Rye was governed by a mayor, elected at an assembly of the commonalty, and by 12 jurats, appointed each year by the new mayor. Parliamentary elections were held at an assembly of the freemen, about 100 in number, at the cross in the churchyard. Between 1575 and 1590 the commonalty was gradually replaced by a common council of 14 chosen by the mayor and jurats.
Although its trade had declined by Elizabeth’s reign because of the silting of the harbour, New Romney was still the venue of the brodhull. The town was governed by a bailiff, probably appointed by the Crown, and 12 jurats, chosen by the freemen. There was a change in 1563, however, when the town was incorporated as the mayor, jurats and commonalty. To establish the new governing body a mayor and a number of life jurats were named in the charter.K. M. E. Murray, Const. Hist. Cinque Ports, 139-189; Arch. Cant. xiii. 199; M.
At the beginning of the reign Hythe was governed by a bailiff, appointed annually by the Crown, 12 jurats and the common assembly of freemen. A charter, similar to those of New Romney in 1563 and Hastings in 1588, was granted to Hythe in 1575. Among other provisions, this raised the bailiff to mayoral status, named nine life jurats, and replaced the common assembly by an undefined number of commoners. The practical result, as far as parliamentary elections were concerned, was a reduction in the number of voters.
Until the charter of 1588 or 9, Hastings was governed by a bailiff and 12 jurats chosen by him. This new charter raised the status of bailiff to that of mayor and vested the government of the town in the mayor, jurats and commonalty. There was a town clerk, chosen by the mayor, and a legal counsel, whose appointment was renewed annually. Parliamentary elections were held at a general assembly of the bailiff or mayor, jurats and freemen in the ‘hundred place’.
Dover was the most important of the Cinque Ports and, by the beginning of Elizabeth’s reign, had already enjoyed several centuries of strong and independent local government. Parliamentary elections were conducted in the common assemblies, consisting of mayor, jurats, common council and freemen.
York is fortunate in having records sufficient in quality and quantity to permit a more detailed constituency account than is usually possible for this period. With an estimated population of over 10,000,VCH York, 122. it was the second city of the realm, and its representatives sat in the House of Commons, with those of London, next to the Privy Councillors.Neale, Commons, 365. For all this, it cannot be said to have added to the stature of the Elizabethan House of Commons.
A borough by prescription, Thirsk’s government comprised a bailiff, elected annually, and, at the beginning of the sixteenth century and probably later, two constables. Returns were made by the burgesses and ‘boroughmen’.
After Henry VII quashed Scarborough’s short-lived charter of incorporation of 1485, the governing body of the town reverted to its earlier form, namely, two bailiffs, four chamberlains, two coroners, and 36 capital burgesses. The town also had a recorder and, in the last years of the sixteenth century at least, a high steward. Parliamentary returns were made by the bailiffs, burgesses and ‘communitas’.
Ripon, ‘a town within the liberty of the archbishopric’ of York, was governed during the Elizabethan period by a ‘wakeman’ and his assistants. The archbishop’s officer in the borough was the high steward of the liberty of Ripon. Sir William Mallory held the post probably from 1570 and certainly by 1598. The electorate was small.
Although Richmond had received writs in the fourteenth century, the borough made no returns in this period until 1584, the first general election after the granting in 1577 of its charter of incorporation, which gave the borough the right to return two Members, at its own ‘burden and cost’ The returns were made by the alderman (i.e. mayor) and 12 head burgesses, who constituted the corporation. The alderman was elected annually by all the inhabitants from two names put forward by the retiring alderman and the head burgesses.
