Grievances in Tickhill 1274-75

When Edward I (image to the right) inherited the throne from his father Henry III in 1272 he was on crusade in the Holy Land. He did not return to England until August 1274. In the intervening time, officials and landowners took advantage to feather their own nests, oppressing local people in the process. On his return, Edward was swift to clamp down on malpractice whether it was improper encroachment on royal land and privileges or misconduct of local officials. Commissioners were appointed in counties who in turn ordered sheriffs to summon juries to answer 40 or so questions about their districts. The jurors’ seals were attached to the resulting parchment rolls in little strips which led to the documents being called ‘ragman rolls’. After 1280 these documents were reduced to summaries. In Yorkshire the ‘ragman rolls’ no longer exist and so the names of the jurors are not known, but their answers to the questions have survived.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

To begin with, the local jurors pointed out that the late King Henry gave Edward I the Castle of Tickhill with the honour, fines and perquisites which were then valued at 100 shillings (£5). Now the pleas and perquisites are worth 26 marks (£17/6/8 – a mark being worth ⅔ of £1) ‘by extortions and great injuries which the bailiffs have made there since, whereby the country is almost destroyed’. The rent for land was increased by so much that it was only possible to pay it as a result of very heavy extortions which the farmers made from the people.

Among other grievances listed were the following:

• Richard de Heydon, Seneschal of the Earl de Warrenne arrested Beatrice daughter of the Chaplain of Wickersley and made her appeal John Thurcroft, an honest man, who was taken by Peter de Wasconia, Constable of Tickhill and imprisoned there until he paid a £10 fine.
• John Basset, Constable of Tickhill Castle, and William Cok his under constable took 10 marks from Geoffrey Forestarius, whom they had taken and imprisoned for the death of William Felhund of Marr and they allowed him to escape.
• Geoffrey Sandiacre, Constable of the same Castle, took 1 mark from Roger Prestman of Tinsley, a thief, and ½ a mark from Henry Skayf, a thief, so that he would allow them to escape.
• Bate Bugge found a brass vessel, but empty, ploughing a croft. Adam de Crawell, then Bailiff of Tickhill, took 18 pence from him for concealment of the same.
• Several people including Receivers of Yorkshire and Bailiffs of Tickhill received debts owed to the King from various men and did not acquit them.
• Master Raymond and Peter le Parker, Bailiffs of Tickhill took 10 marks from William Alezin, a felon taken for homicide, and allowed him to escape.
• Robert, the Chaplain, and Master Simon, Bailiffs of the same, imprisoned William Salvein without cause and extorted ½ mark from him before he could escape.
• John Bassett, Bailiff of Tickhill, took 9 shillings from William Barbec whom he had taken and imprisoned without cause.
• William, son of Jordan de Tyk, while he was Clerk of the aforesaid Castle, imprisoned Alan de Brimmesford until he redeemed himself for ½ mark.
• Many made various very small encroachments.
• Geoffrey de Sandiacre while he was Constable took 1 mark from Richard son of Hugh de Sandbec for concealing a burglary which he did in the prison of Maltby.
• Robert, the Chaplain, attorney of the said Geoffrey, took 6 shillings from a stranger to conceal a theft he had committed. 

The jurors’ indignation with officials’ behaviour is clear. It did not necessarily lead to officials being removed from their posts. For example, Master Raymond de Nolmeris continued to be trusted to deliver large sums of money to London and to travel abroad on the King’s business. By 1275 he was elevated from Bailiff to be Constable of Tickhill Castle. It is also possible that the jurors relied on hearsay in some cases. However, Edward I did not delay in ensuring that his first Parliament issued the Statute of Westminster in 1275 to codify existing law. It included legislation to make clear that none of the King’s officers should commit extortion and that no one should be distrained for debts they did not owe. The Statute of Westminster is on a par with Magna Carta for being a vital part of English law.

Details of the jurors’ accusations are taken from English, B., (ed.) Yorkshire Hundred and Quo Warranto Rolls, Yorkshire Archaeological Society Record Series, Vol. CLI, 1996.