| Description | This charter strayed from the main series of charters held by the Borough, probably at an early date. It does not appear in Alderman George Merritt's list of 1688 (HB1/6/1) and therefore had presumably been lost prior to that date, while the other charters were still in borough custody. Nor does it appear in the 1955 list of borough charters (PGM Dickinson The Royal Charters of Huntingdon). Neither does it appear in a list of borough charters dated 18 February 1964 (CRO Huntingdon, borough catalogue), made a few months after the deposit of the borough archive at the Huntingdonshire Record Office. The charter was rediscovered by chance in another group of papers at the County Record Office, the Manchester Collection (Box 44a), on 14 October 1981. Its entry in the original Manchester Catalogue, written in 1957, describes it simply as "Patent. Not examined or identified. Ed III?"
It seems likely that the charter strayed into the custody of the Montagus, earls and Dukes of Manchester, during one of the periods when a Montagu held borough office. At least one other document is known to have strayed into the Manchester Collection, a survey of the town of 1572.
Since 1955 this charter was known as "No.3" even though the original was missing.
The text of this charter is reproduced in full in the letter patent of Richard II (HB1/1/3). A translation of the full text, based on a copy in the Charter Rolls, was published by Griffith in Huntingdon Borough Records (1827) pp.38-39. Griffith includes a lengthy discussion of the meaning of the word 'burgess' in this charter, on pp.36-38. Carruthers mentions the charter in A History of Huntingdon (1824) pp.80-81, but incorrectly dates it to 1349. It is probable that Carruthers extracted his information about this charter from one of the later confirmatory charters.
The charter clarifies at the request of the burgesses the specific liberties and customs which, in previous charters, have hitherto only been stated in general terms. The execution of royal writs within the borough is entrusted to the burgesses; the burgesses are to answer directly to the Exchequer concerning all demands and summonses; the borough is allowed to have one gaol; the burgesses are to be free of tolls throughtout the Kingdom; the burgesses are not to sit with non-burgesses on assizes, juries, or inquests; the burgesses may only be convicted by their fellow burgesses through pleas arising within the borough.
Witnesses: J. the Archbishop of Canterbury; W. Bishop of Winchester; R. Bishop of London; Henry of Lancaster; William de Bohun from Northampton; Richard of Arundel; Master John of Offord, Dean of Lincoln, Chancellor; Thomas Wake of Lydell; Richard Talebot, Steward of the Royal Household; and others. Given by the hand of the King.The charter has received some flood damage, and has holes, necessitating some major parchment repair. One fragment of the Great Seal is still attached by cord.Edward III granted two further charters to the borough of Huntingdon, on 15 October and 29 November 1363, but the originals of these have not been found. The text of the 15 October 1363 charter is recorded in the letter patent of Richard II, 1377 (HB1/1/3). A translated extract from the 15 October 1363 charter, describing the state of Huntingdon following the Black Death, is quoted in Robert Carruthers The History of Huntingdon (1824), pp. 81-83. A translation of the full text of the 1363 charter, made from the copy in the Charter Rolls, was published by Griffith in Huntingdon Borough Records (1827) pp.42-44. The text of the 29 November 1363 charter is recorded in the letter patent of Henry II, 1439 (HB1/1/7). A translation of the full text of the 1363 charter, compiled from the Patent Rolls, appears in Griffith Huntingdon Borough Records (1827) pp.45-46. |