In 1377 the inhabitants of Shrewsbury aged 14 years or more (including 100 persons discovered moving from street to street to evade the collectors of the poll tax), numbered 2,083, indicating a probable total population of more than 3,000 and a town comparable in size with Gloucester and larger than any other strictly within the Welsh march.J.C. Russell, Brit. Med. Pop. 142; Trans. Salop Arch. Soc. (ser. 2), ii.
There is no evidence regarding the size of the population of Bridgnorth in the late 14th century, but since it was a small, walled town, ‘scant a mile in compace’, with only one parish church, there can hardly have been many inhabitants. The town was probably similar in size to Leominster, and, like that borough, it ‘stood by cloathing’.
There are gaps in the returns for Shropshire for the Parliaments of 1413 (Feb.), 1416 (Mar.) and 1416 (Oct.). One has been filled by Prynne, so the names of 29 knights of the shire are known for 30 of the 32 Parliaments of the period. To 26 of these Parliaments the shire returned men with some previous parliamentary experience; indeed, in 12 of them neither Member was a newcomer to the Commons. It was then quite rare for two novices to be elected together, but this almost certainly happened for both the Parliaments of 1397 and apparently occurred again in May 1413 and 1417.
Returns for Rutland have survived for 27 of the 32 Parliaments here under review, but although no indentures are now available for the rest we know that in both 1416 (Oct.) and 1417 Roger Flore was made Speaker of the Commons while sitting as a Member for the county. At least 27 shire knights were elected during our period, the majority of whom appear to have become fairly experienced.
In the last quarter of the 14th century Oxford was easily the biggest and most important town in the middle Thames valley and of the surrounding counties, with a lay population twice the size of that of Reading or Newbury, and rather larger than that of Gloucester. Besides making use of links afforded by the waterway, it also developed as a major route centre for overland traffic, having good communications with London, Bristol, Southampton, Leicester, Worcester and, very easy of access, the Cotswold wool towns.
Returns for Oxfordshire have survived for all but four of the 32 Parliaments summoned between 1386 and 1421 (those of 1411, February 1413, 1415 and October 1416), and as there can be no doubt that one of the shire knights of 1411 was Thomas Chaucer, the Speaker in that Parliament (who had represented Oxfordshire in the three Parliaments immediately preceding), gaps for only seven seats remain. Besides Chaucer, 20 others are known to have been elected for the county in this period.
With an estimated population of 2,170, in 1377 Nottingham was similar in size to Northampton, larger than Derby and Newark, but smaller than Leicester. The town’s geographical position, within easy reach of the Fosse Way and commanding the waterway of Trent, which provided easy access to the Humber and the port of Kingston-upon-Hull, gave impetus to its growth as an important commercial centre. From the 13th century two fairs were regularly held there, one lasting eight days around the feast of St. Matthew, the other 15 days around that of St.
Returns for Nottinghamshire survive for all but four of the 32 Parliaments which met during our period, those for 1410, 1413 (Feb.), 1415 and 1416 (Oct.) having been lost.
Recognizing the importance of Newcastle-upon-Tyne as both a port and a defensive site, the Normans lost no time in fortifying the township, just as the Romans had done before them. A flourishing community grew up around the castle, and shortly before 1135 the first of many royal charters was awarded to the residents. King John later permitted them to occupy the borough at a fee farm of £100 a year, payable at the Exchequer, while at the same time improving the fortifications.
Returns for the county of Northumberland survive for 27 of the 32 Parliaments which met between 1386 and 1421, those for the other five having been lost. We know the names of 21 of the shire knights elected during this period; and although the gaps in the evidence now make it impossible to assess the relative experience of them all, we can be reasonably sure about the general pattern of representation. On the whole, the local electors showed a distinct preference for men who had already sat in the House of Commons.
