Commons 1509-1558

Situated at the junction of the rivers Wye and Monnow, the manor, town and borough of Monmouth belonged to the duchy of Lancaster. In 1536, when Monmouthshire was created by the Act of Union, the parts of the town on the English side of the two rivers were included within it. Monmouth became the shire town, although the county court was held alternately there and at Newport. Like many border towns Monmouth had suffered from the lawlessness which prevailed before the Union, and in 1544 it was included in the Act (35 Hen. VIII, c.4) for the re-edification of certain towns.

During the early 16th century Monmouthshire, divided between the mountains in the north, the uplands of the central districts and the low lying coastal plains, was predominantly a farming county; the wool of the sheep around Abergavenny was particularly suitable for the flannel industry on which that town’s prosperity rested. There was much dairy farming and several towns had flourishing tanneries.

Middlesex was a predominantly agricultural county supplying food for the capital and court. Much of its produce was transported along the river Thames but roads radiated from London and on them lay the market towns of Brentford, Edmonton, Enfield, Harrow, Hounslow, Staines and Uxbridge, all under the clerk of the market for the Household. Little remained of the heath and woodland which had covered the county earlier, but the crown tried to preserve its chase at Enfield by enforcing the forest laws.

Westminster was given the status of a city by the letters patent of December 1540 which reconstituted the former abbey as a cathedral, but neither then nor later was it incorporated. Between 1540 and 1550 the bishop exercised the powers, including the right to appoint a steward (otherwise under steward) of Westminster, which earlier had been vested in the abbey, and after the suppression of the bishopric these were transferred to the dean and chapter of the collegiate church set up by Edward VI.

Until 1550 London was governed by a court of 25 aldermen, elected for life and presided over by the lord mayor, and a common council numbering almost 200 and chosen annually. After the purchase of the manor of Southwark from the King, Bridge Ward Without was established and the court of aldermen named the ward’s first alderman, thus increasing its own number to 26. The City employed a recorder and numerous civic officers, including after the Dissolution the administrators of the hospitals of St. Bartholomew, Bethlehem, Christ and St.

Like other market towns in Lincolnshire, Stamford suffered from the decline of the wool trade and in 1542 it was included in an Act (33 Hen. VIII, c.36) for decayed towns. The castle, manor and town belonged to the crown as part of the duchy of York, and formed part of the jointure of each of Henry VIII’s consorts. In 1462 the borough had been incorporated as the alderman and burgesses. Edward IV granted a second charter in 1481 modifying and extending the earlier one. Three years later Richard III confirmed the charter of 1481 and in 1510 Henry VIII confirmed both.

By the 16th century Lincoln was in full decline. The departure of the wealthier merchants formerly resident there left less influential citizens to administer the city. Houses fell vacant as the population continued to fall—in 1540 it was estimated to be less than 2,000—and churches became redundant. The city was exempted from payments towards the subsidies of 1512, 1513 and 1515; it was included in the Act of 1540 (32 Hen. VIII, c.18) for the re-edification of towns and in 1549 it secured an Act (2 and 3 Edw. VI, no.48) for the reorganization of its parishes.

Since the early 15th century the haven at Grimsby had been silting up, while the draught of ships had been increasing; the resultant loss of trade was so severe that a commission was appointed in 1490 to investigate the town’s poverty. The decay of the port led to an exodus of many merchants and thus to a decrease in the town’s ability to resist the influence of the crown, the earls of Westmorland and local gentlemen.E. Gillett, Grimsby, passim.

The borough of Grantham had been incorporated by Edward IV in 1463 as the alderman and burgesses. The alderman was elected annually from a body of 13 comburgesses holding office for life and forming the alderman’s court; vacancies among the comburgesses were filled by election from among the freemen. There were various municipal officers, including by the early 16th century a recorder, who was often a member of the Thorold family. The charter was slightly modified in 1484 and confirmed in 1504, 1510 and 1547. No municipal records survive for the period.

On 14 May 1545 Henry VIII granted Boston a charter of incorporation at the suit of his brother-in-law, Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, who owned property in and near the town. The charter vested authority in a mayor, 12 aldermen and 18 common councilmen chosen from the resident freemen. The mayor was to be assisted by a town clerk, a recorder and a number of minor officials. George Foster was named the first town clerk and William Cecil recorder.