced others of howe greate callinge and possessions soever theye were, beinge of contrarie disposicon. This stoute bushoppes dealinge and the terror that the vertue of learninge workethe in the subiecte when he perceiveth that he is governed under a lerned magistrate, within iij or iiij °' yeres generallie soe terrified theyme, as the verie feare of ponishment rather then the desire or love that the people hadd to chaunge theire walshrie wroughte firste in theym the obedience theye nowe bee growen into. Then," he concludes, " was this Counsell and theire proceedinges as moche feared, reverenced and hadd in €?timacion of the walshe as at this daye the Starre chamber of th' english." ^ We are fortunate in possessing specially detailed information as to the work done by the Council in the Marches at this time, for Lee kept up a regular correspondence with his second patron, Cromwell. His letters give ample proof of his unwearied activity ' State Papers, Domestic, Elizabeth, Vol. CVII., No. 10. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 6i in spite of much discouragement. The task immediately before him was the punishment of felonies, especially manslaughter and thievery. The lax administration of Bishop Voysey, and more particularly his incapacity, as a spiritual person, to inflict capital punishment, had resulted in a state of things that disgraced a civilised country. Lee, however, was specially empowered to inflict the death-penalty, and never hesitated to do so, particularly in cases where the offender was a person of importance. Other serious evils were the difficulty of obtaining verdicts against notorious offenders, the misdeeds of officers both royal and manorial, the abuse of the privilege of sanctuary, and the frequency of riots and "affrays." So disturbed was the country that Chapuys, in his correspondence with Charles V., often speaks of it as ripe for insurrection. During his tenure of office Lee enjoyed several advantages ; the Act of 1535 (26 H. VIII., c. 5) ordered felonies committed in Wales to be tried in the next English county, and the Council had a more summary jurisdiction than heretofore. He had also a zealous and efficient subordinate in Sir Thomas Englefield, Chief Justice of Chester. From 1534 to his death in 1543 Lee laboured to reduce Wales to order. Very soon his exertions bore fruit, and he could write to Cromwell triumphantly : " I hope you under- stand the good order begun in Wales so that thieves are afraid ! " ^ By the autumn of 1534 he had devised a new book of instructions and sent it to Cromwell for approval.^ He was busy planning next year's work, for in the winter of 1534-5 he writes : "I intend after Easter to stop a month at Presteigne among the thickest of the thieves, and shall do the king such service as the strongest of them shall be afraid to do." The difficulty of enforcing order is seen in a letter from Sir E. Croft to Cromwell, saying that the king's Commissioners had proclaimed in the Marches of Wales that no one should carry weapons in fairs or markets, but that, in spite of this, on Friday, July 3rd, 1534, a great affray had taken place in the market of Bishop's Castle, in which many were maimed. '.Gairdner, Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VII., Vol. VII. 1 151. •-' Ibid., VII. 1393. ■62 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES In 1535 Lee secured the submission of several who were guilty of felony, manslaughter, and other grave crimes. The murderers made a desperate effort to save their lives by offering to take other offenders for their pardon and for eight years " to be of good disposition." ^ A notorious robber of no fewer than eighteen churches was brought to trial, and Lee could say hope- fully : "If Wales be applyed a little while, all will be quiet." ^ In another letter he writes : " Wales is very well amended and in comparison there is very little thieving of cattle, chiefly because no one will buy them if they are suspected of being stolen." ^ Yet he knew well enough that the improvement was merely temporary. His plan for the summer was to stay for short periods at Gloucester, Worcester, and Bewdley, and then at Shrewsbury to be nearer Wales ; " for though they are well re- formed for the time, they will be sure to return to their unhappy demeanour except for fear." ■* A number of outlaws had during the year submitted them- selves voluntarily without a safe-conduct, which was an unheard- of thing before.^ Three of the most " arrant thieves " in all Wales had been executed. An instructive picture of the career of such an evildoer is given in the various letters mentioning Robert Stradling, a ne'er-do-weel connected with the great South Welsh family of that name.^ His confession, taken at Bewdley on September 28th, 1535, is summarised thus ; " About two years ago took part with his father-in-law, Watkyn Lougher, who disputed certain lands with Chr. Turbill. Confesses to having kept one Lewes of North Wales and one Griffith of Caer- marthenshire, who robbed and murdered Piers Dere, for five or six weeks in his house, and they gave him one royal of Dere's. Killed Gitto Jenkyn, who quarrelled with him while coursing at the White Crosse, on the said lands in variance. Was outlawed, and to escape the search, boarded with six persons a balinger of Pastowe in the haven near the Abbey of Neath, and made the ' Gairdner, Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VII., Vol. VIII. 923. 2 Ibid., VIII. 584. = Ibid., VIII. 947. ^ Ibid., VIII. 1058. ' Ibid., VIII. 861. « Ibid., IX. 67, 354, 465. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 63 mariners put to sea for three weeks. Did no harm to any one. Landed at Milford Haven and went to Waterford in the latter end of April. Hearing that proclamations were made in Wales against him, returned." ^ In the end Stradling was recommended by Lee for the king's pardon, because he was " a proper man and a good archer and willing to pay a reasonable fine."^ In the summer of 1535, during his stay at Bewdley, Lee suffered from an attack of fever, brought on, we may suspect, by over- work.^ Earlier in the year he had written a doleful letter to Cromwell, complaining that he would like a fortnight's holiday, but was single-handed. Dr. Butts, the king's physician, was sent to visit him, with good results. "I thank the king upon my knees," he writes, " for allowing his physician to visit me, the sight of whom revived me."* The year 1536 was no less full of work. "Good rule," writes the indefatigable President, " prevails here, for one cow keeps another, which was never before . . . the thieves have hanged me in imagination,! I trust to be even with them shortly." ^ In spite of the measure of success gained, Lee would relax no effort, nor did he desire to be absent from Wales even to attend Parliament, " considering the frailty of the inhabitants and their love of novelty." This year he had to deal with the difficult matter of sanctuaries. He and Englefield wrote to Cromwell that a certain John ap David Griffith, while serving the Council's letters upon John ap Morice Lloyd, now in sanctuary at West- minster, was wilfully murdered by him.^ Lloyd's friends intended to move the king for a pardon, which the writers think should be withheld. Lee mentions the " Club Sanctuaries " of Wigmore and Bewdley as receiving not a few thieves, and urges that an Act of Parliament should declare in what shire the town and franchise of Bewdley stand ; ^ for if any be indicted in Worcestershire, ' Gairdner, IX. 465. - Ibid., IX. 126, 510. ^ Ibid. IX. 302. Mr. Gairdner notes that this letter is signed very feebly. * Ibid., IX. 166. « Ibid., X. 129 « Ibid., X. 354. ' Ibid., X. 258, 259. 64 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES they say their town and franchise be in Shropshire and vice versa. Thieves were still Lee's bugbear. He writes with much indignation that at a certain cattle-sale Richard Lloyd, of Welshpool, "a gentleman and a thief and a receiver of thieves," had on a doublet of crimson velvet or satin, " which does not become a thief; the hanging of one such would cause forty to beware." ^ Another, Lloyd, had stolen, " burned and killed without mercy." 2 Lee was driven to try what terror would effect. On a market-day he had a dead thief hanged on the gallows for a warning, and records with grim satisfaction that three hundred people followed to see the carriage of the thief in the sack, " the manner whereof had not been before." "All thieves in Wales quake for fear, and there is but one thief, of name Hugh Duraunt, whom we trust to have shortly. Wales is brought to that state that one thief taketh another and one cow keepeth another, as Lewis my servant shall inform you."^ He still found difficulty in ensuring the punishment of offenders : often proceedings were stopped on the bare assertion of the friends of the accused ; often the officers of the Marcher Lordships took no trouble because the tenants made compensation to the parties robbed.'* Lee urged that offenders should be discharged by fine or otherwise in open Court, though he admits that " my Lord Worcester and Lord Ferrers will greatly stick at it." Lee attributes the disorderly condition of the country mainly to the lack of impartiality in dealing with offenders.^ Thus he asks Cromwell that John Scudamore may be put out of the commission here, on the ground that he is "a gentleman dwelling nigh the Welshery and kynned and alyed in the same ; through the bearing and bolstering of such gentlemen Wales was brought to that point that I found it in."G An instance of the cases with which the Council had to deal is as follows : John Trevor, of Oswestry, gentleman, was summoned to the Council for assisting to burn a man's house ' Gairdner, X. 204. - Ibid., X. 31. 3 Ibid., X. 130. * Ibid., X. 31. ' Ibid., X, 330. '■ Ibid., XI, 1255. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 65 in Chirkland, and through negligence contrived to escape. He promptly " went to the wood " with Robert ap Morice, con- demned for "resetting" David Lloyd or Place. ^ Lee writes particulars to Cromwell begging him to stop any attempt at procuring their pardon. An offence connected with this " bearing and bolstering" was the practice of taking comorthas. By statute it had been strictly forbidden except in certain specified cases (e.g. loss of property by fire) ; but in the summer of 1536 Lee assures Cromwell that a certain George Mathew, gentleman, of South Wales, had obtained a placard to the contrary, though without cause expressed. " He is so befriended," is Lee's comment, "that it will run through all Wales to his advantage to the amount of roo marks." Among other offences of which notices occur in 1534-6 are riot (X. 310), robbery of churches (Vni. 839), and coining (VH. 1225). The next year (1537) was marked by the death of Lee's most valued assistant, Justice Englefield. Writing to Cromwell on September 28th, Lee says: "Mr. Justice Englefield died at eight o'clock this morning at Bridgnorth on his way hither. Having here many great and urgent causes I beg you to move the King that I may have help of someone of learning and experience. I shall do my part while my rude carcass shall endure. Remember the commonwealth of these parts, which if I have not help will decay again. I have over twenty felons, and none to help me."^ Lee seems to have missed Englefield much, and to have found the cares of his office more burdensome than ever. His reports to Cromwell throughout the year on the state of Wales are curiously varied. At one time he is hopeful, at another utterly depressed. Still, on the whole, it is clear that his firmness was making itself felt. " All in good order here (sc. Shrewsbury)," he writes, " saving now and then a little conveying amongst themselves for a fat sheep or a bullock in Kery, Kedewen, Arustley, and Kevylyocke, which is impossible to be amended ; for thieves I found them, and thieves I shall leave them." ^ ' Gairdner, X. 453. - Ibid., XII., Pt. II. 770. » Ibid., XII., Pt. II. 1237. s 66 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES The birth of Prince Edward was the signal for a great outburst of Welsh loyalty, "the gladdest tidings and merriest people in these parts that ever was." But Lee is more con- cerned to remark that " a little the thieves begin to steal, trusting to white books by the birth of a Prince." ^ Cromwell was assured by both Lee and Sir John Pakington that Wales and the Marches were never in better order.^ On the other hand, much annoyance was given by a troublesome dispute as to the stewardship of Arustley and Keviliock, between Lord Ferrers and the Earl of Worcester. Till it was ended no Courts were kept, and good order was in danger of being destroyed. The " great sort of gentleman " at Arustley met in unlawful assemblies to prevent Lord Ferrers from keeping the Court, but were promptly " put in hold " with the porter. Ultimately it was decided that Lord Ferrers should hold the stewardship during the Earl of Worcester's pleasure.^ Similar disturbances took place in Denbigh and Glamorgan. At Denbigh John Salisbury said that the Council did not well to take the weapons from the inhabitants or to molest them, for he could rule them, and he drew his dagger at the messenger who rebuked him.'' There was a feud, too, between the country folk round Denbigh and the townsfolk. The former on a market-day came in arms and proclaimed at the market-cross that Welshmen were as free as Englishmen, and that they should pay no stallage there.^ Sir Richard Bulkeley, writing in reference to a riot in Bangor Cathedral, wished for king's letters forbidding the wearing of armour by Welshmen, except the king's officers. ''Without speedy remedy the King will have as much to do in Wales as ever he had in Ireland.^ In this rather monotonous Hst of Welsh offenders it is a Trdief to come across those of another race, "the lewd people calling themselves Gipcyans," who had been pardoned in the (previous year for a shameful murder, on condition that they > Gairdner, XII., Pt. II. 985. " Ibid., XII., Pt. II. 1199 (ii). 3 Ibid., XII., Pt. II. 896, and Pt. I. 1271— 1272. " Ibid., XII., Pt. I. 1 148. * Ibid., XII., Pt. I. 1 183. ■" Ibid., XII., Pt. I. 507. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 6y quitted the realm. Cromwell wrote to Lee to inquire their whereabouts if they had not already departed, and to compel them to hasten to the nearest seaport and take ship with the first wind. If this command should be broken again, they were to be executed.^ The year 1538 opened well. "Wales was never in better order, all old factions forgotten." "Your subjects in Wales be in such order that since Christmas I hear of neither stealing, riots, murders nor manslaughters." " In the marches and in Wales in the wild parts where I have been, is order and quiet such as is now in England."^ A good example of Lee's strong measures is seen in his description of the Gloucester assizes, when Roger Morgan of Wales was, in spite of strong evidence, acquitted of forcibly carrying off a widow from a church. "This," says Lee, "is a vice common in Wales, and for its reformation we had ordered trial to be made, but all the honest persons we had appointed to the inquest absented themselves." The jury were bound over to appear at the next assize, and meantime to appear before the Council in the Star Chamber upon ten days' warning. Lee urges that the matter may be considered, " else farewell to good rule." ^ At these assizes six men were condemned for felony and two for treason. " Their heads and quarters," Lee callously remarks, "shall be sent to eight of the best towns of the shire." In Shropshire equally severe measures were taken, and four gentle- men of the best blood of the county were executed.'* Lee found, as in previous years, that the partiality of juries was a great hindrance to justice. In a letter to Cromwell he gives full details of a suit where the verdict of acquittal was given against the strongest evidence, and the mischief of " bearing " was very clearly displayed.-^ Another case was that of the Cheshire inquest, which found murders to be manslaughters and riots to be misbehaviour. These verdicts were promptly punished by the ' Gairdner, XII., Pt. II. 1173. - Ibid., XIII., Pt. I. 53, 222, and Pt. II. 276. ' Ibid., XIII., Pt. I. 371. < Ibid., XIII., Pt. I. 152. * Ibid., XIII., Pt. I. 519. 68 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES imprisonment of those who returned them. Lee, to protect himself beforehand from complaints of his hard dealing, wrote to Cromwell, urging that, if the country was to be kept in order, punishment must be inflicted, for by the common law things so far out of order could never be redressed.^ The records of the remaining years of Lee's Presidency show a decided improvement in the condition of the country under his charge. In 1539 he wrote from Wigmore that he had no news to send, for all was quiet, and again, " All is quiet here, and never better " ; and yet another time, " No news, the county of Chester we, at our late being there, have set in good stay."^ One of the special duties of the Council this year was to take measures for the defence of the coast and the construction of harbour works in Pembrokeshire. Lord Ferrers, writing to the Lord President and Mr. Justice Sulyard, says : " We never saw subjects more willing to serve the king, if they may have ordnance, horses and harness for their money.^ The entries concerning crime are comparatively few : e.g. John Thomas ap Rice of Kedewen, belonging to Lord Ferrers, committed felony and manslaughter, and fled. Lee urged Cromwell to stop any suit to the king for his pardon, on the ground that to hang such a gentleman in his county for such an off'ence would save twenty men's lives and do more good than to hang a hundred petty wretches.^ Sundry notices as to murders, seditious words, and riot occur, but it is clear that the country was now comparatively orderly.^ One beneficial change was that Staff'ord was made a sanctuary town instead of Chester, which, through its neigh- bourhood to AVales and the sea, had given malefactors many opportunities of escape.^ In the year 1539 Lee lost an energetic helper, Sir Richard Herbert, " the best of his name that I know. I have as great loss of him as though I had lost one of my arms, in governing Powes, Kery, Kedewen, and Cloones land." Next year came ' Gairdner XIII., Pt. I. 1411. - Ibid., XIV., Pt. I. 97S, 49, 1289. ' Ibid., XIV., Pt. I. 696. ^ Ibid., XIV., Pt. II. 384. " Ibid., XV. 557 ; XVI. 546; XVII. 53, 802. « Ibid.,YM\\. 357. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 69 two more serious losses through the deaths of Sir William Sulyard and Justice Porte. Lee sends the tidings to Cromwell, urging that he may have learned men in their places, for none other are any help. He complains of the intolerable burden of hearing causes every holy day and week day for three parts of the year with but one colleague, and adds that this toil has " brought many honest men to their death." ^ Lee's own labours were nearly over. His name occurs in the Commission of the Peace for Worcestershire and Gloucestershire in 15.'! 2, and letters were addressed to him by the Privy Council in March, June, and September of the same year.^ Towards the end of January, 1543, he died in the College of St. Chad's, Shrewsbury, of which his brother was dean, and was buried in St. Chad's Church. An early seventeenth century chronicle of Shrewsbury says that he " had brought Wales into civility before he died, and had said he would made the white sheep keep the black." ^ An interesting contemporary reference to Lee is found in the history of Ellis Griffith among the Mostyn MSS.* He writes, "In the course of the year 1534 there was much disorder within the districts of Powys, Kynlleth and Mochnant. And at this time the King appointed (Rowland Lee) Bishop of Chester as President of his council in that part of Wales and give him and his people full authority to administer punishment to those who merited it according to their deserts, and it is said that over five thousand men were hanged within the space of six years, among whom were certain men of the guard with the King's liveries on their backs." Bishop Lee is best remembered for his stern suppression of crime ; but there are other sides to his work that call for notice. Amid all his multifarious duties the repairing of castles held a prominent place. The year after his appointment he took in ' Gairdner, XV. 308, 398. - Ibid., XVII. 172, 410, 802. ' Diet. Nat. Biog. (art., Lee). ^ Hist. MSS. Commission. Reports on MSS., in the Welsh Language, Vol. I. 1898. Mostyn MSS., No. 158, Preface, p. ix. (translation). 70 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES hand the repair of Ludlow Castle, and made it fit for his winter stay in 1534— 1535. He writes with much satisfaction that he has bought eight " fother " of lead and bestowed it on the castle, contriving to do as much for ;;^ioo as would have cost the King ;!^5oo. His repairs, he says proudly, are such as had not been done for a hundred years past.^ Wigmore and Radnor needed attention just as much, for the former was "utterly decayed in lodging for the want of timely repair," and the latter was so ruinous that eight thieves had escaped from it during the year.^ " What shall it be for us," asks the zealous President, " to take thieves and have no place to keep them ? All cannot be brought to Ludlow." He noted with irritation the lack of armour and the mismanagement which left castle guns without either powder or stones. A confirmation of his opinion is given in a letter to Cromwell on the state of Ireland, which says : " The bows from Ludlow Castle were naught." ^ By 1536 Lee had had time to investigate the state of the armour at Ludlow and elsewhere, and he drew up a list of remembrances for his servant Lewes Johns to take to Cromwell. Lord Ferrers had fifty pairs of " Almain rivetts"^ out of the Castle of Ludlow, the Earl of Worcester had two hundred pairs at Chepstow. There was some harness at Thornbury, but at Ludlow neither gun nor powder, only "100 sheaf of arrows and 40 bows little worth. Not one string nor axe whereby I could do the King service ; 250 Almain rivetts, but neither gorget nor apron of mail." "Thank God," he concludes, "the country is quiet."* Other castles repaired by Lee were Brecknock, Monmouth, and Montgomery.^ Lee's building zeal led him to commit many acts of vandalism. Thus he and Sulyard received a commission to suppress Wigmore ' Gairdner, VII. I151; VII. 1393, 1409; VIII. 861,947; IX. 841. " Ibid., Vn. 1 57 1. 3 Ibid., VIII. 226. ■* Moveable rivets first made in Germany, whence the bodj- armour to which they were applied was so called (Mej-rick, Antient Armour, 1824, Vol. II., p. 292). * Gairdner, X. 259. = Ibid., X. 754, 1 178; XII., Pt. II. 896; XIII., Pt. I. 1287. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 71 Abbey, and had a warrant for stones, iron, lead, and glass for the repair of the king's castles.^ Money was hard to come by, and Lee eagerly seized on any stone or lead that came in his way, lamenting the number of places where it was needed.^ " There is a piece of Breknoke Castle fallen, and another piece at Chyrke, and all must be done : God send money." Some- times he scrapes together a few pounds out of forfeitures ; e.g. he asks Cromwell if he may have the goods of a certain murderer for the repair of Ludlow. Their value is only about -£/\o or _;^5o. and something must be deducted for the relief of the widow and children ; but Lee is eager to get what he can.^ The old friary at Ludlow yielded some material, too, for Thomas Vernon, descended from the founders, had discovered hidden in a ditch at the back of the house sundry articles wrapped up in an old stocking. The contents of the stocking (what were they, one wonders ?) were used for the rebuilding of Montgomery Castle, one of the keys of Wales.* The year 1539 was one of great activity in building and defence.^ Among Cromwell's Remembrances that year occurs the writing of a letter to the Lord President and Council of Wales for the fortifying and viewing of Milford Haven. The Council on the Tuesday after Palm Sunday was upon the mountains of Wales on the borders of Meleneth (co. Radnor), where Lee saw " many tall men and good hearts, but little armour." ^ Lord Ferrers was active in setting in order the ordnance towns of Pembrokeshire, and making the people repair the gates and " garnish " the walls with stones for lack of ordnance. He also set up beacons, saw to the repair of the bulwarks, and surveyed Milford Haven to the mouth of the sea.^ Sir Richard Bulkeley, writing to Cromwell about the same time, says that in the execution of his commission under the Great Seal for the survey of the sea-coasts, he has found the king's castles in North Wales wholly unfurnished with the means of ' Gairdner, XIII., Pt. II. 736; cf. XIV., Pt. I. 86. ■' Ibid., XIV., Pt. I. 155. 3 ji,icl,^ XV. 562 (2). ' Ibid., XIII., Pt. I. 1287. ^ Ibid., XIV., Pt. I. 655. " Ibid., XIV. ,Pt. I. 722. ' Ibid., XIV. Pt. I. 696. 72 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES defence. Conway, Carnarvon, and Harlech Castles could not be held for an hour against an enemy, and Anglesey was utterly defenceless, owing to its exposed situation and the difficulty of sending help. A letter from the city authorities of Chester to the Commissioners in the Marches gives much the same account : there was no ordnance, and the neighbouring ports were open. These notices of the activity of the Council in building and fortification show how much administrative as well as judicial work devolved upon it. During the years of Lee's Presidency the new arrangements for the government of Wales under the statute 27 H. VIII., c. 26 (1536), were being carried out.^ Incidental notices occur of the loss occasioned to the Lords Marchers by this Act. Henry, Lord Stafford, writing to Cromwell, states that it will lessen his income by ;!^2o, and pleads for the farm of the abbey of Rantone (near Stafford) if it be dissolved. Even the king had said " it was alms to help me, having so many children on my hands." ^ Lord Powys had suffered by the loss of his liberties in Powysland, and though he had been partly recompensed by the gift of certain monasteries, yet Lee begs Cromwell for his further advancement.^ The carrying out of the Shiring Act seems to have been a matter of some uncertainty. John Salysbury, steward of Denbighland, writes wistfully to Cromwell his hope that his fees as steward are not diminished by the Act.^ John Scudamore, Sheriff of Hereford in 1536, wants to know if he is to consider as shire ground certain Marches of Wales annexed to his shire, adding that the people are not well furnished, but seem willing to serve the king if need be.^ Lee was against the change entirely. " There are," he tells Cromwell, " very few Welsh in Wales above Brecknock who have ;£io in land, and their discretion is less than their land." He draws a dismal picture of the "bearing of thieves" which will ensue if the statute goes forward, and recalls that Merionethshire and ' Gairdner, VII. 1377. " Ibid., X. 741. => Ibid., XII., Pt. II. 965. " Ibid., X. 778. * Ibid., XI. 1338. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 73 Cardiganshire are as disorderly as the worst parts of Wales, although they are shire ground.^ To the same effect is a docu- ment entitled, "Articles proving that it shall be hurtful to the commonwealth of the three shires in North Wales, viz. Anglesey, Carnarvon and Merioneth, to have Justices of the Peace there." The Justices, it is said, will be dangerous, and partiality will increase, for the inhabitants are poor and quarrelsome, and most of the gentlemen are " bearers of thieves and misruled persons." ^ Sir Richard Bulkeley was of the same opinion, for he begs Cromwell to stop the Lord Chancellor from appointing any Justices of the Peace within the three shires of North Wales, on the ground that Dr. Glyn and Edward Gruff would give large sums for the office.^ Next year (1537) the President and Council were bidden to publish the proclamation for enforcing the Act 27, H. VIII., c. 26, made for Wales. At the beginning of the year Lee had com- plained of the delay in the arrival of this proclamation, for many small felonies had in the meantime to remain undespatched.^ The execution of the Act seems to have lain with the Lord President. Among the business to be laid before the Privy Council is the following item : " (9) To despatch Mr. Sulyerd to Wales with an instruction to the Lord President and him to put in execution the new shiring." ^ By 1539 it seems to have been still incomplete, for Lee and Sulyard reminded Cromwell that the time was approaching for the king's pleasure to be known as to the shire grounds of Wales, and mentioned certain petitions presented to the Council by the inhabitants of the said countries.^ A matter requirmg some time was the allotment of the towns in the new shires.'' In 1540 Denbighland was still not "translated" into shire ground. Cromwell wrote to Lee bidding him command the Commissioners to proceed in the matter and give his opinion as to the expediency of the change. Lee replies with some warmth that he was never privy of any such Commission, and ' Gairdner, X. 453. - Ibid., X. 245. ^ Ibid., XI. 525. * Ibid., XII., Pt. I., 93, 472. 5 Ibid., XII., Pt. I. 1091. " Ibid., XIV., Pt. I. 492. ' Ibid., XIV., Pt. I. S67, c. II. 74 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES trusts his opinion will not be required, " for I am not of that perfectness to know what shall chance in time coming." ^ But in spite of Lee's disapproval, the changes proceeded, and his gloomy forebodings were not fulfilled. Lee's term of office cannot be described without some reference to the attitude of Wales towards the great religious upheaval which followed Wolsey's fall. From incidental notices it is clear that there was much discontent and resistance to religious innovations. The "light Welshman" who in 1535 spoke words of the king ^ is by no means an isolated instance. We hear of " seditious words and unsitting demeanour " on the part of two monks in Worcester Priory; of a "wretch" (born in Portugal, however) who spoke seditious words against the king and queen ; and of the parson of Llanlledan who asserted that "the King's grace hath robbed us and now he robbeth the saints," adding that " the King is a fiend and hath mighty councillors."^ Various letters to Charles V. speak of Welsh disaffection: Martin de Cornoga, in 1534, says that the whole of Wales is devoted to the house of Reginald Pole ; that on account of their love for the Princess (Mary) and the death of don Ris (Rhys ap Griffith ap Rhys ap Thomas), who was beheaded three years ago (1531), the whole province is alienated from the king.* Chapuys, at about the same time, wrote that Kildare had received help from Wales, as well as from Scotland, in his rebellion.^ A little later he writes to the same effect as Cornoga — viz. that the Welsh are angry at the ill-treatment of the queen and princess, and also at what is done against the faith, for they have always been good Christians. It is said, he concludes, that the people only wait for a chief to take the field. Yet again he tells his master, " The distress of the people is incredible, especially the Welsh, from whom, by Act of Parliament, the king has just taken away their native laws, customs, and privileges, which is the very thing they can ' Gairdner, XV. 494. - Ibtd.^ VIII. 509. = Ibid., IX. 108; XII., Pt. II. 1057, and Pt. I. 1202 (2); and cf. Pt. I. 969 ; XIII., Pt. I. 358. ^ Ibid., VII. 1040. 5 Ibid., VII. 1368. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 75 endure least patiently. I wonder how the King dared do it during these troubles in Ireland, except that God wishes so to blind him." The possible junction of Wales and Ireland is mentioned in an account of a conversation between two Charterhouse monks. " And what think ye of Wales ? Their noble and gentle ap Ryce so cruelly put to death and he innocent, as they say, in the cause. I think not contrary but they will join and take part with the Irish and so invade our realm." ^ Chapuys declares that on the frontiers of Wales and of the North they were making great efforts to muster the men demanded by the Earl of Ossory; but there was scarcely anyone who would go, and many were imprisoned for refusal.^ Some slight con- firmation of this opinion may be found in the instructions for Edward a Beck (1534), which forbid the appointment of a Welsh- man as marshal in the Irish army, and speak of the suspicion of Welshmen in that war and the kindred which some of the captains had there. ^ But there is no doubt that Chapuys was- exaggerating to an absurd extent ; Henry's Welsh descent, his irresistible personal ascendancy, and Lee's vigorous government checked any serious outbreak such as occurred in 1536 in Lincolnshire and the North. Chapuys writes to Charles in 1535, with an evident desire to make the most of his case, " The King is still on the confines of Wales, hunting and traversing the country to gain the people. It is said many of the peasants where he has passed, hearing the preachers who follow the Court, are so much abused as to believe that God has inspired the king to separate himself from the wife of his brother : but these are mere ' idiotes,' who will return to the truth when there is any appearance of remedy." As to the execution in 153 1 of Sir Rhys ap Griflith (grandson and heir of Sir Rhys ap Thomas) on the charge of treason, it is highly- probable that he was unjustly condemned. In the Cambrian- Register, Vol. II., pp. 270, et seqq., is a list of the accusations brought against him ; they are flimsy enough, and the comments • Gairdner, VIII. 609 (iv). = Ibid., VII. 1141. 3 Ibid., VII. 1574. ^6 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES given are ample disproof of criminal intentions. The writer — a descendant of Sir Rhys — adds that Queen Elizabeth was " so satisfied of the extreme and hard measure offered to Rice Griffith that she never looked upon any of his children but as upon spectacles of infinite sufferance : insomuch that she would often say she was indebted both to justice and her father's honour, till she had repaired them. But my grandfather and father after him met with hereditarie enemies at court and thus stands our case." But whatever the injustice of the sentence, in Wales it was clearly not regarded with the resentment intimated by Chapuys. On the contrary, Ellis Griffith ^ writes that it was looked upon as the visitation of God for the many deeds of injustice and spoliation done by his father, grandfather, and great- grandfather. "For I heard many people from that part of the country (lying between the Tawe and the Towy) say that within twenty miles around the place where old Sir Rhys ap Thomas dwelt there was not in the possession of the poor yeomen any land which, if he fancied it, he did not obtain, either as a gratuity or by purchase, without consulting the owners, who without doubt heaved oft against him, his children, and his grand- children heavy sighs which in the opinion of the many, fell on his grandson. Thus do we see the truth of the proverb exempHfied, ' The children of the unjust are uprooted,' ' After haughtiness a long death.' " Some notices as to the religious and intellectual condition of Wales appear in the letters of Barlow, Bishop of St. David's, to Cromwell. He writes that " superstitious practices " were hard to eradicate, especially in remote corners of Wales, and was anxious that the See of St. David's might be transferred to Carmarthen, where a free grammar-school could be maintained, together with a " daily lecture of Holy Scripture, which would civilise the Welsh rudeness." ^ The need of schools is emphasised in a later letter, in which Cromwell is assured that the king's ' Hist. MSS. Commission. Reports on MSS. in the Welsh Language, Vol. I. 1S9S. Mostyn MSS., No. 158, Preface, p. ix. (translation of f. 492 b). 2 Gairdner, XIII., Pt. I. 634. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 77 attempts for the reformation of his subjects will never succeed in Wales unless " schools of erudition " are provided in divers places of his diocese. He had the effrontery to add that there is now scarcely a learned man in Wales except those his " poverty " has provided for.^ Bishop Barlow was scarcely the man to commend any religious change, whether to the learned or to the ignorant. His " poverty " rapidly became wealth — at the expense of the see he maligned. The roof of St. David's Palace went to provide his daughters with dowries, and the rich manor of Lamphey was alienated for the benefit of his godson. It is small wonder that the Reformation found a cold welcome in Wales, when advocated by a time-serving hypocrite. Lee's interest in the Reformation movement was, as might be expected, of a lukewarm character. He took things as he found them, and submissively carried out the king's very variable will. The bishop, who could write without any apparent compunction that he " had never heretofore been in a pulpit," but would execute in his own person and by others the declaration for preaching against the usurped power of the Bishop of Rome, is perhaps the most striking example, even under the Tudors, of the secularised prelate. In this same letter ^ Lee shows clearly enough what was his first desire — the enforcement of order in Wales. He passes with all speed from the evidently uncongenial task of preaching to the account of justice done on the robbers of churches. Still, he carried out the king's injunctions with his usual business-like thoroughness, in spite of delay, due to his ' Gairdner,XIII., Pt. II., in, 1072; cf. XVI. 503(30). Barlowwas Bishop of St. David's from 1536 to I549. He quarrelled with his Chapter, who sent up a series of articles addressed to the President of the Council of the Marches denouncing him as a heretic (Diet. Nat. Biog.). - This letter is so characteristic of Lee that it deserves to be quoted in full : " Yesternight I received the king's letter for preaching against the usurped power of the bishop of Rome. That no dissimulation might appear in me, nor anything contrary to my promise, I will send for my horses and repair to my diocese ; and in my own person, though I was never hereto- fore in pulpit and by others, will execute the declaration. Let me know your mind by the bearer in certain points. I shall leave Mr. Englefield sole. You will perceive what justice has been done upon robbers of churches, &c. Gloucester, 7 June " (Gairdner, VIII. 839). 78 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES being engaged in enforcing order and quietness. His clergy were bidden to support the royal supremacy, to provide a Bible in Latin and English in every parish church, to preach diligently, to publish the Paternoster, Ave^ and Creed in English in the pulpit every Sunday, and to enforce the regulations against gaming and against confessing to friars.^ An instance of the manner in which the royal injunctions were received in Wales is given in the information given before the Council in the Marches against R. Hale, of the parish of Llangeveny, Anglesey, for repining against the king's injunctions as " sinister and clear gone out of the faith." ^ Some further light on the working of the Council is thrown by incidental notices of the civil cases with which it dealt. We ■find that the Lord President and Council had to examine such matters as the pension of the Abbot of Pershore, the title of lands in the lordship of Romney, South Wales, and the validity of a patent granted to the ganger in the city of Chester.^ The causes that came before the king's Commissioners were sometimes trifling in the extreme — e.g. a certain Richard of Leytewich writes that his wife has been accustomed time out of mind to kneel on the north side of the church of D(avenham ?) in Cheshire, till Saturday, June 13th, 1534, when sundry persons, by the procure- ment of Dr. Bekynshaw, entered the church, cut up the said seat, and carried it away. The Commissioners are petitioned to send the king's letters to the doctor, that he may meddle no further.* Some interest attaches to a letter from Thomas Lord La Warr to Cromwell, asking for his favour in a claim against Sir Richard Harberd (Herbert) for land in the honour of Brecknock. Herbert is one of the King's Council in those parts, and the writer is sure that he would have but little favour.® Later evidence shows that partiality was a charge often brought against the members of the Welsh Council. Something must also be said of the petitions addressed to the Council during Lee's term of office. Of special importance is 1 Gairdner, XIII., Pt. I. 1197. ^ /^,^_ xill., Pt. II. 1037. 3 Ibid., VII. 808, 1646; XII., Pt. II. S17 < Ibid., VII. 835. ' Ibid., VII. 482. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 79 that from the " inhabitants of the Marches in the Welshery," praying (i) that lands, etc., may not descend by gavelkind, but to the eldest son or heir male, and, in default, may be divided among the issue female ; (2) that there may be a chancery at Ludlow or Wigmore; (3) that there may be a general pardon for all offences done, and arrearages due before the Act 26 H. VIIL, c. ii.i With this may be compared a petition from " certain persons in the counties and lordships lately appointed to be the shire of Montgomery." - The main points touched on are the abolition of gavelkind, the duties of sheriffs, pleas, the oppression exer- •cised by the Lords Marchers, their greed of fines and escheats, the hearing of suits between the King's Council in the Marches, and complaints of subpoenas. Instances also occur of petitions addressed to the Council by city authorities — e.g. Chester addresses the " President of the Council in the Marches of Wales and the other commissioners thereof " in reference to the blocking of access to the city by sand-bars, and to the suspension till next Parliament of a statute touching a new custom.^ So, too, the city of Coventry petitioned the Lord President to use his influence in averting the rumoured destruction of the Cathedral Church, " to the great defacing of the town and inconvenience to the inhabitants in time of plague." Lee wrote strongly, urging as pleas for its preservation his own honour as bishop and the benefit to the town ; but in vain.^ Under Lee's stern government Wales undoubtedly became more orderly. Besides the indications given in his own letters, there may be instanced the fact that Welshmen could be safely employed in suppressing the Lincolnshire rising of 1536, while it was proposed to send letters to the King's Council in the Marches, to take measures against the great Northern Rebellion of the same year.^ The success of the Welsh Council seemed ' Gairdner, VII. 1456. 2 Ibid., X. 1244; cf. X. 251, and Harl. MS. 368, S. 178, 179. ' Ibid., XI. 1453 ; cf. Harl. MSS., f. 177. * Ibid., XIV., Pt. I. 34. ' Ibid., XI. 849, 580. 8o THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES so great that after the suppression of the Pilgrimage of Grace the Council of the North was established with very similar powers. The condition of Wales presented a great contrast to that of Ireland, where problems in government existed that were similar in kind, though very different in degree. In a paper headed "for the reformation of Ireland" (1542) it is stated that " Wales is true to the Crown, because not under one ruler, but several in each shire ; so would Ireland be under seneschals and justices." ^ The rule of Lee and Englefield was, in fact, regarded as a model for later Lords President in the days when the Council's administration grew slack. Lee's work, needless to say, was roughly done : Welsh names found no more favour with him than Welsh thieves, and the cutting off of the long string of ap's in legal proceedings is as well remembered in Wales as the tradition of " Bishop Rowland's justice." ^ ' Gairdner, XVII. 68. ' Cf. Pennant, Tour in Wales, 8vo edit. I., p. 17: "Before I quit the House (Tremostyn) I must take notice that Thomas ap Richard ap Howel ap Jevan Vychan, lord of Mostyn, and his brother Piers, founder of the famil}' of Trelaere, were the first to abridge their name and that on the following occasion. Rowland Lee, Bishop of Lichfield and President of the Marches of Wales, in the reign of Henry VIII. sat at one of the Courts on a Welsh cause, and wearied with the quantity of Ap's in the jury, directed that the panel should assume their last name or that of their residence ; and that Thomas ap Richard ap Howel ap Jevan Vychan should for the future be reduced to the poor dissyllable Mostyn, no doubt to the great mortification of many an ancient line." CHAPTER III LEE'S' SUCCESSORS, 1543— 1559. THE PRESIDENCY OF SIR HENRY SYDNEY, 1559-86 Comparatively little is known of the history of the Council in the Marches for several years after the death of Bishop Lee. He Avas succeeded in both his bishopric and ofiEice as Lord President by Richard Sampson, who in 1548 was followed by the Duke of Northumberland. Next came Sir William Herbert (1550-3), who in 155 1 became Earl of Pembroke, and then Nicholas Heath, Bishop of Worcester (1553-5). The Earl of Pembroke held office a second time between 1555 and 1558, and was followed by Gilbert Bourne, Bishop of Bath and Wells, in 1558, and by Lord Williams of Thame in 1558-9. The last- named died at Ludlow on October 14th, 1559. None of these Lords President, with the exception of the Earl of Pembroke, seem to have left any definite mark in Wales ; many of them held office for a very short time, and in all probability rarely visited the districts over which the Council's jurisdiction extended. Such information as is extant is mainly drawn from the Acts of the Privy Council, which serve to show that the supervision exercised by that body over Wales and the Marches was minute and constant.^ The Lord President, as in Lee's time, was much occupied in defending the coast. Under the year 1545 is an order respecting beacons and preparations against invasions in the Welsh Marches.^ ' Among the special duties of the Secretary of State was the supervision of the Welsh Council, sqq. State Papers (Domestic), Eliz., CCLXXIV., p. 1 18. - Acts of the Privy Council (abbreviated henceforth as A.P.C.), Vol. Ij, P- 195 (1545)- 81 6 82 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES In 1546 Bishop Sampson was requested to see to the guns for bulwarks lately made at Milford Haven.^ Piracy, too, had to be repressed,^ and murderers who fled from neighbouring counties into Wales had to be apprehended.^ A few references occur to the decision of disputes respecting tithes, etc.* On the accession of Edward VI. the instructions for the proceedings of the President and Council of the Marches were renewed, and sundry changes were made in the Council's composition.^ In the same year a complaint was made that Bishop Sampson was " partially aff'ected " in a certain case which was therefore revoked to London.^ In April, 1549, the Presidents of the Councils of York and Wales were ordered to apprehend all those who had received coat-and-conduct money and then stolen away privately without leave.'' Sir William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, had a closer connec- tion with Wales and the Marches than most of the Lords President. His father was Sir Richard Herbert, of Ewyas, Herefordshire, and his mother was the daughter of Sir Matthew Cradock, of Swansea. His grandfather, Sir William Herbert, had been a strong Yorkist, and was executed after Edgecote in 1469. The high place he occupied in the royal favour gave him not only the rich estates at Wilton, but also Cardiff Castle and large lands in Wales. His Welsh followers were employed to suppress disturbances in the West in 1549, and their help was soon after- wards sought by Somerset in his quarrel with Warwick. His appointment as Lord President was therefore very natural, and he seems to have served his sovereign as well in this as in his other offices. In one respect he was a curious contrast to the clerics, who had hitherto held the office of Lord President, for he could neither read nor yet write beyond signing his name in capital letters. It is said, too, that the only language he knew well was Welsh, and that in the Calais negotiations of 1555 he 1 A.P.C., Vol I., p. 385 (1546). - Ibid., p. 415 (1546). 3 Ibid., p. 520 (1546). ■* Ibid., pp. 531, 547 C1546). 5 Ibid., Vol. II., p. 44 (1547)- * Ibid., Vol. II., p. 487 (1547). ' S.P.D., Ed. VI., Vol. III., Ap., 1549 (p. 397, No. 28, Calendar of Addi- tional Papers, 1547-65, and Elizabeth, 1601-3). THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 83 was nearly useless. But the strong-set, bony, reddish-favoured Welshman, with his sharp eye and stern look, was clearly the man to continue the work that Lee had begun. In 155 1, the year after his appointment, he was directed by the Privy Council to see the proclamation for the " furniture " of the markets observed, and to make proclamation for the reformation of felonies committed in Wales. ^ In 1552 and 1553 he was appointed Commissioner for Lieutenantship — a matter of some interest, as showing that the new office of Lord Lieutenant was to be linked with the older office of Lord President.^ In the same year Pembroke was replaced in the last-named capacity by Nicholas Heath, Bishop of Worcester, who held office from 1553 to 1555, years when the Earl of Pembroke was busily engaged in great affairs of State, and indeed was reported by the Venetian Ambassador to be the chief personage in England.^ In 1555 Pembroke resumed office, 'but he does not seem to have visited Wales and the Marches often, if at all. He was represented by a Vice-President, William Symonds, with satis- factory results, to judge from a letter written by the Council thanking Symonds and two of his colleagues for their diligence in the maintenance of good rule and order within the Marches and the twelve shires of Wales.* During these years an evil began which later on proved somewhat serious — viz. that un- authorised persons acted as attorneys to the encouragement, doubtless, of the litigiousness which then, as now, was a marked Welsh characteristic.^ Among matters coming before the Council of the Marches were a riot in Glamorgan committed by Sir George Herbert, and sundry cases of murder and escape of prisoners.*^ In August, 1558, the Earl of Pembroke wrote to the queen, acknowledging her letter to the effect that the Marches ' A.P.C., Vol. III., p. 427 (1551). == Ibid., Vol. IV., pp. 50, 278 (1552-3). ^ Diet. Nat. Biog. (art., Sir William Herbert). * A.P.C., Vol. VI., pp. 49, 155, 172, 175, 277. " Ibid., Vol. VI., p. 49. « Ibid., Vol. VI., pp. 183, 236, 350. 84 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES of Wales were in disorder for want of a President residing there.^ He was quite willing to resign, but declined to nominate his successor. In October, 1558, the following letter was addressed to Gilbert Bourne, Bishop of Bath and Wells, appointing him to the otrice vacated by Pembroke. "28 Oa. 1558. "By the Queene [i.e. Mary]. " Right reuerend father in God. Right trustie and welbeloved wee greet you well. And whearas our Countrey and Marches of Wales is presentely without a lord president, the lacke wherof in the due administracion of Justice and the good orderinge of that Cuntry may be a great hinderance to our seruice and the quiet of our Lovinge subiectes ther : we lett you witt that knowinge your wisdome, discretion and uprightnes, fidelitie and redy good will to serue us, we haue especially appointed and authorized you like as by I'res p'ntes we doe appoint and authorize you to be our president of our sayd Councell in our sayd Marches. And therfor will and require you forthwith to put your selfe in order and redines to repaire with all the conuenient speed you may to our said Marches for the sayd purpose, and ther to use and order all thinges for the aduancement of Justice and of our seruice as appertaineth to the office and duty of our president, accordinge to the speciall trust we haue repossed in you." ^ At the same time Bourne was licensed to absent himself from the Parliament which was to be holden by prorogation on November 5th, and to send a proxy. His term of office was very brief, as might be expected from his refusal to fall in with Elizabeth's changes as regards religion. He was succeeded in February (?), 1559, by Lord Williams of Thame, the office of Vice- President being held by Sir Hugh Paulet.^ The exact date of the document giving this information is uncertain, but it cannot ' S.P.D., 1547-80, Vol. XIII. (Mary), p. io6, August, 1558, No. 63. " Cottonian MSS., Vitellius, C. i., f. 207. This letter shows the incorrect- ness of the statement in Diet. Nat. Biog., Vol. VI., p. 28, that Bourne was made Lord President of the Welsh Marches in 1554. ' S.P.D., 1547-80, Vol. I. (Eliz.), p. 123, February (?), 1559. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 85 be later than February, 1559, for on March 5th a warrant was issued for payment of the diets, etc., of Lord Williams of Thame and the Council of the Marches. On March 17th, 1559, Lord Williams was seriously ill, for Lord Paget wrote to Sir William Cecil that he was very sick and not likely to recover ; he added a request that the office might be bestowed on himself.^ In April the Queen wrote to the Bailiff and Jurats of Jersey (where Paulet then was) that his services were needed for a while in the Marches of Wales, and that his son Amias had been appointed as lieutenant in Jersey in his absence.^ On June 25th Sir Hugh Paulet wrote to Cecil that he had received letters from the Lord President of Wales to meet him at Worcester. He gladly resigned his charge in the Marches, as he was anxious to go back to Jersey. He enclosed a letter from Lord Williams (dated June 1 8th) stating that he had received his commission and instructions as Lord President, and would meet Paulet and the Council at Worcester.^ Lord Williams had clearly recovered, at least partially, but in October, 1559, he died at Ludlow, and was succeeded, not, fortunately, by the grasping Paget, but by Sir Henry Sydney. The Presidency of Sir Henry Sydney lasted for more than a quarter of a century — from 1559 to 1586. Bishop Lee had made himself feared by his rigorous suppression of crime ; Sydney made himself loved by his justice and mercy. The spirit in which he executed his office is seen in his words, written when its term was drawing to a close : " Great it is that in some sort I govern the third part of this realm under her most excellent Majesty ; high it is for by that I have precedence of great personages and by far my betters ; happy it is for the goodness of the people whom I govern ; and most happy it is for the commodity I have, by the authority of that place, to do good every day." He was the son of Sir William Sydney of Pen- shurst, who had held many important offices under Henry VHI., ' S.P.D., Cal. 1547-80, p. 126, Vol. III. (Eliz.), March 17th, 1558-9. - Ibid., Eliz., Vol. IX., April 25th, 1559 (p. 490, No. 20, Calendar of Additional Papers, 1547-65, and Elizabeth, 1601-3). ^ Ibid., Cal. 1547-80, p. 132, June 25th, 1559. 86 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES including those of Chamberlain and Steward to Prince Edward. As a boy Henry was the Prince's constant companion, and it was in his arms that the young king died. In 1550 he was knighted on the same day as William Cecil ; soon afterwards he was sent to France as ambassador, and on his return he married the Lady Mary Dudley, daughter of the Earl of Northumberland and sister of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. During Mary's reign he enjoyed less favour than under his friend Edward VL, but he was made Vice-Treasurer and General Governor of Lish Revenues, and for a time served in Ireland as Lord Justice. Sir Henry's life, written by Edward Molyneux, has been incorporated in Holinshed's Chronicle.^ It was a life of much sorrow and yet of much joy. Many of his best years were spent in the weary task of crushing Irish rebellion. During his first tenure of office as Lord Deputy (1565-7) he had to cope with Shane O'Neill. On his death in 1567 Sydney came back to England, but was coldly received, owing to the fact that his patron Leicester was for the time out of favour. Next year, reluctantly enough, he returned to Ireland, and this time his enemies were Fitzmaurice and others of the Butler family. In 15 7 1 he laid down his thankless charge and came home, spending the next four years partly at Court and partly in Wales or the Marches. In 1575 he was for the third time appointed Lord Deputy with a free hand : ;^2o,ooo per annum was to be paid to him in quarterly instalments. But he failed to govern as cheaply as Elizabeth expected, and in 1578 he was recalled, with broken health and impaired fortunes.^ Gratitude was not a Tudor virtue, and Elizabeth showed little to the man who had spent the best years of his life on a task hard enough in itself, but made harder than it need have been by unwise parsimony. His wife, too, the Lady Mary, deserved some favour from the Queen, whom she had nursed through smallpox, catching the disease herself, to the loss of all her beauty. Yet no reward ' Vol. III., p. 1548, b. 10 (sub anno 1586). - Diet. Nat. Biog. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES ^j came — " not so much ground as I can cover with my foot," and all his fees amounted to less than a hundred marks a year. " It was his hard fortune," writes his biographer, " to have his services subject to the Ear and not to the Eye, wherby his noble Virtues and Merits were sometimes undervalued and disregarded, and consequently his services liable to Misreport, Slander and Calumniation ; as appears from his Letters to the Queen and her Council," .... "in these services he spent his Youth and his whole Life, sold his Lands and consumed much of his Patrimony to the great Hinderance of his Posterity, without any great Recompense or Reward." ^ Sydney's happiest years were probably spent in the Marches, mostly at Ludlow, where his activity can be traced in many of the existing buildings. Here his children Philip and Mary spent most of their childhood ; their sister Ambrozia died in the castle, and was buried in St. Lawrence's Church, where her monument may still be seen.^ The castle, with its memories of baron and prince, was a fitting home for the boy, who in after life became the model of all knightly virtues, and for the Mary Herbert of later days, whom Spenser called the " ornament of all womenkind," and on whom Ben Jonson wrote his undying epitaph. Sir Henry and Lady Mary paid many visits to Shrewsbury, where their son Philip attended the Grammar School, then the most noted in the kingdom. The tenderness of the man — all the more remarkable in an age when home-life was mostly stern and often cruel — comes out, more than anywhere else, perhaps, in the letter to "my litell Philippe."^ Sir Henry had in truth the qualities most needed in the offices ' Collins, Sydney Papers, p. 93. ^ Cf. Churchyard, Worthines of Wales (ed. 1776, reprinted from the edition of 1587), pp. 76-8. Ludloe Towne, Church and Castle ; "The Lord President Sir Harrie Sidney's daughter called Ambrosia is entombed here in most bravest manner and great chargeable workmanship on the right hand of the Altar." ^ Collins, Letters and Memorials of State, pp. 8, 9. The last sentence but one is as follows : " Well (my litell Philippe) this is ynough for me and to muche I fear for you." The date of the letter is 1566, when Philip was twelve years old. 88 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES he filled — firmness and sympathy. He could, when necessary, be as firm as Bishop Lee himself, but he had in addition a real sympathy with the oppressed Celtic populations over whom he ruled. The Irish and the Welsh of the sixteenth century found few indeed who understood them, but among those few Sydney holds the highest place. Wherever he sojourned, we are told, he had that " gallant Behaviour and Comeliness of Person, as gained him the Hearts of many and such universal Esteem of all Sorts of People to him, that they were ever desirous of his Aboad with them."^ He cared for the past history of Wales, and it was due to his encouragement that Powel's History of Wales was published in 1584.^ Both in Dublin and at Ludlow he took much pains to preserve ancient records.^ Another of his interests was building : not only Ludlow, but also Wigmore and Montgomery Castles and Bewdley House bore traces of his work. During his residence in the Marches he left more permanent memorials of himself in his upright administration of justice, and he could say with honest pride, " A better country to govern Europe holdeth not." Sir Fulke Greville had ample justification for thus summing up his career : " Sir Henry Sydney was a Man of excellent naturall Wit, large Heart, sweet Conversation : and such a Governor as sought not to make an End of the State in himself, but to plant his own Ends in the Prosperity of his Countrey. Witnes ^ Collins, Sydney Papers, p. 90. ■■^ Sydney had in his possession a copy of the unfinished History of Cambria by Humphrey Lloyd, and induced Dr. David Powel to publish it with additions. — The Cambrian Plutarch, pp. 299, ct seqq. ^ The description of Sydney's Irish Record Office is worth quoting. He found the Irish records " in an open Place subject to Wind, Rain and all Weather and so neglected that they were taken for common Uses. Where- upon with great Care and Diligence he caused them to be perused and sorted and placed within the Castle of Dublin, in a Room well boarded, with a chimney for a Fire, so that neither by the Moisture of the Walls or any other Means, they could receive Prejudice. And several Divisions were made for laying them separate ; and one of Discretion and Skill appointed to look after them, with an Assignment for his labour." Perhaps this enlightened act was one of the "extravagances" which brought Sydney into trouble. Collins, Sydney Papers, p. 90. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 89 his sound Establishments both in Wales and Ireland, where his Memory is worthily grateful unto this day." ^ During Sydney's term of office lengthy instructions were issued for the guidance of the Council in the Marches. The first issue was in 1574, and in 1576 and 1577 additional orders were sent down.^ They are of great importance as showing how much the Council's work had developed since the instructions to the Princess's Council in 1525. They furnished a model for all later issues, especially that of 1586 to the Earl of Pembroke, Sydney's successor. The preamble states that Her Majesty, " much desiring the continuance of quietness and good government of the people and the inhabitants within the Dominion and Principality of Wales and the Marches of the same, for good and indifferent administration of justice to be there had between party and party, intendeth the continuance of her right honourable Council in the Marches of Wales," and appoints Sir Henry Sydney as Lord President. Then follows the list of the Councillors, twenty in number, including the Bishops of Hereford, Worcester, Bangor, St. David's, and St. Asaph ; Sir James Croft, the Comptroller of Her Majesty's Household ; Sir John Throgmorton, Justice of Chester ; and George Bromley, Esq., Justice of North Wales. These are directed to do unto Her Majesty " such service as they can best to her Highnes con- tentation and to the dischardge of their duties, laying aside all respects and affections in all matters, although the same may touch their kinsmen, friends, servants or any others, when and as often as they shall be appointed or required, by L. Presi- dent, Vice-President and Council, for their presence or assistance, for the furtherance of her Majesties service." The members ap- pointed to continual attendance were Sir J. Throgmorton and the Secretary Charles Fox, save that the former might be absent in the two vacation times between Lent and Trinity and Trinity and Michaelmas terms, when the Justices of Chester and North ' Collins, Sydney Papers, p. 96; cf. what the Archbishop of Dublin said of Sydney : " In all the realm there was no such pilot in stormy weather." - Lansdowne MSS. 155, p. 2226-496 (present numbering); see Clive's Ludlow, pp. 309-52. 90 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Wales rode their circuits. Tlie Lord President or Vice-President might call to him at his discretion any other members of the Council, who, if they had no other regular fee allowed them, were to receive at least 6^. Sd. for each day of their attendance. After other regulations as to the stipends of individual councillors, the instructions proceed to enumerate the Council's powers. The Council as a body, or two of them at least (of whom the Lord President or Vice-President was to be one) were empowered to hear and determine "by their discretions, all manner of complaints and petitions, as well wnthin the liberties of her Majesty's Duchy of Lancaster, the cities of Gloucester, Worcester, and Hereford, Salop and Monmouth, the county of the city of Gloucester, the county of the town of Haverford West and within all the cities, towns, franchises and liberties within the liberties of their commissions, concerning as well the titles of lands and other hereditaments, as also personal, real or mixt actions,^ causes or matters, civil or criminal, exhibited or put unto them by any poor persons, that shall manifestly appear not to be able to sue or defend after the course of the common law, or by any person like to be oppressed by maintenance, riches, strength, power, degree or afifinity of the parties adversaries. And the same actions, causes or matters, and every of them, to examine, hear and determine, as well by depositions and ex- aminations of witnesses, to be discreetly and sincerely taken, as by all other kinds of process, and all other good means and ways, by their discretions." An important caveat was added against increasing such suits, especially for title of lands, unless absolutely required ; as far as possible they were to be referred to the common law. Then follow instructions as to procedure, which will be more conveniently dealt with in a later chapter. ' Action personalis "that which one Man hath against another by reason of any Contract for Money or Goods, or for Oftence done by him or some other person for whose fact he is bylaw answerable" (Blount). Action real is "that whereby the Demandant claims Title to any lands, tenements, rents or commons, in fee-simple, fee-tail or for life {Ibid.). Action nti.vt is "that which lies indifferently for the thing detained or against the person of the detainer, and is so called because it hath a mix'd respect both to the thing and the person (Ibid.). THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 91 In addition to determining suits of the nature stated above, the Council was to hear and determine all manner of " extortions, maintenance, imbraceries, oppressions, conspiracies, escapes, cor- ruptions, falsehoods and all other evil doings, defaults and misdemeanours of all sheriffs, justices of peace, mayors, bailiffs, stewards, lieutenants, escheators, coroners, goalers [sic], clerks and other officers and ministers of justice " within the limits of their Commission, and punish the same accordingly by fine or imprisonment according to the offence. Proclamations might be issued as often as the Lord President and Council thought good " for the better order and quietness of her Majesty's subjects and the repressing of malefactors and misdoers." The Council, or three of them at the least (the Lord President or Vice-President being one), were to compound for all forfeitures arising from breach of penal statutes and breach of obligations and recognisances ; they might also assess fines for any offence of which persons were convicted before them. All such sums were to be duly entered in a book subscribed by the Lord President or Vice-President and two of the Council, so that the Queen might be answered of them accordingly. One very important duty was to examine into charges of perjury committed by jurors in the shires of Hereford, Gloucester, Worcester, Haverfordwest, or elsewhere within the Council's jurisdiction. One of the most common accusations against jurors, especially in Wales and the Marches, at this time was that they acquitted offenders in the teeth of "good and pregnant evidence." The Lord President, Vice-President, and Council, or four at the least, were empowered to order that jurors convicted of such wilful perjury were to be at the Queen's highness' pleasure for their bodies, goods, and chattels. The next few clauses are of special interest, as throwing light on everyday life in Wales and the Marches. The Lord President and Council are bidden " by all their pollicies, ways and means they can, to put their good and effectual endeavours to repress all manner of murders, felons, burglaries, rapes riots, routes, unlawful assemblies, unlawful retainers, regrators forestallers, extortioners, conspiracies, maintenances, perjuries of 92 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES what kind soever they be." Misdemeanours of all kinds were to be examined by depositions of witnesses and otherwise. On sufficient grounds persons accused or known or suspected of treason, murder, or felony might at the Council's discretion be put to torture. This last clause is noteworthy as affording a point of re- semblance to Star Chamber procedure. The origin of the "riots and routes" referred to above is amply explained by the succeeding clause, which runs thus : " And whereas divers persons in Wales have commonly used heretofore, to go as well to the church, as in fairs, markets and other places appointed for justice, in harness and privy coats, the Queen's Highnes pleasure is that from henceforth no man shall wear neither harness nor privy coats neither in churches, fairs, markets or any other place of justice, except such as shall be licensed, commanded or authorised by the Queen's Highnes, or her honorable Council, or by the Lord President and Council, or officer, where any fair, market, or justice place is kept." The prevalence of livery is noted in the clause which forbids that any of the Council should by any wages, Hveries, badges, or recognisances retain or entertain any of Her Majesty's servants, " whereby he shall account himself bounden to do unto him or under him, other than as to her Majesty's officers (if he be so), any manner of service." At each of the principal sittings special charge was to be given that no nobleman or gentleman was to presume to retain any of Her Majesty's tenants. The next clause refers to the " divers lewd and malicious persons " who " have heretofore, and of late days, more and more spread abroad many false and seditious tales, which amongst the people have wrought great inconveniences breeding to the danger of uproars." The Council were to use their utmost endeavours for the punishment of any so offending : if the rumour extended to treason, the law was to be put in force ; if it were of less moment, yet of harmful effect, the offenders were to be punished " by the pillory, cutting of their ears, whip- ping and otherwise by their discretions." Here again is a point of resemblance to Star Chamber procedure. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 93 A clause of great economic interest is the following : " Furthermore the said Lord President or Vice-president and Council shall, from time to time, make due and diligent in- quisition, who hath taken and inclosed any commons or decayed tillage, or habitations for husbandry, against the form of the laws and statutes. And leaving all respects and affections apart, they shall take such order for the redress of the enormities used in the same, as the people be not oppressed or lack habitation, but that they may live after their sortes and qualities." The great scope of the Council's work is seen in the next clause but one, which empowers them to execute all manner of penal statutes within the realm, proclamations, and other ordinances, and to punish the transgressors according to the terms of the same. They were also to inquire into cases of bribery under colour of assessment of any subsidy, taking of musters, or providing of armour or weapons. The guilty parties were to make twofold restitution, and suffer fine or imprisonment at the Council's discretion. The last clause, dealing with juris- diction, empowers the Council to punish all evil-livers, and to cause the ordinary in every place within the limits of their Commissions to do and execute that which to their office apper- taineth, or else to reprehend and also to punish the same ordinaries, as the case shall require, according to their discretions. The remaining clauses deal with officials, stipends, and fees. Allowance was made for " one learned minister to preach and use the Common Prayer with due administration of the Sacra- ments for the said L. President, Vicepresident and Council, and their whole household, which person being learned, and using the office of a preacher, shall have the yearly fee of ;^4o, with the allowance of his diet and the diet of one servant in the household. And if he shall not be of sufficient ability to preach, but to serve there as a minister for common prayer, then to have the allowance under the sum of ;^4o, as the Lord President for the time shall appoint him, with the allowance of the like diet for himself and his servant." This clause corroborates the frequent complaints at this time of the lack of preaching ministers. 94 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Details are given as to the household allowance, fees of the Vice President and Councillors, the Clerk, the Keeper of the Armour and Artillery, the Clerk of the Fines, the Messengers, the Steward of the Household, and the Serjeant-at-Arms. No excessive fees were to be taken by any attorneys, clerks, or counsellors, and a reasonable number of " honest, discreet and expert men " were to be appointed to be attorneys for the furtherance of poor men's causes at fees to be fixed by the Lord President or Vice-President and two of the Council. No counsel were to be admitted unless they were already utter barristers of the Inns of Court, and any counsellor, attorney, or clerk known to be of evil name and a procurer of suits or vexations was to be dismissed. Various clauses respecting the safe keeping of the records, the manage- ment of the household, and the disposal of the fines are dealt with elsewhere. The last clause deals with the attendance of the Council {three members at least in term, and two in vacation) and with the place of session, which was to be fixed every term according to the convenience of suitors. It was also recom- mended that such of the Council " as be men of estimation and yet not learned in the laws of the realm, nor having any fee for attendance, may nevertheless for the service of her Majesty, and upon the trust reposed in them, be limited some certain times by turns to repair unto the said Council at the places meetest for their resort in respect of their dwelling-place, so as by this means the presence of the Council at every sessions may be the greater, both for the honor of the Council, and aid of service and administration of justice." Appended to the instructions is the form of oath to be administered to every member of the Council, when he should be preferred to any other office belonging to its jurisdiction. These instructions were far from being faithfully observed, and in 1576, by the advice of the Privy Council, the Queen issued additional orders "for the direction and reformation of her Highness' Court in the Marches of Wales." The preamble states that of late years " great and sundry abuses and disorders are crept into the Court of the Marches of Wales through lack of care in such inferior ministers to whom the reformation thereof did THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 95 appertain, whereby justice hath lacked his due execution, and the inhabitants dwelling within that province have been sundry ways most grievously molested and vexed, as also by long delay of suits and new exaction of fees greatly impoverished ; whereby that Court (which, at the beginning was erected for the ease and relief of the said inhabitants) is now become unto them, through these new crept in abuses, most grievous and intollerable." The orders that follow mostly concern details of procedure, and may be more conveniently dealt with in a later chapter. Some, however, relate to the kind of suit to be entertained by the Court, and were evidently intended to check causeless litiga- tion. It was ordered that no suits in the nature of "replevin, debt without specialty, detinue, action upon case, or account " ^ might be received in Court unless the bill were signed by two of the Council at the least. "Also, if complaint be made for trespass, or wrongful entering or disturbing of the freehold, or of the possession of any farmer for years or at will, within any of the twelve shires of Wales [names given] ; and surmise he is not of ability to try the common law in the county where the wrong was committed and therefore for inequality prayeth to be heard of that Court, no process to be graunted upon any such bill, except the complaint be first exhibited to the Justices of Assize within that county, where the cause of such suit ariseth, and he by letters and other note of allowance, recommend the hearing of the same for that cause to this Council." Thirdly, no title of copyhold was to be heard except against the lord, without manifest testimony that the complainant could not have impartial trial in the lord's Court. Lastly, no process was to be granted for the appearance of any before the Council unless ' Action upon the case " is a general action given for redress of wrongs, done to any man without force, and by law not especially provided for, and is now most in use " (Blount). Replevin " signifies the bringing of the writ replegiari facias by him that has his Cattle or other Goods distrained by another for any cause and putting in surety to the Sheriff that upon delivery of the thing distrained, he will pursue the action against him that dis- trained " {Ibid.). Detinue, " a writ that lieth against him who, having goods or chattels delivered to him to keep, refuseth to deliver them again " {Ibid.). g6 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES the value thereof exceeded 40^. To the non-observance of these salutary regulations much of the Council's later ill-repute may be traced. Minute instructions follow as to the custody of the prisoners in the Porter's Lodge. A person committed for a single contempt was to pay the porter a fee of 2s. 6d. Any one of the degree of an esquire committed for an offence entailing the wearing of irons was to pay 2s. 6d. and an additional 2s. 6d. if he sought to be discharged of the same. Any one committed to the porter's charge was not to depart out of its circuit without the Council's special permission, and if the commitment was for treason, murder, or felony, he was to be detained in irons at the Council's pleasure. The porter was to keep in readiness for the entertainment of prisoners two tables, the best and first at Sd. a meal, the second at 612^. The prisoner was to choose at his commitment at which of these tables he would remain. If he refused to pay his fees on the day following his commitment and the ordinary diet charges every week-end, the porter was to take bonds for their due payment. x\ny person who was committed to ward, till the payment of money to the Queen (as a fine) or to any person in pursuance of the Council's order, and did not make payment within a month, was to be removed to Wigmore or such other place as the Council thought fit. The additions to the orders for Wales, dated July, 1577, deal with matters of detail ; the only point of interest is the order that a recommendation of a suit to the Council (in the case of inability to sue at common law) might, in the absence of the justices of assize, be made by the bishop of the diocese or two Justices of the Peace in the same county or that adjoining. The clause is noteworthy as showing the extent to which Elizabeth regarded the bishops as civil servants. The remaining articles deal with the fee for copies of orders and the reduction in the numbers of attorneys and clerks. Full details as to the working of the Council in the Marches during Sir Henry Sidney's Presidency are furnished by the Acts of the Privy Council. These show that it acted in serious matters as a Court of inquiry, from which offenders were sent up to THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 97 the Privy Council for trial, while it decided less important cases outright.^ As in earlier years, its jurisdiction extended to cases both criminal and civil. Under the first head come cases of murder, felony, riot, robbery, slander, piracy, breach of the peace, illegal hunting, praemunire, high treason, recusancy, forcible expulsion, " lewd words," forcible entry, rescue of priests, forgery, intimidation, taking of comorthas, false coining, and unlawful assembly. The civil cases were concerned mainly with title to lands, copyholds especially, inheritance, and debt. The correspondence of the Privy Council with its subordinate Council throws considerable light on the condition of Wales and the Marches. Though crimes of violence seem to have diminished in number since Lee's days, the Council had to deal with not a few cases of a serious character. Thus in 1574 (A.P.C., Vol. VIIL, p. 278) it was ordered by the Privy Council to try at Shrewsbury the murderers of a certain Edward ap Rice. Similarly in February, 1574-5, the Privy Council wrote to the Lord President enclosing a petition from one ap Rees, who urged prosecution of one of Her Majesty's Guard for the murder of his son. The Lord President was ordered to help and defend the petitioner from " injuste practises that wrongfully do hinder the due course of lawe " (A.P.C., Vol. VIIL, p. 347). Partiality was a great stumbling-block in the way of justice — e.^. in the case of a murder committed at Gloucester fresh examiners were to be appointed if those^ formerly named could not be trusted (A.P.C., Vol. IX., p. 203). Breach of the peace was an offence specially to be repressed by the Council. In 1576 certain Denbigh gentlemen complained to the Privy Council of the insolency of Owen ap Robert, who had slain David ap Richard Lloyd, had been included in the last general pardon, but was likely to cause a breach of the peace by his " insolent and lewd conversation " among David's friends. The Vice-President was ordered by the Privy Council to see to the keeping of the peace. A case of which somewhat fuller details exist - is that of William Vaughan's lackey, who was summoned before the Council of the Marches on a charge of murder. He failed to 1 See especially A.P.C., Vol. X., p. 432 (1578), and Vol. XL, p. 67 (i578-9)< 7 98 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES appear, and Vaughan was accordingly sent for by the Privy Council with orders to produce his lackey before them. The father of the murdered man complained that the lackey had quarrelled with his son and " strake him with a cudgell on the lefte side of his hedd, that shortlie after he died thereof," and further that Vaughan "did not onelie denye him to be in his house, but hath ever since kept him secretlie and relieved him, so that he cannot be apprehended." On Vaughan's appearance before the Council, their lordships, " being otherwise much troubled with her Majesties business," confided the examination of the matter to Sir Walter Mildmay and the Master of the Rolls. This was on March 19th, 1577-S ; on May i8th, 1578, Vaughan, who was now in prison, prayed to be released on his own bond of ;^2oo, to be answerable to the law and to do his best for the apprehension of his servant. His petition was granted and the matter was at an end.^ Towards the end of Sydney's Presidency several references occur to disorders in Monmouthshire and Herefordshire (A.P.C, Vol. Xni., pp. 127, 246). In the latter county it is said that more murders had been committed than in any two shires thereabouts. Besides perjury and maintenance, there were " both riots, routs, ridings and unlawful assemblies," and in the view of the Privy Council these disorders were " very intolerable and needful to be reformed." Cases of robbery are mentioned here and there — e.g. a letter was addressed by the Privy Council to the Justices of Assize in Devon touching the conveyance of certain prisoners to Ludlow to be examined for robbery ; an open letter was also sent to all sheriffs between Devon and Gloucester for their safe conduct (A.P.C, Vol. IX., p. 185). Another case is that of Edmund Bennys, who had been " spoiled and robbed," and petitioned the Privy Council for redress. The Council in the Marches was bidden to proceed in the matter according to justice, without partiality (A.P.C., Vol. IX., p. 339). The suppression of false rumours, slanders, and " lewd words" was also part of the Council's work. Thus in 1578 it was ordered to suppress false rumours touching the coinage, tending ' A.P.C, Vol. X., pp. 116, 117, 151, 158, 161, 175, 189, 209, 226. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 99 to the hurt of the Government (A.P.C., Vol. VII., p. 378). In 1573 a certain Nicholas Grimshawe, accused of "lewd and seditious speeches," was ordered before the Privy Council (A.P.C., Vol. VIII., p. 147). In 1576 the Vice-President and Council were ordered to examine into the truth of two slanderous bills of complaint sent up to the Queen and Privy Council against Sir John Perrott. In all probability, says the letter, the complaint proceeded altogether from malice, for Perrott is "well thought of" by Her Majesty; but the Vice-President and Council were to send for the complainant, charge him with contempt, and punish him if he deserved it (A.P.C., Vol. IX., p. 1 01). A few years later the Lord President was ordered to examine John Brenton, who, when at dinner with the Mayor of Hereford, had " used certain lewde speaches in the maintenance of Campion the seditious Jesuit." No affection or partiality was to be shown in the examination (A.P.C., Vol. XIII., pp. 193, 322). Riot was an offence specially to be dealt with by the Welsh Council. In 1571 a disturbance took place at Bromyard against the ofificers and servants of the Bishop of Hereford, who was reduced to such straits that he could not even travel from his dwelUng without a great guard. The Vice-President and Council were bidden to give orders for the apprehension of offenders and their trial before private sessions, if no general sessions were near (A.P.C., Vol. VIII., p. 33). A few years later Sir Andrew Corbet Vice-President, and the rest of the Council, were ordered to examine into a complaint to the Queen on behalf of Catherine Meuricke and Catherine Heriott, her daughter, touching a riot committed by certain of Sir John Perrott's servants (A.P.C., Vol. IX., p. 66). Soon after this entry is a letter to the Vice-President and Council speaking of the "great disorders through want of execution of diverse good and ancient ordinances specially made for those parts." In a later case of an "out- ragious disorder and riott " committed by one Robert Vaughan, the Lord Bishop of Worcester (Whitgift) and Sir Thomas Bromley were to send for the offender and see justice done to the man he had injured (A.P.C., Vol. XIII., p. 139 [1581]). lOo THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Numerous references occur during this period to the prevalence of piracy on the Welsh coast, and the Council in the Marches was constantly urged by the Privy Council to take measures for the arrest of pirates and those who aided and abetted them. Thus in 1565 they were bidden to send up a "pyrat" in safe custody, and in 1576-7 a Scotch pirate apprehended in Wales was to be delivered with his goods to the officers of the Admiralty (A.P.C., Vol. VII., p. 272, and Vol. IX., p. 270). By 1577 piracy was so prevalent that Sir John Perrott and Fabian Phillips (one of the Council in the Marches) were specially deputed, together with the Mayor of Cardiff, to examine into matters of piracy at Cardiff, and a warrant was issued to the Treasurer and Chamberlains of the Exchequer for the payment of expenses to the amount of one hundred marks (A.P.C., Vol. IX., p. 379). The Privy Council Acts about this time give many details showing the loss to trade caused by piracy and wrecking ; thus in 1576 we read that certain Haverfordwest merchants had been taken and robbed on the seas by Phipson, an English pirate, and despoiled of their goods, which were afterwards dispersed and sold in sundry Welsh and Cornish ports. A Commission out of the Court of Admiralty had been obtained for the recovery of the said goods, but it had not been obeyed. So again, after the wreck of a richly laden Bristol ship, the cargo had been taken by the inhabitants of the sea-coast of Somerset, Cornwall, and South Wales (A.P.C, Vol. IX., p. 113). Much sympathy seems to have been shown towards pirates, to judge by the case of John Callice, a notable pirate, who was lodged and horsed in Haverfordwest, and, though known, was allowed to escape. He and his servant brought a prize laden with wine into Milford Haven, but got off scot-free, though "for a shewe and colour of justice " some poorer offenders were apprehended (A.P.C, Vol. IX., p. 267). Throughout the year 1577 numerous references occur to the examination of persons on the charge of dealing with pirates.^ Next year the Privy Council recorded its thanks to those who had inquired into the sympathy shown in Wales towards pirates, and an investigation was ordered into ' A.P.C, Vol. IX., pp. 317, 339, 341, 373. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES loi the property of such abettors. Some years later occurs a letter from the Privy Council to two Justices of the Peace and Commissioners for Causes of Piracies to take security for two persons to appear in London to answer for conniving at a pirate's escape (A.P.C., Vol. XIV., p. 143 [1586]). A similar case occurred in 1587, when a French ship, the Hope of Fecamp, laden with salt for Calais, was robbed by various persons, the goods being sold in the ports of Carmarthen and Laugherne. All the vice-admirals and Justices of the Peace were ordered by the Privy Council to aid in the apprehension of the offenders and the recovery of the goods. ^ The execution of the recusancy laws was a duty frequently insisted on by the Privy Council, but without much success. In 1578 a complaint was made by the Welsh Council that offenders in religion had not been adequately checked by the Privy Council. The latter body denied the imputation, and asked for further particulars (A.P.C., Vol. X., p. 331). Not long afterwards the Council wrote to the Bishop of Worcester (Whitgift) concerning the disorders in the house of John Edwards, of Chirk, touching " papistrie," and a correspondence ensued between the Privy Council and the Council in the Marches touching recusants in Wales. The result was that Fabian Phillips was employed by the Lord President and the Council in the Marches to find out offenders in matters of religion (A.P.C., Vol. II., pp. 29, 97, 190). Not long afterwards a notice occurs of the arrest of a " massing priest," who had in his possession certain Popish books, crucifixes, beads, etc. Order was given by the Privy Council for thorough investigation of the case by a Commission at the next assizes. But the activity shown seems to have been short-lived, for in 1580 order was given for the Commission Ecclesiastical to be put in execu- tion, with the warning that Her Majesty is offended because ' Cf. the depositions before Sir Edward Stradlyng and Sir William Mathewe in a case of piracy under Penarth, printed in Mr. Clark's Cartae et alia Munimenta de Glamorgan, Vol. II., No. CCCCLXXI., from P.R.O., S.P.D., 125, No. 66., September 19th, 20 Eliz. (1578). The pirates in this case did no great damage; they certainly went ashore with swords and calivers, but all they took was a wether and "three copple of conies," 102 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES nothing has been done for a whole year (A.P.C., Vol XII., p. 59). In 1582 complaints of recusancy increased : it was alleged that the Justices, sheriffs, and jurors were slack in apprehending and punishing recusants ; the Justices of the Peace left them to the Judges of Assize, who were pressed for time. The Lord President was therefore urged to choose as Justices of the Peace those who most favoured religion, that such slackness 'might be avoided (A.P.C., Vol. XIII. , pp. 427-8). In the diocese of Hereford recusants seem to have abounded, being allowed to live in their own houses and enjoy liberty. The sheriff and his two predecessors, who had been guilty of favouring recusants, were ordered to appear before the Privy Council and make answer for their action (A.P.C., Vol. XIII., p. 192). This laxity in carrying out the Government poHcy against recusants brought Sir Henry Sydney into great disfavour with the Queen. "Your Lordship," wrote Walsingham in a friendly note of warning, " had neade to walk warily, for your doings are narrowly observed, and her Majestic is apt to geve eare to any that shall yll you." Among matters of minor importance is a charge brought by the Sheriff of Haverfordwest against one William Morgan for keeping the writ for the choice of burgesses in Parliament (A.P.C., Vol. VIII., p. 77 [1572]). The Lord President and Council were to examine into the matter. Often after the preliminary examination before the Lord President and Council, arbitrators or Commissioners were appointed to decide the case. For example, under 1573 is an entry that " indifferent gentlemen " were to end the case if they could, and, if not, to return it to the Lord President (A.P.C., Vol. VIII., pp. 99, 161, Vol. IX., p. 58). So, again, the Vice-President and Council were ordered to hold an inquiry into irregularities committed by certain private persons who had licences to dispense with sundry penal statutes (A.P.C., Vol. X., p. loi). In fact, the Lord President and Council were expected to give their assistance in any kind of process from a Star Chamber case to a coroner's inquest (A.P.C., Vol. VIII., p. 311, and Vol. IX., p. 26). Points of interest are presented by some of the cases connected THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 103 with landed property. In 1578 Lord Stafford had forcibly entered into Cawes Castle, and had refused to appear when summoned before the Court of the Marches. The Privy Council ordered him to appear, apologise, and produce witnesses, if he could, in self-justification (A.P.C., Vol. X., p. 206). Similar contumacy, it may be noted, was shown a little later by the Sheriff of Worcester, who refused to appear before the Council of the Marches on the pretence that he was sent for by the Lords of the Privy Council. He was ordered by their lordships to apologise before both bodies, and receive an admonition from the Council of the Marches (A.P.C., Vol. X., p. 217). Later on there occurs in the Acts of the Privy Council a reference to the petition of John Corbet, of Cawes, touching the forcible entry on his lands committed by Lord Stafford. It appears that the matter had been referred to Lord Buckhurst, Sir Thomas Heneage, and Sir John Perrott, but they could come to no con- clusion because Corbet had brought with him only a copy of the lease made of the said lands by Lord Stafford, who denied any such grant. In Lord Stafford's absence, however, Corbett ven- tured to produced the original lease. The Privy Council finally ordered the Lord President and the Council in the Marches to examine Corbet's complaint, and "appease and compound the strifes there amongest you, that we may be noe more im- portuned therewith." Another case in which Lord Stafford was concerned is of much interest as showing the survival of villeinage. The tenants of his Manor of Thornbury complained of " hardie and extreame usage against them by the Lord Stafford," who claimed them as his villeins. The Lord President was bidden to arrange the matter, or else refer it to the Privy Council, while Lord Stafford was enjoined to refrain from any threats or extreme dealings (A.P.C., Vol. XIV., p. 48). Lord Stafford came before Sir Henry Sydney, and, after getting copies of his tenants' complaints, departed before the matter could be heard (A.P.C, Vol. XIV., p. 100). On this a letter was directed to Lord Stafford, telling him that if his tenants were free-born, his action had been illegal. He is to "prosecute his right 104 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES without using anie such violent proceedinges and threatninges, which her Majesty, who naturally pitiethe the evill usage of anie of her subjectes, will not take in good parte " (A.P.C., Vol. XIV., pp. 190-1). Another manorial case was a dispute as to the interest of a messuage held as copyhold of the Manor of Painswick. The matter had been dismissed by the Lord President and Council of the Marches, and referred to the common law. The lord or steward of the manor had been directed to give the plaintiffs possession, and make them a copy according to the custom of the manor; but this the plaintiffs could not secure. The Lord President was accordingly requested by the Privy Council to see right done (A.P.C., Vol. XIL, p. 201). Cases of forcible entry and disputed title were bound to be frequent, partly owing to the change that had come over the system of land tenure in Wales since the extension of the law of primogeniture to every part of the country in 1536 ; the result was a fierce land-hunger. A typical case is the dispute as to the possession of a certain mansion house between Sir Thomas Raglande and Wildgose. The former had been expelled by the latter, and the Lord President and Council were directed to give him assistance (A.P.C., Vol. XIIL, p. 367 ; cf. p. 106). Matters of inheritance not infrequently came before the Council ; thus a certain William Clench (servant to the Lord President) and Francis Clench made use of a forged will and other means to dispossess George Smith, of Morvile, Shropshire, of his inheritance. His lordship had sequestrated Smith's lands, goods, and chattels. The Privy Council wrote that " this course of proceedings seeminge verie hard unto their Lordships, they praie his Lordship and the rest in respect of justice to cause the sequestration to be taken away and restitution made." Clench was to be referred to the common law (A.P.C., Vol. XIV., p. 49). Another case concerning title to lands in the Manor of Styrcheley, co. Salop, was dismissed into the Court of Exchequer because one of the parties was servant to a clerk of the Privy Council, and therefore could not attend to the suit before the Council in the Marches. A case of some importance THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 105 was that in Anglesey between Sir Richard Bulkeley and Lewes ap Owen ap Merricke. The latter had refused to hand over the common armour of the county to Sir Richard and the sheriff, owing to their oppression and partiality. By virtue of a writ from the Court of the Marches, his lands and goods had been seized by the sheriff, and his wife had been " dispossessed and turned out of her dwelling house to her great discomforte and the trouble and vexation of the old man." The Privy Council ordered the Earl of Pembroke to stay all proceedings against him in the Court of the Marches, considering his age and the services he had done to the Queen and in the advancement of true religion (A.P.C, Vol. XV., p. 375). There are abundant indications that Sir Henry Sydney's absence in Ireland had a harmful effect on the Council in the Marches. Frequent complaints occur of corruption, partiality, greed of gain, delay of justice, laxity in levying fines, carelessness in keeping accounts, excessive fees and extravagance in the management of the household at Ludlow. These complaints were of long standing: as early as the second year of Elizabeth's reign orders had been drawn up by the Council in the Marches for the checking of abuses caused by the increase of vexatious and unnecessary suits to the delay of urgent business.^ In 1566-7 the Privy Council wrote to the Court of the Marches directing them to abate the number of their causes at gaol deliveries, and so diminish the number of attorneys and clerks. Ten years later the orders of 1576 were drawn up for reformation of the abuses enumerated above. Before receiving the Queen's ratification the draft was sent to the Lord President in Ireland, with a letter recounting the complaints of the greed shown by the Court. Sir John Throgmorton, Mr. Bromley, Mr. Phetiplace, three members of the Council of the Marches, and the Master of the Rolls had been called before the Privy Council to state any objections to the proposed reforms (A.P.C, Vol. IX., p. 165). The best description of the Council of the Marches at this time is to be found in certain documents addressed to Walsingham ' S.P.D., Vol. 1547-80 (Eliz.), Vol. XIV., No. 41 (Cal., p. 163). io6 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES in 1575 by Mr. David Lewis and William Gerard. The former was the first Principal of Jesus College, Oxford, Judge of the High Court of Admiralty, Master of St. Katherine's Hospital, London, a Master in Chancery and of Her Majesty's Requests. He died in 1584. The latter had for many years (over twenty) been a member of the Council of the Marches ; he was a Judge of the Great Sessions in South Wales till 1579-80, and reference is made to him in that capacity in the instructions of 1574. He also held the office of Lord Chancellor in Ireland.^ Mr. Lewis begins by lamenting "My countrey is so farre out of order at this time as dothe requyre seuere remedye and in euery comein wealthe seueritye used with indifferencye of iustice to all men is more commended than leuytye. . . . And in my countrey this medyson hathe ben tryed in busshope Rowlandes and Mr. Eglefeldes [sic] time, and since in that little time that S' Hughe Powlett was there, and seinge experyence is counted the beste meystres in my opynion she is to be followed." After a passing reference to Solon and Lycurgus, he mentions the " late inordinate and unlawfull assemblye in Glamorganshire, and the excessive number of retaynors there, leste the same brede a worse example, yf some punishment do not ensue." Then follows a passage which throws much hght on the social condition of Wales at this time : " The greate dysorders in Wales, speciallye in South Wales haue growen muche of late dales by retayners of gentlemen, whome they muste after the maner of the countrey bere out in all actions be they never so badd. They haue also foster brothers, loyteringe and ydle kinsmen and others hangers-on, that do nothinge ells but playe at cardes and dyce and pick and steale and kyll or hurte any man when they will haue them, and yet they them selfes will washe their handes thereof when the yll facte is don. These ydle loiterers when they haue offended wilbe ' See Judge Lewis's article in Y Cymmrodor, Vol. XII. On p. 12 he writes that Gerard " does not appear to have been considered important enough to be noticed by the writers in the Dictionary of National Biographj'." This statement is incorrect, for an article on Gerard is given in Vol. XXI., pp. 225-7. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 107 shifted of to some frendes of theires in an other quarter, so as they will not be fownde to be ponished when time shall require, and in the meane while the gentlemen will practize an agreement with the partyes greved, and then because the loyterers haue nothinge of theire owne the gentlemen must helpe them to a Comortha to satisfye the parties dampnifyed." He goes on to say that men of no substance or credit are made sheriffs and Justices of the Peace, living for the most part by " poUynge and pyllynge." The authority of the Council in the Marches is not regarded as it had been, " for neither shreiffe. Justice of the peace, maior, baylye or officer of any towne corporate will so carefully apprehend or take any suche persons as hathe any frende of any accompte, althoughe theire faltes be neuer so grevous and apparant, yea though he hathe the saide counsayles lettres to that ende, but will playe bo pype, seest me and seest me not, and this haue growne by impunytye whereof do proceade all maner of disorders." The remedy, he is convinced, is to punish the gentlemen for their retainers, " to let the father answer for his sonne, the master for his man, yf he be not furthcommynge to answer for the disorder, and so each other for his brother or any other that dothe hange upon him for ought don in his quarell, or that maye be thought to be don by his assent or will." He insists that officers who fail to secure offenders should be kept in prison till such are brought in for punishment, and that the penalties inflicted should be " rather in bodye by imprisonment then in purse, leste the countrey by Comortha bere that payne more then the offender." Comorthas, except by special permission, should be utterly forbidden, ^ and masterless men, loiterers, and idle persons should be bound over to good behaviour. Very practical suggestions follow for the reform of the Council ' Cf. S.P.D., Vol. CVII., No. 5. "Consideration of thinges to be re- formed with the CoLinsell of the Marches of Wales." 4. " The Kymorthas which was wont to be a benevolence is now grovven to be partlie compulsorie by suche as haue riotouslie wasted their living, or haue bin greatlie chargde to win their saftie for some heynous murther or felonie to the importunate charge of the best sort of men. And therefore worthie to be staide, for the honest and simple are never releived therbie." io8 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES in the Marches: they should "imploye them selfes to se the countrey well ordered and guyded in good obedyence rather then to hear pleas for landes and other thinges, which might receve ende by the course of the comein lawes with more spede and lesse charge then there." Small matters might be referred to an experienced Councillor for decision. The Vice-President or the Justice, with two other members, should be always resident, " and not one to tarye a sevenight or fortnight and then to departe levinge another for so lytle tyme, who is clene ignorant of the accydentes and procedynge therein." Further advice is that the Justices of the Peace in each of the twelve shires of Wales should be "chosen of the beste disposed men to Justice and godlynes and the nomber to be abridged to viij according to the ordynance of Wales." Those that profess the laws of the realm and are members of the Council should not be "in fee with any gentleman within the lymittes of theire Commission as for the moste parte they haue ben, and (as I thincke) be at these dayes." The discourses of William Gerard are of a more elaborate character, dealing not only with the actual working of the Council in the Marches, but with its origin and development. His eulogy on Lee and Englefield has been quoted above. He passes on to lament that the qualities he has described in them are not found in their successors : "at this day, to be plaine, the Counsell and Courte are neyther reuerenced, feared, or theire proceadinges estemed. There is not neyther hathe bene sithens the Queues Raigne anie of the Counsell appointed to contynuall attendaunce of suche profounde Judgement as the place re- quireth, or that maie be termed profound, learned, comparable with those meaneste of those that have served as Justice sythens Englefelde. And as the knowledge hereof hathe bredd the Counsellors at the barre by contemptuouse carpinge overmoche to deforce contempn and discountenaunce the benche, soe the Clientes takinge houlde of theire disorders and perswaded that everie order which passethe againste them is eyther throughe Ignorance or wilfullnes of the Counsell and soe doe departe wythe repyninge and murmuringe speeches." THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 109 Very serious are the charges brought against the Council : the members are too numerous, for the most part unfit, and have their private ends to serve rather than the good of the country. The resulting evils are vividly described in the following passage : " It is moste true that the bodie of the Comunaltie of Wales are pore and theire estate to be lamented of everie pitifuU and carefull Magistrate, for he that woulde but marke the pore simple Creatures (I call Gode to witnes with greeff and pitie of theire smarte I speak yt), whoe come and goe to and from that Courte in the yere, and the small causes which they travell for when theye come to hearinge, meeter for a meane under-stuarde at a Leete or lawe dale to be decised, then for a Counsell settled for governement to be occupied withall, would sale to himself, ' You pore walshe Creatures, yt is not you, but those appointed to governe you whoe be the causes of your beggerie ; th' establish- ment lis to devise for your wealthe that which your malicious and wilfull disposicions cannot procure to yourselfs." Other defects noted by Gerard are the abuse of the office of Examiner, the indebtedness of the "house" at Ludlow (one thousand marks), and the management of the porter's lodge, which " was in Bushoppe Rowlandes tyme suche a straite place of punishment as the common people termed yt a hell ; and nowe is growen to noe terror of ponishment of the bodie but a gulph throughe fees to sucke uppe a meane man." Gerard concludes with a description of the members of the Council which is certainly pungent. The Vice-President^ (Sir Andrew Corbet) was " a verie sicklie man not able to take the toyle of that service." Doctor Ellis (Ellis Price, LL.D.), "of xij or xiij yeres contynuance, a good Mountaigne doctor and seldom called to attendaunce there." Powell of Oswaldstree (Oswestry) was a recent addition to the Council. He had evidently made his mark at the dinner-table rather than at the Council board, for Gerard describes him as " well scene in Welsh Stories, in that service sitteth like a Zipher." " Jerom Corbette " was " a yonge man, an utter barrister in Court, but soe slowe of ' See A.P.C., Vol. IX., p. 66. no THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES dispatche as not meete for that Court." His compeer, Fabian Phillips, is described, in terms not much more complimentary, as " a yonge man, an utter barrester of small experience at the barre or benche, of noe knowen lyvinge savinge a bailiwick or Stuardshipe." Gerard suggests names for fresh Councillors : he knows an excellent man for the post of Vice-President, who would diminish causeless suits within two years, but doubts if he would take office. A very noteworthy suggestion added at the close is that one of the Justices of Assize should understand Welsh, " for nowe the Justice of assise must use some interpretor. And therefore many tymes the Evidence is tolde accordyng to the mynde of the Interpretor, whereby the Evidence is expounded contrarie to that which is saide by the examynate, and so the Judge gyveth a wronge charge." Among all the proposals for reform in the Council of the Marches those of Lewis and Gerard are pre-eminent for insight and commonsense. During Sydney's absence in Ireland between 1577 and 1579 the office of Vice-President was filled by Whitgift, who had been recently consecrated Bishop of Worcester. His appoint- ment was perhaps due to the urgent representations made by Gerard as to the need of an energetic man to fill the post. His biographer Strype relates at considerable length his activity especially against recusants.^ In this task he received but little help from his colleagues, and accordingly requested the Privy Council that a special Commission might be issued to himself and some of the Welsh bishops to repress the efforts of the Roman Catholic priests. His request was favourably received, and he was promised a speedy Commission of oyer and terminer, with an inhibition to the Justices of Assize in the counties named therein from dealing in such cases.^ In pursuance of directions ' Strype, Life and Acts of Archbishop Whitgift, Oxford, 1822, pp. 164-80. ^ This letter is dated by Strype February 17th, 1578 : the minute of it should apparently have been written on one of the blank pages of the Council Register (Vol. IV., Elizabeth, of the Council Office Series). See Acts of the Privy Council, Vol. II., p. 51 (editor's note). THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES in from the Privy Council, Whitgift, in conjunction with the Bishops of Bangor and St. Asaph, examined a recusant named John Edwards, of Thirsk, co. Denbigh, in whose house mass had been celebrated. Neither Edwards nor another person named Morice, who was examined, would give any answer, and they were accordingly imprisoned. The Privy Council empowered Whitgift to use some kind of torture on them (if he thought fit), "whereby the very truth of such reconciliations to the Pope, lewd practices and assemblies, might be bolted out and known ; which they [the lords] were informed to have been very many in that country." Whitgift's relations with Sir Henry Sydney were somewhat strained. On his appointment as Vice-President he had been warned by Burghley not to neglect the duty of frequently inform- ing Sydney of the Council's transactions. Sydney " took something amiss from him," on the ground that his business communications were too rare, and the complaint was made known to him by Burghley, both by message and letter. Whitgift replied that he had always written to the Lord President every time that a letter had been sent to the Privy Council. Sir Henry Sydney, however, he went on to say, had written sundry letters to the Council at Ludlow at other men's suits, some of which he was forced to deny because they were grounded upon wrong information. Yet he did commonly answer such letters, especially if they required it. He goes on to speak of certain persons within his Commission, " who thought by letters and friendship to prevail in their evil causes and supposed that no man dared or ought to withstand them." He was ready to yield where he lawfully might ; but if justice or conscience otherwise required, he could not consent. For sure he was that they would bring a man peace at the last and never be confounded. Whereas friendship oftentimes failed and was very mutable. Such a letter deserved Strype's admiring comment: "Spoken like a right Christian Bishop and magistrate, steady and un- moveable in honest principles." A second imputation cast upon Whitgift's government was that certain misdemeanours and murders had been committed 112 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES in Worcestershire. To this he replies, in the letter quoted above, that within his Commission there was no shire more quiet and in better order. Two assaults had certainly been committed of late : one was a trifling matter ; and for the other, process had been awarded out of the Court of the Marches. As few misdemeanours had been committed within his Commission as at any time, and those that were proved were as severely punished as ever they had been, for aught he could perceive by any record. Towards the end of 1579, when Sydney returned from Ireland, Whitgift was meditating some reform in the Council's proceedings as regards fines. Great abuses existed, but he was at a loss how to reform them, and any further action was stayed by Sydney's sending for the Clerks of the Fines, auditors' rolls, and books of instructions. Whitgift was well able not only to clear himself of unjust accusations, but to stand up for others whom he thought maligned. Thus he defended his colleague, Mr. Fabian Phillips, saying : " For my own part I know not any- thing whereupon he can justly be charged, unless it be because he is Stout and upright in judgment and not appliable to satisfy other men's affections and pleasures, as peradventure it is looked for. Truly my Lord, I find him one and the same man ; but I see how hard it is for such to follow the rules of equity and justice without respect to please all men : and I would to God it were not altogether contrary." However unpopular Whitgift's unbending firmness may have been in the Marches, his services were fully appreciated by the Privy Council, who wrote him a letter of cordial thanks on Sydney's return to his duties at Ludlow.^ Sydney came back from Ireland sick in body and mind. He reached England in the autumn of 1578, and was dangerously ill at Chester. After a short visit to Ludlow, he spent Christmas at Hampton Court, then went back, and busied himself with ' A.P.C., Vol. II., p. 385, February 9th, 1579-80. On Whitgift's monument in Croydon Parish Church are the lines : " Mox Wigorn petit esse suum : fit episcopus illic Propraeses patriae, quo nunquam acceptior alter." — Y Cynimrodor, XII., p. 26. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 113 building the great portal and stone bridge of Ludlow Castle.^ Early in 1580 he visited Wilton, the seat of the new Lord Deputy of Ireland, Lord Grey, who was doubtless anxious to benefit by the experience of one long familiar with Irish diffi- culties. But Sydney was sharply ordered by the Queen to remain at his post he was clearly out of favour, and was censured for laxity in carrying out the instructions concerning recusants. He died at Ludlow on May 5th, 1586, aged nearly fifty-seven years. He was buried at Penshurst, after lying in state at Worcester Cathedral ; but his heart was interred at Ludlow, "for the entire love he bare that place." ' A memorial of his return is described by Churchyard : " At the end of the dyning chamber there is a pretty device how the hedgehog brake the chayne, and came from Ireland to Ludloe." — Worthines of Wales. CHAPTER IV THE' PRESIDENCY OF THE EARL OF PEMBROKE, 1586-1601 On Sydney's death the reform of the abuses in the Council of the Marches engaged the attention of the Privy Council and in particular of Lord Burghley. The Lansdowne MSS. contain numerous documents, drafts of instructions, recommendations, lists of abuses, and the Hke, in the drawing up or criticism of which a prominent part was taken by Sir James Croft, the Comptroller of Her Majesty's Household, and Whitgift, now Archbishop of Canterbury. Most of these suggestions were incorporated in the book of instructions issued in 1586 to the new Lord President, the Earl of Pembroke ; but on the whole it would seem as if the need of reformation continued, for documents similar to the above-mentioned occur at frequent intervals throughout Pembroke's term of office. ^ Foremost in the list of abuses at this period comes the practice of exacting excessive fees, this in turn being due largely to the creation of new and unnecessary offices during the last twenty years, and the inordinate number of clerks who attended the attorneys practising at the Court. " Many," it is complained, " dothe practize havinge very smale judgement in lawe and for their owne gayne do gyve contentious counsell to the greate unquietnes of the courte, for ignoraunce will never be satisfied." ^ In the time of Henry VHL the number of attorneys practising in the Court had been two only, now there were twenty-four, each ' E.g. in 1590 and 1593. ^ Lansdowne MSS. 22, ff. 166-70, art. 7 ; cf. Ibid., 49, f. 173 and ff. 195-6, and 60, ff. 103-12, arts. 2, 18, 19. 114 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 115 employing four or five clerks besides those allowed by the Clerk of the Council — viz. twenty. " These," it is alleged, " do use to procure dyverse suytes the rather because they are suffered to make billes of complaynte, aunsweres, replycacons and in- formacons." The clerks " now swarm to the nomber of cxx, every of which nomber for theire gayne dothe procure dyverse suytes and causes without cause." ^ Clerks of the signet were in the habit of signing bills to the benefit of no one but themselves, and to the encouragement;of vexatious suits, by which defendants were often compelled to travel a hundred miles to the Council and make a long sojourn there till the case was dismissed.^ In fact. Sir James Croft, in his " Remembrances concerning the Counsell in the Marches," goes so far as to say : " These causes before rehersed make that courte greedie in settinge of excessive fees so burdensome to the subiectes within that comission as to none other of her Mat'ies subiectes within the realme of Englande." ^ Equally burdensome were the delays caused to suitors. The most important cases were not selected with a view to speedy hearing, hence suitors were often compelled to give attendance during a whole term, and yet not obtain judgment. At the end of one term, it is complained, two hundred cases had to be continued, to the great grievance of the parties concerned.* Orders which should have been taken in open Court were often heard in chambers, with the result that twenty days at least were spent on a case which in old times would have been settled in one.^ The old procedure in regard to bills had fallen into disuse. Formerly the Lord President, Justice, or any other Councillor would receive bills at the hands of suitors in passing to and from the Court, and, assisted by some clerks, would peruse them in the afternoon, after which each bill was endorsed with a statement of the process to be awarded. Other bills containing matters outside the Court's jurisdiction were torn up, and the same night all bills were sent to the office, whither the suitors \ - Lansdowne MSS. 22, ff. 166-70, art. 16 ; cf. 76, ff. 141-9. ' Ibid.^ 60, fif. 103-12, art. 18. ^ Ibid., 22, ff. 166-70, art. 20. ' Ibid., 60, ff. 103-12. ii6 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES repaired next day to receive their despatch. Another hindrance to suitors was the failure to sit in the afternoon " upon rules " ; " for wher a matter of hearing dispatchith but two, and so the fforenoone hearing but a ffew, the afternoone Rules dispatch xx*'* times as many, and yet hit is sayd that the Coort is behind in matters of hearing two thowsand cawses." ^ The irregular attendance of Councillors is blamed for this unsatisfactory state of things. Details are given in a document penned by an unknown writer about 1593. Rewrites: "Upon New Yeres Eve last yere Touneshend went away and no Counsailer was there for many days after untill ffower days in the terme, and then ther were but two, and upon Palme sonday Eve all the Counsaile went away, and abowte a fortnight after Easter one came and is putt to his boord wages att an Ordinary amongst Attorneys and Clarices and no howse kept at all." ^ Uncertainty as to the place of sessions was another abuse. The presence of the Council brought considerable profit to a town, and frequent applications were made to the members to change their meeting-place without due notice, to the dis- appointment of many suitors and of the townsfolk, where pre- parations had been made.^ Officers of the Court were often bribed to secure such a change, and so great was the uncertainty that suitors coming from remote parts of Wales were often com- pelled on the way to inquire where the Council might actually be.* Connected with the last-named abuse was the oppression of which the household officers were often guilty. Complaints occur of the taking of victuals and carts for the use of the Council, to the great vexation of the neighbouring inhabitants.^ We hear also allegations of serious misconduct against Court officials from the Lord President downwards. The attorneys were said to reserve rules till such Councillor as was best affected to their client should sit on the Bench. ^ We are told that payment to ' Lansdowne MSS. 76, f. 144; cf. ill, ff. 36-7. ^ Ibid., 76, ff. i^lb-q. 2 Ibid., 22, ff. 166-70, art 14. * Ibid., 60, ff. 103-12, arts. 9, 10. ^ Ibid., 22, ff. 166-70, arts. 17, 49, ff. 195-6, ad fin. ^ Ibid., Ill, f. 25, ad init. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 117 the amount of one hundred marks was exacted from attorneys for permission to practise ; ^ that the officers were asked how much they would contribute towards the entertainment of the Queen by the Lord President, poor clerks giving perforce 20s. and counsellors and attorneys much more ; finally, that the Queen's attorney was his lordship's " man," so too the Auditor and the Clerk of the Fines, which was a clear breach of the statute of livery. After this it is not surprising to read that Mr. Atkins, the Queen's Attorney, sold a "band" of ;^4o for ^4, "which course doth rob the subject and undoith the Coort," or that " servantes are manie tymes laboured to make motions for the which they receave bribes and the dorekeepers rewarded, with many other suchelike not nowe in remembrance." ^ Another statute constantly broken was that against granting comorthas, except in case of loss by fire. They had been granted on slight causes, often to councillors' friends and servants, to the relief of distress brought on by folly and prodigality.^ Sir Henry Sydney had during his term of office endeavoured to secure the safe keeping of the records of the Court by building a special room for them in Ludlow Castle. In spite of this, it is alleged, they were embezzled, erased, and falsified. The Privy Council had done its best to impress on successive Lords President the scope of their instructions, and yet it was found that " the same Instruccions are seldome perused by the said L, President and Counsell as theie ought to be." * It is suggested that they should be always kept in a small box or casket, and perused once or twice a quarter before the Council during sessions. Last in this long list of abuses comes the tendency, common to all the extraordinary Courts of Tudor times, to extend the jurisdiction of the Court over matters which could be sufficiently determined by the common law. Many cases were needlessly tried by the Court of the Marches, to the great diminution of ' Lansdowne MSS., 76, f. 1416-9. = Ibid., 60, ff. 103-12, art. 7. ' Ibid., 67, f. 242.' * Ibid., Ill, ff. 36-7, No. 14, art. I. ii8 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Her Majesty's profits in the way of fines and forfeitures. By the hearing of such cases at common law, it is urged, the queen would gain I ;^3oo a year. Another estimate is that the queen lost yearly as much as would discharge the whole diet of the Council. In almost every document dealing with the reform of the Council this stretching of jurisdiction is censured in the strongest terms. ^ The new Lord President was the son of the Earl of Pem- broke, who J had twice held the same office. His first wife had been Lady Catherine Grey (sister of Lady Jane), his second was Catherine Talbot, and the third was the famous Mary Sydney, Sir Henry's daughter, "the subject of all verse." He had been prominent at the trials of Norfolk, Arundel, and Mary, Queen of Scots. Like other members of his family, he was a man of culture, a special patron of antiquaries and heralds, and a collector of heraldic manuscripts. He was keenly interested in the drama, as is shown by the frequent mention of the Earl of Pembroke's players between 1589 and 1601.^ Two of the greatest Elizabethan dramatists were in some way connected with him : Massinger's father was his confidential servant, and to his sons William and Philip, " that incomparable pair of brethren," Shakespeare dedicated the first foHo of 1623.' Pembroke had clearly a difficult task before him when he assumed office in 1586. He at once set to work to become acquainted with the working of the Court and the abuses that had crept in of late years. The result of his investigations during his first term is given in a document entitled "lA brief collection of the presente state of the courte before the Lo : President and Counsaile in the Marches of Wales, beginning with the offices and officers seuerally for the better understanding ' E.g. Lansdowne MSS. 49, f. 173, 22, ff. 166-70, ad init., and 76, f. 148. Much of the Council's energy seems to have been expended on quarrels between the members, especially the Solicitor and the Attorney — e.g. Lansdowne MSS. 49, ff. 190- 1, and ill, ff. 1-5. - E.g. A.P.C., Vol. XXIV., p. 113. ' Diet. Nat. Biog. For references to Massinger the elder see Lansdowne MSS. 53, r. 138, and 63, ff. 187 and 193. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 119 therof and of the whole practise there, etc." ^ From this we obtain fuller details than are elsewhere given of the actual working of the Court and the scale of fees charged. Three points struck Pembroke as specially needing correction — viz. the great increase of fees, the ill-keeping of the records (in spite of the creation of a new office, that of the register), and the practice of examining witnesses by means of young and inexperienced clerks, totally unfit for such an important task, and very liable to be corrupted. Much inconvenience was also caused through the exercise of sundry offices by deputy, and through the careless keeping of Her Majesty's signet, which passed from hand to hand. Often it was the practice to join a number of distinct debts in one bill of complaint, so that many persons were unjustly troubled at one man's suit. In a case quoted by Pembroke the sum total of the various debts amounted to over ^2,800. " This devise," |he says, " being throughly considered, will fall out not to differre muche from a kynde of commortha. And therfore verie need full it is that it be provided for." He is especially severe on the injury to the reputation of the Court caused by young clerks, who " without all consideracion, iudgement or understanding haue usually taken upon them to deale in matters farre beyond their capacities." Often they made such blunders on points of law that when a case came to hearing, the material points were found to be omitted, and the party had to begin over again, to his great loss both in time and money. Equally oppressive was the practice described as follows : " Likewise it is used in that Courte upon the plaintiffs bare suggestion that the defendant is a fugitive or that he hath disobeyed some former process of the Courte, to awarde proces against him in the nature of a commission to apprehend and bynde him for his apparance, which commission is only granted unto suche commissioners as the partie himself will name, who commonly will fynde out the enemyes of the aduerse partie yf anie be, or otherwise make choise of some badd runnagate fellowes for that purpose, who to worke their owne reuenge, or to satisfie the partie's malicious hauior, will not spare by color ' Lansdowne MSS. 51, ff. 103-4. 120 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES of their commission to offer any abuse unto the aduerse partie, being many tymes gentlemen of good credit or others of such honestie and hauiour as greatly disdayne to be soe dealte with by suche bad fellowes, whereuppon many inconueniences follow, olde quarells be nourished and new stirres and fraies are daily raised." Pembroke quotes a flagrant instance of extortion practised by the Serjeant-at-Arms. He had been sent with an ordinary process of the Court to a gentleman of Gloucestershire living not more than forty miles from Ludlow. He never executed the process, for he did not find the party ; but he had the effrontery to demand against him, before the Lord President, the sum of ;^24o in fees. To his great chagrin he was allowed only ;^5. Pembroke adds that he had been sufficiently rewarded by the party procuring the process, and at the time of his journey had business of his own to transact in Gloucestershire. A few years later — in 1590 — certain "libelling articles" were exhibited against the Court of the Council in the Marches. What they actually were does not appear; but that the Lord President felt himself deeply wronged thereby is seen from his words : " I have often sought with all earnest humilitie to haue those thinges which in these libelling articles concerne mee in particuler to be sett downe in such sorte as I might by the course of lawe seeke my owne iustification, but seeing I can not obteine this favor, I am enforced in defence of my honor to say that in these particulers which concerne mee alone, y® first libeller and he who commented therupon doe bothe lie in their throtes." ^ Sir James Croft, writing in May, 1590, disclaimed any intention of infringing on the authority of 'the Lord President or of damaging his credit. He had merely set forth certain articles showing the disorders that had crept into the Court and household. These led to a second effort at reform by the Lord President and Sir Richard Shuttleworth, Chief Justice of Chester, details of which are given in a statement dated July 29th, 1591.^ Excessive ' Lansdowne MSS. 63, fi". 88-98, ad init. - Ibid., 67, f. 243. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 121 fees had been abolished, a table set up to show the lawful amounts, the number of the counsellors at the Bar had been diminished to eight, and of the attorneys to eighteen, and the number of clerks reduced from one hundred to eighteen. The office of the signet had been looked into, also that of the porter, and order had been taken for the economical management of the household. Much, however, remained to be done, for in 1593 the Privy Council drew up a series of Articles to be considered of for the government of Wales.^ It was still necessary to admonish the Council of the Marches to observe the instructions, and especially to occupy their time in hearing misdemeanours rather than cases triable at common law. They were bidden to give notice against the wearing of weapons in church, fairs, and markets, and were reminded that the receiving of retainers was at the root of most disorders in the Principality and Marches of Wales. They were also to examine the mis- conduct of sheriffs, who, contrary to ancient practice, kept Courts every week or fortnight, to the great loss and impoverishment of poor subjects. Lastly, it is added that " the Recusantes do swarme, no man but theire owne companies doe know where they were married, by whome or in what place, where theire Children were christened. Theire Children be learned, and bred by scholemasters of their own creed, nor who be theire godfathers and godmothers." A list of abuses, dated 1594, deals with the excessive number of clerks who occasioned multiplicity of suits and great dis- orders. Other clauses show the conflict between the jurisdiction of the Council and that of the common law Courts. Thus : " If a man sue for debt uppon a simple contract at the Comon Lawe, wherein there is no forfaiture, he shall be stayed there. And after that he hath spent the tyme and money he shalbe dismissed to the Lawe. " If a man distrayne for his Rent he shalbe compelled to delyuer the Cattell and to staye the Suyte at the Common Lawe untill the cause be first hard there. "And so it is yf an accon of trespasse be comenced for entring ' Lansdowne MSS. 76, ff. 1416-9. 122 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES into Landes where the tytle of the Landes cometh in question. In all penall lawes upon Statutes, As Tanners for not tanning of Leather according to Lawe, or for wearing of Hattes upon Sondayes, or for not sowing of fflaxe and hempe or for usurye and all other such like penall Lawes men are compelled to answere Interrogatories upon their oathes and to accuse them- selves without any prooff produced against them, or elles be periured, which is lamentable for many poore men. And some Riche will strayne their oaths rather than paye greate ffynes." ^ The evidence points to the conclusion that in spite of the Lord President's attempts at reform, the condition of the Court continued unsatisfactory. Unfortunately he seems to have fallen out with Sir Richard Shuttleworth on a small matter of riding charges. Shuttleworth, writing to Burghley in January, 1595, about this grievance, complains that his predecessors have always had such an allowance, and at the same time takes occasion to remark acrimoniously that the only reformation accomplished has been the keeping of a true copy of the instructions. At the last audit, he adds, the allowances made by the Lord President and some others of the Council amounted to ;^ioi5 8^-. 2d. He has forborne to sign the book till he hears what allowances are to be made out of the fines and what out of the diet money. Pembroke's Presidency is chiefly marked by complaints against the Court. In general the cases that came up for trial would seem to have been of much the same character as hitherto. One or two, however, may be mentioned as presenting features of some interest. The first is a case against the Chancellor, Registrar and Apparitor of the Bishop of St. David's, for calling a number of persons to the Courts without cause, which, as Pembroke justly remarked, was a " coUorable conning Comortha, not only by law but her Mat^^ Instructions and her spetiall commaunde- ment to myself often and as your LP [Burghley] doth know, straightly forbidden." Evidence was given showing that many hundreds of persons, churchwardens and others, had been ' Lansdowne MSS. 76, ff 1416-9 (May, 1594, Abuses in y® Counsell of y"^ Marches of Wales). THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 123 summoned before these Ecclesiastical Courts.^ Very few charges were alleged against them, and yet fees were exacted from all who appeared, and half fees from the absent. Courts kept in this manner, is Pembroke's caustic comment, were " only ad colligendum as wee conceaved, not ad corrigeiiduni, as by these offences was pretended." ^ The following evidence may serve as a specimen : " Thomas Worhall proveth that hee and xv<^" more of Begildy were citted and that he and two more only appeared where the deffendant Havard demaunded whether they were at Churche upon the Queenes holy daye which was all the matter layd to their chardge ; where le deponent and his two neighboures that appeared paied ij^ viij'' a peece, viz. viij^ and le deponent then payd to le defendant Havard iiij"* for two of his neyghbours who did not at all appear, they then were discharged, no matter was then examined, and nothing said unto them, but the money receaved (viz. xij^ in toto) and they discharged." The evidence of thirty-eight witnesses is recorded, and it is added that most of them prove "howe the Countrye exclayme against the deffendantes for theire infynite vexacion and for the same extorcion." Pembroke was inclined to punish the ac- cused, but as Sir Richard Shuttleworth was of opinion that the cause, being ecclesiastical, was outside the competence of the Court, he asked Lord Burghley to advise him of the queen's pleasure in the matter. Another case of extortion is that against William Thomas, of Carnarvon, who had received from forty-six person sums varying in amount from ;!^2o to £,^. He had also received cows, a mare, a gelding, a " spurre Royall," " a silver salte parcell gilte"; in all, money and cattle to the value of ^175 12s. 8d., besides the silver salt. It is added that, had not the Com- missioners directed to examine into his exactions been discharged, forty times more bribes and extortions would have been proved against him. Over and above all this, he and his friends had ' Vis. at the Consistory Court, which, it is alleged, was held every fortnight. ■-' Lansdowne MSS. 84, f( 84-5. 124 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES by force driven away fifteen cows, a bull, and a heifer, taking them over from Carnarvonshire into Anglesey, "verie late in the night," selling them there, and crowning his misdeeds by imprisoning the luckless owner without just cause. He had also been guilty of champerty, buying the title of Griffith ap Robert to a certain tenement, entering by force, and keeping possession without payment. In a similar case he had " pitched in a foote " and got for nothing the lands from two parties at variance.-^ A third case brings up a question of which more must be said later — viz. the relation of the Council in the Marches to the Ecclesiastical Courts. A certain Simon Cotherington was called before the Council for evil living, and confessed his guilt, but to avoid due punishment alleged that he had already been punished by his ordinary, the Chancellor of Gloucester, with corporal penance, commuted to a penalty of ;^3o, to be paid in three yearly instalments towards the maintenance of a free scholar at Oxford. Notwithstanding the production of an Act under the Chancellor's seal, dated February 27th, 1596, the Lord President and Council punished Cotherington with fine and imprisonment, " for that they conceaved that Commutacon to be but a covenouse and fraudulent practize to avoid the danger of lawes, and, supposing it to have bin sincearly proceded in, yet they took a further penaltie to be both lawfuU and nedefull." Various reasons induced the Council to think that the Chancellor was confederate with Cotherington ; indeed, it would appear that he was to have ;^3o if Cotherington were discharged from the Court of the Marches. Pembroke, in writing to the Privy Council, refers to a petition presented to them on Cotherington's behalf, and to an order thereon that he should be released from the fines imposed on him by the Court. Against this he urges that the double punishment seems to have been contemplated by the instructions, and was paralleled by double punishment in case of usury, where both the congregation and the law had to be satisfied. Cotherington, it seems, had arranged ' Lansdowne MSS. in, f. 7. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 125 matters in his own interest with the Chancellor in his study, not in open Court ; and " if publique shame, open detection and deepe fines could not restraine him, it is likely he will not heereafter be more regardfull when all may be ended better cheape with a frend in his studie." ^ The Recusancy Laws, especially those of 1585 and 1593, furnished the Council with more work. The Lord President, in enumerating the various offices in the Council, speaks of a certain Scrope who was displaced for refusing to receive the Com- munion with the rest of the household, as enjoined by art. 35 of the instructions of 1586.^ An undated document headed The Requestes of the Lord President of Wales " expresses a desire that the Commission for causes ecclesiastical might be renewed for the correction of such faults as were very necessary to be looked unto, and especially of such as were contained in the last statute of recusants. He further asks that this last statute might be sent down, that some help might be h^d for the case of praemunire, and that the Lord President and Council or any four of them might call on the bishops whose jurisdiction reached to any part of the Council's Commission, and on all other ecclesiastical judges and ministers to account for the commuta- tions (sc. of penance) made by any of the inhabitants. An order of the Privy Council directed the Lord President to find out persons fit to hold inquiry for Jesuits, seminary priests, etc., " such lewde and suspected persons as do lurke in those remote places." It would appear from the letters which follow (addressed to certain trusty persons in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire) that the common people still resorted by night to places where ' Lansdowne MSS. 87, f. 26. - Ibid., 51, ff. 103-14. First in the list of penal statutes to be enforced by the Council of the Marches according to art. 43 of the instructions of 1586 come: "All the acts in sorte ordeyned for unyformitie of common prayer, divine service, and for causing all persons to resorte to churches to divine service so as at the hearing and determyning thereof some of the Bushopps of that Counsaill may asiste the L. President and Counsaill for the better performaunce and due execucion of the said lawes and Statutes as apperteigneth." 126 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES in times gone by there had been images or offerings. To check this practice it was ordered that " superstitious and idolatrous " monuments were to pulled down, broken, and quite defaced in both counties.! There are not a few indications of the sympathy felt in Wales towards recusants — e.g. a priest sent by the Council from Monmouth gaol was forcibly rescued.^ This sympathy, according to Pembroke, was shown even by members of the Council. Writing to Lord Burghley in 1590, he says that some of them are "coldlie affected in relligion," and asks that persons " of good disposicion in relligion " may be added to their number.^ Pembroke's position as Lord President was by no means pleasant. The Council over which he presided had seen its best days, and was becoming unpopular, while the Privy Council, the Star Chamber, and the Common Law Courts tended to withdraw from it all important cases. In 1590 he wrote bitterly to Burghley : " And let me plainly write to your Lordship as to my much honored friend that her ma**'' not respecting me therein [i.e. in the matter of supplying him with fit Councillors] hath occacioned me to continue lesse at that Counsaill then I meant. I have there been misreported of without dezert : I haue also founde myselfe mallised without cause ; yea dis- covery made of speeches used by some as thoughe they purposed to poison me. All those thinges have bin made knowen to them who should yeald justice in the same, and yet am I farre from being regarded therin, as every lewd varieties informacion is still receaved against me and howe incredible soe ever, yet if it concerne me, it shall finde some ready to geeve therunto creditt and countenance. I need not for prouf heerof looke farre back ; but to remember your Lordship of somewhat even within fewe daies donne at the Counsaill bourde, wherwith I take myself greatlie wronged and if I be not righted therin, I shall be sorry ' A.P.C. 22, pp. 543-5 (1592). 2 Ibid., 16, p. 95 (1588). ^ Lansdowne MSS. 63, f. 187. For the religious condition of Wales at this time see Lansdowne MSS. 159, f. 50, and Penry's exhortation to the governors and people of Wales (dedicated to the Earl of Pembroke), especially p. 15 of the 1588 edition. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 127 to finde myself soe unkindly used by them from whom I haue dezerved better." ^ During the last few years of his Presidency the earl can hardly have been fit to improve the condition of the Court to any material degree. In 1595 he is described (Sydney Papers, i. 372) as very "pursife and maladise," and in September, 1599, his life was despaired of. In January, 1601, he died at Wilton, and was buried in Salisbury Cathedral. An important description of the Council of the Marches at this period survives in the Dialogue on the Government of Wales between Barthol, a Doctor of the Civil Laws, and Demetus, a Pembrokeshire man. It was. written in 1594 by George Owen of Henllys, and will be published before long in the Cymmrodorion Record Series. Demetus begins with a general description of the Court of the Marches, comparing it to the Chancery and the Star Chamber, and noting the benefits it confers. " Generallye it is the very place of refuge for the poore oppressed of this Country of Wales to flye unto . . . and for this cause it is as greatly frequented w*'^ suytes as any one Court att Westminster whatsoever, the more for that it is the best Cheape Court in England for fifees and there is great speed made in tryall of all Causes." He then states the days for beginning and end of the terms, each of which then lasted a month, and concludes : " This Court is it w'ch att the begininge brought Wales to that Civilitye and quietnes that yo" nowe see it from that wild and out- ragious state that yo" shall reade of." Some, he adds, talk of abolishing it as unnecessary, but this could not be done without great risk. Barthol replies that during a journey through the Council's jurisdiction he has heard many complaints of heavy charges and the entertainment of frivolous suits. Demetus agrees that these abuses exist. The rest of the dialogue, so far as the Court of the Marches is concerned, is taken up with a description of the existing abuses and suggestions for remedies. Strictures are passed on the smallness of the costs awarded (to the en- couragement of vexatious suits), the large number of attorneys, the unnecessary processes, and on the undue extension of the Court's • Lansdowne MSS. 63, f. 187. 128 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES jurisdiction to matters that might be left to the common law. On the other hand, the Court is praised for the speedy trial yielded after appearance, and for the rule that every process must be grounded on a bill signed by the Councillors. The conclusion reached is that the defects of the Court are small in comparison with its merits, and might with little trouble be redressed.^ ' Lansdowne MSS. 2i6, fif. 34-9, and Had. MSS. 141, ff. 28-85. CHAPTER V THE DECLINE OF THE COUNCIL. CONFLICTS OVER JURIS- DICTION. THE PRESIDENCY OF THE EARL OF BRIDGE- WATER, 1631-42 After the Earl of Pembroke's death, the Council of the Marches rapidly declined in importance. Up to 163 1, when the Bridge- water MSS. become available, there is comparatively little information as to its actual work. On the other hand, a large number of documents (several in duplicate) exist, referring to its jurisdiction over the four Border counties. The men who held the office of Lord President were of no great distinction ; in fact, the post seems to have been regarded at this time as little more than a comfortable sinecure. Pembroke's immediate successor was Lord Zouch, the friend of Ben Jonson, and from 1615 to 1624 Warden of the Cinque Ports. ^ In 1607 Lord Zouch was succeeded by Lord Eure, who held office till 16 16, when he was followed by Lord Gerard (1616-7), aad then by the Earl of Northampton, whose tenure lasted till 1630. The office was then vacant for a while, the duties being performed probably by Sir John Bridgeman, Chief Justice of Chester, till the appointment of the Earl of Bridgewater in 1631. Lord Zouch began his tenure of office at the close of Elizabeth's reign, June, 1602, and his Commission was renewed on James's accession. In the autumn of 1602 Chamberlain writes : " Lord Zouche plays rex in Wales and takes upon him comme im Millord (PAngleterre both with the counsaile and justices as also with the poor Welshmen." ^ ' Chamberlain's Letters (Camden Societj'), pp. 14, 108, 139. "^ S.P.D., Eliz., Vol. CCLXXXV. (Cal. 1601-3, p. 249). 129 9 130 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES We also learn that he began " to know and use his authority," even going so far as to slight the Chief Justice of Chester by throwing down the cushion, laid according to usage beside his own, with the words that " one was enough for that place." ^ Very soon his jurisdiction came into question, and the " tedious business of the Marches," over which so much ink and paper were expended, began. The dispute arose out of the claim of one Fareley, or Farley, to hold a piece of land under a lease from a deceased copyholder. The widow of the latter claimed to re-enter and make void the lease, and obtained from the Court of the Marches that Fareley should suffer her to have possession till the Court of the Manor had tried the right.^ Fareley disobeyed this order, and was imprisoned by the Council ; whereupon he sued out a writ of Habeas corpus ann causa from the King's Bench. This writ was disobeyed by the Council, "for that none of that nature had ever taken place." It would seem that one had been issued in the Earl of Pembroke's time, but not returned. At this stage Lord Zouch brought the dispute before the Privy Council. Coke, the Attorney-General, acted on behalf of the King's Bench, Sir John Croke and Sir Francis Bacon for the Council. After several conferences of counsel, it was agreed that the King's Bench had the general right and duty of seeing that Courts like that of the Marches kept within their due limits, but that it was bound to guard against abuse of the writ of Habeas Corpus.^ The matter left in dispute was the extent of the Council's jurisdiction, though this does not seem to have been in the mind of the King's Bench Judges who awarded the writ. ' Harl. MSS. 5353 (Manningham's Diary, Camden Society, p. 58). ^ Croke's Reports, Trin. Term., 2 Jac. (1604), ed. 1791, Vol. II., p. 36, -case 12, Fareley's case. Prohibition : " It was held by all the Court that if a copyholder make a lease for years whereof a Jcme by custom is to have Jier widow'' s estate, she shall not avoid the lease, unless there be a special custom to avoid it ; for he comes under the custom and by the lord's licence as well as the feme. This case depended before the Council of the Marches of Wales, and they, giving orders there against the lessee for the feme, a prohibition was granted to stay the execution of those orders." 2 Brit. Mus. Add. MSS., 25,244, f. 84. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 131 The question, however, was no new one. In EHzabeth's reign the city of Bristol had felt itself aggrieved by being included in the sphere of the Council's jurisdiction, and had successfully petitioned the queen for exemption. In the Bristol Chronicle is the entry: " In the year 1561 or 2, the citizens of Bristol by the cost and industry of this Mayor were exempted for ever from the Marches of Wales ; which before had been great trouble and expence to them."^ A few years later Cheshire had secured exemption on the ground that it was a county palatine. One Radforde had questioned the Council's jurisdiction over the county ; whereupon it was referred, on February 2nd, 1569, to Sir James Dyer, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, Richard Weston and Richard Harpur, Justices of the same Court, and Thomas Carus, Justice of the Peace. Their opinion, which was presented to the queen on February roth, contained the following arguments : 1. That the county of Chester had been a county palatine before the reign of Henry III., and that of very ancient time the city also had been a county of itself. Therefore its ancient laws and usages should be maintained. 2. That the Chamberlain of Chester had during all this time exercised the jurisdiction of a Chancellor within the said county palatine, while before the Justice of Chester were heard and determined matters of Common Pleas and Pleas of the Crown. Therefore all pleas of lands or tenements, etc., arising within the same county palatine ought to be there determined, except in a few cases such as in cause of error, etc. 3. That the Court of the Exchequer at Chester has been and is still the Chancery Court of the County Palatine of Chester, the Chamberlain being the chief officer and 1 Seyer, Memoirs of Bristol, Vol. II., Ch. XXVL, p. 238, § 3. Barrett's Bristol, p. 685; also Brit. Mus. Add. MSS. 25,244 (Collections out of Bookes receaued from the Earle of Salisbury). " Temp'e Eliz. The City of Bristol! which is in the County of Gloucester and was formerly included within the Jurisdiction of the Counsell is at theyr speciall suit exempted as to reall and mixt actions and continued as to personall suites and matters touching the peace and Crowne." 132 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES judge, and having authority equal to that of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. 4. That in the opinion of the four Justices the Vice-Chamber- lain of Chester had rightfully imprisoned Thomas Radforde for refusing to put in sureties of the peace within the said Exchequer, upon affidavit made in that behalf; while the proceedings of the Council of the Marches in releasing Radforde and issuing an order against the Vice-Chamberlain were contrary to the ancient laws and liberties of the County Palatine of Chester. 5. That neither the County nor the City of Chester was included in the Dominion of Wales and the Marches of the same, and therefore neither was affected by the statute 34 & 35 H. VIII., c. 26. 6. That for the enjoyment of the above liberties the inhabit- ants of the county of Chester have paid at the change of every owner of the earldom a mise of 3,000 marks, and the inhabitants of the County of Flint (being parcel of the said county palatine) 2,000 marks.' On March i6th, 1569, Elizabeth wrote to the Lord Chancellor, Sir Nicholas Bacon, enclosing the opinion of the Justices, and directing him to order its entry and enrolment in the Chancery, there to remain of record, and to be used and exemplified hereafter for the benefit of the residents in the county of Chester.2 Five years later — in 1574 — the jurisdiction of the Council over the city and county of Worcester was questioned by one Wilde, acting, it appears, on behalf of certain lawyers. The Privy Council referred the case to Mr. Attorney Gerard and the Solicitor-General Bromley. Wilde meantime was to be released from the custody of the knight marshal, on giving bond for ;^2oo to appear when summoned and on the first day of the next term. He was not to prejudice the controversy in any way, and the Lord President was to see that he was free from molestation so long as he behaved himself dutifully. On ' Brit. Mus. Cott. MSS., Vitellius, C. i., ff. 208-9. - Ibid., Add. MSS. 25,244, ff. 2b, 3, 4. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 133 April 28th he appeared; on May 2nd the Attorney and Solicitor-General were directed to examine the controversy, while Mr. Recorder of London and Mr. Bell were to be admitted as Wilde's counsel. On May 13th the Attorney and Solicitor-General reported against Wilde that both the city and county of Worcester were subject to the jurisdiction of the Council of the Marches ; whereupon his bond was restored. It is possible that a later entry in the Acts of the Privy Council refers to this same Wilde. In reference to an appeal from the Welsh Council it is stated that too strict an imprisonment has been imposed on Wilde, and that such course is to be taken as is agreeable to justice and " meetest for the preservacion of the jurisdiction of that Counsell whereof for her Majesties service their Lordships have a speciall consideration."^ These three cases of Bristol, Chester, and Worcester show that there was ample precedent for those who aimed at limit- ing the Council's jurisdiction. In Michaelmas Term, 2 Jac. (1604), all the Justices and the Barons of the Exchequer were assembled by the king's command, and after the hearing of counsel and long deliberation, they resolved una voce that the four Border counties were not within the jurisdiction of the Council. The King's Bench then proceeded against the ofificer of the Council of the Marches, who had Fareley in custody. Lord Zouch was highly indignant at this slight, and it would seem that he ceased henceforth to discharge his duties as Lord President, while the authority of the Council was practically in abeyance within the four shires. Apparently also some new instructions were drawn up, though whether they were actually issued is doubtful.^ Meanwhile Lord Zouch and members of the Council were busy collecting precedents, and urging on king and Privy Council the dangers that would result from any diminution of the Council's authority. The House of Commons now took the matter up, and in March, 1606, passed a Bill for ' A.P.C., Vol. VIII., pp.200, 204, 207, 231, 234, 236, and Vol. XIV., p. 187. - S.P.D., Jas. I, Vol. XXXI. 31 (Memorandum of the differences between the present and former instructions relative to the office and powers of the President and Council of Wales). 134 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES explaining the Act 34 & 35 H. VIII., c. 26, which was rejected by the House of Lords. In May another Bill to the same effect passed the Commons, after which it was dropped, Sir Herbert Croft, the mover, resolving to " rest upon His Majesty's Grace for the execution of the law." ^ Among the Domestic State Papers for 1606 are preserved two copies of the Bill passed in March. The longer appears to be the original draft ; it contains marginal notes of objections to various statements which are omitted in the shorter form. In the following copy the bracketed words show what was omitted from the original draft : "An act for the better explayninge of a former act made in xxxiiij*^^ yeare of the Raigne of Kinge Henry the viij concerninge ordinances made for Wales (and establishinge of the governement of the Lord president and Councell theare). " Whereas by a Parliament holden at Westm'' in the xxxiiij**^ yeare of the raigne of Kinge Henry the viij*''' there were certaine ordinances enacted for the dominion and Principalitie of Wales at the humble peticon of the inhabitantes thereof. By which it was endeauored to reduce the s'^ dominion and inhabitantes of the same (from certaine lawes and customes before used amongst them) to a more fit governement (for w'^'' cause a President and Councell were established within the said dominion and Principalitie of Wales and the marches thereof, with other Judges, Justices and officers fit for orderinge, governinge and guidinge of the Inhabitantes in the ordinances then enacted for them). And whereas the Counties of Glocester, and the Cittie and Countie of the Cittie of Glocester and also the Counties of Worcester, Hereford and Salop were allwaies meere {i.e. absolutely) English Counties being governed of auncient under and by the lawes and Statutes of this Kingdome (in like sort and manner as all other the Counties of this Realme were and of right ought to be) yet notwithstandinge of late yeares the ' Journals of the House of Commons, Vol. I., pp. 272, 276, 277, 281, 296, 297, 308, 309. Journals of the House of Lords, Vol. II., under dates March 13th, March 25th, April 3rd, April 7th, 1606. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 135 President and Councell established in the dominion, principalitie and Marches of Wales haue exercised some iurisdiction in the same Counties and Cittie pretendinge the same to be parcell of the Marches of Wales (to the grief of manie Subiectes inhabitinge within the said Counties and Cittie). Be it therefore declared adiudged and enacted by the Kinges most excellent Ma"'^, the Lordes Spirituall and temporall and Comons in this present Parliament assembled and by the authoritie of the same, That neither the Counties nor Cittie aforesaid nor anie of them (nor any part of them or anie of them) are [nor at any tyme since the Statute made in the xxvij*'^ yeare of the Raigne of Kinge Henry the viij'''' (intituled an Act for Lawes and Justice to be ministred in Wales in like forme as it is in this Realme) were] anie parte of the Dominion, Principalitie or Countrey of Wales, or of the Marches of the same nor by the said Statutes (made in the xxvij*''^ and xxxiiij"^ yeares of the Raigne of Kinge Henry the viij*"' or either of them or the true meaninge of them or of either of| them) were intended to be subiecte to the governement or Jurisdiction of the said President and Councell of Wales, Provided allwaies and be it enacted by authoritie of this present Parliament that no person or persons shalbe admitted or receaued hereafter to bringe or comence anie action, plaint, or suite (of false imprisonment, Battery, trespasse or action of the case) upon anie imprisonment. Battery, Corporall punishment, entrie or other trespasse done heretofore within anie of the said foure Counties or Cittie by warrant, power, authoritie, or execution of anie order, decree or warrant made by the Lord President of the said Councell or by the Court of the Lord President and Councell or by the said Councell or by any of them." ^ Accompanying these drafts is an examination — i.e. hostile criticism — the nature of which may be gathered from the words : " The Bill drawen to explane this lawe consisteth of certein false positions alledged in the preamble and absurde conclusions made therupon in the purview or body of the Acte."^ The writer has no difficulty in pointing out four false positions and four ' S.P.D., Jas. I., 1606, Vol. XIX., ft'. 33-5. - A criticism to much the same effect is in the Tanner MSS. 91, 9, f. 139. 136 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES absurd conclusions (contained especially in the bracketed words above); he then passes on to note "certaine Inconveniences which (like straung and mo'strous children) this New Lawe must needes bring furth, if it should haue passage." This evil brood, he maintains, would num.ber twelve at least, beginning with danger to the king's prerogative, dishonour to his predecessors and all their Councillors of State, judges and Council learned, condemnation of all past Lords President, and risk that other statutes would be misinterpreted against meaning and usage. Furthermore " it will cast a generall skorne and contempt upon the Remainder of aucthoritie left in that Court for hereafter and make the Welshmen despised by the English, who are now by their common governement holden in termes of Love ; and so will ere longe revive the auncient enmytie betweene those two people and bring all to the old confusion againe : which as no- thing could redresse at first but that Court, so it is not probable anie thing can better prevent then the continuance of the same." All traffic and commerce between the English and Welsh would cease for lack of equal remedy. Welshmen would have to answer at the Council of the Marches on the suit of Englishmen, but would not be able to implead them at Westminster. Again, "the poore, the widow and the orphant, for whose relief this Court was speciallie erected, not being admitted to haue remedie here and not able to seeke it at Westm'', shalbe oppressed; it being too well knowen that those 4 Counties are as apte to ' banding and siding ' as Wales and that in all disorders the gentlemen are alwaies principally parties or apparent favourers, so as iustice shall seldome prevaile, but where it is seconded with the strongest faction as by late examples maie be made to appeare." Any outbreak resulting from Welsh jealousy of the four shires, if exempted, could not be so easily repressed as at present. Wales would certainly put in a plea for exemption, and the Council of the North would be likewise endangered. All orders and decrees of the Court would be void; men punished for perjury would be declared no perjurers; fines of great value paid into His Majesty's receipt might have to be restored ; the Council officials would be in great straits, especially THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 137 the Porter, " unlesse the Kinges Ma'tie be gracious unto him to staie the violent course intended against him." The writer avers that the change is sought especially by men of " Popish or doubtfull religion," and now especiallie because the Lord President is soundlie afifected." There were said to be twenty thousand recusants in the four counties and some parts of Wales adjoining. In conclusion, the time was specially inappropriate when there was a Prince of Wales, and when " we generallie desire the happie union of what hath been long severed and disunited." In August, 1607, Lord Eure was appointed Lord President, with instructions of which an abstract survives.^ The twelfth article is given in full among the Bridgewater MSS., and is to the effect that, whereas the question has been raised whether the four counties are parcel of the Marches of Wales, His Majesty ordains that the Lord President and Council shall hear and determine all manner of debts not exceeding the sum of ;^io arising within any of the four counties, and also trespasses where the damages do not exceed the same sum.^ Submission even to this limited jurisdiction seemed to the supporters of the contention of the four counties equivalent to giving up their case : they felt, too, that the king had broken faith with them, and were irritated at the proceedings of the Privy Council and of Lord Eure, the new Lord President. Sir Herbert Croft, the leader of the opposition, was put out of the Commission of Lieutenancy and of the Peace. In retaliation for this, according to Lord Eure, he pursued the matter further, and took up the case of one of his tenants. A complaint having been made about the conduct of a magistrate, the Council of the Marches had called the parties before them, and without disclosing that they were acting ultra vires, had induced them to submit to arbitration. Sir Herbert Croft obtained a prohibition, with the result that a serious resistance was organised against the Council. The Bishop of Hereford and twenty-six of the ' Brit. Mus. Cott. MSS., Vitellius, C. i., ff. 197-204. - Bridgewater MSS., Welsh Council Papers, 13. 138 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES leading gentry urged Croft to continue the opposition, while Sir John Packington, Sheriff of Worcestershire and his under- sheriff, refused to obey the Council's precepts.^ Lord Eure wrote to Salisbury describing the difficult position in which he was placed, through the "generall disobedience, many meetinges and Combination agamst the government of the Courte," and praying that he may be strengthened " against these Ambitious gentlemen, or otherwise that his Ma'ties will may be made knowne unto me, that I may know what to obey; for by this doubtfulnes both his Ma'tie is dishonored and his people discomforted." ^ Finally the matter was taken up by the Privy Council. In April, 1608, the Chief Justice of Chester repaired to London with records to uphold his case. Lord Eure being ready to join him when necessary. With the matter of the four counties was joined the question of the right of the King's Bench to issue prohibitions to other Courts ; the jurisdiction of the Council of York also came up for consideration. On November 6th, at a meeting of the Privy Council, the king propounded the question "whether the article of the Listructions touching hearing causes within the four shires under ^10 be agreeable to the law." Chief Justice Coke asked for time and a chance of hearing counsel before giving an answer. The matter was argued for six days, four of which were taken up by the counsel for the Crown and the Council of the Marches. Bacon, as Solicitor-General, was counsel for the Crown, and Serjeants ' In Cottonian MSS., Vitellius, C. i., f. 205, is the answer of Thomas Corne- wall, who had evidently been asked to support the agitation. He writes: " I could be very well pleased to be freed from any law, but sith I must be subiect to any or all, then had I rather be unto this of the Principality than any other, being led thereunto as well for nearenes of the Place as also for that I know it to be his Ma'ties pleasure as also the noble Prince's, both whose Servant I am sworne. Besides this my father and selfe have here- tofore subscribed to the necessary government of the four English sheires^ to be within the Instruccions of the Councell in the Principality and Marches of Wales, which was ever since the establishing of that Court so intended and continued." - Cottonian MSS., Vitellius, C. i., f. 206. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 139 Hutton and Harris for the four counties.^ The opinion of the judges was dehvered by Coke in writing on February 3rd, 1609 ; as its tenor was not published, it was probably unfavourable to the Crown. During the rest of 1609 no further action seems to have been taken in the matter, but in 16 10 the numerous actions for false imprisonment and motions for prohibitions showed that the supporters for the four counties were returning to the charge. In Parliament their grievances were taken up by the House at large, but the king stopped legislation by a promise that he would, after midsummer next, give leave to any man to try the right. 2 The grand jury of Herefordshire presented the Court as a nuisance ; a declaration with five thousand signatures was issued to the same effect, and the processes of the Council were entirely set at naught in the four counties.^ Before the session of 16 14 Sir Herbert Croft tried to induce the king, through the influence of Somerset, to let the question come fairly before the Courts at Westminster, and even offered to answer in His Majesty's presence any objections to his case. His challenge wsls not taken up ; whereupon he tried to obtain the exemption of the four shires as a matter not of right, but of grace, asking that in the issue of new instructions they might be omitted. His request was not complied with, and in spite of the persistence with which it was urged, the agitation subsided. Sir Herbert Croft died in 1622. Before this, when Lord Compton (afterwards Earl of Northampton) succeeded Lord Gerard in 161 7, the new instructions had made no distinction between Wales and the four English counties. Jurisdiction in civil suits up to ^50 was allowed in both. It will be convenient in this place to summarise the real ' See Bacon's Works, ed. Spedding, Vol. VII., pp. 609, et seqq., with the valuable sketch of the case there given; cf. S.P.D., Jas. I., Vol. XXXVII., 1608, November 8th, No. 53. - S.P.D., Jas. I., Vol. LVI., 1610, July 7th, No. 10. Petition of the House of Commons for redress of grievances among which is the jurisdiction exercised over the four counties. ^ S.P.D., Jas. I., Vol. LVII. 96, 1610, October loth, and Vol. LVIII. 56^ l6io, December 3rd. 140 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES grounds of the agitation against the Council's jurisdiction in the four counties, and then to notice the arguments employed by the advocates on both sides. There appears to have been a very strong sense of the " mischiefs and inconveniences " caused by the Council.^ Complaint was made of its illegal proceedings ; its interference with the common law Courts ; its undue extension of jurisdiction in matters of title, legacies, etc. ; its punishment of offenders already punished in other Courts ; and its hearing of trifling suits where a sum of less than ten shiUings was in- volved. It had "tortured the bodies of the Kinges subiectes for bare suspicion of felonye " ; had erected new offices in the Court to the burden of the subject, increased the fees, and vexed the inhabitants of the four counties with the carriage of provisions, etc., or exactions in lieu thereof. Furthermore, it was in the habit of receiving bribes to determine the place of its resort. The whole working of the Court, it was alleged, tended to the vexation of the subject, through the number of informers, relators, and cursitors, who made it their business to bring suits against persons already punished in the ecclesiastical Courts. The ex- amination on oaths and interrogatories forced the defendant either to accuse himself or to commit perjury. The settling of differences once commenced in the Court was hindered by the practice of compelling the prosecutor to bring his case to hearing on pain of a heavy fine. The sheriffs of the four counties were more plagued with executing the processes of the Court than with those of all the Courts of Westminster, and often found themselves punished for executing illegal orders. It was urged that the king lost heavily through the Court, having to pay almost ;^'iioo for the diet of the members, and receiving out of the fines but a few hundreds, though thousands were drawn annually from the subjects. Strongest of all were the arguments that four ancient English shires ought not to be put in a position different from that of others equally remote from the capital ; that the inhabitants ought not to be deprived of their ancient ' A full summary of grievances is given in Bridgewater MSS., Welsh Council Papers, 2, 3 : see also list of authorities given above. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 141 right of trial iby jury and remedy by attaint; that the subject was in perpetual uncertainty as to the tenor of the instructions, which were alterable at the pleasure of the Crown ; lastly, that subjection to two jurisdictions a hundred miles apart {viz. at Ludlow and Westminster) caused intolerable distraction and inconvenience. In answer to all this, the supporters of the Council's jurisdiction used arguments of which the most important have been stated above. They admitted that certain abuses existed, and doubtless called for remedy, but denied that these furnished any excuse for the overthrow of the jurisdiction in the four counties. The legal arguments employed were lengthy and corfiplex, turning mainly on the interpretation of Henry VIII. 's statutes relating to Wales, the usage before and since his day, and the precedents for exemption in the cases of Bristol and Chester. Both sides admitted that the instructions to the Council were warranted by the statute of 1543, which gave the Lord President and Council authority to hear and determine such causes and matters as should be assigned to them by the king " within the said dominion and principality of Wales and Marches of the same." The question was briefly this : Could the four counties be fairly comprised under the word " Marches " ? As Bacon said, the question was but " the true construction of a monosyllable." On the side of the defence records were quoted to show that the Border counties had been considered to be " in marchiis Walliae." Year-books and chronicles were ransacked for instances in which Hereford, Shrewsbury, and other places in the four counties were spoken of as lying in the Marches. An instance of this line of argument is to be found in a document among the Bridgewater MSS., endorsed " Marches and Counsell of Wales. Miscellaneall Rapsody, v. hasty and defectiue." The writer found time to cite references to a long list of authorities, from Henry of Huntingdon and Giraldus Cambrensis down to Grafton, Camden, and Holinshed. But this display of ancient lore was met by the assertion that the word " Marches " meant the Marcher Lordships which had been abolished by the statute of 1536. Did the statute of 1543 mean the counties or the lordships 142 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES when it spoke of the Marches? Bacon laid stress on the fact that the Act of 1536 had already abolished all the Marcher Lordships, either annexing them to the ancient counties of Wales or England, or else forming them into new counties which were to be part of the Dominion of Wales. " Marches," therefore, could not mean Marcher Lordships. He strengthened his argu- ment by a comparison of two passages in the statute of 1543 — viz. " that there shall be and remain a Lord President and Council in the Dominion of Wales and the marches of the same," and the clause giving power and authority to the king to make and alter laws for the weal of his subjects in the Dominion of Wales. The word " Marches," he argues, was omitted in the second clause, because the king was not given power to alter laws in any part of the realm of England, and this proves that the word " Marches " in the former clause meant the four English counties. But against this view it was argued that the form of the Commission of oyer and terminer, which gave power and authority to the President and Council (" infra principalitatem Walliae et infra quattuor comitatus et marchias Walliae eisdem comitatibus adjacentes "), proved that the Marches were dis- tinct from the four counties. Bacon demolishes this argument by showing that the form of Commission dated further back than the statute of 1536, and was simply copied by the Clerk of the Crown, though the word " Marches " was quite superfluous after that date. On the whole, it seems as if both sides had a strong case ; the word " Marches " was so ambiguous that it could be taken in the sense of Border (in which it is employed to this day) or in the narrow sense of the Marcher Lordships. Those for the Council took the wide popular sense ;l those against, the narrow legal sense : and as the two sides differed on this fundamental question, it is not surprising that the case dragged on to so unconscionable a length. The arguments from precedent were entirely on the side of the Council. Its advocates had not the slightest difficulty in proving that its jurisdiction had been exercised in the four counties ever since 18 Ed. IV., and that it had received the THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 143 •support of the Courts of Westminster, the Star Chamber, famous judges and learned counsel. Another strong argument in the same sense was the Council's title — viz. the " Council of, or in, the Marches of Wales," rather than the " Council of Wales " or "in Wales." Again, as Bacon argues, "the perpetual resiance and mansion of the Council " was evermore in the shires, and to imagine that a Court should not have jurisdiction in the place of its sitting was a thing utterly improbable, " for they should be tanguani piscis in arido." The only defence against these contentions was that usage availed nothing against .an Act of Parliament. In the third place, much stress was laid on the exemption of Cheshire on the ground that it formed no part of the Marches of Wales. The other side, however, easily proved the exemption to be due to the fact that Cheshire was a county palatine, and therefore on a different footing from the four counties. In fact, Bacon turns his adversaries' position by the assertion that the exemption of Cheshire made the inclusion of the four counties more certain, inasmuch as exceptio firmat legem in casibus non exceptis. The example of Bristol proved nothing, for it was left out of the instructions upon supplication made to the queen. The interest of the case lies mainly in this, that the king's prerogative and the existence of discretionary governments were conceived to be involved. " Discretionary governments," it was urged on the one side, " are most dangerous, and therefore the fewer of them in any state the better." ^ On the other side, James laid down with emphasis the sweeping doctrine, " All novelties are dangerous." " I wolde not," he says, " haue you medle with suche auntient Rightes of myne as I haue receaved from my predicessors, possessing them more inaioriim. I wolde bee loathe to bee quarrelled in my auntient rightes and posses- sions for that were to judge me unworthie of that which my predicessors had and lefte mee." To James the contention of the four counties seemed to " savour of particuler men's Bridgewater MSS., Welsh Council Papers, 2 144 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES thoughtes." ^ In vain was it attempted to show that the juris- diction of the Council rested on a Parhamentary basis, and that the king's prerogative would not be affected by any change. James came to regard the matter as affecting not himself only, but also the young Prince of Wales. The king's views are clearly seen in the most interesting document of the many relating to this case — viz. the account of the proceedings on November 3rd, 1608, when all the judges save one met, with the Privy Council, to decide the long dispute. The judges were first called upon to say whether the king by his own prerogative and the statute of 34 H. VIII. could give power to the Lord President and Council to exercise jurisdiction within the four counties. They refused to give an answer, saying that if the case came before them judicially, they would decide it to the best of their ability. The Lord Chancellor urged that the matter should be considered as one of State, and that the judges, being members of the Privy Council, were sworn to give the king advice when called upon. They con- tinued silent ; whereupon the Lord Chamberlain went for the king, " who presently came to the Councell Table and brought the younge Prince with him whoe was seated upon a stoole by, but not at, the Table." Once more the judges refused to answer the question, even when propounded by the king. James spoke strongly of the hindrance caused to the Lord President and Council by prohibitions and the prejudicial effect that the weakening of the Council of the Marches would have on the Council of the North, the Court of Admiralty, the Court of Requests, and the Ecclesiastical Courts. In a long and rambling speech, in which he touched on Moses and Jethro, the Emperor Constantine, the Picts and Scots, the Heptarchy, and the growth of the English law Courts, James emphatically laid down the doctrine that " all lavve is but voluntas Regis" and "eius est interpretare cuius est condere." He then turned to the prince, saying, "This conserneth you, sir, and I hope you will loose no thinge which is yours." Coke, kneeling before the king, said that the question was one of fact, ' Cottonian MSS., Vitellius, C. i., flf. 134-5 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 145 and ought to come before a jury ; whereon the king " angerly " replied that judges derived their power merely from the royal will, and that all this mischief had come about through kings not sitting in Parliament. " Non doe oppose themselves against the Jurisdicon of the Councell in the marches but certen high- headed ffellowes calling them by a Scottish name mountinge ffellowes, in English swaggeringe ffellowes, such as Harbert Crofte and others to the number of 3 or 4, whoe because they would oppresse the meaner people and beare the whole sway of theire Country without Controulement doe oppose themselves against government and the state of the King. ... I knowe there might be wiser Kinges and more vertuous, and yett I knowe I am noe foole, I came not as a usurper but as a RightfuU Kinge discended out of the Loines of the Kinges of this Lande, and what prerogative to mee therein apperteigneth I will hould and mayntaine to the uttermost." After this outburst, the Lord Chief Justice and Chief Baron " swelled soe with anger that Teares fell from them." The king, remarking by the way that he had unfolded the " True Lawe of ffree Monarchies," again asked the judges for their reasons against the jurisdiction. They prayed for time, on the ground that the question had only just been propounded to them ; to this the king replied that the question was no longer new, having been twice debated in his own presence and oftener before the Lords of the Council. Coke rejoined that he and his brethren had not debated their answer together, and wished to avoid the fate of the ancient Britons, who " dum singuli pugnant, universi vincuntur." After more wrangling between the king and Coke, the sitting ended with a victory for the judges, who were given time to reconsider the matter. The whole account is very typical of James's method of dealing with constitutional questions.^ The few notices as to the Council's working at this time are of comparatively little interest. Lord Eure found his allowance inadequate for his expenses, and in 1609 begged Salisbury for ' From a document among the Bridgewater MSS. (uncalendared in April, 1903). 10 146 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES ;^6oo a year, on the ground that he was compelled to sell his lands. ^ Tickenhill House and park, as we learn from a letter about this time, were going into decay, and needed thorough repairs. 2 Recusancy was still prevalent in the Border counties and South Wales,^ and we read of proceedings by the President and Council against Sir John Wynn of Gwydir for various flagrant acts of oppression. He was fined one hundred marks, and the king was asked to discharge him from the Council of the Marches and the lieutenancy of the county.* In 1611 the Lord President was required to return to the Privy Council a list of persons within his jurisdiction, capable of lending money to the king.' A notice of some interest relates to the free school of Carmarthen. The Earl of North- ampton wrote to the Justices of Assize, cos. Carmarthen, Pembroke, and Cardigan, bidding them call on Francis Mansell to deliver up certain moneys towards the erection of a free school at Carmarthen and collect a benevolence from those willing to contribute to so good a work.^ About the same time the earl wrote to Secretary Calvert expressing his approval of the petition from the Surveyor of the Crown lands in South Wales to the king. Waste lands, it is said, that have long been the resort of thieves and malefactors, and are therefore uninhabited, a^-e likely to be made useful by the care of the Lord President in rooting out such persons, and might be advantageously colonised from England. The petition asks that the Justices and other resident gentlemen may inquire into the extent and ownership of the said lands.'^ Another sign of increasing prosperity in Wales at this time was activity in mining operations. In 1623 the king ordered the Master and Officers of the Mint that all bullion sent up from the lately discovered mines of Wales should be coined ' S.P.D., Jas. I., Vol. XLVII. 97, 1609, August 26th. 2 Ibid., Vol. XLVII. 23. 5 Ibid., Vol. XXVIII, 122, Vol. LXVIII. 75, etc. * Ibid., Vol. LXXXIV. 14. * Ibid., Vol. LXVII. 102, December 17th, 161 1. « Ibid., Vol. ex. 46. ' Ibid., Vol. CIX, 108, L, II. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 147 weekly into pieces bearing the arms of the prince, to distinguish them from other coins. The Lord President and Council, with others, were authorised to apprehend all persons found encroach- ing on the mines of Sir Hugh Middleton, in Cardiganshire, from which he had been able to extract silver and lead to the em- ployment of many poor and the general benefit of the kingdom.^ The duties of the Lord President at this time seem to have been' mainly those of Lord Lieutenant in the counties of Wales and the Border ; he was expected to supervise the levying of troops for Ireland and the collection of loans, especially that of 1626. In January, 1627, a correspondence of considerable interest began between the Earl of Northampton and the Privy Council respecting the loan. He apologises for the delay in sending up certificates, on the ground that the country is extremely backward ; the inhabitants pretend poverty, the payment of subsidies, the charge for levies of soldiers, and the near prospect of a Parliament. Gloucestershire and Hereford- shire had sent in no answers, and a doubt had arisen whether the king's letter authorised the earl to require certificates beyond the Principality of Wales. He had received no help in com- piling the certificates from Shropshire and Flint, but found " in- finite difficulty in persuading men to discover the state of the country." A few days later he wrote again, sending the best certificates he could from cos. Radnor, Hereford, and Worcester, and enclosing a letter from the Deputy Lieutenants of Hereford- shire to the effect that certificates could not be called except from the counties of Wales. A little later he sends certificates for Privy Seals for cos. Gloucester, Denbigh, Carmarthen, Brecknock, Merioneth, and Cardigan, " no small task having so little assistance." In August of next year the feeling against the loan was just as strong, for the Justices of Pembrokeshire wrote to the Privy Council that the gentry and subsidy men excused themselves from presenting a voluntary supply to His Majesty on account of the extiaordinary burdens resting upon them and their diminished means. They add that " it had ' S.P.D., Jas. I., Vol. CLII. 7, 22. 148 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES ministered no small comfort to their hearts, if by course of Parliament this supply had been added to their former burden, although thereby they had ever so much needed." ^ In February, 1628, the Earl and Sir John Bridgeman wrote to the Privy Council an account of their success with the Commissioners for the Loans in Salop, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, and Worcestershire. In the first-named two counties all the Commissioners had subscribed and paid, Shrewsbury and Ludlow being specially mentioned. In Gloucestershire, however, twelve out of the twenty-five had refused both payment and subscription, and had entered willingly into bonds of ^40, to appear before the Council of the Marches within fourteen days after notice. They had been urged to assist the Commissioners of the hundreds in which they dwelt, but had refused, saying it was not fit for them to persuade others to do that which they themselves had in conscience refused to do. In March the prospect for the loan was no brighter. In Gloucestershire there had been indifferent success with the inferior Court, but in other parts of the shire refusals were increasing. " If some course be not taken," the Earl adds, "with such as have so boldly denied, the service will suffer." In the same strain he writes to Secretary Conway that the gentlemen who are subject to censure or contempt for doing the king's service clamour for strong measures against the refractory.^ The Privy Council Books preserve some record of cases that came before the Council of the Marches between 1603 and 1631. It was still found to be a convenient Court of First Inquiry, especially in matters where His Majesty's service was specially concerned or where the ordinary course of law could not be safely followed. Thus the Privy Council wrote to Lord Eure asking him to examine into a petition containing allegations of poisoning, on the ground that there were "suggestions of practise in the matter," and that an attempt was being made to " blind ' S.P.D., Car. I., Vol. XVIII. 33 (January i ith, i62f ), and 72 (January i6th, l62f), Vol. XIX. 68 (January 28th, 162?), Vol. XXXIII. 46, August 7th, 1628. 2 Ibid., Vol. LIV., 28 (February 17th, i62|), and Vol. LVI. 12 March 2nd, l62|). THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 149 the eyes of justice." ^ Petitions seem now to have been addressed to the Privy Council rather than to the Council of the Marches, by no means to the satisfaction of the former body, which must have found itself overburdened with matters of detail. An instance is a petition from the late Sheriff of Pembrokeshire in November, 1618. The examination of the facts is referred to the Lord President and Council with the remark that the complainant would have done well to address himself to them first of all.^ Similarly the case of a maimed soldier is referred to the Lord President, " that the Board may be no further troubled here- withall." ^ Sometimes, however, the Council of the Marches was directed not only to examine but to conclude a case — e.g. the detention of evidences by Lady Vaughan's brother,^ and a false accusation against the Vicar of Eldersfield in Worcester- shire.^ That the Privy Council did its best to uphold the authority of the Council of the Marches may be seen from the case of Edward Fludd, counsellor-at-law, who had brought groundless charges against Sir Frances Eure (one of the members). Fludd was ordered to apologise before the Council of the Marches and at some place in a county of the North Wales Circuit at the next General Great Sessions. On his refusal, he was kept in prison between October, 16x9, and December, 1620, when, on giving sureties for his submission, he was promised an order for release.^ For the Trinity Term of the year 161 7 there survives a copy of an entry book similar to those among the Bridgewater MSS., which will be described later. It is prefaced by a summary of the most important cases heard during the term ; these include a case of duelling in which the challenger was fined ^200 and his opponent two hundred marks, and one of abusing the warrants of the High Commision Court and of the late Lord President ' Council Register, June 27th, 1613 ; cf. August i6th, 1620, and Decem- ber 2nd, 1629. - Ibid., November 30th, 1618. ' Ibid., February 26th, 1623. ^ Ibid., July 3rd, 1624. ^ Ibid., September 2ist, 1619. " Ibid., October 20th, 1619, December 21st, 1619, July 21st, 1620, and December 29th, 1620. 150 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES touching recusants. In the latter case, say the Councillors, " wee did (for example to others) censure him to stand on the Pillorie, and com'itted him to Prison and fined him more then he is worth, being a fellow of no value." Informations had been exhibited by the Attorney of the Court against interlude players on the Sabbath, and against divers persons who had riotously entered into the house of a rich man lying on his death- bed. Order had been taken for the preservation of His Majesty's deer in the Border forests, parks, and chases, and for the " suppressing of superstitious flocking and resort of your Ma^* subiects unto Holliewell, comonly called St. Winifred's well." The summary concludes with the following complacent re- mark : " Lastlie whereas there haue been two prohibicions graunted out of your Highnes Bench for Causes dependinge here, wee haue certeffied your Ma"®^' Judges of the State of the Causes, whereupon they haue dissolued the prohibitions : So as now there resteth nether prohibition nor habeas Corpus dependinge betweene your Highnes Bench and this your Ma^'®^ Courte. But are at peace and unitie accordinge to your Ma^i^^ Royall direction." ^ The number of cases heard during the term was 407 ; of these about 25 per cent, were cases of debt, 14 per cent, of "affray," 13 per cent, of detaining various articles, especially bonds, and 11 per cent, of interruption. The other cases are of much the same character as those quoted later for the years 1632 to 1642. The list certainly justifies the accusation against the Council that it entertained trifling and frivolous suits, for among the entries we find, "carrying away of pears," "beating of a mare," " detaining of cartwheels," and even " detaining of a kettle." In 1631 the Earl of Northampton was succeeded in his office by the Earl of Bridgewater, who had been a member of the Council of the Marches since 161 7. His tenure of office is noteworthy for many reasons. It was to celebrate his first public appearance in the Marches that Comus was first acted at Ludlow on Michaelmas Day, 1634, in the room which still bears the name ' Brit. Mus. Royal MSS. 18, B. VII., f. 277. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 151 of the Comus Room. He lived to see the Court weakened by the Long Parliament and overthrown during the Civil War, and from his retirement at Ashridge in Hertfordshire he heard of the capture of Ludlow by the Parliamentary troops in 1646. Lastly, his correspondence has been most carefully preserved among the Bridgewater MSS., so that more details as to the cases before the Court of the Marches are extant for the years 1632 to X642 than for any other period. He would seem to have been an extremely methodical, cautious man, delicate in health, and anxious to avoid political strife as far as might be. For the most part he lived at his house at Barbican, and paid only rare visits to Ludlow, keeping up, however, a constant correspondence with his steward there, and watching carefully over the business of the Court. Among the Bridgewater MSS. calendared for the Historical MSS. Commission ^ is mentioned, " Entry-book of cases heard before the Council in Jan. 1631." Two copies of this are preserved. They are paper books (rather smaller than foolscap size), sewn together ; one has on the outside, in a contemporary hand : BOOKE OF HEARINGS Hillary Terme 163 1 {i.e. 1632 N.S.) reci 10° feb. 163 1 {i.e. 1632 N.S.) In a modern hand below is the note, "Welsh Council Cause List." The book contains entries for each day of the term, giving details in the following order: (i) name of county; (2) names of plaintiff and defendant : (3) nature of suit ; (4) judgment. Thus : Die Veneris xiij'" die Januarii 163 1-2. Wigorn Humfrey Burleton q I , , Anthony Hill ^ [ debt, decree pro q. Cardigan Richard Morris q I , , XT Tj J ' debt, sine die. Hum: ap Harry d | ' Hist. MSS. Report, XI., App. VII., p. 147, 152 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES At the end of each week is entered the amount of fines imposed during that week, the sum total being entered at the end. The second of the books mentioned in the calendar contains the counties and names of parties ; but the judgments are not entered. At the end of each day's list the number of cases is given. The writing, except in a few instances of corrections, is not the same as that of the fuller book. In 1902 a number of entry books similar to these were transferred from the Bridgewater House library to the office of the Bridgewater Trust at Walkden. These cover the years 1632 to 1642 : in all they are sixty-one in number, thirty-three being covered with parchment and tied with blue ribbons, twenty- eight being paper-covered like those described above. -^ A perusal of these books furnishes information on several points connected with the Court. I. Length of Sessions. — The Hilary Term began, as a rule, in the second week of January, and ended at some time in the last week. Lent Term began in the last week of February or the first of March, and lasted a fortnight. The length of Trinity Term varied a good deal : once it began as early as June 15 th, 1636, and once as late as July 17th, 1635. ^^ was distinctly the longest and busiest term, as might be expected ; sometimes the sitting went on into August — e.g. in Trinity Term, 1635 (July 17th to August 8th). Michaelmas Term beean in the first week of November, or sometimes in the second, and lasted for a fortnight or three weeks, sometimes longer, as in 1639, when the length of sitting was from November 6th to December 3rd. The average thus would seem to be a fortnight for the Hilary and Lent Terms, three weeks or more for the Trinity Term, and a fortnight or three weeks for the Michaelmas Term. ' As a rule the parchment-covered books are written in copying hand, do not give the judgments, the number of cases, or the totals of fines ; also they often omit the last few cases. But they give the date of each suit, which the paper-covered books do not. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 153 2. Number of Cases heard and Amount of Fines imposed. — These can be most clearly shown by the following table : Amount of Fines. 1632. Hilary Term . . Trinity Terra . . I s. d. 607 13 4 1,904 6 8 1633- Hilary Term . . 330 6 8 Lent Term . . not stated Trinity Term . . 1,032 3 4 Michaelmas Term 790 1634. Hilary Term . . 442 10 Lent Term . . . 1,122 6 8 1635- 1636. 1637. 1638. 1639. 1640. I64I. 1642. Trinity Term . . not stated. For the first week the amount is £Zo and for the second £,'2<^S '^^ ^ Michaelmas Term 1,628 16 8 Hilary Term . . not stated. Lent Term . Trinity Term Michaelmas Term Hilary Term Lent Term . Trinity Term Michaelmas Term Hilary Term Lent Term . Trinity Term Michaelmas Term Hilary Term Lent Term . Trinity Term . Michaelmas Term Hilary Term Lent Term . . Trinity Term , Michaelmas Term Hilary Term Lent Term . Trinity Term Michaelmas Term Hilary Term Lent Term . Trinity Term Michaelmas Term Hilary Term Lent Term . Trinity Term 1,876 10 o not stated 891 10 o 1,039 10 o 1,006 6 8 403 o o 880 6 8 not stated 708 o o 1,079 13 4 745 13 4 1,130 6 8 1,015 13 4 1.057 13 4 647 o o 1,907 13 4 617 6 8 773 3 4 594 6 8 not stated ;^3,97i 6 8 A.229 13 4 1,109 3 4 not stated 530 o o no entry book extant not stated no entry book extant not stated Number of Cases as given in Entry Books. 275 502 (should be 506) (should" ^73 be 267) 24 s (should ^^^ be 554) 485 , (should' ^46 ije 249) (should be 329) ,3^1 or correctly 1582 1545 or -correctly 1551 459 545 229 244 418 552 260 271 440 427 278 284 564 524 282 275 496 472 302 318 480 439 318 271 453 441 (not added 1 up in book) I- 1443 (not added up in laaea^ book) i' I 398 (not added up in book) I 1650 [525 1539 (not added >-i483 up in book) | ^ (not added ^ up in book) 294 62 69 154 THE COUxNCIL OF THE MARCHES It thus appears that in 1638 and 1639 — the only years for which complete information exists — the fines amounted to ;^3,97i 6^. 8d. and ;^4,229 135-. 4d. respectively. The average number of cases heard annually for the years 1633 to 1640 inclusive is 1,521. These figures may be compared with a list in the Bridgewater MSS., giving the number of cases from the four English shires from October ist, 1608, to March 15th, 161 1 — t'.e. two years and a half.^ The total for October ist, 1608, to October ist, 1609, is 1,350, and for October ist, 1609, to October ist, 1610, 3,386 ; while for the half year, October, 1610, to March 15th, i6ij, it was 1,755. ^^ ^^^ been found on adding up the cases from the various counties for four terms (Trinity, 1632, and Hilary, Lent, and Trinity, 1633) that the percentage from the four counties is 41 per cent., 37 per cent., 41 per cent. and 43 per cent., respectively — i.e. on an average 40 per cent. If this result can be fairly applied to the year 1609-10, the total number of suits (from all counties) in that year would be as high as 8,465, six times that in 1633 to 1640. Or, putting the matter in another way, the average number of suits from all counties in 1633 to 1640 was less than half that from the four counties only in 1609-10, which shows how rapidly the Court had declined, in spite of all the efforts made to strengthen^it. 3. Nature of the Suits. — The matters before the Court were still of a varied character, but a large proportion of the suits were for debt, 67 out of a total of 267 in the Hilary Term of 1633, and 71 out of 245 in the Lent Term of the same year. The following is the list of cases for Hilary Term, 1633 : Debt . 67 Wrongful imprisonment . 6 Affrays . 35 Riot • 4 Equity . 22 Misdemeanours 3 Interruption . 21 Arrears of rent 2 Agreement 17 Assault . 2 Breach of order or injunction 17 Incontinency . 2 Damages 14 Recovery 2 Not saving harmless II Rescue . 2 Detaining goods . II Title 2 „ evidences, etc. II Pound-breach 2 Bridgewater MSS., Welsh Council Papers, 22. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 155 Unlawful Assembly Bond . Combination . Forgery . Not repairing a mill „ bridge Stopping a watercourse Killing deer, etc. . Forfeiture of a bond Adultery Oppression Legacy . Vexation Indirect practice Not sealing a bond „ „ „ specialty Stay of action The list for the Lent Term, 1633, is of much the same character, including a case of embezzling records, one of unlawful maintenance, and one of forcible entry. Several notes occur of cases being referred to the common law — e.g. twelve in Hilary Term, 1633. The name of the queen's Attorney in the Marches, Sampson Eure, appears very frequently, as often as nineteen times in the entry book for Lent Term, 1634. The number of cases heard daily was often twenty or more. The fines imposed were frequently of small amount — e.g. ds. Sd. ; for more serious offences the penalty was twenty nobles, or even, in the case of riot or affray, as much as ;2^io or j£i5, with costs ; killing a deer was punished more heavily than affray — viz. by a fine of ;!^io costs and lo^'. damages. The entry books are certainly of interest, though the reader is tempted to regret that the information they yield is not of an earlier date, when the Court was in full vigour.^ During the Earl of Bridgewater's Presidency an attempt was clearly made to increase the dignity of the Council in the Marches. This may perhaps be due to the fact that the parallel jurisdiction in the North was exercised by a Lord President as vigorous and determined as Wentworth. In July, 1631, he and the Earl of Bridgewater proposed that no grant of a place or fine in ' In the Bridgewater MSS., Ludlow Castle Papers, 65, is a reference to the sending up of the entry books from Ludlow to London — vis. " In the Book of Cases sent herew'th your Lo'p will find a great number more then were formerly sent ; the fault is in the clerk, that enters soe many for th' end of the Terme, w'ch hee ought not to doe ; yet though soe many were enter'd for hearing, aboue a hundred of them were not proceeded in, and in w'ch state stand moste of the suites now depending in the Courte." 156 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES the Courts under their respective Presidencies should pass the signet without their receiving notice ; this was carried and notified by the king to Secretaries Dorchester and Coke.^ Another indication to the same efifect is the great increase in the membership of the Council as set forth in the Earl of Bridgewater's Instructions dated May 12th, 1633. The list includes more than eighty-four names, among them being twenty-four peers, eleven bishops, and several justices.^ Incidental notices in the State Papers show a desire on the part of the king and Privy Council to uphold the authority of the Council of the Marches as standing or falling with that of the Star Chamber.^ The Lord President appears prominently from 1635 onwards as responsible for the levy of ship-money in Wales and the Border counties. Numerous notices occur in the Council Registers for these years of complaints of over-assessment and of reluctance to pay promptly. The sheriffs' letters in the State Papers (Domestic) throw considerable light on the financial condition of Wales. Nearly all ask to be excused from paying the money in person; it was sent up in the summer with the drovers, who were the only persons travelling regularly between Wales and London. Several of the Welsh counties — e.g. Car- marthen — depended entirely on the sale of sheep and cattle in summer, and money was hard to get at any other time. Very little gold was in circulation ; the quota for Denbighshire levied in 1626 (nearly ;j^i,2oo) was collected entirely in silver, and could not possibly be exchanged there for gold. On the whole, the collection for the tax before the decision in Hampden's case was, all things considered, satisfactory from the point of view of the Government ; afterwards matters were very different, and complaints and excuses came from all sides.* ' S.P.D., Car. I., Vol. CXCVII. 14 (July 21st, 1631): cf. Ibid., Vol. CCCXVIII. 32, I., Vol. CCCCLVI. 67. ^ In the Instructions to Lord Zouch the number of Councillors was 46. » E.g. S.P.D., Car. I., Vol. CCLXXX. 81, and Vol. CCLXXIV. 8. * Council Register, April 17th, 1635, November 27th, 1636, February 24th, 1637, and August 27th, 1637. S.P.D., Car. I., Vol. CCCLXXXI. 70, and Vol. CCCCXII. 28 (1638-9) : cf. Phillips, Civil War in Wales, pp. 70-8. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 157 About the year 1637 a controversy respecting jurisdiction arose between the Court of the Marches and the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. The immediate cause was the case of Vaughan V. Vaughan, out of which arose a general question whether the Court of the Marches was competent to deal with legacies and other matters in which the Ecclesiastical Courts exercised juris- diction. The Court of King's Bench issued a prohibition into the Marches of Wales, on the ground that the case did not properly lie within this Court's jurisdiction. A vigorous agitation was carried on, till at last the king took the matter into his own hands and gave command to the Lord President for respiting all further proceedings before the Court of the Marches.^ More storms awaited the Court than mere quarrels over jurisdiction. In November, 1640, the Long Parliament met, with a firm resolve to redress the grievances that had accumulated since the dissolution of 1629.- Prominent among these was the jurisdiction exercised by the Star Chamber and other extra- ordinary Courts. On December 3rd, 1640, a committee was appointed to consider the jurisdiction of the High Commission Court of Canterbury and York and of the Star Chamber. Within a few weeks after the meeting of Parliament it was declared that all who had concurred in certain sentences by the Star Chamber were criminal and to be proceeded against.^ Petitions were frequently presented to Parliament by those who had suffered heavy sentences in that Court, while all persons im- prisoned for sedition were set at liberty, that they might prosecute their appeals to Parliament. The unpopularity of the Court was shown in a striking manner by the demonstrations of joy, mingled with indignation, when Prynne, Bastwick, and Burton returned to London from their island prisons.* It would seem ' Bridgewater MSS., Welsh Council Papers, 37-9, 46. - In 1640 the Grand Jury of Worcestershire made a long complaint against the Court of the Marches, which was given to the M.P.'s for the county, that it might be brought before Parliament. The text is given on pp. 684-6 of the Worcestershire County Records (Quarter Sessions Rolls, Part II.). * Clarendon History, ed. 1888, Vol. III., pp. 229, 239. * Ibid., p. 269. 158 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES that at first the regulation, rather than the abolition, of the Star Chamber was intended. On the suggestion, however, that a jurisdiction so obnoxious should be abolished outright, the original Bill was altered, and was reported in its amended form by Mr. Prideaux on May 31st, 1641.^ Amendments were twice read, and the Bill was ordered to be engrossed.^ On June 8th it was read a third time and passed ; next day it was committed to Hampden to be carried up to the I>ords.' The Star Chamber Bill and that for abolishing the High Commission Court were discussed together by the Lords ; they agreed to the latter, but not to the former, wishing only a limitation of the jurisdiction. Several conferences on the subject took place between the two Houses, and it was not till July 5th, 1 64 1, that both the Bills received the royal assent.^ The abolition of the Star Chamber was grounded on various statutes, from Magna Carta downwards, upholding processes at common law; on the exercise of powers not warranted by the Act of 1487, and on the burdensome and arbitrary character of the Court. The like jurisdiction in the following Courts was abolished at the same time : The Court before the President and Council in the Marches of Wales ; the Court before the President and Council estabhshed in the northern parts; the Court of the Duchy of Lancaster ; the Court in the Exchequer of the County Palatine of Chester. Stringent provisions were added against the setting up again of any of the abolished jurisdictions.^ Meanwhile, a special committee had been appointed on ' Verney's Notes on the Long Parliament (Camden Societ}'), pp. lOO-l. ' Journals of the House of Commons, II. 162. ■"Ibid., II. 171. ^ For the detailed history of the Act see " The Diurnall Occurrences or Dayly Proceedings of both Houses in this Great and Happy Parliament " (November 3rd, 1 640, to November 3rd, 1641), under the following dates : December 5th, 1640, January I2th, May 15th and 31st, June 9th, June 14th, June 2ist, 25th, 28th, 29th, July 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 1641 : cf. Lord Andever's speech concerning the Star Chamber (March, 1641); in Speeches and Passages of this Great and Happy Parliament (London, 1641) ; also Journals of the House of Lords and the House of Commons, 1640- 1 passim. '■' 16 Car. I., c. 10. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 159 Wednesday, December 23rd, 1640, to consider the jurisdiction of the Court of York and the Court of the Council of the Marches. Of this committee Hyde was chairman,^ and brief minutes of its meetings, or rather its adjournments, are extant among the Clarendon Papers in the Bodleian. The members were fifteen in number, in addition to the knights and burgesses for the counties of York, Northumberland, Cumberland, Westmoreland ; the burgesses of Berwick and Newcastle ; the knights and burgesses of the thirteen counties of the Principality of Wales and of the four shires, the Marches of Wales, and •all the lawyers of the House. ^ They were empowered to consider : (i) the jurisdiction of the two Courts and how far the thirteen shires of Wales were subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of the Marches ; and (2) the original foundation and institution of the Courts and their several instructions. They had power to send for parties, witnesses, papers, books, and records, or anything else that might conduce to the business in hand, and were to report their conclusions to the House. The first meeting was fixed for Thursday week, December 31st, at two o'clock in the Court of Wards. No record of a meeting occurs on that date, but there are notices of adjournment on March 6th, March 8th, and March 13th; on the last-named date it was arranged that the counsel for the thirteen counties should attend on the Thursday following. On March i6th, i8th, and 19th, and on June 4th there were more adjournments. Under date June 28th are some fragmentary notes headed " Mr. Ball," evidently arguments in favour of the jurisdiction of the Court of the Marches.' The gist is that the Court is both legal and useful ; that the district within its jurisdiction is subject to disorders, forcible entries, and so forth ; that the Justices in the Great Sessions cannot determine matters of equity ; that concurrent jurisdictions in law are not useless ; that the Court is not burthensome ; and that its process may be reformed. The last entry is on June 19th, 1641 : ' Clarendon's Life, ed. 1759, folio, pp. 39-40. ^ Clarendon Papers, No. 1475, f. i. ' Ibid., 1538. i6o THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES " Resolved upon the questyon " I. The iurisdiction of the Courte of the President and Counsell of the Marches of Wales as it is now exercised is a grievance to the subjects of those partes. "2. That the Courte of y® President and Counsell of the Marches of Wales is uselesse to the Subiects of the 13 Countyes and fitt to be taken away by Bill." The general drift of the proceedings against the two Courts is described in Clarendon's Life ^ : " He was Chairman ... in that Committee which was against the Court of York, which was prosecuted with great passion, and took up many weeks' Debate : In that which concerned the Jurisdiction of the Lord President and Council of the Marches of Wales, which likewise held a long time, and was prosecuted with great Bitterness and Animosity : In which the Inhabitants of the four neighbour counties of Salop, Worcester, Hereford and Gloucester and consequently the Knights and Burgesses which served for the same were passionately concerned to absolve themselves from the burthen of that Juris- diction ; and all the Officers of that Court and Council, whereof some were very great men and held Offices of great value, laboured with equal Passion and Concernment, to support and maintain what was in Practice and Possession ; and their Friends appeared accordingly." Full details as to the proceedings of the above committee and the agitation against the Court of the Marches are preserved in the Welsh Council Papers among the Bridgewater MSS. On March 20th, 1641, a warrant was issued by the committee to the keeper of the Council records, at Ludlow Castle, requiring him to permit the bearer or bearers to search the records and take notes and copies without fee. The bearers were four — two barristers, the Under-Sheriff of Herefordshire, and an attorney in the King's Bench ; they continued their search between March 30th and April ist.^ A second search was made in May, as related in a letter from Thomas Crumpe, the Clerk Examiner of the Court. A certain Mr. Kinaston was empowered ' Clarendon's Life, ed. 1759, pp. 39-40. ^ Bridgewater MSS., Welsh Council Papers, 71, 32. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES i6i by a warrant (signed by Mr. Edward Hyde) to search the records. Kinaston and his colleague were paid every day for their "paines and travell " at the cost of over forty persons, who had subscribed for the purpose. The strength of the opposition to the Court is shown by a letter from E. Martyn to the Earl of Bridgewater in September, 1641 : "the opposers therof are daily in these parts consulting and collecting moneyes to effecte their ends, when some here who are neerly concern'd in their particular interest in y® Courte, will not joyne in y^ like waye to make defence w*''^ maye be to their owne advantage." All through 1641 the position of the Court was most pre- carious : several affidavits are extant of rescues and misdemeanours committed during the execution of process. On one occasion two special bailiffs, who vainly tried (August 17th, 1641) to arrest one Robert Ruffe and bring him before the Court at Ludlow, were assaulted by a crowd of forty persons, men and women, armed with staves, reaping-hooks, and other weapons. One of the bailiffs " was stricken with a stone on his Backe, and was sore hurt and bruised thereby," and " with the violence of the saide Blowe was astonied and amazed." ^ Orders of the Court were neglected, not in the four shires only, but in the Principality as well, and the Councillors wrote to the Lord President that un- less the king intervened their authority would disappear entirely.* The Bill abolishing the Star Chamber by no means did away with the Court of the Marches entirely : as a civil Court it continued till the outbreak of the war, and as such it was revived at the Restoration. But the blow struck by the Act of July, 1641, was followed up by a vote of the House of Commons that the Court's jurisdiction in the four shires was illegal and unwarranted. On August 6th a committee was formed for the " Bill of exemption of the Four Shires " ; it consisted of twenty- three peers, spiritual and temporal, and Mr. Baron Henden and Mr. F. Mallett were to attend on them. They were to meet and hear counsel on August 24th, but nothing appears to have been settled.^ Early in September Richard Heylyn, the Earl of ' Bridgewater MSS., Welsh Council Papers, 67. - Ibid., 28. = Ibid., 56. i62 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Bridgewater's chaplain, wrote to him that ;z^ioo was to be ex- pended by the four counties on securing their exemption, and that only the Shropshire quota remained unpaid.^ Thomas Milward, writing to the earl about a week later, reported that there was a talk of repealing the statute of 34 H. VIII., which confirmed the Council's jurisdiction. He adds that " many disorderly persons (presuming of impunitie) doe daylie com'itt outrages in theise partes, not onely abroade uppon y^ service of y^ proces of this Court, but also about y* celebracion of divine service and that in the Church in the time of prayer, w''^ I hope the Court of Parliament will in due time take into consideracion."^ The result of the resolution, taken by members of the Council at Ludlow, not to meddle with the four counties and to act as cautiously as possible even in regard to Welsh suits,^ is seen in the Books of Hearing for Michaelmas Term, 1641, and Trinity Term, 1642,* the last terms for which these books are extant. During the Michaelmas Teriji, which lasted from November 12th to December 2nd, the total number of cases is only 62 as against 441 in the corresponding term of 1640. Many pages in the book are left blank, and the amount of fines levied is not stated. In the Trinity Term of 1642 (June 13th, to 27th) the number of suits was 69 as against 453 in the corresponding term of 1640 : here again the fines are omitted. It may be of interest to state the nature of these 69 cases and the counties in which they arose. Trinity Term, 1642. Nature of suit. Debt Breach of order No. of cases. . 23 . 10 Counties. ^a^f Anglesey . . . . i Brecon 15 Equity . Detaining goods . Interruption . Damages . 9 . 6 • 5 • 3 Cardigan . . . .10 Carmarthen .... 2 Carnarvon .... 3 Denbigh .... 7 Carried forward 56 Carried forward 38 • Bridgewater MSS. 2 Ibtd., 62. Welsh Council Papers, 59. ^ Ibid., 74. * See above. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 163 Nature of suit. No. of Counties. No. of cases. cases. Brought forward 56 Brought forward . 38 Not saving harmless 2 Glamorgan . 4 Rent .... 2 Merioneth I Alimony Monmouth . 6 Fees and disbursements Montgomery . . 6 Forfeiture of bond . Pembroke • 3 Not performing an agreement Radnor . . 8 Not satisfying a recovery Recovery Salop (q), Brecon (d) ^ I Relief .... Wig. (q), Mont, (d) I Stay of action Hereford I Title .... Total 69 69 These figures show clearly that the great bulk of the business of the Court had arisen within the Border counties. During the spring of 1642 an attempt was made to overthrow the Court entirely, as useless and injurious not only to the inhabitants of the four counties, but even to those of the Principality. The light in which the jurisdiction was now re- garded may be seen from "The Grievances of His Majesties Subjects residing within the Principality of Wales in respect of the Court of the Council of the Marches of Wales." 2 The articles deal with the grievances of the Welsh by being subject to a two-fold jurisdiction, being often summoned by writs to appear in Ludlow and London on the same day ; also with the unwarrantable extension of the Court's jurisdiction at the expense of the Common Law Courts. On April 19th, 1642, the Earl of Bridgewater wrote to Mr. Richard Lloyd that the matter of the Council seemed to be urgent and to demand the presence of some one acquainted with its procedure. He himself was a prisoner to his house, Lord Goring was occupied elsewhere, and there was a danger "lest there might be alierius silentiuvi in ' I.e. plaintiff and defendant. - A broadsheet in the volume Declarations, Letters, etc., 1626-89 (Brit. Mus. 190, g. 13,236). The date is given in the catalogue as 1665 (?), but the words in clause 14 as to the abolition of the Star Chamber point rather to the autumn of 1641 or the spring of 1642. i64 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES the proceedinge." ^ He begs Lloyd to take the matter into his serious consideration, and concludes with the words, '■'■ Liberaui animam tneam and I can say no more." Lloyd replied that he was obliged to be on circuit, and that the matter of the Court could not come up for discussion within six months at least, "the matters of highest, most publick and generall Concerne- ment being in soe serious agitation as nowe they are."^ Among the Bridgewater Papers is an interesting document headed, "Provisions for a Court to be established in Wales, etc., 1 64 1. "3 It is a scheme for establishing a Court of Law at Ludlow to take the place of the Court of the Council of the Marches, and to supplement the deficiencies of the Court of Great Sessions, which meets only twice a year with an inadequate number of judges. The writer urges that thereby the four counties will be benefited by having cases decided at home, while the Welsh would rather forego their legal rights than travel to London, "beinge for want of being able to speake English disheartened to travell farr, more then the Northern men." The proposed Court would be free from all the objections raised against the Court of the Marches as arbitrary and not conform- able to old law and the Great Charter, and it would save Wales and the Marches from relapsing into disorder. It would also prevent the oppression of the poor. "Wales," says the writer, " consists for the most parte of greate Lordships which heretofore were Lordships Marchers, many parishes which enioyed Lardge ffranchises and iura regalia, the Characters of which remain in Claymes of soe great Hberties that it is an occasion and Culler of oppressinge the poorer sorte whose Complaints must be heard and that when they are oppressed by the Officers of the Llords the poorer sorte will suffer that oppression that will ruyne them." This document is accompanied by one of like tenor entitled the "Concerments of Honor and advantage to the Kinge and Prince by this forme of Government." The passage of most interest deals with the need of providing more speedy justice than is attainable at Westminster. No Chancery suit, it is said, ' Welsh Council Papers, 19. - Ibid., 16; cf. 20. 3 Ibid., 63. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 165 could be brought to hearing within two years, and the other Courts were no speedier. Matters would be even worse now that the Courts of Star Chamber and High Commission and the Council of the North were abolished, while the Court of Requests would soon be reduced in the extent of its jurisdiction. All men would bring their suits to Westminster, with the result of great delay and expense and the excessive increase of the City of London. " It is a Consideracion not to be neglected to prevent the growth of the Cittye of London, w'^'^ is growne monstrous in numbers of People and hard to be governed. Which must be reformed by preventinge of the Concourse of people, one goode meanes whereof is the distribucion of Courts of Justice into seuerall partes." Experience in Wales had shown how much the neighbourhood of a Court of Justice can do towards the "reducing and civilizing" of a people, "and howe apt Wales would be to fall into their auntient wonted Rapines is apparant to those that knowe the extreame povertye of the Common people, the extreame oppression of the Gentrye, and how little the pre- sence of two Justices that be practisers of Lawe at Westm'r will avayle, to whom the Gentrye can make their owne accesse and applicacion and where they will meete with haughtie spiritts and subtile witts." The only objection to the continuance of the Court is that raised by the gentlemen and great men who are "eclipsed in their firmament"; but this is really an argument for the Court, for "an Emphaticall trueth it wilbe found out to be : That by how much the more the Gentry dislike y° neighbourhood of a Courte of Justice, by soe much the more it will behoove the Prince and Common People re- spectively to assert it." Within a few months the Civil War broke out, and the Court of the Marches fell into abeyance. The Lord President was joint Commissioner of Array for Flintshire, Denbighshire, and Merionethshire in May, 1643 ; but soon afterwards he withdrew to his house at Ashridge, Hertfordshire, where he died on December 4th, 1649. CHAPTER VI THE REVIVAL OF THE COUNCIL AT THE RESTORATION. ITS ABOLITION IN 1689 At the Restoration the Court of the Council of the Marches was revived with respect to its civil jurisdiction, which was held to be untouched by the Star Chamber Act of 1641. The revival seems to have been due partly to the need of lucrative offices wherewith to reward loyal adherents to the king during the late wars. But besides this, there was a desire for the re-establishment of a Court near Wales, in which small suits might be settled, so as to make the long and expensive journey to London unnecessary. A statement of the case for the Court is given by Sir R. Lloyd in his " Reasons far settling y^ Court and Coun" in Wales," June, 1 66 1. After reviewing its history and the various attempts to secure exemption from its jurisdiction, he points out the advantages it offered to both king and people. It secured " an entire command of seventeen Counties ready uppon all occasions as the last king found in the beginning of the late warrs." It furnished a place of residence for the Prince of Wales when absent from the king's Court ; it was " a great settlement of the peace of those Counties where different jurisdictions and different languages border," and if it were permanently abolished failure of justice would result.^ About the same time petitions in favour of the Court were sent up from the four Border counties, bearing in all nearly three thousand signatures. Several of the petitioners were evidently illiterate persons, as is shown by their " marks " ; but among those who signed were the Mayor of ' S.P.D., Car. II., Vol. XXXIX., No. 39. 166 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 167 Evesham, the Bailiff of Bewdley, Tho. Washbourne, Doctor of Divinity, and a number of clerks. The text of the petition was as follows : "To THE King's most Excellent Ma"^ " The humble Petition of your Ma" loyall and ffaithfuU subiectes of the Marches of Wales and more especially of the County, City, and County of the City of Gloucester, whose names are hereunto subscribed and in the severall Schedules hereunto annexed mentioned. " Most humbly shewinge unto your Royall Maiesty That yo" Petitioners beinge sensible of the great want of yo' Ma**^^ Court of the Councell in the Marches of Wales, beinge established by your Ma*'®® royall Ancestors with the advise of their privy Counsell and alsoe by severall acts of Parliament, not onely for the quiet and peaceable goverment of the Principality of Wales and Marches of the same, but alsoe for the good and ease of Your People of the same parts and that They should not be oppressed nor inforced to appeare at the Courts at Westminster upon ordinary Causes (except for Trialls of Titles of Land). In w'ch your Ma*" said Court of the Marches of Wales your Petitioners had speedy Justice at very easy Charges in Comparison of the Courts at Westminster and were not Compelled to travaile farre from home and might then peaceably till their Land and use their good husbandry, and follow their other occasions, the said Court of the Marches of Wales beinge much nearer to them than Those at Westm'. " And yo' Petitioners findinge That the Charges of the Courts at Westminster are soe great That Three Causes (at the least) haue beene heard and Judicially determined in That Court of the Marches of Wales at farre lesse Charge then One Cause can be tryed in any of the Courts at Westminster. " Your Petitioners therefore most humbly beseech yo"" Maiesty to take the Premisses into your royall Consideration, And that the said Court in the Marches of Wales may be rs-estabUshed and i68 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Continued as formerly It hath beene for the good of your Mat^ Subiects and People inhabitinge Those parts, " And yo'' Petitioners will ever pray for yo'' Maiesties longe, happy and prosperous Raigne over Them and Allother yo'^ Mat's Subiects." This petition is signed by eighty-six persons ; another copy is signed by ninety-one. From Worcester city and county came 683 signatures, from Shropshire 434, and from Hereford city and county 1,649. The total number of signatures is thus 2,943.^ The petitions were promoted by one Thomas Harurn and his friend Richard Phillips, as is shown by the following letter : *' Sonne Phillips, "Your ffortnights limittation hath obstructed a larger Returne of Subscriptions then the Petitions inclosed (w'ch are but Two) containe. I haue severall others abroad and expect their Returne w'ch I send unto you as They come in. Take these the while de bene esse. And yf longer time may be given and yf yt be required, send me word. That I may gett subscriptions accordingly : ffor I am Confident (had I but longer time) I could procure Two Thousand hands more. The Countrey doth soe generally desire the reestablishment of The Court in the Marches of Wales. Those few subscriptions are from Inhabitants in or not farr from the City of Gloucester, Let me heare from you by the next Post, what is further to be done. And soe with my hearty well wishes for good successe in the proceedinges, with my respective salutes to yo'r selfe, I rest and am " Yo'r ffather and Constant Lo : ffriend " Tho. Harurn. " Colledge Greene in Glouc' City, Munday 7" Clocke nocte 17 Junii " Reed. 19 Junii 61 1 661. I hor. p. raer. pd Post I^ 6"i." » S.P.D., Car. II., Vol. XXXIX.. Nos. 39-47. The totals given in the MS. are not always correct; once 153 is given instead of 147. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 169 Addressed — " To his very lovinge ffriend Mr. Richard Phillips at his Chamber at the Bull-head neare St. Dunstans Church in ffleet-street " London. " These " Present." ^ Even during 1660 grants of offices in the Court were promised or actually made. Before Charles left Breda, he received from John Butts, of the Inner Temple, a petition for the office of examiner in consideration of services rendered during the late wars. He had served the late and present king ever since Charles I.'s first journey to the North, and had raised a troop of horse and foot at his own cost. Through this, and through taking part in the second Civil War (at Colchester), he had been debarred from practising as a lawyer, and had also lost a con- siderable office in Wales and the Marches.^ The reply, signed by Secretary Nicholas, is that the king cannot confer the desired office at present, but will do so when the Court is re-established. The actual grant was not long delayed — only till September, 1660.3 In January, 1661, however, a certain John Bissell petitioned for the same office, on the plea that he had suffered great loss during the war, twenty-six houses belonging to him at Worcester having been burnt down.^ Upon this, Mr. Butts sent up a statement of his own merits and losses, in great resent- ment at his rival's attempt " to take the bread out of his mouth." ^ He details how he attended the late king at York, led a troop of foot from Glamorganshire into Bristol, lost his books and goods in the Temple and his office as Auditor of the Signet in the Marches of Wales. It does not appear whether Bissell was successful in his attempt. ' S.P.D., Car. II., Vol. XXXVII., No. 69. 2 Ibid., Vol. CCXX., Nos. 112, 113 (1660). ^ Ibid., Vol. XVI., p. 279, No. 97. * Ibid., Vol. XXIX., p. 495, No. 88, 5 Ibid., No. 89, II. 170 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES In August, 1660, John Daulbin received a grant of the office of " Clerk and Receiver of Fines adjudged and taxed before the President of the Council in the Principality and Marches of Wales," with a fee of ;^^o per annum.^ In January, 166 1, the warrant was issued for a grant to Richard, Lord Vaughan, Earl of Carbery, of the office of President of the Council in the Principality and Marches of Wales.^ The grant was duly made, and soon afterwards the earl formally requested that no grant of any office in the Council of the Marches of Wales might pass without his privity. In September, 1661, a proclamation was issued declaring that the President and Council established and continued in the Principality and Marches of Wales had full power to determine causes and complaints there, and that its orders were to be implicitly obeyed.^ During the past year instructions for the Lord President and Council had been prepared ; they were examined by the Attorney-General Palmer on February nth, and signed by the king on September 9th, 1661.^ In the same month a warrant was issued to the receivers of North and South Wales to pay the Lord President ^£1,106 13^. 4^. a year for the diet of himself and the Council, and for " foreign expenses " from January 2nd, 1661.^ The Lord President was also appointed in this year Keeper of the Game in the Principality of Wales and the four Border counties, and in 1665 was made Constable of Ludlow Castle. An outward sign of the re-erection of the Court was the engraving of its seal — the size of a twenty-shilling piece — by Thomas Simon, the king's engraver.^ Other offices * S.P.D., Car. II., Vol. XI., p. 212, No. 104. 2 Ibid., Vol. XXVIII., p. 465, Nos. 8, 9. = Ibid., Vol. XLV., p. 99, No. 41 (Proclamation Collection, p. 97). * Ibid., Vol. XLI., p. 86, No. 31. 5 Ibid., Vol. XLI., p. 91, No. 65. * Ibid., Vol. XLIII., p. 121, No. 94. The seal is engraved on p. 189 of Clive's History of Ludlow. It bears the royal arms and the legend CAROLVS II. D.G. MAG. BRIT. FRA. ET. HIB. REX. F.D. On either side of the crown (which is surmounted by the three ostrich-plumes) are the initials C.R. The remaining legends are : " Honi soit qui mal y pense" and " Concilium Marchiar." On p. 149 Clive gives an engraving of the Sword of State of the Lords President from the original, which is in the THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 171 granted about this time were those of Clerk of the Billets, Secretary to the Council, Remembrancer, Wardrobe Keeper, Solicitor, Receiver of Answers, Registrations, Rejoinders, etc., and Serjeant-at-arms.^ New members were also appointed — e.g. Sir Gilbert Cornewall, Robert Charlton of Whitton, Robert Milward (Justice of the Sessions for cos. Carnarvon, Merioneth, and Anglesey), John Walcott of Walcott, and Robert Roberts. ^ On February 20th, 1661, it was ordered that the Earl of Carbery and such gentlemen as were concerned in behalf of the four counties of Worcester, Gloucester, Hereford, and Salop, with their counsel if they pleased, should attend at the Council Board on February 22nd, to settle the matter of the said Presidency. The Lord Chief Justices of the King's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer, with His Majesty's Counsel learned in the law, were desired to contribute their assistance at the same time. No record of a meeting appears under the date February 22nd; and the matter did not come up till July loth, when that day week was appointed for discussing the jurisdiction. The Lord President, the three Chief Justices, the Attorney- and Solicitor-General and Serjeants-at-Law were to attend and uphold the Council's jurisdiction ; those who opposed it were likewise to attend. It does not appear from the Council Register that this meeting ever took place. But on August 24th, 1661, it was ordered that the instructions relating to the re-establishment of the " Court of the presidency of Wales " should be prepared by the committee appointed thereunto, and that they should be drawn up according to the words of the Statute of the thirty- fourth year of Henry VIH. — viz. for Wales and the Marches.^ The new Lord President had served in the Civil War as Lieutenant-General of the royal army in the counties of possession of the Earl of Powis, hereditary Governor of Ludlow Castle. Models of the sword and seal are in the Ludlow Museum. ' S.P.D., Car, II., Vol. XXIX., p. 496, No. 92; Vol. XLIV.,p. 163, No. 140, and p. 164, No. 141 ; Vol. LVIIL, p. 462, No. 56 ; Vol. LXIV., p. 586, No. 42 ; VoL LXVIL, p. 20, No. 88; and Vol. XL., p. 66, No. 61. - Ibid., Vol. XLIIL, p. 370, No. 46, and p. 436, No. 45 ; Vol. LVL, p. 408, No. 61 ; and Vol. LXXII., p. 118, No. 21. ' Council Register (under dates above-mentioned). 172 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Carmarthen, Pembroke, and Cardigan, but had resigned his command on being driven out of Pembrokeshire by Major General Langharne in March, 1644. He was threatened with impeachment, and assessed as a delinquent, but escaped seques- tration through his intimate relations with Essex and other Parliamentary generals. During the Second Civil War he sided with the Parliament. He gained the favour of Cromwell, and received from him a present of stags for his park at Golden Grove. Carbery was in no great repute with the Royalists ; his career is touched upon in a pungent document (date about 1661) entitled,^ "A true character of the Deportment for these 18 years last past of the principal Gentry within the Counties of Carmarthen, Pembroke and Cardigan in South Wales." The writer remarks that although the troops under his command far outnumbered those of his opponents, he made no resistance, "some attributing it to a suspected naturall cowardize, others to a designe to be overcome." However this may be, Carbery deserves the gratitude of posterity for the shelter he gave during many years to Jeremy Taylor, his chaplain, at Golden Grove in ' This is printed in the Cambrian Register, Vol. I., p. 164, et seqq. A few extracts may serve to show the intense indignation with which the Royalists regarded those who had made any compromise with the other side — e.g. Roger Lort is described as being " of any principle or religion to acquire wealth ; he fortified and defended his house against the parliament's sea- men ; but in preservation of no cause but his own. Hugh Peters was his welcome guest as long as Hugh was welcomed by Cromwell. Hugh had no sooner lost the one than the other." Sir Richard Price was "a young gentleman not of full age the tyme that the discovery of principles was most dangerous]; and it'is conceived he hath not as yet any that he is too much obliged unto. He ranne through several publique offices under all the governments that have been from 1652 to this time ; but probably more by the direction of his father-in-law Mr. Bulstrode Whitlocke, then by his own desires." John Vaughan is " one that will upon fitts talke loud for monarchy ; but scrupulous to wet his finger to advance it." Henry Vaughan is characterised as " anything for money, a proselyte and favorite to all the changes of times, a sherif for his late Majesty, afterwards for Cromwell, justice of peace under each, tyrant in power, mischievous by deceit : his motto qui nescit dissimulare nescit vivcre." Sampson Lort had " nothing of his first namesake but the Jawes, and hath with that destroyed as many ministers as the other Philistines, both for the same ends ; hates the cliurch, hugges the profits of it." THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 173 Carmarthenshire. Here Taylor wrote the " Great Exemplar," the "Holy Living" and "Holy Dying," and the "Manual of Devotions," to which, as a compliment to his patron, he gave the title of Golden Grove. Carbery also befriended Samuel Butler, the satirist, who wrote the first part of Hudibras when secretary and steward at Ludlow Castle. It is a curious coin- cidence that the patron of Butler, the anti-Puritan poet, should be also the husband of Lady Alice Egerton, the pupil of Milton's friend Henry Lawes. Carbery seems to have paid close attention to the business of the Court, such as it was, and in some matters he successfully asserted its jurisdiction over even the four English shires.^ One of his first duties as Lord President was the repair of Ludlow Castle, which had suffered severely during the Civil War. In November, i66r, a warrant was issued to pay him ;!^2,ooo on account for repairs and furniture, and in June, 1662, another for ;/^2,5oo.^ It would appear that considerable sums in addition to the above were allotted for the same purpose. A petition sent up to Lord Arlington by Thomas Hunton, Wardrobe Keeper to the Council of the Marches, complains that though these large sums for repairs and furniture had been received, the earl had put in old household stuff, neglected the repairs, and kept only half the soldiers paid for. It was further alleged that though he was allowed ;^3,ooo a year for the household, he did not expend ;!^4oo ; the servants were allowed only one meal a day, and the Court was brought into such contempt that whereas twenty cases daily used to be tried, only one was tried in five days. Other allegations in a second petition, July, 1670, were that the earl withheld the diet and salary of his chaplain, neglected to keep a steward, and had converted to his own use the plate and other goods provided by the king for Ludlow Castle.^ Both petitions were referred to certain members of the Council in the Marches for consideration, and in August, 1670, at a meeting of the Privy Council, where the earl himself was ' Hist. MSS. Commission, 5th Report, p. 338. = S.P.D., Car. II., Vol. XLIV., p. 163, No. 140, and Vol. LVI., p. 402, No. S5- ' Ibid., July, 1670 (Cal., p. 355). 174 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES present, it was stated that he had acted in his office as a person of honour and integrity. The petitioners were dismissed, and the earl was left to prosecute them in order to right himself as he should think fit.^ The Lord President, being lieutenant of seventeen counties, had, as in earlier days, certain military duties to perform. As Constable of Ludlow Castle, he commanded the company of foot kept there to protect the militia money for Wales and certain jewels and plate.^ He was also regarded as the proper person to be informed of any threatened disturbances in Wales and the Border. Thus in March, 1664, Lord Herbert wrote that Ludlow and Philip Jones, the Protector's late counsellor, had been with twelve servants at Welshpool, had " talked knowingly " of Wales, and proposed to go to Ludlow town. As the Lord President was in London, Secretary Bennet was to be informed should anything important arise.^ With regard to the actual work done by the Court at this time hardly any evidence survives, but it must have been small. Its jurisdiction over the four counties was not allowed, as is seen by a statement endorsed " Marquis of Worcester's Paper " 1672.* This shows that the Earl of Carbery consented to have the four counties omitted in his patent, to please the Earl of Clarendon, thinking they would be comprehended under the word " Marches." Clarendon had, it will be remembered, taken a leading part in the attack on the Court in 1 640-1. The Court at Westminster struck at the jurisdiction of the Council in the Marches by issuing prohibitions. References to the Court at this, the closing period of its exist- ence, are for the most part mere records of offices granted and disputes between their holders.^ Occasionally, however, notices of greater interest occur — e.g. the Earl of Carbery was directed to examine into a charge of misdemeanours against the ex-Mayor ' Council Register, December loth, 1669, and August 5th, 1670. - S.P.D., Car. II., Vol. CXX., p. 347, No. 46, May 4th, 1665. 3 Ibid., Vol. XCV., p. 532, No. 63, March 28th, 1664. * Ibid. (Vol. December, 1671, to March, 1672), p. 218 [March?], 1672. ^ Ibid. (1670), pp. 297, 339, 367, and Council Register, March 15th, and April 5th, 1671. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 175 of Haverfordwest and other persons.^ It was also his duty to entertain persons of distinction visiting the Principality : for example, in the summer of 1669 he entertained the Duchess of Ormond and her retinue at Golden Grove for two or three days. She was then conducted by him and the chief gentry of Carmarthen to Brecknock, and entertained there with a hand- some banquet before pursuing her journey to London.^ The earl seems to have been far from popular; in addition to the complaints of malversation brought against him by Hunton, we find him accused of abusing his power in oppressing subjects, taking revenge on those who would not obey his arbitrary commands, placing his kinsmen in office, and obstruct- ing justice.^ The earl, on the other hand, regarded himself as badly treated, and wrote in a lamentable strain to the king, begging for relief, lest his family want bread.* In 1672 he was removed from office, partly owing to his maltreatment of his servants and tenants at Dryslwyn, near Golden Grove, " some of whom had their eares cut of, and one his tongue cut out and all dispossessed." ^ He is characterised by the acrimonious writer above quoted as " a fit person for the highest publique employment, if integrity and courage were not suspected to be often faylinge him " ; nor do the records of his Presidency belie this veiy damaging description, Carbery's successor was the Marquis of Worcester, whose ' Council Register, Febuary 17th, 167 1. - S.P.D., Car. II. (October, 1668, to December, 1669), p. 410, July 14th, 1669. 3 Ibid. (Vol. 1665-6), p. 31, No. 87, Vol. CXXXV., October 26th, 1665. * Ibid. (December, 1671, to May, 1672), p. 218. ^ Hatton Correspondence, I. 70. Spurrell, Carmarthen, p. 1 18, and art. in Diet. Nat. Biog. In the Dovaston MS,, f. 191, b. 7, is a copy of "A remon- strance of the Justices in Ordinarie in the Marches of Wales to the Right Hon'"'^ the Lord President of the Council." The ^writer says that the Lord President has usurped authority over the household and made profit out of it, carrying the king's plate and linen off to Golden Grove, " a thing never heard of." Worse still, " command has been given to search the lodgings to see if we have any of the King's goods there, and to bring them away, and our servants slandered and abused, and some of them by the Lady s order commanded out of the house ; it is well she cannot carry the Castle with her." 176 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES appointment was dated March igth, 1672. In 1682 he was made Duke of Beaufort, and two years later, in the summer of 1684, he made a state journey through his Presidency. This "Beaufort Progress" is described at great length in a MS. volume written and illustrated by Thomas Dingley, or Dineley, one of the duke's escort at the time. It has twice been re- produced in facsimile, and forms an important record for Wales and the Border on the eve of the Revolution.^ The duke started from Chelsea on Monday night, July 4th, 1689, ^^^ reached Worcester on Wednesday. At Pershore he was met by Charles Earl of Worcester and the gentry of the neighbouring counties ; not far off were waiting the Mayor, Sheriff, Dean and chief citizens of Worcester, who escorted him to the Bishop's Palace. Next morning a festival service was held in the cathedral, after which his grace repaired to the town hall, received the freedom of the city, and was entertained with "a very great and noble collation." Here the writer finds his native language inadequate to the occasion, and falls back on Lucan to describe the glories of the feast, substituting for "Nilus" the highly unclassical " Severn." ^ About noon on Thursday the duke left Worcester, and near Ludlow was received by the High Sheriff of Shropshire, with the chief gentry. About a mile from the town he was awaited by the officers of the Presidency and by the townsfolk, who lined the way of approach. The writer gives the full order of the procession, beginning with the Quartermaster for the Progress, who was followed by sumpter-men and " helpers belonging to the stables, in livery, leading horses to supply accidents and defects of y^ Coach Cavalry." Then came gentlemen of the horse, pages, grooms and trumpeters, the last named " in very rich Coats, having for Badg his Grace's Cypher in Gold ' It has twice been reproduced in facsimile, once in 1864 (for private circulation only) and in 1888 by the Cambrian Archaeological Association. - " Infudere epulas auro quod terra, quod aer Quod pelagus Severnque dedit ; quod luxus inani Ambitione furens toto quaesivit in orbe." — Pharsalia, X. 155-7. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 177 under a Ducall Crown on their backs and breasts, each w* a silver Trumpett with gold and silver strings and Tazzels and Crimson Flowr'd Damask embroidered with y* coat Armour of his Grace the Duke of Beaufort." Then followed the lieutenant-colonel of the militia foot of Wiltshire, gentlemen at large, yeoman of the wine cellar, the groom of the chamber, the cooks, the master of music, the harper, the " Mareschall or Farrier of y^ Progress," and the clerk of the kitchen. Be- hind them were more gentlemen, including the officials of the Court at Ludlow. These all prepared the way for the duke, himself "in glorious equipage," followed by the Earl of Worcester and the High Sheriff of Salop, with a number of loyal gentry from that and neighbouring counties. Then came the Duchess of Beaufort, the Countess of Worcester and her daughters, with their attendants. At this point the writer deserves to be quoted verbatim : "This splendid cavalcade attended with shouts and acclama- tions of the people, ringing of bells in y^ neighbouring Villages, various soundings of Trumpets, Beating of Drums and the co'tinued neighing of horses, made a very agreable confusion, y^ latter noyse whereof calls to mind a verse of Mantuan " Et procul hinnitu campus sonat omnis acuto," and the same author " tremulis hinnitibus aer Clangit." Now his Grace and Company being arrived at Ludlow, he was received at y^ Gate thereof by the Bailiffs and Com'on Councill in their Formalities with y^ rest of y^ head of y'' Corporac'on with great expressions of Joy by the people, among which (during the time y^ Bells rang out) upon the Cross of Ludlows steeple pinnacle marked A {i.e, in the accompanying drawing of the Church) sate on {i.e. one, the name is not given) of neer 60 yeers of age with a Drum beating of a march which he continued from his Grace entry into the Town untill he came to the Castle. In the principall part of the Town neer y^ high Cross and Publicque 12 178 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Fountaine his Grace was presented by them with one banquet of Sweetmeats consisting of half a dozen Marchpanes and Wines, after which those that attended his Grace had a reception at Ludlow Castle equal to his Quality. " Regales epulae mensis et Bacchus in auro, Ponitur." Next day, after service in the castle chapel, the duke, " in his Rich Robes of Presidency," walked to the court-house, where, after the Chief Justice of Chester had delivered the charge, the rest of the forenoon was spent in hearing cases. After this all the company were again entertained at a magnificent dinner in the castle, each person striving to outdo the other in manifestations of loyalty to His Majesty and respect to his grace. The following day the duke spent at Powis Castle, whence the cavalcade journeyed to Welshpool, Llangollen and Wrexham and other towns of Wales, the Progress coming to an end on August 21st. The fall of the Court was now near at hand. In 1689 the Duke of Beaufort was succeeded as Lord President by Charles Earl of Macclesfield.^ During the spring a few notices regarding him occur in the State Papers — e.g. the petition of John Warren of Gray's Inn to be continued as Justice of the Peace for Chester, Flint, Denbigh and Montgomery was referred to him by the Earl of Shrewsbury (March 26th, 1689).^ He was directed to swear John Trenchard as Chief Justice and one of the king's Council in Ordinary for the Marches at Ludlow, and a few days later he was bidden to suppress meetings held by certain disaffected persons (April 12th and 19th, 1689).^ On May 22nd the Earl of Shrewsbury bade Mr. Serjeant Thompson and Mr. Serjeant Tremaine appear in the House of Lords to defend the cause of the Court of Ludlow and the Marches of Wales, in which the rights of the Crown were concerned.* ' S.P.D,, William and Mary (February 13th, 1689, to April, 1690), March 8th, 1689. = Utd., March 26th, 1689. ^ j^i^^^ April I2th, 19th, 16S9. * Ibid., May 22nd, 1689. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 179 The Court was by now regarded as wholly unnecessary, and was abolished by statute.^ The last reference to it in the calendars of State Papers is the petition of a certain Charles Cheturn, who had lost a freehold of ;!£"2oo a year by its suppression, and begged for the office of Surveyor of the Green Wax.- Shortly after the abolition of the Council the Attorney-General, Sir George Treby, presented to the; king a report on the future government of Wales. He writes that as the Court is now abolished " by your Majesties' great grace and favour, and to your subjects' great satisfaction there," the office of President is wholly useless. It is of course necessary to have a lieutenant for the militia, one for North Wales and one for South, and he suggests five names : Lord Newport, the Earl of Bridgewater, Lord Willoughby, the Earl of Pembroke, and Lord Carbery. The duties once performed by the Lord President should, he advises, be now performed by one or both of the Secretaries of State. " The gentlemen of Wales have always coveted to be governed immediately by the King or by the Prince, and by the means suggested you take them into your immediate protection." ^ The place of the Council of the Marches was, as a matter of fact, supplied by the Courts of Great Sessions, which continued to exercise jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters until their abolition in 1830. ' I Wm. & M., c. 27. The grounds of suppression are: (i) that the- Court had been found by experience an intolerable burthen to the'subject,, contrary to the Great Charter, the known laws of the land, and the birth- right of the subject, and the means to introduce an arbitrary power and government ; (2) that matters determinable there may be redressed in thf> ordinary course of justice within the shires of the Principality. 2 S.P.D., William and Mary, July 23rd, 1689. * Ibid. (Cal., February 13th, 1689, to April, 1690), pp. 383-4. CHAPTER VII MEETING-PLACES OF THE COUNCIL: LUDLOW, BEIVDLEY, SHREWSBURY, HEREFORD, BRIDGENORTH One of the most noteworthy points in the history of the Council in the Marches is its relation to the various cities and towns in which its meetings were held. Chief among these was, of course, Ludlow ; but there were many others, and from their archives much information as to the Council's movements and proceedings can be drawn. The most frequent places of meeting next to Ludlow were Bewdley and Shrewsbury ; but the Council at various times held sessions at Hereford, Worcester, Gloucester, Tewkes- bury, Hartlebury, Bridgenorth, Oswestry, and Wrexham.^ The list of places visited by that " stowte travellinge presidente " Bishop Lee would be far longer, for he scoured Wales as well as the Marches in his search for thieves. Few English towns are more full, even to-day, of old-world charm than Ludlow. Its history has twice been written at length by men of Shropshire birth, one a Ludlow townsman. ^ In the sixteenth century it had its poet Thomas Churchyard, who did his best, though with indifferent success, to describe in fitting verse the town and church and castle. The following may suffice as a specimen of his well-meaning, though pedestrian, muse : "Thus farre I goe to prove this Wales in dede Or els at least, the martchers of the same. But further speake, of shiere it is no neede, Save Ludloe now, a towne of noble fame : • In S.P.D., Jas. I., Vol. XIX., No. 35 (footnote). ^ Vis. by Mr. R. H. Clive (1840) and by Mr. Thomas Wright (1841). 180 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES i8i A goodly seate, where oft the councell lyes, Where monuments, are found in auncient guyse : Where kings and queenes, in pompe did long abyde, And where God pleasde, that good Prince Arthur dyde. "The towne doth stand most part upon an hill Built well and fayre, with streates both large and wide ; The houses such, where straungers lodge at will, As long as there the councell lists abide. Both fine, and cleare the streates are all throughout. With condits cleere and wholesome water springs: And who that lists to walke the towne about, Shall finde therein some rare and pleasant things : But chiefly there the ayre so sweet you have, As in no place ye can no better crave." ' Ludlow was certainly well fitted to be the Council's meeting- place : it lies high on a knoll girt by the river Teme, in a position easy of defence and yet accessible. It was noted, as Churchyard says, for the healthfulness of its air, a matter of much importance in days when the plague was a dreaded visitant to towns of any size. The history of Ludlow is closely interwoven with that of the Welsh Marches. According to Camden, the castle was built by Roger of Montgomery, first Earl of Shrewsbury, and forfeited to the Crown by the attainder of Robert of Belleme. It was granted by Henry I. to one Fulk de Dinan, who was succeeded by his son, Joce de Dinan, between whom and Sir Hugh de Mortimer raged a feud of the true Border type. Sir Joce got possession of his enemy and detained him in prison till he should pay a ransom of three thousand silver marks, as well as all his plate, horses, and birds. The tower where Mortimer was confined is the loftiest in the third ward of the castle, and still bears his name. In Sir Henry Sydney's Presidency it was used for the keeping of the Council records. Nowadays it serves as a storehouse for the rifles of the Ludlow volunteers, who are drilled in the castle grounds. ' Churchj^ard, Worthines of Wales (ed. 1776, reprinted from the edition of 1587). i82 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES After the death of Joce de Dinan the Castle seems to have been in the hands of the Crown again till the sixteenth year of King John, when it passed to the Lacy family. Walter de Lacy left as his heiresses two granddaughters : the one, Matilda or Maud, married Geoffrey de Genevile or Joinville, the brother of the historian. It is to this Geoffrey that the Sieur de Joinville refers in speaking of his preparations for the crusade of 1248. "I spent the last week in feasts and banquets with my brother Vaucouleur and all the rich men of that part of the country." The co-heiress Margery married John de Verdun. The Ludlow inheritance was thus divided, but ultimately by marriage and exchange it was re-united as the possession of Roger de Mortimer, Earl of March, the husband of Joan, the great-granddaughter of Maud de Genevile. Henceforth Ludlow superseded Wigmore as the seat of the Mortimer power. Here Roger, Earl of March, entertained Edward HI. with tournaments and other diversions, for which, adds the chronicler, he did not receive due recompense. The chequered history of the Mortimer family in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries is reflected in the extant notices regarding Ludlow Castle. The above-mentioned Roger built a chapel dedicated to St. Peter in the " utter ward," to commemorate his escape from the Tower in 1323. Li the fourth year of Edward IH.'s reign he was disgraced, and all his lands were seized to the king's use. His grandson Roger, however, was restored in title and estate, and regained Ludlow among his other possessions. He also had a grandson named Roger, who, on the death of his father, Edmund (husband of the Lady Philippa, daughter of Lionel Duke of Clarence), became the ward of the Earl of Arundel. Roger left a son Edmund, aged six, who became the ward of Henry Prince of Wales, was taken prisoner by Owen Glendower, served in France, and died as Lord-Lieu- tenant of Ireland in the twenty-fourth year of his age. His cousin Richard, Duke of York (son of his sister Anne), became his heir, and thus Ludlow came to take a leading part in the Wars of the Roses. Here the Duke of York mustered the army which melted away in the so-called Rout of Ludford Bridge. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 183 The town was left a prey to the king's soldiers, and was pillaged and burnt. As a compensation for losses sustained in the wars, it received a renewal of its charter from Edward IV., and it seems to have enjoyed special favour during the reigns of the Yorkist kings. The Castle of Ludlow formed one of the line of fortresses extending from Richard's castle along Corve-dale.^ The extent to which the Welsh Border was fortified in mediaeval times may be seen by a list of castles drawn up in the earlier years of Henry III, Herefordshire contained nineteen and Shropshire six. One line stretched from Monmouth to Radnor ; another skirted the Roman road from Hereford to Shropshire ; another, in- cluding Knighton, Clun, and Bishop's Castle, defended the Welsh Border on the north-west, and the fourth was that of which Ludlow formed one link. The earliest of the existing buildings is the keep, which in its general character resembles the keeps of Rochester and Rich- mond. It has been much altered, especially in the fifteenth century, when the steps leading to the original entrance on the first story at the east turret were removed, and a new entrance made in the mass of the wall. In the time of Henry I. the buildings were extended, probably by Joce de Dinan, to include, besides the keep, an inner court or castle proper, and an outer court surrounded by strong walls and towers, and intended to shelter cattle and peasantry in case the town were attacked. There were two moats — that which still exists, and another on the site of the present walks towards the town. No moat was needed on the side towards the river, where access to the castle is prevented by the steepness of the rock. Joce de Dinan was probably the builder of the chapel dedicated to S. Mary Magdalene, which is of special interest as being one of the two earliest round churches in the kingdom. A covered way formerly led from the state apartments on the north to a door- way in the chapel wall, and so to the gallery ; this was still standing as late as 1768. In the fourteenth century probably, ' For a full description of the Castle see Mr. Clark's Mediaeval and Military Architecture. i84 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES when the castle was held by the Mortimers, the hall and state apartments were erected on the north side of the inner court. The great hall, sixty feet long and thirty broad, was approached by a flight of marble steps. The so-called Prince Arthur's room was in a tower to the west of the hall ; the banqueting-room lay to the east. In the sixteenth century great alterations and additions were made. Bishop Lee, as noted above, was active in repairing the castle ; but the most noteworthy additions were those of Sir Henry Sydney, who erected a mass of buildings opposite the chapel on the south side of the court. In the Lansdowne MSS. (No. III., art. 9, printed by Clive, p. 38) is a list of the buildings and repairs done by him to Her Majesty's houses in the Marches. The list is a long one, and includes : (i) offices over the porter's lodge (kitchen, larder, and buttery) ; (2) walls near this lodge ; (3) a wall at the lodge to enclose a space of two hundred yards in which the prisoners might walk ; (4) a wall enclosing a wood- yard ; (5) a court-house and two offices underneath for keeping the records ; (6) a " fayre lardge stone bridge into the said castle w*** one greate arche in the myddest and twoe at both endes." Besides all this, he had repaired the chapel, ceiled, glazed, and tiled it with " fayre and lardg wyndowes " ; put up wainscoting, benches, seats, and kneeling-places, and adorned it with the arms of Her Majesty, divers noblemen, and all the Lords President and Councillors. Among other items mentioned are lodgings and offices behind the kitchen, " sundry greate and lardg wyndowes," " waynescotting and flooring of a great parlor within the castle," " a ffayre tennys corte within the same castle, paved with freestone," and a conduit of lead more than a mile in length, to convey water to the castle. Sydney's efforts were not confined to the castle only ; the water from the great fountain within the walls was conveyed in leaden pipes into the garden and various offices, and thence into the Castle Street, where a fountain of lime and stone was erected, to the great satisfaction, doubtless, of the inhabitants. The above buildings were probably finished about 1581, for in that year the following inscription was put up over THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 185 the entrance to the inner court of the castle, where it still remains : " Hominibus ingratis loquimini lapides. Anno regni Reginae Elizabethae 23 The 22 Year Co'plet of the Presidency of Sir Henry Sydney Knight of the Most Noble Order of The Garter etc. 1581." Sydney, one may hope, found in the supervision of these buildings some comfort amid the disappointments which saddened the close of his hfe. His son-in-law and successor continued his work, for in the outer court is a range of buildings to the left of the entrance, bearing the arms of Queen Elizabeth and of the Earl of Pembroke. In Clive's Documents connected with the History of Ludlow is an account of the " Arms and Inscriptions formerly existing in the Castle of Ludlow and in the Bull Inn there." This account was drawn from manuscripts in the possession of John Mytton, Esq., of Halston Hall, Shropshire (1823). In the Council Chamber were once the arms of Henry Herbert, second Earl of Pembroke, and of several others, his predecessors or successors in the ofhce of Lord President. In all, two hundred and fifty-six coats-of-arms are described, including, besides those of Councillors, the arms of Edward IV., Henry VII., Henry VIII., and some of the early owners of the castle, as Sir Walter de Lacy and Geoffrey de Genevile. This manuscript is important for determining the dates when the various Lords President held office. Other coats-ofarms are enumerated as existing in the hall and the lodging of the Lords Justices ; others, again, are preserved to this day in the Bull Inn. In 1631 the steward of the castle, John Betts, writing to a member of the Earl of Bridgewater's house at Barbican, London, gives an account of the chief rooms then in use, and recommends that certain repairs be done and some hangings procured.^ Three years later, on Michaelmas Day, 1634, the ' Ludlow Castle Papers, 59 (Bridgewater MSS). i86 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES great hall was filled with guests to watch the masque of Comus, and to hear how " all this tract that fronts the falling sun A noble Peer of mickle trust and power Has in his charge with tempered awe to guide An old and haughty nation, proud in arms ; Where his fair offspring, nursed in princely lore, Are coming to attend their father's state And new-intrusted sceptre." ' During the Civil War the Castle was held for the king till June 9th, 1646, when it was captured by the Parliamentary forces under Sir William Brereton. Four years later the king's goods there were inventoried and sold by order of the Council of State. The full particulars are to be found in Harleian MS. 4898, and are printed by both the historians of Ludlow. The estimated value of the whole was ;;^34i Ss. ^d. Several articles were sold to a Mr. Bass, in some cases for more than the price named in the inventory. Fifty-three rooms or closets are mentioned, the prince's chamber heading the list. The changes wrought by the Civil War are seen in the entry, " In the Governor's Quarters, formerly the Justices' Lodgings." The Council Chamber was left desolate indeed, for all it contained were three tables, one form, a wicker screen, a fire-grate, and two stools, the value in all being ^1. The court-house of justice was in little better case ; it contained a feather bolster and a brass pot, value fourteen shillings, while the seat of justice, table, and benches were valued at ten shillings. Two pieces of tapestry hangings formerly used in the Court and kept in the first ward- rode were appraised at jQ^ ?>s. 6d. The makers of the inventory set down with brutal frankness the state of the furniture and goods. The reader feels transported into the grimiest of second- hand shops by such entries as " three broaken lanthornes," "one old rotten quilt," "one large old Bible," "a parcel of ragged sheets and tablecloths," "an old surplice of Holland" (the chaplain's, no doubt), " twenty old dyaper and flaxen napkins ' See Prof. Masson's Milton, Vol. I., pp. 156-68, ed. 1890. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 187 full of holes " ; nor are matters much mended by the entry that follows, " fifteen dyaper napkins somewhat better." Mr. Bass became the possessor of a most miscellaneous col- lection of articles, ranging from the " standing bedstead covered with watched damaske with all the furniture suitable thereunto belonging," valued at ;if 30, down to " a brass cuUendor, a scimmer and a broaken befe forke." The most interesting entry is that relating to the withdrawing-room, which contained " Two pictures the one of the late King and y^ other of his Queen." They may have been Vandykes, and they were valued at ten shillings ! After the Restoration the castle had to be refurnished and repaired. It would appear from the information extant as to the Earl of Carbery's Presidency that much dissatisfaction was felt with the way in which the work was carried out. Thomas Hunton, in the petition mentioned in an earlier chapter, com- plained that the earl had not supplied proper furniture, so that the judges had to furnish their own lodgings ; what was pro- vided was not paid for, and was procured second or third hand. The workmen who had carried out the repairs could not get their wages, and out of the ;^9,ooo allowed by the king only ^£"3,000 had been expended. Before many years had passed, Ludlow Castle was deserted : it was doubtless furbished up for the visit of the Duke of Beaufort during the Progress described above. Four years later (1688) it was secured for the Prince of Orange by Lord Herbert of Cherbury, who imprisoned there Sir William Blount, the Roman Catholic Sheriff of Worcester. After 1689 it was left to fall into decay ; by degrees the fabric was stripped of lead, timber, and carvings ; but the destruction was gradual, for in 1708 forty rooms were entire, and sixty years later the arms of some of the Lords President were still visible.^ At some time during ' In the museum at Ludlow is an ancient record or deed chest with three locks, which in the early part of the eighteenth century was filled with tapestry and armour, and conveyed from Ludlow Castle into S. Lawrence's Church for safety ; but in vain, for it was rifled of its contents. A description of the castle (also in the museum) says : " It is not to be wondered that this noble Castle is in decay, when we consider that the inhabitants of the neighbourhood live upon the sale of the material." i88 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES the eighteenth century the panels bearing the arms of the various nobles and others mentioned above were made into wainscoting for the Bull Inn. In all probability the records of the Court were turned to yet baser uses by the Ludlow tradesmen, unless, indeed, they were left to moulder to dust in some dark corner of the deserted ruin, or sent up to London and lost in a mass of unassorted public records. Several of the Council members seem to have built houses in Ludlow. Churchyard, in one of his welcome lapses into prose, tells us of the " fayre house by the gate of the making of Justice Walter," of the " fayre house that Maister Secretarie Foxe did bestowe great charges on " ; Mr. Townesend, too, " hath a fayre house at Saint Austins once a friarie." A noteworthy reference to Ludlow in the early days of the seventeenth century occurs in Baxter's memoirs : " About seventeen years of age," he writes, " being at Ludlow Castle, where many idle gentlemen had little else to do, I had a mind to learn to play at tables and the best gamester in the house undertook to teach me." Persons of leisure no doubt abounded, for " the house was great, there being four judges, the king's attorney, the clerk of the fines, with all their servants and all the lord president's servants and many more ; and the town was full of temptations through the multitude of persons (counsellors, attorneys, officers and clerks) and much given to tippling and excess." ^ The connection of Ludlow with the Council appears in a less unfavourable light in a curious tract entitled, " The Loue of Wales to their soueraigne Prince," printed from the only extant copy by Clive in his History of Ludlow. The writer, Daniel Powel, was the son of Dr. David Powel, who corrected, augmented, and continued Humphrey Lhuyd's " Historie of Cambria, now called Wales." He describes in the quaint English of his day the ceremonies that took place at Ludlow on November 4th, 161 6, "the day of the Creation of the high and mighty Charles, Prince of Wales and Earle of Chester in his Maiesties Palace of White-hall." The Lord President, Lord Eure, was absent, and three of the Councillors were attending ' Reliquiae Baxterianse, ed. 1696, p. 421. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 189 His Majesty's special service in London ; but on the appointed day there were present at Ludlow the Chief Justice of Chester, Sir Thomas Chamberlaine, with his colleagues Sir Thomas Cornewaile (Cornewall), High Sheriff of Shropshire, and Mr. Thomas Harley, besides the solicitor and attorney attending the Council, and many gentlemen from the neighbourhood. The celebration began by affixing the arms, name, and style of the prince under the pulpit in S. Lawrence's Church, in the castle chapel and in the court-house ; also on the town- gates and high cross and the principal posts and pillars of the market-place. About nine o'clock a procession came up to the castle to escort the Justice and Council to church — the bailiffs, magistrates, and chief brethren, " very richly clad and apparelled," with the officers and the church choir and six of the free scholars bearing pennons of the prince's arms. Before them went the town waits ; and the procession was headed by two hundred soldiers with halberds, pikes, corslets, muskets, and calivers. On the castle green they met Master Justice in his scarlet robes and the other Councillors, counsellors-at-law, attorneys, clerks, officers of the castle, and other gentlemen. These were all very richly apparelled, and had "another company of waits and good consorts of Musicke as Cornets, Sagbuts and other winde Instruments playing and sounding all along the way before them." Hereupon the musketeers discharged a volley, "to the great admiration and much reioycing of all the spectators " ; and then the merry procession started off to the church, where yet another volley was discharged. Then service was said, and " one M. Thomas Pierson a graue reuerend diuine and worthy Preacher made a very learned Sermon of an houre and halfe long." As the company came out into the market-place they passed by a scaffold near the high cross, from which the scholars in turn delivered verses composed for the occasion. Those in Latin were "principally invented and naade by the painful Industrie of that iudicious and laborious maister of Artes Humfrey Herbert, Chiefe Schoole maister of His Maiesties Free Schoole there, upon lone dayes warning." The others in English 190 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES were contributed by a worthy alderman of the town, Master Richard Fisher. There is something pathetic in the doggerel lines, with their confident assurance that the young prince will " protect this happy Government," and their hope — "O prosper may he and his glory more Than any Charles the world had e'er before." Just thirty years later the Council was no more, the castle was held by the Parliament, and the king was a prisoner in the hands of the Scots. But in November, 1616, few, if any, could have foreseen those evil days, and after the scholars had received due applause for their "gracious boldnesse in delivering their speeches," the procession passed to the court-house, where the Justice delivered an oration in praise of the prince. With com- mendable prudence he used the opportunity to put in la word for himself and his colleagues. " Let none," he said, " scorne nor contemne the power and authoritie of this Jurisdiction, his High- nesse being graciously pleased to signifie his pleasure to me and my said Brethren of this Counsell That he would protect and defend the same both by his Highnesse himselfe, and by his Princely meanes to the King his father." At the conclusion of the speech "the Musick played. Drums were strucke, Flutes whistled. Trumpets sounded, people showted, and another piercing and Thundering Volley of shot was let flie, the eccho and report whereof resounded admirably to the great solace and comfort of all present." It was one o'clock by now, and the Justice and Council, with the knights, esquires, and best sort of gentlemen, went to dine in the castle. The bailiffs and burgesses went down to the town to spend the rest of the day " in all joyfull and iouiall manner." The castle dinner was evidently a lengthy matter, for it was scarcely ended when the indefatigable bailiffs again appeared with the choir, pennon-bearers, and waits, for evening service in the castle chapel. At its conclusion the scholars offered up their pennons to the Justice, who ordered them to be placed in the chapel as mementoes of the day. The bailiffs and their company then took leave of the Council, and next day they THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 191 celebrated the deliverance of king, queen, prince, and parliament from "the Papists' treasonable and horrible conspiracie and unmatchable intended Practise of the Gunne-powder Treason." A sermon was preached by the chaplain in attendance on the Lord President and Council, " which Sermon being ended, every man returned to their homes, the Musicke, Ringing and Bone- fires continuing, to the great comfort of all his Maiesties said louing and faithfuU Subjects all the said day." The connection of the Council with Ludlow is illustrated by many papers among the Borough MSS. The chamberlain's ac- counts, for example, contain notices of gifts to the Lord President or Councillors, consisting of money, wine, oxen, sugar, and so forth. A curious entry is the following : " It gyven unto the counseyllers wyffes towardes the eatinge of the d'ct. buckes to them by us gyven ii'f iiij'^" The Lord President, on his side, made presents of bucks and does to the corporation — e.g. " It. spend at Mr. baylyfs cothers hows at the etyng of the two dooes wiche my lord gave us vj* viij*^ " (see the bailiffs' accounts, to which those of the chamberlain are appended, for 1544-8). There is also a large number of orders directed by the Council to the bailiffs of the town, mostly in the reign of James I., though there are some of both earlier and later dates. Nearly all are orders for stay of suits before the bailiffs' Court or for release of prisoners from gaol. The formula commonly employed in the seventeenth century is this : " according to the auntient priviledge of our Court with our said Councell and our instrucc'ons to them in that behaulf graunted." This ancient privilege is thus explained in a petition from a person arrested for a supposed action of debt by one of the serjeants-at-mace : " that eu'y p'son and p'sons whatsoeu' having cause of suite for himself ether as pi. or deff. in this ho : Court is to have his priviledg to come to this Court and remayne here to prosecute the same and goe home againe, w'thout any man' of treble stay or arest." Such orders are often in favour of persons employed in the castle household or workmen engaged in the repairs of the buildings. Besides the above, there are orders to the bailiffs to come 192 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES up to the castle lodge and receive prisoners, who are to be set in the pillory or whipped in the market-place. Among offences thus punished were forgery, perjury, serving false billets, etc. Once the bailiffs were ordered to set in the stocks John Clenche, " for stealinge of our pewter out of o*' Castle of Ludlowe." He was to be set in the stocks in the midst of the market-place, with one of his legs through the same, and a pewter dish about his neck hanging before him, and remain thus from eleven in the forenoon till one in the afternoon. Another order directs the bailiffs to whip out of the town as a rogue and vagabond a man who, "alleadgng himself to be deafe and upon pretence of suites in lawe before o' said Councell, is fallen utterlie to neclect the honest course of lief whereby he hath bin and still is able to mayntayne himself, abusing also the late charitie here bestowed upon him and geving himself to nothing but ydlenes and lewd and evill speeches to the evill example of others and utter rapine of himself if he be longer suffered in this disordered course." Yet another order directs the bailiffs to repair to the porter's lodge, "and of him to take and receaue into yo'' chardge the bodie of one Griffith ap Rees (whoe was taken upon suspic'on of Pyking of pockettes and theverie and his hand taken in another mans pockett." The offender was to be whipped in open market between twelve and two o'clock, and then brought back to the porter's lodge. Several petitions addressed to the Council are also extant. The most interesting is one from the bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty of Ludlow, complaining that Edmund Cornewall, "a man of greate habylity, worshipp and countenance," had felled timber and grievously beaten and wounded their tenants in Evesham parish, where they possessed a parcel of wood ground, once the property of the dissolved Palmers' Guild. Another in the same names complains of the non-payment by Edward Foxe of 50X. rent from tenements in Ludlow, once the property of the Priory of S. John the Evangelist. To this petition is annexed a record of the proceedings m the resulting case. The town made good its claim to part of the arrears of rent, and its claim to the remainder was to be further examined by Commissioners. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 193 Members of the Council at times held office in the borough — e.g. both Sir John Bridgeman and Henry Townesend were recorders, receiving a salary of ;£2 per annum. Respect towards the Council was rigidly enforced by the town authorities, as is seen from an abject petition for release addressed to Sir Thomas Cornewall by a man imprisoned in Galford's Tower (the town gaol) for having " given some wordes of abuse towardes your worship." Among incidental notices relating to the Council is one showing its low estate after the Restoration ; this is a list of officers and servants attending at Ludlow Castle. The number is but ten against the large household in the days of Sir Henry Sydney. The Parish Church of S. Lawrence at Ludlow still preserves some memorials of the Council of the Marches. In the south transept against the south wall is the tomb, with recumbent effigy, of Uame Mary Eure (wife of the Lord President), who died in 161 3. On the south side of the choir immediately to the east of the stalls is the tomb of Edward Walter (d. 1593), Chief Justice of South Wales. On the north side of the choir opposite to the Walter tomb is the monument of Edward Waties, erected in his own lifetime. On the south side, again, just below the altar steps and to the east of the Walter tomb, is the monu- ment of Ambrozia Sydney, fourth daughter of Sir Henry and Lady Sydney, who died in Ludlow Castle, February 22nd, ^574"5- The finest of all the tombs remaining in the church is that of Sir Robert Townesend and Dame Anne his wife ; it stands on the north side within the altar rails, and is sur- mounted by two recumbent effigies. The importance of the Council to Ludlow may be gathered from entries in the churchwardens' accounts, especially between 1607 and 1689. The repair of the pews in which sat the Lord President, his wife, her gentlewomen, and the various members of the Council, was evidently a matter of great moment to the churchwardens. Thus in 1607-8 a sum of i^s. ^d. was expended on "a walnut boorde to make the dext [s/c] in my laddy [sic] Ewer's pew," for a plank to enlarge the pew door, for five yards of " fflanders bayes and Inckell to put abought 13 194 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES my Ladyes seate," for "matting in the gentlewomen's pew," for a " mat and a tumpe for my ladyes pewe," and for a lock and key. In 1610 the Lord President's pew needed an expenditure of los. for " Bayes, Incle, Tacks and Workemanshipp," besides 4d. for a mat to lie under his seat in the high chancel. In 1618 lod. was paid for altering the Countess of Northampton's pew and for a ledge and nails. In 1619-20 16^. was paid for " matts and tumps for my lord and the counsell pewes," and Sd. for " doees heare [sic] for stuffing the countise pewe." Of considerable interest are the entries respecting the allotment of pews — e.g. in 1620-1 it is recorded that for several years past Jane Lewis, who had an interest for the term of her life in a pew situated in the middle aisle, had given it up to the Countess of Northampton. In consideration of this, Mrs. Lewis was granted two parts of the pew actually occupied by her. In 1625-6 a grant was made to two persons of a half-pew in the middle aisle, provided that the Countess of Northampton might have the use thereof for her gentlewomen during her residence in town. In consideration of this promise the town received 2s. but a marginal note shows that there was some hitch : " stayd for Mrs. Selman, because the Churchwardens doe not a gree [sic] for her." The most interesting entries occur during the inter- regnum. Ludlow was a loyal place, and must have greatly resented the overthrow of the Council, whose meetings brought much money into the town. Accordingly, when in May, 1649, Sir Marmaduke Lloyd's pew was granted to the mayor, a proviso was added that if the former occupier came again to reside in the town the grant should be void. So, too, when a life grant of a pew, commonly called " ye Countesse seat," was made to Captain William Botterell, governor of the castle, and one of the bailiffs, his wife Sara, and the survivor of them, the condition imposed was that, " if there be any future occasion for ye said pue to ye same purpose for w*^** it was heretofore made use of, then ye above s'd grant to be voyd and that he ye s'd Capt. Botterell shall surrender ye same." Many entries note the amount paid for bell-ringing at the coming of the Lord President or members of the Council. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 195 Once there is a note of 3*/. paid " for one to attend Mr. Justice comeinge on the steeple," the high tower of S. Lawrence's Church, still a landmark for miles round, being evidently the best available place of outlook. The arrival of the Lord Pre- sident's wife was similarly greeted; in 1628-9 i2d. was paid for ringing at the coming of the Countess of Northampton from Bewdley to Ludlow. Between 1644 and 1661 there was neither President nor Councillor for Ludlow bell-ringers to greet ; but the bells were not silent. Between 1644 and 1646, when the Marches were aflame with war, are some brief entries which bring home with curious vividness not the joy only, but the sorrow of those troubled years. " It'm. pay'd for a sroud for a souldier iij^ iiij'* ,, ,, ,, Ringing for the Kinge xij"* ,, ,, ,, a sroud for a souldier iij® ,, „ ,, Ringing upon the 25 November v^ for the Kinge ,, for Ringinge at the King's Coming iij^" to towne The bells were rung and gladly enough, no doubt, in the year of the Restoration, when a free Parliament was voted, when Charles was recalled, on his proclamation as king, and on his landing at Dover. At the same time one Griffith Edwards received 20s. for " newe Lyminge ^ the King's Armes w'^'» were washt out in the Late warres." From 1660 to 1689 Ludlow saw some revival of its old prosperity ; the Lords President under Charles II. visited it several times, as is shown by numerous entries similar to those already quoted.^ The last of such visits was that paid by the Earl of Macclesfield in 1689. Many memories rise before one who stands in the inner court of Ludlow Castle, and looks in turn at keep and chapel and the ' I.e. limning. The spelling of these accounts is erratic in the extreme. In 1610-11 is the entry, "It: for writing and castinge of these bokes wee beynge illyterate." ^ A curious entry is the following under 1681-2 : "It. for p[er]fumering the Lord P''sedents seat, is. 196 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES great Council-room — memories of Border strife in the dim past and of Prince and President in days which, though nearer, seem strangely far away. Not warriors, but children, are among the best-remembered dwellers in those ruined rooms : Prince Edward and Prince Arthur ; the Lady Mary, who lived to be a queen, and the Mary Sydney of happier fate, " fair and wise and good." Nor must those children be forgotten from whose lips fell the noblest words ever uttered in that stately hall. Baron and prince and poet have their share in the story of Ludlow Castle ; but the memory that comes home to us most to-day is that of the careworn statesman who solaced the too early twilight of a toilsome life by rearing walls that still speak to a not wholly ungrateful posterity. Next to Ludlow, the most frequent resort of the Council seems to have been Bewdley, which received its charter from James I. partly for this reason.^ The connection of the Council with the place went back to the time of Prince Arthur, for whom the manor place of Tickenhill, to the west of the town (built by Richard, Earl of March and Duke of York), was made into a palace. Leland describes it as "a fayre manour place by west of the towne, standinge in a goodly parke well wooded, on the very knappe of the hill that the towne standeth on." The town itself, he says, is " sette on the syde of a hill, soe comely a man cannot wish to see a towne better. It riseth from Severne banke by east, upon the hill by west ; so that a man standing on the hill trans pontem by east may discerne almost every house in the towne, and at the rising of the sunne from the east the wholl towne glittereth being all of newe building as it were of gould."^ At Tickenhill Prince Arthur held his Court, and here he was married by proxy to Catherine of Aragon, Lord President Smyth being among the spectators.^ The Bewdley records furnish some valuable information as to ' See the History of Bewdley (by J. R. Burton), to which I am indebted for many of the following details. •: Leland, Itin. IV. 1836. » Rymer, FcEdera, XII. 756-62. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 197 the Prince's Council, such as the conclusion of the long feud between Kidderminster and Bewdley already mentioned. Other notices of the town occur ; e.g. in 1500 Bishop Smyth, when on his way to Lincoln, was overtaken by a royal messenger bidding him return to Bewdley, in order to direct certain arduous affairs of the Prince of Wales.^ Next year Prince Arthur was still at Bewdley, for he wrote thence to the University of Oxford requesting that a servant of his might be elected superior Bedell.^ After his death in 1502 Tickenhill Palace would seem to have fallen into decay, for it was repaired at considerable expense when the Lady Mary was sent down to the Marches. Extant accounts show that workmen were employed on it for eighteen weeks at a wage of i,\d. a day, the total amount spent being ;^354 5-^- 52^' I""* the account of the repairs " My Lord President's Chamber" is specially mentioned. Under date 1528 in the town records is an order by the princess's Council that her servants and persons belonging to her household are to have their horses at livery in all inns and hostelries of the town at the rate of \\d. a day and night for hay and litter. The charge was to be 2d. for all other strangers, suitors, and others repairing to the town. By the reign of Elizabeth Tickenhill House was again in need of repair, and ^59 \\s. 4.d. was expended upon it in 1582. Sir Henry Sydney was as energetic a builder here as at Ludlow : in a petition to the Queen on various matters concerning his office he mentions the lack of water supply for the " house at Tickinhill by beaudeley, a house of often resort of the President and Counsell." Water had to be conveyed thither in carts with great charge and much difficulty. He therefore asks that a quantity of lead there, brought up by Lord Admiral Seymour for the purpose of conducting water to the house, might be used and not be left to be daily stolen. The head of the conduit and the trench for the pipes to lie in were already half made. Sydney asked for a warrant to employ the lead for this purpose, and suggested that any left over might be sold to pay the expenses of the work. A Treasury warrant was issued giving permission ' Churton, Life of Bishop Smyth, p. 113. ^ Ibid., p. 170. 198 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES to use the lead, and adding that any surplus material might, if Sir Henry Sydney thought well, be conveyed to some convenient port and used for Ireland.^ The result of Sydney's efforts is recorded in Lansdowne MSS. iii, f. 20, as follows : " Item, where her ma*'^* howse of Tyckenhall by Beaudley was in greate ruyn and decay lyke to have fallen, the same was amended repared, tyled and tymbered, the Chambers therof waynscotted, ffayre lardge walkes inclosed w'th pale and Tymber adioyning to the said howse w'th buttes therin and certen other pastymes there to be used by the Counsaill. " Item a conduyt of ledd w'th a howse of lyme and stone for a hedd to the same and pypes of ledd for conveying of the water a myle in lenght, a ffayre lardge ffounteyne made with Lyme stone and ledd at the howse, her ma'tes Armes w'th diuers other Armes sett therupon and conveying the water in ledd unto divers offices within the same howse and in like maner con- veying of the same into the Towne of Beaudley and making of twoe funteynes with lyme and stone in the said Towne." During the reigns of James I. and Charles I. Tickenhill House was occupied by Ralph Clare, Esq. In a letter from the king to Lord Eure (August i6th, 1608) he is described as "Keeper of the King's house," and is said to have "forgetten himself" in refusing to receive the Lord President and Council without reserving some rooms for himself. Orders had been sent for him to receive them immediately. It is added that as the king was then far from his learned counsel, and had not many of his Privy Council in attendance, the consideration of the matter must be reserved till next term.- More than thirty years later it appears from a letter in the Bridgewater MSS., written by Henry Eccleston, steward of Ludlow Castle, that Tickenhill House was then let on lease to Sir Ralph Clare, whose term had nearly expired. He had neglected necessary repairs, the tiling had fallen, the planks had been stolen, and the stables let to carriers and others. Eccleston reports that the sills near the ground needed 120 ft. of timber, that the tiling and ceiling ' S.P.D (Vol. 1547-80), Eliz., Vol. XIV. 38. - Dovaston MS., f. 68b (Hist. MSS. Commission). THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 199 would cost ;j^io to mend, and that Sir Ralph expected all repairs to be done at the king's charges.^ The inhabitants of Bewdley seem to have presumed unduly on the favour they enjoyed through the resort of the Council, and to have committed sundry depredations on His Majesty's woods near by. In 1623 a complaint of this was made to the President and Council, showing that certain persons had carried away " black poles," out of which laths and clap-boards were made and traded in, even by the magistrates of the town, who were bound to " right the King against these apparent wrongs." The complainant urged that the President and Council should take some speedy action whereby this "insufferable insolence" might be severely punished. An interesting entry relating to the town occurs in a letter from the Earl of Northampton to the Council of the Marches : " The Kinges pleasure is that you take care that the Lottery shall be presently removed from Beawdeley and that it contynue noe longer within the Marches of Wales to the ympoverishing of his subjectes there, unles it be in some greate and wealthy towns or citties with speciall care of the governors that the poore be not suft'ered to venture, or ells to be absolutely dismissed according as you in your discreacion and wisdome shall think fitt." ^ After the death of Charles I., Bewdley House fared no better than Ludlow Castle. In the Harleian MSS. (4,898, f. 623) is an inventory of the goods found there and sold by order of the Commonwealth. The list is no long one : in the kitchen were tables, dressers, benches, and other utensils ; in the chambers above were eight bedsteads, seven tables, five cup- boards, a small bench, and the tester of a bedstead ; in the brewing house were " two old Brewing falls, two Coolers, two Stands and one old Table." The value of everything was ^20, and the amount to which it was sold to Mr. Hales, of Bewdley, was ^27 195. td. In the Bewdley Chapel and Bridgewarden's accounts are numerous references to the Council in the Marches. One of ' Bridgewater MSS., Ludlow Castle Papers, 2, March 8th, 1641. ^ Dovaston MS., f. 936. 200 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES the old chantries in the chapel seems to have been set apart for the use of the Lord President and Council, and the floor was well strewn with rushes when they attended Divine service. Their seat was kept in repair, as is seen by an entry of 4^-. 6d. for 2 1 yards of green cotton for covering it in 1570 ; a later entry, dated 1603, notes that 3^. 3^. was paid for " bayes, tacks, and incle for my lord his sett." In 1630 5^. was paid for " a large cagement to be set in the window over the Lorde Presidents pue." Many entries occur showing the amounts paid for ringing the bell at the Lord President's coming — e.g. in 1596, gd., 2S. in 1602, and i2d. in 1604. In the last-named year 2s. was paid "to them that playd on the waytes at the cominge in of the Lord Zowche." Very numerous are the notices of the refreshments and presents bestowed on members of the Council. In 157 1 i^. 6d. was paid for wine given to Mr. Justice Throckmorton, and in 1582 2S. 6d. for two quarts of claret to "my Lord Sidney." Sugar was evidently a very acceptable present : in 1587 15I lb., costing 25i'., were given to the Earl of Pembroke, and in 1597 Sir John Pakenton (Packington) received a sugar-loaf weighmg 10 lb. 3 oz. and costing 17^-. The wife of the Lord President got her share of these gifts : in 1598 the townswomen gave the Countess of Pembroke one sugar-loaf, price 16^. 6d. ; 3 boxes of " marmalat," price 9^. Sd. ; 2 boxes of " comfets," 55. The total cost of the gift was 30^. 2d., and the entry continues thus : " Receyved in pt. that the women pay'd towards their som 2/6 apiece being 7 women amounting to 17/6, rest to paye." In 1602 the sum of 17^. 2d. was paid at the coming of Lord Zouch for wine, sugar, and cakes; in 1623 2s. Sd. was paid for "a pottell of Burnt sacke w'ch the Companie [i.e. of BridgewardensJ bestowed upon the Lord P'sedent [the Earl of Northampton] at his coming through Bewdley." Other gifts mentioned are claret and oranges. But the giving was by no means all on one side. Under 1624 we find that the Lord President bestowed in September a present of venison upon the town. This was an occasion for a worthy feast, the items of which are duly set down in the accounts. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 201 Two shillings was paid to the bringers of the gift, and £,2 i-js. 2d. was expended on mutton, neats' tongues, a brisket of beef, apples, pears, and nuts, wheaten flour, pepper, bread, rabbits, chickens, spices, carrots, salt, and wine. The last item alone cost 175'. The expense of entertaining members of the Council or their servants passing through the town is often noted — e.g. in 1596 the sum of 25^. 8^. was paid "for dyet and horsmeate" for Mr. Justice Shuttleworth ; 425-. xod. in 1597 "for the steward Mr. Morgan and others of my Lords gentlemen." In 1605 as much as ^^3 loi". 2d. was paid for Sir Richard Lewkenor and his company. A few entries give the sums paid to the Lord President's {i.e. the Earl of Pembroke's) players — e.g. 20s. in 1593, and icy. in 1615. Among other curious entries are the following : 1598. — "For iiij yards of grene — to lay one the desk that the Justes leans one in the Court House . . . . . iij' viij"*. " 1599. — "For corten-rings tenter hokes to hang the clothes in the Court House . . . j<*." 1607. — " For fringe for my Lords seate . . vj**." 1626. — " P'' at the appointm't of the Company when the Lo : President came about the Ryall subsidye for sack and clarett. . . 03' 8''." P** for mending at the Bridgehovvse when the prisoners came from Ludlow. . . 07' 2"^." 1623. — " P*^ to Thomas Paine for setting a raile upon mie Ladies seate. .... 00^ 3''." Some notices occur of expenses in which the town was involved through suits before the Council — e.g. 161 1. — " P'' to Mr. Bailiffs to send up to Mr. Bromley at Hillari Tearme for suites in law betwixt Sir Edward Blount and the Towne (amount not stated)." 1614. — " In expenses at Ludlow when I rode thyther to follow the sute betwixt the towne and Cooke, mieselfe (Robert Vicaris) and mie horse three dayes, v"." One reference occurs to a charge that has been elsewhere noted 202 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES as a great burden to places within the Council's jurisdiction — vi'z. the carriage of the "Councell's stufife." In 1615 ^i 3^. 2d. was paid for the carriage of one load. Next to Ludlow and Bewdley, the town of Shrewsbury, the capital of the Marches, was undoubtedly the Council's most frequent place of meeting. The connection was close from the Council's earliest days, as is seen by the ordinances for the " wele rest and tranquillitie of the town " made by Earl Rivers in the eighteenth year of Edward IV. The bailiffs' accounts show that next year, 1479, Prince Edward visited Shrewsbury, where he was given a present of money to purchase bread, ale, and wine.^ In 1480 he was again in the town, and confirmed the composition of the mercers, ironmongers, and goldsmiths. ^ In the reign of Henry VII. the visits of Prince Arthur to Shrewsbury were very frequent. As early as 1494, when he was only about nine years old, he and several members of his Council came to the town and were entertained with a play (probably a miracle-play) in the " quarell " — i.e. the Quarry. The expense of this visit was considerable ; the wine given to the prince at the play cost iioi^. 9s. ; and the total cost, including wine, amounted to 50^. ']d. Besides the feast, we find a record of a gift of wine to Sir Richard Herbert and Mr. John Pulesdone (Puleston) " for their favour." This Sir Richard is of course the famous servant of Henry VHI., and chief ruler of all those parts of North Wales under the direct government of the Crown. Of a very different character from the above entries is the following : " Paid for fixing and putting the head of a certain felon and rebel of our Lord the King called Griffith ap J. ap David, otherwise Griffith Mikewyne upon a post over the town-gate towards Wales, to the terror and example of other the like felons and rebels, 5^." The MS. Chronicle of Shrewsbury gives some particulars about this man which throw light on the disturbed condition of the Marches at this time : " He was an honest man and a good farmer, uppon a certain tyme having a number of catell stollen from his farme place (as in those Wales was soonwhat wyld, one stelyng from another) 204 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES the calves of the which kyne mackinge sutche bletynge noyse and pytyfull crye, that he was soe greevyd and in sutche agony that he wylfully drove them all, being about the number of xl into a deepe water, and drowynyd them ; and upon the same sware a desperate oothe that he never wold content hymselfe before he had spoyled that kynred that had stollen his kyne ; and so presently gave hymsellffe to owlarye and dyd many wyckyd deads which he confessed at hys execucon." Coming back to less gloomy subjects, we find in 15 21 a notice of wine given to Bishop Blyth and other Commissioners at a general procession on the feast of Corpus Christi. A few years later — in 1526 — the corporation sent a mission to Bewdley (where the Council of the Marches was sitting) for the decision of certain disputes with the corporation of Worcester. The bailiff was given ^s. 3c/. in advance to apparel his horse and harness, and a man was paid 1 2d. to ride on ahead to provide lodging. During the Presidency of Bishop Voysey the Council visited Shrewsbury, lodging, as heretofore, in the abbey. On one occasion (1526) wine was sent to the members in their chambers, an indulgence which shows that a taste for privacy and comfort was beginning to develop. The Christmas of 1532 was spent at the abbey, where the Commissioners were regaled with " a large and long boar, two swans, conies and other gifts." The corpora- tion of Shrewsbury, as of other boroughs, fully realised the advantage derived from the presence of the Council. In a paper dated 22 H. VIII., apparently a memorandum of instructions for its parliamentary representatives, is the article : " Item for the king's commissioners to resorte and abyde for the more part in the king's towne of Salop." Even the neighbourhood of the Council was an advantage, at any rate for the speedy hearing of news from London. In 1536 is the entry : "Money paid to Richard E. riding to the Commissioners touching new rumours concerning the Lady Anne late queen 40^." It would appear from this and other sources that the Government sent down to Ludlow some account of important current events. The manner in which the Council was received on its arrival in the town may be gathered from an entry in 1537 : "They THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 205 be aggreed that all the aldermen beyng owt of the towne, shal be warned att theyre howses to prepare theym selffs to mete the king's commissioners ; and also that all wardens of occupacons shalbe in like manner warned to present unto Master Bailiffs or theire deputies, what able men they can make with horses, to mete the said commissioners. Item they agreed to present the said commissioners with four dozen bredd, half an oxe, a hogeshed of wyne and forther at Ma'' Bailiff's discression." The notices of the visit are curious : the Lord President received no fewer than seven hundred oysters at the cost of 2s. ^d. the king's Commissioners were given wine in S. Chad's Church, and a certain youth, at the instance of one of their number, got 2od. " ad emendam camisiam," to buy him a shirt. The second of these entries is illustrated by one of later date — 1542 — noting that wine was given to the interluders after the interlude in S. Chad's churchyard before the Commissioners of our Lord the King, the bailiffs and others. On January 27th, 1543, the Lord President, Bishop Lee, was buried in S. Chad's " before the highe aulter there, under a toombe of marble stone, being on(e) the right hand." Dugdale, who visited S. Chad's in 1663, speaks of the bishop's monument as a " large marble tombe erected and covered over with a faire marble stone " ; it was removed in 1720 to make room to come up to the altar. At the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, which took place during the Presidency of Bishop Lee, is the following entry in the municipal registers under the date of 9 Jan., 31 H. VIII. : " They be aggreed that there shalbe suyte made unto the Kynge and his Counsell by mediacion of my Lord President and Mr. Justice, that the Abbey may stand and remayne to receyve the prince's grace or any other nobilite of the realme that shall resorte to this towne." The suit failed, the abbey was dissolved, and only the church remained intact. The Lord President and Council therefore never again, as in Prince Arthur's time, kept Christmas within the abbey walls. Three years before the Dissolution it had been agreed (July 31st, 1357) that Mr. Newton's house be bought for the Lord President, and numerous entries henceforth occur in the municipal registers 2o6 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES with regard to it. In 1558 or 1559 the roof was tiled and the windows were glazed; in 1563 it was let to Lord Stafford, with reservation of the use of it for the Council and the Justices of Assize. The Council House has now been modernised, but its gateway remains one of the many adornments of the town. During the reign of Edward VI. a few notices occur of the stay of the Lord President and Councillors in the town. In 1548 wine was given to the Lord President, who was taking the musters of the men armed for Scotland ; they were cheered on their way by "histriones " — i.e. minstrels, or waits, as shown by the quaint entry, "'Regard' istrionibus ludentibus ante viros armatos." During Mary's reign no entry seems to occur in the town records respecting the Council, but during that of Elizabeth entries are numerous, especially in the Presidency of Sir Henry Sydney, who showed a special affection for Shrewsbury. In 1561 the Corporation spent 15^. %d. on going to Bridgenorth to learn the Lord President's pleasure touching the Council's arrival. Next year, 1562, £,\2 \os. Sd. was paid for wine, an ox, feeding of horses, and other necessaries given to Sir Henry Sydney during his stay in August, " on account of his favour to the town." The notes of such disbursements are not always couched in such grateful terms ; there is somewhat of grudging in the statement under 1565 : " Spent upon John Thogmorton Knight and William Gerrard and their wives at their coming at different times, ;)£S i6s. -jd." Sir Henry Sydney seems to have visited Shrewsbury almost every year when he was in England. In 1568 he and the Council issued a decree for the settlement of great disputes relating to corporation elections; in 15 71 he was entreated by the shearmen to give them help against the drapers, and in 1572 arrangements were made to give him a present of ^£6 13^. 4^. on his next visit. This took place in 1573, and was an occasion of much im- portance to the town. On his arrival, eighteen " chamber peeces " were shot off in a " ryaltie," or show at a "voyde place under the Wyld Copp joyning into Master Sherer's howse ; and also a lytell from the same at the foot of the Wyld Copp was an excellent oracion made unto him by one of the scollers of the THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 207 Free Scoole." The purpose of his coming was that, in company with the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, he might cause the churches to be reformed after the queen's injunctions. The result of their efforts is recorded thus : " This yeare the mynysters in the churches of Shrewsberye against Chrystmas dyd all weare theire cross-capps and white syrplesys, exercising the protestant religion, which long tyme before dyd leave them of [off] contrarie to the Queene's injunctions." A noteworthy visitor in 1573 or 1574 was Sir Philip Sydney, once a scholar at the Free School and now just returned from foreign travel. He came with his father, and received a present of wine, cakes, etc. In 1 58 1 Sir Henry Sydney, being a Knight of the Garter, kept the Feast of S. George at Shrewsbury with great splendour. On April 15th is a note of his intention, and a resolution that the town shall give him a fat ox. A festal service was held at S. Chad's, where the stalls were decorated with the arms of the knights. In the evening the Lord President kept open house. A week later he was entertained by the masters of the free school with a banquet in the school garden, and the next day the head boy and captains of the school addressed him with speeches, promising that when they reached man's estate they would valiantly defend their country. On his departure by river on May 8th, an elaborate pageant was prepared. " In the island about a quarter-of-a-mile down stream a band of music was stationed with certain of the scholars apparelled in the guise of water-nymphs with green willows on their heads." In mourn- ful strains they lamented his departure, " the which," says the chronicler, " was done so pitifully that truly it made many to weepe ; and my lord himself to change countenance." Mirth rather than tears might have been moved by the verses, of which the chronicler gives the following specimen : "And wyll yo'' honor needs depart And must it needs be soe ? Would God we could lycke fishes svvyme, That we might with the[e] go." No less quaint is the account of the visit of the " right honour- able lady Mary Sidney" in 1584. She came in her wagon to 2o8 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES the Council House, her husband arriving some days later ; " and as he passed in his waggons by the coondyt at the Wyld Coppe, were made two excellent orations by twoe of the Free Scoole Scollars, and so passed towards his ladye with his troompeter blowynge very joyfully to behold and see." Sydney's successor, the Earl of Pembroke, visited Shrewsbury in 1588, and mustered the townsfolk, both horse and foot. It was agreed beforehand that ^£^40 (raised later to ;!^5o) should be disbursed for his entertainment, j[^2o being allotted for a personal present. In 1589 Justice Shuttleworth and his wife came to Shrewsbury and received congratulations on his recent appointment as Chief Justice of Chester ; he repaid them by procuring that the Michaelmas Term of the Council should, much to the town's contentment, be kept at Shrewsbury. Much displeasure was evidently felt if the Council failed to resort annually to the town, or curtailed its stay. Under 1599 is an entry to the effect that the Council came to keep term, " but they continued here but one tearme and departed hence, seal and all, 6th of July, the towne being worse rather than better for them, because they had made provision for them for two tearmes." During the two following reigns the Shrewsbury records say comparatively little about the Council. In 161 1 it was decided that the Lord President should be met by the bailiffs, the alder- men, and the common council " in their beste suytes next to their robes of scarlett, and the wardens of companyes likewise in their best gownes ; and that the Bailiffs and six men shall bestow such charges as they thincke best for enterteynment of my Lord President, his lady and the rest of the Council." The slight disrespect shown by the words italicised is more marked in the next entry on the same subject in 1611-12 (January 23rd): "Aggreed that a gratuyteye not exceeding 20 nobles be bestowed on the Right Honourable the Lord President, if it please him to keepe Lent term next in this towne, or els not.^^ The same feeling is shown in the appointment of the six men (in 1613) as stewards for the over-seeing of the expenses for the Lord President's entertainment. Irritation against the Council had evidently spread even to Shrewsbury. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 209 In spite of this, the old custom of town contributions continued. Among the baiUffs' accounts is an interesting document showing how the matter was managed. The heading is : "To contribute towardes the enterteynm'te of my lord p[re]sident, 1615." Then comes the Hst as follows : " Drap[er]s .... Mercers .... Sherman .... Coruisers [i.e. Shoemakers Clothyers .... Glou[erJs .... Butchers .... Bakers and milnes [i.e. millers] Taylers .... Sadlers and smithes . Carpenters, Tylers, boyers [i.e. bowyers] Joyners Tanners ....... lij' V. iij' v^ xl'. xl'. xl'. iij- xl'. xl». xV. xxxnj' xh" UIJ" A list of places near Shrewsbury follows, with the total contri- bution from each of the groups. Then come the names of various persons in the streets of Shrewsbury— ^.^. in " Mardoll," " frankwell," " Knockyn streete," Claremont, " doggelane," "Le stalles," " Shoplatch," "le wyld Coppe," "Baxter's Rowe," " Corne markett," and " dogg pole." The sum-total contributed is ;^55 13^. 11^. (Bailiffs' Accounts, Box X. 559). The preceding extracts, taken mainly from the Shrewsbury Chronicle and the bailiffs' accounts, show how much importance was attached, at any rate in the sixteenth century, to the favour of the Council. There are further indications of the somewhat peremptory tone adopted by members of the Council towards the borough authorities. The following letter from Thomas Leighton may serve as an example : " Shrewsbury MSS. " 2630. " Worship" Si""^ one of my Servantes having a Taffeta Doublet to be made gaue the whole stripe for the same to a lewde ffellow 14 210 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES that wroght w"^ Thomas Connye, and nowe he being stoulne awaye hath paunde the said stuffe (as I am gyven to understand) w*'^ some one of the towne wherein yo" are officers. Wherefore I am to request yo" that there may be diligent search and enquiry made whoe hath the stuffe, the denyall of yt (as I take yt) ys w%in the Compas of ffellony — therefore I wold wish them that haue yt, looke to them selves for yf I fynde yt in anie mans Keapeing after you' publishing therof I will make their necks to Cracke yf lawe will admitt the same. And so hopeing yo" will use you"" endevo""* herein w^^ my hartie Comendacons I comyt yo" to god. Watlesburgh this xxiiif*^ of August 1598. " I wold not willingly p'cure anie mans troble yf I male haue the stuffe by way of Curtesey, otherwise I will use all the ex- tremytie I can, but I will haue the same. " You"" loving ffrend. " Tho: Leighton." William Leighton, again, writes to ask that the bailiffs will excuse from attendance at their Court a certain John Hassald, whom he needs as cook on his circuit.^ George Bromley writes to ask the bailiffs and schoolmaster to lease certain tithes to one of his servants ; any favour shown in this matter shall, he adds, be duly requited.^ Henry Townesend asked on behalf of his sister's man the freedom of the town and " lawfull fauor ffrom tyme to tyme in his honest behavior and well doinge." This somewhat vague request is made more explicit by the postscript, "My meanyng is by your ffavor he may have Licens to keepe a victelling howse." ^ Some years later the same writer begged that the trial of a case at Shrewsbury in which he was concerned might be postponed till his witnesses should be free to attend.* Occasionally the requests made by the members of the Council are not of a personal nature— ^.^. two of them pray that the " devotion and benevolence " of the town and liberty of Salop may relieve the inhabitants of Church Stretton, Avho in 1593 ' Shrewsbury MSS., No. 2621 (1582). » Ibid., No. 2621 (1584-5). * Ibid., No. 2621 (1584-5). ' Ibid., No. 2621 (1594). THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 211 had suffered great losses by fire.^ Similarly, at the request of the Lord President, the sum of j[,^ 13^. 4^. was given to Mr. William Croft in consideration of his great losses. To provide the money, two new burgesses were admitted, and the surplus of their payments was to be used for the boarding and finishing of the new house.^ The same amount was granted at the Council's request to their own serjeant-at-arms ^ in consideration of his service in the queen's wars. Other entries may be quoted to show the closeness of the relations between the Council and the borough — e.g. in August, 1568, the Council ordered the pressing of four brickmakers and two tilers to be set forward for Ireland, where they would be needed by the Lord Deputy Sir Henry Sydney.^ Another is the note : " Sol' Henrico Blakemere pro pictura proporcionis ville ostendend' Consilio domini Regis xij^.^ Among the other meeting-places of the Council, Hereford calls for some special notice. Among the undated papers in the city records is a letter from Ludlow Castle, in the name of Prince Edward, to the mayor, thanking him for furnishing twenty- four persons to be ready to attend on the prince to do his most dread lord and father the king service.^ This is one of the earliest, if not the earliest, contemporary records of the Council. Several letters are extant, addressed by the Council to the mayor, which deal with the enforcing of order — e.g. in 157 1 the Council sent on a letter received from the Privy Council, en- joining that on August 20th, September 12th, and October 12th next ensuing, from seven o'clock at night till three in the afternoon strict watch was to be kept in the whole shire for the appre- hension of all rogues, vagabonds, and sturdy beggars, who were to be punished "by stocking and sharp and severe ' Shrewsbury MSS., No. 2621 (1593). - Hist. MSS. Commission, 15th Report, App., Pt, X., Shrewsbury MSS., f. 1926, 1577, October 13th. ^ Ibid., 1571, April 23 (p. 16). * Ibid., p. 60, August 9th, 1568. * Ibid., p. 31. « Ibid., 13th Report, App., Pt. IV., Hereford MSS., p. 314. 212 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES whipping."^ In June, 1584, the Council wrote in the queen's name to the Mayor and Justices of Hereford to the following effect : " Our Council in the Marches are informed that there are sundry outrages, "unlawful assemblies, banding of people with sundry kinds of weapons, as swords, bucklers, morris-pikes, d^gs, privy coats and other munitions and armour daily walking up and down the cities and towns in the country ' facing and brasing ' our quiet subjects, and specially in the city of Hereford many assaults, affrays, and tumults have been committed and no punishment hath ensued ; you are therefore to repair to the city on all market days, fair days etc. and to bind over all persons found culpable to appear before the Council." ^ Similarly in February, 1554, the Council ordered the mayor to see that due watch was kept nightly in the city, and that the gates were closed and kept safe in convenient time for " th'e [sjchowing [i.e. the eschewing] of the misorder that might ensue and for the apprehending of such as would attempt the same." ^ Among other letters is one ordering the suppression, in accord- ance with the queen's proclamation, of traitorous and slanderous books and libels, especially one against the Earl of Leicester (m'z. Parsons' Leicester's Commonwealth).* Another enjoins the observance of the queen's late proclamation for the reformation of the unreasonable excess of apparel, " whiche having of late yeres dailie encreased is nowe in thende growen to such extreme disorder as in no wise is any longer to be suffered." ^ Once the Council had been informed of the existence of plague at Hereford, and wrote to the mayor bidding him make proclamation that no one was to come from the city to Ludlow for the approaching fair without special licence, on pain of imprisonment. The mayor replied, evidently with some resentment, that he had * Hist. MSS. Commission, 13th Report, App., Pt. IV., Hereford MSS., July 25th, 1 57 1, p. 329. * Ibid., June 17th, 1584, p. 331. ' Ibid., February 7th, 1554, p. 319. The Calendar has "the chouring." * Ibid., June 20th, 1584, p. 332. * Ibid., February 28th, 1 566-7, p. 329. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 213 fixed a copy of the Council's letter on a post in the market-place, in accordance with directions, but that, after conferring with his brethren, he had found few instances of recent death from any kind of disease, "so that who soever dyd gyve unto you any other knowledge is not a just man." ^ The Council certainly exercised a good deal of supervision over the city affairs, »s is seen by an order of February 9th, 1554, that the mayor should deliver to two persons named (chosen as wardens of the corpora- tion of goldsmiths, blacksmiths, cutlers, plumbers, glaziers, braziers, pewterers, and cardmakers) the charter of the said corporation and the stock belonging to it.^ As in the Shrews- bury MSS., notices occur of requests for postponement of suits in the city — e.g. in a case of debt for four silver spoons against Edmund Scrope, one of the clerks in attendance on the Council : the reason given is that he cannot appear at short notice. As late as 16 19 the connection between the Council and Hereford continued. In that year the mayor and some Justices of the Peace complained to the Privy Council of the opposition offered by a common councillor, Philip Traherne, to the levy of a rate for procuring a fresh charter. As the matter came from a place " within the jurisdiction of the Marches of Wales," it was referred to the Lord President, the Earl of Northampton, and the Chief Justice of Chester, and Sir Henry Townesend. These were to call the parties before them and deal with the case according to their discretion. A month later the matter was again discussed at the Privy Council, who came to the conclusion that it ought to be settled among the parties con- cerned; that Traherne, formerly disfranchised, ought to be reinstated, and that the mayor and common council should arrange for the assessment of the amount expended (over ^300). If by " amicable and friendly treaty and conference among them- selves " the matter could not be settled, it was ordered that the Lord President and Council of the Marches " shall enterpose their authority and assistance for ending of the same either by ' Hist. MSS. Commission, 13th Report, App., Pt. IV,, Hereford MSS., November nth, 1556, p. 328. * Ibid., February 9th, 1554, p. 319. 214 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES course of Justice, or otherwise as they shall finde expedient for the good peace and quiett of that Citty." ^ The most curious entry in the Hereford MSS. relating to the Council of the Marches is certainly the account of preparations for the visit received in the winter of 1556-7.^ The authorities resolved that " ther be preparid within that citie of Hereford the fairest house and of most easment whiche requirithe to have one lodginge for my lord with ij severall roromes [sic] for himsealf, one chamber for his gromes, and one chambre for his apparell if this may be." Additional lodging had to be pro- vided for three of the Council, the steward, the gentleman-usher or harbinger, the usher of the hall, the butler, pantler, porter, etc. This, it was reckoned, would mean " xxx^^® feather bedds with all thinges belonginge to the same for my lord, the counsaill, and their men at the lest." Other items in the list of requisites are: "6 hogsheads or 10 barrels of good beer, 10 large wain loads of good fuel to be taken from the Queen's wood, stables, hay, provender and litter for 20 horses or more, and grass for 60 geldings and nags or more." In the way of furniture is set down : " Item viij large table clothes, iiij towels, iiij cupurd clothes, vj dosine of napkines and xxx*'^ candillsticks ether of pewter or latten as you may gett them." Then comes a list of pots and pans, platters, dishes, and saucers, down to the buckets and tubs for carrying water. Various persons were called upon to provide the lodging utensils just mentioned. The Treasurer and Chancellor of Hereford Cathedral between them were to entertain the Lord President, the Councillors, and some of their attendants, fourteen beds being provided in the Cathedral Close. Other leading citizens were to find beds in their houses, and, in some cases, furniture as well. Others, again, were to provide furniture only — e.g. the mayor was to find "a bedde of dowle, a bolster, two pyllywers with pyllowe beres, a peyr of ffustyan blankettes, a peyre of shettes, a fether bed." Another citizen was to provide the humble but useful • Council Register, Vol. IV. (James I.), under dates October 27th and November 27th, 1619. « Hereford MSS., pp. 323, 324. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 215 gridiron ; another, four candlesticks ; and yet another was to find " two arryes clothes." In all probability similar arrangements would be made for the Council's visits to other places in the Marches, where they were not provided with any permanent place of residence. Some references to the Council occur in the Chester MSS. Their fewness is explained by the fact that, as noticed above, the city was exempted from its jurisdiction in the reign of Elizabeth. In August, 1562, the Council issued a warrant to the mayor for the due execution of certain wilful and murderous perjurers, who were to be paraded through the streets of the city " from the porter's lodge to the shire (hall) and back to the same lodge through the market place." ^ In May, 1569, the Earl of Leicester wrote to Sir Hugh Cholmondeley, Vice-President of Wales, and to three others, bidding them repair to Chester and inquire into the causes and extent of the alleged decay of the city. Nearly two years later (April, 157 1) the Commissioners reported to the earl that "the citizens in tymes past have bene in great wellth and habilitie and at this present are in great and pytifuU decay and without help will assuredly goe to utter ruyne and beggery." The principal link of the Council with Chester was of course the fact that the Chief Justice of that city was the most important member of the Council. This chapter may be concluded by quoting a few references from the Bridgenorth MSS. These are mostly entries of presents or payments for bell-ringing — e.g. "in 161 8 a potte of metheglyn, price \2d. and a potte of sack and a potte of claret wine, price 3^. 4^."'' In 1608 the charges "bestowed on my Lord President and his Lady" amounted to j[^2'j ^s. M.^ — a considerable sum for so small a place. One entry belonging to the later days of the Council is worth quoting in full ; one would like to know the rights of the case : " Resolved that the information preferred by the Kinge's Majesties Attorney of his highnes Counsell in the Marches of Wales against the foresaid Bayliffes ' Hist. MSS. Commission, Report VIII., App., Chester MSS. 2 Ibid., Report X., Pts. 3, 4, Bridgenorth MSS., pp. 432-3. ' Ibid., p. 432. 2i6 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES of this town, whereby they are charged with Hcensinge of 200 alehowses and 40 budgers of corne and graine and other pro- visions, and for sufiferinge and not suppressinge 100 unlicensed alehowses in the s^ towne shalbe answered, and the charge in answering and defending that suit shalbe born at the generall charge of the town" (March 15th, 1633-4).^ ' Hist. MSS. Commission, Report X., Pts. 3, 4, Bridgenorth MSS,, p. 429, f. 570. CHAPTER VIII THE PROCEDURE OF THE COUNCIL The scantiness of the material for the early history of the Council in the Marches prevents any detailed description of its procedure before the reign of Henry VIII. Among the Shrewsbury MSS. are several documents of the years 1511 and 1512, which show the forms used for stay of action and discharge of suitors in the bailiffs' Court, and for direction to the baihffs to examine a bill of complaint and report on it to the Council. These documents are all headed, '' By the King," and after the dating clause the words are added, " And the Lord p'sident and Counsaile in the Marches of Wales," or, in one case, " By the Kinges Commissioners being at Ludlowe." The instructions to the Princess's Council in 1525 give full details as to the procedure to be followed in the execution of the various commissions mentioned. In executing the Com- mission of Oyer and Terminer they were first of all to issue to the Sheriff of Gloucestershire process of venire facias, sum- moning jurors of the shire to appear before them to inquire of all felonies and other offences mentioned in the Commission. On the day of the sessions, which were to begin at 9 a.m., or soon after, the Commission was to be read in Latin by the clerk of the peace, and the tenor explained by one of the Com- missioners. Oaths were then to be administered to the " inquests," and they were to be charged to give their verdicts with all speed, after which the Commissioners were to see that each indictment was good and sufficient in law, so that pro- ceedings might at once be taken against the parties therein mentioned. A similar course was to be followed in executing 217 2i8 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES the Commission of offices and patents. The Sessions of Oyer and Terminer were to last for eight or ten days (Sundays being ahvays excepted) in each county within the Commission. Any person disobeying or disregarding the Commissioners' orders was to be attached by the sheriff, mayor, constable, bailiff, or other fitting officers, and sent either to the king or to the Council at Westminster, or kept elsewhere in safe custody as seemed advisable. The procedure in suits arising out of a bill of complaint was to be as follows : the person complained of was to be sent for by a letter missive under the king's signet to answer to the charge against him. If he failed to appear, he was to be compelled by letters of attachment addressed to the sheriff, constable, etc. The Council was to attend daily to the reading and answering of bills ; their answer was to be endorsed on the bill by the clerk, and declared to the party suing. No member was to be a party in any matter before the Council, unless it actually concerned himself, in which case he was not to be present during the hearing. Each Councillor was to be at liberty to give his opinion, and " no person of them shall conceaue in- dignacion, displeasure or wrathe against any other of his com- pany for sayeinge his advise purposed in the same whome that euer it touche." No one was to remain in the Council during its deliberations except sworn members or persons specially summoned. Decrees, etc., were not to be passed unless at least three of the Council were present, in addition to the Lord President, or, in his absence, four at least, the chancellor or some other chief officer being one. Decrees were to be re- corded by the clerk of the Council. Matters of special import- ance were not to be proceeded with, but referred to the king or the Privy Council. Nothing was to be regarded as assented to unless at least three Councillors and an officer agreed, and their assent was not to be effectual unless they formed a majority of the members present. Any bill that passed was to be sub- scribed (either in the meeting-place of the Council or elsewhere) by the Councillors responsible for it. In case of difference of opinion, the matter under discussion was to stand over till the THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 219 next meeting, when it was to be decided according to the view of the majority. The clerk of the Council was to be bound by oath, that in settling the order in which bills of complaint should be presented to the Council, he would as far as possible give priority to the bill of the poorest suitor ; those learned in the law were " to geue the poore man assistance and true Counsayle in his matters so to be sued without any goodes takeinge of him upon paine of dischardgeinge him or them of their offices." Further details as to procedure may be gathered from the various books of instructions, especially those to Sir Henry Sydney in 1574 and to the Earl of Pembroke in 1586. The clearest statement, however, is that drawn up by the Earl of Pembroke during his first term of office. It includes a list of the officers of the Court, from the Chief Justice downwards, with full details as to fees, and strictures on the various abuses that had crept into the Court. This is followed by a list of " th' entries and formes of the awarding of all maner of process, Commissions and suchelike in all matters and cawses there and of the whole course of their proceedinges in the same, in suche sorte as they are usually entred and set downe in the originall Recordes therof" — viz. Proces of c" upon A I're to the defendante to appere the daie the bill of com- ^ .... plainte exhibited. of to answere upon pame of c^^. Proces of con- fforasmuche as A. B. hath deposed that he *^""P'^* aboute daies before the retourne of hir jj^^ties i^gj. j'j.gg Qf ^x deliuered the same to the defendante and for that the defendante appeared not accordingly, but disobeyed etc. Therefore a I're to the said defendante, recyteng his con- tempt, to appere the daie of nexte to answer as well to the matter as to his contempte, upon paine of allegeance. Proces of Procia- fforasmuche as C. D. hath deposed that he ™^^°°' aboute daies before the retourne of hir highnes I'res of allegeance aboue menc'oned 220 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Proces of pro- clamac'on of re- bellion with attache- ment. Proces of attache- ment with seques- trac'on. L'res Placardes. deliuered the same to the defendante, who appered not etc., Therfore a I're to the Signet (Sheriff ?) of the Cowntie of to make pro- clamac'on in places conuenient within his office for the apparance of the defendant the daye of nexte to answer etc. Letting him to witt yf He then make defalte of apparance, he thenceforthe shalbe taken a Rebell, and the Sherif to certefy etc. upon payne of c". fforasmuch as it appereth by the certifikat annexed sent to this Counsaile from the Sherif of the Countie of whereby it appereth that he hath fully executed the tenour of the same l'res of proclamac'on etc. Therefore a I're eftsoones to the said Sherif, not only to proclaime the defendante a Rebell etc., But also him to apprehend and him to bring or send to this Counsell the daie of etc. and to certifie etc. fforsmuche as it appereth by the certificate annexed sent to this Counsaile from the Sherif etc. That he hath not only proclaimed the Defendant to be a Rebell, But alsoe hath made serche for him etc. and him cannot fynde etc. Therfore a I're to the said Sheryf not only tomake serche for the defendante, But also to sequester into his handes to her ma^^^^ use all suche landes, tenementes, goodes, cattells etc. as the defendante hath within his office, and the same to deteyne with the meane profittes ther of. And to certefye etc. fforasmuch as it appereth by the certificat annexed from the Sherif etc. that the defendante hath not any landes or goodes etc. within his office etc. Therefore l'res placardes be graunted unto the gentlemen subscribed to make serche for the defendante and him to apprehend etc. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 221 Like I'res This of course is to be graunted upon any of the former I'res discontinued. Hit ma"" Letters of sondrie natures upon a bill ex- hibited. The titles or names of sondry enformac'ons and billes of complainte exhibited to the right honorable the Lo : President and others hir ma"" counsaile in the marches of Wales, with the first proces unto them seuerally graunted by said Lo : President and Counsaile as fol- loweth. and forth with upon his apprehenc'on to bring or send to this Counsaill etc. comaunding all officers etc. to be aydeng the said gentlemen in execuc'on of the premisses, etc. fforasmuche as nothing was donne in th' execuc'on of hir ma*'"^** former I'res, Therfore at the plaintiffes humble suite like I'res as the former were be directed to the defendante to appere etc. fifor matters of debte, non-saving harmless, and suche like of small moment sometyme a Commission is directed unto gentlemen of credit, to ende the same with out a Retourne, or with retourne, as to the said Courte it shalbe thought meete. Alsoe sometymes proces is directed for those causes and for diuerse other matters to bynde the defendante ther apparance in this Courte upon affidavit made or some other iust cause shewed. Sometymes for the removing of a force, proces is directed to the Sherif and Justices of Peace to remove the same according to the statute. Likewise proces is sometymes directed unto the Sergeant at armes and purseuantes for the bringing into this Courte of disobedient persones and sometymes for other greate matters as occason requyreth. The order of endorcement whereupon hir Ma"®^ I'res are directed for the apparance of the defendante. 222 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Riotes, Rowtes, unlawful! assemblies etc. Rescue. fforgery and pro- curing therof. Periury and pro- curing thereof. Imbeselling of Recordes out of this Courte. Forfecting o f bandes taken to hir ma"''^ use in this Courte. Seruing of false billettes by colour of proces out of this Courte. Regrating and forstalling. Droving etc. Incontynency. wrongful! impri- sonment. Maintenance. Affrayes etc. Comortha. Actons by e7iforma(^on A I're to the defendante to appere the dale of next to answere upon paine of c". A I're to the defendante to appere ut supra. A I're to the defendante to appere as before. do. do. do. do. do. do. do. do. do. do. do. All these with diuerse other matters upon penall statutes th' enformers are enioyned in x^^ to prosequute. Somtymes proces is directed unto some gentlemen of credit to bynd the defendantes in the matters before menc'oned for their apparance before the Lo : President and Counsaile upon affidauit made, or some other iust cawse shewed. The tenor of which proces ensueth. A I're to the gentlemen subscribed or to any one of them to make serche for the defendantes and them to bynde by seuerall obligac'ons in the summe of xP' a yeare to her ma^'*^® use with sufificient sureties for their personall apparance in this Courte the daie of to answer, And at their apparance not to departe with- out the speciall licence of this Counsaile. And yf they refuse to enter into the said bandes then to committ him or them so THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 223 refusing to warde to the nexte gaole there to remaine untill he or they be conformable to enter into the said bandes. And the said gentlemen of their doinge herein to certefy etc. Acdons by bill of complainte Breache of your A I're to the defendante to appere the LoP' order or of an ^ ^f ^g^^^ ^^ aunswer to the breache order taken by Com- ■' missioners by Com- of th' order within signed, upon paine of c^^ mission from this Courte. Debtes without A I're to the defendante to paye unto the specialtie. plaintiffe the some of money by him or them in demaund according to iustice or else to appere to an s were upon paine of c". Execuc'ons. A I're to the defendante to satisfye the plantiffe of thexecuc'ons in demaund accord- ing to Justice, or else to appere to answere upon paine of c". Mariage money. A I're to the defendante to pay unto the plaintiffe the marriadge money in demaunde according to Justice or else, etc. Non-saving A I're to the defendante to saue the plaintiffe arme ess. harmeless, touching the matter him and the defendante in trauerse, according to iustice, or else, etc. Non-sealing a A I're to seale and deliuer unto the plaintiffe specia le. ^^ specialty in demaunde according to Justice, or else, etc. Non-cancelling a A I're to the defendante to deliuer to the plain- being dLchSgeT' ^iffe the band in demaunde to be cancelled, or a sufficient acquittance in discharge therof, according to Justice, or else, etc. Wager of Law. A I're to the officers within named to admitt the plaintiffe to his wager of lawe in the acc'ons within specified yf by order of law he ought to be thereunto admitted, as to the contrary they will answer at their perill. 224 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Reteyning of goodes, cattells, corne and hows- hold stuffe. Deteyning of eui- dence uncertaine. Legacies. Trackes. Compulsory for A I're to the wittnesses to appere at the wittnesses. courte within menc'oned when they shalbe therunto by the plaintiff requyred to testefye the trothe of their Knowledge in the matter within specified, upon the plaintiffe's behalf, costes and charges upon paine of c^\ A I're to the defendante to deliuer to the plaintilfe the goodes etc. in demaunde, according to Justice, or else to appere, etc. A I're to the defendante to deliuer to the plaintiffe the euidences in demaund according to Justice, or else, etc. A I're to the defendante to satisfye the plaintiffe of the legacies in demaund accord- ing to Justice, or else, etc. A I're to the defendante to satisfie the plaintiffe for his cattelles in demaund according to Justice, or else, etc. A I're to the defendante to appere the day of nexte to answer and shew their cawse of suite upon paine of c^'. Tytle of Common. A I're to the defendante to permitte and suffer the plaintiffe quietly to occupye and enioye his common in demaunde according to Justice, or else, etc. A I're to the defendante to caste open the common in trauerse, or else, etc. A I're to the defendante to deliuer to the plaintiffe the cattelles in demaunde according to Justice, or else, etc. A I're to the defendante to deliuer to the plaintiffe the cattelles in demaunde upon the plaintiffe's band in xx^' with sufficient suretie for redeliuering of the same to the defendante yf upon examinac'on of the matter it shalbe soe ordered by the Lo : President and Counsaile, Serving of sub- penas and other writtes. Enclosing Commons. of ReteynengofCat telles. Impownding of cattelles. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 225 and for that extent the defendante to appere to answere, etc. A I're with the bill therein closed are directed unto the gentlemen subscribed to call before them the plaintiff and defendant for due ex- aminac'on of the matter within menc'oned. And thereuppon by their good meanes and wisdome with the parties assente fynally to ende the same yf they so can. And yf they cannot so do, through the obstinacie of the defendante, Then they to prefixe the defendante so obstinate of apparance in this Courte the daye of nexte to answer, etc. And to certefye, etc. There be diuerse other billes exhi- bited to the Lo : President and Coun- saile whereuppon proces are graunted from tyme to tyme as the cause re- quireth. Sometyme for these matters of debte, m a r i d g e money, non saving harmeless, deteyn- ing of goodes etc. and suchehke causes of small valuea com- ission is directed to some gentlemen of credit to end this controuersie. The commission is of the tenor hereafter ensuing. Yf the matter be of small value and not worthie th' ex- aminac'on in this Courte, then this Comission is with- out Retourne. Yf these cawses be of great impor- tance, Then upon Affidauit that the defendante is a fugityue and a con- temptuous persone, proces is sometymes graunted for to bynde the defen- dante of apparance. Examples of many of the proceedings mentioned above occur in the Shrewsbury MSS., in the correspondence between the Court of the Marches and the town bailiffs. The following may serve as samples of petitions addressed to the Council : 15 Yf the defendante do not appere according to the proces aboue menc'oned, Then upon oathe taken, that the defendante was therewith serued, proces of contempt is awarded against him. And so upon his further disobedience, the proces first aboue mencioned are directed against the defendante in order as they are placed unto I'res placardes, excepte upon some speciall reason to the contrary. 226 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES •' To the Quenes Ma**'" Counsaill for the M'ches of Wales. " Complayninge shew*''^ unto yo"" good Lordeships yo'' orator Richard Manninge al's Braband of the towne and countie of Salop Taylo"" nowe p'sent that whereas one Will'm Piers of the same towne and com' of Salop' m'cer [i.e. mercer] is and standeth duely indetted unto yo*" said orato'' in the some of fyftie shillinges of Lawfull money of England for workemanshipe of app'ell to hym and to his servantes made at his com'aundem^ upon his promes to paie yo"" said orato'' for the sayd workemanshipe at dyu'se and sondry tymes, paiable at daies past, And albeit yo"" said orato"^ dyu'se and sondry tymes requested paym't of the said some, yet the deff'. beinge an uniust p'son utterly refuseth to paie the same w'ch is against all right, equitie and iustice and to yo'' orato" expresse wronge. And for that yo"" said orato"" wanteth specialty to chardge the defendant w%all at the comen Lawe and thereby remedyles, maye it therefore pleas yo'^ Lordeships to comaunde the said defendant (beinge p'sent) tanswer fo"" godes Love.^ " Ex-- per Th. Evance." The petition is followed by a bill showing the various sums due — e.g. " It. for makyng of your hose eggyd vv. sarsnett . . ij= vj'^. It. for lynyng the Coller of your Cloke . . . vj*. It. for makyng of your satyn sleues and mendyng the bodes [sic] viij*." The second petition deals with more serious matters : " To the Quenes ma*^^ Counsaill in the m'ches of Wales. " In his most humble wise sheweth unto yo'' L. yo*" orator Richard Dryhurst servant and attendaunt upon the worshipful! Henry Towneshende esquier, one of the same. That wheras the same yo'' orator aboute xen of the Clocke of saturdaie the xxij*** of this moneth at night in gods peace and the quenes mat^ (having no kind of weapons aboutes him), did accompany and send one John Dryhurst gent, his uncle ou' the welshe brydge ' Shrewsbury MSS., No. 2621. The year is 1570. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 227 of this Towen of Salopp towardes his lodginge in franquell mett one lewes Gwyn gent, one of his felowes at the same gatte passinge ou' the same bridge, and as he there in frendely sorte bade good night to his said felowe throughe the wicked [st'c] of the gatte ouer viij'' of the waitchmen appoincted to waithe the same night in this Towne of Salopp arrogatinge some promynence to them selfes or otherwise incurradged and set one by some of thoccupiers of this towne who do maUgne the Company attend- inge the same Counsaill to haue mischeif or murther one of the company and therby to terrifie the rest as heartofore they haue attempted the Hke upon sundry others of the same Company who likewise narowly escaped their handes, in most despitfull and arrogant soret [sic] as yo"" orator passed by them havinge bydden good night to his said felowe ane of the said waithmen then p'ntlie (i.e. presentlie) and fyercly p'essed (i.e. pressed) towardes yo'' orator and tooke hold in him by the CoUer, and said I will make they geve us also good night and therupon w^** his fyst strake yo'' orator ou' {i.e. over) the eye upon the face a great blowe [till he was black and blewe] and ymediatlye the rest of the watchmen w*'' their waithinge weppons thrusted, feyned and strake at yo"" orator and one of them with his gleave thrust yo' orator into the belly through his dowbled and shurte that verey narowly he escaped his lief and gave unto yo*" orator diu'se other blowes or strokes and had bene vere like to haue murthered yo'' orator [and not so contented hayled and puled yo'' orato'' towardes the kayge swearing grete othes that there he shuld remaigne that night like a roge]. Whiche offence deserveth Correcc'on in example of others and to advoid further inconvenienc like to ensue wherefore and to thende the offendo^'s may be Knowen and ponished, may yt pleas yo"" L. to graunt Com'ission to the baylif of this Towne and Thomas sheirer gent. Chief Cler. attendinge this Courte or to any two of theim, wherof the said Mr. Sherer to be on ^ to Call before them the said waithmen appoincted for that night and them to examien upon their othes and therby and by all otheir wayes and meanes they cane to learne and trie out who were the same offenders and suche ' Sc, one. 228 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES as they finde culpable to baile of apparaunc before yo' L. furthwith t'answere herunto to thende suche order may be taken w'th them as to yo'' L. shall be thought good, and thus for gods love." ^ The following is an order to the bailiffs to deliver to the porter of the Council the bodies of two persons suspected of treason : " By the Quene. " Right welbiloued we greate yo" well. And woU and comaunde yo" furthew^'^ to deliuer unto the Porter attending our Counsaill in our marches of Wales or his sufficient deputie the bodye of one Margaret wief to Richard Gruf (?) remayning in your warde upon suspic'on of Treason, not failing hereof upon payne of c^', yeven under o*' Signet At o*' Castle of Ludlowe the vij*-^ dale of November the xij^^ yere of o"" raigne. " And her ma*^^ Counsaill " In the Marches of Wales. " Regina. Endorsement. " To our right belbeloued the Bailiffes of our Towne of Salopp." 2 The following is an order to the bailiffs to discharge a person from their custody at Shrewsbury : " By the Quene. " Right welbelouid we grete yo'* well. And woU and comaunde yo" furthw*^** to dischardge Oliuer ap Dauid of the acc'on of detynewe comenced against him by John pavior in the court of yo*" aucthoritie as highe as c markes. And to enlardge him out of yo'' ward where he nowe remayneth to his libertie according to the auncient p'viledge of our Court w*** our Counsaill in our m'ches of Wales, ffaile ye not herof upon paine of c^*. • Shrewsbury MSS., No. 2621. The date is 1583 or 1584. The words in brackets are additions to the original petition. ^ Ibid., The year is 1570. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 229 Yeven und"" o*" Signet at o'' Towne of Salopp the xvj*'* daie of June the xij*''^ yere of o*" Reigne. "And her ma^*^^ Counsaill " In the m'ches of Wales. "Oliuer ap Dauid. Endorsement. "To o"" right welbeloued the Bailieffes of our Towne of Salopp." 1 The most complete extant record of a suit before the Council appears to be that respecting the town tolls of Shrewsbury in 1598-9.^ The case is of general interest as throwing much light on municipal affairs at that date ; it has also a special interest in that it preserves the actual depositions of witnesses before Commissioners appointed by the Council. The origin of the suit was as follows : On February i8th, 1597-8, the petitioner, Edward Pickstock, servant to Mrs. Alexander Wood (tenant of Black Abbey, near Shrewsbury, the property of All Souls' College, Oxford), accompanied his mistress to Shrewsbury market. During the morning the bailiffs and their Serjeants walked through the market " to see good order kept, and to persuade such as then and there sold corn to sell the same at reasonable prices in this time of dearth." Finding that Mrs. Wood was selling her corn too dear, they remonstrated with her ; whereon she abused them roundly, saying they had no right to price her corn. They naturally retorted ; whereupon Edward Pickstock took up the cudgels on his mistress's behalf, saying that " she came not thither to buy wit nor to borrow wisdom " of the bailiff. After more wrangling, Pickstock was committed to the custody of one of the serjeants-at-mace, there to remain till he should find surety for his good behaviour and for his personal appearance before the Privy Council. This incident in itself would have had no importance, had it not • Shrewsbury MSS., No. 2621. ^ For the transcript of this long case and for some valuable notes bearing upon it, I am indebted to the generous kindness of Mr. Phillips, of Shrewsbury. 230 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES raised the question of the right of the corporation of Shrewsbury to exact toll from all persons bringing goods into the town. Pickstock's master, Alexander Wood, held that he was exempt from such payment in virtue of a charter granted by Henry VI. to All Souls' College. It would seem that Wood made use of his servant's imprisonment to test this supposed right, and in all probability he was backed up by his landlord, the college. The proceedings in this suit fill seventy-nine sheets, mostly written on both sides. They begin with Pickstock's petition to the Privy Council that his case may be examined by means of Justices of the Peace. A summary of this was sent by the Privy Council to the Chief Justice of Chester, Sir Richard Shuttleworth, together with a statement that the Justices of the parts near Shrewsbury had complained of the taking of excessive tolls. The Council of the Marches was to ascertain by what authority such tolls were levied, and to take order for their surcease and for Pickstock's liberation. Then follows the answer of the bailiffs, Thomas Burnell and Richard Cherwell, denying the allegations in Pickstock's petition and maintaining that he was " noted to be a common quarreller, drunkard, haunter of ale- houses, and a notorious disordered person." Pickstock's repli- cation deals with the question of excessive tolls, and alleges that the exactions and oppressions of the bailiffs and their officers are generally complained of in the county. Then follow the rejoinder of the bailiffs and the surrejoinder of Pickstock. On March 30th, 1598, the first hearing of the case took place at Ludlow before the Earl of Pembroke ; it was adjourned till the following June, and in the meantime a letter was to be directed to four gentlemen to meet in the Booth Hall of Shrewsbury on April 27th, for the purpose of examining on oath the witnesses for both parties. The interrogatories administered to the witnesses produced by Pickstock were eleven in number — e.g. I. " Item, doe you knowe the said parties, the towne of Salop, three gates entringe into the said towne, the markett place therein, and howe longe haue you knowen them or euery or any of them ? " 3. "Do you knowe or haue you crediblie heard that in THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 231 auncient time past there was a farthinge paide for euery horselode or one strike of come at the coming in of the gates or one of theim of the towne of Salop and nowe a half peny, and for a waine loade of any maner of cariedg in time past a halfepeny and nowe a peny ? " The sixteen witnesses gave full evidence as to the practice of toll-taking both at the gates and in the market-place of Shrews- bury, and to the increase in the amount of toll within their memory. It would appear from their evidence that the price of corn at Shrewsbury had been so enhanced by heavy tolls that sellers preferred to take their corn to market elsewhere — e.g. Oswestry, Newport, Drayton, Bishop's Castle, and Wellington. Some witnesses admitted that they had bought corn at other market towns, and made a profit by selling it at Shrewsbury. Twelve interrogatories were administered to the sixteen witnesses for the defendants ; their evidence is less full than that for the plaintiffs, and deals mainly with the sale of corn by Elizabeth Wood at an excessive price. ^ On July loth the case was heard at Bewdley before the Council in the Marches ; it was decreed that unjustifiable tolls had been taken, and that in future none might be taken beyond a specified amount, which was to be made known by notices and proclamation. The next document concerning the suit is a letter from Thomas Owen to his brother Edward, one of the Commissioners, begging that the case might be heard afresh, seeing that the custom of taking toll for keeping the market clean prevailed in all the market towns of Shropshire, and in Lancashire and London too. This is followed by a letter from Sir Richard Shuttleworth to his "verie loving frends" of the Council, urging that the execution of the Council's order of July should be suspended till the case had been heard afresh. The charter granted to Shrewsbury by Henry VI. had in one instance been mistranslated, and certain accounts affecting the issue had not been heard in Court. Accordingly, on August 9th the Council wrote to the bailiffs bidding them appear on • The evidence of these witnesses shows the extreme difficulty of enforcing the statutes fixing the price of food. 232 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES November i3thj for the re-hearing of the case and authorising them in the meantime to take the accustomed tolls, with due care not to commit any abuse against those coming to the market. This fresh hearing duly took place, and after consideration of "sundrie auncient graunts, charters, officers' accoumpts, ex- emplificac'ons and matters of record," the case was dismissed, the parties grieved being at liberty to seek their remedy else- where. The bailiffs triumphantly issued a proclamation making known the result of their suit, and ordering the payment of the accustomed tolls. The remaining proceedings are not clear. The Town Council wrote to the Council of the Marches asking that the injunction by which Wood was freed from paying toll might be removed. On January 28th, 1598-9, the parties again appeared before the Council, the matter of the tolls was heard, and dismissed to the common law. Full directions were given for the way in which the matter was to be brought to issue. At the same time the injunction of the previous July (in Wood's favour) was declared void to all intents and purposes. The last stage of the proceedings was reached on March 9th, 1598-9, when the case was heard before Justice Shuttleworth and the Council of the Marches ; but no record of their decision survives, nor does it appear why the case came again before them after it had been referred to the common law. This sketch of the Council's legal procedure may be appro- priately ended by the list of charges incurred by the town of Shrewsbury in the above case. The fees proper amount to j£^ 14s., and the expenditure on food, lodging, and gifts to j^g 135. 2d. The fees are certainly higher than those allowed by the instructions of 1574 (Clive, pp. 343, ef seqq.), but not very much higher considering the importance of the case. The item that strikes one as excessive is the " extraordinarie dinner," at a cost of 24s. 6d. ; but very possibly the money was well spent and helped to secure success.^ ' For the expensiveness of Ludlow inns, see Brit. Mus. Add. MSS. 33.589, f- 3- THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 233 Legal Charges. At Ludlow the ii"\ i2*''\ I3*''", 14*'^ I5^^ iG^''^ of November 1598 for the townes cawse viz. for the Tolles and the staye of Lewis. Ffirst unto Mr. MedHcott for his travaile in^ helping in serching all ye pleadings and depositions and drawing out breviats for bothe the cawses. Unto Jo. Bevion for writing up y*' Lardg bre-\ viate by Mr. Medlicott's motion contayning \ three sheets of pap"". / iiij Cownselors ffees in y® cawse of y® toles viz.l Mr. Lewis, Mr. Litleton, Mr. Medlicott 1- and Mr. Smith, every of y™ 10* ij Counselers ffees in the cawse of Twis viz. Mr.^ Morgan x" and Mr. Medlicott xx** in con- sideration of his speciall travaile to Ludow \slc\ w*'*' us onely for theas cawses. Mr. Edward Preese y^ Attorney his ffee for both^ cawses. J Unto Thomas Phelips and anothe, for writing^ 3 of y*^ lardger breviats vj^ and for drawing j- y® oficall \sic\ order twise ij^. j The copie of the oficiall order under teste and^ for expidicton. / Unto Mr. Bothe in y° Coort for his paynes and^j helpe ij^ to y^ porters man for his favowre I for rome in y^ cort xij'' unto y® regester x, j Mr. Price xij'' unto the marshall iij^ viij''. ] Paid for a link 10'^, bestowed in wine on y^^ clarks of the signitt 2^ and on the cown-r selers clerks, 20". J Unto y^ Porters men for fetching Evans' wife^ to y^ coort. / xx^ xl- vnj^ xvj*^ vii^ viij"^ iiij^ vj<^ xij* 234 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Chard' of an extraordinarie dinner on Sunday^ for our learned cownsile, our Attorney and I owr owne whole companie and for wine and j after to the same and y*^ after noone. J All the other chardg of diett and horsmeat thear-^ the same time viz Mr. Baylie Perche and his servant, Mr. Burnell and his man, Mr. Edw. Owen and his man, Mr. Adam Mytton his sonne and man, being 9 p'sons and 9 horses. Extraordinarie wine the same time and some") gestes. j Fewell viz. Mr. Bayliffs chamber 2^ 9^*, Mr. Burnell and Mr, Owen 3* 6'^ and in Mr. Mytton's chamber where wee dined and supped some times, 4® 3^ Geven in rewards in ye howse at our coming) away. / Som of this bill is xv^' vi'f i}'^. Ther were to attend this business Mr. Baylie Perche, Mr. Burnell, Mr. Edw. Owen. Mr. Adam Mytton, one serjant and everie one their man. vij*^ xxnij^ vy ny viy vny vy Edward Jones. John Perche. Roger Evans. Edward Lloyd. Wm. Hasillwall. Willm. Fawknor. John Downes. CHAPTER IX FINANCES OF THE COUNCIL. THE MANAGEMENT OF THE HOUSEHOLD AT LUDLOW CASTLE With regard to the finances of the Council a good deal of information is available in the form of warrants, accounts, and so forth. In the Council's early days its expenses were for the most part merged in those of the prince or princess on whom the members nominally attended. In the account of sums paid by the treasurer of the chamber and the cofferer for the household expenses of the Princess Mary from July ist, 1525, to December 31st, 1526, the following items occur: Expenses of the Councillors being out of Court on) ^ ^ , , • • \ £9^ 15-y- 9k^- commission. j ^^ j ^^ Wages and fees of the Councillors and others ^265 16-y. 8 To the same Commissioners in further payment.^ ^80 os. od. Yearly fees, diets, etc., of the Commissioners in thel ^ , Marches of Wales (November 22nd, 1530).^ ]^ Order to the Treasurer of the Chamber and his suc- cessor for the payment of diets and wages of Roland, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, and others of the Council of the Wesh Marches. for Diet (per week), 1534 £\o os. od. „ foreign expenses per ann. 1535^ £66 13^, 4«f. It would seem, on the basis of the last two extracts, that the expenses of the Council amounted to ^586 ly. /[d., exclusive of fees. Bishop Lee, however, found his allowances inadequate, and in 1536 he reminded Cromwell more than once of the necessity of augmenting either the diet-money or the allowance for foreign expenses, " considering the great charges of appre- hending the multitude of these thieves."^ He had also to complain of the expense involved in the renewal of the commissions and warrants for diet, which amounted to ;^2o a year. Sir Brian Tuke (Treasurer of the Chamber) had to be given jQ^ ; his clerk, 26s. 8d. ; and, in spite of this, Lee's servant was kept seven or eight weeks in London waiting for the money.^ He urged the necessity of increasing the sums allowed, as the ' Gairdner, Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII., Vol V., p. 318. 2 Ibid., Vol. v., p. 319. 3 Ibid., Vol. v., p. 322. < Ibid., Vol. VII. 1026 (28), and Vol. VIII. 149 (17). « Ibtd., Vol. X. 259, and Vol. XI. 1255. « Ibid., Vol. XII., Pt. II. 1094 (1537). THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 237 Council was not able to " gratify " the loyal gentlemen of the country except at table. In another letter in the same year, 1537, he wrote that ^30 of his hardly won diet-money had to remain in London for New Year's gifts. His remonstrances had some effect, for the amount was now raised to j(^i^ 6s. Sd. a week; and in 1538 Sir Brian Tuke was ordered to pay ;£S-j^ 15^. lod. for the Council's expenses, this being the largest single amount for the purpose yet recorded.^ Soon after the issue of this warrant he wrote to Cromwell, describing the " good cheer made to the gentlemen that came to serve the King and Council," though he adds ruefully, " the cost was far above the commons of our diets." - During the remainder of Henry VIH.'s reign it seems to have been the normal practice to pay the sum of ^875 155. 10^. in quarterly instalments, though payments of smaller sums were frequently made.^ In 1540 Lee twice suggested to Cromwell that the warrant for diet-money might be directed to Mr. Gostwicke (Commissioner of First Fruits and Tenths), so as to save the expenses charged by Sir Brian Tuke ; but his suggestion was not adopted.* During the reign of Edward VI. it would seem that the Council's allowance was on much the same footing as in Bishop Lee's time. In Collins' Sydney Papers an account is given for the year 3 Edw. VI. ^ The whole sum allowed to the Commissioners for diet and all other charges was ;!^876 i^s. 6d., paid quarterly. The fees for ten Commissioners amounted to ;^95 (three at ^13 6s. Sd. per annum, three at ;^io, three at ;^6 135'. 4^., one ^^.£5)- Other fees amounted to ^29 iii'. 10^. This amount includes the fees of the two messengers (^2 each per annum), the fee of the armourer at Ludlow {^(^g 2s. 6d.), a payment to Wm. Austy for soliciting the Commissioners' causes at London ' Gairdner, Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII., Vol, XII., Pt. II. 914 (ii), and Vol. XIII., Ft. I. 134. - Ibid., Vol. XIII., Pt. I. 152. ' E.g. Ibid., Vol. XIII., Pt. II. 1280, ff. 2b, 6b, 18b, 28b, 35, 49; Vol. XIV., Pt. II. 781, ff. 576, 636, 74, 846, 906, 102b, 103 ; Vol. XVI. 380 and 1489 ; and Vol. XVII. 880, f. 24. ' Ibid., Vol. XV., 398, 562 (2). 5 Collins, Sydney Papers, Letters and Memorials of State, pp. 5i 6. 238 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES (;^5), and the portage of the diet-money (;^5). It further includes a fee of ;£^ to the treasurer of the chamber " for making speedie payment of the said Diet-money and in good money," also a fee of 26s. Sd. to his clerk, and of 2s. Sa. to his porter. The words "and in good money" are significant, when it is re- membered to what an extent the coinage was debased at this time. The wages of sundry officers (steward of the household, cooks, butler, etc., eleven in all) amounted to ;^2o. A note is added as follows : " And it hath been used to allowe out of the Grosse Some aboue remembered towards the Diet of the said Commissioners weekly (that is to sale) for all Victualls, Fuell and Implements of Household ^13 6s. Sd. And also to allowe towards fforeyn Expences (that is to sale) for Rewardes, Carraiges and all other Charges not before remembred p.a. c marks." Early in Elizabeth's reign a change appears in the method of payment. The warrant for the Council's diet-money is now directed to the Receiver of North Wales, and this seems to have been the practice henceforth, though sometimes the Receiver of South Wales is substituted.^ During the years when Sir Henry Sydney was able to fulfil in person his duties as Lord President, the finances of the Council were managed in a business-like way. No debts were incurred, and considerable sums were expended on repairs at Ludlow and Tickenhill. The " note of the yerelie fiees and certayne chardges issweinge out of the fynes," shows the details of expenditure at this period, exclusive of diet. The fees of the secretary, two assistants or councillors, the queen's attorney and solicitor, the chaplain, the pursuivants, the armourer, the Keeper of Ludlow Castle, the keeper of the leads for the conduit bringing water to the castle, the auditor and clerk of the fines, amounted in all to ;^333 13^. 4^., and the foreign expenses (riding charges of the Justice and other Councillors, carriage of household utensils and repairs of Her Majesty's houses) amounted to ;^343 gs. 2d.^ • S.P.D. (Vol. 1547-80), Vol. III., Eliz., No. 14, p. 124, and S.P.D. (1625), p. 551, App., October 22nd. - Lansdowne MSS. 28, ff. 124-5. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 239 Further information may be gathered from a document in the Lansdowne MSS. which gives the details as to fines taxed by the Lord President's Council for the nineteenth to the twenty- fifth years of Queen Elizabeth.^ Thus, for the twentieth year, fines were taxed to the amount of ;;^i,o28 3^. ^d. ; payments to Commissioners and officers came to ^406 6s., extraordinary expenses to :^373 175. 2d., while fines were qualified to the amount of ^70 \6s. Sd. In the twenty-fifth year fines were taxed to the amount of ;^i,i4o igs. ; Councillors' and officers' fees came to ^173 17^. 3d., repairs at Ludlow to ^387 2s. ^d., at Tickenhill to ^59 14^. 4^., provision of household stuff to ;;^i3o 7^., the expenses of the sergeant, messengers, etc., to ;^48 bs. gd., and extraordinary expenses to ^2^3 5 3 i6i-. 10 d. Among the MSS. of Lord do L'Isle and Dudley is a paper roll about three feet long headed, "The Household of the Queen's Highness Councell of the Marches of Wales. A brief declaration of what my Lord hath spent of his own revenues concerning the diet and foreign charge of the said household above the Queen's allowance." There are accounts for the years 2 & 3 Eliz. (each ending at Easter) and for thirteen weeks of a third year ; the total given is ^^7,182 ic^s. g^d. (stable charges and riding expenses not included).- Sir Henry Sydney had certainly cause to lament his absence in Ireland so far as the state of things at Ludlow was concerned. It appears that on his return in the twentieth year of the queen's reign, he found the house indebted to the amount of over ;;^i,5oo, though at his departure it had been quite clear of debt. Sydney found a lengthy list of creditors, for most of the officials connected with the Council seem to have suffered through delay of payment. Sir William Gerard had died, leaving his executors with a claim of ;^40o against the Council ; his colleagues. Sir Hugh Chomley, Sir Andrew Corbet, Henry Townesend, and others had claims varying in amount from ^100 to ;^5o. The steward fared worse : his claim was for ;!^2oo, and even the ' Lansdowne MSS. 38, f. 99. * Hist. MSS. Commission, 3rd Report, App., p. 228 (MSS. of Lord de L'Isle and Dudley). 240 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES armourer and pursuivants were credited with claims for jC^-i)^ 6s. and ;^3o respectively.^ Another list of debts gives a yet higher amount — viz. ;^i,385 6i-. %d. towards the payment of which there were arrears of fines amounting to ^{^1,128 \%s. Of these, however, the "good debts" were only ;^3oo, and the rest were " desperat by reason of the decease of th' offenders and the povertyes of such as be leavinge." The list of claimants for arrears is headed by the " Reuerend ffather the Bushopp of Worcester, vice-president of the Counsaill there (Bishop Whitgift) ^34." In all, twenty-six creditors occur, among them the late bailiff's of Ludlow for the hire of bells.^ The indebtedness of the Ludlow household was, as mentioned above, one of the matters calling most urgently for reform after Sydney's death. The instructions of 1586 repeat with great emphasis the regulations previously laid down respecting the fines. After being taxed in open Court, all fines and forfeitures were to be entered in the register book and also in a book kept by the clerk of the fines. Every month or oftener the clerk of the fines, the register, and any officer in charge of any book or bonds in which any fine, debt, or other sum due to Her Majesty was mentioned, were to bring such books to the Lord President, Vice-President, or Council. After the porter and all other officials dealing with the fines had been examined, order was to be given for the levying of all fines unpaid, " to th'entent her Ma^i^ may be truly answered of the fynes from tyme to tyme and not to remayne in arrerage as now they doe wherby the counsaillors' fees for diuers yeres remayne unpayd in that the ffynes are not duly levyed." At the end of every term the Lord President and Vice-President with two others of the Council were to call the clerk of the fines before them, and see what fines had been paid and what not. A similar searching inquiry was to be held to ascertain the amount of the fines paid and due ' Lansdowne MSS. 28, ff. 124-5 '< ^^^ ^°'^^ of debts is;^l,l6o 14s. i^d. (in MS. ;^i,i6o 17s. 4fi?.); cf, A.P.C., Vol. IX., p. 122. Request of Mr. Gerard for arrears of the entertainment allowed by the queen in the Marches (payment is five years behind). 2 Ibid., Ill, ff. 21-4. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 241 throughout the year, " that the howse for want of due con- sideracion run not into debt (as of late tyme it hathe by suche default)." Every Hilary Term the Lord President and Council were to send up to the Privy Council a transcript of the year's accounts up to the preceding Michaelmas. The Privy Council, after declaring the amount to Her Majesty, was to send the transcript into the Exchequer, there to remain of record. No fine was to be qualified, and no penalty or forfeiture com- pounded for " but upon iust and resonable consideracion as well with regarde of the gretnes or habilitie of the offender and other behovefuU circumstaunces thereupon depending." Out of the fines were to be paid the Councillors' fees, necessary foreign expenses, and repairing expenses for the Queen's houses within Wales and the Marches.^ In spite of these stringent instructions, the old abuses appear to have continued or, rather, grown worse. In a document written perhaps by Justice Shuttleworth is a complaint that the diet-money is put in four men's purses through the non- attendance of Councillors, and that on one occasion no house was kept at all, the one member present being " putt to his boord wages att an Ordinary amongst Attorneys and Clarices." No accounts of the household expenditure were presented weekly as required by the instructions ; no book of forfeitures and fines was kept, and no account made at the end of every term. Fines were not strictly levied, but were " purloyned or vaynely bestowed." In one year ;^i8o had been spent in napery, and ^300 the next in bedding ; whether it were well bought the writer cannot tell, but " these and like colours carry all away." Many items, such as linen and " vessell " and officers' wages, should have been paid for out of the diet-money ; whereas it is alleged that the latter was appropriated by individuals, and payments made out of the fines. ^ Whether these complaints were exaggerated or not, it seems clear that the finances of the Council were in an unsatisfactory state. On December 1st Sir Richard Lewkenor and two other > Lansdowne MSS. 49, ff. 179-207, Arts. 42, 44-7. 2 Ibid., 76, flf. 1416-9. 16 242 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES members wrote on the subject to the Lord High Treasurer, Lord Buckhurst. With respect to the yearly audit, he suggests that the most convenient time for it to be taken would be between St. Andrew's Day and Christmas Day, when the Council members would not be away on circuit. They add that the Receiver of North Wales had kept back all the diet-money for more than a year, alleging that it should come out of fines and forfeitures. This, they point out, is not the case, and, even if it were, the fines would be insufficient to furnish both fees and diet ; every audit has proved that " her ma'tie hath heretofore every yere rather remayned in debt than otherwise." They ask for speedy direction to the Receiver of North Wales for immediate payment of ;^5oo, " or else the howse must of necessitie be presently dissolved, the same being already much in debtt, and hindered for want of the money to haue made provision of corne and victualles at the best hand, w'ch now must be bought at the dearest rates." ^ This request was backed up by a letter to the same effect from the Lord President Pembroke; he earnestly entreated Lord Buckhurst " for the redresse of this abuse by commaunding present satisfaction, that his Ma^"*^^ Counsell which for so many yeares I haue not only held without new debtes, but freed of old arrerages, may not fall now to such dishonorable necessitie as to fede on nothing but what they borow. For such indede is now that place's estate and dailie must be worse, if by your Lordship's favour and respect the Receuver be not enioyned to deliuer readie money." ^ In the seventeenth century difficulties as to money did not lessen. Lord Eure wrote that his resources were inadequate, and that he was compelled to sell his lands.^ Yet the amount paid for diet and 'foreign expenses was considerable — viz. ;^i,io6 13^. /i^d} The yearly total of the fines was also large, as may be seen from the Books of Hearing above described. With them may be compared a document among the Welsh ' Lansdowne MSS. 156, f. 394. - Ibid. 3 S.P.D. (1603-10), Jac. I., Vol. XLVII., No. 97, p. 538 (1609). ^ Ibid., Car. I., 1625, p. 551, App., October 22nd. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 243 Arrerag' fines re- ceaved within the tyme of this Ac- compt. viz' Council Papers of the Bridgewater MSS. — viz. the account of Thomas Beale, receiver of fines, for the year ending Michael- mas, 1640.^ £ s. d. (Dependinge upon the said Ac-^ comptant in the foote of his last J- 736 5 9 Accompt. J rffines received upon Courte"j < bookes within the tyme of this!- 416 18 4 (accompt. J fifinesfor not prosecutinge causes 379 6 8 receaved ffines in Absence 270 3 4 The totall some of the) „ „ . 1087 8 I Charge is ) Fees, wages, and ordinary allowances viz' 6 8 paym"' and dis- bursem'^^ viz' (ffees and rideing charges of the) Icouncell. i "^^^ rffees and allowances of the^ -^ Principall officers attending y*^!- 175 6 tCouncell. J rffees and wages of the rest of y**"! -| officers and seruan*^*^* attendinge |- 48 8 [the Councell. J {Provision of wood and Cole for^j his Ma*'^^ houshold there within J- 802 7 6 the tyme of this Accompt. J rffor houshold stuff and utensills^l \ prouided for his Ma"^® said hous- \ 2418 6 thold within the same tyme. j /'Reparac'ons and New buyldinges >> J in and aboute Ludlow Castle and I I Ticknell house within the tyme j ''aforesaid. ^ (Diverse other Extraordinarie and ) (forren expences. j Some is ^^1351 8 5I ' Welsh Council Papers, 27. 185 8 o| 411 13 I 244 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES £, s. d. depending in TUpon the said Accomptant re-"| Charge. ^ mayninge in his handes upon)- 456 5 l\ ideterminacon of this Accompt. j Ex' per Jacobum Haughtonn Audit. The figures given above do something to justify the frequent accusation against the Council that it was extravagant and a needless burden on the royal exchequer. After the Restoration the payment of ^1,106 13J. 4^. for diet and foreign expenses continued.^ Several additional payments are recorded — e.g. j[^^oo towards the maintenance of an " honour- able stable," and ^800 for extraordinary expenses formerly defrayed out of the Star Chamber fines at the Council. The last entry is of importance, as showing the great difference made to the Council of the Marches by the Act abolishing the Star Chamber.^ As to the actual management of the household a good deal of information is extant. Sir Henry Sydney hit the mark when he petitioned the queen " that yt may please her highnes to extend her Lyberalitye in that behalf as to her shall seme good, for that the alio wau nee for his dyat and the Counsele ther ys no more than yt was Twentie yers past, and now every thing treble the pryce that then yt was." At present he has " no mannor of helpe for his ready money to bye all thinges agreeing with the partie to his great charges " By way of saving a little outlay, he asks that wine brought from the haven towns near Bristol for the consumption of the household may be exempted from impost, and this was granted so long as the quantity did not exceed ten tuns.' ' S.P.D., Car. II., Vol. XLL, No. 65, p. 91 (1661-2), and (166S-9), p. 83, and July, 1672, pp. 427-8. - Ibid., Vol. XLIL, 1661, September 25th, p. 96, No. 25, and 1672, July, pp. 427-8. Many details concerning the fines are given in the following documents at the Public Record Office : Exchequer Q.R. Rolls (Accounts, etc.), Bundle 119, Nos. 5, 11, 12; Bundle 120, Nos. 8 and 20; Bundle 533, Nos. 22-6. » Ibid. (1547-80), Eliz., Vol. XIV. 38, p. 163. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 245 In the Lansdowne MSS. 87, f. 124, is a "note of the numbers who haue their diett by force of the presente Instructions in hir Ma^'^^ houshold at the Counsell in the Marches." Besides the Lord President and his servants (the number of whom was not limited), there were every term at Her Majesty's charge thirty-nine persons, not reckoning four men for whom the porter was allowed a mess of meat. Besides these, there were sixteen servants of necessity ever to be continued in the household, beginning with the steward and his servant, and ending with the two labourers in the kitchen. The Lord President would hardly have fewer than ten servants, as the Justice of Chester had eight ; more likely he would have as many as fifteen, so that the total number of persons to provide for would be between eighty and ninety.^ Some help towards provisioning the household was furnished by the royal forests of Wales and the Marches. The rangers, or keepers, of forests and chases were bound to furnish the Council with a certain amount of game yearly. Thus in July, 1558, a bill was signed by Robert Townesend, addressed to the master of the game, ranger and keeper of the forest of Snowdon, for a stag to be sent " for the furniture and provision of the queen majesty's household of her great councell in the marches of Wales." A similar warrant is extant, signed by Sir Henry Sydney at Cardigan August 14th, 1561.^ In the Dovaston MS. (f. gr, 1616, November 7th) is a letter from the deputy ranger of the forest of Feckenham to the Lord Presidenti and Council, stating that since entering on his office he had supplied them with three bucks and three does yearly, serving them out of his friends' parks so as to increase the game in the forest. In the same volume (f. 107/^, 1621, May 19th) is a note dated from Bewdley that warrants were to be sent forthwith to all foresters in certain specified chases and forests for the provision of the household with bucks (or, in two cases, stags) ; like warrants were to go out in the proper season for does and hinds. This entry is followed by a warrant that the Lord President and Council might have ' Lansdowne MSS. 87, f. 124. - Pennant, Tours in Wales, 8vo edition, App. Ill,, pp. 388-94. 246 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES out of every park, forest, and chase within the Principality of Wales and the Border counties three bucks and three stags in summer and three does and three hinds in winter, and might hunt them with their bows, hounds, or greyhounds, or other ways at their liberty.^ The royal forests also supplied firewood for the use of the household. In the Dovaston MS. (f 17, 1596, December loth) is a warrant upon information from John Taverner, surveyor of H.M.'s woods, to deliver to the steward of the household of the Council in the Marches so many firewood trees out of Orleton wood as may make six hundred loads of wood and coal, the said steward paying for the felling of the same, "provided always that no tymber tree be falne by cullor hereof" Similarly on Novem- ber 7th, 161 8, it was ordered that the underwood in the forest of Bringwood and the Chase of Mocktree was to be allowed towards fuel for H.M.'s use at Ludlow, and cut according to a constant proportion yearly. The despoiling of some royal forests, partly, it is said, through pretended claims of estovers, partly by negligence of officers, was causing some disquiet at this time. Next year — 1612 — the Lord Treasurer Cranfield, writing to the Earl of Northampton, bids his purveyor set a good example and take only dry wood in very moderate proportion for the use of the household. The extreme care with which the Earl of Bridgewater preserved his correspondence is seen by the preservation of a household account for the week July 13th to 19th, 1641. Dis- bursements, expenses, and " remains " are entered under the following heads : Larder, Buttery, Pantrey, Sellor {sic), Spycerie, Sawcerie, Chaundrey, Stables, Extraordynarie Bills. One more point in regard to the household deserves some mention. A common complaint against the Council was that great expense fell on neighbouring places which had to find conveyances for its furniture, provisions, and fuel. The in- structions of 1586 refer to the corruption used by the purveyor and inferior officers in this matter, and provide that henceforth the country shall not be charged for any unnecessary carriage, • Hist. MSS. Commission, 13th Report, App. IV. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 247 and that the number of carriages shall be appointed by special warrant of the Council, or three of them/ the Lord President or Vice-President being one. The abuse, however, still continued, and was commonly complained of in the seventeenth century. The Bridgewater MSS. furnish some curious and amusing details as to the management of the household at Ludlow Castle between 163 1 and 1642. The Earl of Bridgewater rarely visited the Marches, but he received frequent letters from his steward, Henry Eccleston, who seems to have found his office burden- some in the extreme. He writes long, querulous letters to his master, full of the most trivial domestic details, to which the earl replies in an equally doleful strain — e.g. " I haue neither health nor leasure at this time to write much nor trouble my selfe with much Business" (April 3rd, 1641).^ On August 21st, 1641, the earl writes as follows : "I heare a rumor about the Towne of some miscarriage in the oeconomicall disposall of thinges in and about his Ma*-^'*^^ Castle of Ludlowe, w^*^ howsoever they may be at this time diuulged to make the Counsell in the Marches lesse gracious at this Parlement, yet I doubt there is some malice thereby intended to myself or y" ; w*^** I rather beleeue because I knowe myselfe absolutely free from meritt of blame in all (as I conceaue) for as many as are yet come to my eares or knowledge or that I can at the present remember. That Beere shoulde be bought by Firkin to serve the K. House. That a Poore wenche (to the disgrace of the K.) shoulde be made Brewer there, and the Graines soulde and alledged that they weere to be accompted for to the K. That there shoulde be a warehouse to sell Tymber in the K. house, and 5^. in the Turme gotten thereby. That the K. Courte shoulde be inclosed and lett out for Pasture to Butchers and others. That the allowance shoulde be imbursed by the Counsell and the House- keeping maintayned by the Extraordinary fines imposed upon delinquents." The earl was convinced that these charges were baseless, but wished Eccleston to send up an exact statement of the truth. The matter must be kept secret, " lest too much ' Lansdowne MSS. 49, ff, 197-207, art. 50. ^ Bridgewater MSS., Ludlow Castle Papers, 2 (April 3rd, 1641). 248 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES stirring therein may increase jealousy and suspitions and breede an injurious credulity." ^ Eccleston had evidently heard that trouble was ahead, for on August 2oth he had written an indignant denial of the rumours then current. Beer, he says, was not taken in by the firkin, and not taken in at all till January, 1638. The brewing was usually done by a woman at least fifty years of age, though sometimes it had been the task of a lazy fellow "who at his last beinge here would not be gotten to brew but once a wicke, and he had halfe y° wicke to wander up and downe idlely and talke, and that was his delightful course of life." No such thing as a timber warehouse was kept in the castle ; merely a few spokes for carts were put in the woodyard to season, and they were not made out of the king's timber. It was a calumny to say that the castle courts were let out to butchers ; a few horses only were pastured in the bowling green.^ A few months earlier he had written to the earl complaining of the difficulties of his position. His chief bugbear was one of the Councillors, " Sir N's sucksessor, who is neuer pleased w*''* any thinge, but contynewally murmuringe and grudgeinge, euer fyndinge fault, where others his betters can find none : neyther is there any just cause to fynd any, and that do I knowe and the bills of fare will more fuUie manifest when they cume to be vewed. but sume are neuer pleased w*''^ anythinge, and it is such as the Prophett settes forth ; to be unjust and unholie, neyther thankful! to God or man and from such I pray to be deliuered and against such, when tyme is, I hope yo" will stand up and shew yo" selfe an opposytt, or else I am quite discouraged, and wish w^** all my hart to be discharged from hence and quitt of this imployment." Eccleston had also fallen foul of Wardell, the brewer, whose carriage and behaviour " is such as I shall neuer while I Hue here, desire to haue him cume againe." ^ The climax of grumbling is reached in Eccleston's letter of September 27th, 1641, to which unfortunately no reply is extant. ' Bridgewater MSS., Ludlow Castle Papers, 32 (August ist, 1641). - Ibid., 2 (August 20th, 1640). ' Ibid., 17 (February i8th, 1640-41). THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 249 It says much for " his honour's patience " that the letter should have survived intact. " I humblie craue yo'' hon"^ patience to make a short relation of the condition of Jane Eames the Scullery woman, whose carriage hath bene such as I thinke not fytt to be indured in any howse and so I haue giuen her a discharge, and paid her all that was due unto her and this was her course, full of scouldinge and malitious speaches, reuileinge and slaunderinge of no less then 1 1 seuerall persons vidl*- my selfe, N. Edwardes the Cooke etc etc. Upon perfyttinge of the Inventory book, I fynd she hath lost 14 pewter dishes, 14 sawcers, 2 p'ir plates, i porrenger, all w*^'^ would cume to aboue 40® and she had found in her boxe 10 of y*^ hall Pewter spoones, thoughe before she in a most bould confident manner denied them, yea and forswore them, as thoughe she had bene the most innocent creature that could haue lined, and after beinge found lapt up in a cloth and laid close in y« corner of her boxe her selfe haueinge throwne out all her thinges out of her trunke, before and lastly out of her boxe, sayinge would she take such a thinge or anythinge to be found w*-*^ her, no, she was innocent and knew nothinge of any such matter and then beinge found, she could not denie it, but earnestly intreated Moyses who found them that I might not know of it ; then she had a secrett way under her aprone of conveyinge meate from y*^ table and she had very often one or 2 charewemen hanginge after her, so I thinke it was more then tyme to be ridd of her and for y"^ after tyme how lyttle so euer I hope to fynd a better for the place, it goes very hard if I finde a worse, and soe humblie craueinge pardon for my tedious letter w*'^ my prayers for yo*" hon" health w*''' prosperity I most humblie remaine " Yo"" hon""^ most humble seruant, " Hen. Ecclestone." ^ The earl evidently felt he could not hope for much in the way of entertainment if he visited Ludlow. Writing on July nth, 1640, he tells Eccleston : ' Bridgewater MSS., Ludlow Castle Papers, 39. 2SO THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES " y' Letter of the 6"^^ of this present I haue receaued and ame sorry to finde thereby that I shall' be so ill prouided at my comming to Ludlowe whither if may be 1 shall come before I be looked for, if God permitt and enable me w*'' healthe. For y^ iioodes at Culmington I coulde have wished it otherwayes if it had pleased God. I finde by y*' Letter that y" intend to seeke for helpe at Birche. I must lett y" knowe that I must as well take care for my selfe as for prouisions at Ludlowe and my Landes and revenewes must not be spent to that purpose, wherefore I thinke y"" marketts must be y'' last and perhaps best refuge, and wee must Hue upon the Peny rather than I shoulde consume and loose so many poundes as I presume I shall, if wee continue in our former waye. I shall be ill besteed if I can neither haue fleshe nor Drinke when I come to Ludlowe and I doubt both by y"^ Letter and this is all either the direction or comforte I can geue y"^ as the case now standeth, so that y" must sett y*" judgm* and experience on worke to see that all thinges may be as well accommodated as is possible in these pressures, so being at this present very full of Businesse, I conclude and rest " Yr very louing M*'. " Barbacan, "JuHj 11° 1640." ' Next year and the year after matters naturally grew worse. In March, 1641-2, Eccleston writes: "there are 4 seuerall Billes signed to be paid out of the fynes w''*' came to £i^<). 07. 08. w'^'^ are in no lykelyhood as yet to be paid, for these 2 last termes haue not brought in so much as will pay the lawndress, which is but jQ^. 2. o. for a quarter's washinge the lynen for the howse ; if the next payment for the dyett money be paid in, there may be hope to recouer those bills out of that, if the Court doe goe downe and the howse be giuen up." ^ In April the earl wrote to him advising him to be as economical as he could during the next term. The Justices must certainly have meat and drink ; but the diet-money had not been paid, ' Bridgewater MSS., Ludlow Castle Papers, 53. - Ibid., 43. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 251 and the earl had no intention of incurring Habilities for dis- bursements beyond the necessary bread, drink, and meat for the next " appearance " ; " and of this," he adds, " I would haue you to take as good care as you may, being to wrastle with y'r present difficulties." In May Eccleston wrote that there was a rumour that the king, the prince, or both might come to Ludlow before long. He asked if he should provide for them at the earl's charges or give them what remained out of the store. The earl replied that he did not believe the rumour, but if it should be true, the king or prince must of course have the castle at their disposal, and their own officers would be best able to make provision for them. " My purse," he adds, " is not large enough to beare the charge thereof, therefore I thinke you neede (not) to trouble yourselfe with that care and paines, unlesse your helpe be desired by their officers without my charge." ^ The Ludlow housekeeping can hardly be called successful as regards either economy or comfort. An unknown writer who evidently had personal experience of it suggests to Burghley : "That the v*^'' which is receaved every half-yere, may remayne in the stewartes handes, and not be caried away. That the bred and beere be good and convenient, or els the on(e) being old and hard and the other to small, men may thinke counsailers be used therin as hindes be in other men's houses that they shuld not spend to much therof." ^ A few years later the steward wrote an urgent letter to the Councillors asking for ^30 at once, wherewith to furnish napery and pewter, scarcely any being left of either. The money was paid with unwonted rapidity.^ ' Bridgewater MSS., Ludlow Castle Papers, 27. - Lansdowne MSS. III, f. 25. This letter is in the same hand as Lans- downe MSS. 76, ff. 1416-9, which is headed " Incerti Aucthoris." ^ Exchequer Q.R. Rolls (Accounts, etc.), Bundle 533, No. 22. CHAPTER X THE ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES OF THE COUNCIL Among the varied duties of the Lord President were the defence of the counties within his jurisdiction and the despatch of troops, when occasion arose, to quell rebellion in Ireland. The Acts of the Privy Council are full of directions with regard to the levying of troops, the mustering of trained soldiers, the arrest and trial of pirates, the fortification of exposed ports, the erection of beacons, and the like. The Lord President was usually lord-lieutenant for the counties of Wales and the four Border counties, sometimes of Warwickshire as well.^ In this capacity he had the power of appointing deputy-lieutenants and muster masters for the several counties within his jurisdiction. Notices of activity in this direction are specially frequent in Elizabeth's reign from the time of the Desmond Rebellion to the Armada, and again during the personal government of Charles L The number of troops sent to Ireland from Wales was con- siderable. In June, 1574, the Earl of Bedford and the Lord President of Whales (Sir Henry Sydney) were directed to levy ' The number of counties varied considerably — e.g. in 1613 Lord Eure was lord-lieutenant of nine Welsh counties and of Worcestershire, Shropshire, and Herefordshire, while the Earl of Worcester was lord- lieutenant of IMonmouthshire and Glamorganshire. The Earl of North- ampton was usually lord-lieutenant of Wales (eleven counties, Glamorgan- shire going, as before, with Monmouthshire) and of the four Border counties, Warwickshire being sometimes added — e.g. in 1624. In 1629, however, he was lord-lieutenant of eighteen counties — vis. the twelve Welsh counties, the four Border counties, Monmouthshire, and Warwickshire. In 1640 the Earl of Bridgevvater was lord-lieutenant of the twelve Welsh counties and of the four Border counties (Council Register, passim^. 252 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 253 two thousand men, and in August two hundred more ; in 1578 a thousand were to be got ready for the same service, while in 1579 — the year of the Desmond RebelHon — a thousand more were needed from Wales, besides another thousand from Dorset, Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall.^ Next year — 1580 — the Lord President was bidden to put in readiness eight hundred soldiers of North and South Wales to embark from Chester and Bristol.^ The arrangements for embarkation do not seem to have worked over smoothly. The Commissioners for Musters in the counties of Carmarthen, Cardigan, and Pembroke were charged with fraud and self-interest, and had to be admonished by the Privy Council to mend their ways ; some of the Welsh recruits, too, were rejected as unfit.^ The Earl of Pembroke, at the time when the Armada was expected, was bidden to see that the forces in the shires of Wales were put in readiness, and to inform the Privy Council of his proceedings, " that her Majestie may take Comfort thereat."^ Next year, at his request, " some martiall men of skill and experience in these tymes of doubt " were sent to him for the better ordering and conducting of the forces under his Presidency. It was arranged that a reasonable contribution was to be made for providing powder, and that in the case of a hostile descent every person employed in the defence would be received into " pay and entertainment " if he served more than eight days. A little later we find proof of the strain involved in these preparations against invasion. The inhabitants of Monmouth- shire complained that divers sums had been collected, but that the manner of their employment remained unknown ; they had been forced to travel out of their hundreds for mustering and training, and the charges of the muster masters and trainers of soldiers had been extremely burdensome. The Privy Council ordered that the Earl of Pembroke should cause certain specified persons to ascertain what sums had been levied in the county ' A.P.C., Vol. VIII., p. 254, Vol. X., p. 240, and Vol. XL, p. 219. - Ibid., Vol. XII., p. 65. ^ Ibid., Vol. XII., p. 340, and pp. 140- 1. ' Ibid., Vol. XV., p. 255. 254 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES for the last two years, and how they had been spent ; sums levied without good warrant and not yet employed were to be repaid. Persons were to be mustered and trained, if possible, within their own hundreds ; in every hundred, persons appointed at the discretion of the deputy-lieutenants were to look after the musters and training, without any wages and entertainment. Pembroke was to see redress of like grievances effected for the other shires in his government.^ A few years later a similar complaint occurred in Carmarthenshire against the deputy- lieutenant : ;^25 was taken for a muster master who did no work. The Privy Council directed that an inquiry should be held and the money returned to the contributors. In the year 1590 Ireland was a special subject of anxiety, owing to the fear of a Spanish landing. Seven hundred men were requisitioned from the Principahty of _Wales, to be transported from the havens of Bristol, Chester, Liverpool, Milford, and Beaumaris. The fortifications of Wales also were to be surveyed. Pembroke urged strongly that Milford Haven should be better defended, and suggested that two thousand men should be sent to Pembrokeshire for two months. The Council inclined to forti- fications as being less expensive in the long run ; but as it was too late to finish them that summer, one thousand men were to be sent over from Somersetshire to Milford. The nature of the Lord President's military duties at this period can be best gathered from the valuable " Papers relating to the Trained Soldiers of Shropshire in the reign of Elizabeth," printed by Mr. W. Phillips in the transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Natural History Society.^ These show that in 1562, at the time of the outbreak of war with France, a Com- mission was issued to Sir Henry Sydney, Sir Andrew Corbet, Charles Fox, and William Gateacre to send up a report to the Court of Exchequer on the observance of the statute 4 & 5 Ph. & M., c. 2, which enacted that "every temporal person possessed of property to the yearly value of 100 marks should have, keep, and maintain one gelding apt and meet for a » A.P.C., Vol. XVII., p. 328. 2 Second Series, Vols. I., II., 1889-90 (especially Vol. II., pp. 215-94). THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 255 light horseman, with the sufficient harness and weapons for the same." The Commissioners were to be assisted by the sheriffs, bailiffs, and constables, and their position was strengthened by a Privy Council Order enforcing attention to their commands, and warning all concerned against partiality. The return sent in to the Commissioners by the town and franchise of Salop was most satisfactory — viz. " No person or persons that we can find hath offended the said estatute or any branch or article thereof." In 1563, when Havre was being held against both Huguenots and Catholics, a second Commission was issued on June 27th, with the result that the Sheriff and Justices of Peace for Salop were ordered to get ready five hundred soldiers. Nearly a month later three hundred more were required for the war in Normandy (July 23rd). In 1577 a Royal Commission for Musters was issued to Sir Henry Sydney, Lord President, the Bailiffs of Shrewsbury, Sir Andrew Corbet, Sir Arthur Manwaringe, Edward Leighton, George Lee (Leigh), and Richard Prince. The men between sixteen and sixty years of age within Salop and its liberties were to be armed, trained, and inspected. Interesting details can be gathered from the papers relating to the Armada year, such as the contributions for the defence of the country, the orders touching the trained bands, the beacons, and the appointment of a provost marshal for the " apprehension, stockinge and ymprisoninge " of those who spread false rumours. The thanks- giving for the defeat of the Armada is thus recorded in the Borough Chronicle: "This yeare and the 19 daye of September being Tuesdaye, and two dayes after the festivall daye of the coronacion of the Queenes maiestie, and the sayde daye fallinge uppon S. Elizabethes daye, was a solempn daye in Shrousberie, and all people that daye keapt it holly unto the Lorde, that had gyve hir m^''' sutche victorie and blessid overthrowe of the Spanishe power and hudge navy of hir enemies to the greate reioisinge of all England. God be praysid. Amen." ^ ' The taking of musters caused at times much friction between the lord- lieutenant and the municipal authorities. The following is an instance taken from the Bristol Chronicle : " The Earl (of Pembroke) came to Bristol 256 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES In the seventeenth century the judicial duties of the Lord President were for the most part left to the legal members of the Council in the Marches. His military duties as lord- lieutenant, however, still continued, as may be seen from the numerous letters addressed by the Privy Council to Lord Eure, the Earl of Northampton, and the Earl of Bridgewater. For the most part these letters refer to the mustering of soldiers, levies for Ireland, the fortification of Milford Haven against Moorish or Turkish pirates, and the punishment of dishonest ofificers or refractory subjects. They are of interest as showing the general unwillingness to be mustered for training. The Privy Council sought at times to rouse greater efforts by referring to disturbances abroad : a reason often given for greater viligance is "for that the affaires of Christendome do still stand upon such uncertaine terms." An amusing instance of the way in which the constant supervision of the Privy Council tended to paralyse local effort and common sense is given in the following extract from the Council Register under the date July 20th, 1632 : "About y° landing of Pirates in y*" County of Carnarvon. " Whereas there was this day read at the Boarde a letter written by the deputy Lieutenants of the County of Carnarvon to y® Ea : of Bridgewater bearing date y'^ sixt of this moneth in w*^*^ they informe that certaine Pirates came into a hauen of that County and seemed to threaten and make a shewe as if they would lande, in which Case y® said deputy Lieutenants not knowing what course to take, they desired to be instructed therein. Their lordships much merveyling they should make so strange a demande in a matter wherein their owne iudgements might sufficiently informe them, did order that a lettre should be written from y*^ Boarde to y*' said Ea : of Bridgewater, requiring his lordship thereby in regarde of y® place w°*^ he holdeth in those partes under his Ma*^^ to giue expresse direccon from Wales Mar. 17 1586, to take a general muster of the trained bands, and the Queen having notice by some of the citizens that the Earl presumed to take the upper hand of the Mayor (at which there was a great grudge) her Majesty sent for him and gave him a sore check and sent him to the Tower for a certain space, until he had paid a fine." Seyer, Memoirs of Bristol, Vol. II., ch. 26, p. 249, § 33. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 257 not onely to the Deputy Lieut^ of the sayde County but lykewyse to the high Sheriffes and Justices of the peace w'thin y'' severall Countyes, w*^*^ are under his charge, as occasion shall require, to take careful! and effectuall Order as well to prevent y*' landing of any Pirates as to apprehende and commit to prison any such as shall presume to come on Lande." ^ The reader is reminded of the Indian station master's telegram : " Tiger on platform ; wire instructions." In the years of trouble with Scotland, 1638-40, letters from the Privy Council grow more frequent as well as more peremptory. In April, 1638, the following entry occurs in the Council Register : " Letter to the Ea : of Bridgewater Lord President of y® Marches of Wales. "The Certificat sent unto yo" from yo'' deputy Lieutenants for the County of Mountgomery touching the Contemptuous Carriage of the Constables and others mencioned therein hath beene presented to the Board by Mr. Secretary Coke and there read (his Ma^y being present in Councell) and as there is good cause to bee sensible of the ill Carriage of the persons Complayned of in this Service, but especially of the undutifuU Carriage of Lloyd Peirce therein, being a Justice of Peace in that County, who ought to haue expreste more forwardnes and better affeccion to the King's Service. Soe wee haue thought good by his Ma*^ expresse commaund hereby to authorize and require yo'' Lo'p to giue effectuell order for the punishing of the said Constables and the rest according to their Contempts and demeritts. And for the said Lloyd Peirce, wee haue by his Ma*'® like Commaund {T^ven order to put him out of the Commission of Peace. And so," etc.^ Even stronger is a letter to the earl a year later (April 24th, 1639) exhorting him to punish offenders in the matter of musters. Only notorious and extraordinary causes are to be referred to the king or Privy Council, " the travaihng up hether (being) so chargeable, those Countreyes being so farr remote." ^ ' Council Register, July 20th, 1632. " Ibid, April 29th, 1638. ^ Idicl, April 26th, 1639. 258 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES The unpopularity of the bishops may perhaps be shown by the circumstance that the deputy-heutenants for co. Flint, having to choose fifteen horse out of the trained bands to be weekly exercised and kept ready for the king's service, pitched upon the horses belonging to the Bishop of St. Asaph and the clergy of his diocese. The Privy Council found this "a very strange and partiall proceeding," and ordered that the bishop's horse was to be released, all bishops being naturally exempt from such a charge. The clergy, too, were to be exempt, in con- sideration of their large contributions to the expenses of the war.^ In December, 1639, the Earl of Bridgewater was ordered to inquire into the misappropriation by the conductors of the moneys received for soldiers on the late expedition to the North. Offenders were to be indicted at the next Grand Sessions if he thought fit.^ Entries in the following year (1640) show similar difficulties. In the town of Brecon there was friction between the bailiff and the deputy-lieutenants of the county. The former refused to impress more than eight out of the twelve able men of the town required by the latter, alleging that for every one hundred men charged on the county only four were charged on the town. The county in this case had to furnish two hundred ; therefore the town could not be liable for more than eight. He had to submit to the deputy-lieutenants, and his uncivil behaviour was passed over in consideration that otherwise he had been forward in His Majesty's service.^ Many indications occur of unwillingness to serve in the Northern war; the deputy-lieutenants of Montgomery informed the Lord President that various men had run away since they had been impressed. The Privy Council ordered the earl to direct the deputy-lieutenants to proceed against any whom they happened to arrest.* After the Restoration the military duties of the Lord President were of a merely formal character. An important side of the Council's administrative work was ' Council Register, May 5th, 1639. ^ Ibid., December 22nd, 1639. * Ibid., June 26th, 1640. " Ibid., June loth, 1640. THE COUxNCIL OF THE MARCHES 259 that dealing with economic matters, such as the supply of grain and other victuals, inclosures, and the settlement of industrial disputes. In fact, they might, equally with the ordinary Justice of the Peace, complain of the "stacks of statutes" which, as Lambarde said, were laid on the country gentry in the Tudor period. Foremost among these were the Acts against regraters, fore- stallers, and engrossers of grain and victuals;^ the Act for the keeping of milch kine and rearing of calves ; the Act against killing of weanlings, and that concerning the buying and selling of other beasts. The Lord President was held responsible for the adequate supply of victuals within his jurisdiction, and direc- tions were sent to him by the Privy Council for the export of corn or cattle from Wales in time of plenty. Instances of activity in this direction may be gathered from the Acts of the Privy Council.^ Wales was naturally called upon to supply food as well as men for the constant Irish wars of the sixteenth century. In 1587-8 there was an unusual dearth of corn in Wales and the Marches, and in consequence the Lord President was ordered to cease mustering and training the soldiers. To this time possibly may be referred an undated document among the Lansdowne MSS. (49, f. 188). It is headed, "A remembrance of present provision of grayne to be made for Wales and the marches of the same to avoyd the sterving of the subiectes or other as grete mischife as may ensue." The writer draws a piteous picture of the results of the bad harvest : " Infinite nombers of idel beggers and also verie many whole householdes of the good laboring people of the frontier of Wales, that never begged before, everie part of Wales itself soe swarmed certeyn monethes before harvest last that noe doore in the marches any ower of the day was free of theyr pitiefull cries, and the leane cheres and pale faces of thiese poore and theyre puelinge and woful mones did playnelly bewray the exstreame hunger that they did indure, and how unable the multitude of the fermors were to yeld theyr old accustomed ' Cases of forestalling are occasionally mentioned in the entry books of the Council from 1632 to 1642. 26o THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES relife to the poore. And the grete nomber of ffermors and leaseholders chardged with children and servants that were com- pelled to sel cattell and thinge needefull to purchas come divers weekes before harvest did discover the generall want of come in the accustomed storehowses of corne both in Wales and in al the marches of the same. And also the excessive prices of pese and ffecches gredely bowght by the people to make bred did playnely manifest to the world the grete universall want that was, and what smawle store there was to bring in new provision by harvest then to com. " And where most yeres divers ientilmen and ffermers were compelled by lack of barnerowmes to make stackes and worke abrode, this present late harvest is not abell to fyl the bayes of theyr barnes that were wont to be stuffed with whete and rie only with al sortes of grayne. And certeyne it is that most men shal not haue grayne enowe of this last harvest to sowe their growndes ageyne, which thinge weyd, if forsight be not had, the multitude of her maiesties subiectes are like to sterve or to fawle (exstreame famine soe compelling) into more disorder then other her Maiestie or good men can like of. Wherfore it were good that supreame auctoritie did addresse theyr I'res in this case of exstreamitie to the Merchants of Bristowe and to other able marchants of other portes in Wales or in the West cuntrey to make foreyne provision out of hand by the wey of the river of Siverne to releve the marches and the ports of Wales to releve the people of Wales or from other partes of this realme abovvnding with corne to make the provision or otherwise to be meanes to the Q. most excellent maiestie to defray some iij^' or xiij" for the provision to be made, which were but the forbering of the sonne but for a fewe monthes but yet be charitable a thing and a thing soe tending to the purchesse of the unspekeable love of the multitude that ech man, woman and child if they had tene thousand lives wold spende the same at hir foote." As an instance of the hardship that was sometimes caused to individuals by compulsory sale of com in time of scarcity, the following case is of interest. Oliver Hullins and others were THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 261 bound to Roger Brereton for delivery of certain bushels of rent corn for the rectory of Staunton Lacy (Salop). In the time of scarcity they were ordered to bring corn to the market towns for sale. Thus the penalties of their bond, accrued, and they petitioned the Privy Council for relief. The Justices of the Peace were ordered to call the parties before them. Roger Brereton demanded ^^o ; but Hullins and his fellows said they could not pay more than ;^2S. The Privy Council wrote to the Justices ordering them to send for Brereton, and cause him either to accept the ^2;^ or show reason for refusal. Brereton on this procured process of execution to the Sheriff of Salop, " and on his warrant apprehended Hullins and did committ him to goale^ from whence he did of late by some casual means skepe away." Brereton commenced a suit against the sheriff before the Council of the Marches, while the sheriff prosecuted one of the tithe-payers upon the forfeiture of his bond. In the end the Justices were directed to summon Brereton and make him accept the terms offered, or else certify to the Privy Council the cause of his refusal (A.P.C., Vol. XVII., p. 2 3). In the seventeenth century the Council in the Marches was still expected to see that the country was sufficiently supplied with food. On May 25th, 1637, the Privy Council wrote to the Earl of Bridgewater enclosing a letter from sundry Justices of Pembrokeshire, complaining that Henry Lort, Esq., had shipped corn out of the county in time of scarcity, and asking for his exclusion from the Commission of the Peace. Lort had petitioned against this, saying, on the contrary, he had supplied various places in England and Wales with corn during time of scarcity. The earl was asked to bring the matter before the Council of the Marches and report to the Privy Council. Meanwhile Lort was not to be put out of the Commission.^ In November of the same year the Privy Council was perplexed by conflicting reports as to the provision of corn in Pembrokeshire. Requests had been made to the Privy Council as well as to the Council of the Marches that corn, being ' Council Register, May 25th, 1637: cf. Bridgewater MSS., Welsh Council Papers, 35 (1637). 262 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES plentiful there, might be exported to other shires where there was a deficient supply. A letter, however, had come from the Justices of the Peace in the county complaining that the order for transportation was likely to cause scarcity. The Privy Council, " unsatisfied with the contrarity of Informac'ons," sent this letter to the Council of the Marches directing them, in accordance with their judgment, to give order for further restraint or for liberty of sale.^ The Council was frequently concerned with one of the most difficult economic problems of Tudor times — the question of inclosures. Several notices are extant of the inclosure cases that came up for trial, and no doubt if the records for the sixteenth century survived, we should find much important information as to the progress of the inclosure movement in the Marches. Even as it is we have enough to show how steadily inclosing went on, and also how stubborn was the resistance made. A typical instance is the complaint in 1573 of the inhabitants of Worcester respecting the inclosure of a common. The Privy Council decided that a settlement was to be made by the Bishop of Worcester, Sir Thomas Lucy, and the Lord President. It appears that Sir John Conway would not " come before them or stand to their order ; but how the matter was ended does not appear." ^ Another case of alleged encroachment on a common came before the Privy Council in 1578. A frame of timber had been erected by Sir John Throckmorton on a copyhold of his in the forest of Feckenham. This was alleged to be an encroach- ment on a common and tend to the undoing of poor tenants. The frame was thrown down and hewn in pieces ; the culprits were sent for by a Commissioner appointed by the Council of the Marches, but refused to come ; whereupon three of them were sent for by the Privy Council and committed to the Marshalsea, till an information against them should be exhibited in the Star Chamber. Meanwhile, till the question of right was decided, Sir John Throckmorton was ordered not to re-erect his timber frame. ^ ' Council Register, November 19th, 1637. ^ A.P.C., Vol. VIII. p. 195. - Jbtd., Vol. X., p. 375, and Vol. XL, p. 191. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 263 A noteworthy inclosure suit in which the Council of the Marches was concerned was the great dispute between Sir Edward Herbert, brother of the Earl of Pembroke, and Vaughan, of which full details are given in the Acts of the Privy Council.^ Not long after this case was tried we find that Sir Edward was again complained of for inclosing certain waste grounds in which common had been enjoyed "time out of mind." The Privy Council gave order that this matter should be decided by the Council in the Marches, but that in future such cases should be tried by common law without unnecessary delay. Herbert's late opponent, John Owen Vaughan, seems to have been equally guilty in the matter of inclosing. Certain gentlemen of the Lord- ship of Powys complained of his action, and desired letters from the Privy Council to the Council in the Marches. The Privy Council decided that no action was to be taken till the ensuing term, when Sir Edward Herbert, lord of the barony, should attend their lordships. In the end it was ordered that the Lord President and the Council of the Marches should call certain parties before them and examine into the rights of the case. A few references occur to the action of the Council respecting inclosures in the seventeenth century. In the Dovaston MS., f. 44, is an order to Sir Thomas Chamberlaine to " determine the complaint of Richard Shirburne of Stonihurst, co. Lanes, esq. holding an estate in Chirk co. Denbigh lately the inheritance of John Edwardes esq. that sundry great parcels of commons and wastes of that lordship have been wrongfully inclosed by Sir Thomas Middleton Alderman of London contrary to the charter of Henry VII. and other grants and to orders made by the Council of Queen EUzabeth in the Marches." Yet another instance of resistance to inclosures occurred in 1629. On April ist the Privy Council wrote to Sir John Bridgman and Sir Marmaduke Lloyd, Judges of Assize for the county of Chester and North Wales (members of the Council of the Marches), and to the Justices of the Peace in the county of Flint. They complained that information had been received of the "insolent and Rietous carrage of some audatious persons ' Hist. MSS. Commission, 13th Report, App. IV. 264 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES in pulling downe a new inclosure made aboute a parcell of his Mat^ Land called Ewloe Wood alias Ewloe Parke in the County of fflynt." They marvel that "in a civill government" no steps had been taken to punish such offenders, and think it strange that the Board should have to give directions in a case where the duty of Justices was so obvious. The persons addressed are ordered to examine strictly into the insolencies complained of, and to take order for the punishment of guilty persons. A second letter, dated April i8th, administers a severe reprimand to the Justices for doing nothing to check the above misconduct or to inform the Council of its continuance. Offenders were to be apprehended and tried at the next Assizes. The Council, or individual members of it, were frequently called upon to enforce statutes dealing with the cloth manu- facture (which flourished in the Marches and in some of the Welsh counties) or to intervene in industrial disputes. In the Acts of the Privy Council, Vol. XIX., p. 154, is a notice of a complaint made to their lordships by the bailiffs and others of the city of Worcester against brokers, engrossers, regraters, etc., who had caused the impoverishment of poor persons and the increase of the price of wool contrary to the statutes of 5 Edw. VI. and 21 Eliz. These statutes were ordered to be read in open market and search made for engrossers, who were to enter into bonds for due observance thereof. The whole matter was put into the hands of the Earl of Pembroke. The Council registers for the first forty years of the seven- teenth century contain several entries of a kind similar to that just mentioned. Seven of the counties included in the Lord President's jurisdiction are in the list of clothing counties noted under the date April 6th, 1622 (Gloucester, Salop, Worcester, Denbigh, Monmouth, Merioneth, Montgomery). In 16 13 a complaint was made to the Privy Council by the drapers of Shrewsbury, Oswestry, and Whitchurch against certain French merchants of London who came to the town of Mechanteth (Machynlleth ?) in North Wales, bought up many hundred pieces of cloth that would otherwise have been brought to Oswestry, and shipped them to France, to the impoverishing of many THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 265 persons in Oswestry and ' the decay of the ancient staple there. The matter was referred to the Justices of Assize for Salop and North Wales, who reported that the drapers of London and other foreigners should be restrained from buying, uttering, and transporting cloths except at London. A second hearing of the matter was confided to Lord Eure, the Lord President, the Justices of Assize for Salop, the Attorney-General (Bacon), the Solicitor-General (Yelverton), and one of the Judges of Assize for North Wales, who reported to the following effect : 1. That the previous decision should be confirmed, with the addition of certain explanations — viz. 2. That the subjects of North Wales and Cardigan may sell their cottons, friezes, and cloths at what market or to what person they will, and not be forced to come to Oswestry, so long as they sell them for home use only, not for transportation. 3. All transportation of such commodities from those parts of Wales was to be forbidden, as it would ruin the trade (which has become very prosperous), to be diverted to Blackvvell Hall, London. 4. The drapers of Chester, Coventry, and those parts may be admitted to buy at Oswestry so long as they do not transport. 5. Merchants and drapers of London are to be excluded from buying at Oswestry. 6. Their factors, too, are not to be suffered to buy at Oswestry. The Privy Council ordered this report to be put into execution.^ A few years later a difference occurred between the drapers and mercers of Shrewsbury concerning the purchase of Welsh cottons at Oswestry and their conveyance to London. The Earl of Northampton and Sir Thomas Chamberlaine appeared before the Privy Council, and stated that, according to an order of a few months before, they had examined into the matter, but that the parties could come to no agreement. They asked and received the help of certain specified persons. The point ' Council Register, February 22nd, 1613. 266 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES in dispute was whether the drapers only might purchase Welsh cloths and cottons at Oswestry for conveyance to London and elsewhere. They claimed the exclusive right as " the only traffique they haue to use for their mayntenance and liuelyhoode," while the mercers asserted that they had exercised the right from time to time with all liberty and freedom. The Privy Council had by no means finished with the affairs of Oswestry. In 1662 they directed the Lord President to examine the dispute between the Shrewsbury drapers and the Welsh clothiers. The drapers, it seems, had forborne their weekly resort to Oswestry, while the poor clothiers were afraid to go to Shrewsbury. Oswestry market and the Welsh cotton trade seemed likely to decay, to the prejudice of the whole country of Wales, and possible ill-consequences to the peace might ensue. The Privy Council thought that Oswestry market ought to be re-established, and enclosed a copy of an order to that effect. But the Shrewsbury drapers had petitioned for the liberty and privilege of their weekly market at Shrewsbury, that they might buy cottons brought thither, as well as anything else : this, they maintained, would benefit everybody, the Welsh clothiers included. The Privy Council was not inclined to rescind its decision to please the Shrewsbury drapers, but wished the Lord President and Chief Justice of Chester to examine the matter and hear all sides — viz. the gentlemen in the country, the clothiers of Wales, the drapers of Shrewsbury, the inhabitants of Oswestry, and any other persons interested.^ The last occasion on which a matter affecting the cloth trade was referred to the Lord President and Council appears to be in 1637. The drapers of Shrewsbury had petitioned the Privy Council respecting the ill-making of "Welch cloathes." The report presented to the Privy Council is of some length, and contains recommendations as to the length of cloths, the kind of yarn, and the details of measuring. The report was adopted by the Privy Council, who wrote to the Lord President and Council in the Marches directing them to give it effect (December 3rd, 1637). The relief of the poor was a matter with which the Council ' Council Register, June 27th and July 29th, 1622. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 267 had some concern. It often granted " placards " to persons who had suffered loss by fire, allowing them to beg for charitable contributions. Some of these cases have been noted above ; to them may be added a letter in the Shrewsbury MSS. from the bailiffs to the warden of the company of bakers, commending to them, as to all the brotherhoods, the case of John ap Rees, in behalf of whom Secretary Fox, a burgess, and one of the Council of the Marches had written, and to whom a licence had been granted to receive charitable gifts, " he having by sudden rage of fire had his dwelling house and all that he had consumed." Subjoined is a note that the bakers contributed 35-. 2>d. On the other hand, an instance occurs of the Council's issuing a pro- hibition against a man who had a hcence to beg for three years. The matter came up before the Privy Council, Twenty J.P.'s had certified the causes of his extremity, and order was given that he was not to be hindered in the exercise of his licence within the counties of Cardigan, Montgomery, and Denbigh. In this connection a case of some interest is recorded in the Council Register for 1639. A certificate is entered as received from the Chief Justice of the Marches of Wales, Adam Littleton and Timothy Tourner, dated Ludlow Castle, November 7th, 1639. Two years before, John Betton and two other persons (Matthewes and Ridgeway) had received ;!^5oo stock upon certain agreements between them and the town of Shrewsbury to set the poor children of the town to work. Owing to the death of his two colleagues, Betton was unable to undertake the matter alone, but the Privy Council desiring that " soe charitable a worke might not be deserted," referred it to certain townsmen of Shrewsbury, who reported that Betton was not willing to continue it. Mr. Simon Watson, however, was, if he might have a stock of ^1,000. Order was therefore given that Betton was to hand over to Watson the ;^5oo he had received, less his disbursements in buildings, etc., which were to be estimated by the aldermen and assistants of the town. Betton petitioned to be allowed to pay two-thirds of the sum (one-third for himself and one-third for Ridgeway's administratrix), while Matthewes' executor was 268 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES to pay the remaining third. He also asked to be reheved of his disbursements, which had amounted to ^^400. The three Justices who reported the matter to the Council were of opinion that Betton's petition should be allowed, and that he should hand over the buildings on being reimbursed for his expenses thereon. This certificate was approved by the Council. The Council in the Marches had also to deal with matters mentioned in the following Acts (which are enumerated in the instructions of 1586) : The Act against usury. The Act for the maintenance and increase of tillage. The Act against the dressing and eating of flesh upon the Fridays, Saturdays, and fish-days and other times prohibited. The Act against alehouse keepers not licensed. The Act touching tanners, curriers, and other artificers occupy- ing the cutting of leather. The Act for the preservation of woods. In the instructions to Lord Zouch, 1602, most of the above Acts are mentioned, and a few others are added — e.g. The Act that timber shall not be felled to make coals for the burning of iron. The Act against erecting and maintaining of cottages. The Act concerning the buying and selling of Rether beasts. The Act against the decaying of towns and houses of husbandry. The loss of the records of the Council is for no reason more to be regretted than for the light they would have thrown on the economic condition of Wales and the Border in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The chance preservation of the Shrewsbury Tolls case described above is enough to show the seriousness of the loss, particularly for the history of the Welsh cloth manufacture and the inclosure movement in the Border. CONCLUSION The history of the Council in the Marches has been traced in the preceding chapters. It remains to state how far the existing evidence enables us to answer the following questions : What was the Council's origin ; what purpose was it meant to serve ; in what relations did it stand to the central and local authorities ; why did it become unpopular, and what measure of success did it achieve ? To deal first with the question of origin. The Act of 1543 (34 & 35 Hen. VIII., c. 26) clearly gave a statutory basis to a body which since the reign of Edward IV. had exercised jurisdiction in Wales and the Marches. But was this Council established by Edward IV. a totally new body, or was it a development of an existing institution ? The evidence stated in Chapter I. points to the view that the Council in the Marches arose out of the Prince's Council, which had existed ever since the time of the first English Prince of Wales for the purpose of administering his estates.^ This Council would in the ordinary course of things have authority in the Principality only ; it was therefore necessary to confer by commission special powers in the Marches, the exercise of which would be facilitated by the fact that Edward IV., as heir of the Mortimers, was himself the chief Marcher Lord. Thus the Principality and the Marches were united under one rule, and an important step was taken towards the union of England and Wales. The language of the earliest writers who deal with the origin of the Council is quite consistent See the " Table of the Councillors of the Princes of V7ales." Gairdner, Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII., Vol. XIV., Part I. 518. 269 * 270 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES with this view; all of them mention the sending of Prince Edward, and, after him. Prince Arthur, for the purpose of ensuring order in the Marches. But the further question arises, how was it that a Council which began as the Prince's Council came to be the Council of the Lord President ? The answer to this must be conjectural, owing to the scantiness of the authorities for the Council's history in the reign of Henry VII., when the change seems to have taken place. The main reason probably is that both Prince Arthur and the Princess Mary ^ were minors when sent to take the nominal Government of Wales and the Border, and that both held office for only a short time. After Mary's withdrawal, however, just as after the death of Prince Arthur, the Lord President was bound to come to the front, for the simple reason that during more than a century there was no Prince of Wales.^ By the reign of James I. the office of Lord President had been fully developed, but the traditional connection of the Council with the Prince of Wales is often mentioned by those who upheld its jurisdiction over the four counties. The purpose for which the Council grew up was to repress disorder in Wales and the Marches. There was ample need for extraordinary measures. An analysis of the cases of crime mentioned in Bishop Lee's letters shows that the worst districts within his jurisdiction were those that ultimately formed the counties of Radnorshire, Montgomeryshire, and Denbighshire. The following lordships are repeatedly mentioned as haunts of criminals : Elvael, Arwystli, Kerry, Caedewen, and Cyfeiliog. According to Lee, Presteign was where " the thieves were thickest," while the sanctuaries of Wigmore and Bewdley served as refuges for criminals who evaded justice. Almost as turbulent were the lordships of Oswestry and Powys. A list of crimes drawn up by Thomas Holt, Attorney in the Marches, shows that the Earl of Worcester's lordships in South Wales {e.g. Chepstow and Gower) were in much the same state as the ' Mary does not seem to have been formally created Princess of Wales, though outside purely legal documents she was so stj'led. - Henry was created Prince of Wales in February, 1503 ; his namesake, the son of James I., was created Prince of Wales in June, 1610. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 271 lordships in the north. ^ If such was the condition of the March districts, that of the old Welsh shires was little better ; indeed, Lee did not scruple to affirm that " Merionethshire and Cardigan- shire are as ill as the worst part of Wales, although they are shire ground." In the absence of more than casual references no absolute conclusions can be drawn, but the general impression gained from the extant evidence is that the Marcher Lordships of northern and central Wales were the most disorderly, but that the shires were in little better case, while the adjoining English counties were injuriously affected by their neighbours' crimes. Up to the middle of the sixteenth century the main work of the Council was to punish lawlessness with which the Common Law Courts were powerless to deal. During the succeeding half century it acted both as a judicial and also as an administrative body, the instrument of the Privy Council in Wales and the Marches. During this period the dignity of the Council increased, and its organisation became fixed ; but the cases with which it dealt were less serious than in earlier years, and by the end of the century its decline had begun. In the seventeenth century it was mainly a Court for the settlement of petty suits, and the elaborate establishment which had descended from the days when princes had kept Court at Ludlow seemed unnecessary. The area of the Council's jurisdiction was a debatable question. The words of the Statute of 1543, quoted on p. 44, might be interpreted to cover the Border in general or the old Marcher Lordships only. There can be little doubt that the intention of the statute was to include the four English counties, in which the Council had exercised jurisdiction, and in which its sessions had for the most part been held. To include only the old Marcher Lordships now joined to the Border counties would surely have emphasized a distinction which it was the very object of the Act of Union (1536) to remove. If the Council was to exist at all, its jurisdiction over the four English counties could hardly be ' For the ownership of the Marcher Lordships in the reigns of Henry VII. and Henry VIII., see Appendix IV. 272 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES severed from its jurisdiction over Wales. But the controversy of the seventeenth century, though in form concerned with the jurisdiction over the four English counties, really raised the question of discretionary governments in general. In this, as in so many cases, broad constitutional issues were argued on the narrowest legal grounds. The point of most permanent interest in the Council's history is its relation to the central and local authorities. It was sub- ordinate to the Privy Council and the Star Chamber ; but it exercised a considerable measure of control over local Courts and local officials, especially sheriffs and justices of the peace. It was thus a link between the central and the local government, and also facilitated the working of the new institutions created for Wales by the legislation of Henry VIII. The Privy Council was the body that determined the powers to be exercised by the Council in the Marches, for it drew up the instructions received by each Lord President on entering office. Constant supervision was exercised by the Privy Council over the subordinate body. One of the special duties of the Secretary of State was to acquaint himself with " the power and form of proceeding at the Council of the Marches of Wales and the Council of the North." ^ The Lord President or his deputy was in frequent communication with the Privy Council, and was bound to send up to it every Hilary Term accounts of the fines imposed by his Court. The Council of the Marches was a convenient body for the examination of accused persons : in Bishop Lee's time it exercised summary jurisdiction, even in- flicting the death penalty ; but in the reign of Elizabeth, and still more in the seventeenth century, serious cases were nearly always dealt with by the Privy Council, the Star Chamber, or the Courts of Common Law. Numerous references occur to the sending up of prisoners to the Privy Council for further hearing or for punishment. Many trifling cases, however, arising out of petitions addressed to the Privy Council, were referred to the Council of the Marches for decision. Naturally some clashing of jurisdictions resulted ; instances are not rare of a person being • S.P.D., Eliz., CCLXXIV., p. ii8. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 273 summoned to appear at the same time before both tribunals. In such cases the Council of the Marches was directed to rescind its order. Tlie fact that a case might be begun before either Council was sometimes used by litigants for their own ends, as when the opponents of certain Ludlow burgesses secured post- ponement of their case on the pretence that it was to be heard before the Privy Council.^ The dignity and efficiency of the Council in the Marches were jealously v.atched over by the superior body. In drawing. up instructions and orders care was taken to secure the advice of experienced persons ; the payment of respect to the Lord President and Council was strictly enforced, and persons guilty of contempt were compelled to make apology.^ At the same time the Privy Council had no scruple in censuring the tendency of the subordinate body to disobey instructions, especially in failing to execute the Recusancy Laws and in encroaching on the jurisdiction of the Common Law Courts.^ At times the reversal of proceedings before the Council of the Marches was ordered on the ground that undue severity had been shown.^ As a rule such reprimands were received without protest, but occasionally the Council of the Marches ventured to express resentment.^ In spite of occasional jars the relations between the two bodies were on the whole harmonious. The Council of the Marches relieved the Privy Council of many trivial cases, and in its early days especially did work that could be done effectively only by local officials. An expression of more than merely conventional gratitude may be read in the Privy Council's letter to Whitgift, thanking him for his services as Vice-President during Sir Henry Sydney's absence in Ireland. The Council of the Marches was also useful in carrying out the administrative work of the Privy Council. Government, in the sixteenth century tended to become " universal, constant ' A.P.C., Vol. XXIV., p. 260. - Ibid., Vol. IX., p. 165; Ibid., Vol. X., pp. 2o6, 217; and Council Register under date October 20, 1619. 3 Ibid., Vol. XII., pp. 27 and 59. * Ibid., Vol. XIV., pp. 49 and 187. ^ /^/^^ Vol. IX., p. 331. 274 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES and penetrative " ; ^ hence the administrative duties of the Lord President and his colleagues were extremely varied. On the military and economic side these duties have already been described ; but the Council was utilized for many other purposes. Proclamations were sent down to the Lord President for pub- lication in Wales and the Border; he was expected to suppress false and seditious rumours, and to strengthen the hands of the Government in every possible way. Among the mis- cellaneous duties devolving upon him may be mentioned the collection of money for the repair of St. Paul's, the supervision of certain royal forests, the removal of weirs and stakings in the Severn, and the arrangements for an Eisteddfod." Just as the Privy Council deliberated on all affairs of State, so in his small sphere the Lord President of Wales was responsible for the good administration of the counties within his juris- diction. Perhaps his position cannot better be summed up than in a letter to the Earl of Bridgewater from the Vice-Admiral of North Wales. " Nothing within this y"" jurisdiction of Wales cann be strange to y'' Lo^, for that y"" Lqp is the true Center wher all o'' lines meete, and what is w%in the Knowledg of any man of qualitie and understanding wilbe sure to finde a way unto you." ^ Throughout its history the Council of the Marches was closely connected with the Star Chamber. The two Courts existed primarily for the same purpose, the repression of disorder for which the Common Law was inadequate, and they were alike ' Prothero, Statutes and Constitutional Documents, p. ci. ^ A.P.C., Vol. VII., p. 8i (proclamation of peace between the Queen, the French, and the Scots); S.P.D., Vol. 1547-S0, Vol. II., Mary, January, 1 554 (articles of the treaty with Spain to be declared to the people) ; Bridgewater MSS., Welsh Council Papers, 80 (repair of St. Paul's); ibid., Royal Papers, No. 88 (Forests); Brit. Mus. Add. MSS. 14905, and Mostyn MSS., Hist. MSS. Commission Report on MSS. in the Welsh Language, Vol. I., 1898, p. 291 (Eisteddfod of 1568 and that of 1594); Hist. MSS. Commission Report X., Parts III. and IV., Mr. Lloyd Gatacres MSS. (orders for the survey of the Severn within Salop). ^ Bridgewater MSS., Welsh Shrievalty Papers, Bundle VI., No. 193. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 275 in many points of procedure, as well as in the cases they tried and the punishments they imposed.^ This resemblance in the powers of the two bodies caused some complications, as is seen by the complaint of the practice by which rich men, committing outrages on poor men, had recourse to the Star Chamber and procured a suit against them. " We dare not stay it," adds the writer (a member of the Council in the Marches), " for that the ho : Coort is ffirst possest thereof." In cases with which either Court was competent to deal it seems that the Star Chamber exercised jurisdiction when persons of rank were •concerned," the Council of the Marches when the litigants were poor men, or where a local hearing seemed convenient. Hence offenders were often sent up to the Star Chamber for trial after examination before the Council ; often, too, a case that had been begun in the Marches would be removed to London. But instances of the converse proceeding are to be found as well. Among the Welsh Council Papers 13 (Bridge- water MSS.) is a " Digest of Cases in the Star Chamber from Richard II. to 36 & 37 Elizabeth," in the handwriting of Lord Chancellor Ellesmere. Under the reign of Henry VIII. are entries to the effect that all matters of Cheshire depending in the Star Chamber are to be remitted to the Council in the Marches, that matters arising in North Wales and South Wales and the ' Lansdowne MSS. 6o, fif. 103-12 (pp. 7 and 9); ibid., 22, ff. 166-70; ibid. 45, ff. 8-1 1. Cott. MSS. Vit., C. i., ff. 197-204. Pembroke's Instruc- tions, Lansdowne MSS. 49, ff. 197-207, Art. 45. ^ A noteworthy case that was tried before the Star Chamber, though the parties belonged to the Marches, is commented on in Mr. Leadam's recent volume of Select Cases in the Star Chamber, 1477- 1509. The petitioner, Lady Strange, complains that Humphrey Kenaston and others had committed trespass on her Lordship of Ellesmere. As she was "a lady marchys after the Custome of the Marchez of Wales having juris- dicion and power of the Courtes there," she thought it neither " semyng nor convenient " to bring a suit within her own Court, but petitioned for letters of Privy Seal to be directed to Kenaston to appear before the King, i.e. in the Star Chamber. The case is of special interest as showing how the Courts of the Marcher Lordships were superseded by extra- ordinary Courts. The date of the case is 1508, i.e. during the Presidency of Bishop Smyth. Had the complainant been a person of less importance, it would have probably come before him. 276 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Marches are to be committed with the original books thereof to the Council of the Lady Princess, that a certain George Kynaston is to appear before the Council of the Marches of Wales and to abide their order, and that a case depending in the Star Chamber and also in the Marches of Wales is dismissed to the latter Court. In their decline, as during the period of their activity, the two Courts were closely linked. Much of the unpopularity of the smaller body arose from its resemblance to the Court, which in the seventeenth century was a hated instrument of the royal prerogative. In the many articles of complaint against the Court of the Marches its resemblance to the Star Chamber is nearly always mentioned, and it is not surprising that they were overthrown together. Before passing to the relation of the Council to local bodies,. some reference must be made to the parallel jurisdiction exercised by the Council of the North. Both bodies were established to check lawlessness in specially disturbed districts, both did good service at first, and both incurred unpopularity in the seventeenth century, when the existence of prerogative Courts was deemed incompatible with the working of the ordinary legal system. Both were under the supervision of the Privy Council, and acted according to its instructions. But the Council of the Marches was the older and more important body; it had also a statutory basis, while the Council of the North was erected (after the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536) solely by royal prerogative. The Presidents of the Northern Council were, with the great exception of Wentworth, men of no special note, and their position, as compared with that of the Lords President of Wales, must have been weakened by the existence of the office of Warden of the Northern Marches, who per- formed many of the military duties incumbent on the Lord President of Wales. The powers of the Council of the North were also less extensive than those of the Council in the Marches ; e.g. it could not punish treason. There was also some difference as to the authority by which various cases were dealt with. The Council of the North had two distinct commissions, THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 277 one for causes criminal, and one for causes civil. The Council of the Marches was empowered to hear all manner of complaints civil and criminal exhibited by poor persons unable to sue at Common Law. In the instructions to the Council of the North are several references to the older body on such points as the need of due severity against notable offenders and the efificacy of fines as punishments. These instructions, while in their general tenor resembling those to the Welsh Council, lay special stress on such matters as recusancy and the conversion of tillage into pasture.^ The cases before the two Councils seem to have been of much the same character, and the same complaints were raised against both of an unwarranted extension of jurisdiction. In the Four Counties controversy the necessity for upholding the authority of both Councils was often mentioned, and during the personal government of Charles I. efforts were made to increase their dignity and power.^ At the head of the local bodies supervised by the Council of the Marches come the Courts of Great Sessions instituted by the Act of 1543. The purpose of this Act was to utiHse the existing judicial machinery, and extend it over the whole of Wales. The Justice of Chester (whose office can be traced back at least to the reign of Stephen) was the chief of the four Justices appointed by the Act, each of whom had a separate circuit consisting of three counties.^ He and his fellows were members of the Council of the Marches. Indeed, the Justice of Chester was always the chief working member, and was often Vice- President. The Council fixed the legal fees of the Courts, and in various ways exercised supervision over them. Thus in 1573 it was ordered by the Privy Council to see that there were two ' S.P.D., Eliz. Addenda, 1566-79, pp 462-6. Lansdownc MSS. 45, flf. 8-1 1. Cott. MSS., Vit., C. i., ff. 197-204. Brit. Mus. Add. MSS. Eg. 2790, ff. 30, ct. seqq. - Gardiner, History of England, Vol. VII., p. 239. Rymer XIX. 410' cf. pp. 155-6. ' See p. 45. Full details respecting the Great Sessions will be found in Rhys and Brynmor Jones, The Welsh People (ed. 1902), pp. 377-9, 383, 386-92 ; also in Dr. Henry Owen's article on " English Law in Wales and the Marches," Y Cymmrodor, Vol. XIV. 2/8 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Justices in each circuit at the Great Sessions, and that they attended in person and heard causes of prisoners before civil causes.^ Care was taken, in issuing instructions to the Council,, to provide for the absence of the legal members on circuit : on one occasion Fabian Phillips (Justice of Assize for South Wales) was excused from following the circuit in order to attend at the Council during the illness of the Lord President, the Earl of Pembroke ; but a caution is added that this was not to be made a precedent. The best description of the working of the Great Sessions and their relations to the Council of the Marches in the sixteenth century is given in George Owen's Dialogue on the Government of Wales. He points out the inconvenience of holding the Great Sessions in Lent, when oats are being sown, and in August and September, during the corn harvest. He adds that the Justices do not give enough time to hearing equity cases, and that many suitors are compelled to come before the Council of the Marches, which gives judgment more speedily and at less expense. Appeals in personal actions lay from the Courts of Great Sessions to the Council. Instances of conflict of jurisdictions between the two bodies are not common,^ though we hear many complaints in general terms of persons being drawn from remote parts of Wales to attend the Council. But it is obvious that sessions held twice a year in each circuit for six days at a time were inadequate to deal with the mass of legal business arising out of the rapid economic changes which took place in sixteenth-century Wales. This fact, ns justifying the Council's existence, is dwelt on both by George Owen and by the unknown writer quoted on pp. 164-5. Besides supervising the Great Sessions, the Council exercised authority over the Courts of the various boroughs within its jurisdiction. From the extant correspondence with borough authorities we get some insight into the kind of suits that the Council most frequently decided. Some hundreds of such documents exist among the records of Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Hereford, and doubtless of other places in the ' A.P.C., Vol. VIII., p. 141, and Vol. XIV., pp. 143-4. = Ibid., Vol. XII., p. 115. THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 279 Marches. They certainly show a tendency on the part of the Council to encroach on the borough Courts ; but it must be remembered that one of the instructions to the Council was to punish the misdemeanours of mayors and bailiffs/ a clause which points to the prevalence of partiality and injustice in the inferior Courts. Further, in many cases the Council afforded relief which suitors, especially if poor, could not otherwise obtain. That abuses were Hkely to occur in these borough Courts may be gathered from Owen's complaint of the excessive number of corporate towns in Wales having private courts of record for personal actions to any amount. " There are in Wales yet," he writes, "a multitude of very meane villages scarce having six houses or Cottages, and yet are allowed for corporations and Boroughs." Not only local Courts but also local officials were controlled by the Council. The sheriffs of Wales and the Border counties were often in the sixteenth century members of the Council, as may be seen by a comparison of the lists of councillors with the Record Office list of sheriffs of England and Wales. Out of twenty-six councillors enumerated in Lord Zouch's instructions (July 7, 1 602), exclusive of peers, bishops, justices, and the Queen's Second Secretary, nineteen were at some period sheriffs of counties on the Border or in Wales. By the Statute of 1543 Welsh sheriffs were nominated yearly by the Lord President, Council, and Justices of Wales, or three of them, the Lord President being one. They were bound to execute all lawful commands of the Lord President and Council. Several letters referring to the nomination of Sheriffs are extant in the Welsh Shrievalty Papers (Bundle VI.) among the Bridgewater ]\ISS. Some of these are lists of leading gentry, with notes as to their fitness for office, e.g. " John Vaughan of Glan y Llyn, Esq. very fitt for estate, not for his discretion, but his wife discreete." ' See p. 91 ; also Lansdowne MSS. 60, ff. 103-12. Hist. MSS. Commission, 15th Report, App., Part X., p. 62 (a letter bidding the bailifls of Shrewsbury come before the Council with their charters to justify their imprisonment of a certain petitioner). Dovaston MS., f. 128 (reference to the Council of a dispute between the Aldermen, Bailiffs, and Burgesses of Denbigh con- cerning the interpretation of their charter). 28o THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Others are letters from persons who desire to escape the burden of serving, such as Mr. Joas Goschalke, a London merchant, who alleges that " he understandeth little of the Lawes of y*^ Lande and lesse of the gouernement of this Country," and that " hee by a great mischaunce had a greate parte of his skull broken and taken away : whereby his understanding and memory are much impaired, and is neare 60 yeares old, and weake and infirme of body." By the Instructions of 1586 the Council was empowered to punish sheriffs and jurors guilty of evicting those who had been secured by the Council's order in the possession of disputed land. A sheriff was also empowered to break into the house where any person was living who disobeyed the Council's order. Sheriffs were to aid the Council's pursuivants on pain of the Queen's high displeasure, and they were to arrest all disobedient persons and send them under guard either to the Queen, the Privy Council, or the Council of the Marches. From George Owen's Dialogue we gather that supervision of the Welsh sheriffs was highly necessary, owing to their practice of erecting new Hundred Courts (under a wrong construction of 34 & 35 Hen. Vin., c. 26) for purposes of extortion. The Council, he says, had grievously fined sheriffs for keeping such Courts, and in Brecknockshire the practice had been stopped. During Lord Eure's Presidency a special arrangement was adopted from the practice prevailing in the Council of the North, by which the Council undertook some of the formal duties of sheriffs, e.g. returns respecting proclamations and so forth. At first many sheriffs refused to allow this innovation, but in the end they consented. Though no one but the under-sheriffs was prejudiced, the Council's action was attacked in Parliament as an injury to the subject, seeing that by law proclamations should go into the country that parties might take notice of them. By the Earl of Bridgewater's Presidency the relations between the Council and the sheriffs were greatly strained, and numerous instances occur in the Bridgewater MSS. of direct refusals by the sheriffs t o carry out the Council's orders. A close connection may be traced between the Council of the Marches and the characteristic local official of Tudor times, the THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 281 Justice of the Peace. By the Statute of 1543 Welsh Justices of the Peace were to be appointed by the Chancellor of England on the advice of the President, Council, and Justices of Wales, or three of them. The Lord President was expected to choose suitable persons, and to keep them up to their work. He and the chief members of his Council were usually on the Commissions of the Peace for Wales and the Border counties. From the Liber Pacis of x6 Eliz.^ it is seen that Sir Henry Sydney was on the Commission for Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Cheshire, the twelve counties of Wales, Monmouth- shire, and the county of Haverfordwest. Other Councillors occur as often ; e.^. Sir John Throckmorton, Justice of Chester, was on the Commission for all the counties above mentioned, and for Warwickshire as well. Sir H. Chomley for the same nineteen counties as Sir Henry Sydney, and William Gerrard for sixteen. While the Council had its prototype in the Council of the Princes of Wales, which dated back to the thirteenth century, and superseded the Marcher Courts of still earlier date, it was also closely linked with an office of purely Tudor origin, that of Lord Lieutenant. The Lord President was, as a rule. Lord Lieutenant of the counties of Wales and usually of the Border counties as well.- It was in this capacity that he per- formed his mihtary duties. In the seventeenth century, especially after the Restoration, the Lord President's duties were merely those of a lord lieutenant on an extensive scale. Such are the chief points of contact between the Council of the Marches and various central and local authorities. Two questions remain to be answered : why did it become unpopular, and what must be our estimate of its work as a whole.? Its later un- popularity seems to have been due partly to its failure to adhere to the Instructions, its financial carelessness leading to extortion, its tendency to encourage informers, to encroach on the Common Law Courts, and to punish offences already dealt with by the Ecclesiastical Courts. It was also affected by the odium in- curred by the Star Chamber, whose shadow it was held to be. ' Brit. Mus. Add. MSS., Eg. 2345. - See p. 252, footnote. 282 THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES Between it and the Courts at Westminster there was a deep-seated jealousy, based partly on professional grounds, partly on the conviction that prerogative Courts were unconstitutional. The claim of the Court of King's Bench that prohibitions lay thence into the Marches of Wales led to the lengthy controversy described in Chapter V., and probably contributed as much as anything else to the Council's inclusion in the Star Chamber Act of 1 64 1. Those who upheld the Council insisted that it was accountable only to the King and his ministers, and held with Wentworth that the jurisdiction of Courts was a matter with which the subject had no concern. They were undoubtedly right in arguing that the judges at Westminster were not the proper authorities to deal with such disputed questions, which ought to have been decided on broad constitutional grounds. The real question at issue was whether exceptional jurisdictions such as those in Wales and the North were supported in the interests of the community or merely out of jealousy for the King's prerogative. On the whole, it would seem that in the seventeenth century the second motive was the stronger. But the unpopularity of the Council in the seventeenth century must not overshadow the fact that it had once done useful work. The fairest estimate of it is to be found not in official documents, but in George Owen's Dialogue, where it is described as "the very place of refuge for the poore oppressed of this Country of Wales to flie unto. And for this cause it is as greatly frequented with sutes as any one Court at Westminster whatsoever, the more for that it is the best cheape Court in England for fifees and there is great speed made in triall of all causes." The writer frankly admits that many advocate the abolition of the Court as no longer necessary, but he strongly holds that " some defectes being reformed it is so necessary a Court for the quiet gouernm't of that Countrie as w'thout the same Wales would be turned into her former Chaos of troubles." In no part of the kingdom had such rapid changes taken place during the sixteenth century as in Wales ; the people, according to Owen, had changed ' in heart within, and the land had altered in hue without, from THE COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES 283 evil to good and from bad to better.' In bringing about this improvement the chief factor was no doubt the Tudor poUcy of abolishing invidious distinctions between Welshmen and English- men ; but some credit must also be given to an institution which did much to repress the disorder, which would otherwise have kept the country poor and backward. Had the Council's existence come to an end with the sixteenth century it would probably have been remembered with gratitude ; by lasting nearly a century too long it gained an evil reputation for extravagance and oppression. Its work had long ago been done, and its abolition in 1689 was but the tardy recognition of the truth that the turbulent Wales of the fifteenth century had been transformed into a country as law-abiding as any part of England. APPENDIX I THE TITLE OF THE COUNCIL The title of the Council varied greatly ; the full official style in its later years was that given on p. i of the Introduction — viz- the Court of the Council (or " the Council " simply) established in (or " of " simply) the Dominion and Principality of Wales and the Marches of the same. The members at first were spoken of as " Commissioners of the Lord Prince " (Owen and Blakeway, History of Shrewsbury, Vol. I., p. 262, temp. Prince Arthur). In Princess Mary's time they were " the King's Com- missioners of Council with my ladie prince's grace in the Marches of Wales " ; or, more shortly, the prince's (j.e. princess's) Council {Ibid., Vol. I., p. 305). After the divorce the style was altered to " The Council (or the Commissioners) of our lord the King in the Marches of Wales" {Ibid., Vol. I., p. 311). After the Act of 1543 the commonest title was the " Council of," or "in," the Marches (of Wales), or sometimes the "Council of Wales" simply (A.P.C, Vol. XVIIL, p. 257, Vol. X., p. 375, and S.P.D., 1547-80, p. 108). In the seventeenth century, when the jurisdiction over the four Border counties was in question, the upholders of the Council laid stress on including the word " Marches " in the title. As the Council was both a judicial and administrative body, we find the words Court and Council used indiscriminately — e.g. the Court of Wales, or of the Marches (of Wales), or, again. Her Highness' Court in the Marches of Wales (A.P.C, Vol. XV., p. 375, Lansdowne MSS. 155, f. 235). Strictly speaking, the word "Court" was applied to the members of the Council in their judicial capacity. The Lord President's title was equally variable, as is shown 285 286 APPENDIX I by the following list : Lord President of the Marches of Wales {A.P.C., Vol. XV., p. 195); President of the King's Majesty's Council in the Marches of Wales {Ibid., Vol. I., p. 385); Lord President of Wales (S.P.D., 1547-80, p. 126); President of the Council of Wales {Ibid., p. 108) ; Lord President of the Council established in the Marches of "Wales (Council Register, March 9th, 1632); Lord Deputy of the Marches of Wales (rare, A.P.C., Vol. IIL, p. 427). APPENDIX II LIST OF LORDS PRESIDENT Name. Date of appointment. Bishop Alcock 1473 (Pat. Rolls, 13 Edw. IV., Pt. I, m. 3, 1473, November loth, Cal., p. 401). ,, Smyth . 1501 „ Blyth .... 1512 „ Voysey .... 1525 „ Lee . 1534 „ Sampson .... 1543 Duke of Northumberland 1548 Earl of Pembroke (ist time) . 1550^ Bishop Heath 1553 Earl of Pembroke (2nd time) 1555 Bishop Bourne 1558 Lord Williams of Thame 1558 Sir Henry Sydney .... 1559 Earl of Pembroke (son of above) . 1586 Lord Zouch .... 1602 Lord Eure .... 1607 Lord Gerard .... 1616 Earl of Northampton . 16172 Earl of Bridgewater . 1631 Earl of Carbery . . 1661 Marquis of Worcester (Duke of Be aufort) . 1672 Earl of Macclesfield . 16893 ' Sir William Herbert became Earl of Pembroke in l55l' ^ Lord Compton became Earl of Northampton in 1618. ^ This list is largely based on Clive's Documents connected with the History of Ludlow, pp. 148-89. A list of the Justices of Chester (who usually acted as Vice-Presidents) is given in Ormerod's History of Cheshire, Vol. I., pp. 61-6. 287 APPENDIX III OFFICIALS OF THE COUNCIL IN THE MARCHES During the second half of the sixteenth century the number of ofiEicials connected with the Council of the Marches was large. After the Lord President came the Vice-President, the Justice of Chester, the Councillors and the Secretary. Next in im- portance was the Clerk of the Council, who, in the Earl of Pembroke's time, was also Clerk of the Signet and Register, though, as Pembroke remarks, there was no need for the latter office. Out of the clerk's office had grown a number of sub- ordinate posts. Another new official was the Clerk Examiner, who left his work to be done by a number of young " Clerks allowed," whose incapacity is severely censured by the Lord President in his description of the Court. Another leading member was Her Majesty's Attorney in the Marches, whose duty was to prosecute all cases concerning the Queen. His colleague, the SoHcitor, was bound to solicit the Queen's causes and to examine persons suspected of treason or felony. In addition there were the Clerk Receiver of the Fines, the Porter, the Serjeant-at-Arms, the Remembrancer, and the holder of a new and easy post called Hankie's office, who took fourpence a time for writing his name on certain bills. The Remembrancer's duty was to keep a list of criminal and finable causes to prevent the secret compounding of suits to the Queen's damage. The Counsellors at the Bar were by the Instructions of 1586 limited to eight, and the Attorneys of the Court to eighteen ; but there was a tendency for these numbers to be increased in spite of prohibitions. The remaining officials connected with either the Council or with Ludlow Castle were the Steward, the Marshal, 288 APPENDIX III 289 the two Pursuivants, the Chaplain, the Armourer, the Keeper of the Castle. The long list ends with the Keeper of the Leads of the Conduit and the Keeper of the Clock. The duties attached to most of these offices were certainly not heavy, and many of them, especially in the Council's later da)'s, were discharged by deputy.^ The Justices of Chester were often men of considerable eminence. Other offices in the Council were filled at times by notable men, such as Whitgift when Bishop of Worcester, the Irish Chancellor Gerard, and the poet Samuel Butler. Fulk Greville, the friend of Sir Philip Sydney, also held office, first in 1576-7 and later in 1583, when he was made Secretary. The members of the Council were mostly drawn from the gentry of the Border counties and Wales, as miay be seen from a list of suitable persons submitted to Lord Burghley by the Earl of Pembroke.^ In it are such well-known Border names as Throckmorton and Poyntz (Gloucestershire), Packington (Worcestershire), Scudamore, Coningsby, and Croft (Hereford- shire), Corbet and Cornewall ^(Shropshire) ; while for certain Welsh counties are suggested various members of the great Herbert family, Thomas Mostyn and Sir Richard Bulkeley. ' See Lansdowne MSS. 51, ff. 103-14, 2S, ft". 124-5, m> f- 16. Ashmolean MSS. 824 xxii. - Lansdowne MSS. 63, ff. 8S-9S. 19 APPENDIX IV OWNERSHIP OF THE MARCHER LORDSHIPS IN THE REIGNS OF HENRY VII. AND HENRY VIII. In the reign of Henry VII. the Marcher Lordships were, with unimportant exceptions, in the hands of the Crown, or of new famines who owed their rise to royal favour. By reference to the list of Ministers' Accounts in the Public Record Office for the reign of Henry VII. it will be seen that the royal possessions in Wales (exclusive of the Principality proper) formed a large proportion of the lands enumerated as Marcher Lordships in the Act of Union of 1536. The list is as follows : A. \ 1. The Earldom of Pembroke and its members (including the lordships of Cilgerran, Llatistephan, Haverford- west). 2. Brecon lordship and its members (in- cluding Hay)} 3. Bromfield and Yale lordships. 4. Caurse lordship (Cawes) (including Hope)? 5. Chirk and Chirkland. 6. Elvell lordship (Elvael). 7. GoldcUft (Goldcliff). 8. Raglan and Penrose (Penrhos). 9. Neivport lordship (including Went- llooge and Maghen).^ 10. Ahergavenfiy lordship. Total of nineteen lordships included 1 in the Crown pos- sessions and also mentioned in the Act of Union. ' In the hands of the Crown during the minority of Edward, Duke of Buckingham ; cf. Campbell, Materials for the History of the Reign of Henry VII., Vol. I., p. 56. = Do,, Ibid., Vol. I., p. 184. » Do., Ibid., Vol. I., p. 95. 290 APPENDIX IV 291 Total of twenty- two lordships in- l eluded in the Crown possessions and also in the Act of Union. B. The Earldom of March, including : Lordship of Builth. Cliiford. ^j Glasbury. !- Wynforton. j Denbigh lordship Dynas lordship (Dinas). Ewias Lacy. Comotoidour (Commothuder of the ,^ Union Act. Raydour (Rhayader). Knyghton (Knighton). Melleneth (Melenydd). Warthrenyon (Gwethronyon of the Union Act). Radnor. ^ Glandestre (Gladestry). (_ Prestheinde (Presteign). I Norton. J Montgomery. Kery. Caedewen. Chirbury Hundred. Halcetour (? Alcester of the Union Act). Wygmore (Wigmore). Thus forty-one lordships out of about one hundred and thirty-six mentioned in the Act of Union were in the hands of the Crown at various periods of the reign. The Earldom of Pembroke, which in the days of Yorkist power had been held by William Herbert, had passed to Jasper Tudor, on whose death in 1495 it came to Henry VH.'s second son Henry, then Duke of York.^ The lands of the Earldom of March passed to Henry VH. on the death of Richard IH., the head of the ' Rot. Pari., Vol. VI., p. 552, Dugdale, Vol. II., pp. 242, 256, 257. Campbell Materials for the History of the Rtign of Henry VII., Vol. II., p, 281. P.R.O Rentals and Surveys fl 292 APPENDIX IV Mortimer family.^ Holt, Bromfield, Yale, and Chirk had been held by Sir William Stanley, who had received from Richard III. a grant of various Welsh estates comprising the greater part of the present East Denbighshire, and had been confirmed in his possession by Henry VH.- These were forfeited to the king on his attainder in 1495. The above list, however, does not include all the Marcher Lordships in Crown hands. The lordships of Monmouth, Grosmont, Whitecastle, Skenfreth, Kidwelly, Greenfield, and Ogmore were parcel of the Duchy of Lancaster,^ while from incidental notices it appears that the Crown held in addition the small lordships of Cantreselly (Cantercelly), Glynbough, and Laugharne, while the moiety of the lordship of Magor was to revert to it on the death of Sir John Tiptoft.* The lordship of Ruthin was sold to the King by Richard, Earl of Kent, who had lost his fortune by gaming. This makes a total of fifty-two Marcher Lordships in Crown hands during the reign, or forty-four, deducting the Buckingham lands held during the duke's minority. The chief Marcher Lordships not in Crown hands were held by : {a) The Duke of Buckingham (as above). (^) The Earl of Derby, who held Moldesdale, Hopedale, and EUesmere (Brewer, Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VHL, IH. 2820). (c) The Earl of Worcester, husband of Lady Elizabeth Herbert, who in 1506 was made Baron Herbert of Raglan, Chepstow, and Gower. (d) Lord Powys, who held Powysland (./ Inq. P.M., H. VH., p. 421). During the reign of Henry VIL the process of acquisition by the Crown continued. Arustley (Arwystli) and Keviliock ' Cf. the Statute 28 Hen. VIII., c. 39. - Rot. Pari., VI. 316. Pennant, Tours in Wales, ed. Rhys, Vol. I., pp. 267, 348, 362. ^ Campbell, ut supra, Vol. I., pp. 553, 564, 601, also 4S3 and 555. * Ibid., Vol. I., pp. 46, 79, 443, 487. APPENDIX IV 293 (Cyfeiliog) were bought soon after Henry's accession, granted to his son Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond/ but resumed on the latter's death. The attainder of the Duke of Buckingham in 152 1 gave the Crown most of the lordships which formed the later Brecknockshire. The old families of the Welsh Marches had by the year 1536 sunk into insignificance. For example, the family of Grey was so impoverished that the successor to the Richard Earl of Kent who sold Ruthin to Henry VH. did not take up his title. Joan, the heiress of the Strange family, married into the com- paratively new family of the Stanleys. In South Wales the leading house was that of the Herberts, which before the fifteenth century had been unimportant. The old Marcher names of Fitzwarren, Powys, and Arundel occur here and there in docu- ments referring to the Council of the Marches, but only as owners of insignificant lordships.^ ' Brewer, Vol. X., No. 130. "^ e.g. P.R.O., Miscellanea of the Exchequer W: "Since Michaelmas one was slain in a lordship of Lord Fitzwaren." "A great riot on St. Andrew's day in Oswestrj', a lordship of the Earl of Arundel's." INDEX OF SUBJECTS Arthel, 39 Bondmen. See Villeinage Champerty, 124 Comortha, 39, 50, 65, 97, 107, 117, 119, 122, 222 Corn supply, 259-62 Council in the Marches of Wales, necessity for, 1-17 passim ; origin of, 18-48,269-70; development of, 49-128 ; instructions to, 61, 89-96, 133, 217 ; cases tried by, chaps, ii.- iii. and pp. 151-5 ; meeting-places, procedure, and financial system of, chaps, vii.-ix. passim ; administra- tive duties of, chap. x. ; officials of, 288-9 ; relations with the Privy Council, etc., 97-105, 269-81 ; records of, vii.-viii., 18, 94. 117, 119, 160- 1 ; title, 285-6; abuses in, 105-10 ; decline of, 129-65 ; attacks on jurisdiction of, 20, 130-45, 148-65, 271, 277-8, 282 ; revival, 166 et seqq. ; abolition of, 178-9; summary of its work, 269- 83 Courts — Court of Admiralty, 144 Court of Chancery, 127 Court of the Duchy of Lancaster, 158 Court of the Exchequer at Chester, Court of High Commission, 157, 165 Court of Requests, 165 Court of Star Chamber, 1-2, 60, 92, 102, 127, 158-61, 165-6, 272, 274-6, 281 Courts — continued Courts of Common Law, 104, 108, 121, 127, 130-45, 150, 157, 165, 171, 232, 271-4, 281-2 Courts of Great Sessions, 45, 106, 159, 164, 179, 277-8 Court of Wards, 159 Ecclesiastical Courts, 122-5, ^57) 281 Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 157 Disclaiming, 13 Exchequer, 241, 254 Forcible entry, 97, 103-4 Forestalling, 91, 222 Gavelkind, 79 Inclosures, 49, 93, 224, 259, 262-4, 268 Juries, partiality of, 67-S Justices of the Peace, 46, 107-8, 272, 280-1 Legislation affecting Wales and the Marches, 11-14, 37-48, 72-3, i33-7> 157-60, 179 Litigiousness of the Welsh, viii., 83 Livery, 17, 92 Lord-Lieutenant, office of, 147, 252-8, 28 1 Maintenance, 91, 98, 222 Marches of Wales, formation, 2-6 ; March privilege, 6-10, 43-4, 164; disorder in the Marches, 11-17, and chaps. \.-\\\. passim ; ownership of 29s 296 INDEX Marcher Lordships, 290-3 ; warden- ship of the Welsh RIarches, 17 Murder (and manslaughter), 14-16, 27, 36-9S passim North, Council of the, So, 82, 136, 144, 155, 158-60, 165, 272, 276-7, 280, 2S2 Northern Marches, wardenship of the, 17, 276 Perjury, 38, 67, 91, 98, 122, 140, 192, 215, 222 Pilgrimage of Grace, 79-80, 276 Piracy, 82, loo-i, 252, 256-7 Privy Council, its relations with the Council in the Marches, 81-128, m>, i47-9> 256, 271-4 Recusancy, 97, 101-2, iio-i, 121, 125-6, 146, 273 Regrating, 91, 222 Retaining, 91, 106-7, 121 Riots (routs and unlawful assemblies), 13-16, 49-113/a.rj-m, 155, 212,222 Robbery, 11-17, 27, 30, 38, 40, 49- 1 1 3 passim Sheriffs, their i-elations with the Council in the Marches, 46, 91, 279-80 Ship-money, 156 Theft. See Robbery Title of lands, 90, 95, 154 Treason, 92, 96-7, 276 Villeinage, 35, 103 Wales, conquest of, 2-6 ; condition before the Act of Union, 6-36 ; Tudor legislation affecting Wales, 37-4S ; condition in the sixteenth century, 49-128 passim, esp. 88, 106-7, 109, 121, 127, 279 ; con- dition in the seventeenth century, 129-79 passim, esp. 156, 165 ; the Reformation in Wales, 76-S ; the forests of Wales and the Border, 56, 150, 245-6; mining in Wales, 146-7 ; cloth manufacture in Wales and the Border, 264-6 ; troops fur- nished by Wales for Ireland and the North, 147, 252-4, 256, 258-9 INDEX OF NAMES AND PLACES Abergavenny, Lord of, 14 Abergavenny, Lordship of, 290 Aberystwith Castle, 37 Alcock, John, Bishop of Worcester, Lord President (1473), I9> 23, 25-6, 28-9, 31, 287 Alina de Peshale, 7 ;/. 3 Alyngton, William, 25 Anglesey, 4, 9, 11, 33, 40-I, 45, 72-3, 78, 124, 162, 171 ap David, Griffith ap J., 203 ap David, Oliver, 228 ap Griffith ap Howell, James, 56 ap Griffith, Sir Rhys, 55, 74-6 ap Harry, Humfrey, 151 ap Jenkin, David, 15 ap Jevan, Meredith, 15 ap Morice, Robert, 65 ap Owen ap Merricke, Lewis, 105 ap Rees, 97 ap Rees, John, 267 ap Rice, Edward, 97 ap Rice, John Thomas, 68 ap Rice, Robert, 57 ap Richard Lloyd, David, 97 ap Robert, Jevan, 15 ap Robert, Owen, 97 ap Thomas, Sir Rhys (Rice), 33, 37, 76 Arlington, Lord, 173 Arnulf, son of Roger of Montgomery, 4-5 Arthur, Prince, 20, 23, 29-30, 49, 52, 181, 184, 196-7, 202-3, 205, 235, 270, 285 Arundel, Bishop, 203 Arundel, Earldom of, 4 (1) Arundel, Earl of, 182 (2) Arundel, Earl of, 293 Arundel, Thomas, 54 Arustley (Arwystli), 65-6, 292 Ashridge, Herts, 151, 165 Atkins, Mr., Attorney in the Court of the Marches, 117 Avranches, Hugh of, 3 Bacon, Sir Francis, 2, 130, 138, 141-3. 265 Bacon. Sir Nicholas, 132 Ball, Mr., 159 Bangor, Sg, iii Barbican, 151, 185, 250 Barlow, Bishop, 76-7 Barthol, 127 Baskervile, Philip, 58 Baskervile, Thomas, 58 Bass, ]Mr., 1S6-7 Bastwick, John, 157 Bath and Wells. Bishop of (Gilbert Bourne), 81, 84 Bath and Wells, Bishop of (Robert Stillington), 20 Baxter, Richard, 2, 188 Beale, Thomas, 243 Beauchamp, Thomas, Earl of War- wick, 8 Beaufort, Duchess of, 177 Beaufort, Duke of, 176-8, 187, 287 Beaumaris, 254 Beaupie, Agnes, Edward, and John, 23 Beck, Edward a, 75 Bedford, Earl of, 252 Bedford, Jasper, Duke of, 29 Bekynshaw, Dr., 78 Bell, Mr., 133 Belleme, Robert of, 4-5, 181 Belmeis, Richard de, 17 Bennet, Secretary, 174. St'd Arling- ton Lord 297 298 INDEX Bennys, Edmund, 98 Berwick, 159 Berwyn Mountains, 3 Betton, John, 267-8 Betts, John, 185 Bevion, John, 233 Bewdley. 29, 31, 37, 52, 62-3, 88, 167, 180, 195, 196-200, 202, 204, .231, 235, 245, 270 Eishop's Castle, 61, 1S3, 231 Bissell, John, 169 Black Abbey, 229 Black Mountains, 3 Blackwell Hall, London, 265 Blakemere, Henry, 211 Blount, Sir William, 187 31yth (Blythe), Geoftrey, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, Lord Presi- dent (1512-24), 31, 33, 59,204,287 Bodleian Library, 159 Bohun, family of, 5 Bohun, Mary de, 1 1 Boleyn, Anne, 204 Bolingbroke, Henry, li Bosworth, II Bothe, Charles, 30, 203 Bothe, Mr., 233 Botterell, Captain William, 194 Bourne, Gilbert, Bishop of Bath and Wells, Lord President (1558), 21, 81, 84, 2S7 Brace, John (Johane), 32 Bradvvardine Castle, 8 Bradwey, 58 JBrandon, Charles, Duke of Suffolk, 33 Braose, family of, 5, 6 Braose, William de, 7-9 Brecknock (Brecon), 5, 34-7, 54, 70, 72. 78, 175. 258, 290 Brecknock Castle, 71 Brecknock, county of, 41-2, 45, 147 162, 280, 293 Breda, 169 Brenton, John, 99 Brereton, Sir William, 186 Brereton, Roger, 261 Breteuil, 3 Bridgeman (Bridgman), Sir John, 129, 148, 193, 263 Bridgenorth, 180, 215 Bridgevvater, first Earl of. Lord Presi- dent (1631-42), 2, 21, 129, 148, 150, 155, 161-5, 185, 246-51, 252 11. I, 256-8, 274, 2S0, 287 Bridge water, 3rd Earl of, 179 Bringwood Forest, 246 Bristol, TOO, 131, 133, 141, 169, 244, 253-5, 260 Britons, 145 Bromfield. 9, 14, 290, 292 Bromley, Mr., 201 Bromley, Sir George, Justice of Chester, 58, 60, 89, 210 Bromley, Sir Thomas, Solicitor- General, 99, 105 Bromyard, 99 Broune, John, 35 Buckhurst, Lord, 103, 242 Buckingham, Duke of, 34-5, 59, 290, 292-3 Builth, 5, 291 Bulkeley, Sir Richard, 66, 71, 73, 105, 2S9 Burghley, Lord, 2, 36, III, 1 14, 122- 3, 126, 251, 289 Burleton, Plumfrey, 15 1 Burnell, Thomas, 230, 234 Burton, Henry, 157 Butler, family of, ^6 Butler, Samuel, 2, 173, 2S9 Butts, Dr., 63 Butts, John, 169 Cade, Jack, 14 Caedewen. See Kedewen Caerphilly Castle, 10 Calais, 82, 10 1 Calvert, Secretary, 146 Cambridge, 23 ; colleges of : Peter- house, 23 ; Jesus College, 23 ; King's College, 31. Great St. Mary's, 23 Camden, William, 141, 181 Campion, Edmund, 99 Camville, family of, 6 Canterbury, Archbishops of : Thomas Bourchier, 20 ; William Warham, 34 ; High Commission Court of, 157; Prerogative Court of, 157 Cantercelly, 36, 292 Cantilupe, 5 Cantreds, the four, 4 Carbery, Countess of, 175, n.^ Carbery, 2nd Earl of, 2, 1 70-5, 1 79, 187, 2S7 Cardiff, 3, lOO Cardiff Castle, 82 Cardigan, 5, 53, 146, 245 Cardigan, county of, 9-10, 41-2, 45, INDEX 299 58, 73, 147, 151, 162, 172, 253, 265, 267, 271 Carlisle, Bishop of (Edward Story), 25 Carmarthen, 5, 8, 53, 55, 76, loi, 146, 175 Carmarthen, county of, 9-10, 41, 45, 58, 125, 146-7, 156, 162, 172, 253-4 Carnarvon, 10, 15, 33, 47 Carnarvon Castle, 10, 72 Carnarvon, county of, 9, 16, 40-1, 45, 73, 124, 162, 171, 256 Carus, Thomas, 131 Castelton, 57 Catherine of Aragon, 30, 59, 196 Caurs (Cawes, Caurse), 6, 35-6, 103, 290 Cecil, Sir William, 85-86. See Burghley, Lord Chamberlain, John, 129 Chamberlaine, Sir Thomas, 189, 263, 265 Chapuys, Eustace, 61, 74-6 Charles I., 169, 1S8, 190, 198, 252, 257, 277 Charles II., 169, 195 Charles V., 61, 74 Charlton, Robert, of Whitton, 1 71 Charlton, Sir Edward, of Powys, 28 Chaworth, family of, 6 Chelsea, 176 Chepstow, 70, 270 Cherwell, Richard, 230 Chester, 3-6, 59, 68, 72, 78-9, 112, 120, 132-3, 141, 215, 253-4, 265 Chester, county of, 11, 24, 32, 34, 37, 40, 67-8, 78, 131-3, 143, 178, 263, 275, 281 Chester, Court of the Exchequer of, 158 Chester, Earldom of, 9 Chester, Earl of, 8 Chester, Justice of, 45, 138, 178, 189, 190, 208, 213, 215, 230, 245, 266, 277, 281, 287-9 Cheturn, Charles, 179 Chirbury Hundred, 291 Chirk, 27, 44, loi, 263, 290, 292 Chirkland, 65, 290 Chokke, Sir Richard, 25 Cholmeley, William, 53 Cholmondeley (Chomley), Sir Hugh, 215, 239, 281 Church Stretton, 210 Churchyard, Thomas, 180, 18S Cilgerran, 290 Clare, Gilbert de, 5 Clare, Ralph, 198-9 Clare, Richard de, 5 Clare, Walter de, 5 Clarence, George, Duke of, 20 Clarence, Lionel, Duke of, 1S2 Clarendon, Earl of, 160, 174 Clench, Francis, 104 Clench, William, 104 Clenche, John, 192 Cliflord, 29 1 Clun (Cloonesland), 6, 68, 183 Clwyd, River, 4, 10 Coke, Secretary, 156, 257 Coke, Sir Edward, 43, 130, 138, 145 Colchester, 169 Comotoidour, 291 Compton, Lord, Earl of Northampton, 139, 287 Coiinis, 1 50- 1, 186 Connye, Thomas, 210 Constantine, the Emperor, 144 Conway, 10 Conway Castle, 10, 72 Conway, River, 4 Conway, Secretary, 148 Conway, Vale of, 15-16 Corbet, family of, 6 Corbet (Corbette), Jerome, 109 Corbet, John, 103 Corbet, Sir Andrew, 99, 109, 239, 254-S Cornewall (Comewaile), Thomas, 43, 138, 1S9, 193 Cornewall, Edmund, 192 Cornewall, Sir Gilbert, 171 Corno9a, Martin de, 74 Cornwall, 24, 100, 253 Corve-dale, 183 Cother, — , Bailiff of Ludlow, 191 Cotherington, Simon, 124 Coventry, 79, 203, 207, 236, 265 Coventry and Lichfield, See of, 31, 59 Coytemore, Geoffrey, 25 Cradock, Sir Matthew, 82 Cranfield, Lionel, Lord Treasurer, 246 Criccieth Castle, 10 Croft, Sir Edward, 56, 5S-9, 61 Croft, Sir Herbert, 137, 139, 145 Croft, Sir James, 89, 114-15, 120 Croft, William, 211 Crofte, Thomas, 57 ?oo INDEX Crofts, Sir Richard, 30 Croke, Sir John, 130 Cromwell, Oliver, 172 Cromwell, Thomas, 3S, 56-7, 60, 63-9> 71-3, 76, 7S, 236-7 Crumpe, Thomas, 160 Culmington, 250 Cumberland, 159 Cyfeiliog. See Keviliock Dacre, Lord, 20 Daulbin, John, 170 Davenham, 78 Dean, Forest of, 3S Dee, River, 4, 10 Demetus, 127 Denbigh, 10, 41, 57, 66, 97, 279 «. i, 291 Denbigh, county of, 42, 45, iii, 147, 156, 162, 165, 17S, 263-4, 267, 270, 292 Denbighland, 72-3 Derby, Earl of, 292 Dere, Piers, 62 Devereux, Sir Walter, of Ferrers, 25-6, S3 Devon, 98, 253 Dinan, Fulk de, 181 Dinan, Joce de, 181-3 Dingley (Dineley), Thomas, viii., 176 Dohvyddelan, 16 Dolwyddelan Castle, 15 Dorchester, Secretary, 156 Dorset, 253 Dover, 195 Dovvnes, John, 234 Dryhurst, Richard, 226 Dryslwyn, 175 Dublin, 88 Dudley, Lady Mary, 86 Dudley, Robert, Earl of Leicester, 86 Dugdale, Sir William, 205 Duraunt, Hugh, 64 Durham, Bishop of (Lawrence Bothe), 20 Dyer, Sir James, 131 Eames, Jane, 249 Eccleston, Henry, 198, 247-51 Edgecote, 82 Edward L, 6-IO, 16, 47 Edward H., 7, 20, 47 Edward HL, 11, 47, 182 Edward IV., 17-21, 23-4, 27-9, 142, 183, 202, 269 Edward V., 2, 20, 23, 28, 196, 202, 211, 270 Edward VI., 66, 82, 86, 206, 237, 264 Edward the Black Prince, 20 Edward, son of Henry VI., 20 Edwardes, John, 263 Edwardes, N., 249 Edwards, Griffiths, 195 Edwards, John, loi Edwards, John, 1 1 1 Egerton, Lady Alice, 173 Egerton, Sir Ralph, 58 Eldersfield, 149 Eleonora, sister of Charles V., 52 Elizabeth, Queen, 53 n. 2, 76, 84, 129, 131, 185, 197, 206, 215, 23S-9, 252, 256 n.l, 263-4, 272 Elizabeth, Saint, 255 Ellesmere, 6, 275 n. 2, 292 Ellesmere, Lord Chancellor, 275 Elsmer, 33 Elvell (Elvael), 57, 270, 290 Ely, 23 Emlyn Castle, 56 England, 6, 46-7, 52, 269 Englefield, Sir Thomas, 2, 30 71. 5, 60, 61, 6^, 65, 77, 80 n. 2, 106, 108, 202 Eton College, 31 Eure (Ewer), Dame Mary, 193 Eure, Lord President {1607-16), 129, 137-8, 145, 148, 188, 198, 242, 256, 265, 280, 287 Eure, Sampson, 155 Eure, Sir Francis, 149 Europe, 88 Evans, — , 233 Evans (Evance), Thomas, 226 Evans, Roger. 234 Evesham, 167, 192 Evioneth, 16 Ewloe Wood (Park), 264 Ewyas, 5, 291 Exeter, 49 Fareley (Farley), 130, 133 Fawknor, William, 234 P'ecamp, loi Feckenham Forest, 245, 262 Ferrers, Lord, 34, 54-6, 58, 64, 66, 68, 70-1 Fisher, Bishop, 59 Fisher, Richard, 190 Fitzalan, family of, 6 Fitzhamon, Robert, 5 INDEX ?oi Fitzmaurice, 86 FitzOsbern, William, 3 Fitzroy, Ilenrj', Duke of Richmond, .293 Fitzwarine, Fulk, 17 Fitzwarren, Lord, 293 Flint, county of, 9-10, 24-5, 32, 34, 37, 41, 45, 132, 147, 165, 178, 25S, 263-4 Fludd, Edward, 149 Fog, Sir John, 20 Fowler, Richard, 20 Foxe, Edward, 192 Fox (Foxe), Charles, Secretary of •the Council of the Marches, 89, 188, 254, 267 France, 6, 1S2, 254, 264 Francis I., 52 Fynes, Richard, 20 Gateacre, William, 254 Genevile, Geoffrey de, 6, 182, 185 Genevile, Joan de, 182 Gerard (Gerrard), Sir William, Vice- President of the Council in the Marches, 2, 19, 60, 106, 108- lo, 206, 239, 289 Gerard, Sir Gilbert, Attorney- General, 132 Gerard, Lord, 129, 139, 287 Germany, 6 Giffard, John, 9 Gilbert, Chancellor of the Duke of Buckingham, 34 Gipcyans {i.e. gipsies), 66 Giraldus Cambrensis, I41 Gladestry, 291 Glamorgan, county of, 42, 45, 57 «. 5, 66, 106, 163, 169, 252 n. I Glamorgan, Lordship of, 5-6, 8 Glasbury, 291 Glendower, Owen, li, 17, 182 Gloucester, 62, 77 n. 2, 90, 97-8, 124, 134, 167-8, 180 Gloucester, county of, 5, 8 n i, 12, 26-8, 30, 32, 34, 38, 40, 42, 69, 91, 120, 131 n. I, 134, 147-8, 160, 167, 170-I, 173-4, 217, 264, 281 Gloucester, Earldom of, 5 Gloucester, Gilbert de Clare, Earl of, 9 Gloucester, Richard, Duke of, 20, 27 n. 3 Gloucester, Statute of, 13 Glyn, Dr., 73 Glynbough, 292 Goldclifif, 290 Golden Grove, 1 72-3, 175 Goring, Lord, 163 Goschalke, Joas, 280 Gostwicke, John, 237 Gower (Gowersland), 5-6, 9 n. 2, 270 Grafton, Richard, 141 Green, John, 44 Greenfield, 292 Greenwich, 32, 34, 52 Greville, Sir Fulke, 88, 2S9 Grey de Wilton, Lord, 113 Grey, Lady Catherine, 1 18 Grey, Lady Jane, 118 Griffith, — , 62 Griffith, Ellis, 55, 69, 76 Griffith, John ap David, 63 Grimsliawe, Nicholas, 99 Grosmont, 292 Gruf, Margaret, 228 Gruf, Richard, 228 Gruff, Edward, 73 Gwydir, 16 Gwydir, family of, 15 Gwynedd, 5 Hacluyt, Thomas, 236 Halcetour (Alcester?), 291 Hale, R., 78 Hales, Mr., 199 Halston Hall, 185 Hampden, John, 156, 158 Hampton Court, 112 Hamt(jn, Lordship of, 33 Harlech Castle, 10, 29, 48, 72 Harley, Thomas, 189 Harold, 3 Harpur, Richard, 131 Harris, Serjeant, 139 HartlelDury, 180 Harurn, Thomas, 168 Hasillwall, WilHam, 234 Hassald, John, 210 Hastings, family of, 5 Hastings, Sir William, 20 Haughton, James, 244 Haute, Richard, 25 Haverfordwest, 3,90-1, TOO, 102, 175, 281, 290 Havre, 255 Hawarden Castle, 4 Hay, 36, 290 Heath, Nicholas, Bishop of Wor- cester, Lord President (1553-5), ^i, 83 302 INDEX Henden, Baron, i6i Heneage, Sir Thomas, 103 Henry I., 4, 5, iSi, 183 Henry H., 4 Henry HI., 131 Henry IV., 12, 13, 47 Henry v., 11, 14, 17, 20, 182 Henry VI., 12, 14, 19, 230-1 Henry VII., 2, 11, 17, 20. 23, 29, 34, 47, 49, 52, 185, 202, 263, 291-3 Henry VIII. , 18, 20, 27 «. 3, 32, 34-5, 37, 46, 54, 65, 69, 85, 114, 134, 141, 162, 1S5, 203-5, 217, 237, 270 «. 2, 272, 291, 293 Henry, son of James I., 270 n. 2 Herbert, Henry, 2nd Earl of Pem- broke of the 2nd creation. See Pembroke Herbert, Henry, 4th Baron Her- bert of Cherbury, 187 Herbert, Humfrey, 1S9 Herbert of Cherbury, Lord (ist Baron Herbert of Cherbury), 46 Herbert, Philip, 118 Herbert, Sir Edward, 263 Herbert, Sir George, 83 Herbert, Sir Richard, 68, 78, 82, 203 Herbert, Sir William, Earl of Pem- broke of the 1st creation, 27, 291 Herbert, Sir William, ist Earl of Pembroke of the 2nd creation, Lord President (1550-3), 81-3, 287 Herbert, Walter, 57 Herbert, William, 118 Herbert, William, Lord Herbert (of Shurlandi"), 174 Hereford, 3, 8, 10, 12, 26, 58, 89, 90, 99, 102, 137, 141, 168, 180, 183, 21 1-4, 278 Hereford, county of, 5, 8, 12, 17, 27, 28, 30, 32, 34, 37, 40, 42-3, 57, 72, 91, 98, 134, 139, 147, 148, 160, 163, 168, 170-1, 173-4, 183, 252 n. I, 28 1 Hereford, Earl of, 9 Hereford, Earl of, 5 Heriott, Catherine, 99 Hertford, Earl of, 5 Hertfordshire, 151, 165 Heylyn, Richard, 161 Hill, Anthony, 151 Holinshed, 86, 141 Holt Castle (Castle Leon), 14, 292 Holt, Thomas, 270 Holywell, 150 Hope, 290 Hopedale, 292 Howard, Lady, 55 Hudihras, 173 Hullins, Oliver, 260 Hunt, Sir William, priest, 58 Huntingdon, Earl of, 37 Huntingdon, Henry of, 141 Hunton, Thomas, 173, 175 Huntynton, 36 Hutton, Serjeant, 139 Hyde, Edward, 159, 161. See Clarendon, Lord Ireland, 15, 33, 70, 75, 80, 86, 105- 6, 182, 211, 239, 252, 254, 256^ 273 Isabel, daughter of Strongbow, 5 James L, 129, 143-5, 19S, 270 Jenkins, Judge, 48 Jenkyn, Gitto, 62 Jersey, 85 Jethro, 144 John, 4,182 Johns, Lewes, 70 Joinville, Geoffrey de, 182 Joinville, Sieur de, 182 Jones, Edward, 234 Jones, Philip, 174 Jonson, Ben, 87, 129 Kedewen (Caedewen), 65, 68, 270,. 291 Kenaston, Humphrey, 275 Kent, Richard, Earl of, 292-3 Kery (Kerry), 65, 6S, 270, 291 Keviliock (Cyfeiliog), 65-6, 270, 292. Kidderminster, 29, 197 Kidwelly, 6, 292 Kidwelly Castle, lO Kildare, Earl of, 74 Kinaston, Mr., 160 King's Langley, 51 Knighton, 1S3, 291 Knockin, 6 Kynaston, George, 276 Kynlleth, 69 Kynton, 36 Lacy, family of, 5,182 Lacy, Matilda (Maud) de, 182 Lacy, Walter de, 182, 185 INDEX 305 Ladislaus II., 31 Lamharde, 259 Lamphey, 77 Lancaster, county of, 231, 263 Lancaster, Court of the Duchy of, 158 Lancaster, Duchy of, 90, 132, 292 Laugharne, General, 172 Laugharne (Laugherne), lOl, 292 Lawes, Henry. 173 Lee (Leigh), George, 255 Lee, Rowland, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, Lord President (1534-43), 2, 49, 59, So-i, 83, 85, 97, 106, 108-9, iSo, 205, 236-7, 270-2, 287 Leicester, Earl of, 86, 212, 215 Leicester (Leycetr), 25 Leighton, Edward, 255 Leighton, Thomas, 209 Leighton, William, 210 Leland, John, 52, 196 L' Estrange, family of, 6 Lewes, — , 62 Lewis, David, 106 Lewis, Jane, 194 Lewis, Mr., 233 Lewis (servant of Bishop Lee), 64 Lewkenor, Sir Richard, 201, 241 Leytewich, 78 Lhuyd, Humphrey, 188 Lichfield, 31, 59, 203, 207, 236, Lincoln, 197 Lincolnshire, 75, 79 L'Isle and Dudley, Lord de, 239 Litleton, Adam, 267 Litleton, Mr., 233 Liverpool, 254 Llandaff, 8 Llangevenny, 78 Llangollen, 17S Llanlledan, 74 Llanrwst, 15 Llanstephan, 6, 290 Llewelyn, S Lloyd, David (o'r Plas), 65 Lloyd, Edward, 234 Lloyd, John ap Morice, 6^ Lloyd, Richard, 64 Lloyd, Richard, 163-4 Lloyd, Sir Marmaduke, 194, 263 Lloyd, Sir Richard, 166 Lollards, 33 London, 34, 53, loi, 155 n. i, 156, 163, 166, 169, 185, 188-9, 231, 236-7, 263, 265 Londres, William de, 5 Lort, Henry, 261 Lort, Roger, 172 fi. i Lort, Sampson, 172 tz. 2 Lougher, Watkyn, 62 Lucan, 176 Lucy, Sir Thomas, 262 Ludford Bridge, 182 Ludlow, 2-3, 6, II, 23, 27, 29, 35,, 52-3, 79, 81, 85, 87, 98, 105, 109, 111-13, 120, 141, 148, 150-1, 155 71. I, 161, 1634, 174, 176-8, 180-97, 201-2, 204, 212, 217, 230, 232-3. 235, 237-40, 246, 249-251, 271, 273, 278 Ludlow Castle, 2, 30, 37, 57, 70-1,, 88, 113, 117, 160, 170, 173-4^ 178, 180-196, 199, 211, 22S, 243, 247, 267, 288 Ludlow, Edmund, 174 Ludlow, the Bull Inn, 185, 188 ;. Castle Street, 184 ; Galford's Tower, 193 ; Guild of St. John the Evangelist, 35 ; Palmers' Guild, 192 ; Priory of S. John the Evangelist, 192 ; S. Austin's, 188 ; S. Lawrence's Church, 23, 187 w. i, 189, 193, 195 ; S. Mary Magda- lene's Chapel, 183 Lugharneys, 43 Lycurgus, 106 Lyndrige, 58 Macci.esfiei,d, Charles, Earl of,. Lord President (16S9), 178, 195, 287 Magor, 292 Mallett, F., 161 Malvern, Little, 23 Manninge (Braband), 226 Mansell, Francis, 146 Manwaringe, Sir Arthur, 255 March, Earldom of, 17, 37, 291 March, Richard, Earl of, and Duke- of York, 182, 196 Margaret, the Lady, 202 Marian, Henry, 30 /i. 5 Marshal, William the, 5 Martin, Sir Henry, priest, 32 Martyn, E., 161 Martyn, John, 25 Mary Tudor, 2, 20, 49-53, 58, 74, 84, 86, 196-7, 206, 235, 270, 285 Mary, wife of William III., 2 Massinger, Philip, 118 304 INDEX Mathewe, Sir William, loi n. i Matthew, George, 65 Matthewes, — , 267 Matthews, Morgan, 57 ^^. 5 Maxtoke Park. 59 Mechanteth (Machynlleth), 264 Medlicott, Mr., 233 Melencth, 71, 291 Merionethshire, 9, 29, 33, 40-2, 45, 72, 147, 163, 165, 171, 264, 271 Merivale (Shrewsbury), 203 ]\Ieuricke, Catherine, 99 Middleton, Sir Hugh, 147 Middleton, Sir Thomas, 44, 263 Mikewyne, Griffith, 203 IMildmay, Sir Walter, 9S Milford Haven, 63, 71, 82, 100, 254, 256 Millet, Master, 35 Milton, John, 2,173 Milward, Robert, 171 Mochnant, 69 Mocktree Chase, 246 Mold Castle, 4 Moldesdale, 292 Molyneux, Edward, 86 Monmouth, 5, 28 n., 70, 90, 126, 183, 292 Monmouth, county of, 41, 98, 163, 252 n. I, 253, 264, 281 Montgomery, 3, 70-1, 291 Montgomery, Arnulf of, 5 Montgomery Castle, 88 Montgomery, county of, 41-2, 45, 79, 163, 178, 257, 264, 267, 270 Montgomery, Hugh of, 4 Montgomery, Roger of, 3, 17, 181 Morgan, land of, 5 Morgan, Mr., 201 Morgan, Roger, 67 Morgan, William, 102 Morris, Richard, 151 Mortimer, Anne, 1S2 Mortimer, Edmund de, 3rd Earl of March, 182 Mortimer, family of, 4-6, 11, 184, 269 Mortimer, Roger de, ist Earl of March, 12 n. 3, 1S2 Mortimer, Roger de, 2nd Earl of March, 182 Mortimer, Roger de, 4th Earl of March, 182 Mortimer, Sir Edmund de, 11, 182 Mortimer, Sir Hugh de, iSi Morton, Archbishop, 30 Morvile, 104 Moses, 144 Mostyn, Piers, So n. 2 Mostyn, Thomas, 289 Mostyn, Thomas, Lord of, 80 n, 2 Moyses, 249 Mytton, Adam, 234 Mytton, John, 185 Nantconway, 16 Neath Abbey, 62 Nedeham, Sir John, 25 n. I Nevill, Sir Edward, 14 Newcastle, 159 Newmarch, Bernard of, 5 Newport, 36, 231, 290 Newport, Lord, 179 Newton, Peter, 34, 203, 205 Newton, Sir Peter, 30 ;/. 5 Nicholas, Secretary, 169 Nile, River, 176 Norfolk, Duke of (John Mowbray, 4th Duke of the Mowbray House), 14 Norfolk, Duke of (Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of the Howard House), 55 Norfolk, family of, 5 Normandy, 3, 255 Northampton, Countess of, 194-5 Northampton, Earl of, Lord Presi- dent (1617-30), 129, 147, 150, 199- 200, 213, 246, 265, 287 Northumberland, 159 Northumberland, Duke of (John Dudley), 81, 287 Norton, 291 Ogmore, 292 O'Neill, Shane, 86 Orange, Prince of, 187 Orleans, Henry, Duke of, 52 Orleton, 37 11. 2 Orleton, Adam de, 12 ;z. 3 Ormond, Duchess of, 175 Ossory, Earl of, 75 Oswestry, 6, 56, 64, 180, 231, 264-6, 270, 293 n. 2 Owen, Edward, 231, 234 Owen, George, 7 n. i, 127, 278- 80, 282 Owen, Thomas, 231 Oxford University, 197 ; All Souls' College, 229 ; Brasenose College, 31 ; Jesus College, 106 INDEX 305 Packington, Sir John, 66, 138, 200 Paget, Lord, 85 Paine, Thomas, 201 Painswick, 104 Palmer, Attorney-General, 170 Parsons, Robert, 212 Paston Letters, 25 Paston, Sir John, 25 Pastowe, 62 Paulet, Sir Hugh, 84-5, 106 Paulet, Sir William, 56 Pavior, John, 228 Peirce, Lloyd, 257 Pembroke, 5 Pembroke, Countess of, 200 Pembroke, county of, 11, 41-2, 45, 68, 71, 125, 146-7, 149, 163, 172, 253, 261 Pembroke, Earldom of, 5, 290-1 Pembroke, Earl of, 15. See Herbert, Sir William, p. 27 Pembroke, Earl of, 21 n. 2, 2S7. See Herbert, Sir William, pp. 81- 3 Pembroke, Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of, Lord President (1586- 1601), 89, 105, 114-30, 185, 200-1, 208, 219, 230, 242, 253-4, 263-4, 278, 287, 2S9 Pembroke, Herbert Thomas, Sth Earl of, 179 Penanmen, 16 Penarth, loi «. i Penkethley, 36 Penrhos, 290 Penry, 126 n. 3 Penshurst, 85, 113 Perche, John, 234 Perrott, Sir John, 99, 100, 103 Pershore, 58, 78, 176 Peshale, Alina and Richard de, 7 11. 3 Peters, Hugh, i-jz n. r Phelips, Thomas, 233 Phetiplace, Mr., 105 Philippa, the Lady, 182 Philips, Sir David, 30 n. 5 Philps, Thomas, 56 Philistines, 172 n. i Phillips, Fabian, 100- 1, no, 112, 278 Phillips, Richard, 16S-9 Phipson, 100 Pickstock, Edward, 229-30 Plots, 144 Piers, William, 226 Pierson, Rev. Thomas, 189 Plinlimmon, 3 Pole, Reginald, 74 Pole, Richard de la, t^t, Pole, Sir Reginald, 29 Pole, Sir Richard, 30 n. 5 Ponthieu, 4 Porte, Justice, 69 Portugal, 74 Pov/el, Daniel, 188 Powel, David, 188 Powell of Oswaldstree, 109 Powys, 3, 56, 6S-9, 72, 1 78, 263, 270, 292 Powys, Earl of, 170 «. 6 Powys, Lord, 72, 292 Preese (Price), Edward, 233 Presteign, 61, 270, 291 Price, Ellis, 109 Price, Sir Richard, 172 n. i Prideaux, Mr., 158 Prince, Richard, 255 Prynne, William, 157 Puleston, Mr. John, 203 Radforde, Thomas, 132 Radnor, 70, 183, 291 Radnor, county of, 41, 42 n^ 2, 45, 71, 147, 163, 270 Raglan, 28, 290 Raglande, Sir Thomas, 104 Rantone, 72 Rhayader, 291 Rhuddlan, 3-4 Rhuddlan Castle, 4 Rhuddlan, Robert of, 3 Rhuddlan, Statute of, 9, 10 ;/. I Richard L, 17 Richard H., 47 Richard IH., 17, 23, 37, 291 2 Richard's Castle, 183 Ridgeway, — , 267 Rivers, Antony, Earl, 19-2T, 25-6, 28, 202 Roberts, Robert, 171 Rochester, 23, 183 Rome, Bishop of, 77 n. 2 Russell, — , 59 Ruthin, 292-3 St. Anne's, 35 St. Asaph, 57, 89, III, 25S St. Clears, 5 St. David's, 76-7, 89, 122 20 3o6 INDEX St. Dunstan's Church, Fleet Street, London, 169 St. John of Jerusalem, 16 St. Paul's Cathedral, 30, 274 St. Winifred's Well, 150 Salisbury, John, 6b Salisbury Cathedral, 127 Salisbury, Robert Cecil, Earl of, 145 Salter, — , 59 Salysbury, John, 57, 72 Sampson, Richard, Bishop of Coven- try and Lichfield, Lord President (1543-S), 51, 81-2, 287 Scotland, 9, 74, 257 Scots, 144 Scott, Sir John, 20 Scrope, — , 125 Scrope, Edmund, 213 Scudamore, John, 64, 72 Selman, Mrs., 194 Senlac, 3 Severn, River, 3-4, 6, 10, 38, 176, 196, 260, 274 Seymour, Lord Admiral, 197 Shakespeare, 118 Sherer, Master, 206, 227 Shirburne, Richard, 263 Shrewsbury, Charles, Duke of, 178 Shrewsbury, county palatine of, 4 Shrewsbury, John, Earl of, 25 Shrewsbury (Salop), 3, 21, 30, 62, 69, 87, 90, 97, 141, 148, 180-1, 202-4, 206-10, 225-34, 255, 264-8, 278-9 n. I Shrewsbury, the Abbey, 205 ; Booth Hall, 230 ; Council House, 205- 6, 208 ; St. Chad's Church, 69, 205, 207 ; Free School, 207-8 ; streets of (various), 209; Welsh Bridge, 227 ; Wyld Copp, 206, 208 Shropshire (Salop), 17, 26-8, 30, 32, 34, 37, 40, 42, 64, 67, 104, 134. 147-8, 160, 162-3, 168, 170-1, 173- 4, 176-7, 180, 183, 185, 189. 231, 252 n. I, 254, 261, 264-5, 281 Shuttleworth, Sir Richard, 120, 123, 201, 208, 230-2, 241 , Simon, Thomas, 170 Skenfreth, 292 Slavs, 6 Smith, George, 104 Smith, — , 233 Smyth, Bishop, Lord President (1501- 12), 30-2, 59, 196-7, 202-3 Snowdon, 3-5, 245 Snowdon, Justice of, 10 Solon, 106 Somerset, Edward Seymour, Duke of, 82 Somerset, Robert Carr, Earl of, 139 Somersetshire, 34, 38, 100, 253-4 Spenser, Edmund, 87 Spytty Jevan, 16 Stafford, 68, 72 Stafford, county of, 17 (i) Stafford, Edward, Lord, 37 (2) Stafford, Henry, Lord, 72 (3) Stafford, Henry, Lord, son of (2), 206 (4) Stafford, Edward, Lord, brother of (3), 103 Stanley, Sir William, 29, 292 Stapleton, 43 Staunton Lacy, 261 Stephen, 277 Stokeley, John, 32 Stonihurst (Stonyhurst), 263 Stradling, Robert, 62-3 Stradlyng, Sir Edward, loi n. i Strange, Lady, 275 n. 2 Strongbow, 5 Strype, no- 11 Styrcheley, 104 Sulyard, John, 25 11. i Sulyard, Sir William., 68-9, 70, 73 Surrey, Earl of, 33 Swansea, 82 Symonds, William, 83 Sydney, Ambrozia, 87, 193 Sydney, Lady Mary, 86, 193, 207 Sydney, Mary, 87, 118, 196 Sydney, Sir Henry, Lord President (1559-86), 2, iS, 21, 85-113, 117, 181, 184-5, ''QSj 197-8, 200, 206-7, 211, 219, 238-40, 244-5, 252, 254- 5, 273, 281, 287 Sydney, Sir Philip, 87, 207, 289 Sydney, Sir William, 85 Sydnour, Richard, 58 Taff, river, 5 Talbot, Catherine, 118 Taverner, John, 246 Tawe, river, 76 Taylor, Jeremy, 172-3 Teme, river, 181 Temple, the, 169 Terouenne, 34 Tewkesbury, 52, 180 Thirsk, III INDEX 307 Thomas, William, 123 Thompson, Serjeant, 178 Thornbury, 34-5, 52, 70, 103 Throgmorton (Throckmorton), Sir John, 89, 105, 200, 206, 262, 281 Tickenhill House, 31, 52, 146, 196-8, 235> 238-9, 243 Tinlern Abbey, 5 Tiptoft, Sir John, 292 Tourner, Timothy, 267 Townesend, Dame Anne, 193 Townesend, Henry, 116, 193, 210, 213, 226, 239 Townesend, Sir Robert, 193, 245 Towy, River, 5, 76 Traherne, Philip, 213 Treby, Sir George, 179 Tremaine, Serjeant, 178 Tremostyn, 80 n. 2 Trevor, John, 64 Tudor, Jasper, 291 Tuke, Sir Brian, 236-7 Turbill, Christopher, 62 Udall, Sir William, 30 n. 5 Usk, Lordship of, 28 n. Usk, river, 5 Uvedale, Sir William, 202-3 Valence, family of, 5 Vandyke, 187 Vaucouleur, 182 Vaughan, Henry, 172 n. i Vaughan, Howell, 15 Vaughan, John, 172 n. i Vaughan, John, of Glan y Llyn, 279 Vaughan, John Owen, 263 Vaughan, Robert, 99 Vaughan, Thomas, 20 Vaughan, William, 97-8 Vaughan v. Vaughan, 157 Verdun, Theobald de, 6 Vernon, Sir Henry, 30 n. 5 Vernon, Thomas, 71 Vicars, Robert, 201 Vikings, 4 Voysey, John, Bishop of Exeter, Lord President (1525-34), 49, 57, 59, 61, 204, 2S7 Walcott, John of Walcott, 171 Walkden, 152 Walsingham, Sir Francis, 19, 60, 102, 105 Walter, Justice, 188, 193 Warden, 248 Wareune, John de, 9 Warr, Thomas, Lord la, 78 Warren, John, 178 Warthrenyon, 291 Warwick, Anne, Countess of, 28 n. Warwick, John Dudley, Earl of, 82 Warwick, Richard Neville, Earl of, 28 n. Warwickshire, 28 ;/. I, 30, 252 n. i, 281 Washbourne, Thomas, 167 Waterford, 63 Waties, Edward, 193 Watson, Simon, 267 Welshpool, 64, 174, 178 Wentworth, Thomas, 155, 276 Westminster, 20, 53, 127, 139-41, 164-5, 167, 174, 218, 282 Westmoreland, 159 Weston, Richard, 131 Whitchurch, 264 Whitecastle, 292 Whitgift, 99, loi, 110-12, 114, 273, 289 Whitington, Guy, 12 Whitington, Robert, 12 Whitlocke, Bulstrode, 172 n, i Wigmore, 5, 63, 68, 70, 79, 270, 291 Wigmore Castle, 88, 182 Wilde, — , 133 Wildgose, 104 William the Conqueror, 3 William the Marshal, 5 William Rufus, 5-6 William HL, 2 Williams of Thame, Lord, Lord President (1558-9), 81, 84-5, 287 Williams, Nicholas, 57 n. 5 Willoughby, Lord, 179 Wilson, John, 30 n. 5 Wilton, 82, 113, 127 Wiltshire, 177 Windsor, Sir A., 58 Wisbech, 23 Wolsey, zi, 49, Si-3, 55, 58, 235 Wood, Alexander, 230, 232 Wood, Elizabeth, 229, 231 Woodstock, 36 Worcester, 23, 62, 81, 83, 85, 89, 90, loi, 103, no, 132-4, 168, 176, 180, 240, 262, 289 Worcester, Bishop of (Nicholas BuUingham), 262 Worcester Cathedral, 113 308 INDEX Worcester, Prior of, 58 Worcester Priory, 74 Worcester, county of, 12, 18, 26, 28, 32, 34, 63, 69, 91. 112, 132-4, 147-9, 151. 160, 163, 168, 170-1, 173-4, 187, 252 n. I, 264, 281 Worcestershire, Grand Jury of, 1 57 «. 2 Worcester, Charles, Earl of, 176-7 Worcester, Countess of, 1 77 VvT^orcester, Earl of, William Somer- set, 3rd earl, 64, 66, 70, 270 Worcester, Marquis of, 174-5, 287 Worhall, Thomas, 123 Wrexham, 178, 180 Wye, River, 5 Wynforton, 291 Wynn, Sir John, 15, 146 Yale, 9, 14, 290 Yelverton, 265 York, 169 York, county of, 159 York, Council of, 138, 159-60 York, High Commission Court of. 157 York, Richard, Duke of, 11, 1S2, 196 ZOUCH, Lord, Lord President (1602- 7), 129-30, 133, 156 «. 2, 200, 268, 279, 2S7 Prxftied by Hasell, Watson