THE "BLACK BOOK" OF SOUTHAMPTON,

BY THE REV. R. H. CLUTTERBUCK, M.A., F.S.A.

(Read 4th August 1893.)

THE Corporation of Southampton has a very large and important collection of muniments. There are no less than five hundred and four manuscript books, fifty-eight charters and letters patent, besides an immense number of separate writings. These have been examined and reported on by Mr. John Cordy Jeaffreson for the Historical Manuscripts Commission, his report forming Part III of the Appendix of the Eleventh Report.

The two books of which I propose to speak are known. as the Oak Book and the Black Book.

The "Oak Book" contains sixty vellum leaves " clog covered", or bound in stout boards of oak, one of which is longer than the other, and has a hole in the lower part to put the hand through when using the volume. Two merchants' marks are cut on the cover.

This book was described in the Winchester volume of the Journal of your Society, with a drawing of the cover, by the late Frederick Fairholt, Esq., F.S.A.

The book is written by different hands, but may safely be described as dating from the earlier part of the fourteenth century. It contains a version of the Ordinances of the Gild Merchants which has already been printed by your Society.

It has an imperfect list of towns having charters of incorporation, giving the dates of the charters. Amongst these towns London is specified as having a charter of William (the Conqueror), confirmed by King Henry, but not dated. There is little room for doubt that this charter is that of Henry I, which grants the Londoners freedom. of toll and passage throughout England and the ports of And there is a strong probability that the

the sea.

1894

10

charters mentioned are set down to enable the ruling body of Southampton to know what towns were possessed of that privilege.

The "Oak Book" also contains the assize of bread, not in the tabulated form in which Andover, Hull, and some other towns possess it, but extended, and occupying twenty-two pages.

It will be remembered that in the time of the Plantagenets the price of the loaf remained stationary, while the weight varied;-the reverse of our own system, under which the statutory weight remains fixed, while the price varies. These long and elaborate tables shown in £. s. and d. the weight of Cocket, Symnell, and French loaves as regulated by the shifting price of corn.

The "Oak Book" has also copies of charters and legal decisions, and a most interesting copy of letters patent, 29 Edward III, empowering the burgesses to levy an import duty of a penny in the pound for completing the enclosure of the town. A list of customs chargeable is given on page xx.

The Black Book derives its name from the colour of its flexible leather cover. It may be described as the chief book of important memoranda possessed by the town. To have deeds, agreements, and conveyances engrossed in this book was for a century and a half prized as the greatest available security. Its contents may therefore be described as matters which, either for the town itself or to individual townsfolk, it was important to have authentic record of. The volume contains 144 leaves of unusually thick paper, of which the last 32 are all blank, and there are many blanks besides. The folios are numbered on one side only, and after xc Arabic numerals are used. Entries were made in the book wherever a convenient space presented itself, without any reference to chronological arrangement.

An indication of the value in which this book was held occurs on folio xliij:

"And this act to be enroll.. in the blakke booke, and so to be executid for ever.

"To which act and ordinaunce the sayd mayr and aldermen, Sheryve and discreets the xij Juratts, with divers othir burgesses, haue sett ther signemanuells the day and yer aboue wretyn.

"Be it ferther enactid that the blacke book be all weyes kept vnder ij lokys." 1505.

As an instance of what has been said, may be mentioned two charters granted to Andover, of which that town itself has no copy, conferring on its men the right of free passage, toll, and custom, occurring on folio xj.b. The first is of Henry II, but not dated :

"Henry, by the Grace of God, King of England, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and Earl of Anjou: to all his justices, sheriffs, and all his ministers, French and English, greeting. Know ye that I have granted to the men of Andever that they may have a Gild of Merchants in Andever. That they be quit of toll, passage and custom throughout my whole realm, as the Burgesses of Winchester, who are of the Gild of Merchants, are quit. And upon this let no one unjustly disturb them for custom, on forfeiture of ten pounds.

"Witness, William, son of Adelm, Dapifer; John de Sarum; Sihere de Quinci; Ralph, son of Stephen; William de Bending. At Winchester."

The other is by Richard I:

"Richard, by the Grace of God, &c. Know ye that we have granted to the men of Andever, that they may have a Gild of Merchants in Andever, and that they be quit of toll, passage and custom throughout our whole realm, as the Burgesses of Winchester, who are of the Gild of Merchants, are quit. And upon this let no one disturb them for custom, upon forfeiture of ten pounds, as the Lord King Henry, our father, granted and confirmed to them by his charter.

"Witness, H. Archbishop of Canterbury; William Marshall; Geoffrey, son of Peter; William of St. Mary's Church; Hugh Bardolfe; William Briwere.

"Given by the hand of William Bishop of Ely, our Chancellor, at Portsmouth, the fifth year of our reign, the 29th day of April." On folio 109 is:

"A notte of all such ...... and other writtings, wth such bookes of Statutes and other bookes as Richard Godderd, Late maior of the towne of Suthampton, Lefte in the Audit house at the tyme of his going out of his maioraltie, p'ticularly followith:

"These p'sells following arre remayning in the yron bounde coffer vnder the windowe, where the charters commonly y'eth. "Imprimis a charter of the Exemplificacion of the Towne accomptes granted from Henry the Second to Henry the Seventh, dated the x daye of April A° tercii.

A graunt of h. the second in the ixth yeare of his reigne, for the certefing what customs wer payed before the towne was Incorporate.

"A Exemplificacon of an acte of parliament made for maulmses in the fyrst yeare of the Reigne of Queen Elizabeth.

"A graunt made when the town walls was a building, for 1d. of the pounde, in the tyme of King E. 39.

A recursacon agaynst Lymyngton, dated the xijth of november in the second yere of King henry the third.

"A charter for maulmests in the first & second yeare of phillip & mary.

"A confirmacon for maulmestys, dated the xij of march in the first yeare of the Reigne of Queene Elizabeth.

"A charter made by King Henry, dated the xiiijth of July in the xij yeare of his reyne.

"A charter made the xij of february in the second yeare of the reyne of King Henry.

"The fyrst graunte made for malmstes to be discharged at Suthampton, dated the xviij daye of June in the fowerth and fyveth year of King Phillip & quene Mary.

"A charter for the wayres & strayes & felons goodes, graunted in the xxth yere of King Edward the fourth.

A charter for goodes sold between Stranger and Stranger to be forfet, graunted in the xxiij yere of h.

"A charter for gaging, peysing, weing & butlerndge, and for the release of the fortie markes wch was due to the King, graunted in the xxiijth yere of h. the viijth.

"A graunte for the fayer in the xith year of King henrye.

"A charter for the release of the exl marks released during tenne yeares, & that the maier, bayllys and burgesses maye purchase lands to the value of c poundes, datid the xiij of February in the second yeare of K. henry.

"A charter made in King John's tyme, in the fyrst yeare of his reigne, that the burgeses shall be free from customs, passage and pontage throughout the King's domynions. Dated the xxv of June. "A charter made in the iiijth yeare of King Edwarde the iiijth, dated the xijh of November.

"A charter renewid in King Edwardes tyme, in the vij yeare of his reigne, being E. vjth, dated vijth of April.

'A graunte made in King Edwarde the vj. tyme, dated the iiij of June, in the vijth yeare of his reygne, for the errecting of the free scholle.

"A commission graunted to John crooke and William Staveley, alderman, for marlinses, in the xijth yere of Queen Elizabeth, dated the xixth of November.

"A charter of phillippe and marye, of Exempliphicacon, datid the xvij of June in the forthe and fyveth yeare of theyr reygnes, being in the custodie of the towne clerk."

Note in the margin.-" A space for xxv charters yt Mr. Woorden hath."

Two half-pages blank.

"Item a fyniall concorde & agreement made betwene the burgeasis of Suthampton of the one p'tie & nicholas of ferlie of the other p'tie, for the comon of the same towne, in the xij year of the reigne of King henry the sonne of K. John.

"Item two Inspections of the saide concorde tuching the said comon, being bothe of one date, made and taken by one henry Bourgclere, Earle of Essex, Justice of an oyer, datid the viij day of februarie in the vij yeare of the reigne of K. Edward the iiij.

Item a final concorde made betweene the pryor of St. Deanys & the maior and cominaltie of Suthampton, that all the tennantes of portiswood shall make apparane ons or twist in the yeare at the Lawe daye. Dated the feast of St. John in the xixth yeare of Richard the seconde after the conquest.

"A bundell of pardons from divers of the Kings & Queens of Englonde.

A graunte for the fryers to have a corness to the conduite in the vth year of the reigue of K. Richarde."

On folios 104-6 is a very quaint entry of

"The sainges of the Ayntchiant olde men which hath byne of the towne of Suthampton concerning the Comons of the said towne of Suthampton, followith. Examined in ao 1549.”

The sign manual of Henry VII, "given under our signet at our manor of Sheen", 18 March 1496, is on a paper tacked on to the leaf, folio lxvi. The purpose of the mandate was to establish a treaty of commerce with the Archduke of Austria and Duke of Burgoyne.

Many wills are copied into the "Black Book", chiefly such as contain bequests affecting the town, or obiits to be maintained from which the townsmen would derive benefit.

The largest number of documents, however, are quitclaims and conveyances of land, which having been executed in the Mayor's court, were for greater security sealed with the Mayor's seal in addition to the seal of the contracting parties. There are so many of these, and the references in them to the buildings and inhabitants of the streets are so numerous, that it would be hardly a difficult matter to compile a directory of the town in (say) the time of Henry IV, and we could from this class of document certainly name the most conspicuous of the