Medieval Birmingham: People and Places, 1070-1553 9781803273082, 9781803273099, 1803273089

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MEDIEVAL BIRMINGHAM People and Places, 1070-1553

Warwick Coleshill

Solihull

Lichfield

Stratford-upon-Avon

Alcester

Birmingham Droitwich

Stafford Kidderminster

John Hemingway

Medieval Birmingham People and Places, 1070-1553

John Hemingway

Archaeopress Archaeology

Archaeopress Publishing Ltd Summertown Pavilion 18-24 Middle Way Summertown Oxford OX2 7LG www.archaeopress.com ISBN 978-1-80327-308-2 ISBN 978-1-80327-309-9 (e-Pdf) © John Hemingway and Archaeopress 2022

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owners. This book is available direct from Archaeopress or from our website www.archaeopress.com

Dedicated to my mother, Marguerite Laurie Hemingway, nee Baker (1921-2016), and my Birmingham ancestors and their descendants.

Figure 1: Detail of the Gough Road map, circa 1360. Birmingham was important enough to be shown on the road from Worcester through to Litchfield, via Droitwich. The modern place-names in black were placed there by the writer.

Contents List of Figures and Tables������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ ii Acknowledgements���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ix Picture Credits�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������x Preface������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ xi Introduction������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� xiii

Part One: Bermingham and its Lords Chapter One: In the beginning…�������������������������������������������������������������������������3 Chapter Two: The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland����������������������7 Chapter Three: The medieval estates of the de Bermingham family���������������65 Chapter Four: The fighting men of Bermingham����������������������������������������������88

Part Two: The manor and church of Bermingham Chapter Five: The medieval manor of Bermingham���������������������������������������123 Chapter Six: The Priory and Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr��������������������138 Chapter Seven: St Martin’s Church������������������������������������������������������������������166

Part Three: Life in the town and country Chapter Eight: Life in the town �����������������������������������������������������������������������207 Chapter Nine: Work and Trades in Bermingham��������������������������������������������235 Chapter Ten: High days and low days��������������������������������������������������������������290 Conclusion����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������301 Bibliography�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������306

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List of Figures and Tables Figure 1:

Detail of the Gough Road map, circa 1360. Birmingham was important enough to be shown on the Worcester via Droitwich to Lichfield Road. The modern place-names in black were placed there by the writer��������������������������������������������������������������������������� Frontispiece Figure 2: Drift and solid geology of the Bermingham Manor������������������������������� 3 Figure 3: Contours, drainage and routes in the Manor of Bermingham�������������� 5 Figure 4: Coat of arms of the Bermingham family of England. The shield with a dexter bend fuzil, the lozenge at the top on the left and the bottom on the right, is supposed to represent a distaff (a stick or spindle on to which wool or flax is wound for spinning) and represents labour. The blue and gold background may relate to the barony of Dudley’s colours��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 7 Figure 5: Family tree of the English lords of Bermingham������������������������������������ 8 Figure 6: A thirteenth century copy of the Bermingham market charter of 1166 and the confirmatory charter of 1189. The original documents are now lost. Reproduced by permission of the National Archives, London, C52/19 (41-42)������������������������������������������������������������������������ 11 Figure 7: Map of the estates of Peter de Bermingham in the barony of Dudley, West Midlands���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 12 Figure 8: Lands held by the Berminghams in the Home Counties. Hoggeston and Kingston Bagpuize were in the lordship of Dudley, Maidencourt, Shutford, and Braunston were not Dudley property��������������������������� 13 Figure 9: The coat of arms of William de Bermingham VI as displayed in the Charles, 163 and St George’s Rolls, E413 in 1285�������������������������������� 20 Figure 10: Tomb of a Sir William de Bermingham in St Martin’s Church, Birmingham as drawn for William Dugdale’s book������������������������������ 22 Figure 11: Drawing of a medieval knight displaying the Bermingham family shield in St Martin’s church in John Thackray Bunce’s book. The decorative side of the tomb is different from the Dugdale drawing. It may have been an effigy of either Sir William de Bermingham VII or VIII.�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 22 Figure 12: Medieval knight effigy in St Martin’s today. Reproduced by permission of Elaine Mitchell����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 23 Figure 13: Armour as worn by a Sir William de Bermingham (VII or VIII)�������� 23 Figure 14: Sir Geoffrey Luttrell (1276-1345) being given a helm and a lance by his wife, Lady Luttrell (Agnes de Sutton, the sister of Sir John de Sutton I, Baron Dudley), while his daughter-in-law, Beatrice le Scrope, is about to hand him a shield. The image shows the accoutrements of a mounted knight in the mid fourteenth century. The device of the barons of Dudley was two lions, one of which is shown on Lady Agnes’ dress.��������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 26 Figure 15: Coat of arms of Sir Henry and Sir Fulk de Bermingham as used at the Battle of Crécy 1358 and the Siege of Calais, based on the Irish coat ii

Figure 16:

Figure 17: Figure 18: Figure 19:

Figure 20: Figure 21: Figure 22: Figure 23: Figure 24: Figure 25: Figure 26: Figure 27: Figure 28: Figure 29: Figure 30: Figure 31:

Figure 32: Figure 33: Figure 34:

but using a different colour scheme, Argent (silver) and Sable (black). These arms were later used by Sir John de Bermingham�������������������� 29 Coat of arms of the Bermingham family of Ireland, adopted by Sir Fulk. The shield shows a partie per pale shield divided, indented, or (gold) and gules (red). The colours can be found in the de Clare family’s coat. The indents are a version of the older Irish Bermingham family’s design���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 30 Tomb of a Sir William and Sir Fulk in St Martin’s Church, Birmingham, as drawn for Sir William Dugdale’s book.����������������������������������������� 30 Fulk de Bermingham’s tomb in St Martin’s Church, Birmingham today. Reproduced by permission of Elaine Mitchell�������������������������������������� 31 Coat of arms of Sir John de Bermingham in the British Museum. The scallops represented pilgrimages and may either relate to Sir John’s grandfather’s journey to Santiago de Compostela in Spain or a pilgrimage he had made himself.��������������������������������������������������� 32 Tomb of Sir John de Bermingham in St Martin’s Church, Birmingham, as drawn for William Dugdale’s Book. The Irish Bermingham coat of arms can be clearly seen on his torso���������������������������������������������������� 33 Tomb of Sir John de Bermingham as drawn in John Thackray Bunce’s book������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 34 Sir John de Bermingham’s alabaster table top tomb in St Martin’s Church, Birmingham, today. Reproduced by permission of Elaine Mitchell��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 34 Plate armour of Sir John de Bermingham�������������������������������������������� 35 Both Sir William IX and Sir William X used the English and Sir Henry’s Irish Coats of arms������������������������������������������������������������������� 40 Map of Ireland showing the estates of the Berminghams�������������������� 48 Anglo-Irish Bermingham family tree���������������������������������������������������� 50 Leinster and the Bermingham lands���������������������������������������������������� 51 Carbury Castle, home of the Barons of Ardee, the Irish Tethmoy de Bermingham family������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 56 Birmingham Tower, Dublin Castle, Dublin, Ireland. Supposedly named after Sir John de Bermingham, Earl of Louth.������������������������ 57 Connaught and the Bermingham lands����������������������������������������������� 59 Athenry Castle (now called Moyode Castle), home of the Barons of Athenry, the Irish de Bermingham family. Although the tower house shown here was not built until 1550 the de Bermingham one was very similar. Reproduced by permission of Carl Chinn�������������������������������� 60 Estates of the Barony of Dudley with the lands and tenants of the Bermingham family from 1280 to 1322������������������������������������������������ 66 Parles coat of arms, blue and gold of Dudley, indented of the Irish Bermingham coat���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 67 Coat of arms of the Bushbury family. The broad band and narrower bands on either side called a fess cottised, represent military might. The scallop shells signify that the family had travelled. If a member of the family had visited the shrine of St James at Compostela, Spain, they would normally have iii

Figure 35:

Figure 36: Figure 37:

Figure 38: Figure 39: Figure 40: Figure 41: Figure 42: Figure 43: Figure 44: Figure 45: Figure 46: Figure 47:

Figure 48: Figure 49:

received a scallop shell which many people had buried with them when they died��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 74 Coat of arms of Rushall as used by John Harpur, from the Rushall Psalter, a parchment volume written in the 15th century. Its first owner, John Harpur, pronounced a curse on anyone who removed the book in an ownership poem on f. 20v of the volume, but offered a pardon to anyone who repaired it. These were also the arms of the Earls of Stafford to whom it is not known if the Harpurs were related. Reproduced by permission of the University of Nottingham, Manuscripts and Special Collections Me LM 1 folio 21r���������������������� 76 The coat of arms of the Enville family was the same as the Barons of Dudley����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 81 A fifteenth century misericord (a shelf intended to support a person in a partially standing position during long periods of prayer) in St Mary the Virgin’s Church, Enville, showing a castle with infantry men and horsemen coming out of the gates and a lady looking on from a window. Possibly the image represents the Bermingham Manor house or Dudley Castle. Reproduced by permission of www.misericords. co.uk. Copyright © 2019����������������������������������������������������������������������� 83 Stafford family coat of arms������������������������������������������������������������������� 87 Archery practice at the butts, from a fourteenth century image in the Luttrell Psalter.��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 90 The eleventh century Welsh war. William de Bermingham I was born while his parents were on active service in Gwynedd��������������������������� 91 In the civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda. Gervase Paganell, Baron Dudley and Peter de Bermingham fought on the empress’ side������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 93 The medieval sea wall of Kyrenia, Cyprus, 2015.��������������������������������� 95 The medieval castle of St Hilarion, Cyprus, 2015�������������������������������� 96 Map of Palestine at the time of the Third Crusade. Sir William de Bermingham II fought with King Richard against Saladin.���������������� 97 Battle plan of Lewes. Sir Roger de Somery, Baron Dudley, fought with the king; Sir William de Bermingham V was with Simon de Montfort’s forces������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 99 Battle plan of Evesham. Sir William de Bermingham V fought on Simon de Montfort’s side and was killed in the battle������������������������ 101 Simon de Montfort was supposedly killed by Roger Mortimer and then hacked to pieces by the royalists as depicted in this contemporary drawing. It is not known if William de Bermingham V suffered the same fate.���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 101 Map of battles in Scotland. William de Bermingham VII was a regular participant in these wars���������������������������������������������������������������������� 104 In the fourteenth century jousting was a popular sport with the knightly class, and with Sir John de Bermingham in particular. By the Master of the Codex Manesse������������������������������������������������������� 107

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Figure 50:

Battle of Boroughbridge. Sir John de Somery, Baron Dudley and Sir William de Bermingham VIII fought on the king’s side, William de Stafford of Amblecote on Lancaster’s�������������������������������������������������� 108 Figure 51: Battle of Halidon Hill, Berwick-on-Tweed. Walter de Clodeshale of Bermingham fought in this engagement�������������������������������������������� 110 Figure 52: Map of the Normandy Campaign, 1346-7. The English army included Sir Fulk and Sir Henry de Bermingham with Sir John de Pyrie of Perry, Sir William Bowles of Rushall and Sir Richard Enfeld of Enville among their retinue����������������������������������������������������������������������������� 112 Figure 53: Plan of the Battle of Crécy, 1346. Sir Fulk and Sir Henry de Bermingham were with King Edward’s division; Sir John Sutton, Baron Dudley, was in the Earls of Northampton and Arundel’s division�������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 114 Figure 54: Plan of the Battle of Poitiers. Sir Fulk de Bermingham fought in this battle������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 115 Figure 55: Plan of the Battle of Shrewsbury, 1403. It is likely that Sir William Bermingham IX fought in this engagement��������������������������������������� 117 Figure 56: Henry V’s conquest of France. Sir William IX of Bermingham and Sir John Harpur fought with the king������������������������������������������������ 118 Figure 57: Plan of the Battle of Agincourt, 25 October 1415. Sir William de Bermingham IX and Sir John Harpur of Bermingham fought in this battle������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 119 Figure 58: The medieval manor of Bermingham������������������������������������������������� 124 Figure 59: An archaeological excavation in 2000/1 revealed the hyrsonedych. The ditch was seven meters wide and two meters deep. The brick wall above the feature displays how ancient boundaries have survived until recently. Reproduced by permission of Michael Hodder and Tempus Books�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 131 Figure 60: A pillow-mound in a warren, shown in the fourteenth century Luttrell Psalter. Coneys (rabbits) were a source of fur and meat to the people who kept them������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 134 Figure 61: The site of the moated manor house in Westley’s map of 1731. Reproduced by permission of the Library of Birmingham���������������� 137 Figure 62: The environs of St Thomas’ Priory with a conjectural priory complex������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 138 Figure 63: A reconstruction by Faith Vardy of the priory and hospital at St Mary, Spitalfields, London. Perhaps a similar building complex existed in Bermingham. Reproduced by permission of the Museum of London Archaeology.��������������������������������������������������������������������������� 141 Figure 64: General ground plan of a medieval priory and hospital�������������������� 141 Figure 65: Apparel of an Augustine Canon as depicted by Dugdale������������������� 149 Figure 66: Property of the Free Chapel of St Thomas’ Priory. We do not have evidence for where the individual properties were situated�������������� 162 Figure 67: Parsonage complex������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 163 Figure 68: Friars invited to Sir Geoffrey Luttrell’s dining table, from the fourteenth century Luttrell Psalter.����������������������������������������������������� 165

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Figure 69: St Martin’s Parish Church, from Westley’s map of 1731. It was rebuilt in 1690, 1781 and 1873. Reproduced by permission of the Library of Birmingham����������������������������������������������������������������������� 166 Figure 70: Plan of St Martin’s church prior to the post-medieval changes���������� 167 Figure 71: Medieval phase plan of St Martin’s church����������������������������������������� 168 Figure 72: Longitudinal section showing the crypt under the west side and the chamber underneath the east, from John Thackray Bunce’s book��� 169 Figure 73: Blocked window aperture with trefoiled-head, from John Thackray Bunce’s book���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 171 Figure 74: Medieval clerestory window, possibly dating to 13751400, as revealed in the nineteenth century by the removal of the eighteenth- century plaster coating in old St Martin’s Church.������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 173 Figure 75: Medieval column capital as revealed in the nineteenth century in St Martin’s Church. The Gothic form is very simple in comparison to many churches.������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 174 Figure 76: Medieval stonework as revealed in the nineteenth century in St Martin’s Church. The trefoil-headed arches look as if they formed part of a blind arcade, perhaps used in the chancel area.������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 174 Figure 77: A copy of the medieval wall painting as seen in the south corner of the chancel of St Martin’s church. The upper register shows St Martin cutting his cloak with a sword and giving it to a beggar. The lower image shows woodsmen at work. The piece of timber below shows part of an image of the Last Judgment.���������������������������������������������� 175 Figure 78: Coats of arms, as recorded by Dugdale, formerly in St Martin’s Church������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 180 Figure 79: Tomb of a fourteenth century canon in St Martin’s Church, Birmingham, as drawn for Sir William Dugdale’s Book�������������������� 181 Figure 80: Tomb of the canon in St Martin’s Church, Birmingham, as drawn for John Thackray Bunce.������������������������������������������������������������������������� 181 Figure 81: Tomb of the canon in St Martin’s Church today, possibly Richard de Bermingham. Reproduced by permission of Elaine Mitchell������������ 182 Figure 82: The Sherbrooke Missal, one of the earliest surviving Mass books of English origin. The theme on this page is baptism with musical notation. Reproduced by permission of the National Library of Wales����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 187 Figure 83: A drawing of the Common Seal of the Guild of the Holy Cross, Bermingham���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 189 Figure 84: Coats of arms in the north aisle window of St Martin’s Church, as shown in Sir William Dugdale’s book�������������������������������������������������� 194 Figure 85: The property of the Holy Cross Guild in Bermingham. This displays owners, not necessarily occupiers of the property. Only a few actual sites of the property owners are known���������������������������������������������� 195 Figure 86: St John’s Chapel at Deritend in Joseph Toulmin Smith’s book. This engraving was made prior to 1735 when a new building replaced the original one������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 197 vi

Figure 87:

Sir John Sutton VI, Baron Dudley, is dressed in ermine with coats of arms surrounded by the Order of the Garter as shown in a window of St John’s Chapel in Sir William Dugdale’s book. The impaling of the Dudley coat of arms with Berkeley occurred at the time of Sir John (1401-1487) marrying Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Berkeley������ 200 Figure 88: The precise position of the property of St Johns’, Deritend is presently unknown, but ownership of lands in the streets of Deritend and Bermingham is understood.���������������������������������������������������������������� 201 Figure 89: Even as late as the eighteenth-century Deritend was small. This map, dated to 1750, shows the River Rea, Heath Mill Lane and the Chapel of St Johns with the main street called Deritend������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 202 Figure 90: The Old Leather Bottle, Deritend shown in an engraving of 1629 in Joseph Toulmin Smith’s book. It can be seen by the raised road in front of it that the structure is very ancient���������������������������������������� 203 Figure 91: The layout of the townscape of Bermingham������������������������������������� 207 Figure 92: A reconstruction of the medieval marketplace of Bermingham by Martyn Cole.����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 213 Figure 93: A fight taking place during a drinking session, from the fourteenth century Luttrell Psalter.����������������������������������������������������������������������� 222 Figure 94: Residents of Bermingham in 1296 and 1344-5 whose surnames suggest an origin from other estates in England�������������������������������� 233 Figure 95: Ploughing from a fourteen-century image in the Luttrell Psalter.����� 236 Figure 96: Sowing, from a fourteenth century image in the Luttrell Psalter.������ 236 Figure 97: Harvesting, from a fourteenth century image in the Luttrell Psalter.������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 237 Figure 98: Threshing, from a fourteenth century image in the Luttrell Psalter.� 237 Figure 99: Women milking sheep, from the fourteenth century Luttrell Psalter. Reproduced by permission of the British Library Board, Add. 42130. f.163v, c13382-18��������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 238 Figure 100: Collecting timber from a wood, from an illustration in the British Library������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 239 Figure 101: Hunting in a wood, from Le Livre de chasse de Gaston Phébus.������ 240 Figure 102: Archaeological excavations in Birmingham���������������������������������������� 252 Figure 103: Archaeological watching brief on Birmingham Moat. The wider area of the south part of the moat resulted from the main flow of the brook running in that direction��������������������������������������������������������������������� 253 Figure 104: Archaeological plan of Structure One������������������������������������������������� 254 Figure 105: Archaeological section drawing of south facing façade of the wall����� 254 Figure 106: East facing wall of the feature, with the earlier wall behind it, on the medieval manor house site, photographed by Lorna Watts in 1973-5 during the construction of the Wholesale Market������������������������������ 255 Figure 107: Section of Structure two (drawing of the side of the pit) showing the stakes and the silting up that took place. The silting material above had all been contaminated by post-medieval finds. The upper parts of the mudstone contour had been reduced in recent times�������������� 256 Figure 108: Archaeological excavations at Edgbaston Street��������������������������������� 264 vii

Figure 109: Figure 110: Figure 111: Figure 112:

Area A, Edgbaston Street under excavation.�������������������������������������� 265 Whetstones used for sharpening knives in the tanning process.�������� 267 Area A, Edgbaston Street – tiled oven base.���������������������������������������� 268 Area A, Edgbaston Street – a Deritend cooking pot that has been well used������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 268 Figure 113: Moor Street Excavation����������������������������������������������������������������������� 271 Figure 114: Area A, Moor Street, section of hyrsonedych.������������������������������������� 272 Figure 115: Area A, Moor Street, Medieval Well.��������������������������������������������������� 272 Figure 116: Park Street: location of excavation������������������������������������������������������ 274 Figure 117: Park Street Areas A and B������������������������������������������������������������������� 276 Figure 118: Park Street, Area C������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 277 Figure 119: Park Street, Area C, female burial. Did she die of plague or was she murdered?������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 278 Figure 120: Park Street, Area C, kiln���������������������������������������������������������������������� 278 Figure 121: Allison Street – Digbeth excavation location sites������������������������������� 280 Figure 122: Window tracery from Allison Street-Digbeth site with two cusps, evidence of white wash in one of the cusps. Reproduced by permission of University of Leicester Archaeology Service.���������������������������������� 282 Figure 123: Floodgate Street showing areas of archaeological excavation������������ 284 Figure 124: Floodgate Street showing excavated medieval features���������������������� 285 Figure 125: The later prospect of Bermingham in 1656 with Deritend chapel in the foreground as shown in an engraving in William Dugdale’s Antiquities of Warwickshire. This scene is likely to be a similar depiction to that of the town in the medieval period������������������������� 301 Figure 126: Seal of the Borough of Birmingham, 1838.���������������������������������������� 303 Figure 127: The present-day coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Birmingham. The Bermingham family’s coat of arms is still with us, although various other devices have been added: a helmet, an ermine fess across the centre (the arms of the Calthorpe family of Edgbaston), which was turned into a cross, with a bishop’s mitre representing Bishop Vesey of Sutton Coldfield. Another Sutton feature is the mural crown with a Tudor rose, representing local government. The female figure represents the arts while the male figure with hammer and anvil represents industry.������������������������������������������������������������� 304 Figure 128: Modern townscape of the Manor of Birmingham������������������������������ 305 Table 1: Table 2: Table 3:

Bowles family tree���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 79 Clodeshale family tree������������������������������������������������������������������������� 185 Some medieval trades recorded in Bermingham������������������������������� 250

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Acknowledgements The writer is very grateful for the advice and comments made by several scholars. Professor Carl Chinn for his information on the Irish Berminghams and the photograph of Athenry Castle in Ireland, Dr Michael Hodder for his published archaeological material on Birmingham and for his comments on this text. Drs Malcom Dick and John Hunt for their general support in my work, and George Demidowicz, whose work on medieval Bermingham has been extensively used. Dr Helen Poole for assistance with records of Lewes Priory, Elaine Mitchell for her help with photographs of the monuments in St Martin’s Church and Martyn Cole for his reconstruction of the market place in the town. The custodians of the Collections for a History of Staffordshire in the William Salt Library, Stafford, Birmingham Archives, Heritage and Photographic Service, Worcester County Record Office (Worcester Archive and Heritage Service), and the Warwick County Record Office (Warwickshire Heritage and Culture). It must be acknowledged that not all the interpretations my colleagues have offered have been accepted. Finally, I must thank the editor of this work, Mike Schurer, who has eradicated most of the errors; any other faults identified in the text and illustrations are my own. The typeface used in this work was designed by John Baskerville of Birmingham in 1757. Its clarity led to its use by various organisations, including the University of Cambridge, but it has fallen out of favour in recent years. Perhaps its use here will advance its usage in the future.

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Picture Credits Figure 6: National Archives, Kew, London; Figure 35: University of Nottingham Manuscripts and Special Collections; Figure 99, British Library, London; Figure 59: Mike Hodder/Tempus Publishing; Figures 61, 69, Library of Birmingham; Figure 63, Museum of London; Figure 82, National Library of Wales; Figure 94, Martyn Cole; Figure 122, University of Leicester Archaeology Services.

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Preface My earliest recollection of central Birmingham was in the 1950s when my grandfather took my brothers and myself to the Market Hall to see the rabbits, puppies and kittens for sale on the various stalls. The hall had been bombed during the Second World War (1939-45) and its roof was missing, and I remember looking up at one of the windows and seeing the broken glass still in place and wondering how my mother and grandparents had endured the bombing that Birmingham had suffered. The hall was demolished shortly afterwards, but the building still lives in my memory as an example of my old ‘Brum’. Another story from my past is that when I went to work on the archaeological excavation of Dudley Castle in the 1980s, I would often climb to the top of the keep, and gaze at the land around. From there I could see the Post Office Tower in the middle of Birmingham and I speculated on how many people had looked in that direction before me. These are just two examples of looking at the present prospectus and thinking about the past. It is this story of life that this book is about - ‘knowledge about the past’. I was once asked, as a school teacher, why we study history and my answer was manyfold. History is everywhere, from the physical features, like buildings, that lie around us to the cultural norms of our society, like our language – all had their origins in former times. At a more concrete level we find the past entertaining, demonstrated by our reading books, watching films and programmes at the cinema or on television in which the personalities, characters, dress and dwellings of past people are shown. Probably, however, a more important reason is that we can learn from history what to do or what not to do in the future, it tells us about ourselves and our role in the world, that is if we are willing to listen. This work attempts to tell the story of the most important phase in Birmingham’s history – the beginning of it! Up until recently the medieval period has been woefully written out of the history of Birmingham, but it is now time to reinstate it. Discovering the lives and times of the Birmingham people in the medieval age has highlighted an important point about them, their ability to survive and prosper. A survival and prosperity that eventually would allow the little town to grow to such importance that one day it would be the second city of the country. An important point, however, is that England then, to a lesser degree today, was particularly class-ridden and people from the different sections of society would generally keep to their own social group, except for when war or trade forced them to associate. It is for this reason that this work has been divided into three different parts – the lords, the church and the people. It also must be realised that no one in a later age will fully understand an earlier period and all histories are interpretations. All we can do is surmise based on the evidence that they have left us as to what life was like. No doubt many books will follow xi

this one and other historians will look at Medieval Bermingham, and so they should, as it is only by examining and re-examining the source material that we may strive to see what life was really like in the past. John Hemingway, 2020.

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Introduction Over the last four hundred years the people of Birmingham have congratulated themselves on being independent of any external control, but this was not always the case. For the preceding five hundred years they had lords of the manor. The lords, who controlled their lives, took their surname from the place in which they lived - Bermingham. For most of the medieval period this variation of the Domesday Book spelling was used by the family and the place, and for this book this spelling will be adhered to when noting the contemporary names and the settlement.1 Although few people now realise it, it was due to that family that the present city exists. Occupation of the place, if not the name, is earlier than the lords, however, as it has existed for at least two thousand years. Evidence of a farmstead in the Roman period has been found2 and an Anglo-Saxon settlement grew into a small community within the manorial bounds. Neither documentary, nor archaeological evidence, is able to provide much detail until the Norman Conquest. By 1086, however, Domesday Book recorded that Bermingham had at least nine families living there.3 There have been many histories of Birmingham. One of the earliest was included in Sir William Dugdale’s, The antiquities of Warwickshire illustrated: from records, leiger-books, manuscripts, charters, evidences, tombes, and armes: beautified with maps, prospects, and portraictures (London, Printed by Thomas Warren, in the year of our Lord God, 1656). Later came William Hutton’s The History of Birmingham, (Birmingham, Printed and sold by Thomas Pearson, 1783), Conrad Gill’s History of Birmingham Vol. I, ‘Manor and Borough to 1865 (London and New York, 1952), W. B., Stephens, (ed.) A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 7, the City of Birmingham (London, 1964), Richard Holt’s, The Early History of the Town of Birmingham (Dugdale Society, 1985), J. R. H. Pinkess, The Lords of Birmingham and their Manor 1066-1554, (Digbeth and Deritend Local History Project, 1988),Chris Upton, A History of Birmingham (Chichester, 1993), Steven Bassett’s ‘Anglo-Saxon Birmingham’ Midland History Vol. 25, (2000) and ‘Birmingham before the Bull Ring’ Midland History Vol. 1

The Domesday spelling was Bermingha(m), but due to the fact that there was no correct way to spell the name other versions were used including, Byrmenham, Byrmyngham, Byrmynghame, Byrmyngeham, Byrmingham, Byrmyncham, Byrmincham, Burmintham, Burmeigham, Burmyngeham, Burmyngham, Burmingeham, Burmucham, Burmycham, Burmyncham, Burmingham, Brimyncham, Briminchem, Brymyngham, Brimigham, Brumingeham, Brunungeham, Brunychamham, Brymyncham, Brymycham, Brmynghame, Bremycham, Bremingham, Bernyngham, Bermygh, Burmigham, Bermynheham, Bermyncham, Bermincham, Bermyngham, Bermynegham, Bermengham, Bermingham, Birmungham, Birmynegham, Birmyngcham, Birmyngsham, Birmingeham, Birmyncham and Birmingham. As a surname, Bermingham often remains in its medieval form to the present day. 2 Hodder, M. 2004. Birmingham: The Hidden History. Stroud: Tempus, see Chapter Three. 3 Plaister, J. 1976. Domesday Book: Warwickshire: 27: 5. Chichester: Phillimore.

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26, (2001), Michael Hodder, Birmingham: The Hidden History (Stroud, Tempus, 2004), George Demidowicz, Medieval Birmingham: the Borough Rentals of 1296 and 1344-5 (Dugdale Society, 2008), and the latest, Carl Chinn and Malcolm Dick, (ed.), Birmingham: The Workshop of the World (Liverpool University Press, 2016). These are fine histories, though strangely a number have noted there is little evidential documentary material about the medieval town, which is not strictly true. Most modern histories of Birmingham have incorporated the surrounding manors, which this book does not unless relevant to the manor of Bermingham itself. What this book does tell is the story of its lords, people and the institutions that arose there. An important element of this, normally passed over, is that Bermingham was a holding of the barony of Dudley. It was due to the barons that the lords of Bermingham were granted the manor in the eleventh century and it was a lord of Dudley who has been accused of taking it off them in the sixteenth century. Bermingham4, as an urban area rather than a village, began due to the promotion of Peter de Bermingham as the baronial chief steward. His desire to have a town, like the Baron of Dudley, resulted in the planned nature of early Bermingham and the result of this was its subsequent growth. Many places scattered across England started out as planned towns, but few became cities as large as Birmingham has. It was there, on the river crossing of the Rea, that people began to collect to buy and sell goods, as traders and drovers crossed the river from east to west and back again, and as the trade increased, so the town grew until by the end of the medieval period it was ready to leap into the industrial period that resulted in its position today. A complete story of a place cannot always be found in the documentary material however; archaeology is also an important element, particularly with Birmingham, as the city has been rebuilt several times. Most of the earlier structures cannot be found on the surface of the city, but here and there, by looking beneath the ground, surviving remnants of features may be discovered. It is only by searching for these that we can determine much of the earlier townscape. In the period 1978 to 2000 archaeological excavations at Birmingham revealed numerous features and finds that supported the documentary evidence.5 They have added to knowledge of life in and about the town and have revealed more about the activities of some of the people 4

Bermingham is the manorial, or parish name, and would have been originally used for the whole of the estate. Many estate names came to be used as settlement names after the Norman Conquest. 5 Bickley, W. B. and Hill, J. 1891. Survey of the Borough and Manor or Demesne of Birmingham made in the first year of the reign of Queen Mary, 1553: 63. Birmingham: C. Cooper. They had also registered that Edgbaston Street had a very mixed occupation ranging from the best class of burgesses interspersed with the barns and cottages of the poorer elements of Bermingham society.

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who lived in its streets.6 Michael Hodder in his role as Planning Archaeologist for the city, and through his book Birmingham: The Hidden History has explored this material.7 ------------This work is divided into three parts and eight chapters. Part One: The place and the lords looks at the ground underneath the city, the history of the medieval lords that inhabited it, the estates that they held in other parts of the country and the wars they fought in throughout the period. Chapter One identifies what the geology, geography and drainage tell us about the ground that lies beneath Birmingham. The base geology is boulder clay and although this material can be very fertile it needs to be drained and broken up to make it so. It is unlikely that much of this went on in Bermingham. The clay was difficult to plough in the damp lands by the brooks and river, so people in the past tended to leave much of it to pasture to feed their stock in the spring to autumn, and as meadow to use the cut grass as hay to feed their animals in the winter. Some of it after the Norman Conquest was turned into parks. The cultivated land, or open fields, generally lay on the sandstone outcrops where ploughing was easier, but the Birmingham soils were not conducive to arable farming and in the Norman period, with the arrival of the town which allowed the importation of grain, most of the fields were gradually turned over to pasture. Communication was a prime factor in Birmingham’s success and although ancient routes transversed the manor it was the crossing of the River Rea that was the main reason for the town’s subsequent growth. In Chapter Two the lives and times of the lords of Bermingham, who ruled the manor and surrounding area for nearly five hundred years, are discovered. Their family tree is traced from their arrival in England after the Norman Conquest until the last member lost his estates in the sixteenth century. This is one of the first times that their genealogical story has been completed in such detail and a short history of the various lords follows. Maps of their lands within the barony are shown, as well as the lands they held in the Home Counties. Their role as important individuals, both locally and nationally, is defined and remnants of their existence can still be found today in St Martin’s Church in the Bull Ring where effigies of three of them lie. The Berminghams also settled in Ireland; their estates and the lives of the individuals concerned are briefly sketched out. 6 Patrick, C. and Rátkai, S. Land to the South of the Edgbaston Street: Investigations 1997-1999, in Patrick, C. and Rátkai, S. 2009. Bull Ring Uncovered: Excavations at Edgbaston Street, Moor Street, Park Street and the Row, 1997–2001: 15-37. Oxford: Oxbow. 7 Hodder, M. op. cit., 2004.

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Chapter Three examines other medieval estates of the Bermingham family. When Peter de Bermingham was made chief steward of the barony, he was given a number of estates for his ‘expenses’. These included the manors of, Edgbaston, Handsworth, Perry Barr, Little Barr, Rushall, Bushbury, Upper Penn, Wombourne, Enville and Amblecote. The men who held the lands on these estates paid him rent and owed him their allegiance in times of war. We learn a little about the activities of these men and, as some of the estates were in the Forests of Cannock and Kinver, we learn in brief detail about forest conditions in the period. In Chapter Four we look at the fighting men of Bermingham and the wars they fought in. Each lord that received property in medieval England did so in return for military service. They had to go to fight when called to do so by the baron or the king. As well as civil wars this included conflict in the Middle East, France, Wales and Scotland. From the crusades, to the major confrontations with the French at Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt, the Bermingham family and their retinue served their country. Part Two: The manor and church of Bermingham looks at the evidence that can be found concerning the manor as a whole and its religious life. Chapter Five looks at the way in which Bermingham’s Norman manor came into being, as recorded in Domesday Book. We will explore ancient place-names and discover what they tell us about the landscape, together with medieval field names to explain how the land was used. Individual elements are observed: parks, communication (roads and routes), watermills and the manor house. In Chapter Six we will search for evidence of the Priory or Hospital of St Thomas. This is problematic, for after the sixteenth century dissolution, its structures were demolished due to the eagerness of the townspeople to develop the site, and consequently there is virtually no physical indication of what it looked like. What we do have is information on the training that the establishment offered, and the names of some of those that lived there, as priors, sub-deacons, deacons and priests. We look at the way it may have served as a hospital by looking after the sick, an old people’s home for the aged, and a shelter for the stranger who was passing through the town. Nor should we forget that a religious house often offered education to some of the townspeople. The chapter then looks at the parsonage which served as the town house of the priors. Another group of preachers were the itinerant friars. Bermingham as a town attracted them, and their lively sermons, given in English rather than Latin, gave new ideas to the people, new notions of an independent community that may have led to the people of Deritend building their own chapel, an unknown occurrence in England up to that time. xvi

Chapter Seven is a study of the parish church of St Martin. This building still exists, though it has been added to and rebuilt several times. During the nineteenth century rebuild, the architect in charge saw the different building methods behind the plaster walls and described how the church had developed from a simple rectangular building through to a structure, where the priest had a home in an underground vault, to the fourteenth century extensions. A list of priests who served in the church is noted here. The most important institutions that used the church were a chantry and a gild. The Clodeshale Chantry was founded by a wealthy Birmingham family and used the south aisle as the space in which they paid priests to say masses for their and their ancestors’ souls. The Holy Cross Gild used St Catherine’s Altar in the north aisle and paid priests to officiate. We see the rise of the Deritend guild and its involvement in many of the town’s social activities: repairing the bridge across the River Rea (a very important job to keep traffic moving), and funding alms houses for the poor and a midwife for the community’s pregnant women.8 Part Three: life and times we identify elements of the town and its trade and the good and bad times that the Bermingham people experienced. In Chapter Eight we observe how the settlement was built up through its street names and their meaning. We see the markets and fairs, the town governance and property within it. An interesting question is where the townspeople come from? Birmingham has been drawing in ‘foreigners’ for a long time and a study of the places they were named after has demonstrated that although many of them or their ancestors were local, some came from places far away from the West Midlands. The behaviour of Birmingham people was typical of medieval society and a few cases of criminal activity and how it was dealt with are recorded. This includes murder, assaults and robbery. Chapter Nine: Birmingham, as a market town, provided work for a multitude of people. In the early days agriculture was the main industry, but when the town took- off the inhabitants found employment in many different forms. The most financially rewarding positions were mercers and spicers. Both traders bought finished articles and sold them on, like bolts of woollen cloth, garments and expensive spices. We find chapmen in the town who sold a range of less expensive objects. By the middle of the thirteenth century Birmingham was well known as a cattle town.9 Stock was brought in from Wales, sometimes just passing through, but many herds were sold in the Welsh Market for fattening up locally and then sold at home or driven to the major markets of Warwick 8

Bickley, W. B. and Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 59. The site of the alms-houses is The Horse and Jockey Tavern in Deritend which still paid rent for their support in the 19th century; Demidowicz, G. pers. comm. The Old Crown was the guild hall and contained a school room and house for the two priests of the chapel. 9 Ibid, 85.

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and Coventry. Cattle hides were used in the leather trade and a few (of the very many) tanning pits have been discovered in the town. Sheep folds were used to keep sheep, both for milk and for their wool. The latter trade encompassed the manufacture of woollen cloth, garments and linen as well as selling the fleeces both at home and abroad. Associated industries involved canvas and rope making from hemp. Artisan trades included metalworking, pottery and building (masons, carpenters, tilers and glaziers).10 Service industries comprised apothecaries, bakers, barbers, butchers and millers. It is in the recent archaeological work done in the town centre that physical evidence has been found of many of these industries. A brief survey is made of the people who lived in the town in 1296 with a look at recent archaeological excavations carried out in a few of its streets. In Chapter Ten we examine the yearly round within the town of Bermingham. Nearly all the entertainment was based on the Christian faith, but often we can see where earlier, pre-Christian elements materialised within it. Health conditions in the town could be poor, with famines and diseases occurring periodically. Some were caused by natural catastrophes like volcanic eruptions and others by climatic changes. As with as the rest of Europe, the Black Death devastated the town. In nearby Halesowen it killed nearly 40% of the population and a similar figure would have lost their lives in Bermingham. The results of this epidemic must have had a devastating effect on the Birmingham people and the town, both at the time it arrived and its recurrence in the years afterwards.

10 Dyer, C. 1980. Lords and Peasants in a Changing Society: 142. Cambridge: University Press. Skilled workers could expect a wage of four pence a day in the late fourteenth century.

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Part One Bermingham and its Lords

1

Chapter One

In the beginning… When we look at the history of a place it is essential to first define its composition – what lies underneath the ground – and we do this through the earth sciences. Its geology - the rocks that lie under the top soil and topography – defines the shape of the land and its drainage. This has a great bearing on what people can do with it. The earliest deposits were laid down in the Triassic Age and are 200-251 million years old. This was a period when Birmingham lay near the equator and was part of a single continent called Pangea. The rocks are early Triassic and consists of the Bromsgrove and Arden Sandstone Formations.1 In the lowest formation, long before humans evolved, Bromsgrove fossils have been found that show that both land and water creatures existed during its deposition. The sand is thought to have been laid down by rivers that did not terminate in the sea, but dried out in the very hot environment. The Arden layer above is a mudstone, a clay that came from islands to the south that were

Figure 2: Drift and solid geology of the Bermingham Manor. 1

http//www.palaeos.com/Mesozoic/Triassic.htm

3

Medieval Birmingham laid down in a shallow sea. The boulder clay came much later and was brought into the area by the glacial drifts of the Ice Ages.2 About a hundred million years ago the Hercynian earth movement (the division of America from Europe and creation of the Atlantic Ocean) created cracks or faults in the surface of the Eurasian tectonic plate. The Birmingham Fault is one of these.3 All these layers once completely covered the manor, but erosion, from glaciers, weather conditions, brooks and rivers, has revealed parts of all of them. The main watercourses have continued denuding the landscape over the last fifteen thousand years and this is seen in the alluvium-filled valleys. The alluvium being the sands and silts of the solid geology, is taken down-stream where it will form the geology of the future in the North Sea. Rainwater flows through the sandstone, but not through the impervious marl. Although the marl is above the sandstone much of the water flowed out onto the surface at the junction of the two formations, particularly around the medieval town.4 The topsoil is based on the underlying geology and the use of the various layers is variable. The sandstone tends to dry out, but crops can easily be grown on it and it may have formed part of the earliest open fields in the manor, like Colbourne Field. The mudstone clay is also appropriate for agriculture as it easily weathers. It is very suitable for making pots and tiles as they did in the medieval period. The boulder clay tends to be heavy and the area thus had less agricultural value, so was left to heathland and park. The alluvium-filled valleys were wet and were generally used as meadowland.5 Topography: It can be seen from the plan (Figure 3), that the higher land lay to the south and west and sloped down to the Hockley Brook in the north and the River Rea in the east. It was this high land that became the Bermingham Heath and Rotten Park, as no doubt it had been barely cultivated in the past due to its clay geology.6 Drainage: The main brooks drained north into Hockley Brook, while a few flowed east to join the River Rea with its wide flood plain. The area alongside Hockley Brook and the river was marshy, very useful for meadow and the hay that could be cut from it to feed stock, but too wet to do much else, that is until the Normans decided to build a town on part of it. 2 Lewis, C. A. and Richards, A. E. 2005. The Glaciations of Wales and adjacent areas: 74-75. Almeley: Logaston Press. 3 Haines, B. A. and Horton, A. 1969. British Regional Geology, Central England: 112-3. London: H.M.S.O. 4 Patrick, C. Introduction, in Patrick, C. and Rátkai, S. op. cit., 1. 5 Dyer, C. 1980. op. cit., 69-70. According to Dyer the over-ploughing of much of the meadow land made what was left more valuable in the medieval period than any other land cover. 6 There had been an attempt to cultivate Rotten, as the Anglo-Saxon name suggests a farm, but it was turned into a park by the lords of Bermingham, probably due to the inefficient farming that had gone on there.

4

In the beginning

Figure 3: Contours, drainage and routes in the Manor of Bermingham.7

Routes: A more complete discussion of the routes can be found in Steven Bassett’s article in Midland History.8 According to Bassett the most ancient routes are those numbered 1 and 2 in the plan. These generally keep to the higher land and are typical of prehistoric ridgeways that can be found in the rest of the country. Route 1, which forms part of the southern boundary of the manor, is the major east-west road. Route 2 from Edgbaston passed the east side of the Coneygre, along Colmore Row and through the Priory lands at Steelhouse Lane, then exited on the manor’s north side. The modern place-name Holloway Head, a continuation of the street, signifies that this old road to Edgbaston had been cut-down by many years of vehicular passage. Route 3 is the Roman road, called Icknield/Ryknield Street. It also ran north to south through the middle of the manor and it was this, during the late medieval period, which divided the waste from the settled lands in the east.9 Routes 4 and 5 are said to be medieval, but as these led to the main crossing of the River Rea at Digbeth, it might be thought that they must predate this 7

Taken from several plans drawn by Duncan Probert, in S. Bassett and R. Holt, from C. Chinn and M. Dick. 2016, and early maps of the town. 8 Bassett, S. 2001. Birmingham before the Bull Ring, in Midland History. 26: 6-13; S. Bassett and R. Holt, Medieval Birmingham, in C. Chinn and M. Dick (eds) Birmingham: The Workshop of the World: 75. Liverpool: University Press. 9 Hilton, R. H. 1966. A Medieval Society: 11. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.

5

Medieval Birmingham period. Fording places do not exist everywhere on rivers, and that there is one in this position signifies that people may have been using it to cross for a long time.10 Routes 4 and 6 were the main medieval highways which crossed the river and ran towards Coventry, an important city in the medieval period.11 Route 7 led to the baronial centre at Dudley and would have been well used after the Norman Conquest. However, it winds its way around the fields close to the town indicating that it came later than the fieldscape.12 It is not a simple exercise to tell what much of the landscape looked like before the Norman period. We know that in the area of the English Market it is unlikely to have been settled on prior to the Norman Conquest, as the botanical and insect evidence has revealed that it had been covered in trees characteristic of an uninhabited wet land environment.13 This suggests that the Anglo-Saxon farmers must have lived and farmed further uphill.14 Unlike Dudley, where the new town was built on an existing fieldscape, shown by the atral curves (reversed ‘S’) of its burgage boundaries;15 Bermingham was built on a brand new site, but incorporating most of the existing road features. The triangular market place was a normal medieval arrangement, with burgess tenements at right angles to it, but due to positioning of the roads it climbed upslope towards the north-west where the apex of the English Market stood. Like Dudley, a cross stood at this position and likewise at the entrance of two roads close to the Welsh Market.16

10 Upton, C. 2011. A History of Birmingham: 12. Stroud: Phillimore. John Leland who travelled to the town in 1538 stated that he had ridden across the ford of the River Rea that lay by the bridge. 11 Hilton, R. H. op. cit.,13. 12 Hodder, M. pers. comm.; Hodder had an alternative suggestion that the fields that it wound around may have been much earlier, Neolithic, Roman or Anglo-Saxon and laid out before the Normans came to Birmingham; Bassett, Steve. 2001. op. cit.,1-33. 13 Greig, J. The Pollen, in Patrick, C. and Rátkai, S., op. cit., 259. 14 Hodder, M. pers. comm. Hodder thought that the Parsonage moated site may have been Anglo-Saxon, but it is unlikely that any earlier lord of Bermingham was wealthy enough to have constructed it. 15 Hemingway, J. 2009. An Illustrated Chronicle of Dudley Town and Manor: 65. Dudley: MFH. 16 Ibid, 68.

6

Chapter Two

The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland The Lords of Bermingham in England In the Middle Ages England operated under a political and social system of landownership called Feudalism. Feudalism was a top-down system of government. The king owned everything, and he gave out lands to his underlings in exchange for military service. These men were called dukes, earls and barons. They in turn gave lands out to lesser men, again for military service, these were the knights and men-at-arms. Under them were the burgesses, villeins and peasants who lived on their lord’s lands and laboured for them, giving them a share of their work or produce in exchange for military protection. Although feudalism was breaking down by the end of the thirteenth century some aspects of it did survive. The lords of Bermingham belonged to the knightly class and as such were not independent, they were subservient to the barons of Dudley, attending the baron’s court at Dudley Castle every three weeks.1 The baron’s lands occupied much of the West Midlands and it was only when the Berminghams became high stewards of the barony that their fortunes rose and in tandem those of their settlement.

Figure 4: Coat of arms of the Bermingham family of England. The shield with a dexter bend fuzil, the lozenge at the top on the left and the bottom on the right, is supposed to represent a distaff (a stick or spindle on to which wool or flax is wound for spinning) and represents labour. The blue and gold background may relate to the barony of Dudley’s colours.2 1

Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1883. Calendar of Final Concord Henry III, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire IV. 247. London: Harrison and Sons. 2 The arms are very similar to those of John FitzGilbert Marshall, Marshall of Ireland. John had

7

Henry fitzPeter of Morf

Ralph (1284)

John de Bermingham - 1329 William de Bermingham - 1332

Piers de Bermingham Piers de Bermingeham - 1307 Baron Atheny - 1254

8

Dates in bold are when they took hold of the lordship. c. approximation only.

William Ferrers 1412 -

m. Edmund, Lord Ferrers

Figure 5: Family tree of the English lords of Bermingham.

John Hemingway 2022

Sir William de Bermingham X, c.1440 - 1478 m. Isabella Hilton, m. Agnes Tomson Sir William de Bermingham XI, c.1479 - 1500 m. Elizabeth ? m. Margaret Bulstrade[?] Henry Bermingham Nicholas Bermingham 1500 - 1504 m. Elizabeth

Edward Bermingham 1518 - 1536 m. Elizabeth Danett William Bermingham William Bermingham

Sir John Longville

Richard Longville

Richard Longville

m. George Longeville

Sir William de Bermingham VII 1302 - 1315 J. P. m. Matilda

Sir Roger de Somery Christine Thomas Baron Dudley m. Roger de Okeover m. Agnes Walter de Richard de Bermingham Bermingham Sir William de Bermingham VIII 1315 - c.1336 J. P. - 1350 Sir John de Somery Sir Thomas de Botetourt m. Maud Baron Dudley m. Joan de Somery Sir Fulk de Bermyngeham c.1336 - c.1377 Sir Thomas (1322 - 1358) Sir Henry c.1316 - c.1380 Sir William m. Elizabeth m. Johanna Sir Henry de Botetourt Sir William de Bermyngeham c.1318 - c.1375 Sir John Bermingham c.1377 - 1383 Sir Thomas de Bermingham c. 1345 - 1386 Joyce Adam de Peshale Sir William de Bermyngeham c. 1375 - 1373 m. Elizabeth Planche 1347 - 1423 m. Isabel Whitacre m. Joice de Botetourt m. Katherine Plaunke (Lady Clinton) Thomas la Roche m. Elizabeth 1375 Sir William de Bermingham IX, c.1402 - 1426 Thomas m. Joan de Peshale Ellen la Roche 1395 - 1440 Elizabeth la Roche m. 1393 - 1435

Sir William de Bermingeham VI c.1268 - 1302 m. Isabel

Robert fitzPeter of Ireland c.1170 -

Meiler de Bermingham 1213 - 1263 Eva - 1217 James de Bermingham M. Basile of Worcester Peter fitzPeter 1233 1213 - 1279

Hugh fitzPeter of Bushbury c. 1175 M. Eva

Sir Peter de Bermingham I c.1104 - c.1176

William de Bermingham I c.1080 - c.1104 b. Gwynnedd, Wales

William de Bermingham Sir William de Bermingham V c.1263 - 1265 m. Margery de Malpas, m. Isabella de Estlegh

Sir William de Bermingham IV c.1243 - c.1263 m. Maud

Sir William de Bermingham III c.1225 - c.1243 m. Sybil de Colville

Sir William de Bermingham II c.1176 - c.1225

De Bermingham family tree

Richard c.1070 - c.1100 Fitz Richard de Bermingham c.1100 - c.1125

Medieval Birmingham

The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland Richard de Bermingham c.1070 - c.1100 It is likely that the Bermingham family originated close to Picquigny, near Amiens on the River Somme in Northern France. This is concluded as most of the bands of men that fought at the Battle of Hastings were with their local lords and it is probable that Richard (de Bermingham) was with Ansculf de Picquigny. Ansculf apparently was recognised as a formidable fighter at the Battle of Hastings and was made Sheriff of Buckingham and given forty estates in the Home Counties. Richard, on the other hand, received nothing in the Home Counties; at that stage he should be seen as just a soldier-of-fortune fighting with his lord. Many people believe that William the Conqueror’s victory at Hastings in 1066 brought an end to English resistance, but they continued fighting the Normans, and the king was involved in putting down these ‘insurrections’ for a number of years afterwards. In 1070 a revolt occurred, led by Edric the Wild, in Cheshire, Shropshire and Staffordshire. King William I marched into the area and practiced a ‘scorched earth’ policy on the counties, leaving them devastated.3 In order to curtail any future unrest he left several motte and bailey castles surrounding the rebel areas; one of these was at Dudley. After the 1070 campaign the king elevated Ansculf of Picquigny to the barony of Dudley 4 and gave him fifty one estates in the west midland to support his new position.5 When he was promoted to the baronage he distributed many of these estates to his retinue, and Bermingham he gave to a man called Richard.6 As far as we know Richard did not have a surname, but he is likely to have been the ancestor of the Bermingham family.7 Virtually nothing is known of the early lords of Bermingham, even to the extent of when they were born and died. As medieval demographic studies suggest that most people had children between the age of 20 and 30 we can guess that the Berminghams did the same.8 Therefore, we can assume that Richard had a son, probably born in France before the conquest, but we have no idea what his name was. He in turn had a son, whom we may call William de Bermingham married Margaret, daughter of Sir Roger de Somery, Baron Dudley. He was later the 7th Earl of Warwick, but died without issue. The Marshalls came to prominence when John’s father, William Marshall married Isabel de Clare, daughter of Strongbow. It is possible that the arms of the Berminghams owed much to this relationship and their Irish connection. 3 Stenton, Sir F. 1975. Anglo-Saxon England: 603-605. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 4 Hemingway, J. 2006. An Illustrated Chronicle of the Castle and Barony of Dudley: 7-16. Dudley: Friends of Dudley Castle. 5 Baron Dudley held 52 knight’s fees, meaning that he could be obliged to provide 52 armed men with their retinues of at least five men-at-arms each in times of war. The figure went up to fifty-four later, but by the fourteenth century men were taxed on this amount (scutage) rather than appearing to fight in person. 6 Plaister, J. op. cit., 27:5. 7 Bracketed dates on the family tree are when the individual was calculated to be born or died, not the actual year. 8 Stone, Lawrence. 1977. The Family, Sex and Marriage in England 1500-1800: 46. London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson.

9

Medieval Birmingham I, who was born in Gwynedd, Wales in 1081.9 The lords of the Welsh Marches were invading Wales at the time.10 Hugh d’Avranches, who was created Earl of Chester in 1070, made his cousin, Robert de Rhuddlan, commander of his troops. Robert captured several Welsh cantrefs and by 1080 ruled all north Wales east of the River Conwy (see Chapter Four). William I’s grandfather, Richard, and his father and mother were likely to be on active service in Wales with Ansculf, Baron Dudley in this period which probably accounts for why their son was born in Gwynedd.11 William de Bermingham I, 1080 – c.1104 Apart from his birth in Gwynedd nothing is known of William I’s time as lord of Bermingham. Ansculf of Picquigny had died and his son, William FitzAnsculf, succeeded him, who in turn was succeeded by Fulk Paganell as Baron of Dudley in this period.12 Fulk may have been involved in the various wars on the continent and North Wales and William I with him, but no evidence for this has so far been discovered. Sir Peter de Bermingham I, c.1104 - c.1176 Peter was the son of William I and became a most important lord of Bermingham due to the political situation of the country. On the death of King Henry I in 1135 the succession was disputed between Henry’s daughter, Matilda, and his nephew, Stephen of Blois. Stephen was first-off the mark and was crowned king. This led to civil war (1138 – 1153) and the period has been dubbed ‘the Anarchy’.13 Ralph Paganell, who had succeeded his father, Fulk as Baron Dudley, supported Matilda and in 1138 the king laid siege to Dudley Castle. We can assume that all of Baron Dudley’s local knights and men-at-arms came to support their lord in the siege; failure to provide military service would leave them liable to forfeit their estates. King Stephen was not able to take the castle, so left it to lay siege to Shrewsbury. After a short peace between the king and Paganell, in 1140, Ralph attacked Nottingham, a royalist town, and burnt it to the ground.14 The following year, Ralph with his retinue joined the empress’s army which fought and won a battle against the king at Lincoln. It is likely that Peter demonstrated that he was a worthy supporter to his lord in these campaigns, and no doubt it was for this reason that Ralph’s successor, Gervase 9

https://www.geni.com/people/William-De-Bermingham/6000000001322154172 Any land bordering another country was called a march. 11 Green, J. R. 1876. A Short History of the English People: 85. London: Macmillan and Company. 12 Hemingway, J. 2006. op. cit., 21-22. 13 Barrow, G. W. S. 1976. Feudal Britain: 114. London: Edward Arnold. 14 Stevenson, J. (trans). 1853. A continuation, by John of Worcester, of Florence of Worcester, A History of the Kings of England: 195. First published in the Church Historians of England, Dyfed: Llanerch Enterprises. 10

10

The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland Paganell, promoted him to be his dapifer – chief steward, in the early 1150s.15 The baron also gave him nine knight’s fees, nine local estates belonging to the barony.16 The estates were: Bermingham (1 knights fee), Edgbaston, (½ knights fee), Handsworth (½ knights fee), Perry Barr (1 knights fee), Little Barre (½ knights fee), Bushbury, Upper Penn, Rushall (1½ knights fees), Wombourne with Overton (2 knights fees), Morfe (½ knights fee), Enville (1 knights fee), and Amblecote (½ knights fee), (see map Figure 7). He also inherited Hoggeston, the Buckinghamshire property of his predecessor, Payne, in the stewardship (see Figure 8).17 Peter aimed to reflect his newfound wealth and elevated status in a grand abode. To acquire this, he needed the king’s permission, which he received through the offices of the baron, and built a moated manor house in Bermingham (see Chapter Three). After the civil war, lords had begun to construct seigneurial towns next to their castles/manor houses. These they peopled with burgesses (traders), as the income from rents and services were valuable.18 They also

Figure 6: A thirteenth century copy of the Bermingham market charter of 1166 and the confirmatory charter of 1189. The original documents are now lost. Reproduced by permission of the National Archives, London, C52/19 (41-42). 15 Mander, G. P. 1941. Appendix, to Carter’s Additions to Grazebrook’s The Barons of Dudley: 51. London: Harrison and Sons. It is likely that the barony had two dapifers; one in the West Midlands and other in the Home Counties as two are recorded as witnesses in the Tickford grant. 16 Ibid, 49. A knight’s fee was land given to an underling to support his position as a knight; Manders stated that the award occurred in the 1160s, but failed to note an 1153 document where Peter was recorded as having nine knights’ fees. The fractions were of use when scutage became used. 17 Page, W. (ed.) 1925. Parishes: Hoggeston, in A History of the County of Buckingham 3. London: British History Online. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/bucks/vol3/ pp369-372 [accessed 6 November 2019]. Payne held the most property of any of the knights of Ansculf and it is assumed he was the original second-in-command to the baron. 18 Bickley, W. B. and Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 26. Many of the rents in Bermingham were in kind; pepper, cumin, red roses and barbed arrowheads etc.

11

Figure 7: Map of the estates of Peter de Bermingham in the barony of Dudley, West Midlands.

Medieval Birmingham

12

The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland thought about their spiritual welfare and erected a priory or monastery close by for the good of their souls. The baron had already acquired the set at Dudley and Peter seems likely to have imitated this by establishing a town, where he also received permission to hold a market.19

Figure 8: Lands held by the Berminghams in the Home Counties. Hoggeston and Kingston Bagpuize were in the lordship of Dudley, Maidencourt, Shutford, and Braunston were not Dudley property.20 19 20

Bassett, S. and Holt, R. 2016. op. cit., 82-83. Hemingway, J. 2006. op. cit., 11-13. The Home Counties estates were those given to Ansculf

13

Medieval Birmingham The elevation of Peter de Bermingham to the position of steward also meant that he became second-in-command to his lord. This no doubt led to his frequent attendance on the baron. Due to the Paganell family’s support for Matilda, they became favourites with her son, Duke Henry Plantagenet. Gervase Paganell was on active service in the Normandy Campaign in that year and probably Peter with him. It may have been for this reason that Duke Henry made Peter a grant in 1153 of free warren in Bermingham and Handsworth.21 Duke Henry was at Dudley Castle where he signed a document in 1154, the same year King Stephen died, and the duke was crowned King Henry II.22 Peter’s importance grew, and he was a witness in various documents. He was recorded in a charter in which Robert and Simon Cappe released their claim to William de Ridware’s estate in 1166 as Peter de Brimigham.23 In the same year Peter was fined £40 for concealing the goods of two outlaws. The outlaws were his own men, Engelrann and Walter de Morf. 24 The king was in Brittany at this time and a roll in the next year stated Peter’s fine would be remitted until he returned to England.25 Peter eventually paid £26 13s 4d in 1169 and 13s 4d in 1170.26 A further charge of £10 was made against Fulk de Horsley who had assisted him in the cover-up. Fulk was likely to be one of his retinue.27 Peter was also fined for trespass in the king’s forest at Morf in 116428 this may have been for assarting – cutting the trees down and ploughing up the land in the forest - which was illegal without permission. The king obviously did not take this misdemeanour to heart because in 1168 Peter was rewarded with the stewardship of the pannage of Kinver Forest,29probably because Peter’s holdings of land within the forest made him a suitable choice to supervise it (see Figure 7). In 1169 Peter was given further royal employment (under the viceroy of England as the king was still away) in overseeing the rebuilding of the bridge at Newcastle-under-Lyme.30 Peter appears in the Pipe Rolls of King after the Battle of Hastings and were much more valuable than the west midland properties, though he was only sheriff in this area. 21 Eyton, Rev. W. 1880. The Staffordshire Pipe Rolls of 31 Hen I (AD 1130) and of 1 to 35 Hen II (AD 1155-1189), in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: I: 17. London: Harrison and Sons. 22 Hemingway, J. 2006. op. cit., 24. 23 Eyton, Rev. W. 1881. The Staffordshire Chartulary, Series I of Ancient Deeds, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: II: 248-249. London: Harrison and Sons. 24 Eyton, Rev. W. 1880, 43, 46. 25 Ibid, 50; Pipe Roll Society. 1890. The Great Roll of the pipe for the fourteenth year of the reign of King Henry the Second 1167-1168, XII: 118, 120; Pipe Roll Society. 1890. The Great Roll of the pipe for the fifteenth year of the reign of King Henry the Second 1168-1169, XIII: 68, 69; Pipe Roll Society. 1892. 26 Eyton, 1880, 60, 63. 27 Ibid, 46. Horsley is near Shenstone, Staffordshire. 28 Ibid, 49, 51; Bryant, A. 1963. The Age of Chivalry: 100-101. London: Collins. The crime of medieval trespass, as well as trespassing on some one’s property also meant the theft of their goods. 29 Ibid, 53-54. Pannage was the right people had to graze their pigs (on acorns and beech mast) in the woodland. 30 Ibid, 55, 57.

14

The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland Henry II until 1171 and appears as a witness in the Tickford Charter of 1173.31 It may have been shortly after this last date that he died.32 Sir William FitzPeter de Bermingham II, c.1176 – c.1225 It is not clear when William FitzPeter de Bermingham II was born, but possibly in the early 1150s. His father, Peter, was dead by 1176 when William was fined 20 marks for trespass in the royal forests.33 This was not for any woodland transgression, but for his or/and his father’s part in joining the Baron of Dudley in the 1173 rebellion against the king.34 Another revolt occurred against the king in 1185. It also failed but, Fulk Paganell of Bampton, a nephew of Baron Gervase Paganell, was implicated and fled the realm. Fulk held Himley from William de Englefield who had been given it by his uncle. The king needed money more than executions and fined him 1,000 marks.35 All of the baron’s vassals chipped-in to help pay the fine including William FitzPeter (1½ marks). This was not a great sum considering his station, so perhaps he did not agree with making a payment on behalf of a rebel!36 William paid a forest fine of 60 shillings in 1187, possibly for some assarting that had been done on one of his woodland estates.37 A charter has survived stating that his market had been confirmed by King Richard I in 1189.38 The king might have visited Bermingham personally this year as a letter was supposed to have been signed by him there.39 No doubt William had no choice in paying for this confirmation; the king needed money for the crusade he was planning and selling rights or confirmations was one way of getting it. William was mentioned in a roll of King Richard stating that he went with the army to fight in the Holy Land during the period 1191–93 (see Chapter Four).40 A Pipe Roll document of King John’s reign dated 1208 records that Henry le Not, a descendent of the AngloSaxon occupier of Upper Penn, paid 100 shillings for confirmation of his rights 31

Tickford Priory had been founded by the Barons of Dudley. Mander, G. P. 1941. op. cit., 49, 51; Smith, S. C. K. 1935. The Arms of Birmingham, in Transactions of the Worcestershire Archaeological Society: 12: 65. Smith stated 1180 ignoring the fact that his son, William, starts to be recorded after 1176. 33 Eyton, Rev. W. 1880, op. cit., 79, 83. 34 Hemingway, J. 2006. op. cit., 25-26. This revolt occurred when a number of barons wanted to replace Henry with his son Henry the Young King – it failed! 35 A mark was thirteen shillings and four pence, 2/3rds of a pound. Although not a coin it was widely used in the medieval period for calculating values. It was worth about nine month’s average wage in the thirteenth century. 36 Eyton, Rev. W. 1880. op. cit., 110-112. 37 Ibid, 128. Morf (?) Assarting: Clearing trees in the forest for agricultural purposes. 38 Plac. de Quo Warr. 782. Record Commission; Smith, S. C. K. 1934. op. cit., 63. Smith suggests this is evidence for the ‘town’ being successful. 39 Watts, L. 1978-9. Birmingham Moat: its history, topography and destruction, in Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society: 89: 13. 40 Eyton, Rev. W. 1881. Staffordshire Pipe Rolls, 4 R.I., in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: II: 14, 17. 32

15

Medieval Birmingham to some land in Bushbury and Upper Penn against William’s claim.41 Legend has it that Sir William II was one of the lords that supported the Magna Carta which King John signed/sealed in 1215, but only the barons are mentioned in the document and William was not one of those. Sir William de Bermingham III, c.1225 - 124342 Another Bermingham about whom little is known is Sir William de Bermingham III. In 1225 he was to pay the king 5 marks and 20 shillings from Maidencourt,43 an estate he acquired when he married Sybil de Colville.44 As a result of Gervase Paganell’s involvement in the 1185 revolt against Henry II, the king ordered that Dudley Castle be slighted. Paganell left the West Midlands to live on his Home Counties estates, and the barons of Dudley did not return for nearly fifty years. This left William II, followed by William III, as sole caretakers of the barony in the West Midlands, a role that they probably enjoyed until the arrival of a new baron in 1223 called Sir Roger de Somery. Both are referred to in the Book of Fees of 1235-6 where William de Bermingham is recorded as holding Meydenecote (Maidencourt) at two shillings for one plough and at Bermingham holding one knight’s fee of Roger de Somery.45 On September 16th 1235 King Henry III was journeying from Lichfield to Worcester and signed a letter in Bermingham. The king returned to the town in 1237.46 Sir William died in or prior to 1243 when his son is first mentioned in documents. Sir William de Bermingham IV, c.1243 – c.1263 Sir William IV is first recorded on 6th October 1243 when he appears as a witness at an inquisition into the ownership of Coventry with his overlord, Roger de Somery II.47 His relationship with the baron may not have been very close and he appears to have resented his feudal duties. In 1250 he was exempted from serving on juries, possibly an aspect of his role as a steward to the baron.48 By the thirteenth-century the lords of Bermingham had become important knights, so much so that they were summoned to parliament. His status led Sir William to see his post of baronial steward as an honorary one 41

Ibid, 148. http://www.ancestry.co.uk/genealogy/records/robert-de-birmingham_41180282?geo_a=r&o_ iid= 41013&o_lid=41013&o_sch=Web + Property 43 http://www.finerollshenry3.org.uk/content/indexes/person/bi-bp.html 44 Eyton, R.W. (ed.) 1880. Staffordshire Pipe Roll, John 1207-1208: 148, in Staffordshire Historical Collections: II. London: Harrison and Sons. It had belonged to her mother, Alice de Colville. 45 Public Record Office. 1920. The Book of Fees commonly called Testa De Nevill: 297, 509. London: HMSO. 46 Watts, L. op. cit., 13. 47 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1883. Plea Rolls for Staffordshire: IV: 101. Collections for a History of Staffordshire. London: Harrison and Sons. 48 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1908. Calendar of the Patent Rolls Henry III 1247-1258: 82. London: HMSO. 42

16

The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland and he began to miss presiding at the manorial courts held in Dudley Castle every three weeks as the role demanded. Baron Dudley was annoyed at him ignoring this custom and took him to court. The case went on from 1249 to 1262 and the court’s eventual decision was that although technically the baron was in the right to expect him to appear before him at three weekly interludes, they agreed on a compromise that in future it need only be at six monthly intervals. The court stated that he was to appear at Dudley at the courts of Michaelmas and after Easter and whenever the King’s writ of right is pleaded in the Court and for strengthening of the Court when it is necessary to convoke all the Knights and peers of the said court, holding by Knight’s service, when difficult suits had to be adjudicated, and as often as a robber is there for judgment, at reasonable summons.49 In the November of 1245 Sir William was on royal service as he was given a protection for his time in Chester.50 Henry III was in Chester in this year at the head of a large army which relieved Dyserth Castle (Denbighshire) after it was attacked by the Welsh. During such expeditions men were mustered at Chester, and the city became a major supplier of provisions, equipment, and weapons. The royal financial administration, the wardrobe, was temporarily established there and received from Ireland and elsewhere large sums of money which were stored in the castle and the abbey.51 In 1252 Sir William may have been in Ireland supporting his kinsmen there. In 1254 he was given permission to hold a yearly fair in his Buckinghamshire manor of Hoggeston52 and rights of free warren in Shutford, Oxfordshire.53 He still held Maidencourt in 1260/1. By the 1260s his wife was said to be Maud de Gatecumbe and after her husband’s death, sometime around 1263, she took her son, Sir William V to court over her dower of a third of the manor of Bermingham. This was the first time that the dower was mentioned, and it was a sizeable part of the estate. The dower was said to be a third of the Berminghams’ holdings in Bermingham, Stoton (Stockton, Worcestershire), Hogeston, and Dorton (Buckinghamshire), Scesteford (Shutford, Oxfordshire), one third of a 40 shillings rent, twelve acres of wood and twelve tenements in villenage held in Morf, and one third of Knights fees in Bissopisbeyri (Bushbury), Penne (Upper Penn) and Russale (Rushall), Evenesfeld 49 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1883. Plea Rolls, op. cit. 262-3. This court case on 20th June 1262 held in Warwick was just one of the cases that covered this disagreement. 50 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1906. Calendar of the Patent Rolls Henry III 1232-1247: 466. London: HMSO. 51 Lewis, C. P. and Thacker, A. T. (ed.) 2003. Later medieval Chester 1230-1550: City and crown, 1237-1350, in A History of the County of Chester: Volume 5 Part 1, the City of Chester: General History and Topography: 34-38. London. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/che s/ vol5/pt1/pp34-38 [accessed 2 March 2017]. 52 Deputy Keeper of Records. 1908. Patent Rolls, Henry III 1247-1258. op cit., 338. 53 Ibid, 348.

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Medieval Birmingham (Enville), Morf, Perey (Perry), Barre (Little Barr) and Hamelee (Himley).54 The dower property may have changed through time, but at select times it also included: the manor house in Bermingham, the advowson (right to select priest) of the Priory of St Thomas’ and St Martin’s Church, Heath Mill and 30 acres of land in Bermingham including woodland.55 Sir William de Bermingham V, c.1263 - 1265 Sir William V married Marjory de Malpas and he received Christleton in Cheshire as a gift from her father. Marjory died, and his second wife was Isabella de Estley.56 In 1250 he acquired a three-day fair, starting on Ascension Eve in Bermingham, and rights of free warren in Hoggeston.57 During the baronial revolt against the king he joined Simon de Montfort’s forces at the Battle of Lewes in 1264, a victory for Montfort. William, however, was killed at the Battle of Evesham in 1265 when Prince Edward raised an army against Montfort and defeated him (see Chapter Four). All the opponents of the king were identified as traitors and most of Sir William’s estates were declared forfeit and granted to Roger de Clifford in October of the same year.58 A writ was sent to all the Bermingham tenants notifying them of this royal action.59 Sir William de Bermingham VI, c.1268 - 1302 As Sir William V was killed in a rebellion against the king his estates were confiscated, with the exception of the dower estates, which according to the Dictum of Kenilworth, were to be given back to his widow, Isabella for her sustenance.60 Roger de Somery, Baron Dudley, offered Roger de Clifford a ransom for Bermingham’s main estates according to the form in the Dictum agreement.61 Clifford ignored the request and did ‘waste, sale and destruction of the woods and other things relating to the said lands’. In 1268 King Henry 54 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1883. Plea Rolls for Staffordshire: IV: part one, 154. A dower was the lands given to support a widow after her husband died. Lady Gatcombe also held property in the Isle of Wight according to the Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem: 1: Henry III. 55 The tradition of giving over the manor house as part of the dower survived right up until the fifteenth century. 56 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1895. Cheshire Plea Rolls, Collections for a History of Staffordshire: XVI: 5. London: Harrison and Sons. 57 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1903. Calendar of the Charter Rolls Henry III 1226-1257: 350. London: HMSO. 58 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1906. Calendar of the Charter Rolls, Henry III - Edward I 12571300: 58. London: HMSO 59 Deputy Keeper of the Records 1910. Calendar of the Patent Rolls Henry III 1258-1266: 534. London: HMSO. 60 Smith, S. C. K. op. cit., 67. 61 Hemingway, J. 2006. op. cit., 36. Roger de Somery was on the eleven-man committee that drew up the Dictum of Kenilworth aimed at resolving the problems that the civil war had thrown up, so he was in a good position to help his chief steward.

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The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland III commissioned a committee of men to investigate this affair.62 William’s lands were eventually returned to him. As part of the settlement, according to the compiler of the Chester Rolls, William VI passed Christleton to Peter de Chalons. His stepmother, Isabella, had married Chalons after her first husband was killed at Evesham, so this may have been a family gift.63 A Fine Roll of 1285 stated that William VI’s lands in Dorton, (Buckinghamshire) should be taken into the king’s hands, except Peter de Chalon’s holdings in Christelton.64 Quite why the king confiscated them is unknown, but they were later returned. In 1282 Sir William was given the right of free warren in all the lands he held,65 the presumption being that by this time he had returned to royal favour. In 1288 the goods of William Aylward were confiscated by the sheriff of Berkshire on the death (murder) of Geoffrey de Stanford. The king ordered that his goods should be returned to his master, William de Bermingham.66 William VI was a fighting lord and was captured while engaged in the Gascony campaign and was also involved in the Scottish wars (see Chapter Four). He is recorded as holding the nine knights fees that his ancestors had held on Roger de Somery’s death in 1291.67 When his overlord died William’s lands were given to his widow, Agnes de Somery as part of her dower, though this would have made little difference to his holdings.68 In 1286 his coat of arms was recorded on both the Charles and St George’s Rolls.69 In 1297 the king ordered his sheriffs of Oxford and Buckingham not to take corn from Sir William’s estates as he was with the forces in Gascony.70 In 1300 Fulk, son of Warin, acknowledged that he owed William VI £90 and that it would be levied on his estates in Shropshire.71 At home William VI served in the jury that looked at the property of Thomas Corbet in 1299 and he died about 1302.72 After his death his widow, Lady Isabella, was sued by Eustace de Holewaye for £10 and Andrew de Evenefeld 62

Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1913. Calendar of the Patent Rolls Henry III 1266-1272: 276. London: HMSO. 63 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1895. Cheshire Plea Rolls, op. cit., 5. 64 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1911. Calendar of the Fine Rolls Edward I 1272-1307: 212. London: HMSO. 65 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1906. Charter Rolls Henry III - Edward I 1257-1300, op. cit. 264. 66 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1911. Fine Rolls Edward I 1272-1307, op. cit., 252. 67 Grazebrook, H. W. S. 1888. The Barons of Dudley, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire IX, Part 2: 33-38. London: Harrison and Sons. The same fees were held on the death of John de Somery in 1322, ibid.: 43-45. 68 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1904. Calendar of the Close Rolls Edward I, 1288-1296: 220. London: HMSO. 69 Charles 163 & St. Georges Roll, E143. http://www.briantimms.com/rolls/charlesF04.htm. 70 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1906. Calendar of the Close Rolls Edward I, 1296-1302: 85. London: HMSO. 71 Ibid, 386. 72 No author given. 1911. Inquisitions Post Mortem and Ad Quod Damnum, Staffordshire, Henry III, Edward I, Edward II 1223-1327, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: Third Series 1911. 257. London: Harrison & Sons.

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Medieval Birmingham (Enville) was one of the witnesses.73 In 1302 she was taken to court over her claim of wardship of Roger de Okeover.74 Roger later married her daughter, Christine de Bermingham.

Figure 9: The coat of arms of William de Bermingham VI as displayed in the Charles, 163 and St George’s Rolls, E413 in 1285.75

Sir William de Bermingham VII, [1270]-1315 Sir William VII was knighted prior to going off to Scotland to fight in 1306 and was involved in the Scottish campaigns until 1315 (see Chapter Nine). In 1309 John de Somery became Baron Dudley and in the same year a Perceval de Somery, (another name for Sir John) sued William for a debt of £10 on a suit of armour.76 Due to the fact that his lordship included lands in the Forest of Cannock he was a jury member when inquisitions occurred there in 1310 and 1311.77 Sir William died in 1315. He had married a lady called Matilda who on his death had to go to court to recover her dower of a third part of Morf.78 She also claimed in 1346 that Walter de Clodeshale held a third of a meadow and 100 acres of moor in Bermingham, which she stated was her dower79 and in 73

Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1886. Extracts From the Plea Rolls AD 1294 to AD 1307, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: VII: 50. London: William Salt Archaeological Society, Harrison and Sons. 74 Ibid, 101. 75 http://www.briantimms.com/rolls/charlesF04.htm. See the similarity in devices between this and another Charles Roll coat of John Marshall f.20. 76 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1888. Extracts from the Assize Rolls and De Banco Rolls of the Reign of Edward II AD 1307 to AD 1327, Collections for a History of Staffordshire: IX: 19. London: William Salt Archaeological Society, Harrison and Sons. 77 No author given, 1911. Inquisitions Post Mortem, op. cit., 307, 311. 78 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1891. Extracts from the Plea Rolls 16 to 33 Edward III, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire, XII: 55. London: Harrison and Sons. 79 Ibid, 60.

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The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland 1347 John de Holt refuted a claim that Matilda had property (a messuage) he was holding in Bermingham that was part of her dower.80 Tombs of the Berminghams The tombs of the lords of Bermingham may have originally been set up in St Thomas’ Priory Church. As at Dudley, the two churches in Bermingham were probably frequented by different classes of people. The priory church would have been a ‘high church’ and was possibly attended by the knights and wealthier burghal classes, or those that thought of themselves as being superior, while St Martin’s was a ‘low church’ which the lesser burghal classes and others frequented.81 This is supported by the gifts that were given to the priory, in most cases from the wealthy who lived in the town and surrounding area. As the lords of Bermingham granted property to the priory it is likely that they were originally buried there. After the Dissolution the tombs were probably moved to St Martin’s in a similar way that the tombs of the lords of Dudley were moved from Dudley Priory to the parish church of St Edmund’s.82 This may be the reason that only three tombs have survived from a large family, and none of tombs of their wives, despite the fact it was normal for a couple to have effigies next to one another. It is not certain if one of the effigies that lies on top of a tomb in St Martin’s church is Sir William de Bermingham VII or VIII. Matthew Holbeche Boxham described the effigy’s armour in the Midland Counties Herald as being dateable to the early fourteenth century, so it could have been either. He thought that the freestone figure was likely to be of that date as there is a partial indication of plate armour. The crossed legs, as shown in this effigy, have often in the past, thought to be a sign the knight had been on crusade,83 though today this idea has been abandoned.84 Dugdale shows this effigy on the inside of a tomb of two which was situated on the south side of the chancel. At a later date it was given a table tomb of its own.

80

Ibid, 79. Although High and Low Church are post-Reformation terms it is logical that different churches catered for different classes of people, particularly after the teachings of John Wycliffe became well known. The beliefs and practices of the priory as a ‘high church’ would have been in a formal way, ‘low church’ less so. 82 Nash, T. 1781. Collections for a History of Worcestershire: I: 361. London: T. Payne, J. Robson B. White & Leigh and Sotheby. 83 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninth_Crusade. Prince Edward (later Edward I) led the Ninth Crusade and took Jaffa, but was unable to achieve much as the Christians of Outremer were engaged in an internal dispute. 84 Harris, O. D. (2010). “Antiquarian attitudes: crossed legs, crusaders and the evolution of an idea”. Antiquaries Journal. 90: 401–40 81

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Medieval Birmingham

Figure 10: Tomb of a Sir William de Bermingham in St Martin’s Church, Birmingham as drawn for William Dugdale’s book.85

Figure 11: Drawing of a medieval knight displaying the Bermingham family shield in St Martin’s church in John Thackray Bunce’s book. The decorative side of the tomb is different from the Dugdale drawing. It may have been an effigy of either Sir William de Bermingham VII or VIII.86 85

Dugdale, Sir W. 1656. The antiquities of Warwickshire illustrated: from records, leiger-books, manuscripts, charters, evidences, tombes, and armes: beautified with maps, prospects, and portraictures: 662. London: Thomas Warren. 86 Bunce, J. T. 1875. History of old St. Martin’s Birmingham: 9. Birmingham: Cornish Brothers. The illustration was taken from Cornish. 1851. Cornish’s Strangers Guide through Birmingham:

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The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland

Figure 12: Medieval knight effigy in St Martin’s today. Reproduced by permission of Elaine Mitchell.

Figure 13: Armour as worn by a Sir William de Bermingham (VII or VIII).

52. Birmingham: Cornish Brothers. It was stated it that had been identified as belonging to Sir William VI.

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Medieval Birmingham Sir William de Bermingham VIII, 1315 – c.1336 The earliest mention of William VIII, was with his brother, Thomas, when they fought for King Edward II against Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, at the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322.87 Both William and Thomas’ arms were included in the Parliamentary Rolls of that year.88 Thomas seems to have liked fighting in tournaments as his arms were also recorded as being at the Dunstable Tournament in 1308/9.89 In the same year John de Somery, Baron Dudley, died and the baronial estate was divided between his two sisters. All of William de Bermingham’s lands went to Margaret who had married John de Sutton.90 Sutton had his lands confiscated by Hugh Despenser in 1325 and on Despenser’s execution in 1326 the guardianship of them went to Sir William VIII. The Fine Roll stating that William de Bermingham held Dudley Castle for the king, also said that he had seized it on Hugh Despenser the Younger’s death without a royal order, but at the king’s command;91 this seems to suggest that Sir William was with the king when he gave the order. Sir William handed them back to John de Sutton in 1327, when King Edward III was crowned,92 and was summoned to Parliament in 1324 and once more in 1327 as Baron Bermingham, though this title was never used again in the medieval period.93 An obscure deed was drawn up in 1322 when his brother, Sir Henry, was said to have released the manors of Bermingham and Hoggeston to Sir William.94 Although S. C. Kaines Smith did not say so, these were the dower lands, which may have been held by Sir William and Sir Henry’s mother, Matilda until her death. The mystery is why they were given to Henry in the first place rather than William who was the natural successor? Another mystery is why Sir Henry used the coat of arms of his Irish cousins rather than the English coat? The relationship between the two branches were very close in that generation. Their brother, Thomas, and Sir Piers FitzJames Macphioris de Bermingham of Ireland had married into the Odingsells of Maxstoke.95 The English Berminghams may have been in Ireland in 1326 supporting their cousins in a feud between the FitzGeralds and the Poers. 87

Smith, S. C. K. 1935. op. cit., 68. Foster, J. 1902. Some Feudal Coats of Arms: 20. London: James Parker & Co, 89 Ibid, 20. 90 Grazebrook H. W. S. 1888. op. cit., 42. 91 Records of Dudley, Vol II, Close Rolls: 10. 92 Grazebrook, H. W. S. 1888. op. cit., 82, 52. 93 Burke, B. 1866. A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire: 48. London: Harrison and Sons; http://www.armorial.dk/ Clemmenson, Steen, The Newcastle Armorial (The Boroughbridge Roll of Arms), 03. 94 Smith, S. C. K. 1935. op. cit., 67-8; P.R.O. Indexes to Fines, Com. Warw. 24, L.IV-L.V: f. 93; Smith believed that the dower lands had been kept by another family after William V was killed in 1265, and that Sir Henry had recovered them due to the assistance of the Irish Berminghams, which was patently untrue. 95 http://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/odingsells/6/ 88

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The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland Sir William released his property at Maidencourt in Berkshire to his brother, John.96 At the Easter Court of Westminster in 1324 Sir William went through a process called a final concord to prove his ownership of all his property.97 His debt of £2,000 to the Abbot of Evesham may have been part of this, though he also owed his brother, Sir Henry £28 in 1325.98 This may have been because of the Despensers’ claim to ownership of the lands of John de Sutton. At the time Sir William held the full Manor of Bermingham and the advowson of the church, the manor of Hoggeston with its church in Buckinghamshire and one messuage, three carucates of land and six marks rent in Shutford, Oxfordshire for the rent of a rose a year.99 William also owned the right to present a priest to the church in Aldridge, inherited from Robert and Isabella de Stepultun (his daughter), in 1330. We know this because Thomas and Elizabeth Roche, Sir Thomas de Bermingham’s daughter, sued the church authorities for ignoring this right.100 Sir William married a lady called Matilda; he was made a Justice of the Peace in 1322 and was a Commissioner of Array (to find soldiers) for Warwickshire in 1324 and 1335.101 In 1329 his wife was said to be Isabel, which suggests Maud had died, and in the same year he quit-claimed a messuage and two acres of land and the advowson of half the church of Kingston Bagpuize.102 In 1332 Sir William decided to go on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, Spain in 1332 and left his son, Fulk, as his attorney.103 This was a popular pilgrimage destination and the shipmen of Bristol provided a continuous summer service to the Galician ports, though the week-long voyage with pilgrims crowded onto the ships was rarely very comfortable. So many English people wished to visit the shrine that there were said to be at least thirty pilgrim ships at any one time in Corunna harbour.104 In 1334 Sir William purchased a market charter and a yearly fair for his manor of Hoggeston in Buckinghamshire, 105 and the following year he mortgaged Kingston Bagpuize to John Leyre of Oxford for £24.106 He seems to have died in about 1336. 96 Wrottesley, G. c. 1905. Pedigrees from the Plea Rolls: collected from the pleadings of the courts of law, A.D. 1200, to 1500: 134. The Genealogist. 97 A Final Concord is a fictitious account to prove the legal ownership of property. 98 Smith, S. C. K. 1935. Op. cit., 69. 99 No author given. 1911. Calendar of Final Concords or Penes Finium, Staffordshire. Edward I and Edward II 1272-1327, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: New Series 1911. 110-111. London: Harrison and Sons; Advowson: the right to choose the priest. A carucate is the amount of land that could be ploughed by a team of oxen in a year – about 120 acres. 100 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1895. Cheshire Plea Rolls, op. cit., 63-64 101 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1898. Calendar of the Close Rolls Edward III, 1333-1337: 470. London: HMSO. 102 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1912. Calendar of the Charter Rolls Edward III 1327-1341: 127. London: HMSO. 103 Smith, S. C. K. 1935. op. cit., 69. 104 Bryant, A. 1963. op. cit., 373-374. 105 Ibid, 312; Holt, R. 1985. The Early History of the Town of Birmingham 1166 to 1600. Oxford: David Stanford. 106 C 241/108/148, National Archives, Kew.

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Medieval Birmingham

Figure 14: Sir Geoffrey Luttrell (1276-1345) being given a helm and a lance by his wife, Lady Luttrell (Agnes de Sutton, the sister of Sir John de Sutton I, Baron Dudley), while his daughterin-law, Beatrice le Scrope, is about to hand him a shield. The image shows the accoutrements of a mounted knight in the mid fourteenth century.107 The device of the barons of Dudley was two lions, one of which is shown on Lady Agnes’ dress.

Sir Fulk de Bermingham c.1336 - c.1377 Sir Fulk was married twice, to Elizabeth, who was mother to his sons, and to Johanna. A grant occurred in 1329 from William Deystere, a chaplain, to Lady Stepultun (Sir Fulk’s sister) and her husband, Sir Robert of Great Barr.108 This is the earliest evidence of the Bermingham family holding Great Barr. The estate was released to Fulk in 1345.109 By 1336 Fulk had run into debt with a 107 Original document in the possession of the British Library Board, Add. 42130, f.202v, 006377 – Sir Geoffrey Luttrell mounted; Grazebrook, H. W. S., 1888. op. cit., 51. The Luttrell Psalter was created between 1340 and 1345. Sir Geoffrey and Lady Agnes’ wedding ceremony probably took place at Dudley Castle where all the barons knights, including the de Berminghams, would have attended. 108 MS 3883/608895, Birmingham: Archives, Heritage and Photography Service. 109 Deputy Keeper of Records. 1904. Calendar of the Close Rolls Edward III, 1343-1346: 655.

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The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland John de Holburn, clerk of London for £40, and had used Kingston Bagpuize as collateral.110 This suggests that by this year his father was dead. In 1338 he was recorded as holding tenements in Bermingham worth £20 a year.111 Fulk made a settlement of Kingston in 1340 with the advowson of the church112 and in the same year he acknowledged that he owed Richard de Hampton 100 marks to be levied of his Berkshire property.113 In 1343 Sir Baldwin de Freville acknowledged he owed him 40 marks.114 The following year Gilbert Chasteleyn released an estate at Aspeleye to Fulk. The witnesses were Roger and Richard de Clodeshale of Bermingham.115 A debt of Fulk’s was recorded in 1350 when he owed a John de Chastelon 80 marks. This may have been a kinsman to Gilbert as it was to be levied of Fulk’s property in Buckinghamshire.116 A debt was also recorded in 1351, when Fulk owed Richard de Thouresby £12.117 In 1345 Fulk was in debt to Sir John de Beauchamp of Warwick, brother to Thomas, Earl of Warwick, the Marshall of England, for 100 marks.118 This may have resulted from the French campaign in which all three fought. Fulk was in the retinue of William de Clinton, Earl of Huntingdon, to whom he was related by marriage. He fought at the Battle of Crécy and was at the Siege of Calais (see Chapter Four). Fulk owed 400 marks to Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel, in 1357, which may have also stemmed from his wartime activities, as Arundel was one of the three principal commanders at Crécy.119 The Black Death arrived in England in 1349 and a study of the effects of the epidemic on Halesowen townships suggested that over 40% of the inhabitants died. It is probable that Bermingham suffered a similar loss, but Sir Fulk seems to have survived. In 1352 a charter was made by Lady Stepultun, who had given her manor of Great Barr to Roger de Carpenter. At the end of this grant it stated that the lands should revert to Sir Fulk on Roger’s death.120 Fulk’s younger brother, Sir William de Bermingham is mentioned as a witness to a charter conferring lands on the Prior and Convent of Coventry in 1348.121 There is a London: HMSO. The property was claimed by Hugh de Plecy. 110 C 241/108/283, National Archives, Kew. 111 Wedgwood, J. C. 1912. The Lists and Indexes at the Public Record Office, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire Third Series 1912: 246-247. London: Harrison & Sons. 112 Hemingway, J. 2006. op. cit., 11. This was manorial property. Clinton’s mother was Ida de Odingsells, daughter of Sir William de Odingsells of Maxstoke Castle. 113 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1901. Calendar of the Close Rolls Edward III, 1339-1341: 475. London: HMSO. 114 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1904. Close Rolls Edward III, 1343-1346, op. cit., 108. 115 Ibid, 365. Fulk relinquished it in 1357. 116 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1906. Calendar of the Close Rolls Edward III, 1349-1354: 265. London: HMSO. 117 Ibid, p. 348. 118 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1904. Close Rolls Edward III, 1343-1346, op. cit., 660. 119 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1908. Calendar of the Close Rolls Edward III, 1354-1360: 417. London: HMSO. 120 MS 3883/608908, Birmingham: Archives, Heritage and Photography Service. 121 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1916. Calendar of the Charter Rolls Edward III - Henry V 13411417: 106. London: HMSO. Sir William eventually inherited the lordship of Bermingham.

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Medieval Birmingham seal in the British Museum collection of Sir Fulk de Bermingham (see Figure 4) dated 1342 that shows his shield of arms, the old Bermingham one, of five lozenges in a bend (sloping from top left to bottom right).122 Sir Fulk was a Member of Parliament for Warwickshire and Buckinghamshire from 1350 to 1373,123 and in the 1365 parliament Fulk was selected with William de Catesby for which they were paid £14 for 35 days. Sir Baldwin Freville appointed him to speak for him at the parliament concerning his ancestral lands.124 Fulk also attended the 1366 parliament with Richard de Herthill for which they were paid £6 8s for 16 days.125 In 1371 Fulk represented Buckinghamshire in parliament and was paid £15 12s for 39 days and 60s for 15 days.126 He represented Warwickshire in the 1373 parliament when he was paid £10 for 25 days.127 Fulk was also recorded as a Justice of the Peace (called a Conservator at the time) in a List of Keepers for the Peace on March 20th 1361.128 Ralph Basset of Drayton brought a number of his fellow knights to court in 1355. It appeared that Fulk was implicated in a riot that occurred at Tamworth on May 20th. Nothing else is known about this event.129 Sir Fulk leased the manor of Kingston Bagpuize to Peter Coke for life in 1367.130 In the Close Rolls of 1369 there was an indenture between Sir Thomas de Beauchamp and Sir Thomas’s son-in-law, Sir Roger de Clifford stating that the latter should pay 700 marks to Sir Fulk de Bermingham, Sir John Clinton and Sir Thomas Hakelut.131 The receipt for 1,000 marks was signed by Fulk in April 1372.132 Also in 1369 a payment of 200 marks from Sir John Seynlo, Sir Nicholas de Berkeley and Robert Maunsel, mercer of London was to be made to Fulk.133 In 1371 King Edward III needed £50,000 to carry on the war with France and for this he intended to take a subsidy. The king did not want to call 122 Birch, W. de F. 1892. Catalogue of Seals in the Department of Manuscripts of the British Museum: 2: 500. London: Longmans. 123 The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland and the United Kingdom: I-IV: 151-2. London: The St. Catherine Press. 124 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1910. Calendar of the Close Rolls Edward III, 1364-1368: 168170. London: HMSO. 125 Ibid, 273. 126 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1911. Calendar of the Close Rolls Edward III, 1369-1374: 289, 316. London: HMSO. 127 Ibid, p. 612. 128 Smith, J. T. 1864. op. cit., 19. 129 Wedgwood, J. C. 1911. Reviews, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire, Third Series 1911: 457. London: Harrison and Sons. 130 Deputy Keeper of the Records. Close Rolls Edward III, 1364-1368, op. cit., 396-7. 131 Deputy Keeper of the Records. Close Rolls Edward III, 1369-1374, op. cit., 69. 132 Ibid, 429-430. 133 Ibid, 80. Sir Roger de Clifford accompanied the Duke of Clarence to Ireland in the 1360’s as he had property there. During the duke’s time as Lord Lieutenant there he had the Statute of Kilkenny drawn up (1266) in which the English habit of taking-up Irish customs, costumes, law and language was forbidden. Clarence’s wife, Elizabeth, was a great, great, niece of Aveline de Burgh, wife of John de Bermingham, Earl of Louth.

28

The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland parliament again but called upon a select few knights of the shires. Sir Fulk de Bermingham represented Buckinghamshire.134 Fulk remained a ‘mover and shaker’ in Buckingham as he witnessed a charter of Lady Cicely Turberville in 1371.135 In 1374 Lady Turberville gave him and others her estates of Murifeld (Merryfield) in Somerset and Sturmunstre Mareschall (Sturminster Marshall) in Devon.136 Sir Fulk also abandoned the Bermingham family’s traditional coat of arms and replaced it with the arms of the Irish Berminghams. Sir Fulk’s uncle, Sir Henry, was first recorded as holding the Irish coat, but with an argent and sable (black and white) background. The probable reason for his decision was that the Irish Berminghams were barons, not just knights as the English house were, and he wanted to reflect the status of that barony. Sir Fulk copied his uncle but eventually kept the Irish Bermingham colours.

Figure 15: Coat of arms of Sir Henry and Sir Fulk de Bermingham as used at the Battle of Crécy 1358 and the Siege of Calais, based on the Irish coat but using a different colour scheme, Argent (silver) and Sable (black).137 These arms were later used by Sir John de Bermingham.138

134

Ibid, 298. Ibid, 331. 136 Deputy Keeper of the Records. (ed.) 1913. Calendar of the Close Rolls Edward III, 1374-1377: 111. London: HMSO. 137 Smith, S. C. K. op. cit., 69. Smith suggested that Sir Henry used these arms as early as 1343 with Sir Fulk only using them in the Normandy Campaign. Fulk used the red and gold at the Battle of Poitiers, 1356. 138 Cornish Brothers, 1851. op. cit., 54. 135

29

Medieval Birmingham

Figure 16: Coat of arms of the Bermingham family of Ireland, adopted by Sir Fulk. The shield shows a partie per pale shield divided, indented, or (gold) and gules (red). The colours can be found in the de Clare family’s coat. The indents are a version of the older Irish Bermingham family’s design.139

Figure 17: Tomb of a Sir William and Sir Fulk in St Martin’s Church, Birmingham, as drawn for Sir William Dugdale’s book. 140

139 140

Smith, S. C. K. 1934. op. cit., 65. Dugdale, Sir W. 1656, op. cit., 662.

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The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland

Figure 18: Fulk de Bermingham’s tomb in St Martin’s Church, Birmingham today. Reproduced by permission of Elaine Mitchell.

Sir John de Bermingham, c.1377 - 1383 Sir John was the eldest son of Sir Fulk. He married Elizabeth de la Plaunke, but they had no surviving children.141 Elizabeth and Katherine de la Plaunke, who married William de Bermingham, were sisters, daughters of William de la Plaunke of Haversham, Buckinghamshire.142 Their father died in 1356 and his estates were inherited by his daughters.143 Sir John de Bermingham served in France with John of Gaunt in 1373,144 and with the Bishop of Norwich, Henry Despenser on the Flanders Crusade of 1383 (see Chapter Four).145 Both John and his brother Thomas, attended the parliaments of 1377 and 1382, John for Buckingham, for which he was paid £15 12s and Thomas for Warwickshire (in 1377).146 In 1378 litigation occurred between Sir John and Thomas Lacok and Alice Cok (former wife of John Coke) over Kingston Bagpuize and two acres in Fyfield.147 Sir John de Bermingham had been made Sheriff of both Warwickshire and Leicestershire in 1378,148 and was commissioned to raise 141

According to the Complete Peerage III: 314-5 she was nine years old when she married him. Deputy Keeper of Records. Close Rolls Edward III, 1369-1374, op. cit., 406. 143 Ibid, 264. 144 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1887. Military Service Performed by Staffordshire Tenants in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: VIII, 114-5. 145 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1893. Military Services performed by Staffordshire Tenants, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: XIV: 237-239. 146 Deputy Keeper of Records. Close Rolls Edward III, 1374-1377, op. cit., 536. 147 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1892. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 150-151. 148 Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 657. 142

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Medieval Birmingham a force against the rebellion in the Peasants Revolt in 1381.149 This rebellion was a popular movement brought about by the general ill-feeling at the way the country was being run and a series of three increasingly heavy poll taxes, culminating in the shilling poll tax of the winter of 1380/1.150 Although there is little evidence of the rising spreading to the West Midlands, John Ball, one of the leaders was eventually captured in Coventry. He had voiced the popular rhyme: ‘When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman?’151 Both Sir John and his brother Sir Thomas were appointed to be Justices of the Peace on the 20th December 1382.152 A red shield of Sir John de Bermingham exists on a seal in the British Museum Collection that shows three escallops in a bend between two cotises.153

Figure 19: Coat of arms of Sir John de Bermingham in the British Museum. The scallops represented pilgrimages and may either relate to Sir John’s grandfather’s journey to Santiago de Compostela in Spain or a pilgrimage he had made himself.

Sir John died in 1383 though curiously a Fine Roll of December 1384 had the king create him the sheriff of Warwickshire and Leicestershire.154 After his death a chest tomb was set up for his body, which is now in St Martin’s Church. Bunce described the tomb as it appeared in his time. It had been carved out of alabaster, but the sides were different to what Dugdale had described and the ‘medieval’ arcading must have been added later. Dugdale also described the 149

Ibid, 657. Bryant, A. op. cit., 518. 151 Ibid, 544. 152 Smith, J. T. 1864. op. cit., 19. 153 Birch, W. de F. op. cit., 500. 154 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1929. Calendar of the Fine Rolls Richard II 1383-1391: 77. London: HMSO. 150

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The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland two angels on either side of the effigy’s head and the lion that rested beneath its feet. He observed that the knight had a tilting helmet underneath the head of the effigy which implied he had partaken in tournaments during his life.155 To judge by Dugdale’s drawing of the tomb there was space to place an effigy of his wife, but she was in fact buried in Haversham. The shields include the English Bermingham coat-of-arm (No. 6) crossed with the wolfs head cross formé fleury (Peshale) (No. 8), the Irish coat with wolfs head cross engrailed (No. 4) and crossed with Ferrers (No. 3) and a cross engrailed (Botetourt) (No. 5), Beauchamp, Earls of Warwick (No. 1). The lozenges of No. 2 and No. 7 may relate to the Ferrers family. This suggests that the base was not originally intended for Sir John’s tomb as it includes the coats of Sir William IX’s wife, Joan Peshale and Sir John’s nephew or great nephew of the Ferrers family.

Figure 20: Tomb of Sir John de Bermingham in St Martin’s Church, Birmingham, as drawn for William Dugdale’s Book. The Irish Bermingham coat of arms can be clearly seen on his torso.156

155 156

Bunce, J. T. 1875. op. cit., 9. Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 662.

33

Medieval Birmingham

Figure 21: Tomb of Sir John de Bermingham as drawn in John Thackray Bunce’s book.157

Figure 22: Sir John de Bermingham’s alabaster table top tomb in St Martin’s Church, Birmingham, today. Reproduced by permission of Elaine Mitchell. 157

This illustration was taken from Cornish Brothers, 1851. op. cit., 54.

34

The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland

Figure 23: Plate armour of Sir John de Bermingham.

Upon Sir John’s death his widow, Elizabeth, received her dower. Her next marriage was to Robert Grey (Lord Grey of Rotherfield) and subsequently, John Clinton (Lord Clinton). They lived in the Bermingham manor house (see Chapter Four). In 1416 Lady Clinton claimed a debt from the next lord of Bermingham, Sir William de Bermingham IX, cousin to Sir John, of 1000 marks. According to the document William held two thirds of the manor and she held a third, her dower.158 Her dower also included half an acre of the land and the advowson of St Thomas’ Priory and St Martin’s parish church, a third of the rents in Bermingham, a third of the rent of 6 marks in Morf and a third of the manor of Maidencourt.159 A document dated April 1414 suggested that William had not given her full share of the manor and a court conclusion was that Hoggeston in Buckinghamshire was to be delivered to her.160 Elizabeth died in 1423 and was buried in Haversham.161 158

Records of Chancery, National Archives Kew, C131/59/20. C 131/59/20, National Archives, Kew. Was this the priory or the Free Chapel? 160 C 131/59/13, National Archives, Kew. 161 Gibbs, Hon. V. 1912. The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland and the United Kingdom: II: 151-2. London: The St. Catherine Press. 159

35

Medieval Birmingham Sir Thomas de Bermingham, [1345]-1386 Sir Thomas de Bermingham was the second son of Sir Fulk and brother to Sir John. He was said to have built his own ‘castle’ at Warstone near Bermingham and married Isabell de Whitacre.162 Warstone is interesting as it is derived from har + stone which means the ‘old hoary stone’.163 The position of Warstone Lane joining the Icknield Street supports Bassett’s suggestion that the Warstone may relate to a Roman milestone beside the road. A moated site existed, above the Dudley Road, next to or part of the Ladywood Brook. Perhaps this was Sir Thomas’ ‘castle’. Sir Thomas was with his brother in John of Gaunt’s chevauchée of 1373.164 In 1377 Thomas attended parliament representing Buckinghamshire and was paid £16 8s for 41 days.165 He died in 1386,166 for Isabell, his wife, claimed a debt of John Ray of Coventry. A Fine Roll of March 1386 recorded that Sir Thomas had died and that at his death he held the wardship of Thomas de Roche, the son of John de Roche of Wales.167 Sir Thomas’ daughter, Elizabeth, married Thomas de la Roche of Castle Bromwich and the Bermingham dower lands were left to her daughters, Lady Elizabeth Longville, wife of George Longville,168 and Lady Ellen Ferrers, wife of Edmund Lord Ferrers of Chartley.169 Lady Elizabeth died c.1430 and Lady Ellen in 1440. Sir William de Bermingham c.1318 – c.1375 Sir William was a younger son of Sir Fulk and it was through him that later generations of the family inherited the title. Sir William de Bermingham [pre-1343 - 1373] This Sir William married Katherine de la Plaunke, 1343-1398, sister to Elizabeth, wife to Sir John de Bermingham. After his death in 1373, his wife, Katherine, married Hugh Tyrrel.170 There is a seal of Sir William’s in the British Museum

162

Bassett, S. 2001. op. cit., 8; No sign of the ‘castle’ has ever been found and it may have been just a timber-framed manor house. 163 Sweet, H. 1973. The Student’s Dictionary of Anglo-Saxon: 82. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 164 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1887. Military Service, op. cit., 116. 165 Deputy Keeper of the Records. (ed.) 1913. Close Rolls Edward III, 1374-1377, op. cit., 536. 166 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1894. Plea Rolls, 11 R. II, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: XV: 8. Isabel was suing for a debt on the death of her husband. 167 Deputy Keeper of the Records. (ed.) Fine Rolls, Richard II 1383-1391, op. cit., 137. 168 Their son, Sir Richard Longville, married Margaret Sutton, daughter of Sir John Sutton VI, Baron Dudley. 169 Their daughter Margaret Ferrers married John Beauchamp, 1st Baron of Powick, Worcestershire. 170 Wrottesley, G. c. 1905. Pedigrees, op. cit., 283-284.

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The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland collection dated 1399 -1412 that shows a shield of arms quarterly with 1 and 4 per pale indented and 2 and 3 a bend lozengy (see Figure 24).171 Sir William de Bermingham IX c.1402 - 1426 The complications of who held what and by what right is nowhere seen better than in the case of Sir William. Despite the Ferrers and the Longville’s’ holding onto the Bermingham dower lands the rule was that as a knight’s fee the lordship of the Manor of Bermingham should only be held by the male line. According to a Plea Roll the Bermingham estates were entailed on the male line to Sir William de Bermingham IX, with contingent reversion to his uncle, Sir Henry.172 The problem may have occurred when Sir John de Bermingham ‘confirmed certain fees’ on his wife Elizabeth de la Plaunke and her nieces. It assumed that they were to keep the properties.173 On the death of Sir John de Bermingham the confusion about who took over the reins of lordship continued.174 Sir William IX was said to hold two thirds of the manor, while Elizabeth held a third, her dower.175 As we have seen, a document dated April 1414 suggested that William may not have given her the full share of the manor and a court found that Hoggeston in Buckinghamshire was to be delivered to her.176 William married Joan de Peshale, who was related to the Somerys and Suttons, Barons of Dudley. She was the eldest daughter of Sir Adam de Peshale and Joyce de Botetourt.177 One of her ancestors was Sir Thomas de Botetourt of Weoley Castle who had married Joan de Somery, sister to Sir John de Somery, Baron Dudley, and holder of half the lands of the Dudley barony.178 In 1411 Sir William and his wife, Joan, were involved in a dispute over the rights of Bobbington, which they had inherited through Joan’s grandfather, Sir John de Botetourt of Weoley.179 In 1402 a Warwick court was held in which Sir William de Bermingham, John del Chambers (William’s servant), John Solyhull, Sir Adam de Peshale, and Nicholas Waterfall, together with John Barbour, and John Ferrour de Bermingham were accused of the death of William Slepe.180 Their actual involvement is unknown. In a Plea Roll of the same year Sir William 171

Birch, W. de F. op. cit., 501. Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1896. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 42. Entailed on the male line meant to limit the inheritance of the estate to a man, not a woman. 173 Bridgeman, E. and C. 1899. History of the Manor and Parish of Weston-under-Lizard, in the county of Stafford, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: New Series, XX: 106. 174 Wrottesley, G. 1905. Pedigrees, op. cit., 287. 175 Records of Chancery, National Archives Kew, C131/59/20. 176 C 131/59/13, National Archives, Kew. 177 Bridgeman, E. and C. 1899, op. cit., 312. Adam was lord of Weston-under-Lizard. The Bermingham coats of arms can be seen in the east window of the parish church. 178 Bridgeman, G. 1880, op. cit., 356, 359. 179 Ibid, 356. 180 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1895. Cheshire Plea Rolls, op. cit., 38-39. 172

37

Medieval Birmingham sued Richard Tailour and Richard Grene of Wednesbury for breaking into his close at Barr and allowing their cattle to damage his corn and grass.181 Again in the same year, he sued John Ryngsley of Tipton for not paying the tolls in the markets and fairs of the town.182 In 1403 he took other individuals to court for the same offence and in another session he argued that the Clodeshale Chantry should be annulled because it had been founded using lands which he considerd his own property.183 A court case of 1412 saw Sir William accusing Thomas Glasyer of Bermingham of holding land and woods there that his father had been given by his Uncle Henry. The court decided in favour of Glasyer.184 His role was reversed in 1413 when William was indicted in a case involving liveries, the clothes a lord gave to his household servants. It appeared that he had given green and white cloth to John Hawardyn, a carpenter, John Gunston, a yeoman of Aldridge, and William Blunhill of Great Barr to wear even though they were not household servants. The laws of livery were strict, and he was taken to court over it185 but was pardoned for this offence in 1415.186 He was also called to court in 1414 for unknown offences.187 A document of 1414 suggests that the property holdings of William were even more complicated than they at first appear, and that Sir Baldwin Straunge, Thomas Cruwe (Crewe), and Nicholas Ruggeleye as well as William de Bermingham held the houses and lands. They paid Thomas Burgolon 100 marks in silver for the rights. The property included a messuage, 56 acres of land, 6 acres of meadow, 40 acres of wood and 14 shillings from the rents of tenants.188 By 1416 the two thirds of the manor was held by William, with Lady Clinton holding a third, being her dower. William de Bermingham was called an esquire in 1420 when he was in court answering for a debt of 40 shillings he had with Walter Hunspell, citizen and draper of London, which suggests he was not then considerd as a lord of Birmingham.189 In 1419 Joan’s father, Adam de Peshale, died and she claimed his Warwickshire lands as her inheritance. The lands were also claimed by Lady Bergavenny, which started a period of ill-feeling between the two parties that led to the Bermingham Riot in 1431.

181

Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1894. Plea Rolls, op. cit. 106. Ibid, 107. 183 Ibid, 110, 112. 184 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1896. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 42. 185 Ibid, 6. 186 Ibid, 30. 187 Ibid, 20. 188 Cornford, M. E., and Miller, E. B. 1921. Calendar of Manuscripts in the Salt Library, Stafford, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: 10. London: Harrison and Sons. 189 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1911. Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Henry V 1416-1422: 289. London: HMSO. 182

38

The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland Like most Berminghams William was involved in military matters, however, in 1376 parliament had made a ruling that all those malefactors called ‘maintainers’, who supported themselves by capturing the heirs of greater men and then returning them for a hefty ransom were to be arrested. One of these men was a captain in a free company called John Huwet of Walsall. 190 Included in the company were twenty-four archers of Handsworth. Although William de Bermingham was implicated the matter was probably quietly dropped, because two years later the war began again and England needed fighting men.191 By October 1403 Sir William had become a retainer of Richard, Earl of Warwick and he was in the earl’s company when ordered to garrison Brecon Castle. It is likely that he had already seen military action in 1403 at the Battle of Shrewsbury against the Percys and in skirmishes with Welsh rebels. Subsequently, he was associated with Thomas Cruwe, chief steward of the earl’s estates, as a co-feoffee of lands in Warwickshire. Sir William was called to attend Henry V’s first Parliament in 1413,192 and it is possible that he owed his election to his connexion with the King’s friend Warwick.193 He may have served with Warwick in the expedition to Normandy of 1415, and certainly did so on the second of King Henry’s campaigns, two years afterwards. In March 1420 he was mustered as part of the garrison of Falaise, under the command of Henry, Lord Fitzhugh, and by November following he had been knighted. The years after Bermingham’s return from France were marred by protracted litigation. First, in 1421, he and his wife Joan failed in their suit against Joan, Lady Beauchamp of Abergavenny, for a third share of the Botetourt estates in Buckinghamshire and elsewhere.194 Then, when Lady Clinton died in September 1423 the heirs-general to the Bermingham property – Ellen, wife of Edmund, Lord Ferrers of Chartley, and Elizabeth, wife of George Longville (granddaughters of Sir Thomas de Bermingham) – claimed the manor of Bermingham, despite the fact that on her death the reversion of the dower should have gone to a male relative. Sir William and his family took up residence in the manor house, as was his right, 195 but this was not to be for very long as, according to the Coram Rege Roll, on Sunday before Holy Cross Day, 1424, Sir Edmund Ferrers with 200 hundred armed men forcibly ejected him, his wife Joan, his sons and daughters, and his household.196 Presumably Ferrers, 190

Free companies were bands of mercenaries who looked for other sources of income when not fighting the French and Scots. 191 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1904. Early Chancery Proceedings, Bundle 3, No. 16b, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: VII: 241. 192 Bridgeman, E. and C. 1899. op. cit., 106. 193 http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/birminghamwilliam-1426 194 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1896. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 78-79. 195 Ibid, 42. 196 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1900. Extracts from the Plea Rolls of the Reigns of Henry VI, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: op. cit., New Series, III: 124.

39

Medieval Birmingham thought that his wife, Ellen had a greater claim to the dower lands of Lady Clinton on her death. However, Bermingham’s connexion with the Warwick affinity enabled him to secure the indictment of Ferrers and his accomplices, and he also brought an action against Lady Clinton’s executors for wrongful detention of deeds. Even so, he proved unable to regain possession of the estate before his death197 on 24 May 1426.198 On another occasion in 1457 Isabella Hexstall sued Joan de Peshale, Sir William’s widow, for breaking into her close in Great Barr which presupposes that the estate was thought of as belonging to the Berminghams.199 Another example of what was happening to the Bermingham lands is recorded in a 1432 Plea Roll. The case regarding the deeds stated that Lady Clinton had given her executors a ‘bag’ with all the family papers in it. The ‘bag’ had gone to John Barton and Thomas Payne of Buckingham and John Longville of Northampton. These documents went back at least to the mid-thirteenth century. The executors stated that William de Bermingham IX, now deceased, had brought an action against them for the detention of the deeds. They had thus brought the documents to the court to prove that they still existed.200 Quite what happened to them subsequently is open to question and maybe this is the reason why so many people have failed to find evidence of the Bermingham family’s activities.

Figure 24: Both Sir William IX and Sir William X used the English and Sir Henry’s Irish coats of arms.201 197 http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/birminghamwilliam-1426 198 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1935, Fine Rolls Henry VI 1422-1430, op. cit., 111; Wrottesley, G. 1896. Plea Rolls, op. cit.,146. 199 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1901. Extracts from the Plea Rolls, 34 Henry VI to 14 Edward IV, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: op. cit., New Series, IV. 104. 200 De Banco, Easter 5, Henry IV: 163-164. 201 Bridgeman, E. and C. 1899, op. cit., 105.

40

The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland Sir William de Bermingham, X, c.1440 - 1478 Sir William X was about 19 when his father died in 1426 and thus had guardians appointed as he was underage.202 As far as Shutford in Oxfordshire was concerned John and Robert Danvers, Thomas Baldyngton of Oxford and Thomas Somerton of Northampton were to pay for William’s maintenance and £60 for his wedding when that was to occur.203 A further guardian was Geoffrey Chaucer’s son, Thomas Chaucer.204 In 1427 his guardian, on behalf of William, lord of Bermingham, was recorded as a party to a dispute about a piece of land in Cannock that had been taken into King Henry VI’s hands.205 There is no other evidence of Sir William holding any land in Cannock. Sir William was living in Coventry from 1426 to 1435, while the Bermingham manor house was the home of Sir Edmund Ferrers and his son William.206 Lady Ellen Ferrers died in 1440 and the dower lands were returned to William de Bermingham X.207  William was active in his role as lord of Bermingham. He was notified in February 1441 about the tax of a tenth and a fifteenth that was going to be levied on the country.208 In 1442 William de Bermingham was made sheriff of Warwick and Leicester209 and again in 1452.210 Before 1453, Sir William X married Isabella Hilton, daughter of William Hilton of Netherouton and Whelde Combegrove in Oxfordshire.211 On Hilton’s death in the same year his lands came to William and Isabella.212 A deed dated on the Sunday next after the feast of St Thomas the Martyr, 36 Hen. VI (1 Jan. 1458), stated that Sir William Bermingham, knight, son and heir of Lady Joan de Bermingham, appointed his brother, Thomas de Bermingham his attorney to enter, retake, recover, and hold all those lands and tenements, rents, reversions and services, with their appurtenances, which were of the property and inheritance of the said Joan within the manors of Thomenhorn, Rugeley and Handsacre in the 202

Ibid, 104-105. Deputy Keeper of Records. 1935. Calendar of the Fine Rolls Henry VI 1422-1430: 132-133, 162. London: HMSO. 204 Deputy Keeper of the Records. Fine Rolls, Henry VI 1422-1430, op. cit., 132. Geoffrey Chaucer wrote ‘The Canterbury Tales’. 205 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1901. Calendar of the Patent Rolls Henry VI 1422-1429: 450. London: HMSO. 206 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1900. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 125, 130; Wrottesley, George, (ed.) 1896. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 143. 207 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1907. Calendar of the Patent Rolls Henry VI 1436-1441: 503. London: HMSO; Bryant, Arthur, op. cit., 97-98. The royal commission held at Westminster on November 16 1440 specified that it contravened the 1285 Statute of Westminster which stated that property should be returned to the main line of the family. Her son, William Ferrers, claimed the property, but this was quashed by Sir John de Sutton, Baron Dudley. 208 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1907. Patent Rolls, Henry VI 1435-1441, op. cit., 536. 209 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1937. Fine Rolls, Henry VI 1437-1445, op. cit., 240. 210 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1939. Fine Rolls Henry VI 1452-1461, op. cit., 16. 211 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1939. Fine Rolls Henry VI 1452-1461, op. cit., 26. 212 Ibid, 26. 203

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Medieval Birmingham county of Stafford, which had formerly belonged to Adam de Peshale.213 It may have been his brother, Thomas, who was granted a sum of 50 marks a year for life for his daily attendance of King Henry VI. The money came out of the tax for sale of cloth in Warwickshire.214 Thomas was doing well at the court; in 1447 he became Master of the King’s Fish-hawks and was granted a property called ‘The Mews’ with wages, fees and profits.215 Sir William served as a Justice of the Peace for Warwickshire between 1441 and 1446,216 from 1449 to 1452,217 and from 1453 to 1459218 as well as being called to Westminster to do jury service in 1464.219 One of William’s commissions was to look into the case of Gervase Cole who was imprisoned in Coventry in 1447. It appears that Cole had uttered ‘divers opprobrious words touching the king’s person’.220 If Sir William had found this was true Cole would have been tried for treason and executed. Two years later he was commissioned to deliver John Brakley, yeoman and John Verney, chaplain, to Warwick gaol.221 In May 1450 the Cade Rebellion broke out. Jack Cade was an Irishman living in Kent, who organized a rebellion among local small property holders angered by high taxes and prices against the government of King Henry. In the same month Sir William as a justice was ordered to deliver to Worcester Castle gaol thirty-one men, many of whom came from his own town.222 This must have affected his reputation in Bermingham and it is too much of a coincidence to assume that these men where not copying what was being done in Kent. The revolt also served to demonstrate the groundswell of popular disaffection with the government that led Richard, Duke of York, to return from Ireland, setting in train the events that would eventually lead to the War of the Roses. It is also possible that the reason for the Bermingham men’s arrest was that they were considered as sympathisers to the Yorkist cause. The lords of Bermingham were Lancastrians, as were the Barons of Dudley, and in 1451 King Henry ordered William to deliver the following to Worcester Castle: Sir Maurice and John Berkeley, John and Richard Henmarsh, gentlemen, and John Wyldmore of Weoley with John Venoure and Walter Bromwyche, yeomen of Harborne.223 William de Bermingham was stated to be in the affinity of Humphrey Stafford, Duke of 213

Bridgeman, E. O. and C. G. O. 1899. Western-under-Lizard, Rugeley and Handsacre, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: II: 104. London: Harrison and Sons. 214 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1908. Calendar of the Patent Rolls Henry VI 1441-1446: 461. London: HMSO. 215 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1909. Calendar of the Patent Rolls Henry VI 1446-1452: 115. London: HMSO. 216 Ibid, p. 480. 217 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1909. Calendar of the Patent Rolls Henry VI 1446-1452: 596. 218 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1910. Calendar of the Patent Rolls Henry VI 1452-1461: 680. London: HMSO. 680. 219 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1901. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 130. 220 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1909. Calendar of the Patent Rolls Henry VI 1446-1452: 135. 221 Ibid, 270. 222 Ibid, 384. 223 Ibid, 534.

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The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland Buckingham.224 As Buckingham led the king’s forces against the Duke of York in the first battle of St Albans (1455) it is possible that Sir William was involved in that engagement. In December 1457 King Henry issued a Commission to Sir William to find out how many soldiers he had in Warwickshire. The ill feeling that Sir William had generated in Bermingham may have been the reason he was living at Warwick with his son, William and in June 12th 1459 he was recording as having a debt of £8 10s.225 He was still living away from Bermingham in 1469 as he was stated as being ‘late of Byryngeham’.226 It is possible that the Bermingham people had not forgiven him as late as 1475, for in that year he was attacked by a group of locals.227 In 1451 he was responsible, amongst others, for examining all persons liable in Warwickshire for a subsidy.228 At the same session Sir William was called to court for his outlawing Thomas Colcloth for a debt. Colcloth picked holes in the summons, for instance stating that there was no place called Newcastle, it was Newcastle-under-Lyme, in order that the case be dismissed. The court ignored Colcloth’s claims.229 Sometime during Sir William X’s time the family had inherited the watermill at Wombourne as in 1457 they released the rights of it to Sir John Sutton, Baron Dudley.230 Sir William sued William Harpur of Rushall and Cornelius Wyrley of Handsworth for a debt of £20 in 1472,231 and in 1476 he sued the husbondman, William Harryes for breaking into his close at Braunston, Northamptonshire and grazing his cattle there.232 In 1464 the boot was on the other foot as William was himself outlawed for a debt of £20. It was during his outlawry that the choice of priest at Enville came up. His father had held the advowson so he claimed the right. The court however was told that Sir William senior had enfeoffed the manor and church to Sir Thomas Erdyngton and Sir William Harcourt, so it was in their gift, not Sir William’s.233 Sir William seemed to have serious problems with his finances. In 1467 he failed to attend court to answer for a list of debts he owed. Apart from £10, which he owed to his liege lord Sir John Sutton, Baron Dudley, he also owed 224

Ibid, 409. C 241/242/18, The National Archives, Kew. He was in debt to John Brown of Baddesley in Warwickshire, gentleman. 226 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1901. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 166. 227 Wrottesley, G. 1903. (ed.) Extracts from the Plea Rolls. temp. Edward IV, Edwards V and Richard III, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire N.S. VI, Part 1. London: 94. William Salt Archaeological Society, Harrison and Sons. 228 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1909. Patent Rolls, Henry VI 1446-1452, op. cit., 412. 229 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1901. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 132. 230 Carter, W. F. 1941. Additions, op. cit., 40. 231 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1901. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 181. 232 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1903. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 105-106; No author given. 1981. Braunston, in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the County of Northamptonshire, Volume 3, Archaeological Sites in North-West Northamptonshire. London: British History Online. https://www.british-history. ac.uk/rchme/northants/vol3/pp21-25 [accessed 23 June 2022]. 233 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1901. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 134, 141. 225

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Medieval Birmingham sums to Humphrey Stafford of Grafton, Isabel Leveson and John Lenche for a debt of 40 marks, Thomas Walsh, late sheriff of Warwick for £20, Ralph Sudeley, lord of Sudeley and Sir John Stourton, lord of Stourton for £14, Hugh Fenne for £6 and William Haket, gentleman, for £10.234 In 1469 Marjory Lone, whose husband had recently died, sued Sir William for a debt of 60 shillings. He presumably assumed that he did not have to repay a dead man. A Fine Roll of April and June 1478 stated that Sir William was dead and his lands in Warwick and Leicester (new lands?), Oxford and Berkshire were held of the king in chief.235 A document stated that his wife, Agnes Bermingham held land in Oxford on his death. This was presumably wrongly dated as it said 1490.236 Sir William Bermingham XI, 1448-1500 In 1480 Sir Williams Bermingham XI’s stepmother, Agnes Tomson, sued her son for a third part of the manor of Bermingham (her dower). Sir William, through his legal representative John Wilkys, said that she could not claim dower as his father had enfeoffed the lands to the Earl of Warwick and others before he married her.237 Agnes, however, recovered her dower lands and then proceeded to let them go to rack and ruin. Sir William, who would take them back on her death, took her to court complaining that amongst other things the Hethmilll was unroofed and that she had cut down and sold 40 oak trees and 40 elm trees worth 12 pence each.238 In 1489 he paid to free the market from the activities of Royal purveyors, making it more attractive to his regular marketeers in Bermingham,239 and was recorded as being a Justice of the Peace for Warwickshire in 1440 and 1489.240 It is likely that Henry VII after winning the throne at the Battle of Bosworth visited the town as the following year he was said to have signed letters there.241 William was later supposed to have married Margaret Bulstrode. This may have been the Margaret Hall with whom he supposedly had a bigamous relationship.242 His sanity is doubted in 234

Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1900. Calendar of the Patent Rolls Edward IV, Henry VI 14671477: 7. London: HMSO. 235 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1961. Calendar of the Fine Rolls Edward IV Edward V Richard III 1471-1485, Vol. 21: 149-150. London: HMSO. 236 Ibid, 118. 237 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1903. Extracts From the Plea Rolls. temp. Edward IV, Edward V and Richard III in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: VI 130. 238 Ibid, 161. 239 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1907. Patent Rolls Henry VI 1436-1441, op. cit., 299. The English court had a right of customary purchase of food for the poor. The right was called prise. During Edward III’s reign the English kings took this and grossly expanded it for their war effort to make the institution called purveyance. The sheriffs would buy food at a set price in the shires and the sellers had to sell at the government price. King Edward invariably paid late and low. 240 Ibid, 592. 241 Watts, L. op. cit., 13. 242 Chancery Proceeding, P.R.O. List and Indexes. XXVIII: 52.

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The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland various documents and this may be an example of it. His death was recorded in the Fine Roll in June and July 1500 as William Byrmyngeham who held land in Oxford, Warwick, Worcester,243 Stafford244 and Buckingham.245 Nicholas Bermingham, 1500 -1504 Nicholas would have taken over the lordship after his father died in 1500, but he died himself four years later in 1504 when Sir Edward Sutton, Baron Dudley, took custody of the lands and heir of his son Edward. He eventually passed these on to William Coningsby.246 In Nicholas’ time there was a great reduction in the lands held by the family. Elizabeth, Edward’s mother, decided to sell several estates to her son’s guardian, William Coningsby.247 They included Over Worton, Nether Worton, Much Tew, Little Tew and Shutford in Oxfordshire, Hoggeston in Buckinghamshire and Billesley in Kings Heath. Edward Bermingham, 1504 -1536 Edward was born in 1497, and during his minority following his father’s death in circa 1504 Bermingham and his estates were held by held by Edward Sutton, Baron Dudley, until he passed them on to William Coningsby.248 When Edward came of age in 1518 the king gave him livery of the lands of his father Nicholas,249 for which he paid.250 In 1528 he married Margaret Danett 251 with whom had a daughter called Anne. However, Margaret died and he remarried Elizabeth Lytelton but decided to leave a settlement of lands in Bermingham to his daughter which he left with the Guild of the Holy Trinity, Coventry.252 The lands were four pastures called Haybarns, Lake Meadow and More which were in the hands of John Shyltone, Humphrey Holman and Henry Dysonn.253 Thomas Holte was a prominent lawyer and also was one of the commissioners appointed by Henry VIII upon the dissolution of the religious houses. He became Edward’s steward of the borough of Bermingham.254 Much 243 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1962. Calendar of the Fine Rolls Henry VII 1485-1509: 288. London: HMSO. 244 Ibid, 289. 245 Ibid, 307. 246 Grazebrook, H. W. S. 1888. op. cit., 82; Hemingway, J. 2006, op. cit., 70. 247 Bridgeman, E. and C. 1899. op. cit., 107. 248 Robinson, W. R. B. 1996. Edward Sutton (d. 1532), Lord Dudley: A West Midland Peer in National and Local Government, in Staffordshire Studies: 8: 55. 249 Brewer, J. S. 1864. Letters & Papers Foreign and Domestic Henry VIII: II, part II: 1275. London: Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts & Green. 250 Ibid, 1490. 251 Ibid, 1286. Margaret was a daughter of Gerard Danett and their shield could be found in The Guild of the Holy Cross Chantry in St Martin’s Church. 252 This was because the Masters of Guilds were thought to be trustworthy, the Bermingham guilds were not chosen as they could have been swayed by the family. 253 Smith, J. T. 1864. op. cit., 235-238. 254 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 6-7.

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Medieval Birmingham has been written about how Edward came to lose the Manor of Bermingham and the main culprit has always thought to have been John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. However, a letter written by Edward Sutton I, Baron Dudley in 1529 to Cardinal Wolsey suggests that Edward was his own worst enemy: Most reverent ffader in God; and my most especial; good lorde, in my most lowly wyse I recommand me unto your good Grace. Please it the same of your grace to have knolege that uppon the nyght afore Christmas eveyn last passed; on Edward Byrmyngham and to off his Servants, whose names be Robert Sutton and Edward Fox, with in a myle of my castell off Dudleye, in the Counte of Staff, beyt woundyd and robyd a tenent of myn of Dudley whoes name is John Moseley, and toke from hymm iiij. viij off money, and laught hym for dede and whot swit fouloid after and toke them in Schropsheyre with the maynonock and aftorwards by on Ruff of Warley, and other conveyed them into Wiscettorschyre, to the intent that they by the heipe of ther frends may come unto their Asquytall. On of the thevys whose name is Henry Fox confessid and seid that ther was a hundred persons thyvs of their affynite and company within three sheyrs adoining, and now the said Edward Byrmyngham and off his seid to servants make no dowt butt the woll obteyn and gett ther pdon of the Kyng’s Grace and off your Grace in consideracion wher it myght pleise your grace to sent for the said Edward Byrmyngham and his to servauntts to the intent that they may be examyned that ther affynyte of this noumbor off thevys myght be knowen and taken. Your Grace shall doe a gracious deide as well for quyatacion of the King’s subgette, as a vodyng of such robberys and murder as hathe be done a bowte the towne of Byrmyngham, as knoweth the xxiii day of Januarii. And if it may please your said L Grace to her this berer speke he shall showe his Grace forther of my mynde, which I trust your Grace wolbe content withal. More worthe to your Priory of Sondewell that I yeve youe to your Newe Colege of Oxford. Your jumbyell orator Edward Dudley. To the most reverent father in God the Lord Legate Cardinal Archbishop of Yorke, Chauncellor and Primate Metropolitan of England. This to be delivered in goodly haste. 255 Two years later, in 1531, Edward was caught and convicted of the felony and incarcerated in the Tower of London.256 Edward also owed the king money, and as a result his estates were confiscated by Henry VIII in 1536.257 A special Act of Parliament was made for this confiscation. 255

Hemingway, J. 2006. op. cit., 72. Brewer, J. S. 1864. op. cit., 1286. He was still there in 1535. 257 Ibid, 460. 256

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The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland Where Edward Byrmingham, late of Byrmingham in the countie of Warwick Esquire, otherwise called Edward Byrmingham Esquire, ys, standyth lawfully, indettid to our Sovering Lord the Kynge in diverse grete summes of money; and also standyth at the mercy of his Highness, for that the same Edward ys at this present convicted of Felony; our seide sovereign Lord the Kyng ys contentid and pleased, that for and in recompense and satisfaction to his grace of the seyde summes of money, to accept and take of the seyde Edwarde, the Mannour and Lordship of Byrmingham, otherwise called Byrmincham, with all the appurtenances, lying and beyng in the countie of Warwick, and all and singular other lands and tenements, reversions, rents, services, and hereditaments of the same Edward Byrmingham, set lying and beyng in the countie of Warwick afforeseyde. Be yt therefore ordeyned and enacted, by the authorite of this present Parliament, that our saide sovereine Lord the Kynge shall have, hold and enjoy to him, his heirs and assignes, forever, the seide Mannour and Lordship of Byrmingham(etc.). In which act there is a reservation of xl li per an. To the said Edward, and Elizabeth his wife, during their lives.258 Edward was eventually released from prison and retained the £40 a year for the rest of his life; he died in 1548.259 What Dugdale and other historians have misinterpreted was that it was not until 1537 that John Dudley started to take an interest in the West Midlands properties of his ancestors and not until 1545 that the king granted him the manor and lordship of Bermingham.260 Another factor that may partly explain the small amount of medieval documentation available for Bermingham, however, was that when John Dudley took over the baronial castle at Dudley, John Sutton, the resident baron, gave his brother Arthur, a prebendary priest at Lichfield, permission to remove ‘charters, writings, court rolls rentals and terriers’ from ‘certain chests and coffers being in the said castle.’261 They have never been seen since and as a great deal of the documentary evidence relating to Bermingham would have been in the muniments room of the castle this is perhaps why they are not available today.262

258

Bridgeman, E. and C. 1899. op. cit., 108. Gairdener, J. and B. 1907. R. H. Letters & Papers Foreign and Domestic Henry VIII: XV, part II: 179, 542. London: H.M.S.O. 260 Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 659. 261 No author given, Chancery Proceedings, Records of Dudley from the British Library Collection: I: 64, and II: 75, no publisher or date given. 262 Hemingway, J. 2006. op. cit., 119. Extensive damage to the castle by fire in 1750 may also have destroyed any documentation that had survived there. 259

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Medieval Birmingham

Figure 25: Map of Ireland showing the estates of the Berminghams.

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The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland The Lords of Bermingham in Ireland Peter de Bermingham 1104 - 1176, the first Bermingham steward of Dudley, had five sons, including William de Bermingham II, who became the next lord of Bermingham, Hugh, lord of Bushbury, and Henry who held a moiety (half) of Morf. A younger son was Robert de Bermingham and he began the Irish connection.263 Robert de Bermingham c.1170 – c. 1218 Robert fought with ‘Strongbow’ (Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke), when he invaded Ireland in 1170.264 Pembroke had decided to help Dermot Mac Murrough, the King of Leinster, against his enemies who had ejected him from his kingdom. He arrived with 1000 men in August of that year and took the walled town of Waterford.265 Within the year he had captured Dublin, married Mac Murrough’s daughter, Aoífe and, upon the death of his Irish father-in-law, become King of Leinster.266 As a reward for his support Robert was given part of the kingdom of Ui Failghe, which became the barony of Offaly.267 The barony was in two parts, east (held by Robert) and west (held by Gerald FitzMaurice). King Henry II was wary of Pembroke’s conquest and felt he needed to remind the earl that anything he did was not for his own benefit, but under the authority of the king of England. In 1171 the king followed up the invasion with a large fleet that landed at Waterford. Robert’s brother, William de Bermingham II and probably Gervase Paganell, accompanied him.268 Against such strong forces Rory O’Connor, High King of Ireland, recognised Henry as his overlord and agreed to pay an annual tribute to him. The Anglo-Normans now proceeded to carve out larger units of land and the Berminghams were no exception. Robert remained in Ireland but the relationship between the English and Irish branches of the family continued for many centuries afterwards.269 Robert had 263

That he was Peter’s son may be deduced from Irish annals where Robert ‘s descendants were said to have descended from Mac Fheorais; Fheorais, or Feorais, is Gaelic for Peter. 264 http://www.thepeerage.com/p4167.htm#i41667. This is conflicting evidence as Robert de Bermingham was recorded in other documents as accompanying Henry II on his invasion of Ireland in 1172. His attachment to the Clares however can be seen in the colours on his coat of arms. 265 Bermingham, D. P. 2012. Bermingham: Origins and History of the Family Name 1060 to 1830: 53. Ireland: Amazon Fulfillment. 266 Chinn, C. 2003. Chapter 1: From Birmingham To Athenry and Back’, in Birmingham Irish. Making Our Mark. Studley: Brewin Books. For an account of this war and any other points about the Irish connection Chinn’s book is essential. 267 Irish documents suggest that Robert was the ancestor of all the Irish Berminghams. 268 Bermingham, D. P. op cit., 54; Eyton, Rev. R. W. 1880. op. cit., 67. 269 http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlkik/history/kells.htm

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Richard c.1070 - c.1100

Meiler

50 Descendents became lords of Tethmoy

Edward

Richard

Richard - c.1373

Figure 26: Anglo-Irish Bermingham family tree.

No male heirs. JAH 2022

Meiler de Bermingham 7th Baron of Athenry 1491 - 1529 John - c.1489 m. Honor Bourke Archbishop of Tuam Descendents became barons of Athenry John de Bermingham 8th Baron of Athenry - c.1547/1550

Thomas Fitz-Walter de Bermingham 5th Baron Athenry 1428 - 1473 m. Annabel de Burgo Thomas de Bermingham 6th Baron Athenry 1473 - 1491 William

John

Walters de Bermingham 4th Baron Athenry 1373 - 1428 John - c.1373

Richard Thomas de Bermingham 3rd Baron Athenry c.1318 - 1373 John - c.1329 Myler - c.1302 m. Edina McEagan

Taken from The Peerage website at http://www.thepeerage.com and other sources.

Persons registered in bold held Irish title. Dates in italics are estimations only.

Richard de Bermingham Maud Katherine Richard Walter James Thomas - c.1322 c.1337- 1350 No male heirs. Walter 1347 - 1361 Meiler

John de Bermingham Earl of Louth 1308- Robert Piers William of Tethmoy Meiler - 1302 Richard de Bermingham 2nd Baron Athenry c.1260 - 1322 William - 1329 Simon - 1329 1329 - 1329 - 1329 1329 - 1332 m.1308 Aveline de Burgh m. Fionvalla m. Johanna

Basilia de Bermingham William de Bermingham -1289 Archbishop of Tuam

Andrew de Bermingham - c.1291)

Piers de Bermingham of Tethmoy c.1195 - 1254

Maurice de Bermingham ( - ) Meiler de Bermingham 1st Lord of Athenry 1254 - 1263 m. Basilia of Worcester

Connaught

Meiler de Bermingham of Tethmoy c.1170 - c.1211

Piers Fitzjames Macphoris de Bermingham of Tethmoy 1279 - 1308 Piers de Bermingham 1st Baron Athenry 1280 - 1307 m. c.1295 Ela de Odingsells 1268 - 1308 m. Maud de Rokeby (Rugby)

James de Bermingham 1254 -1279 Lord of Thethmoy

Leinster

Eva de Bermingham c.1150 - 1223 m. 1185 Sir Maurice FitzGerald of Offaly c.1150 - 1204

Robert Fitz-Peter of Offaly, Ireland c.1170 - c.1218 m. Katherine Valoignes

Sir Peter de Bermingham I c.1104 - c.1176

William de Bermingham I c.1080 - c.1104 b. Gwynnedd, Wales

Fitz Richard de Bermingham c.1100 - c.1125

Sir William de Bermingham II c.1176 - c.1225 Hugh Fitz-Peter Henry Fitz-Peter of Morf See Bermingham Family Tree of Bushbury 1175

Anglo-Irish Bermingham Family Tree

Medieval Birmingham

The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland a son called Meiler and a daughter called Eva.270 When Eva married Gerald’s son, Sir Maurice FitzGerald, the title of Offaly went to him. Why Meiler did not inherit is unclear. Perhaps she was older than her brother and women could inherit titles in Ireland. Berminghams of Leinster

Figure 27: Leinster and the Bermingham lands.

270

Archdall, M. (ed.) 1789. John Lodge, The Peerage of Ireland or, A Genealogical History of the Present Nobility of that Kingdom: 32. Dublin: James Moore. Archdall stated that Eva and Meiler were grandchildren of Robert.

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Medieval Birmingham Meiler de Bermingham of Tethmoy 1170 - 1211 With Offaly gone to the FitzGeralds, Robert’s son, Meiler, had nothing to inherit from his father, so he leased an estate in east Offaly, called Tethmoy, from the FitzGeralds.271 This was later known as the Baronies of Warrenstown and Coolstown.272 Life in Ireland was not for the squeamish. The Irish kings and people were angered at the Anglo-Norman take-over and responded by raiding the territories that they had lost, while the powerful newcomers were not above robbing the lesser men of their lands, triggering feuds between the lords. An early example was when Meiler had a difference of opinion with William de Burgh and joined an expedition with the king of Connaught against him. This was mentioned in the Annals of Clonmacnoise which stated that in 1202, ‘Meyler Bermingham, accompanied by the forces of Cahall Crovdearg O’Connor, king of Connought, consisting of a great army of Englishmen and Irishmen marched on till they came to Lymberick, (Limerick) and banished William Burke (de Burgh)’. This squabbling among the Anglo-Irish lords was not what King Henry wanted to hear, and Meiler was requested to come to England to explain what had happened. Although matters subsequently settled down, O’Connor attacked and took Burgh’s castle of Meelick.273 Meelick was close to the River Shannon crossing point, east of the river, but too close to Connaught for the king’s comfort. It is likely that it was Meiler who built the tower at Kinnefad, close to a fording place, which still stands today. Meiler had two sons, Pierce (Peter) and one named after himself, Meiler. Pierce de Bermingham of Tethmoy 1195 - 1254 Pierce inherited the title and lands of his father, recorded as lying between the Bog of Allen and Wicklow Mountains.274 His father’s disaffection from the de Burghs was put to one side when he joined Richard de Burgh and Maurice FitzGerald, 3rd Baron of Offaly, in defeating Richard Marshall’s rebellion in 1234, and in Henry III’s letters he received 50 marks a year and was granted the cantred of Dunmore for his zeal in the king’s service.275 Dunmore was in Connaught; so far no Anglo-Norman had penetrated into the king of Connaught’s lands, so why the king was giving away lands he did not hold is a mystery.276 As well as holding Kinnefad Pierce also built a tower at Carrick. However, there were many disputes concerning the lands 271

Bermingham, D. P. op cit., 78. Ibid, 76. This Meyler is also mentioned in the ‘Annals of Clonmacnoise’ in 1205. 273 Ibid, 76. 274 Ibid, 71. 275 Neary, Rev. J. 1913-1914. On the History and Antiquities of the Parish of Dunmore, in The Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society: VIII: 97. 276 Henry II had given the de Burghs land in Connaught that the king of Connaught did not recognise. Dunmore was eventually given to the Berminghams by the de Burghs. 272

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The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland he held, and in November of 1234 the king informed the Justiciar, Maurice FitzGerald, that Pierce had committed ‘many homicides and other grievous crimes concerning the boundaries of his lands’, particularly with Maurice Comyn in Karnedkedach (Castlejordan).277 Castlejordan was in the extreme north of Tethmoy and it appears he was ‘adjusting’ his boundaries as far north as Carrick. At Easter in 1242 he was appointed as a Justice Itinerant, which is surprising considering his earlier behaviour. In the same year Richard de Burgh was killed fighting in Poitou, France, and Pierce took custody of his son, Walter. The importance of the Bermingham family can be seen in 1243 when the king summoned his ‘Irish princes and noble men’ in Ireland to a meeting. Amongst the men summoned was ‘P. Bermingham’ – Pierce!278 In 1245 he joined King Henry’s forces in Gannoe, North Wales with Maurice FitzGerald and in 1247 he received a mandate of forty liberates (£1) of land in Esker from the king, presumably as a reward for his service in Wales.279 It appears that Pierce was considered to have ‘safe hands’ as when Theobald Butler died in 1248 he was given the custody of his son. Pierce died near Cashal, Tipperary in 1254 and left four sons, James his heir, Meiler, Andrew, and Maurice.280 James de Bermingham of Tethmoy, 1254 - 1279 James, son of Pierce of Tethmoy, inherited the lordship on his father’s death. The constant bickering between the Anglo-Norman families as well as the Irish, often affected the Berminghams. Kells (home of their FitzGerald kinsmen), was the centre of this local warfare. In 1252 a William de Bermingham joined an attack on Godfrey O’Donnell of Tyrconnell to support Maurice FitzGerald’s feud. They may also have been supported by Sir William de Bermingham IV of England! Sir James died in 1279. Piers FitzJames Macphoris de Bermyngeham of Tethmoy, 1279 - 1307 Piers inherited his father’s land and title in 1279. He was visiting England in 1283 when he made Thomas de Bermingham, presumably a kinsman, his attorney while he was away. He was fined 100 shillings for not attending the Dublin parliament the following year, and in 1284 he nominated Henry Fitz Riryth as his attorney as he still had not returned. In 1289 he sealed a Deed of Fealty stating that he was a liege-man to John FitzThomas who by then owned Tethmoy. In the early 1290s the Irish attempted to drive the Anglo-Normans out of Connaught and Piers and John FitzThomas were granted £200 for marching 277

Bermingham, D. P. op. cit., 77. Minutes of Evidence given before The Committee of Privileges to who The Petition of Edward Birmingham of Dalgan in the County of Galway, Esquire claiming to be Lord Birmingham, Baron Athenry and Premier Baron of Ireland, 10th March 1836, Close Roll: 4-5. 279 Bermingham, D. P. op. cit., 78. 280 Ibid, 79. 278

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Medieval Birmingham with an army against the king’s enemies.281 Piers was ordered to appear at the London Muster in a document of 1294 with horses and arms to fight in Gascony, ‘but must make sure his lands in Ireland are well guarded.’282 The relationship between the English and Irish houses of Bermingham can be seen in that Piers married Ela de Odingsells, daughter of Sir William de Odingsells of Maxstoke, Warwickshire, appointed Justiciar of Ireland, where he died in 1295.283 As John de Bermingham, brother of Sir Fulk, married the widow of Thomas de Odingsells this indicated a comparatively close relationship between the two houses. The infighting between the Anglo-Norman elite in Ireland resulted in Piers and John FitzThomas being summoned to Westminster. They declined to oblige but as the Crown had little control in their part of Ireland they were forgiven. Piers was summoned to Whitehaven in 1296 with horses and arms to defeat John Balliol, king of Scotland, and in 1297, Piers and his cousin, Piers of Athenry were instructed to appear in the Scottish and French wars. As there was a power struggle in Connaught between de Burgh and FitzThomas they did not go. In July of that year Piers was granted clemency for not appearing at the summons.284 The poor relationship between Piers and his Irish neighbours developed from this time. Ordinances were made out in 1299 for Piers ‘to maintain his war against the Irish felons of Offlay’.285 In 1302 Piers served in Scotland for 100 days. As he owed the Crown money, he bore his own expenses, costing him £470.286 Piers was also in Scotland in 1305 subduing the Scots after the capture of William Wallace. He was allotted five ships to carry his horses and men to Scotland. They were: Le Simenale of Gosforth, skipper Robert Ypre, La Gondyere of Tynemouth, skipper Robert de Cornwall, La Michelle of the same, skipper Robert Lambe, and La Sowere of Drogheda, skipper Robert Le Connefar. Following this expedition Piers and Ela remained some time in England, perhaps staying at Maxstoke and visiting their cousins in Bermingham. Piers returned home in the same year to Carrick Oris (Carrick meaning castle; Oris was another variation of the Irish for Piers). His relationship with the Irish deteriorated and he was quoted as saying that ‘to kill an Irishman was no more than killing a dog’. According to a 1305 Scottish source the baron ‘Piers Brunychamham was a notorious traitor and perjuror’. He invited Murtagh O’Connor, ‘King of Offaly’, his brother Calvagh and others to a feast on the Festival of Holy Trinity at Carrick. ‘On that very day, when the meal was over, with twenty-four of his following, cruelly slaughtered them, and sold their heads to their enemies.’ As a sequel to the story Piers took a young son of O’Connor, to whom he was godfather, and flung him to his death 281

Bermingham, D. P. op. cit., 134. Rot. Vascon. 1294. Parliamentary Writs: 18. 283 http://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/odingsells/6/ 284 Bermingham, D. P. op. cit., 136. 285 Ibid, 137. 286 Ibid, 140. 282

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The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland over the battlements. The Irish were now in a hostile mood and he was forced to employ 400 men to guard his borders.287 Warfare became endemic in the Kildare, Meath and Offlay marches and battles between the two sides went one way and then the other. Eventually Piers was killed by Rory O’Connor and O’Flynn at Roscommon in April 1308. He was buried among the Friars Minor in Kildare. 288 Sir John de Bermingham, Earl of Louth 1308 - 1329 Piers had four sons, John, Robert, William and Piers. In 1308 Richard de Burgh gave his daughter, Aveline, in marriage to John and in 1312 he was knighted.289 It was likely that it was in Sir John’s time that the Berminghams were given the castle at Carbury (see Figure 28). The Lacy family had become disaffected with King Edward II and turned to Edward Bruce, brother of Robert Bruce, King of Scots, for assistance. Bruce landed in Ireland and was crowned king. Sir John raised forces and drove the Lacys into Connaught and Bruce into Carrickfergus. In 1318 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the AngloNorman forces and marched against the Scottish-Irish army. On 14 October 1318 he met them at Faughart (Dundalk) and won the battle. Bruce was killed, and Sir John sent his salted-head to Edward II in London. In gratitude for this he was granted the titles Earl of Louth and Baron of Ardee.290 In 1321 he was appointed Justiciar (Lord Justice) of Ireland, and the next year he met King Edward at Carlisle with a force of 1,900 men to aid him against the Scots.291 In 1325 Sir John founded the Franciscan monastery in Tethmoy.292 The construction of Bermingham Tower in Dublin Castle has also often been attributed to Sir John though its exact date is unknown.293 The title Earl did not last very long as Irish annals record that Sir John with many of his kinsmen were killed in the manor house at Ballybraggan (now called Balbriggan) in 1329, and the earldom became extinct on his death.294 Infighting was a constant problem in Ireland, and Sir John became embroiled in a petty war in Louth. This came about when Sir John’s men began to break-up a lime-kiln in Ardee. The owner remonstrated with them and was killed. A hue and cry occurred, 287

Ibid, 142-145. Ibid, 144. 289 Bermingham, D. P. op. cit., 151. 290 Ibid, 154-161. Edward Bruce was killed by John de Maupas, one of Bermingham’s men, who entered his camp and struck his brains out. Maupas was instantly slaughtered and was found with his body stretched out over Bruce’s. John de Bermingham slew Lord Alan Steward, Bruce’s general of the field, in single combat. 291 Archdall, M. op. cit., 34. His forces were said to have comprised of 300 men-at-arms, 1000 hobelars, and 6000 footmen. 292 Bermingham, D. P. op. cit., 165. 293 Gilbert, Mr. 1857. Dublin Castle, in Dublin University Magazine: Chapter Four: 247. Dublin: Hodgetts, Smith & Company. 294 Bermingham, D. P. op. cit., 15. 288

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Medieval Birmingham and the posse killed the murderers. Other followers of John went into hiding in a friary in Ardee, but the mob dragged 19 of the 22 men out and killed them. The remainder fled to Carbury Castle. The men of importance in Louth were not keen on the new earl and decided that action should be taken against him. Sir John Clinton led a group of sixty men against the family and, getting into the Ballybraggan manor house by a back gate, butchered Sir John, eight relatives and twenty retainers.295 The ‘Four Masters’ record the event in these words: ‘Sir John MacFeorais, earl of Louth, the most vigorous, puissant, and hospitable of the English in Ireland, was treacherously slain by his own people, namely by the English of Oriel. With him also were slain many others of the English and Irish amongst whom was blind O’Carroll, chief minstrel of Ireland and Scotland in his time.’296 The mob then stole money, jewellery, horse and clothes from the manor house. The courts who looked into the offence did little to bring the perpetrators to account. This was possibly because while Sir John had been a firm favourite of Edward II, his son, Edward III, now on the throne thought him an ‘overmighty subject’ and had little sympathy for his fate.297

Figure 28: Carbury Castle, home of the Barons of Ardee, the Irish Tethmoy de Bermingham family.298 295

Archdall, M. op. cit., 35. Joyce, P. W. Bermingham, John, Dictionary of National Biography: 4: https://en.wikisource.org/ wiki/Bermingham, John_(DNB00) 297 Bermingham, D. P. op. cit., 167–173. 298 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbury. Public domain. 296

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The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland

Figure 29: Birmingham Tower, Dublin Castle, Dublin, Ireland. Supposedly named after Sir John de Bermingham, Earl of Louth.299

William de Bermingham of Tethmoy c.1285 - 1332 Sir William, who had escaped the slaughter of his brothers and kinsfolk at Ballybraggan, continued to hold Tethmoy.300 In 1327 he joined the Butlers in supporting Thomas FitzGerald, Earl of Kildare in a dispute with the Poers and the Burghs in consequence of Arnold le Poer calling FitzGerald a ‘Rhymer’.301 The infighting continued and the new Lord Justice, Sir Anthony Lucy, arrested Lord William Bermingham in 1331, who was imprisoned in Dublin Castle, his lands forfeit. He was hanged on 11 July 1332.302

299 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin_Castle#/media/File:The_Dubhlinn_Gardens_ Dublin_ Castle_01.JPG Public domain. 300 Perhaps they still held Tethmoy under the FitzThomas family(?) 301 Kildare, Marquis of, 1858. The Earls of Kildare and their Ancestors: 14-15, 29-30. Dublin: Hodges and Smith; Bermingham. D. P. op. cit., 179. Lord Arnold Poer met his end when his manor house and town of Kenley was burned down by his enemies. 302 Bermingham, D. P. op. cit., 180-181.

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Medieval Birmingham Walter de Bermingham I of Carbury and Carrick c.1337 -1350 Walter was imprisoned in Dublin Castle with his father but managed to survive – although he was not released until 1334. In 1335 he raised an army of over eight thousand men for King Edward III’s war against Scotland and in 1337 petitioned the king at Westminster to have his lands restored. In 1342 he was involved in a war with Irish chieftains and consequently was given several of their lands as baronies. In 1344 he received a summons to attend the king in Portsmouth for the war in France, which he obeyed. His support of the king led to his appointment in 1347 as Lord Justice of Ireland in which role he put down several revolts.303 He voluntarily resigned his post in 1349 and died in England in 1350.304 Walter de Bermingham II of Carbury and Carrick 1347 - 1361 Walter lived in England for all his short life.305 James de Bermingham of Carbury James was brother of Sir Walter I and lived at Carbury. He was involved in the killing of sheriff Simon Betagh and 54 others (a posse?) in 1354 and stated he was independent of the crown. In 1368, Thomas Birley, Chancellor of Ireland, attempted to resolve the issue through negotiation with James but was taken prisoner by him and only released when another Bermingham was released from prison in Trim Castle. This disaffection continued; in 1369 the Berminghams were recorded stealing cattle from their Irish neighbours and in 1374 they wounded and imprisoned a cleric. Matters must have come to a head by 1380, as in this year the Crown seems to have held Carbury and James is heard of no more. Meiler de Bermingham Meiler was no more law-abiding than his father, James, had been, and the ruin and destruction brought about by an O’Connor-Bermingham coalition in County Meath led to the Earl of Desmond taking 5000 horse and foot to bring an end to the disorder in 1421.306 This anti-government stance continued for over a hundred years and although Carbury Castle was demolished and then rebuilt, the Bermingham family tree through this period is unknown. The last

303

Ibid, 184. Ibid, 188. 305 Ibid, 188-189. 306 Ibid, 195. 304

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The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland of the Berminghams of Carbury was Baron Sir William Bermingham, who died in 1548; his son, Edward, died without issue in 1562.307 Berminghams of Connaught

Figure 30: Connaught and the Bermingham lands. 307

Bermingham, D. P. op. cit., 194-204. William was granted the title of Baron of Carbury in 1542 by Henry VIII.

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Medieval Birmingham

Figure 31: Athenry Castle (now called Moyode Castle), home of the Barons of Athenry, the Irish de Bermingham family. Although the tower house shown here was not built until 1550 the de Bermingham one was very similar. Reproduced by permission of Carl Chinn.

Meiler de Bermingham, 1st lord of Athenry c.1213 - 1263 Meiler, the son of Piers de Bermingham (1195-1254), was called Meiler Mor or Meiler MacPhioris, and was born in about 1213. He married Basilia, whose father was William of Worcester. Part of her dowry comprised Worcester lands in Tipperary, including Knockgraffan and Kiltinan. It is possible that Meiler had met Basilia on a sojourn to his cousins in the West Midlands of England. The Athenry connection started in 1235 when Meiler joined Richard de Burgh in invading Connaught with five hundred mounted knights and hundreds of archers and footmen. The force crossed the River Shannon and laid waste to the area. He was well rewarded for his support and by 1249 he had been granted a wide area around Athenry which became known as Mac Feorais’s country.308 Meiler became the first lord of Athenry and chose a spot close to an important river crossing for his foundation. Like Peter de Bermingham in England, he planned a castle, a town and a religious house. In 1238, he began to construct a tower, called Athenry Castle, later building a curtain wall around it.309 It had a motte or mound, an old-fashioned style by this time. The monastery was 308 309

Neary, Rev. J. op. cit., 97. Roy, J. C. 2001. The Fields of Athenry: 78. Oxford: Westview Press.

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The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland founded 300 yards from his castle in 1241 when he requested from his knights and esquires that they give a subsidy and an aid for the building of it and he supplied horses for drawing stone. He invited the Dominican friars to what would be the Abbey of St Peter and Paul and gave them 160 marks. The town of Athenry was in existence three years after the monastery was founded when he received the rights from the king for charging tolls and for a market and fair. The charter recording this stated it would be ‘one market in every week at their Manor of Adenri (Atheny), and one fair there in every year to last for eight days.’310 The town was walled for protection against raids by hostile neighbours, the first, by the sons of O’Connor, king of Connaught, occurring in the same year as Meiler settled there.311 Meiler died near Cashel, probably in 1263, and his remains were buried in Athenry Monastery. He left two sons, named Piers and William (who became Archbishop of Tuam in 1289) and a daughter called Basilia after her mother.312 Piers MacPhioris de Bermingham, c.1240 - 1307, 1st Baron of Athenry Piers became baron of Athenry in 1280 and was regarded as the premier baron in Ireland. Such an important position meant he was expected to attend the parliaments held in Dublin; however, he was recorded in the Great Roll of Edward I in 1283-4 as not appearing, for which he was admonished.313 He received a murage grant (to build a wall around it) for his town of Dunmore in 1279/80, which by now also had burgesses like Athenry,314 but his castle at Dunmore was reported as being besieged by Fiachra O’Flynn in 1284, which suggests his Irish neighbours were still at odds with him.315 He made a petition to the parliament in Dublin in 1302,316 and on 7 July Piers and others were called on by the king to collect a subsidy for war with Scotland. Piers was in Scotland in that year with ‘20 caparisoned, 20 hobelars and 200 foot soldiers.317 Robert Brus of Scotland, decided he did not want to fight and sued for peace. Piers died on 2 April 1307 and was buried in Athenry Abbey. He had two sons, Meiler and Richard. Meiler married Johanna de Mandeville in 1296 in England in the presence of Edward, Prince of Wales, but was drowned at sea returning from Scotland to Ireland before the death of his father.318 On his death, his wife, claimed her dowry. 319 Amongst the persons mentioned as 310

Minutes of Evidence, Charter, op. cit., 5. Neary, Rev. J. op. cit., 96, 101. 312 Bermingham, D. P. op. cit., 81. 313 Minutes of Evidence, Pipe Roll, op. cit., 8. 314 Neary, Rev. J. op. cit., 101. 315 Ibid, 96. 316 Minutes of Evidence, Plea Roll, op. cit., 10. 317 Bermingham, D. P. op. cit. 140. 318 Bermingham, D. P. op. cit., 83-4. 319 Minutes of Evidence, Plea Roll found in Birmingham Tower, Dublin Castle, op. cit., 8. 311

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Medieval Birmingham friends of Joanna, were Walter de Beauchamp (son of Sir Walter Beauchamp of Elmley Castle), and John de Botetourt of Weoley Castle, both midlanders.320 Richard MacPhioris de Bermingham, c.1260 - 1322, 2nd Baron of Athenry Richard became the next Baron of Athenry. 321 The title of baron was greater than that of the English Berminghams and it may have been for this reason that Sir Fulk and his uncle, Sir Henry adopted the Irish coat of arms in the fourteenth century. Richard was sheriff of Connacht in 1299, 1310 and 1316 and was known as Risteard nag Cat – Richard of the Battles. The Athenry Berminghams were involved when Edward Bruce, brother of King Robert the Bruce of Scotland, invaded Ireland in 1315. In 1316 King Phelim O’Conor, Teig O’Kelly, Donough O’Brien and other Irish lords led an army to Athenry, in support of Bruce, and Richard, William de Burgh and Muirchertach O’Brien marched out to fight. The battle was fought on 10 August and was the greatest clash between the native Irish and the Anglo-Normans since the conquest. Contemporary documents state that between three and four thousand men were involved. The Anglo-Norman horse and archers won the day and over a thousand Irishmen died including Phelim, who was slain beneath his own leopard standard. O’Kelly survived the battle but was beheaded by John Hussey, a ‘butcher’ of Athenry who was knighted by Richard.322 There is a reminder of the battle in the town’s coat of arms which shows two heads impaled on pikes.323 Richard and Richard de Clare were said to have killed over 300 at the time of the Feast of Pentecost, though whether this refers to this battle or another event is not clear.324 At the same time Richard’s castle at Dunmore was besieged and burnt by King Rory O’Connor.325 In 1317 a royal confirmation of a convention was made was made by ‘Richard de Bermingham, Lord of Athenry in favour of O’Conor, Prince of the Irish of Connaught’.326 It thus appears that, for a while at least, the animosity between the two factions had ceased. This was also the year in which Richard served as a Lord of the Great Council in Ireland.327 Richard died in 1322 and was buried in Athenry Abbey.328 There seem to have been a particularly close relationship between Sir William VIII and Sir Fulk’s generation and their Irish kinsmen at the time of Richard and his son, Thomas de Bermingham, 2nd and 3rd Barons of Athenry.

320

Ibid, Patent Roll, 8-9. Roy, J. C. op. cit., 78. 322 Bermingham, D. P. op. cit., 86-7. 323 Ibid, 96. 324 Bermingham, D. P. op. cit., 85. 325 Neary, Rev. J. op. cit., 96. 326 Minutes of Evidence, op. cit., 11. 327 Bermingham, D. P. op. cit., 85. 328 Ibid, 88. 321

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The lords of Bermingham in England and Ireland Thomas MacPhioris de Bermingham c.1318 - 1373, 3rd Baron of Athenry Thomas was a minor when his father died but succeeded to the title before 1322. He married Edina McEgan. In 1346 he was appointed the King’s Chief Sergeant of Connaught,329 and on 4 August 1356 he received a writ from King Edward III stating that the king had heard that Thomas and Edmund de Burgh intended to go to war with the Clanrichardes and that he was forbidden from doing so.330 The king indicated that he would send the Earl of Desmond to Ireland to arbitrate.331 A deed of 1368 showed that Richard gave lands at Cloymelayne for purchase of a monastery in Clare and gave lands to his own ‘Friary’ at Athenry.332 He was taken prisoner during a battle with Malachy O’Kelly in which his eldest son, Richard was slain. Thomas died in 1373 at Clonufit and was eventually buried in Athenry Abbey. His children were: Walter, Richard, John and Isolda. Walter More de Bermingham 1373 - 1428, 4th Baron of Athenry As important barons in Ireland the de Berminghams were expected to attend parliaments, but in 1377 a fine of 100 shillings was imposed on Walter for nonattendance.333 In 1380, along with Hugh, Bishop of Achomry, and Thomas FitzEdmund de Burgh, Walter was appointed Justice and Commissioner of Oyer and Terminer within the province of Connaught. He was again summoned to parliament in Dublin in 1380 and in 1388. He was constituted sheriff of Connaught in the same year because he had complained about certain Irishmen taking the liberty to fish for salmon in his waters – poaching – and selling them in Galway. The king issued a writ in 1390 forbidding anyone to buy fish from persons who transgressed the law and gave Richard the power to arrest and imprison anyone found doing it.334 In 1397 Richard and Thomas, Lord Burke (Burgh) ‘cut off ’ Captain MacConn and 600 Irishmen’s heads; he was made sheriff of Connaught again in 1400.335 To expiate his sins in 1385 he constructed an abbey for the Hermits of St Augustine, or Augustinian Friars,

329

Ibid, 88. Archdall, M. op, cit., 40. 331 Bermingham, D. P. op. cit., 88 -89; Minutes of Evidence, Letter, op. cit., 14. The first Clanricarde was the illegitimate son of William de Burgh, whose great-great grandson became the first of that name in the 1330s. The title was first recorded in 1335, and had probably been used informally for a few generations. However, with the advent of the Burke Civil War, 1333-38, and the murder of William Donn de Burgh, Third Earl of Ulster, it came to denote the head of the Burkes of Upper or south Connacht based largely in what is now east and central County Galway. The Berminghams were involved as they held Kinela from the Burghs. 332 Bermingham, D. P. op. cit., 89. 333 Ibid, Close Roll, 15; Archdall, M. op, cit., 41. The designation More meant ‘the Great’. 334 Bermingham, D. P. op. cit., 90-91; Minutes of Evidence, Writ, op. cit., 16. 335 Archdall, M. op, cit., 42. 330

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Medieval Birmingham at Dunmore.336 He died an ‘elderly man’ in 1428, his title and estates being left to his son, Thomas.337 Thomas Fitz Walter de Bermingham 1383 -1473, 5th Baron Athenry Thomas was enfeoffed with the manors of Knockgraffin and Kiltenenan in 1402 and succeeded to the title in 1428 on the death of his father.338 Thomas de Bermingham was included as an important peer of Ireland in a letter sent to the king from the Lord Deputy and Council of Ireland regarding the creation of a Bill supporting his claim to the throne.339 He died in 1473 and was succeeded by his son Thomas. Thomas ‘Oge’ Bermingham c.1413 - 1491, 6th Baron of Athenry Thomas succeeded to the title in 1473 on his father’s death. He married Annabel, daughter of Edmond de Burgh. They were both benefactors to Athenry abbey, giving it land, money and houses and providing food for the friars. Thomas died in 1491 leaving two sons, Meiler his successor and John who became Archbishop of Tuam.340 Meiler Bermingham 1491 - 1529, 7th Baron of Athenry Meiler succeeded his father in 1491. He married Honor, daughter of Richard Bourke (probably a new spelling of Burgh), and again made many donations to the abbey, including providing funding for the Provincial Chapter of the Order of Friars in 1524 (360 friars attended). He died in 1529 and was succeeded by his son, John. John Bermingham 1529 – 1547, 8th Baron of Athenry John was killed in the disturbances that occurred at this time with the Clanrichardes. Although he left a daughter, Anne, he had no male children and the title went to a descendent of his great-great-uncle, Richard.

336

Neary, Rev. J. op. cit., 100. Bermingham, D. P. op. cit., 90. 338 Ibid, 91. 339 Minutes of Evidence, letter op. cit., No page number. The Berminghams of Athenry continued till 1799. 340 Bermingham, D. P. op. cit., 92. 337

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Chapter Three

The medieval estates of the de Bermingham family EDGBASTON lay to the south of Bermingham. By the time of Domesday Book (1086), it had been given to Drogo, a Norman soldier who fought for Ansculf of Picquigny.1 Drogo must have been a favourite of Ansculf as he also received Handsworth and Perry Barr. Edgbaston was a chapelry of Harborne as a Papal Commission examined the relationship in 1281.2 It may have been part of this document that is referred to when Sir Henry de Edgbaston gave lands to the church of Horburne, in a place called Churchbridge in 1283.3 Sir Henry held his manor for half a knight’s fee4 and appeared as part of the jury in a court case of 1294.5 In the Birmingham Borough Rental of 1296 he is recorded as holding two properties within the town; it also suggests that his father was called John.6 The lords of the various manors not only held lands on their own estates, but parcels of others in the area. In 1294 Henry, Alice his wife, and William his son appeared in a case against John de Eton (Aston) and Joan, his wife, arguing that they held the deeds for half of the manor of Himeleye and two and half acres of land in Seggeleye. This was resolved when the Astons acknowledged that this was true and dropped their claim to the land.7 Sir Henry died soon after and was followed by his son, Richard. Richard was involved in the wars with the Scots, and accompanied both Sir John de Somery and Sir William de Bermingham to Scotland.8 Henry’s daughter Sybilla married John de Parles of Handsworth.9 Richard’s granddaughter, Isabella, married Thomas Middlemore and the Middlemore’s held the manor until the male line became extinct in 1661.10 It is unknown when the Berminghams lost influence in the manor, but this could not be before 1349, when, after the Black Death, Fulk de Bermingham created new tenancies given over to graziers, skinners, tanners, weavers, butchers and 1

Plaister, J. op. cit., 27.4. Cox, J. C. 1886. Magnum Registrum Album, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: VI part II: 127. London: Harrison and Sons. 3 Ibid, 111. 4 Eyton, Rev. R. W. 1880. ‘The Liber Niger Scaccarii, Staffordscira or Feodary of AD 1166’, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire I. London: 190. William Salt Archaeological Society, Harrison and Sons. 5 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1886. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 23. 6 Demidowicz, G. 2008. Medieval Birmingham: The Borough Rentals of 1296 and 1344-5: 38-39. Stratford-upon-Avon: Dugdale Society. 7 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1886. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 20. 8 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1887. Military Service, op. cit., 39. London: Harrison and Sons. 9 Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 654. 10 Hurwich, J. J. 2016. The Proportion of Catholics in the Warwickshire Upper Gentry, in Midland Catholic History: 21. 2

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Figure 32: Estates of the Barony of Dudley with the lands and tenants of the Bermingham family from 1280 to 1322.

Medieval Birmingham

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The medieval estates of the de Bermingham family flax and yarn dressers.11 The fifteenth and sixteenth century knights who held it were Richard Middlemore, Thomas Middlemore (died 1520 when the manor was held by Lord Dudley) and Robert Middlemore. Robert was mentioned in the 1553 survey when he had three burgages in Bermingham opposite the High Cross above the upper end of the Shambles.12 (WEST) HANDSWORTH was recorded as Honesworde in Domesday Book and as being held by Drogo.13 By the twelfth century it had been divided into two estates. The west side, assessed at a quarter of a knight’s fee, was held by the Berminghams and had a park.14 All the estates of the barony were recorded in the Black Book of the Exchequer of 1166, including the lands of Petrus de Bremingham. Contemporary Pipe Rolls show that among his sub-tenants Pagan de Parles of Handsworth in right of his wife, Alice, perhaps a descendent of Drogo.15 Duke Henry Plantagenet (later Henry II) made Peter a grant in 1153 of free warren in Handsworth. This may have been due to his good service and that of Pagan de Parles for the king in Normandy. John de Parles forfeited Handsworth because he had joined the rebellion against King John in 1216, when part of the baronage of England invited Prince Louis of France to take the throne; the land was later returned to him.16

Figure 33: Parles coat of arms, blue and gold of Dudley, indented of the Irish Bermingham coat.17 11

Patrick, C. & Rátkai, S. Investigations 1997-1999, in Patrick and Rátkai, op. cit., 11. Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 47-8. 13 Plaister, J. op. cit., EBS3. 14 Grazebrook, H. W. S. 1888, op. cit., 31. 15 Eyton, R. W. 1880. Liber Niger. op. cit., 189. 16 Ibid, 195. 17 Smith, S. C. K. op. cit., 67. 12

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Medieval Birmingham Like all the landholders of the barony those of Handsworth were to attend the three weekly courts at Dudley Castle where the ‘pleas of rights and robbers’ were tried,18 but not all the men who held manors of the Berminghams behaved with propriety. Members of the Parles family appeared to seize any opportunity that presented itself to improve their lot. One example was on the death of Gervase Paganell in 1192, when they claimed the wardship of Rushall. It should have gone to the baron of Dudley’s second-in-command, the Berminghams, as part of their demesne. A court case vindicated the Berminghams’ claim.19 A specific individual in the second half of the thirteenth century who tended to ‘run riot’ was William de Parles. He was particularly litigious and cases show him he frequently attempting to restrict the rights of individuals who held land in his manor. The courts normally recognised that the accused were in the right and dismissed the cases.20 One example was in the early thirteenth century. The Hospitallers of St John and the Priory of Sandwell held the advowson of the church of Handsworth. In 1210 the Hospitallers relinquished their right to William de Parles, but the family still did not like sharing it with the Priory of Sandwell. Although John de Parles, William’s father, had already been forced to agree to the collective rights,21 when William de Parles took over the manor, he continued to attempt to get sole control,22 and in 1237 he tried to force the issue. It appeared that he and Adam de Pyrie, of Perry Barr, had gone to Sandwell Priory and had ‘beaten and illtreated the Prior’s men and ‘chased the said Prior with arms in their hands, so that he had barely escaped from them’.23 The court found against William and instructed him to pay the prior half a mark every year in Bermingham.24 Sir William de Parles energies were channelled in a less sacrilegious direction when he joined his superior, Sir William de Bermingham V, on the side of Simon de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham (1265). Although Bermingham was killed in the battle Parles survived and was pardoned for his treason by the king.25 The family’s bad behaviour, however, continued. In 1270, William and other locals ejected Adam and Margaret de Erdinton from their acre of pasture in Handsworth,26 and in the same year attempted to deny Geoffrey de Estone (Aston) his right of common pasture.27 He attempted to encroach on William de Bromwych’s land in West Bromwich, which he claimed as his own, but the 18

Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1883. Final Concords, op. cit., 246-7. Eyton, R. W. (ed.) 1881. op. cit., 38. 20 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1886. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 48-49. 21 Ibid, 106. The choice of the priest, called the advowson, was to be shared between Sandwell Priory, the Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem and de Parles. 22 Eyton, R. W. (ed.) 1880. op. cit., 195. 23 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1885. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 143. 24 Ibid, 77. 25 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1887. Military Service, op. cit., 6. 26 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1883. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 48. 27 Ibid, 49. 19

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The medieval estates of the de Bermingham family court found otherwise.28 A further interesting case occurred in 1272 when John Eleford fell into the moat from the drawbridge of William de Parles’ manor house and was drowned. The case was dismissed as an accident, as no one was present to prove otherwise.29 The Parles family holding was compromised when William ran into debt with a Jew, Elyas, son of Moses, for £120. Elyas sold the debt to Roger de Somery of Dudley, William’s overlord in 1265.30 As William could not or would not pay the baron back his manor was taken into baronial hands until the debt was repaid. It is not certain if the lords of Bermingham lost control of the manor as a result. In response to this action William, his son John, Adam de Pyrie and Simon le Vacher broke into Handsworth Park and stole ‘60 head of cattle’. William was imprisoned for this rustling and the others were ordered to be arrested.31 He had another dispute with the Prior of Sandwell, again over the advowson of Handsworth Church, in 1274 but withdrew his opposition in the following year.32 According to another case, in 1276, William was with the king’s forces in Wales when the events occurred. William’s trees had been cut down by Richard le Daye, who had been given permission by Roger de Clifford, the person left in charge of the estate. In fact, William had not been in Wales, but was incarcerated in Dudley Castle by Roger de Somery for the theft previously referred to. The case was dismissed.33 William was released from prison by 1279 when he brought a case of ‘wounding, ill-treating and imprisoning him’ against eighteen others, possibly his guards.34 By 1280 he had been hanged for an unnamed felony.35 By 1293, his son, John de Parles of Handsworth held the estate, but in this year, John accused Agnes de Somery of confiscating his land. Agnes was the wife of Roger de Somery, Baron Dudley, and he had left her Handsworth as her dower on his death. It was noted that she claimed ‘gallows, pillory and tumbrel’ in Handsworth and an ‘assize of bread and beer’.36 All the documents supported this so the court dismissed the case. Parles continued to live on the estate, and took the claim up again in 1301, but was forced to withdraw it, because Agnes was legally entitled to hold the manor.37 That the barons of Dudley still held the property may be seen in that John de Somery, Agnes’ son, 28

Ibid, 77. Ibid, 214. Most moats were quite shallow, so maybe he was ‘helped’ in his drowning. 30 Eyton, R. W. 1880. op. cit., 196. 31 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1883. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 191. 32 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1885. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 74-75. 33 Ibid, 83-84. 34 Ibid, 89. 35 Ibid, 116. 36 Ibid, 270. The gallows were to hang people, the pillory were stocks that held people prisoners by their hands and head and a tumbrel was a ducking stool in which to duck them in water as a punishment. The assize of bread and beer was a law that ensured quality. In rural areas this was enforced by courts at the manorial level. 37 Carter W. F. 1941. Additions, op. cit., 39. 29

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Medieval Birmingham held the advowson of the church, which was worth forty marks a year.38 A case involving the miller of Handsworth occurred in 1292. William le Mouner’s (the Miller) rights were claimed by Thomas de Hamsted whose grandfather had held the mill.39 Thomas withdrew his claim after John de Parles paid him four marks.40 A grant of free warren was awarded to the estate owner in 1344,41 but by this time the Berminghams had lost control over the manor. PERRY BARR, according to Domesday Book, was another estate held by Drogo.42 In 1175 Henry de Piri was fined for harbouring the king’s enemies. It was in this year that his baronial lord, Gervase Paganell, had rebelled against King Henry II and de Piri was implicated. In 1212 Hugh de Pirie granted part of Hamstead to Henry de Hamstead for a rent of seven shillings, and six pence annually.43 In 1247 William de Pyrie, who had been a ward of William de Birmingham IV, had given him half a virgate of land in Perry. The occupier of the manor, Henry de Pyrie, the son of Robert, objected to this as it was land he held.44 The outcome is not known. Another concerned land held by Henry de Morf and his wife Isobel in Perry as part of her dower. They had not looked after it properly and Henry de Pyrie complained.45 By the end of the century Richard de Pyrie was said to hold Perry for the service of a knight’s fee,46 when it was valued at forty shillings a year47 and the manor worth ten pounds.48 There is some confusion as to who occupied Perry as both Richard and John are mentioned in Court documents. John and his brother William claimed the watermill in Perry49 and sued two others for a messuage and lands in the parish in 1322,50 while William, son of Richard, was recorded as recovering land in 1336.51 A case over land was brought out by Agnes de Acton against John, but was cancelled as one of the witnesses William de Boweles of Rushall had not appeared.52 Richard died in 1333 and his wife Isolde and son William took over the estate, but not without others claiming it.53 The court decided he had 38 Grazebrook, H. W. S. 1888. op. cit., 45. A mark was thirteen shillings, four pence two thirds of a pound (£). 39 Hampstead lay in the north part of Handsworth and was probably the site of his manor house. 40 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1885. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 219. 41 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1921. Calendar of the Charter Rolls Edward III: 188. London: HMSO. 42 Hawkins, A. & Rumble, A. 1976. Domesday Book: Staffordshire: 12:27. Chichester: Phillimore. 43 Eyton, R. W. (ed.) 1880. op. cit., 194. 44 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1883. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 143. 45 Ibid, 140. 46 Eyton, Rev. R. W. 1880. op. cit., 110. 47 Grazebrook, H. W. S. 1888. op. cit., 44. 48 Secretary of Society. (ed.) 1911. Inquisitions post mortem, Henry III, Edward I - Edward II, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: 205. London: Harrison and Sons. 49 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1888. Assize Rolls, op. cit., 88. 50 Ibid, 111. 51 Ibid, 117. 52 Ibid, 40-50. 53 Ibid, 117.

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The medieval estates of the de Bermingham family a legitimate claim to it and quashed the cases of the other claimants.54 Another resident of Perry, Adam de Pyrie, seems to have been an accomplice of the Parles of Handsworth. Sir John de Pyrie was granted rights of free warren in 134455 and in 1346 fought with Edward III at Crécy.56 In 1356 Roger Hillary was the tenant of property in Perry and Hamstead which belonged to Philip de Pyrie as lord of the manor. It is unclear how the manor came into the hands of Thomas, Earl of Warwick, but on the accession of King Henry IV, in 1399, his rights were reaffirmed. Perry then descended with the earls of Warwick to the Duke of Clarence who in 1478 forfeited it to the Crown. The manor was then leased by the Crown to several tenants in succession including one William Wyrley in 1546. The other part of Perry, known as a moiety (Norman French meaning ‘half ’) had been bought by William Wyrley before 1561. The mill at Holford, converted before 1358 from grinding corn to fulling woollen cloth, was an early adaptation to metal working in 1591. Perry smithy on Holbrook just north of Perry Reservoir was also a fulling mill and is probably the mill documented as an iron bloomery from 1538 using charcoal from Perry Woods.57 LITTLE BARR: The ownership of this estate was quite complicated. There was no mention of Little Barr in Domesday Book, therefore it may have been part of Perry. If this was so it could have also been held by Drogo.58 In 1175 a Robert de Barra was named alongside other tenants of the barony as being fined for forest offences, but this may have been because they were implicated in Gervase Paganell’s rebellion against King Henry II.59 Robert had died by 1208 when a court case involving two hides of the manor of William de Barre stated it was the property of William de Ardene of Hampton (Wolverhampton) as Barre paid him for the privilege of holding it,60 but in 1211 William de Parles of Handsworth appears to have claimed Little Barr.61 Richard de Barre held Little Barr in the middle of the thirteenth century.62 Guy of Barr held a free tenement in Little Barr in 1272. In 1284 Richard of Barr and in 1291 John of Little Barr, held Little Barr from William de Bermingham, and he in turn from Roger de Somery. John de Barre later held it at a half a knight’s fee where it was valued at twenty shillings a year,63 although the manor was said 54

Ibid, 40-50; Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1886. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 108-114. G. P. M. 1921. Review of Calendar of Fine Rolls, op. cit., 188. 56 Wrottesley, G. 1897. Crecy and Calais, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire XVIII: 36. London: William Salt Archaeological Society, Harrison and Sons. 57 King, P. 2006 Perry Barr and its watermills, in Transactions of the Staffs Archaeological and Historical Society: 41: 65-79. 58 Hawkins, A. & Rumble, A. op. cit., 12:27. 59 Eyton, R. W. 1880. op. cit., 194. 60 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1882. Plea rolls, op. cit., 171. 61 Ibid, 148. 62 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1884. Pleas of the Forest, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: V, part 1: 108. London: Harrison and Sons. 63 Grazebrook, H. W. S. 1888. op. cit., 44. 55

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Medieval Birmingham to be worth one hundred shillings.64 In 1293 John of Barr was summoned to show his title to hold pleas of the Crown and to have a fair, market, gallows and the right of waif in his manor. He replied that he held only two courts yearly, where his jurisdiction was the same as the sheriff had in his criminal court, called a tourn; the jury said that his ancestors had usurped the rights of gallows and waif in King John’s reign and that they had held their franchises by a rent of 20d., payable to the Prior of the Hospitallers. It was considered that the franchises should be forfeited.65 An example of conflict within the family can be found in 1336 when John de Barre senior sued his son, Geoffrey de Barre, to render a reasonable account for the time he was his bailiff in Little Barr. Geoffrey did not appear, but had been bailed by William de Barre and Roger de Barre, possibly other kinsman.66 This began a series of cases that John brought against his son. In 1339 he accused him of forcibly breaking into his close at Little Barr and taking fish from his fish ponds to the value of £20. Geoffrey did not appear, and the Sheriff was ordered to distrain and produce him. This was not the end of it, as later Geoffrey, and his brother, John junior, were both accused of forcibly breaking into John senior’s house at Little Barr and insulting, wounding, and ill-treating him, then carrying away goods and chattels to the value of £20.67 John de Barre senior was not always arguing with his own family, however.William de Neuport, the father of Agnes, wife of Roger le Barber, of Bermingham, had occupied an estate worth fifteen shillings in rent in Little Barr when he died, and John de Barre, senior and a Ralph le Walkere had dispossessed Roger and Alice.68 No record seems to have existed of the verdict in this case. An argument occurred in 1338 between a Richard and John de Barre/Pyrye as to the ownership of Little Barr.69 He was granted free warren in 1344.70 By 1414, the property the Bermingham family and others owned in Little Perry, Little Barr and Handsworth, was three messuages, 358 acres of land, 43 acres of meadow, 78 acres of wood and 56 shillings of rent from the inhabitants.71 Margaret, Countess of Warwick (d. 1407), held a third of the manors of Perry, Little Barr, and Hamstead in dower. After this the manor seems to have disappeared or become merged into that of Perry, a relationship that appears to have had a long history.

64

Secretary of Society. 1911. Inquisitions post mortem, op. cit., 205. Stephens, W. B. (ed.) 1964. Manors, in A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 7, the City of Birmingham: 58-72. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol7/pp58-72 [accessed 2nd March 2017]. 66 Wrottesley G., and Parker, F. (ed.) 1890. Plea Rolls, op. cit. 66-75. 67 Ibid, 90-100. 68 Ibid, 80-89. 69 Wrottesley, G., and Parker, F. (ed.) 1890. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 80-89. 70 G. P. M., op. cit., 188. 71 Cornford, M. E., and Miller, E. B. 1921. Calendar of Manuscripts, op. cit., 10. 65

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The medieval estates of the de Bermingham family Estates in the Royal Forests In a medieval legal context, forest does not actually mean woodland, but land outside normal jurisdiction. The forests were created out of many disparate woodlands in the time of William the Conqueror and by his grandson, Henry I, by whose reign they had expanded as far east as Dudley and Sedgley and included settled and open land. Subsequent kings did not have the same appreciation of these areas and they started to reduce them. By the end of the thirteenth century the Forest of Kinver had contracted to the west part of Kingswinford. Several estates held by the Berminghams were still within the bounds of the forest and therefore were under forest law. This meant that they were under the king’s personal control, outside of the common law; forest law was enforced by a complicated network of courts and officials. At the most basic level each part of the forest was patrolled by a few riding and walking foresters, responsible for the day-to-day implementation of the forest law. They served under foresters-in-fee who in turn served under a warden or keeper. These men, and sometimes women, were supported by agisters, verderers and regarders. The verderers and regarders differed from their fellows in that they received no remuneration. They were often men of some local standing, who were elected in the county court. Overseeing the whole was the chief justice of the forest. Forest law was severe and was set up to protect the beasts of the chase and their habitats. The punishments for breaking these laws ranged from fines to, in the most severe cases, death. Due to their severity the villeins and peasants who lived on the land had restricted lifestyles. They were banned from enclosing the property they held as this restricted the hunt and they were not allowed to protect their crops by fencing.72 They could not use the timber from the woodland for building houses and they were not allowed to hunt game to provide food for their families. As the ‘underwood’ was also protected they also faced a severe restriction on the availability of fuel.  If they had dogs the nails were pulled out from their claws to prevent them from attacking the game. There were two forests in the barony, the forest of Cannock and the forest of Kinver.73 The Royal Forest of Cannock The forest perambulation of 1300 placed all the northern manors held by the Berminghams in the Forest of Cannock. The forest was divided into smaller units called bailiwicks and all the Dudley manors were in the Bailiwick of Bentley. Bentley was in West Aldridge. 72 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1884. Pleas of the Forest, op. cit., 170. This did not stop them putting up fences, but periodically the forest court ordered them to ‘prostrate’ them as it did with William atte Brok of Bushbury in 1286. 73 Ibid, 146.

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Medieval Birmingham

Figure 34: Coat of arms of the Bushbury family. The broad band and narrower bands on either side called a fess cottised, represent military might. The scallop shells signify that the family had travelled. If a member of the family had visited the shrine of St James at Compostela, Spain, they would normally have received a scallop shell which many people had buried with them when they died.74

BUSHBURY: At the time of the Domesday Book Biscopesberie was held by a man called Robert. Ansculf de Picquigny had also granted him Upper Penn, Oxley in Wombourne, Ettingshall and Aldridge suggesting he must have been important to the baron.75 The family who held it from the twelfth century were descendants of Peter de Bermingham.76 As with other lords of the barony, Hugh FitzPeter was sued for forest trespass, which may indicate that he had been implicated in Gervase Paganell’s rebellion against King Henry II in 1175.77 He was married to Agnes and their son was also called Hugh; his grandson was Robert.78 In 1241 Robert de Bissopbury tried unsuccessfully to claim the presentation of the priest at Penne Church. The family had lost the rights because Hugh FitzPeter had married a relation within the prohibited degrees and to gain forgiveness for this indiscretion he had given the advowson of the church away to the bishop.79 Robert’s son was called Ralph and had married another Agnes. They had three sons called Henry, Ralph and Hugh. Hugh was the parson of Bushbury Church.80 Ralph and his wife were important 74

Honorary Secretary. 1913. Staffs. Coats of Arms, 1272-1327 from the Rolls of Arms in M.S. in the British Museum, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: 293. London: Harrisons and Sons. 75 Hawkins, A. & Rumble, A. op. cit., 12:19. 76 Eyton, Rev. R. W. 1880. op. cit., 193. 77 Ibid, 191. 78 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1888. Assize Rolls, op. cit., 14. 79 Eyton, R. W. (ed.) 1880. op. cit., 192-193. 80 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1888. Assize Rolls, op. cit., 45.

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The medieval estates of the de Bermingham family locals,81 and he became a royal coroner.82 The value of Ralph de Bushbury’s Bermingham estates of Bushbury, Upper Penn and Rushall was one and a half knight’s fees, worth sixty shillings a year83 with the manors valued at twenty pounds annually.84 Ralph died about 1311 and his son, Henry became the next lord, but in 1315 he sued his mother, Agnes for cutting down some of his trees in Bushbury.85 A more important offence was the fact that in the same year the £400, which Ralph’s will stated was to go to his son Henry, was not forthcoming. Henry in 1317 accompanied John de Somery, Baron Dudley into Scotland, but saw no action beyond a few skirmishes.86 The sheriff was ordered to collect sums from different parties to give to Henry.87 In 1316, King Edward II, concerned that he was not getting sufficient men from Staffordshire to fill the ranks of the infantry for the defence of the country, asked William de Wrothesley to look into the matter and to contact Henry de Bushbury, Lord of Bushbury and Upper Penn.88 The fact that he was approached by name suggests that he was known by the authorities, and thought to be trustworthy. Between 1313 and 1323 Henry de Bushbury was called to fight in Scotland, often with the baron of Dudley.89 A note from the Scotch Rolls records that in 1313 he was appointed to find 1,000 footmen from Staffordshire and Shropshire ‘the greater part to be archers’ and take them up to Newcastle.90 In 1321 the rights of the Bushburys in Penne came up again and this time there was collusion between Henry’s brother, Ralph de Bushbury and the dean and chapter of Wolverhampton over the choice of priest. The case went to the royal court at Windsor and the king decided that as the new priest, William de Wyyingeston’s behaviour was good, so he could be left to serve Penn.91 Henry’s star was rising, as in 1322 the king made him sheriff of Staffordshire and Shropshire and gave him the royal castle of Bridgnorth and castles in Shropshire.92 He also became Keeper of Conwy Castle in 132593 and was knighted in 1327.94 In 1334 Sir Henry was again called to the colours as a force of Scots had assembled on the border, but nothing came of this.95 Sir Henry had previously supplied a hobelar 81

Grazebrook, H. W. S. 1888. op. cit., 60. Henry and Margaret had an elder son called John, but nothing is heard of him after 1316; perhaps he died or was killed in battle. 82 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1885. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 256. 83 Grazebrook, H. W. S. 1888. op. cit., 44. 84 Secretary of Society. Inquisitions post mortem, op. cit., 205. 85 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1888. Assize Rolls, op. cit., 60. 86 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1887. Military Service, op. cit., 37. 87 Ibid, 58. 88 http://www.historywebsite.co.uk/articles/Penn/history/Medieval.htm 89 Grazebrook, H. W. S. 1888. op. cit., 35–40. 90 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1887. Military Service, op. cit., 49. 91 Hughes, J. B. op. cit., 636. 92 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1888. Assize Rolls, op. cit., 129. 93 Ibid, 45 94 Wedgwood, J. C. 1887/1917. Staffordshire Members of Parliament, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: 42-43. London: Harrison and Sons. 95 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1887. Military Service, op. cit., 53.

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Medieval Birmingham to Sir Fulk de Bermingham’s retinue; this he avoided doing in 1346 by paying a fine to the king of five marks.96 It appears that Sir William de Bermingham had some land of his own in Bushbury as he is recorded as leasing a virgate of the manor to a Robert de Oxeley for a rent of a pair of gloves and an annual payment of a penny. Henry was succeeded by his son, Robert, whose daughter married Hugh de Bowles.97 Rose, daughter and sole heir of Richard Bushbury, married John Clayton, who made a settlement in 1503 limiting the manor to himself for life with reversion to Edward Stanley, then knight, afterwards created Lord Mounteagle.98 William Smyth, Bishop of Lincoln, granted the manor to Lincoln College, Oxford, on the 20 Oct. 1508. The arms of Bushbury are painted on the roof of the chapel.99

Figure 35: Coat of arms of Rushall as used by John Harpur, from the Rushall Psalter, a parchment volume written in the 15th century. Its first owner, John Harpur, pronounced a curse on anyone who removed the book in an ownership poem on f. 20v of the volume, but offered a pardon to anyone who repaired it. These were also the arms of the Earls of Stafford to whom it is not known if the Harpurs were related. Reproduced by permission of the University of Nottingham, Manuscripts and Special Collections Me LM 1 folio 21r.

96

G. P. M. op. cit., 187. Hobbies or small horses were a light cavalry riding unit. Eyton, R. W. (ed.) 1880. op. cit., 193. 98 Farrer, W. and Brownbill, J. (ed.) 1911. Townships: Little Harwood, in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6: 249-251. London. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/ lancs/vol6/pp249-251 [accessed 29 October 2017]. 99 Salter, H. E. and Lobel, M. D. (ed.) 1954. Lincoln College, in A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 3, the University of Oxford: 163-173. London. 97

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The medieval estates of the de Bermingham family RUSHALL: was named Rishale in Domesday Book and had been granted by Ansculf de Picquigny to Thorkell. It had six villagers and two smallholders, a water mill, a wood five furlongs wide by two and was worth ten shillings.100 Sometime later it became part of the manor of Bushbury. Quite when the Bowles family appeared is not clear, but William de Bowles was still said to be a sub-tenant off Ralph Bushbury in the mid fourteenth-century.101 The church, a chapel of Walsall, was appropriated in the year 1220 by the newly founded Premonstratensian Abbey at Halesowen and the fortified manor house with its c. 1300 curtain walls incorporating a gateway would have been occupied by the Bowles family.102 The cross ownership of manorial perquisites can be seen in the mill at Rushall. In 1227 it was part owned by the lord of the manor, Hugh de Bowles, through his wife, Alice, and by John de Parles of Handsworth. Parles had leased it to a freeman, William de Waleshale (Walsall), for 18 shillings a year. Bowles took Parles to court and sued him for loss of revenue.103 Parles realised it was a ‘loss leader’ and in 1236 Hugh and Alice Bowles gave him a sparrow-hawk to remit his claim.104 An interesting court case occurred in 1292 when William de Bowles brought a charge of the theft of workmen’s tools near his house. The perpetrators stated they did so as the men were working a mine in the King’s Forest without a warrant and Bowles withdrew his case.105 This is a very early piece of evidence for mining in the area. In 1292 court case, Bowles, with his two sons, Robert and John, attempted to eject Thomas Illari of Rushall from the house he lived in, together with his plough lands and six acres of meadow and moor in Rushall. The jury found for Illari and Bowles and his two sons were jailed for falsely accusing him.106 This was not the last time Bowles tried to evict a tenant. In 1298 John attended the assize with his brother Robert, with other men coming from Rushall and Walsall as witnesses.107 The court heard that a man called John de Cave of Essington had held a sizeable estate including a house, two acres of arable land, forty acres of pasture and two hundred acres of woodland in Rushall and that Bowles was to throw him off his land because he had no right to be there. The jury decided in favour of Cave. He was awarded forty shillings damages and Bowles and his confederates were ordered to be arrested for falsely accusing him.108 Bowles was not always the aggressor. In 1293 he was in the right, the court finding that Henry of Wednesfield had pulled down his house worth twenty shillings, 100

Hawkins, A. & Rumble, A. op. cit., 12:26. Eyton, Rev. R. W. 1880. op. cit., 195. 102 http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/English%20sites/3502.html 103 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1883. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 65. 104 Ibid, 232-3. 105 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1888. Assize Rolls, op. cit., 251. This was an interesting case as it is an example of early mining in the Black Country. 106 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1885. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 211-278. 107 Assize – sheriff ’s court. 108 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1886. Plea Rolls, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: VII, part 1: 57. London: Harrison and Sons. 101

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Medieval Birmingham cut down ash trees each worth three pence and ten pear trees109 worth two pence each in a wood in Rushall. Henry’s only defence was that the writ had been taken out by William’s son.110 Another example of Bowles winning his case was in 1308 when John de Wetale besieged his house at Rushall, seeking Robert de Esinton who was concealed there out of fear of him, and shot arrows over the gates.111 The Boweles family tendency for trouble was again manifest when William de Bowles was brought up before the courts in 1329 for breaking into the close of the Prior of Chacombe and stealing two oxen,112 but the most interesting case in which he was involved was the attack on Dudley Castle and this occurred in 1330. Sir John de Sutton, Baron Dudley, had run into debt and his father-in-law, Sir John de Charlton, Lord of Powis, had bailed him out. Charlton brought some of his own Welshmen down to the West Midlands. This generated hostility among the locals and created anarchy in the area. The locals besieged Dudley Castle and shot arrows into it. Most of the important townsmen of Dudley were taken to court including five persons from Rushall.113 Strangely enough they were all found not guilty even though two Welshmen, Maddock ap Yarwith and Thewelyn ap Eynon were killed in the fracas. In 1346 Sir William de Bowles was with Edward III’s army at Crécy.114 He may have died in the battle as his death is recorded in the same year. William’s daughter, Katherine, married Robert Grobbere, and the walls of Rushall Hall were rebuilt in 1429 by the Grobbere family to resemble castle battlements.115 Eleanor Grobbere married John Harpur who placed his coat of arms above the entrance to the hall. John Harpur and his wife had a second church built in Rushall; it was consecrated by William Heyworth, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, on 19th January 1440.116 John was a Member of Parliament. He died on 3 July 1464 and was buried in the church of the Grey Friars at Lichfield. He left his sons, William Harpur (1441-1508) and Sir Richard Harpur, whose daughter, Alice married Sir Thomas More, Chancellor of England. More was beheaded in 1535 by order of King Henry VIII. The estate went out of the Harpurs’ hands when Elizabeth Harpur, co-heir of Robert Harpur, married a Legh.117 It is unknown when the Berminghams lost control of it.

109

No author given. Patent Rolls, Records of Dudley from the British Library Collection, II: 28. Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1886. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 18. 111 Ibid, 44-56. The previously mentioned Robert’s son. 112 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1893. Extracts From the Coram Rege Rolls of Edward III and Richard II AD 1327 to AD 1383, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: XIV: 13. London: Harrison and Sons.13. 113 Ibid, 20-21. 114 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1898. Crecy & Calais, op. cit., 36. 115 http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-400000-300000/page/9; http://www. walsall.foreign.family.history.talktalk.net/id27.htm 116 https://www.rushallparish.org/about/history/ 117 http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/leghedward-i-1540-1617 110

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The medieval estates of the de Bermingham family Table 1: Bowles family tree.

Royal Forest of Kinver The forest perambulation of 1300 placed all the western manors held by the Berminghams in the Forest of Kinver. The Berminghams seem to have lost control of these lands when Sir William IX became head of the family at the beginning of the fifteenth century. MORF: was an ancient forest in its own right, and in Domesday it was valued as a five hide estate with woodland two leagues long by as much wide (three miles long by three miles wide); it was held by three free men.118 By the thirteenth century it had been taken into the Forest of Kinver.119 Its Domesday extent was a lot larger than that shown in the thirteenth century, so it can be inferred the manor had shrunk due to the incursion of the Royal forest.120 In 1166 it was called Morf Petri (ie of Peter de Bermingham), when Peter was fined ½ mark for forest trespass. It was divided into two estates, one held by Peter’s son, Henry, and the other by Henry de Morfe, though which one held the property later called Morfe Hall and who Little Morfe is presently unknown.121 Each of 118

Hawkins, A. & Rumble, A. op. cit., 12:2. Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1884. Pleas of the Forest, op. cit., 176-180. 120 Wrottesley, G. 1884. (ed.) Staffordshire Hundred Rolls: Seisdon hundred: Henry III, 1255, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: V: part 1, 106. London: William Salt Archaeological Society, Harrison and Sons. 121 Eyton, Rev. R. W. 1880. op. cit., 189. This may have been a cousin of the lord as Stafford Pipe Roll records that a younger son of Peter was the first Bermingham family member to be enfeoffed 119

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Medieval Birmingham the estates were valued at a half a knight’s fee worth twenty shillings a year,122 and they were estimated at 100 shillings a year.123 Henry de Bermingham paid half a mark in the 1221 Fine Rolls of King Henry III124 and William de Bermingham II made an agreement in 1222 with his brother that he and his heirs could hold it as long as the sub-estate, that had been valued at a quarter of a knights fee, be accepted as half a knights fee.125 This way William’s estate in Morf was covered by his brother’s payment. Henry was recorded as one of the verderers of Kinver Forest and served when the court cases were held; in 1271 he held the post of agister.126 On occasion he made himself responsible for the defendant’s debt as in the case below, which suggests Richard was one of his men. It was presented, etc., that Richard del Frene of Morf, and Richard son of Thomas Wodekoc of the same, took a hind in the said forest about the Feast of St. Barnabas, without warrant. Richard son of Thomas came, and being convicted of the same is committed to prison. And Richard del Frene had fled and is outlawed for a felony which he had committed. Richard son of Thomas being led forth from prison, was fined half a mark, for which Henry de Morf is his surety.127 A Henry de Morf accompanied a perambulation of the Forest of Kinver in 1294.128 When William de Bermingham VI died in 1301 his wife, Isabella, stated that his share in Morf was part of her dower.129 Henry was also the bailiff of Baron Roger de Somery and appeared as a defendant in court cases of his lord.130 Henry de Morf was in the retinue of Roger Mortimer that joined King Edward II’s forces in Carlisle in 1306 to fight against Robert the Bruce.131 Henry was recorded in the Hundred Rolls in 1327 as paying 5 shillings.132 The northern boundary of the Bermingham land was probably Philley Brook. However, a dispute between William de Bermingham and Henry Phellipus133 of Morf in 1374 about the cutting down of a hundred shillings worth of trees may imply a difference of opinion as to exactly where the boundary between of it. 122 Ibid, 13 H. II: 191; Grazebrook, H. W. S. 1888. op. cit., 43. 123 Secretary of Society. Inquisitions post mortem, op. cit., 204. 124 http://www.finerollshenry3.org.uk/content/indexes/person/bi-bp.html 125 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1883. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 218-9. 126 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1884. Pleas of the Forest, op. cit., 155. 127 Ibid, 166. 128 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1886. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 29. 129 Ibid, 50-65. Should this read 1302? 130 Ibid, 52. 131 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1887. Military Service, op. cit., 27. 132 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1886. Staffordshire Lay Subsidy, 1327: Seisdon hundred, in Staffordshire Historical Collections, Vol. 7, part 1: 246-255. London. British History Online http://www.britishhistory .ac.uk/staffs-hist-collection/vol7/pt1/pp246-255 [accessed 31 October 2017]. 133 The similarity in the name of the brook and the man’s surname is striking.

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The medieval estates of the de Bermingham family

Figure 36: The coat of arms of the Enville family was the same as the Barons of Dudley.135

their lands stood.135 In 1406 the half a knight’s fee of Morf was recorded as being held by the barony of Dudley when Constance Sutton took her dower following the death of her husband John de Sutton V.136 Morf seems to have been considered as part of Enville after this period. 134

ENVILLE: Ansculf de Picquigny had given the three hides of Enville, with its five villagers and one smallholder, to one of his fighting men called Gilbert. The woodland was one league long and half a league wide (a mile and a half long by three quarters of a mile).137 A Ralph de Evenefeld was fined for a socalled forest trespass in 1175, but probably because he had joined Gervase Paganell, Baron of Dudley, when he rebelled against Henry II. A descendent, Richard de Isnefeld, was summoned as a juryman respecting a knight’s fee in Acton in 1206.138 Another descendent, Sir William de Englefeud was referred to in a court case regarding the ownership of Coventry with both his overlords, Sir William de Bermingham and Roger de Somery, Baron Dudley, in 1243,139 so it seemed likely that he was one of the ‘movers and shakers’ of the time. Richard de Evenefeld, probably William’s son, was one of the verderers of

134

Honorary Secretary, 1913. Staffs Coats of Arms, op. cit., 281. Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1893. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 114-115. 136 Kirby, J. L. 1992. Inquisitions Post Mortem, Henry IV, Entries 351-401, in Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem: Volume 19, Henry IV: 120-141. London. British History Online http://www. british-history. ac.uk/inquis-post-mortem/vol19/pp120-141 [accessed 31 October 2017]. 137 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1884. Pleas of the Forest, op. cit., 176-180. 138 Eyton, R. W. 1880, op. cit., 191. 139 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1883. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 100. 135

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Medieval Birmingham Kinver Forest in 1271,140 followed by his son William in 1286.141 It may have been this William who was admonished for not having been knighted when he held a knight’s fee in 1271.142 Sir Andrew de Enfeld held the estate of a knight’s fee that was valued at forty shillings a year,143 and the manor ten pounds in 1291.144 In 1296 Andrew gave his brother, lands in Wyke, Coughton. The seal on the document shows the two passant Dudley lions, which implies that their coat of arms were those of the barony.145 It is likely that the transitional chancel of the church of St Mary the Virgin at Enville was built between 1272 and 1307 by a Roger of Birmingham. In the Banco Roll of 1286-7, Joan, the widow of Walter de Enefeld, took Roger de Bermingham, the Parson of the Church of Enville, to court in a plea of dower. As the case was dismissed, we could assume she was eventually given her dower. This would place Roger in Sir William de Bermingham VII’s generation, but so far nothing further has been found out about him.146 The settled estate was probably the lower third of Enville parish, its northern boundary with Morf being the Sneyd Brook. A Ralph de Evenfeld was recorded in the 1327 and 1332 Hundred Rolls as paying four shillings.147 Perhaps his son, Andrew de Evenefeld was called to arms in 1345 to join the king’s campaign in Brittany,148 and in 1346 Sir Richard de Enfeld was with King Edward III at Crécy.149 In December 1363 Sir Fulk de Bermingham presented John de Lutteley to the church of Enville.150 The post was presumably not to his liking, as he resigned two years later and Sir Fulk presented Simon de Malstang as priest.151 Simon died in 1382 and Sir John de Bermingham presented William Burnell as the new priest.152 In 1406 the single knight’s fee of Enville was recorded as being held by the barony of Dudley when Constance Sutton took her dower on the death of her husband

140

Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1884. Pleas of the Forest, op. cit., 140. Ibid, 180. 142 Eyton, R. W. 1880. op. cit., 191. 143 Grazebrook, H. W. S. 1888. op. cit., 43. 144 Secretary of Society. Inquisitions post mortem, op. cit., 204. 145 Eyton, R. W. 1881. op. cit., 191. 146 Lewis, S. (ed.) 1848. A Topographical Dictionary of England: 177-181. London: S. Lewis and Company. http://www.misericords.co.uk/enville.html#History; ‘Enford - Eriswell’, in British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp177-181a [accessed 29th October 2017]. In 1762 a stone coffin, inscribed Rogerus de Morf, was excavated under the west end of the church. Was this the parson, Roger de Birmingham? 147 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1886. Staffordshire Lay Subsidy, 1327: 246-255; British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/staffs-hist-collection/vol7/pt1/pp246-255 [accessed 31 October 2017]. 148 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1887. Military Service, op. cit., 76. 149 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1898. Crecy & Calais, op. cit., 34. 150 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1907. The First Register of Bishop Roger de Stretton 1358 – 1385, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: XX, part II: 115. 151 Ibid, 118. 152 Ibid, 151. 141

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The medieval estates of the de Bermingham family

Figure 37: A fifteenth century misericord (a shelf intended to support a person in a partially standing position during long periods of prayer) in St Mary the Virgin’s Church, Enville, showing a castle with infantry men and horsemen coming out of the gates and a lady looking on from a window. Possibly the image represents the Bermingham Manor house or Dudley Castle. Reproduced by permission of www.misericords.co.uk. Copyright © 2019.

John de Sutton V.153 Robert Grey, ancestor of the Earls of Stamford, was born in Enville about 1422.154 WOMBOURN, OXLEY and ORTON: Wamburne, Oxelie and Overtone were three estates at the time of Domesday, and were occupied by three different people, Ralph, Robert and Walbert. Wombourn itself was a comparatively large community, a seven hide estate with 14 villagers, three smallholders, two watermills and a priest – and therefore a church.155 The church was dedicated to St Benedict Biscop, a dedication to this Anglo-Saxon abbot unknown elsewhere. The church was rebuilt by the Prior of Dudley around 1170.156 Oxley was a 153

Kirby, J. L. op. cit., 120-141. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Grey-654 155 Hawkins, A. & Rumble, A. op. cit., 12:7, 8, 9. 156 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wombourne 154

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Medieval Birmingham one hide estate with four villagers, while Orton was of three hides with seven villagers and two smallholders.157 About 1180 William le Coq was granted a clearing in the forest and later built his ‘house in the wood’, his descendants were called Wodehouse. The core of that house is today a late medieval timberframed building.158 One of the earliest mentions of the Overton family is in the Feet of Fines for 1224, where an Alan de Overton is mentioned.159 By the thirteenth century all three places were in the possession of a single person, William de Overton, who held two knight’s fees at Overton and Wombourn worth £4 a year, which was double the value of other estates.160 The value of the manor was twenty pounds.161 It was axiomatic that a knights fee should be held by a knight. In an Assize Court of 1292 it was disclosed that William de Overton had not been knighted and should be.162 By 1306 his son, Thomas, was recorded as being on the jury of the Seisdon Hundred.163 A document pertaining to Wombourn and Overton gives a list of tenants. As Overton and Wombourn were in the Forest of Kinver,164 some were recorded as holding a purpresture, which was a special dispensation given to the tenants to hold land within the woodland of the forest. Many of the residents were making inroads into the woodland at the time, this was called assarting: cutting down trees and farming the land, presumably with the king’s permission. Richard le Carpenter de Womburne held an acre and three quarters of purpresture, worth 7d. Richard also held half an acre of purpresture, worth 2d jointly with William de la Hale; Thomas de la Grene held three quarters of purpresture, worth ¼d. The normal assarts list included: William de la Lude holds an assart in Womburne containing an acre, value 6d; and Thomas de Womburne holds an assart of two roods,165 value l¼d; and William of the same holds an assart of an acre and a rood, value 7¼d; and the Abbot of Hales hold an assart of two acres, value 12d; and Robert de Sprungewall holds an assart of Overtun, containing half an acre, value 3d; and Matilda de Womburne holds an assart of half an acre, value 3d. Richard, the said Vicar holds an assart of a rood, value l¼d; also the heirs of Richard, son of William Wich of Oxele, hold an assart of an acre, value 6d.166 157

Hawkins, A. & Rumble, A. op. cit., 12:7, 9. http://www.visitoruk.com/wolverhampton/wombourne-C592-V21498.html 159 Wrottesley, G. 1883. Feet of Fines, op. cit., 218-237; British History Online http://www.britishhistory.ac.uk/staffs-hist-collection/vol4/pp218-237 [accessed 31 October 2017]. 160 Grazebrook, H. W. S. 1888, op. cit., 44. 161 Secretary of Society. Inquisitions post mortem, op. cit., 205. 162 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1888. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 261. This also reported that Ralph de Bysseburi should be knighted. 163 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1886. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 172. 164 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1884. Pleas of the Forest, op. cit., 176-180. 165 A rood is a quarter of an acre. 166 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1884. Pleas of the Forest, op. cit., 110-117. 158

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The medieval estates of the de Bermingham family One part of the list includes a reference to goats. Goats are browsers: they prefer saplings and branches of trees to grass and eventually the area where they grazed would be cleared of young trees; ultimately the old ones would fall, making a treeless landscape. The document states that ‘John de Wodeford has goats in the forest, and Robert junior also, and they [i.e. the goats] do not return to any enclosure’, which meant that they were even more able to destroy the woodland. A few other lords, not local, held land there including Felicia de Barre who held Great Barre and Aldridge for which she paid a silver mark.167 William de Overton was a valet at the 1283 Parliament,168 and a prevalent poacher of the king’s deer. He was taken to court for this offence in 1271 and fined forty shillings for taking-down a stag.169 This evidently did not discourage him as he was taken to court again in 1286 for poaching and was fined five marks.170 He did not look after his own woods either, and they were taken into the king’s hands until he paid a fine of half a mark for their restoration.171 Interestingly enough, however, when the authorities came to do a perambulation of the forest he was one of the persons recorded who assisted them.172 The general taxation imposed in 1323 saw virtually all of those licensed to collect it taken to court for failing to hand the proceeds over to the king, including Thomas de Overton. The king fined all of them and Thomas’ share was two marks.173 In 1355 Edward III invaded France and William de Overton was ordered to join the army at Calais.174 He was again with the army in 1359.175 In 1406 the two knight’s fees of Orton, Oxley, Bradley and Wombourne were recorded as being held by the barony of Dudley when Constance Sutton took her dower on the death of her husband John de Sutton V.176 UPPER PENN: Domesday Book records that there were 3 hides in Upper Penn. Gilbert held it from William FitzAnsculf, Baron of Dudley. The population was said to be 6 villagers with one freeman, they had one and a half ploughs and another plough in the demesne. Upper Penn was valued at thirty shillings for taxable purposes.177 Sometime later Penn had been given to the holders of Bushbury, and it was still held by the Bushbury family in the thirteenth century. A case occurred in 1211 in which a man called Henry le Notte sued Hugh FitzPeter for two hides, two virgates, which was nearly half the estate. 167 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1885. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 173-183; Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1883. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 218-237. 168 Wedgwood, J. C. op. cit., 9. A valet was from a knightly family, but underage. 169 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1884. Pleas of the Forest, op. cit., 143. 170 Ibid. 159. 171 Ibid, 144. 172 Ibid, 166. 173 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1888. Assize Rolls, op. cit. 93-95. 174 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1887. Military Service, op. cit., 96. 175 Ibid, 102. 176 Kirby, J. L. op. cit., 120-141. 177 Hawkins, A. & Rumble, A. op. cit., 12:6.

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Medieval Birmingham Interestingly, Henry’s ancestor was a man called Godmund, a Danish name, who had held the property at the time of the conquest. Hugh agreed he had rights and gave him two virgates in Penn with which he seemed satisfied.178 After Henry de Bushbury, the new lord was Ralph. Ralph de Bushbury took the baron, Roger de Somery, to court in 1271 when he had thirty acres of wood taken from him in Upper Penn. Nothing else is known of this case.179 In 1315 a dispute broke out between the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield and the Dean and Chapter of Wolverhampton over the right to choose the next priest of Upper Penn, so the king confiscated the right of presentation. Ralph agreed to pay the bishop as he had previously had rights to the choice of incumbent. William de Bermingham VIII objected to this, claiming that it was his right to decide who should present the next priest.180 The Dean and Chapter relinquished their claim.181 Another case arose in 1331 when Richard de Toggeford accused Ralph of taking land from him, but as Richard did not appear in court, it was dismissed, suggesting it was a false claim.182 Another Bushbury, called Robert, had interests in Upper Penn and after his death his wife, Edith, was named in connection with a murder. It appears that Ralph le Northerne de Overpenne and Walter le Paumer (the Palmer) of Humelele (Himley) quarreled at Kydeminynstre and Ralph struck Walter with a knife which resulted in his death three days later. Ralph fled, was outlawed, and his goods taken into the hands of the sheriff. Edith, it appeared, together with Ralph de Fonte of Upper Penn had taken part of Ralph’s property and they were fined for doing this.183 In 1406 the manor of Upper Penne was recorded as being held by the barony of Dudley when Constance Sutton took her dower on the death of her husband John de Sutton V.184 AMBLECOTE: According to Domesday Book, Payne, a soldier in Ansculf of Picquigny’s forces, held Elmelecote.185 By the thirteenth century Amblecote was held for a knight’s service by William de Wavere (Warley) who was recorded as holding it in 1257.186 Robert de Wavere, probably a son, married Cecily, who was ‘lady of Amblecote’ in 1255. Cecily was recorded in the Hundred Rolls. She also had a brother called Roger who was taken to court for poaching.187 This may have been in the woods of his family’s manor. Sir William de Stafford acquired the manor of Amblecote by marriage to a Cecily in 1270, perhaps the 178

Eyton, R. W. (ed.) 1880. op. cit., 191-192. Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1886. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 52. 180 Grazebrook, H. W. S. 1888. op. cit., 53-54. 181 Ibid, 55. 182 Wrottesley, G. and Parker, F. (ed.) 1890. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 21-35. 183 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1885. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 260. A Palmer was a person who had been on a pilgrimage, often to the Holy Land. 184 Kirby, J. L. op. cit., 120-141. 185 Hawkins, A. & Rumble, A. op. cit., 246b. 186 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1886. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 118. 187 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1884. Pleas of the Forest, op. cit., 138. 179

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The medieval estates of the de Bermingham family

Figure 38: Stafford family coat of arms.188

manor was then valued as a half knight’s fee,189 and was worth a hundred shillings.190 The Staffords were a cadet branch of the Dukes of Buckingham. Stafford, like many knights in his position, was a fighting lord and was responsible for taking five hundred footmen up to Berwick-upon-Tweed to fight the Scots in 1300.191 The manor was supposed to be held by tenants, but as one was named William de Stafford in 1284–5, 1290, and 1316 it may have been another member of the family. In 1317 Sir William de Stafford gave it to his grandson James, son of William de Stafford. James apparently held the manor until 1322, when he forfeited it as a rebel, and it was granted by the king to John de Somery, Baron Dudley, the overlord of the fee. James de Stafford was on the Duke of Lancaster’s side in his opposition to the king in 1322. He joined Lancaster and was captured at the battle of Boroughbridge. The duke was beheaded, and Stafford was imprisoned. Even though Stafford was on the opposing side to his lord he was let out of prison a short while later and recovered his property. The estate was valued at twenty shillings a year in 1322.192 The Berminghams’ hold on Amblecote lapsed after this date.193 By the fourteenth century some of the forest lands had been deforested in part; Amblecote was one such.194 The eastern section of the manor, however, remained part of the forest. 188

Honorary Secretary. 1913. Staffs Coats of Arms, op. cit., 281. Eyton, R. W. (ed.) 1881. op. cit., 190. 190 Secretary of Society. Inquisitions post mortem, op. cit., 205. 191 Wrottesley, G. 1887. (ed.) Military Service, op. cit., 21. 192 Grazebrook, H. W. S. 1888. op. cit., 44. 193 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/worcs/vol3/pp213-223 194 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1884. Pleas of the Forest, op. cit., 176-180. 189

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Chapter Four

The fighting men of Bermingham The military service of the lords of Bermingham The national role of the lords of Bermingham and the men under them was a military one – at the request of the baron of Dudley and/or the king, they were expected to fight in the various wars of the state. The lands that they were given were assessed in terms of the military service the holder was expected to render; Bermingham itself was calculated as being one knight’s fee.1 A fee or fief was the amount of land that was thought sufficient to support a knight. It needed to not only maintain him, but also his family, squires and servants. It also had to furnish him and his retinue with horses and armour. The need for fighting men grew in the Middle Ages and by the thirteenth century Commissioners of Array would select and impress other men to fight. These men were classified according to their landholdings. Freemen who possessed land between £15 and £20 a year were knights, those worth £15 a year were called troopers with horse, lance and armour. Less wealthy men would serve as foot soldiers and be provided by the town constable with iron helmet, quilted jacket, spear, dagger and bow and arrows.2 This meant that other persons (townsmen for instance) could be taken into the armed forces or forced to pay a fine in lieu of service. Going to war was expensive. A knight had to have a heavy warhorse to support him and his armour. A destrier (battle-charger) able to carry the great weight of a man in armour was expensive, costing about £100 at the time, the price of an upmarket motor car today. A spare horse or two was an important asset as they often were killed in battle, so a string of steeds was more a necessity than a luxury. Less powerful horses could be obtained for £30 to £15, while rouncys could be had for £10 to £5 for the mounted men-at-arms; these could also be used as packhorses.3 On occasion the Berminghams were instructed to bring hobelars with them. It is likely that many of their animals were supplied by the lord as rearing horses is costly. Many of these animals would have been kept in the Bermingham fields when not in use and looked after by expert stablemen. Armour consisted of chainmail and plate and would have been made and repaired by the armourer who was recorded as living in Bermingham (see Chapter Nine). However, the Berminghams did not always have their armour made at home. In 1310, John de Somery, Baron Dudley had sold William de 1

Grazebrook, H. W. S. 1888. op. cit., 44. Bryant, A. op. cit., 102. 3 Ibid, 63. 2

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The fighting men of Bermingham Bermingham VII a suit of mail and a gorget worth £10 for which he had not been paid. Lord Dudley took him to court and he was told to pay the sum and fined forty shillings.4 A jobbing smith may have been able to supply many of their weapons, but swordsmiths would have been needed to make the lord’s sword. The backbone of an English army of the late thirteenth and fourteenth centuries was the archers due to their use of the longbow.5 The power of the longbow was first discovered, to his cost, by King Edward I through the skill of the Welshmen of Gwent in bringing down nearly everything in bowshot. He adopted the use of the weapon in England, making it law that every male above the age of fourteen had to do weekly practice. To draw a longbow takes years of training as it is a very heavy weapon but once accomplished this made the English archer a formidable opponent in battle, and many Bermingham men proficient in archery went to war with their lord. Bermingham had a professional archer in Simon the Archer in 1296 and perhaps he taught the boys and men of the community at the archery butts behind the town.6 Bowyers made the bows, a fletcher placed feathers on the end of the arrow shafts and an arrow smith added the steel-tipped arrowheads. There were different arrowheads for different scenarios. With men and weapons accounted for then there was transport; spare arms and armour, food, tents and clothing were either carried by mule or in waggons. In the 1358 campaign they even took coracles from the River Severn to supply the army with fish during Lent.7 Going to war was not only a soldier’s prerogative; thousands of craftsmen and labourers were also employed. The daily rate of pay in the thirteenth century was five or six pence for a foreman or three or four pence for a skilled man, with the unskilled labourer being paid one penny. They normally were paid a bonus of a penny a day to drink to the king’s health.8 As far as men were concerned, the Berminghams had a private retinue of nine knights, together with five men-at-arms to each knight. It gave them a fighting force of at least fifty-four men whenever they were called to battle, but anyone could join them. There was a time limit on their service, however, and this was forty days, after which they could return home.9 It was realised that summoning feudal knights, who often did not wish to go on campaign, was futile, so scutage (shield money) was introduced by Henry I. It was a fee knights paid to the crown in lieu of their service, which gave the king money

4

Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1888. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 19, 26. Bryant, A. op. cit., 102-3. 6 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 48. 7 Ibid, 418. 8 Bryant, A. op. cit., 65. 9 No author given. 1913. Inquisition post mortem 1327 – 1366, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: 202. London: Harrison and Sons. 5

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Figure 39: Archery practice at the butts, from a fourteenth century image in the Luttrell Psalter.11

to hire mercenaries.10 It would have been common knowledge when the Berminghams went to war, and they probably took a number of townspeople with them. Bermingham men may have seen the decision to join their lord’s forces as a profitable one. Apart from the fact that they would receive higher wages as soldiers than working in the fields or in the town there were also the prospects of plundering the towns and villages they came across, and the ransom of prisoners they captured in battle.12 For this reason it was in their interest to fight in wealthy France, rather than in relatively poor Scotland.13 11

Berminghams at war ELEVENTH CENTURY WARFARE IN WALES: William the Conqueror understood that the Welsh had supported the English revolt in 1070, so he placed powerful men on the borders with Wales. By the early 1070s they had begun to move into Wales on a wide front. In one of their earliest engagements the Bermingham family joined Robert de Rhuddlan in 1072 in invading Wales on behalf of his cousin, Hugh d’Avranches, Earl of Chester. Earl Hugh claimed the Perfeddwlad (the middle country) between the River Conwy and the River Clwyd (the commotes of Tegeingl and Rhufoniog) as part of the earldom of Chester, and viewed the restoration of Welsh rule in Gwynedd as a threat to his own expansion into Wales.14 Gruffudd ap Cynan, king of Gwynedd was lured into a trap with the promise of an alliance, but seized by the earl and Hugh Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, in an ambush at Rug, near Corwen. He spent twelve years imprisoned in Chester Castle. The lands west of the Clwyd 10

Pascoe, L. C., Lee, A. J., and Jenkins, E. S. 1968. Encyclopaedia of Dates and Events: 158. London: English Universities Press. 11 Original document © British Library Board, Add. 42130, f.147v, 072201, Archery Practice. 12 Bryant, A. op. cit., 301. 13 Ibid, 406. 14 Rowley, T. 1983. The Norman Heritage 1066 – 1200: 161-65. London: Book Club Associates.

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The fighting men of Bermingham were invaded by Robert de Rhuddlan, and the Norman advance extended to the Llŷn peninsula by 1090.15 William de Bermingham I was recorded as being born in Gwynedd around 1080 which implies that his parents were on active service there. Presumably his father, and his grandfather, Richard, were in the retinue of Ansculf or his son, William FitzAnsculf, Baron Dudley, but nothing more is known of his service.

Figure 40: The eleventh century Welsh war. William de Bermingham I was born while his parents were on active service in Gwynedd. 15

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Gwynedd_during_the_High_Middle_Ages

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Medieval Birmingham THE ANARCHY: Nothing else is known of the earlier activities of the Bermingham family until we come to ‘the Anarchy’ (1138-1153). This was a civil war between King Stephen, nephew of Henry I, and the Empress Matilda, Henry’s daughter. The main supporter of Matilda was her step brother, Robert Earl of Gloucester, an illegitimate son of Henry I. The country was divided between supporters of the empress in the west and the king in the east. Most of the war involved sieges of castles and towns rather than pitched battles. Ralph Paganell, Baron Dudley, and his retinue fought on the empress’s side. The king unsuccessfully besieged Dudley Castle in 1138, and it is likely that Peter de Bermingham served his lord in the defence of the castle. A twelfth century monk, called John of Worcester, described the event. The king marched with his whole army to Dudley Castle, which Ralph Paignel held against him. There he set fire to the surrounding country and took and carried off much cattle; and then went by sea [probably the River Severn], together with a large body of his soldiers, to besiege Shrewsbury castle.16 As John was in nearby Worcester at the time it is likely that the above record is reliable. The comment that they ‘set fire to the surrounding country’ implies that the houses and fields of the barony were burnt, probably including Bermingham. The taking of the local cattle (a term often used for sheep as well as cows) suggests that the king attempted to financially ruin the peasantry, thereby hurting the baron whose income depended on them. Without livestock the locals could not pay their rents. The Anarchy was described by one contemporary as ‘a time when God and his angels slept,’ and this vicious attack on innocent people was a good example of it. The comment that the king took ‘a large body of his soldiers’ when he went to besiege Shrewsbury also implies, he may have left a number of soldiers at Dudley to continue with the siege. According to John ‘A treaty having been entered, Ralph Paganell was reconciled to the king for a time.’ This may have been the only way of lifting the siege. With the troops gone Ralph quickly resumed his old allegiance and according to John in 1140 – ‘at the instigation of Ralph Paganel’ – he recommended to Robert of Gloucester that he take Nottingham.17 Ralph, with Gloucester’s troops, together with the Earl of Warwick assaulted the town. A fire started after his troops had forced their entry and were pillaging it. The fire spread and the whole town was devastated; many of the citizens were killed. Those that had survived were carried away as prisoners. It is likely that Peter was with Ralph when Nottingham went up in flames. It is also likely that Peter was with him at the Battle of Lincoln in 1141, a defeat for King Stephen. 16 17

John of Worcester, op. cit., 195. Ibid, 205-206.

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Figure 41: In the civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda. Gervase Paganell, Baron Dudley and Peter de Bermingham fought on the empress’ side.

BARON’S REVOLT: The next upheaval to feature Bermingham involvement arose between the Young King, Henry and his father, King Henry II. King Stephen had died in 1154 and Henry Plantagenet, son of the Empress Matilda became the next king. Ralph’s son, Gervase Paganell had started out as a great supporter of Henry II, but on the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket in 93

Medieval Birmingham 1170 he changed his allegiance to the king’s son, Prince Henry. In 1173 the prince decided to replace his father and Gervase joined the rebellion. The king, however had been forewarned about the plot, and was able to arrest those involved before it started. Paganell was punished with a fine and the slighting of the defences of his castle at Dudley; he avoided being put to death.18 The Berminghams were involved in this fiasco as they were also fined. Paganell’s annoyance at his arrest can be seen in that he constructed another church at Dudley (the parish church was St Edmunds), dedicated to St Thomas Becket.19 It seems probable that Peter, in support of his lord and to prove a point, had his priory in Bermingham dedicated to St Thomas as well. Gervase left the West Midlands and stayed in his Home Counties estates for the rest of his life. However, he needed someone to control affairs in his West Midlands estates and this became the Bermingham family’s role. THE THIRD CRUSADE: A Roll of King Richard I, dated 1191-2, stated that William FitzPeter (son of Peter), had gone on crusade with the king.20 This was the Third Crusade to the Holy Land and lasted three years. Gervase Paganell, Baron Dudley, did not go, citing his age.21 It is not certain whether William de Bermingham II was with the king or the army when they set out. The king went by land, the army in over a hundred ships by sea, intending to meet up in Marseilles in August 1190. By the time the fleet arrived King Richard had continued down the Italian coast. The fleet decided to carry on to Messina, Sicily, where they were met by the king on 23 September. This may have been the first time that William II encountered Muslims, for Sicily was a multicultural society. King Richard had a disagreement with the men of Messina and laid siege to the town and plundered it. It is probable that William II and his knights were part of this force. The king decided to overwinter in Sicily and his men probably enjoyed the rest, but by February 1191 they had become resentful of the delay and wanted to leave. Richard set sail on 10 April with two hundred ships but ran into a storm and the fleet was separated. The ship of Berengaria, Richard’s fiancé, was driven to Limassol, Cyprus, and when the English soldiers went ashore, they were imprisoned by the island’s leader, Isaac Ducas Comnenus. King Richard found out what had happened and attacked the island. This would have been the second engagement that William II was involved in. As soon as the ships got into Limassol, Richard and his soldiers piled into small boats and rowed ashore. When they were in range the English archers began to shoot, and after a brief fight the Cypriots retreated and were eventually captured. On the 11 May King Richard was joined by the leaders 18 Rebellion is treason and punishable by death. Henry II could not execute his eldest son, so the rest of the rebels were not put to death. 19 Hemingway, J. 2009. op. cit., 23. 20 Eyton, R. W. (ed.) 1881. op. cit., 17. 21 Hemingway, J. 2006. op. cit., 28.

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The fighting men of Bermingham of Latin Christian Outremer including Guy de Lusignan, King of Jerusalem. Richard married his fiancé, Berengaria, the next day and perhaps William II was at the wedding. King Richard then divided his army and gave part of it to Guy. It is unknown which leader William II went with, but they systematically took all the castles of Cyprus finishing with Kyrenia (which housed the wife of Isaac Comnenus) and St Hilarion. King Richard had won Cyprus for the English crown and more importantly as a base to fight Saladin.

Figure 42: The medieval sea wall of Kyrenia, Cyprus, 2015.

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Figure 43: The medieval castle of St Hilarion, Cyprus, 2015.

King Richard and his army sailed out of Famagusta, Cyprus on 5 June and arrived in Tyre on the coast of Outremer on the 6th.22 From Tyre he sailed down to Acre and joined the siege of the town. This was the first action that William II saw against the Saracens. The king had brought stone-throwing catapults, and although the Muslim inhabitants responded with Greek fire – a naphtha-based mixture which burst into flames when it landed – the walls were soon battered down. Saladin, whose forces were outside the walls, kept up a constant attack, but his last bid to take the besiegers’ camp failed on 3 July and the city subsequently capitulated. So far, the crusade had been a joint affair with Philip, king of France and King Richard, but now the French king left to go home. King Richard intended to ransom the garrison of Acre to Saladin, but as he was slow to deliver the ransom, the king marched the 2,700 men out of the city walls and put them to death. William II would have certainly witnessed this massacre, even if he did not take part in it.

22

Outremer – land beyond the sea, a French term for the Holy Land.

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Figure 44: Map of Palestine at the time of the Third Crusade. Sir William de Bermingham II fought with King Richard against Saladin.23

Once the massacre was over the prostitutes of Acre had a ‘field day’ with the crusaders, so much so that two days later King Richard led the army out of the city, south along the coast to Jaffa, to prevent them getting too comfortable with the residents. Outside the city the English had to defend themselves against the extremely capable archers of the Muslim light cavalry. As the king kept his men next to the sea he could always be well supplied by his fleet, but the heat and dust must have been a problem to the English soldiers. Although Saladin’s forces were numerous their bows were not powerful enough to get through chain mail, but they could kill the horses and it was the infantrymen 23

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_Crusader_states_1190-en.svg Free Documentation License

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Medieval Birmingham and archers that defended their lords. Again, we have no idea how many attacks were made on William II and his retinue but they must have been numerous. Saladin followed the crusaders as they travelled south but it was obvious that a pitched battle would be the result. When both sides reached Arsuf, the battle began. As the crusaders marched on, the king placed them in battle order; the English and Norman forces were in the fourth division, guarding the royal standard. According to Ambroise, a Norman minstrel who was present, the rain of enemy arrows was so thick it obscured the light of the sun. The Hospitallers, who formed the rear-guard, were desperately attacked and took it into their heads to charge the enemy against King Richard’s orders. The king, realising they would need support, led the rest of his forces into the fray and the Saracens fled. When they reached Jaffa, King Richard let his men rest, while he rebuilt the town that Saladin had demolished. The women who had been entertaining the troops in Acre now came down to Jaffa, much to the disgust of the clergy that accompanied the army. Throughout November and December, the king repaired the castles on the road to Jerusalem and by Christmas the whole of his army was only twelve miles from the city, but it was here that it was realised they could not hold the city against Saladin. At a meeting of the army council held in January 1192 it was decided to return to Jaffa. This failure to take Jerusalem led to King Richard losing most of the foreign contingents. The army then marched to Ascalon and refortified it. The king once more marched to within twelve miles of Jerusalem, but once more returned to Jaffa. He journeyed back to Acre, but Jaffa on 27 July was attacked by Saladin and was relieved by King Richard’s return. Both sides were now exhausted, and Richard and Saladin agreed on a truce. It was time to go home and on 9 October they set sail, King Richard returning after imprisonment in Austria, but William II with the rest of the English knights and men-at-arms probably by the end of the year.24 BATTLE OF LEWES, 14 May 1264: As with the crusades, the Berminghams did not always fight with their liege lord and in the Barons’ War of 1264-5 they were on opposing sides. The war was fought between the supporters of Simon de Montfort and King Henry III. Although they started out as friends, and the king gave Montfort the earldom of Leicester; King Henry’s lack of respect for the barons led to a cooling in their relationship. In 1258 the king was forced into accepting the Provisions of Oxford which stated that from then on, the king would be assisted in governing by a council of twenty-four, twelve chosen by the king, and twelve chosen by the barony. A privy council would oversee the administration and parliaments would meet three times a year. Apart from Magna Carta, this was the first English constitution. The king repudiated the 24 Gillingham, J. 1973. The Life and Times of Richard I: 38-163. London: Book Club Associates. The section on the Third Crusade is taken chiefly from this book.

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The fighting men of Bermingham Provisions in 1260 and the Barons War began.25 The king’s main support was in the Midlands, but he had to reduce the towns of Northampton, Leicester and Nottingham before marching to Lewes, Sussex where he arrived on 6 May 1264.26 The king’s army was a little under 10,000 men and Roger de Somery, Baron Dudley, was with the royal forces. Simon picked up troops from London, and with Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, and his two sons, Henry and Guy de Montfort, with a force of 5,000 men arrived at nearby Offham on the 12 May. William de Bermingham V, with his father-in-law, Thomas de Astley, joined Montfort’s forces and probably fought on Simon’s right flank.27 The Earl of Hereford and other men from the Midlands were in this division. The battle began with Prince Edward charging the Londoners on the left flank. He had a personal grievance against them as they had insulted his mother. He drove straight through, driving them off the field and ended up destroying the baggage train in the rear. Henry III and his brother Richard of Cornwall, King of the Romans, attacked the right wing and central positions up the

Figure 45: Battle plan of Lewes. Sir Roger de Somery, Baron Dudley, fought with the king; Sir William de Bermingham V was with Simon de Montfort’s forces. 25

Chancellor, J. 1981. The Life and Times of Edward I: 52-62. London: Book Club Associates. Burne, A. H. 2002. The Battlefields of England: 146. London: Classical Penguin Books. 27 Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 657. 26

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Medieval Birmingham slope. However, the royalist forces were out of breath from ascending the hill and when Simon flung his reserve against them they collapsed. They fell back to the gates of the Priory and the edge of the town. It was not until two hours later that Prince Edward returned, and by then the battle was over. The leading protagonists met in St Pancras Priory where a truce was agreed. As an adjunct to the day’s events, if William V and his retinue, had been stationed on the right flank they might have been involved in Richard of Cornwall’s embarrassment at being trapped in King Harry’s Windmill with the baronial forces surrounding it and hurling insults at him. BATTLE OF EVESHAM, 4 August 1265: Henry III and Prince Edward were both held captive by the barons and for fifteen months they accompanied Simon de Montfort wherever he went. On the 20 May 1265 after promising to uphold the Provisions of Oxford Edward was released, but then rode to Worcester and raised an army. William de Bermingham V had accompanied the baronial party since Lewes and on 31 June, they were in Hereford. They made their way to Worcester while Edward was sacking Kenilworth, held by Montfort’s son, also called Simon. The baronial army crossed the River Severn at Kempsey and then marched to Evesham, via the south bank of the River Avon. Prince Edward, guessing his foe was heading east, chose the Cleeve Prior crossing and then travelled west towards Evesham. The Earl of Gloucester had changed sides at this juncture and came down the ridgeway on the Alcester Road. The two armies met on the north side of Evesham. Prince Edward had a force of over 15,000 men, while Montfort had about 5,000, comprising 500 cavalry and 4,500 infantry. Roger Mortimer, Lord of Wigmore took the right flank, the Earl of Gloucester the left, with Edward in the centre. Upon realising that battle was unavoidable Simon was supposed to have said, ‘May God have mercy on our souls, for our bodies are theirs!’ The battle started at 9 o’clock when Montfort drove his division into Gloucester’s, which recoiled but then recovered. The two royalist wings began to encircle them and, as there was no quarter given, most of them died on the spot. Both Simon’s son, Henry and Simon himself were unhorsed and killed. Their father, Simon was supposedly slain by Roger Mortimer and his body mutilated by royalist soldiers. The Earl of Hereford’s division was also broken and some of the surviving soldiers tried to find shelter in Evesham Abbey but to no avail. Whatever division William V was in, he was slain with the rest.28 The battle was over within the space of two hours. The chronicler, Robert of Gloucester was said to have described the action as ‘not a battle but a murder’.29

28

Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1887. Military Service, op. cit., 6. Robert of Gloucester, Chronicle translated by Stevenson, Rev. Joseph, ed. (1858) in The Church Historians of England: Pre-reformation series, Volume 5, Part 1; Seeleys; p. 375. 29

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Figure 46: Battle plan of Evesham. Sir William de Bermingham V fought on Simon de Montfort’s side and was killed in the battle.

Figure 47: Simon de Montfort was supposedly killed by Roger Mortimer and then hacked to pieces by the royalists as depicted in this contemporary drawing. It is not known if William de Bermingham V suffered the same fate.30 30

https://therochfords.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/evesham-edmund-of-haddenham.jpg

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Medieval Birmingham INTERREGNUM: As William V had performed a treasonable act his lands were taken by the king who gave them to Roger de Clifton, the constable of Gloucester Prison. Under the Dictum of Kenilworth those lords who had survived were given the chance to be restored to their property. Clinton, however, did not want to return the Bermingham lands, and it was only the influence of Roger de Somery, Baron Dudley that enabled William VI to pay a fine and reclaim them.31 GASCONY CAMPAIGN, 1294-7: After his father died Prince Edward became King Edward I. He also held the title of Duke of Aquitaine, so was lord of a sizeable part of southern France. As duke he was a vassal of the French king, Philip IV who, having succeeded to the throne in 1285, was keen to extend the boundaries of his lands and actively seeking a pretext for doing so. Although he hesitantly moved into English lands they were normally protected. In 1286 William de Bermingham was one of many given ‘Letters of Protection’ for one year before going to France to fight.32 In 1293 a Gascon seaman was stabbed by a Norman, which led to a major sea-fight between the two kings’ subjects and the sacking of La Rochelle by the victorious Gascon and English sailors.33 Piracy was endemic in all the Atlantic kingdoms but the French king occupied Bordeaux, Perigueux (Périgord) and Agenais in retaliation. King Philip demanded that Edward come to Paris to do homage for Gascony, which King Edward refused to do. As a result, the French king considered all the lands the English held in France to be forfeit. William VII returned to France in March of the following year to defend those lands.34 By May 1294 hostilities had begun in earnest in Gascony and King Edward raised an army to rescue his property, but war also broke out in Wales and he was forced to protect his lands nearer to home. Thus, he sent his nephew, John, Duke of Brittany and, John St John,.35 St John had been given the wardship of John de Somery on the death of his father, Roger, Baron Dudley.36 John, acting as St John’s squire and no doubt with Sir William de Bermingham VII keeping an eye on him, was with the earl in Gascony.37 The English captured Bourg, Blaye and Bayonne, but could not take Bordeaux. However, this military adventure was not the family’s most successful, as William VII was with St John and the young John when they were captured by a superior force in a wood while trying to relieve Bellegarde. Public domain. From: British Library Cotton MS Nero D ii, f.177. 31 Ibid, 118-119. Roger de Somery was one of the commissioners who drew up the Dictum, so he was in a good position to help his steward. 32 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1893. Calendar of the Patent Rolls Edward I, 1281-1292: 238. London: HMSO. 33 Bryant, A. op. cit., 136. 34 Ibid, 266. 35 Chancellor, J. op. cit., 164. 36 Hemingway, J. 2006. op. cit., 40. 37 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1887. Military Service, op. cit., 119.

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The fighting men of Bermingham They were taken to Paris as prisoners.38 Presumably King Edward was not best pleased with a man who he had made Seneschal of Gascony having to be bailed out from his enemy, King Philip. William VII was again in Gascony in 1297.39 In 1303 King Philip restored Gascony to Edward and it remained an English province for the next one and half centuries. SCOTTISH CAMPAIGNS, 1300–1333: Edward I’s influence over Scotland began in 1289 with a treaty. By 1290 he was asked to arbitrate between the rival claims of John Balliol and Robert Bruce of Annandale to the Scottish throne. Balliol was his choice, but when Balliol made an alliance with France in 1294 against England, the wars with Scotland began, the initial campaigning culminating in an English victory at the Battle of Dunbar in 1296. The evidence for the Bermingham retinue who took part in these wars is sketchy. An early record is of Sir William Stafford of Amblecote who was responsible for taking five hundred footmen up to Berwick-upon-Tweed to fight the Scots in 1300 with the king.40 Sir William VII was knighted at the same time as Prince Edward (later King Edward II) before going up to Scotland to fight to fight Robert the Bruce in 1306.41 The knighting ceremony took place in Westminster Abbey and involved an all-night vigil in the Abbey before being invested at the altar. Nearly three hundred knights were invested at the same time including Sir John de Somery, Baron Dudley. The event concluded with a feast in Westminster Hall. Henry de Morf was in the retinue of Roger Mortimer who went up to Carlisle in the same year.42 The Scottish wars lasted for several years and William VII was regularly in the fighting.43 Between 1313 and 1323 Henry de Bushbury was called to fight in Scotland, often with the baron of Dudley.44 A note from the Scotch Rolls records that Henry de Bushbury in 1313 was appointed to find 1,000 footmen from Staffordshire and Shropshire ‘the greater part to be archers’ and take them to Newcastle.45 In 1316 William VII was part of John de Somery’s retinue summoned to York, and in 1317 he was with the king’s forces in Gascony.46 By 1318 the Scots had recaptured Berwick-on-Tweed and William VII was given a commission to find fighting men in Warwickshire.47 By this time the Berminghams were important enough to be able to raise a large force of four hundred infantry on their own. John de Somery was ordered to take his retinue to Northumberland. The men 38

Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 657. Deputy Keeper of the Records. Close Rolls Edward I, 1296-1302: 85. 40 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1887. Military Service, op. cit., 21. 41 Ibid., 26. 42 Ibid, 27. 43 Ibid., 35-41. 44 Ibid., 35–40. 45 Ibid., 49. 46 Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 657. 47 Ibid, 657. 39

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Medieval Birmingham he took included: William de Bermingham, Henry de Bushbury and Richard de Edgbaston. In the following year they were called-up again but were unable to retake Berwick. Somery’s retinue included: William de Bermingham, Henry de Bushbury, William Deverous (of West Bromwich) and Richard de Edgbaston. 48 In 1324 William de Bermingham was again called to serve in Gascony,49 again in 1325,50 and 1326.51

Figure 48: Map of battles in Scotland. William de Bermingham VII was a regular participant in these wars.

TOURNAMENTS: When not at war fighting the king’s enemies, knights fought with one another in tournaments. Many of the kings of England disliked tournaments as they were reluctant to give a legitimate excuse to their fighting men to travel across the country with their private armies and then assemble and compare grievances, but they were held during the reigns of Henry I (1100-1135) and Stephen (1135-1154). They were prohibited in Henry II’s (1154-1189) reign and as a way of controlling the events Richard I in 1194 ordered knights taking part to make a payment of four marks of silver to the 48

Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1887. Military Service, op. cit., 40. Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1893. Calendar of the Patent Rolls Edward II, 1324-1327: 54. London: HMSO. 50 Ibid, 216. 51 Ibid, 342. 49

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The fighting men of Bermingham Crown for their attendance.52 Tournaments were mostly banned till the later years of Henry III’s reign (1216-1272), though they still went on. The Annals of Dunstable record that in 1220, Henry III went as far as making a decree threatening excommunication for jousters, their managers and supporters, as well as anyone providing them with materials or food. However, they were too popular for the kings to make any headway in totally banning them and Edward III not only granted permission for tournaments, but took his place in them. The king enjoyed them so much that at the three-day events he sported costumes and proved to be a very talented jouster. In the case of the Cheapside tournament in 1330 those who took part dressed as Tartars and rode through London to the sound of trumpets.53 Edward III promoted the jousting between two knights that became more common in later years.54 Generally four tournament sites were selected in England - Dunstable, Brakley, Stamford and Blyth. One of the reasons for their existence was that they were good training exercises. Roger of Hovedon, an English chronicler employed by King Henry II, described tournaments as ‘for the exercise of the prowess of novices in the art of war.’55 Early tournaments were composed of a mêlée in which the knights attending were divided into two groups and then charged and fought one another in battle formation. Although their swords and lances were blunted knights were still killed in the engagement. An estimate is that every knight would have had a ‘back-up’ team of around ten men, and thus, at a well-documented tournament in 1309, there may have been 2500 people ready to take part; in addition were the many spectators that would attend these events. The knights’ wore their coats of arms in the ‘battle’ so individuals could be identified, and in 1309 a herald copied these down in a roll, enabling us to determine the participants. The role of heralds was extended from this period on. On arrival at the tournament the knights would be split into two camps. The evening before the tournament began was a time for preliminary jousting. The fighting that took place here was called Vespers and it gave the knights a showcase for their individual talents as well as offering an idea to the opposition as to how they would fight. It ended in a social event, where food and wine would flow freely. The next day would start with a review in which both sides would parade. After the parade any new or young knights would have an opportunity for individual jousting. Around mid-morning the two sides would separate and prepare for the mêlée. Both lines would ride towards each other at speed with lances levelled. As soon as they passed one another they would turn around and seek out an ‘enemy’ to engage in single 52

Ibid, 339. Bryant, A. op. cit., 239. 54 http://www.medievaldunstable.org.uk/tournaments.html 55 Hovedon, R. de, 1853. The Annals of Roger de Hovedon: 2: 285. London: H. E. Bohun. 53

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Medieval Birmingham combat. At this point the tournament would be reduced to individual battles which could spread over a wide area. As well as a ‘ransom’ the knight who had won an engagement could confiscate the weapons, armour and horse of the ‘fallen’ knight, which could be quite expensive if one was not a very good competitor. Attending tournaments was addictive and could be lucrative; many knights became wealthy from the ransoms paid by captured opponents. They travelled from tournament to tournament and revelled in their fame. William Marshal (Roger de Somery I, Baron Dudley’s brother-in-law), was so successful as a tournament fighter on the Continent that his exploits were recounted in a contemporary biography written in 1224. The violence of the mêlée can be seen in that Marshal missed the prize-giving ceremony at one event and was eventually found lying with his head on an anvil while armourers used hammers and pincers to extricate him from his battered helmet. Although the individual was supposed to fight alone Marshal fought unconventionally with a man at his back to avoid being attacked in the rear. The most famous meetings were held in the north-east of France, particularly around Compiégne. Hundreds of foreign knights would arrive here for the tournament season. It was during the Scottish Campaign that Sir William VII decided to absent himself without permission to attend a tournament on the continent. A Parliamentary Writ of October 1306 that recorded this also accused Piers Gaveston (Earl of Cornwall and favourite of Edward II), Roger Mortimer (Earl of March), William de Beauchamp (Earl of Warwick), Walter Beauchamp (Sheriff of Worcestershire) and Ralph Bassett (Lord of Drayton Bassett and friend of John Somery, Baron Dudley) stating that they were to be arrested.56 They were pardoned by the king in January 1307 as he needed them to continue in his war with the Scots. Another Bermingham who liked attending tournaments was Sir Thomas de Bermingham, brother of Sir William VII, who was recorded as being at the Dunstable Tournament in 1308/9 together with his Irish cousins. Very few records of tournaments have survived, making the account of that event by the Prior of Dunstable all the more valuable. Sir John de Bermingham also appears to have also enjoyed tournaments, to judge by the helmet under his head on his effigy in St Martin’s Church.

56

Ibid, 26; Rot. Vascon. Parliamentary Writs, 1306: 378.

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Figure 49: In the fourteenth century jousting was a popular sport with the knightly class, and with Sir John de Bermingham in particular.57 By the Master of the Codex Manesse.

57

Source: - http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cpg848/0099, Public domain, and https:// commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1625535

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Medieval Birmingham BATTLE OF BOROUGHBRIDGE, 1322: After the Battle of Bannockburn, a rift occurred between the king and his cousin, Thomas, Earl of Lancaster. Royal patronage had come to be dominated by Edward II’s favourite, Piers Gaveston. In 1311 Lancaster had Gaveston executed. This led to ill feeling between the two cousins. Following the disaster at the Battle of Bannockburn (1314) the barons supported Lancaster as head of a royal council, but Edward found new favourites in the Despensers. Their greed alienated many of the barons including Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, Sir Roger Clifford, Baron Clifford and Roger Mortimer. The king decided to move against these men and arrested Mortimer in Shrewsbury. He then mustered his forces in Coventry, which was probably where John de Somery and William de Bermingham VII joined the company, which met Lancaster at Burtonupon-Trent. William de Stafford of Amblecote had already joined the Earl of Lancaster’s forces. Lancaster was heavily outnumbered, so marched north. On 16 March he arrived at Boroughbridge to find Sir Andrew de Harclay blocking his way north. Lancaster had 3,000 men and accounts describe them as including 138 barons and 700 knights, not counting men-at-arms and archers. According to records Harclay brought 4,000 men with him, mostly

Figure 50: Battle of Boroughbridge. Sir John de Somery, Baron Dudley and Sir William de Bermingham VIII fought on the king’s side, William de Stafford of Amblecote on Lancaster’s.

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The fighting men of Bermingham men-at-arms and archers who had been fighting in the Scottish wars. The Lanercost Chronicle describes how Harclay employed the Scottish schiltron – a compact formation of infantrymen with pikes or spears, highly effective against Lancaster’s heavy cavalry forces. The Earl of Hereford and Clifford attacked the forces on the bridge while Lancaster led an attack on the ford. Hereford reached the bridge where he was promptly killed by the pikemen. Lancaster never got to the ford being forced back by the arrows of the archers. After a short fight his forces retired to the town of Boroughbridge where they were captured the next day. Lancaster was beheaded, Clifford was hung, and Roger Mortimer escaped to France.58 Stafford was captured at the battle, but later released and he recovered his estate. DEPOSITION OF EDWARD II: The increasing and unchecked influence of the Despensers led to Edward’s queen, Isabella of France, defecting to France, where she formed an alliance (and may have begun an affair) with Roger Mortimer. Although most of the powerful men in England had had enough of the tyranny of the Despensers and supported the queen, Sir William de Bermingham raised a force of men, probably including the baronial men as Sir John de Somery had recently died, when King Edward II asked for them in 1325. But the die was cast, and Edward was unable to halt the invasion of Roger Mortimer and Queen Isabella in the following year. Edward II was imprisoned then murdered in Berkeley Castle, his son was crowned as King Edward III. By that time men were paid for active service and William’s pay was two shillings a day and twelve pence each for his two squires.59 The king saw that Sir William was a loyal man and made him Keeper (Justice) of the Peace in 1332.60 In 1334 Sir Henry de Bushbury was in Scotland as a force of Scots had assembled on the border, but nothing came of this.61 BATTLE OF HALIDON: In 1333 the war with Scotland was renewed. Amongst the men who went with Edward III to fight was Walter de Clodeshale of Bermingham. Why he went is an interesting question: was he a representative of the lords of Bermingham, was he the individual who was picked when the government sent a writ to the bailiff of Bermingham, or more likely had he murdered someone? The reason why the latter may be the case is that he was pardoned after he had fought at the Battle of Halidon Hill.62 Although the Roll does not say what he did to need pardoning, it was common for those who had committed murder to join the king’s forces in the expectation of receiving a pardon as a reward for their service. At the beginning of 1333 the Scots still 58 Bingham, C. 1973. The Life and Times of Edward II: 141–145. London: George Weidenfeld and Nicholson. 59 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1888. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 60. 60 Grazebrook, H. W. S. 1888. op. cit., 35. 61 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1887. Military Service, op. cit., 53. 62 Ibid, 51.

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Medieval Birmingham held Berwick-on-Tweed and King Edward intended to recover it. He took his northern and midland forces north, arriving at Berwick on 1 May, where he laid siege to the town. Sir Archibald Douglas, who was acting for the underage David II of Scotland, raised forces to relieve the siege. After invading England in the hope that the English would follow him, he returned to Scotland while King Edward remained at Berwick. Douglas, intending to break the siege, led his army to Witches’ Knowe. The battle started as the Scots made their way across the marshy ground between the two hills then climbed Halidon Hill. The English archers laid down a barrage of arrows that could not help but devastate the close-packed Scottish forces. Douglas’s flank broke first, and the English men-at-arms then enveloped the fleeing Scots and committed great slaughter. Sir Archibald Douglas was among the many casualties. Berwick surrendered the same day. The war with Scotland continued, and in 1335 Sir William de Bermingham VIII, with many others, was called upon to muster for war in Yorkshire.63

Figure 51: Battle of Halidon Hill, Berwick-on-Tweed. Walter de Clodeshale of Bermingham fought in this engagement.

63

Deputy Keeper of the Record. Close Rolls Edward III, 1333-1337, op. cit., 470.

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The fighting men of Bermingham HUNDRED YEARS WAR, 1337-1453: The Hundred Years War with France was a series of campaigns both arduous and expensive. The old system of raising troops was abandoned at the beginning of the war. While King Edward II raised his armies through the feudal levy,64 Edward III used a system of indenture, that is, by employing local military men, like the Berminghams, to recruit men at agreed rates of pay, stipulating precise numbers and grades of soldier. Bannerets (knights distinguished by having a rectangular banner who led their own company of troops) were paid four shillings a day and were armed with a sword and either a lance or a battle-mace as well as a dagger for close fighting; mounted men-at-arms received a shilling a day and used a lance which they cut shorter when fighting on foot and sometimes a poleaxe; while archers wore a light steel breastplate or padded hauberk, a cloak and a steel cap. Archers were paid three pence a day, rising to six pence a day in the fifteenth century. They carried a longbow with a sheaf of arrows, short sword, knife and steel-tipped stake for building a protective hedge against cavalry. Pages who served the knights were armed with daggers. Armies also employed auxiliaries: armourers, carpenters, masons, smiths, siege engine operators, and waggoners to drive the supply waggons.65 The king agreed to maintain them all while they were in the field.66 THE INVASION OF FRANCE: Although the war started in 1337, it was 1345 before we have any record of the involvement of West Midlanders. Andrew de Evenefeld of Enville was called to arms in 1345 to fight against the French in Brittany.67 Sir Fulk de Bermingham and his uncle, Sir Henry, were with King Edward’s forces when he invaded Normandy in 1346;68 a writ was made out for Fulk de Bermingham in June of that year.69 A further writ was sent to the Bailiff of Bermingham to supply four men for the coming war with France.70 We can assume that these men formed part of Sir Fulk’s retinue. The king’s army mustered at Portsmouth and his forces were in the tens of thousands.71 The importance of the archers can be seen in that sheriffs of the counties were ordered to supply bows and sheaves of arrows.72 This gives us an impression of Sir Fulk’s fighting men. He was accompanied by a retinue of esquires, hobelars (Sir Henry de Bushbury had avoided supplying a hobelar to 64

Bryant, A. op. cit., 303. Ibid, 304-5. 66 Ibid, 303. 67 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1887. Military Service, op. cit., 76. 68 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1898. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 40-52. 69 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1887. Military Service, op. cit., 90. 70 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1898. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 67. 71 Johnson, P. 1973. The Life and Times of Edward II: 83. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. Calculating the strength of an army is difficult. Walter Wetwang, Keeper of the Wardrobe in the period 1344 to 1347 calculated that there was a total of 32,303 men overseas. Though whether they were all mustered at the initial invasion is unknown. 72 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1898. Plea Rolls, op. cit., Ibid, 8. 65

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Medieval Birmingham Sir Fulk de Bermingham in the same year by paying a fine to the king of five marks),73 and archers on foot.74 As well as Sir Fulk and Sir Henry, Sir John de Pyrie of Perry, Sir William Bowles of Rushall and Sir Richard Enfeld of Enville accompanied them.75 The English landed in Normandy on 12 July and made their way to Carentan, which they burned, heading towards Caen. The English troops moved through the French countryside in three columns, laying waste to a wide area. Towns that sensibly surrendered included Barfleur, Cherbourg, Bayeux, Montebourg, Valongue and Saint Lo, but most were plundered on the way. When they reached Caen, the king placed his men in battle array and forced the gates. Although over five hundred of his men were killed the town was soon theirs. After three days the army continued its journey north via Louviers, Rouen, Vernueil, Pont de L’Arche, Mantes, Meullent and Poissy until they reached the outskirts of Paris. At this time they decided to turn north and marched to Milly, Grandvilliers, Argires, Poix, and Airaines. In the meantime, Philip VI of France had been amassing troops and was following the English forces as they searched for a crossing of the River Somme, the bridges being too well fortified by the French. Edward III found that a prisoner he was

Figure 52: Map of the Normandy Campaign, 1346-7. The English army included Sir Fulk and Sir Henry de Bermingham with Sir John de Pyrie of Perry, Sir William Bowles of Rushall and Sir Richard Enfeld of Enville among their retinue. 73

G. P. M. op. cit., 187. Ibid, 3. 75 Wrottesley, G. 1897. Crecy and Calais, op. cit., 34, 36. 74

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The fighting men of Bermingham holding knew of a fording place at Blanchetaque so marched his troops there and crossed the river. The English force then headed for Calais, but the French army closed in on them at Crécy.76 They now had no alternative but to fight. BATTLE OF CRÉCY: Sir Fulk was in the retinue of Thomas de Hatfield, Bishop of Durham in King Edward’s division, while Sir John de Sutton, Baron Dudley, was in the Earls of Northampton and Arundel’s division.77 The battle opened up with the French entering the field late on Saturday 26 August. King Philip deployed 6,000 Genoese crossbowmen as an advance guard and they shouted to frighten the English but got no reply. The Genoese began to shoot, followed by the English archers. The Genoese were not used to the intensity of the rate of the English arrows and took flight. The French king, disgusted at this, ordered his men-at-arms to clear them out of the way, so they could get at the English. As the French were still coming on to the field they were not in battle order and when they charged forward they got bogged down in a great quantity of dead and wounded men and horses. According to Froissart they occasionally broke through the archers and reached the English menat-arms, but this was rare, and the archers were ordered not to break ranks and to kill rather than take prisoners of the enemy. The English and Welsh archers won the day even killing the King of France’s horse. By evening many French nobles lay dead on the field including Blois, Alencon and Flanders. The King of Bohemia was killed in the battle and his ensign, now called the Prince of Wales’ feathers, has been used ever since by the royal family.78 On the Sunday morning King Edward sent out a detachment to see if the French had returned. They found some French units that had missed the battle, but the English men-at-arms and archers were said to have killed 2000 of them.79 The English army then marched to Calais where Sir Fulk also served at the siege of the town, which continued until 1347.80 The siege of Calais was just that, as the town walls were too strong to be overcome by a normal assault, so King Edward surrounded it with intent of starving the inhabitants into submission. The constable sent all the people he could not use outside the walls, but the king let them go. The English made daily excursions looking for supplies to confiscate.81 As the winter came on they built wooden huts to shelter in, though many did succumb to the cold. By the next year the army was decimated by dysentery. After the besieged realised that King Philip was not going to be able to lift the siege they decided to surrender on the 4 August 76

Ibid, 14–27. Ibid, 33, 39, 85. 78 Ibid, 39-40. 79 Ibid, 87-93. 80 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1887. Military Service, op. cit., 89; Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 647, reported the Clodeshales were charged for supplying two archers in this year. 81 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1898. Crecy & Calais, op. cit., 53. 77

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Figure 53: Plan of the Battle of Crécy, 1346. Sir Fulk and Sir Henry de Bermingham were with King Edward’s division; Sir John Sutton, Baron Dudley, was in the Earls of Northampton and Arundel’s division.

1347. Edward demanded that six of the chief burgesses of the city should be delivered to him to hang. When they appeared, his queen was supposed to have fallen on her knees and asked him to spare them. Edward was not a cruel man and he let them go.82 BATTLE OF POITIERS, 1356: King Edward III invaded France again in 1355 and William de Overton of Wombourn was ordered to join the army at Calais.83 Sir Fulk de Bermingham was with Prince Edward, known to posterity as the Black Prince, who led an army of 7000 men that landed in Bordeaux.84 Sir Fulk had ‘Letters of Protection’ made out for Gascony in this year so he with his retinue was with the prince.85 The Black Prince led his army northward from Gascony, ravaging the towns and villages of Touraine. By September 1356, they had reached the River Loire, but now being short of supplies he decided to return to Bordeaux. A superior French force were following them and drew close near Poitiers. The French army, 30,000 men strong, met the princes’ forces close to Poitiers on Sunday 18 September. Many of the English 82

Ibid, 56. Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1887. Military Service, op. cit. 96. 84 Smith S. C. K. op. cit., 69. 85 Ibid, 99. 83

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Figure 54: Plan of the Battle of Poitiers. Sir Fulk de Bermingham fought in this battle.

army were veterans of Crécy, so were unconcerned about the disparity in the size of the two armies. The English forces were placed behind a hedge and, when the Dauphin’s forces attacked, the English and Welsh archers let fly their arrows. The front lines of the French suffered badly, and the ones left from the barrage were killed or secured for ransom. As the Dauphin’s main forces came up they were attacked both in front by the English and from one side by the Gascons. They broke and started to flee, thus impeding the Duke of Orléans’ forces and then King John of France’s. The Black Prince ordered his men to mount and they charged the French forces with the backing of the bowmen, who used their daggers and fighting hammers on the enemy. King John was captured, and the English army pillaged the French knights and the rich royal camp. The French king was taken to Bordeaux with the army and eventually ransomed for 300,000 crowns. Among the French prisoners were King John’s son, Philip, seventeen great lords, thirteen counts, five viscounts and a hundred other knights of significance. No doubt Sir Fulk was richer from the ransoms they got by this exercise. It was popularly said that there was 115

Medieval Birmingham not a woman in England without some ornament, goblet or piece of fine linen brought home by the conquerors.86 The Treaty of London in 1359 was designed to restore the English lands in France adding to the area of the old Angevin Empire all the lands that Edward had conquered. Needless to say, this was rejected by the French Estates. Consequently, King Edward III invaded northern France. Sir Fulk de Bermingham and William de Overton of Wombourn attended the king on his invasion.87 THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR RESUMED: Sir Fulk’s son, Sir John de Bermingham went with John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, who raided from Calais to Gascony in 1373 but it did nothing to stop the French from taking most of the English lands in France. By 1375 only Calais and the BordeauxBayonne strip were still in English hands.88 Sir John joined Henry Despenser, Bishop of Norwich’s forces in Flanders in May 1383 which overpowered the Flemish forces at Dunkirk, but the victory was short lived.89 BATTLE OF SHREWSBURY, 1403: Henry IV (Bolingbroke) had deposed Richard II with the help of Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland. The Percys were responsible for the defence of England from the Scots, and when payment for this work was not forthcoming, they rebelled against the king. In 1403, Henry ‘Hotspur’, son of the Earl of Northumberland, raised his standard against the king in Chester and with 10,000 men marched south. Prince Henry was with a small force in Shrewsbury; meanwhile Henry IV, heading north, raised local forces at Lichfield (it is likely that Sir William de Bermingham IX, who was with the Earl of Warwick, joined the king’s forces there). The royalist army has been estimated as being 14,000 strong. It moved on to Shrewsbury arriving just in time to reinforce the king’s son against Hotspur’s larger force. With the king in the town, Hotspur retired to the north, where the royalist army met him on 21 July. The battle opened with a flood of arrows from the archers. This was the first battle where English archers opposed one another and Hotspur’s archers seemed to be gaining the upper hand. The Earl of Stafford marched King Henry’s men-at-arms up the rise toward Hotspur’s lines but the concentration of arrows forced them to retire in confusion. Seeing the royal forces flee, Hotspur led his men down the slope towards the king, intending to either capture or kill him. As the king had given his royal surcoat to several of his men the rebels had difficulty in finding the right man. Meanwhile Prince Henry had led his forces to overlap the enemy troops on the 86

Bryant, A. op. cit., 414. Ibid, 102-103. 88 Johnson, P. 1973. The Life and Times of Edward III: 206. London: Book Club Associates. 89 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1887. Military Service, op. cit., 238-239. 87

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Figure 55: Plan of the Battle of Shrewsbury, 1403. It is likely that Sir William Bermingham IX fought in this engagement.

right. At this juncture Hotspur raised his visor to wipe his face and was hit by an arrow. He died immediately; seeing this, his forces gave way and their flight turned into a rout.90 BATTLE OF AGINCOURT, 1415: In 1413 Henry V made an agreement with the Duke of Burgundy that if the king claimed the French throne the duke would remain neutral. This led to preparations for the English invasion of France, which occurred on 11 August 1415.91 Sir William de Bermingham IX was with the Earl of Warwick’s retinue in the campaign92 and Sir John Harpur of Bermingham (before he was lord of Rushall) had joined King Henry’s invasion force when they landed at Harfleur.93 By the 16 August they had 90 Smurthwaite, D. 1994. The Complete Guide to the Battlefields of Britain: 84-85. London: Penguin Group. 91 Earle, P. 1972. The Life and Times of Henry V: 119. London: Book Club Associates. 92 http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/birminghamwilliam-1426 93 Nicholas, Sir H. 1832. History of the Battle of Agincourt: 380. London: Johnson & Co.

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Figure 56: Henry V’s conquest of France. Sir William IX of Bermingham and Sir John Harpur fought with the king.

settled into a siege of the town. It was a vicious fight with the besiegers tipping sulphur and lime and great buckets of heated earth and oil onto the English soldiers. Mining and counter mining went on, but it was not until the Earl of Huntingdon seized one of the bulwarks of the fortifications that Harfleur decided to surrender. By this stage however the soldiery was dying of dysentery due to the wet conditions outside the city walls. Henry decided to make for the English port of Calais and marched his army through Normandy. The English forces were now reduced to 6000 men. He intended to ford the River Somme by the sea but heard that a French army was there so headed inland. Many 118

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Figure 57: Plan of the Battle of Agincourt, 25 October 1415. Sir William de Bermingham IX and Sir John Harpur of Bermingham fought in this battle.

of the fords were staked and guarded and the bridges had been broken. His men, already weak from the epidemic at Harfleur, were now hungry, tired and despondent. Upon reaching a huge bend in the river they were able to cross without the French being aware of it. The main French army eventually caught up with them at Maisoncelles, blocking their way to Calais. The English had no choice but to fight.94 It rained during the night of Thursday 24 October, but by dawn King Henry had set his army out between two woods. He knew that his forces were outnumbered by three to one. The French, however, made the same mistakes as at Crécy and Poitiers: they charged in mass ranks and were decimated by the bowmen who had been formed in wedges. The battle was virtually decided within half an hour and the French losses were enormous.95 After the English had stripped the dead, they carried on to Calais which they reached three days later.96 At the Treaty of Troyes in 1420 the French agreed to the division of France between the English and themselves. 94

Earle, P. op. cit., 127-137. Earle, P. op. cit., 142. 96 Ibid, 138-145. 95

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Medieval Birmingham THE WARS OF THE ROSES: There seems to be little information of Sir William de Bermingham X or Bermingham men fighting in the ‘Wars of the Roses’ (1453-1471), but it would have been impossible for them to stay out of the fighting entirely. Evidence seems to support the idea that Sir William was on the Lancastrian side, though whether he did see any combat is unknown. Neither do we know if he or his son Sir William XI fought at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 that brought the House of Tudor to the throne of England. To all intents and purposes the role of the Bermingham lords as fighting men had now finished.

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Part Two The manor and church of Bermingham

Chapter Five

The medieval manor of Bermingham At Christmas in 1085, William I was at Gloucester, where he decided to undertake a survey of all that he had won. He ordered commissioners to examine every piece of land in the country with its people. The survey was brought back to his capital at Winchester, corrected and abridged. One purpose was that ‘every man should know his right and not usurp another’s’.1 The English called this work the Domesday Book as it seemed as if God was searching out information for the Last Judgement. The Bermingham section is recorded under the lands of William FitzAnsculf, Baron of Dudley: Richard holds 4 hides in Bermingeha(m). Land for 6 ploughs. In lordship 1; 5 villagers and 4 smallholders with 2 ploughs. Woodland ½ league long and 2 furlongs wide. The value was and is 20 shillings. Wulfwin held it freely before 1066.2 The medieval bounds of the Bermingham manor were likely to have been those recorded on nineteenth century maps. Most ancient parish boundaries can be traced back to Anglo-Saxon estates and many continue to the present day! The traditional size of the manorial lands was 2,996 acres.3 As was mentioned, the former Anglo-Saxon holder of Bermingham was Wulfwin, a major landholder in Warwickshire, but this was one of his minor properties.4 Ansculf took it from Wulfwin and gave it to his man, Richard. Compared with many of the estates Ansculf gave out, Bermingham was neither very large, nor valuable, and this may indicate Richard’s subservient role in his lord’s retinue. Bermingham was assessed as four hides in Domesday. This was an Anglo-Saxon measurement of land that had evolved from the idea of a hide being the amount of land necessary for a family to have to be self-sufficient. A hide was supposed to amount to 120 acres, but are often larger or smaller, as the Anglo-Saxons did not adhere strictly to measurements. The Bermingham holding may thus have been originally the home of four families. The hide may have incorporated arable, pasture, meadow and woodland, and most estates had a mixture of all four types of land. The woodland was often part of the waste. Although Richard was lord of the manor and responsible for everything on it, he held lands that were exclusively his own and these constituted a substantial part of 1

Plaister, J. op. cit., 5. Ibid, 27:5. 3 Adams, J. 2006. The Parish, The Church and the Churchyard in Brickley,‎ M. and Buteux,‎ S. St. Martins Uncovered: 6. Oxford: Oxbow Books. 4 Plaister, J. op. cit., 12:1. One of his major holdings was Leamington Spa. 2

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Figure 58: The medieval manor of Bermingham.

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The medieval manor of Bermingham the property. His personal land was called demesne, the property mentioned in Chapter Three. Part of the demesne was his plough lands though he only had a single plough for ploughing his own acreage. Place-names One way of looking at the medieval manor is by place-names, both those that are still used today and those that have been lost in the ensuing years. Placenames are not just words picked out of the air, but descriptions of what places looked like or who they were held by. Some were very ancient, like Bermingham itself, the origin of which is a three-part term. The first element is an AngloSaxon masculine personal name and is considered to have derived from a man called Beorma or Beormund. The second ‘ing’ or ‘ingas’ denotes the followers or descendants of that man, and the final part ‘ham’ suggests the place was considered to be a village rather than a sub-settlement like a hamlet.5 The River Rea is derived from the Anglo-Saxon words atter ea, which means ’at the water’ and Colbourne is perhaps derived from coll, a Celtic word for hazel trees6 and burne, the Anglo-Saxon word for a watercourse.7 The name Rikenildestret was a medieval borrowing from the Icknield Way, a Roman through-route that runs from Norfolk to Wiltshire. Rotton Park, is derived from Rot, an Anglo-Saxon word meaning ‘cheerful’ and the ton element meaning ‘farm’.8 The AngloSaxons tended to use descriptions of this sort for their estates, though what exactly was cheerful about it is unknown. The original area of the park, about a third of its eventual extent, was in Edgbaston Manor.9 Although Rotton may have started out as a farming property, by the medieval period it had been turned into a park – a hunting reserve for the lords of Bermingham. The keepers of the park held the surname Rotton and several are mentioned as living in Bermingham.10 Although there is little evidence for it, the site of the old farmstead may have continued in use, converted into a park lodge.11 Another name in the north-west of the manor was Wynesdon (Winson Green). Wynes may have been a corruption of Wine’s, with the end ‘e’ being pronounced,12 5 Gover, J. E. B., Mawer, A, Stenton, F. M. 1936. The Place-names of Warwickshire: 34–36. Cambridge: University Press; Bassett, Steve, and Holt, Richard, 2016. op cit., p. 97. A similar Anglo-Saxon element is hamm, which describes a bend in the river, but Margaret Gelling, a specialist in English place-names, considered that this was unlikely to be the form used in the name Birmingham. 6 Coates, Richard, Breeze, Andrew & Horowitz, David, 2000. Celtic Voices, English Places: 349. Stamford: Shaun Tyas. 7 Gover, J. E. B., Mawer, A. & Stenton, F. T. S. 1936. op. cit., 5. Gelling, M. 1978. Signposts to the Past: 172. London: J. M. Dent & Sons. Gelling thought this was an Anglo-Saxon personal name; Coates, R. et. al., op. cit., 349, Coats, Breeze and Horowitz were certain it was a Celtic word. 8 Ibid, 39. 9 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 107. 10 Ibid, 39; Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 36. 11 Demidowicz, G. pers. comm. He stated that the lodge was there in the fifteenth century and a lodge was recorded on a nineteenth century Ordnance Survey map. 12 Gelling, M. op. cit., 164.

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Medieval Birmingham this personal name was a male one, meaning friend or lord. Dun is the AngloSaxon term for a hill. Wynesdon was originally waste land, though Thomas Wynesdon13 recorded in 1296 suggested that people had lived there before that date. Part of the waste around Winson had been enclosed by 1327.14 A local name to the Winson Green area was horequebbe.15 The first element sounds as if it should be a hor – a grey object, the quebbe element may be a corruption of the old English cwabba which meant a bog.16 Its proximity to Hockley Brook may make this likely. It was eventually corrupted to Gib in Gib Heath. The slades that ran alongside Icknield Street close to the Hockley border denote a valley.17 Although the first reference to Ladye Wood is in the sixteenth century, its origins are probably much earlier.18 The first element normally refers to ‘Our Lady’ (Mary, mother of Jesus), and would be used of church property (priory or the glebe). By the Middle Ages it was a long, thin piece of woodland, on the west side of the Roman road, and a separate landholding to Rotton Park, but probably had originally been part of the woodland that the park was composed of. Many of the trees had been cleared off the heath to the north and much of it was open land with heath, heather, gorse and coarse grasses growing on it. Although the heath technically belonged to the lords of Bermingham, people would have held common rights in it.19 These rights would have included use for fuel, fencing, roofing material and equipment. They would also have included pannage (the right to graze animals, pigs in particular).20 The division of the heathlands into Rotton Park in the south and Bermingham Heath in the north may have, like Dudley, existed because the lord wanted a fully private park, and therefore made an agreement with the locals that they could use the heath, free of any hindrance, as long as they kept out of his park.21 Herdemonnslone (Herdsman’s Lane) refers to the driving of stock that became a substantial part of the local economy. In the medieval period the word hay often related to an enclosed woodland. Haybarnes, to the north-west of the Bermingham borough, may refer to this or barns constructed to hold the hay from the meadowland next to Hockley Brook. Somerlane, on its north-eastern side, was likely to mean a route that was impassible in winter.22 Hollowaye, on the Edgbaston Road, meant a sunken-road, a route cut down by 13

Gover, J. E. B., Mawer, A. & Stenton, F. T. S. 1936. op. cit., 36. Despite the term waste, the Waste was an important area in the economy of the Birmingham residents. 15 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 75. 16 Field, J. 1972. English Field-Names: A Dictionary: 176. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. 17 Addison, Sir W. 1978. Understanding English Place-names: 142. London: B. T. Batsford. 18 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 40. 19 Ibid, 109. 20 Rackham, O. 1986. The History of the Countryside: 121. London: J. M. Dent; Hodder, M. 2004. op. cit., 120. Hodder refers to heather found in the town. 21 Hemingway, J. 2009. op. cit., 44. 22 Gover, J. E. B., Mawer, A. & Stenton, F. T. S. 1936. op. cit., 39. 14

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The medieval manor of Bermingham traffic.23 This lay across the sandy heath and it is likely that the Holloway was on the side of a rise in ground. It had been cut down so much that the term Rakewayes, meaning a narrow pass, was used of it.24 Horne, as in Horne Brook, meant that it was near a spur or tongue of land.25 The spur may have been the 125-metre contour that ran up into Duddeston at this point. Surnames The evidence for the growth of Bermingham comes in two sorts, documentary and archaeological. Within the documentary side we need to look at the names adopted by the residents. Most people up until the late twelfth century did not have a surname, but with the development of urban sites and a growing population their use became prevalent. The common use of Biblical first names like, John and Thomas made the tracing of individuals difficult. The bureaucracy of the authorities had begun to grow, and it was essential that a specific individual from a certain place, doing a certain job, at a certain time could be tracked down. The imposition of surnames was done in several ways. Many were called after the places they came from such as Peter de Bermingham. Subsequent descendants, however, could take the same name regardless of them coming from Bermingham, and thus these toponymic surnames must be used with care. Some surnames are patronymics, that is derived from a predecessor’s first name. Johnson, Williamson and Robertson are examples of these; the shortening of the name might result in a pet name occurring as in Wilson and Robinson.26 Several people mentioned in the 1296 rentals have places within the manor as a surname. These include Richard at the Aysse (unknown ash tree); Adam of the Oak (close to Okefeldes?); Richard at Brok (unknown brook); Christine and Nicholas of the Dale (Dale End); Walter, Richard, Richard Roberts and Robert of the Grene (probably Wodegrene); John of Hull (unknown hill); Robert in the Hay (perhaps a cottage near Haybarnes); John of the Heath (Bermingham Hethe or the Heath on the Edgbaston boundary); William and Wido at Ruding (a ruding or riding is a track through a wood, perhaps one of the woods in the manor); Thomas and Robert of the More (perhaps Walmore or the More in Little Park); Adam at the Stile (unknown stile); John, two Richards, William and Sibyl at Walle (a reference to a spring or a brook, possibly either Dodewalle or Walmore); Thomas of Wynesdon (Winson Green); and Adam at Rotten (Rotten Park).27 The name Rozells is a corruption of Russel, a family who lived in 23

Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. 2005. Dictionary of English Surnames: 236. Oxford: University Press. Ibid, 370. 25 Ibid, 238. 26 Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., xix-xxi. 27 Demidowicz, G. op. cit. Demidowicz, pers comm. suggests an alternative: that ruding was likely to have meant a ridding – a clearance in a wooded area. 24

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Medieval Birmingham medieval Bermingham. The word in French was a diminutive of ‘red’.28 Wyatt, found in Wyatt’s Field, next to Worston Lane is a diminutive of an Old French version of Guy.29 Sereshall near Edgbaston Street may be a corruption from the French cervoise, a seller of ale.30 The hall element, halh, refers to a nook or corner of land that the publican may have occupied. Field-names Land use in Bermingham was typical of a medieval manor, although with a surfeit of parks. This indicated that hunting was an enjoyable pursuit of the lords of Bermingham, as it was for their overlords, the barons of Dudley. Apart from Rotton Park, there was Little Park spelt Lytul, so named because it was the smallest unit, and Holme Park, holm meaning ‘land near the river’.31 Originally Bermingham probably had an open field system with very few hedges, and this would be supported by the use of the Anglo-Saxon word feld, which means open land - not hedged.32 As time went by the fields were enclosed with hedges or fences to stop the stock from getting out. Colbourne Feld was one of the open fields and named after the brook that flowed through it. Caroll in Caroll Field is derived from carole, a French word that describes a circular space. Three fields called Okefeldes, in ‘the foreign’, were granted to Thomas Greswold in 1447.33 The derivation of this name was land near oak trees.34 Another field called Galefeld, ‘lying between the Kings Road towards Handsworth and Okefeeldys’ (another spelling of Okefeldes) was recorded in 1481.35 Gale may be derived from gaile, a medieval word that meant ‘joyful’. Cross Feldes means the field next to the cross. This was probably a crucifix that stood close to the Priors Coneygre. When the Stubb Cross is also considered it would appear the town may have been surrounded by crucifixes? 36 Crucifixes were attached to wayside shrines that often occurred in Medieval England. Not all the fields in Birmingham are known today. A field called Gorstyfield, ‘lying between the highway called Herdemonnslone37 and the lands of John Mershe, the lord, John 28

Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 386. Ibid, 505. 30 Ibid, 401. 31 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 92. The spelling here is probably sixteenth century. 32 Hooke, D. 1985. The Anglo-Saxon Landscape: 202. Manchester: University Press. 33 MS 3307/ACC1937-048/467545, Birmingham Archives, Heritage and Photographic Service. They had been granted to him by William and Agnes Alyf, citizen and draper of London. Foreign – land outside the limits of the town. 34 Field, J. op. cit., 153. 35 MS 1098/5, Birmingham Archives, Heritage and Photographic Service. 36 MS 1098/6, Birmingham Archives, Heritage and Photographic Service. Document dated 1482, also refers to Thomas Ward of Little Bromwich and Roger Byrde of Birmingham; Field, J. op. cit., 56. 37 Chinn, C. and Dick, M. op. cit., 17. The modern habit of the locals pronouncing ‘a’ for ‘o’ has a long history. An example is the modern word ‘my mon’ for ‘my man’. 29

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The medieval manor of Bermingham Warde and John Symmon’ is recorded in 1450.38 The name Gorstyfield means land on which gorse abounds and its name suggests it was permanent pasture and perhaps near the Heath.39 The name Ashlieg juxta Gerardesfeld (Ashley, next to Gerard’s field), noted in the 1344 Rental, is another unknown field in the manor.40 Ashley may relate to woodland as it means the clearing of the Ash trees. Stokewalle (the spring or watercourse near the stocks, perhaps tree stumps), Stoctonesfeld (the field next to the farm where the tree stumps were), Barleycroft (the barley field near the houses) and Wodegrene (the green or open area near the wood) have been identified as being on either side of New Street by Demidowicz.41 Cockshottfeld, between the town and the lord’s Coneygree, was where nets were stretched out to catch woodcock, presumably from the Coneygree which tends to suggest it was partially wooded.42 The Sondeputtes – sandpits – stood at a place now called the Sandpits. The nearby Turpits was where turf was cut, either to dry out and use as fuel for fires or for roofing.43 A watercourse originally flowed north from a large marshy area close to the pits called Horne Brook.44 Byngas, the former spelling of Bingley (Hall), meant ‘dweller in the hollow’;45 as the estate lay next to New Street, perhaps it was another holloway.46 The rural area – foreign The manor was divided into two separate jurisdictions, the ‘borough’, meaning the town, and the ‘foreign’, meaning the rest of the manor,47 in a similar system to that recorded at Dudley.48 The borough consisted of the greater part of house plots and gardens, very often described as burgages, all lying in a few named streets and places.49 Under the system of ownership in the foreign, land was held by burgesses in the town, but not all people in the town held land in the foreign. In Bermingham’s case the former was called free burgage (also called free socage), which was the freest form of tenure that then existed.50 The 38 MS 1098/4, Birmingham Archives, Heritage and Photographic Service. The document also states that John Shyngler, clerk; William Squyer, John Hyet and Thomas Norton of Birmingham, smith was involved. 39 Field, J. op. cit., 153. 40 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 56. 41 Ibid, 10. 42 Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 103. 43 Ibid, 458. 44 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891, op. cit., 73; Pearson, H. S. 1900. Birmingham springs and wells, in Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society: XXII: 58. 45 Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 45. 46 Demidowicz, G. Demidowicz, pers comm., suggests an alternative to the name that being a derivation from a dialect word meaning a heap or pile, which is supported by the area being used as a sand/gravel quarry. 47 Holt, R. 1985. op cit., 5. 48 Hemingway, J. 2009. op. cit., 63. 49 Burgesses – inhabitant of a town who normally had a right to trade. 50 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 13.

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Medieval Birmingham priory of St Thomas the Martyr lay on the west side of the town and as church land officially did not come under the same rules and regulations as the rest of the manor.51 The foreign included all the fields, woods and cottages outside the town limits.52 The Colbourne Brook formed the southernmost edge of the urban area.53 Open fields lay to the west, with the lord’s and priory’s warrens, called Coneygree, on either side of the Colbourne.54 The lords of Bermingham had also been permitted by the barons to extend their bounds of the manor of Bermingham into Aston (another estate to the east) as far as a place called Deregate-end (Deer Gate End, Deritend), the name seeming to indicate that there was parkland in Bordesley, Aston to the east of Deritend.55 A boundary ditch separated the foreign – Little Park – from the borough/town proper which seems to have been dug at the time of the town’s creation in the twelfth century.56 The ditch was called the hyrsonedych and its course was recently determined in an excavation of the site. This ditch was an important feature in Bermingham, so much so that people paid to use it, though whether to draw water from it or to drain their property is unknown. There were eight property holders who paid for the right to use it in 1296. A combined ditch and bank, called a park pale, placed on the edge of the parks would have kept the lord’s deer within the grounds of Rotten Park and Holme Park.57

51 Hemingway, J. 2009. op. cit., 33. Many lords’ founded priories on their land, St Thomas the Martyr was also a dedication to a church in Dudley, built after Becket’s murder in 1170: Gill, C. 1952. History of Birmingham, Manor and Borough to 1865: 1: 304. London. Gill incorrectly wrote that the priory was first recorded in the Patent Rolls, 1307-1313, at the same time as the rebuilding of St Martin’s Church, 52 Stephens, W. B. (ed.) 1964. Economic and Social History: Medieval Industry and Trade, in A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 7, the City of Birmingham: 73-80. London; Hodder, M. 2004: 86, and Greig, J. The Pollen in Patrick, C. & Rátkai, S., see Kipling et al. op. cit., 260, supports this and suggests that there is botanical evidence of substantial woodland in the early medieval period. 53 Patrick, C. op. cit., 2. 54 Sweet, H. op. cit., 32. Bourne (burna) is an Anglo-Saxon term for a brook. The warren supplied fresh rabbit meat to the lord’s manorial table. 55 Smith, J. T. 1864. op, cit., 71. 56 Demidowicz, G. 2002. The Hersum Ditch, Birmingham and Coventry; local topographical term, in Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society: 106: 143-150. 57 Rackham, O. op. cit., 123. By the twelfth century fallow deer had replaced red deer in parks.

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The medieval manor of Bermingham

Figure 59: An archaeological excavation in 2000/1 revealed the hyrsonedych. The ditch was seven meters wide and two meters deep. The brick wall above the feature displays how ancient boundaries have survived until recently.58 Reproduced by permission of Michael Hodder and Tempus Books.

Medieval parks in Bermingham The great magnates of England, when they were not fighting, hunted as a recreational sport. By the thirteenth century this habit had descended to the knights and men-at-arms, and hunting reserves or parks were often created on the estates that they held. The barons of Dudley had three parks associated with their castle in which they kept deer: Old Park in Sedgley; Coneygre in Dudley and Tipton; and New Park on the Dudley, Kingswinford and Sedgley 58

Hodder, M. 2004. op. cit., 90.

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Medieval Birmingham borders.59 Most of the men who held land under them had a park on their estate with the exception of the lord of Bermingham who had three, the same number as their overlord, these were Holme Park, Little Park and Rotton Park. Holme Park backed on to their manor house so that the lords could keep an eye on it. As hunting had become popular with the estate holders, so it became popular with the urban and rural classes. Hunting in someone else’s park, however, was poaching and this became a problem to the owners. There are many examples of people being taken to court accused of this offence. Furthermore, the parks in Bermingham occupied a lot of land that could be used for agriculture. Due to the wide flood plain of the River Rea, and Hockley Brook, a substantial area of Holme and Little Park would have been wet. It was prime meadowland at a time when meadows were scarce and very valuable. The land in Little Park that might otherwise have been used as pasture and arable would have limited the number of animals that the inhabitants could graze and corn that they could grow, and it is likely that this was a source of resentment. By the early twelfth century the Normans were importing fallow deer to keep in these areas. Deer, however, did a great deal of damage to the woodland by eating the saplings; parkland was thus often a diminishing resource as far as timber was concerned.60 In order to protect the timber many areas were compartmentalised until the trees had grown above the heads of the deer and then they were let in to graze.61 Fallow deer were a woodland animal, and deer, like goats, are well known for climbing, so they were difficult to keep in enclosures.62 In Bermingham a park pale was introduced, which in many cases was a bank and ditch, (the ditch being inside the bank) with a cleft of oaken stakes on the bank set in the ground. Oliver Rackham pointed out that wooded areas, like parks, were too restrictive for good hunting. ‘The real purpose of a park was the prosaic supply of venison, other meat, wood, and timber.’63 Those appointed to manage the parks were called park keepers. Holme Park: This park lay to the south-east of the borough, next to the River Rea. Most of it lay within the floodplain. It still existed in 1553 when the borough survey was made, but by then most of it was used as meadow land. It included all the rivers, streams, springs and watercourses that lay within it.64 Little Park: This park lay to the north-east side of the borough next to the River Rea, but, according to the 1296 rental and archaeological evidence, people had 59

Hemingway, J. 2009. op. cit., 44-47. Rackham, O. 1986. op. cit., 49, 118. 61 Ibid, 125-126. 62 Ibid, 123. 63 Ibid, 125. 64 Gillespie R. W. 1889. On some memorials of Old Birmingham, in Transactions Excursions and Reports for the year ending 1887: xxvi. Birmingham: Wright, Dain, Peyton and Co. 60

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The medieval manor of Bermingham stated encroaching into it by then.65 It still existed in 1553 when the borough survey was made, but continued to be encroached upon from the south.66 Rotton Park: Rotton Park had probably started out as a natural woodland. A John de Rotton is mentioned in 1275 and Adam de Rotton in 1296; they or their ancestors had come from the park, though they seemed to be living in the town.67 The park is described in a sixteenth century survey as, ‘Ther ys a p’ke belongynge to the same Manor wherein ys a greate ponde whych ys o’r growen wt. wede & rede, & lytell fyshe er now therein, and the logge ys sore decayed.’68 The ‘greate ponde’ still exists today, greatly extended in size, though strangely called Edgbaston Reservoir. Whether anyone was living in the ‘logge’ (lodge) is unknown. In the 1553 survey there was a reference to a ‘Keeper of the Park’. This was a position that no doubt went back to the creation of the land unit as a park, as letting animals out in an area where they could be poached, without anyone to watch over them was not a good idea. At that time the keeper, for a rent of forty shillings, held several profits from the park including ‘deer, rabbits and the wyndfalls of wood and the lopp wood and all herbage and agistments and also pannage for the pasture of swine.’ The lord reserved for himself all of the ‘great timber’ – old trees in the park – and was responsible for the ‘paling of the said park’. ‘And it shall be lawful for the said Edward [Lord Bermingham] to hunt deer in the said park’; whether he did so or not is unknown.69 Medieval rabbit warrens (coneygres) in Bermingham Another area which was imparked was the Coneygree. Although archaeological evidence has discovered rabbit bones in Roman layers it was the twelfth century before they were introduced to Britain in any quantity.70 Rabbits, or as they were known in the medieval period, coneys, came from the western Mediterranean. When first introduced they were not used to the northern climate and did not dig burrows, so artificial homes were made for them out of stone and earth, which today we call pillow-mounds. Peter de Bermingham was given permission to have a rabbit warren in 1153.71 It was situated in part of the demesne in an open field which he then enclosed. 72 As distinct from the 65 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 43; Burrows, R. & Martin, H. 2002. Birmingham, Park Street, City Centre, in West Midlands Archaeology: 44: 186. Birmingham: CBA West Midlands. 66 Gillespie R. W. op. cit., iv; Duncan, M. 2007. Birmingham Cold Store, in West Midlands Archaeology: 450: 104. Birmingham: CBA West Midlands. 67 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 36. 68 https://billdargue.jimdo.com/placenames-gazetteer-a-to-y/places-r/rotton-park. 69 Gillespie, R.W. op. cit., xxxvi. Agistments - land let out in the summer to graze cattle at a fixed price per head, pales - deer-proof fences. 70 Rackham, O. 1986. op. cit., 47. It was not until the eighteenth century that rabbits became selfreliant and a nuisance because of their ability to rapidly procreate. 71 Eyton, Rev. W. (ed.) 1880. op. cit., 17. 72 Rabbits would have eventually found a way out and, as Rackham reported, as early as the fourteenth century they were getting outside of their enclosures and damaging trees.

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Medieval Birmingham Coneygre at Dudley Castle, the Berminghams’ Coneygre was well away from the manor house. Although rabbits do not like wet ground, much of the Lord’s Coneygree was in marshy ground, which makes their survival interesting.73 The Prior’s Coneygree may originally have been part of the Lord’s Coneygree, granted on the foundation of the monastery.74 A major highway, Chappelle Strete, ran between the two. Oliver Rackham noted a possible parallel in Suffolk where a warren was composed of a great bank and ditch with furze placed on top of it and was regularly patrolled. The bank continued either side of the road.75 A similar enclosure may have been made for the Coneygree in Bermingham. In the 1553 survey there was a reference to the Connyngre consisting of 63 acres consisting of a pasture with rabbit warren, a lodge and a pool.76 The lodge for the warrener was liable to be in the Coneygree and the pool was probably close to a road subsequently known as Water Street.77 Religious houses like St Thomas’ were keen to exploit the food, skins and fur value of rabbits, so it is noteworthy to see that they had a warren. A recurring issue with warrens was that escaped rabbits could feed on the people’s crops without them having any legal recourse. If they retaliated by trapping the pests, they could wind up facing a fine in the manor court.78

Figure 60: A pillow-mound in a warren, shown in the fourteenth century Luttrell Psalter.79 Coneys (rabbits) were a source of fur and meat to the people who kept them. 73

Pearson, H. S. op. cit., 58. There must have been some higher land in the area otherwise the rabbits would not have survived. 74 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 13. 75 Rackham, O. 1986. op. cit., 292-293. 76 Ibid, xxvii. 77 This pool was fed by Horne Brook. 78 Bryant, A. op. cit., 498. 79 Original document © British Library Board, Add. 42130, f.176v, 019902 – rabbit warren.

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The medieval manor of Bermingham Watermills in Bermingham Watermills were the technological innovation of the age and, where there was a water supply, existed on most estates. As the residents of each manor were obliged to use the mill on their own estate to grind their grain into flour, it was an additional increment to the lord’s revenue. Those that used a mill other than their lords were normally taken to court and fined. Towards the end of the medieval period an agreement was made between Edward Bermingham and Thomas Holte, Lord of Aston, on the 10 May 1525. It stated that the farmers and millers of the mills of Aston and Bermingham could ’feche cary and recary al maner griste and corne of al maner greyn’ from one another’s mills.80 Bermingham had two watermills, the main one on the eastern heath called Hetmulne, and a smaller one close to the manor house, called the Little Mill. Most of the Berminghams’ manors had water mills, Edgbaston, Perry Barr, Handsworth, Rushall, Overton and Wombourne and Morf. Millers were renowned for their dishonesty by not giving the correct amount of flour back to their clients for the grain given and were rarely trusted. As Geoffrey Chaucer wrote in the ‘Reeves Tale’ about millers in The Canterbury Tales: ‘He was a thief as well of corn and meal, And sly as that his habit was to steal.’81 Not all mills ground corn or ground corn all the time, some were used for fulling cloth.82 The urban area – the Borough Studies have revealed the settled part of Bermingham to be a newly created planned town of the second half of the twelfth century.83 The borough was composed of the lord’s moated manor house on the Colbourne, and a moated parsonage on a site further up the brook, along with St Martin’s church, originally built as a market chapel, to the north-west of the manor house, and the marketplace that surrounded it. The burgage plots and other houses where the traders lived ran off the market place in all directions. New Street, Moor Street and Park Street seem to have been later accessions to the town as in the latter’s case the original town ditch was backfilled to make room for them.84 MANOR HOUSE: The circular shape of the manor house site suggests it was a ringwork, ‘a simple round enclosure formed with a ditch and bank and usually having a strongly fortified entrance, within which stood a hall and lesser buildings.’85 This type of site was popular in the eleventh and 80

Smith, J. T. 1864. op. cit., 90. grist – corn to grind. Coghill, N. (trans.) 1972. Geoffrey Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales: 125. Harmondsworth: Penguin. 82 Fulling: beating the cloth with wooden paddles to make a softer feel to it. 83 Patrick, C. op. cit., 5. There is no evidence, either archaeological or documentary, to support the conjecture that settlement existed in the town prior to 1166. 84 Bassett, S. 2001. op. cit., 13. 85 Ibid, 3.

81

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Medieval Birmingham early twelfth centuries and may have been started by Richard, first Norman lord of Bermingham. The site was presumably chosen for strategic military considerations, as in the early days after the Conquest a defensive position was imperative. 86 Its location by the Colbourne suggests that when it was built the brook was intended to be used as a water source to create a moat. Its position close to the crossing of the River Rea may suggest that, like Dudley Castle, it was situated to defend an important route out of the west.87 When Peter de Bermingham received permission to fortify the manor house, we are not aware how he proceeded, whether with a timber palisade or in stone. However, stone excavated from the moat was considered to be twelfth century in origin which may suggest that the defensive walls were originally made out of that material.88 The timber work of the motte and bailey at Dudley Castle had been converted into stone prior to 1138.89 Although the manorial house was recorded as Peter’s castrum (castle) in 1166, it was amended to ‘township’ in the confirmatory charter of 1189, and at the same time he was given permission to found a Thursday market.90 This difference in wording may not have been an accident. Peter may have wanted the outer bailey of his manor house to be the site of the market, with St Martin’s Chapel at the western end of it, but its later success led to the need to extend the site north-west of the church.91 A manor house needed a hall, sleeping apartments, a well, kitchen, food store, stable, hay and oat store for the horses, weapons store and possibly a smithy. The staff, apart from men-at-arms, would have included stewards, cooks, cleaners and stablemen, together with parkers and warreners. These would have cared for the lord’s horses, deer and rabbits. The lord’s fish pond lay further along the brook and as the eating of fish was a weekly event it would have been well used. People would have been employed to maintain it and catch the fish when necessary. Woodsmen who worked in the parks would have supplied timber, firewood, tool handles and other domestic and outdoor implements. By 1529 the manor house had become dilapidated. A report stated that: The Manor House is moted rounde aboute and hath a drawebryygge to the same, and the mote ys sore o’r growen w’t wede and Fulle of Mudde

86

Ibid, 2. Bassett, S. & Holt, R. 2016. op. cit., 85. 88 Patrick, C. quoting Watts, L. 1980. op. cit., 6. 89 Hemingway, J. 2009. op. cit., 23. The lords seem to have left the manor house in the middle of the fifteenth century and do not seem to have returned, hence its dilapidated condition nearly eighty years later. 90 Transcript and translation printed in T.B.A.S: xxxviii: 8-9, 24; facsimile in Gill, C. op. cit., plate facing: 12; see also 58. Plac. de Quo Warr. (Rec. Com.): 781-782. 91 Hodder, M. 2004. op. cit., 89. Hodder suggested that there is documentary evidence of an outer bailey between the moat of the manor house and the churchyard. This may have been the site of the original marketplace. Chris Patrick’s excavation of the moat revealed it was 2.5m deep. 87

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The medieval manor of Bermingham and ash Rubussh, and the most pte of the Manor place Fallen downe, and the Resydew that standyth ys sore decayed so that no man wyll hyre hit.92 The present archaeological evidence seems to suggest that the first building was twelfth century in date and that it was replaced by another stone building in the thirteenth century.93 This would fit with the documentary evidence that stated the manor house was built in the mid-twelfth century. As the archaeologist did not have sufficient time to excavate the whole site this evidence has to be considered as tentative till further work is carried out. If the manor house had surrounding stone walls, they had gone by the time of Westley’s 1731 map (see Figure 61), but a few buildings still existed on the site. A brief excavation conducted on the site of the moat in 1951 revealed a medieval ring.94 The road name leading to the manor house was Court Lane, reminiscent of a period when the various manorial courts were held at the great hall of the manor house. The area between it and the lane running from Mercer Street to the brook was possibly the area of the outer bailey. The manor house site was demolished in the post-medieval age to make way for the Smithfield Market.

Figure 61: The site of the moated manor house in Westley’s map of 1731.95 Reproduced by permission of the Library of Birmingham. 92

Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 87. Ibid, 87. 94 Oswald, A. Finds from the Birmingham Moat, in Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society: 78: 79-80. 95 By this date the surrounding walls have been demolished and it is being used as farm holding. 93

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Chapter Six

The Priory and Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr The Christian religion was of prime importance in medieval Bermingham, as well as in the rest of Europe, then called Christendom, and its power was great. It ruled the moral and political life of the whole populace. Anyone who was caught disobeying the rules and conventions of the church could be brought before an ecclesiastical court and punished. Exclusion from the church meant exclusion from society and no one could help those who had been excommunicated. Being ‘sent to Coventry’ in medieval times could result in dire circumstances to those found guilty. For those who followed the dictates of the church there would be everlasting happiness in heaven after they died. To support the church’s ideals, many men and women dedicated their lives to God and many of these lived in abbeys and priories, like St Thomas’ in Bermingham.

Figure 62: The environs of St Thomas’ Priory with a conjectural priory complex.1 1

Hill, J. 1897. Memorials of Old Square: being some notices of the priory of St. Thomas in Birmingham: 8.

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The Priory and Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr The Foundation of the Priory and Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr There have been alternate views on the period of St Thomas’ foundation, but it seems likely that the theory that it occurred in the twelfth century is the correct one.2 When the Priory and Hospital were founded, Bermingham did not have parochial status, which may mean that Harborne still acted as the mother church, as it did for Edgbaston until the sixteenth century.3 The founders of St Thomas’ were most certainly the lords of Bermingham, but the earliest record of its existence is from as late as 1284; the date of its foundation is presently unknown. Steven Bassett considered that it may have been the original church of Birmingham,4 and other evidence suggests that an institution of that ilk may have been founded by Peter de Bermingham (see Chapter Two). Bassett and Holt considered that the foundation would have predated St Martin’s church on the evidence that its graveyard was very large and that it was unlikely that the church in the market place had burial rights when it was first set up, it being a borough chapel. They considered that the priory’s initial role was reversed when St Martin’s acquired burial rights and the priory church became merely a priory and hospital chapel.5 The time of this changeover may have been when the new St Martin’s was erected at the end of the thirteenth century and it may furthermore have been at this time that St Martin’s gained parochial status, but, as will be seen in Chapter Five, it was not particularly well endowed, possibly an indication of its former role. Other evidence for why this should be the case is found when Gervase Paganell, Baron Dudley, founded his own priory in the 1150s. He was a patron of Peter de Bermingham and it is very likely that Peter wanted to copy his lord by having a castle, a town and a priory. The town and manor house were attained in the 1150s, but its dedication suggests that St Thomas’ was not founded until after the 1170s. The event that led to this dedication grew out of the quarrel between Henry II and Archbishop Thomas Becket. The ill-feeling between the two men led to Becket’s murder in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. Many of Henry’s barons, Gervase Paganell including, were repulsed by this and turned their allegiance to his son, Prince Henry. In 1173 they intended to instigate a coup, but were stopped from achieving this by the king suspecting they were planning a rebellion and having them all arrested. Treason is a capital offence, but the king could not put them to death because his son was involved, so fined them and sleighted (demolished) the defences of their castles. In reply to the king’s actions, Gervase, who was having a church for his foreign built Birmingham: Achilles Taylor. 2 See Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 10-12 and Basset, S. and Holt, R. 2016. op. cit., 82-83. 3 Bassett, S. 2000. Anglo-Saxon Birmingham, Midland History: 25: 19. Parochial status – served as a parish church of the manor. 4 Bassett, S. and Holt, R. 2016. op. cit., 16. 5 Ibid, pp. 82, 83, 98; Hodder, M. op. cit., 92-3.

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Medieval Birmingham in Dudley, dedicated it to Becket, who had been canonised by the Pope as St Thomas the Martyr only three years after his death. Peter and his son, William II, were involved in the rebellion, having been fined for the offence, and like Gervase Paganell it seems likely that they wanted their foundation to have the same dedication. As Peter died in about 1173 it may have been founded by his son, William II.6 One problem with reconstructing the priory complex was a suggestion made by William Hutton in the eighteenth century that skeletal remains were found on the Bull Tavern side of Chapel Street, implying that St Thomas’ had another graveyard on the opposite side of the road. This did not seem correct until Bassett’s suggestion that the road had moved. Its original course was Livery Street, which would have included the area east of it within the priory property. One of the reasons for this relocation was the creation or widening of the Great Pool (later known as Phillips Pool).7 Perhaps this occurred in the later medieval period when the priory needed more cash and selling, or leasing property was the answer. If Livery Street was the earlier Chapel Street, then the Welsh Market with its cross was within the priory lands. When this early change occurred in the Priory boundary is unknown. Canons Regular at St Thomas’ Priory and Hospital After 1125 hundreds of communities of canons had sprung up in Europe, usually quiet autonomous from one another. They were called canons regular and this was the type of community that lived in Bermingham.8 The canons of St Thomas’ were priests leading a semi-monastic life, living in a community and sharing their property in common.9 They were committed to pastoral care, appropriate to their primary vocation as priests and therefore preached to the people and administered the sacraments.10 They lived under the Rule of St Augustine, a fourth century Christian, who set up a communal life with his followers and renounced private property. By the thirteenth century the order became the largest religious institution in England.11

6

Hemingway, J. 2006. op. cit., 25–28. Bassett, S. 2001. op. cit., 21. 8 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canons_Regular 9 Ibid, the word canon is Latin and meant ’rule’. 10 Celebrating Mass, baptism, marriage and burial. 11 Lawrence, C. H. 1985. Medieval Monasticism: 138-141. London: Longman. 7

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The Priory and Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr

Figure 63: A reconstruction by Faith Vardy of the priory and hospital at St Mary, Spitalfields, London. Perhaps a similar building complex existed in Bermingham. Reproduced by permission of the Museum of London Archaeology.

Figure 64: General ground plan of a medieval priory and hospital. 141

Medieval Birmingham The layout of a medieval priory The Priory and Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr was situated between Chapel Street (now Bull Street), Priors Coneygre Lane (now Steelhouse Lane) and Aspelan Street (now Dale End) and served Bermingham as a training and preaching centre, as well as functioning as a guest house and infirmary. Unfortunately, no plan is available of its layout, but, like most medieval institutions, the buildings would have been composed of several specific areas (see Figure 64). The ground plan of St Thomas’ was possibly like other priories in England. The main edifice would have been the church, divided into a nave and a chancel where the canons held services.12 It probably had several altars, as demonstrated by a will of Thomas Redhill in 1522 which stated that he wished “to repair the seven altars” in the church.13 This suggests the church was a sizeable structure. One of the altars would have been dedicated to St Thomas and at least one other altar to St Mary, granted by Bishop Stretton in 1361. The other five altar dedications are unknown.14 A rood screen would have separated the chancel from the nave. If it had one, a central tower would have stood over the junction of the two15 and this area was called the choir. The nave to the west of the choir was where lay people would attend services. The chapter house was close to the church and there the prior and canons would collect once a day to organise the day’s activities. The open area in the middle of the complex was called the cloister garth and had a roofed walkway around it for inclement weather. The latrine and the kitchen block would have had a drain, which in Bermingham would have led to one of the brooks that flowed east. A feature on the east side of the priory’s land was named Scites (Shit) Well (weall was an Anglo-Saxon word which in the West Midlands was generally used for a watercourse or a spring),16 an appropriate name for a brook that took effluent away. The refectory (dining room) lay next to the kitchen block. The kitchen may have had fresh water piped in from the Horne Brook to the west. Outside it lay the kitchen garden and herbarium, the source of some of the canons’ medicinal plants. The infirmary hall lay next to the nave where the sick could listen to the regular services that went on (this could have been considered as part of the cure). The lodging or guest hall was where 12 Ibid, 462. The lord of the manor and his lady worshipped in the chancel with the clergy. A main altar would have been at the east end, then three altars on either side of the chancel. These would have been dedicated to popular saints such as James, John, Andrew, Peter, Paul, and Mary. 13 Hill, J. 1897. op. cit., 6. This was St Thomas’ as St Martin’s was never large enough to contain seven altars. 14 Smith, J. T. 1864. op. cit., 40; Wrottesley, George, (ed.), Register of Bishop Roger de Stretton, op. cit., 19. St Mary’s was a free chapel, that is a chapel which was part of the priory church of St Thomas’, but with its own altar. 15 A rood screen was a decorated wooden partition to separate the worshippers. A stairway led to the top of the screen where choristers could sing anthems during services. 16 Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 473.

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The Priory and Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr travellers, pilgrims and guests would find accommodation for the night. The graveyard, which appeared to be well-used, lay to the south-east.17 References to land holdings in the priory grounds suggest that the priory leased units out next to the Welsh Cross and Market. The canons indoor-working area (scriptorium) would have included writing desks and a library. The sleeping area (dormitory) lay over the scriptorium. The Rule dictated that the canons would have a strict timetable. It began at 2am to 3am where they performed a service called Matins. This was followed by another service called Lauds. They could then go back to bed before getting-up to celebrate Prime at 6 o’clock. The next service was called Terce after which they celebrated morning Mass. They then attended the prior for a conference in the Chapter House, which finished about 10 o’clock. At 12 o’clock a service called Sext was performed after which followed a meal in the refectory and at 3pm another service called None. The main evening service was called Vespers followed by Compline after which they went to bed.18 Some Augustinians communities, like St Thomas’, were given manorial churches as part of their endowment. St Martin’s may have come to them in this way and this is further evidence that the reorganisation may have been earlier than the end of the thirteenth century. It seems likely that the canons performed the pastoral duties themselves rather than delegate the task to secular clergy and it is probable that most of St Martin’s incumbents were priory-nominated men.19 The priory may have originally been granted sufficient lands, but in the late thirteenth century, with the rise in importance of the institution, it needed further endowments. It is from this time that we have evidence of the gifts that were donated to the priory. This was the period when the wealth of England started to improve and as a result all over the country building work was carried out on cathedrals, churches and monastic establishments. As Arthur Bryant wrote in his work The Age of Chivalry, ‘During the early decades of the fourteenth century almost every great church in England was added to or partly rebuilt in a richly ornamented style’. This was the pointed arch of the Gothic period which allowed a great deal of light in to the church. 20 It is likely that the same thing happened in Bermingham. Dugdale mentions the additional endowments in a 1284 document of the Patent Rolls in which Thomas de Maidenbach of Aston gave ten acres of heath, to the prior and 17

Hill, J. 1897. op. cit., 8. This has been proven by the numerous skeletons that were excavated in 1786 and when Corporation Street was built in 1883. Hill claimed that part of the chapel then remained in the basement of a shop on the south side of the Minories. Did this mean the church had a crypt? Hodder, M. 2004. op. cit., 18, 92, referred to a foundation trench found in the same area (see Fig. 22). 18 Hemingway, J. 2005. An Illustrated Chronicle of the Cluniac Priory of St James, Dudley: 24. Dudley: Friends of Priory Park. 19 The advowson was held by the lords of Bermingham, but it is likely that they relegated the choosing of the incumbent to the Prior. 20 Bryant, A. op. cit., 253.

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Medieval Birmingham brethren of the house.21 William de Bermingham VI gave ten acres of land in Bermingham and Ralph de Rokeby (Rugby) gave three acres of land in Saltley. Documentary evidence suggests that a major endowment also occurred in 1285 when Sir John de Somery, Baron Dudley, gave the priory seven acres and one rood of land in Bordesley.22 It is interesting that Baron Dudley gave land to the priory as he had plenty of similar establishments of his own in the West Midlands and the Home Counties, but it does prove that he was involved in the activities of one of his leading knights. The gifts of his principal men in the surrounding manors probably occurred because their lord had given some land and they thought it wise to do the same. The prior had been given more pieces of land by 1310, but these grants had been made without royal permission and so a pardon was needed and given on 26 December. This included lands in Saltley, Bordesley, and Duddeston.23 Other cottages and lands were given by William de Bermingham VII in his manor and surrounding villages and more lands were given by Nicholas le Dale, Roger le Moul, Alexander le Mercer and William le Shawe, all Bermingham inhabitants.24 A breakdown of the lands given in other manors includes Roger le Moul, four acres of land in the same town and one acre of land and six-pence rent in Duddeston and Bermingham; Peter de le Broke, four-pence rent in Erdington. Ralph Wombestrong, four acres and one rood of land in Saltley;25 Roger de Little Barre, two acres and one rood of land; and Simon de Rokeby,26 half an acre of land.27 The list of lands and houses granted to the priory from which they received rents from the freemen and women of Bermingham was recorded as temporal income in 1310. These twenty two properties had been gifts of many of the leading townsmen and women.28 They included house plots and gardens in the borough for which William Jori paid six-pence rent;29 Alexander le Mercer, six-pence rent; William de Dodeston, six-pence rent; Ralph Kokeyn, six-pence

21

Smith, J. T. 1864. op. cit., 19. Smith translates this as ‘brushwood’. Maidenhatch is close to Reading in Berkshire. 22 Hill, J. 1897. op. cit., 4. 23 Smith, J. T. 1864. op. cit., 27. This was dated at Berwick-on-Tweed were the king was trying to prevent the Scots from invading England; Hill, J. 1897. op cit., 4. 24 Hill, J. 1897. op cit., 4. 25 Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 370. A nickname meaning ‘strong in belly’. 26 Rugby. 27 Carter, W. F. Additions. 1941. op. cit., 24. Henry de Rokeby (Rugby) was granted Saltley by Gervase Paganell, Baron Dudley. 28 Deputy Keeper of Records, 1894. Calendar of the Patent Rolls Edward II 1307 – 1313: 305. London: HMSO. 29 Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 257. The northern French form of George.

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The Priory and Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr rent;30 Roger de le Gate, five pence rent;31 John de Pakynton, four-pence rent;32 Roger Preust, two-pence rent;33 Richard Lumbard, two-pence rent;34 Alexander le Kene, two-pence rent;35 and William Aygnelet, six-pence rent and a cottage.36 Joan Bawe, a cottage,37 William Tycito, a cottage, Richard de le Ash, a cottage,38 John de Clodeshale, a cottage, Roger Fokeram, two cottages,39 Clarice la Day, a cottage,40 John le Carpenter, a cottage, Christina la Raggede, a cottage,41 and William de le Shawe, one messuage and half a virgate of land.42 The houses were thus worth six shillings and nine pence. This sum did not include the cottages which were not considered particularly valuable, but the rents must have been at least a penny. Property given to the Priory in the foreign included donations by William de Bermingham of twenty-two acres of land and half an acre of meadow;43 Geoffrey de Cofton, one acre of land;44 William Corbyn, two half acres of land;45 and Nicholas de le Dale, one acre of land in Bermingham and one acre and a half of land in Duddeston.46 These were plough, pasture or where stated, meadow lands in the countryside. The grain or other crops that grew on them would be used in the priory. It is not known if the priory had its own flocks of sheep or herds of cattle, but its pasture land may have been rented out to others, serving as an additional source of income. Meadow was very valuable, and it seems likely that the priory would have had the hay cut and then sold in the marketplace.

30

Ibid, 103. Cockaigne was an old French word that described an imaginary country. The name was given to people who gave the impression they came from this fabulous land. 31 This could be one of the barriers (Barres) that lay across the roads that led into the town. 32 Packington is close to Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire. 33 Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 362. The spelling suggests a priest, but without le in front of it perhaps a descendent of a priest. 34 Ibid, 283. A person who came from Lombardy in Italy. In many cases they were bankers. 35 Ibid, 261. A nickname meaning ’wise, brave or proud’. 36 Ibid, 153. A complicated name of possible two sources English and French, it has been modernised as Eliot. 37 Ibid, 57. Possibly dweller by the bridge. 38 Nash. 39 The Fokerham family held Warley of the Barons of Dudley. 40 Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 128. Day was a women’s name which originally meant a bread maker, but later was used for a dairy-maid. 41 Ibid, 370. A nickname meaning ragged. 42 A shaw is a small wood. 43 Sir William de Bermingham, lord of Bermingham. 44 Probably of Cofton Hackett. 45 Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 109. Derived from the French word for raven. 46 Dale End.

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Medieval Birmingham Canons and other staff at St Thomas’ The total number of men who served at St Thomas’ is unknown, but various pieces of information can tell us about some of the people who lived and worked there. The Prior and his provost would have been the senior representatives. Then came the canons, who may have numbered less than a dozen, in line with most other establishments. Then came the major clergy, men who had been ordained priests, with the deacons being a lower status. Below these were the minor clergy, sub-deacons, and at the bottom acolytes. Many lay people (townsmen and possibly women) may have been employed at the priory, but probably had homes in the town. The occasional references to life in the priory tell us that in 1297 Prior Robert appointed Brother Henry, styled ‘Swayne’47 as the priory’s proctor.48 The proctor was a high-ranking official in the priory and managed the legal affairs of the establishment - a sort of priory lawyer! As well as receiving sums of money, the priory sometimes paid them out, for example Brother Thomas, master of the house, paid a £10 fine in 1298. This was part of the ransom for Sir William de Bermingham VI who was a prisoner of the French in Paris (see Chapter Four).49 Not all members of the prior’s staff practiced the obedience enjoined upon them, for a John de Appulton was excommunicated by the Bishop of Lichfield for an unknown offence in 1322; he was absolved of his actions in about 1324. He was stated to be in the household of Sir Thomas de Bermingham, a brother of the lord, which may imply he was a chaplain at his manor house.50 John de Appulton of the Bermingham Hospital was in trouble again in 1330. It appears that he married one or more couples without a licence to do so. He must have been only a deacon or less at the time. The case went to the papal court at Avignon, France, where the papacy was resident from 1309 to 1376. His trial was held by Adam de Orleton, Bishop of Worcester, who was at Avignon, and in February of that year John came before him. His punishment was suspension of his duties for a set amount of time. The lenient sentence reflects the fact that he was said to be ‘a simple man ignorant of the law’,51 though perhaps in reality he was a clever man who knew how to hoodwink the authorities. In a Subsidy Roll of 1327, a Richard atte Chapelle is recorded as paying 2 shillings. A further reference to

47

Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 435. Swain – a peasant. Records of the Exchequer, The National Archives Kew, E219/8473 1297/8. All members of the organisation were called Brother. 49 E 210/7068, National Archives, Kew, op. cit., 5. 50 Hobhouse, Rev. G. Bishop Norbury’s Register 1322 – 1358, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: I: 244-245. William de Bermingham VII had died in 1315, so it may have been Sir Thomas who was heading the house. 51 Haines, R. M. 1979. Calendar of the register of Adam de Orleton Bishop of Worcester 1327-1333: 146. London: H.M.S.O. The Bishop was in France conducting royal marriage negotiations. 48

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The Priory and Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr him in 1330 states that he is ‘Richard the priours clerk at Chapele’.52 ‘Clerk’ implies he kept the accounts at the Priory, but was not in holy orders.53 An incomplete list of patrons and priors of the hospital is given below.54 855 556

Patron

Roger Northburgh, Bishop of Lichfield

Prior Brother Robert, circa 1297 Brother Thomas, circa 129856 Brother Robert Marmion, October 1326 Brother Thomas, Master 1298 Prior Richard S(acre)ment, 1344/557

The Prior Richard, recorded in a 1344 Rental, was prior when the hospital was visited by Bishop Northburgh of Coventry and Lichfield, who stated that the occupants were behaving in a very inappropriate manner.57 It was written that the ‘vile reprobates assumed the Habit so that they may continue their abominable lives under the veil of piety, then forsake it, and cause themselves to be called hermits.’58 This in fact may not be as bad as it sounds. Most abbeys and priories felt themselves to be independent of the bishops and it is possible that we are seeing the bishop’s frustration at not being able to get the priory members to conform to his strict rules.59 Roger Northburgh, Bishop of Lichfield Sir Fulk de Bermingham ..

John Nevill, November 1353 Robert Cappe, chaplain, June 1361, died in 1369 Lord Thomas Edmound, priest Instituted to St Marys Chapel as priest and warden in August 136961

960

52

Hill, J. 1897. op. cit., 5. Wilson, Rev. R. A. 1905. op. cit., xi. 54 The term prior, guardian, warden and master seem to have been interchangeable. 55 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1896. Plea Rolls for Staffordshire: 11 Edward I, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: VII: 50. 56 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 65. 57 Ibid, 53, 64. A John atte Chapel had a house next to the Priory church, mentioned in both the 1296 and 1344-5 Rentals, but he may not have lived in it. 58 Hobhouse, Rev. G. op. cit., 274. 59 Hodder, M. pers. comm., considered that the ‘vile reprobates’ may have been secular inmates. 60 Wilson, Rev. R. A. 1907. Lichfield Episcopal Registers: 42; Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1907. Lichfield Episcopal Registers, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: New Series X: part II, 31. Edmund came from Bishops Itchington in 1363 as a chaplain and was first instituted in the Clodeshale chantry before being promoted to the priory. 53

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Medieval Birmingham Dugdale made a list of the custodians of the ‘hospital’ though not indicating whether they were also priors,61 but Thomas Edmound is stated as being the prior in the Lichfield Episcopal Register which may mean that the others were too. Sir John de Clinton .. Lady Elizabeth de Clinton Sir John Russell Lady Elizabeth de Clinton63 .. .. ..

Edward Bermingham King Henry VIII

John Frotheward, November 1390 John Cheyne, 5 September 1393/6 Henry Bradley, 22 October 1396-1403 Thomas Salpyn, 24 September 1403-1407 Robert Browe, 7 March 1407-1412 John Port, 5 August 1412 William Prestwode, 26 October 1416-1421 Henry Drayton, January 1421 William Fullan, 1461 William Guest, 1464-7 Fulk Bermingham 1467-1477 Thomas Smallwood, appointed 1477 Sir Edmund Tofte, 152164 Henry Hody, 1538–154665

n62 1636.64

In 1532 Edward Bermyngham granted property to John Prety. Many of the properties had been previously recorded as dowager land and perhaps this grant was made on the death of Edward’s mother, Elizabeth. As he had been incarcerated in the Tower of London for his offences the year before and the king confiscated his property a few years later it suggests this grant was ‘null and void’ as it was being made. As the grant was for a period of ninety-nine years it seems Edward was giving away a substantial part of his inheritance. However, that may be, it reveals that the term parsonage was then used of the priory and hospital. The parsonage part reads, Th’ ADVOWSON of PARSONAGE & BNEFYCE of the CHURCHE of SANCTE THOMAS the MARTYR in Bremycham, called the parsonage of the priory… …to geve & to assigne immedyately after the decasse or resynacon of one SYR EDWARD TOFTE nowe being parson there.65

61

Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 660. After Sir John de Bermingham died in 1383 his wife, Elizabeth, married Sir John Clinton and she became Lady Clinton. The Clintons continued to live in the manor house at Bermingham until Lady Clinton died in 1423. 63 The ‘Sir’ element did not indicate knighthood, as most clergymen were addressed in that way in this period. 64 All the priors were called wardens in the Lichfield Episcopal Registers. 65 Smith, J. T. 1864. op. cit., 89. 62

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The Priory and Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr In 1545 the commissioners of King Henry VIII stated that the ‘inhabitants of the same [town] dothe muche resorte to the same chapel for dyvyne service, but now, the place thereof knoweth it no more’. This is somewhat confusing as the commissioners appear to be stating two opposing things – either the Bermingham people were attending services at the chapel or they were not. 66 These conflicting comments may have been a ruse in order to support its dissolution. The prior and a few select canons were given pensions on the closure of priories. Henry Hindes (probably Hody), a chaplain, was one of these who was awarded a pension on St Thomas’ dissolution. He lived till at least 1552 when he was recorded in a will of the vicar of Aston as ‘Sir Henry Hinde ‘Parson of the Priory’’.67

Figure 65: Apparel of an Augustine Canon as depicted by Dugdale.68 66

Ibid, 90. Hill, J. 1897. op. cit., 8. 68 Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 237. 67

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Medieval Birmingham Classification of men who worked in the priory. As previously mentioned, the number of canons at St Thomas’ would have been fixed and canons who either moved away or died would be replaced. The canons of the priory were ordained priests by definition, but these were not the only people who resided in the priory. Lay brothers also served, some joining the priory with no qualifications at all, like Brother John, below. Although very little is known of most of the men who served at the priory, we do have some evidence of a few careers. During Bishop Walter Langton’s time as Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield a record of ordinations was made of those who went through the process of promotion. The list made during the bishop’s episcopate (1300–1320), details twenty-five men as serving at the priory. The fact that they are recorded as rising through the ranks, from acolyte to priest, seems to imply the priory was an ecclesiastical training establishment. All these men were promoted at a ceremony at the bishop’s court, which demonstrates the importance of the bishop to the priory community. ACOLYTES, 1300–1320: An acolyte performed ceremonial duties, in particular simple customs in worship such as lighting altar candles. 1304 March 28th Brother John de Bermyngham of St Thomas’ Hospital69 1307 December 17th William de Bulley70 Two acolytes are recorded in the period 1300 to 1320. Brother John had special treatment as he missed the deacon stage and was promoted straight to the priesthood in the following year. SUBDEACONS, 1300–1320: The word deacon means ‘servant’ in Greek. Subdeacons belonged to the minor orders, the lowest rank of the clergy in the priory. The position was generally held by those who entered the priory intending to train to be a priest. The subdeacon would be responsible for much of the manual labour in the priory, but would also aid the priests and deacons in the regular services. The subdeacons at St Thomas the Martyr’s, Bermingham were: 1303 September 21st Roger de la More71 1314 March 6th William, son of Richard Zol72 69 Hughes, J. B. The Episcopate of Walter Langton, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, 12961321: with a calendar of Register: 3: 849. M. Phil. thesis, University of Nottingham. 70 Ibid, 817, Reaney, P. H. & Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 72. From Bully – ‘bull-enclosure’ in Worcestershire. 71 Ibid, 842. 72 Hughes, J. B. op. cit., 991. Reaney, P. H. & Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 399. Possibly Zell – a person who lives in a herdsman’s hut.

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The Priory and Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr 1318 June 17th Thomas le Sympile73 1318 December 23rd Roger Jory74 1318 December 23rd John Wodecok75 Five subdeacons are recorded; none appear to have been promoted to deacon during Langton’s episcopate. This number does not include men already in the establishment that did not move from their position. DEACONS:1300–1320: The next progression was to become a deacon. These belonged to the major order of the community and could aid the priest by preaching, but could not perform the seven sacraments (baptism, confirmation, marriage, last rites, Mass, confession and penance, and ordination). 1300 June 4th Walter de La More76 1300 December 17th Walter Le Mey77 1303 September 21st William de Teynterer78 1304 December 19th Roger de Birmingham79 1307 December 23rd Richard son of Edmund Chaloner80 1315 May 17th William Yol81 [Presented by Sir William de Bermingham VIII]82 1315 May 17th John Brangwyn83 1315 May 17th William Andrew [Presented by Nicholas de Sheldon]84 1318 December 23rd Thomas le Simple85 1319 April 7th John Wodecok86 Ten men were recorded as being made deacons in the period 1300-1320. Walter le Mey rose from deacon in 1300 to priest in 1302. Both Thomas le Symple and John Wodecok were promoted from deacons in 1318 to priests in 1319. This number again does not include the men in the establishment who were not promoted in the institution. 73

Ibid, 1097. Simple - An apothecary. Hughes, J. B, op. cit., 1107. Reaney, P. H. & Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 257. A French form of George. 75 Ibid, 1107; Reaney, P. H. & Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 499. A nick-name from the bird meaning a simpleton; Demidowicz, G. 2008. op. cit., 53. Though it is unlikely that a man who held property in the town and went through the process of priesthood was simple. 76 Hughes, J. B. op. cit., 807. 77 Ibid, 811; Reaney, P. H. & Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 304. A hypocoristic of Matthew. 78 Hughes, J. B. op. cit., 843; Reaney, P. H. & Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 390. Dyer. 79 Hughes, J. B. op. cit., 863. 80 Ibid, 890; Reaney, P. H. & Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 89. Maker or dealer in blankets. 81 Reaney, P. H. & Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 508. The name of a person born at Christmas, modern spelling ‘Yule’. 82 Hughes, J. B. op. cit., 1018. 83 Ibid, 1018; Reaney, P. H. & Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 61. Welsh bran – raven gwen – fair. 84 Hughes, J. B. op. cit., 1019. 85 Ibid, 1108. 86 Ibid, 1113. 74

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Medieval Birmingham PRIESTS: 1300–1320: All priests had been ordained and anointed with holy oil by a bishop and could take all services of the church. They were the senior men among the staff. 1300 December 17th William Symple87 1300 December 17th William de More88 1302 September 22nd Walter le Mey89 1305 December 18th Brother John of the Hospital of Blessed Thomas the Martyr, Bermingham90 1307 December 23rd William le Deyster91 1307 December 23rd William Macwode92 1307 Roger de la More93 1310 December 19th John Andrew94 1310 December 19th Adam de la Sale [presented by Sir William de Bermingham VIII] 95 1311 March 6th Thomas de la Dale96 1314 December 21st William Wodecok97 1319 April 7th Thomas le Symple98 1319 December 22nd John Wodecok99 1320 September 20th Richard de Mocleslowe100 Fourteen men became priests during the time of Bishop Langton. They may have remained in Bermingham or gone to other establishments as can be seen in the men recorded elsewhere. Another register during the episcopate of Bishop Stretton (1360-1385) gives us a further indication of men who went through the same process of ordination. The term hospital and house may have been interchangeable in the descriptions, alternatively, it may have been that the institution had slightly different subdivisions with it. 87

Ibid, 815. Ibid, 815. 89 Ibid, 831. 90 Ibid, 875. 91 Ibid, 893. Dyer. 92 Ibid, 895. Mac, Scottish, son-of, wode – wood. 93 Ibid, 875. 94 Ibid, 969. 95 Ibid, 970; Reaney, P. H. & Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 390. A pet-name from the Jewish personal name, Solman. 96 Hughes, J. B. op. cit., 979. 97 Ibid, 1012. 98 Ibid, 1114. An apothecary. Demidowicz, G. 2008. op. cit., 60. Thomas had a capital messuage (large house) in the town. Was he an example of a successful businessman who became a churchman towards the end of his life? 99 Hughes, J. B. op. cit., 1125. 100 Ibid, 1144; Reaney, P. H. & Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 318. From Mucklow, Halesowen, meaning great burial mound. 88

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The Priory and Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr SUBDEACONS: 1360-1385: 1369 John Pakwode – House of St Thomas Bermingham101 1370 Roger de la Heath of Walsall – House of St Thomas of Bermingham;102 Hugh Walter de Lydon (Enville) – House of St Thomas of Bermingham103 1371 John de Neuhay – House of St Thomas, Bermingham104 1375 Richard de Bloxwich – House of St Thomas. Bermingham;105 Robert Marchall – Hospital of St Thomas, Bermingham; John Pyddok and Robert Pyddock – House of St Thomas of Bermingham106 1376 John Grete – Hospital of St Thomas, Bermingham107 1377 Hugh Stevene of Hertilbury108 – Hospital of St Thomas, Bermingham 1378 Roger Neubrigg – Hospital of Bermingham;109 Richard Heryng de Yerdesley – Hospital of St Thomas of Bermingham110 1381 John Coven de Wylunhale – Hospital of St Thomas Bermingham111 1382 John Gubb of Hertyngton – Bermingham112 1383 John Pakynton – Hospital of St Thomas, Bermingham113 This register shows that in the twenty-five years of the bishop’s period in office fifteen men served at St Thomas’ as subdeacons. Most of them were locals; either they or their ancestors coming from Walsall, Bloxwich, Enville, Hartlebury, Willenhall and Yardley. Hartington is in Derbyshire on the Staffordshire border. John Pakynton came from Walsall and Marchall and Neuhay came from the manor of Bermingham. Pyddock is a surname that could be found in Dudley. DEACONS: 1360–1385: 1360 John de Bermingham - House of St Thomas the Martyr of Bermingham; 114 Thomas de Bermingham (secular deacons) 101 Wilson, Rev. R. A. Second Register of Bishop Stretton 1360 -1385, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: New Series, VIII: 228. 102 Ibid, 239. 103 Ibid, 241; Symes, M. and Haynes, S. 2010. Enville, Hagley, The Leasowes: 90-91. Bristol: Redcliffe Press. 104 Wilson, Rev. R. A. 1905. op. cit., 246; Reaney, P. H. & Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 246. 105 Ibid, 297. 106 Ibid, 302. 107 Ibid, 315; Reaney, P. H. & Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 205. From ‘gravel’, a place-name in West Bromwich. 108 Hughes, J. B. op. cit., 335. 109 Wilson, Rev. R. A. 1905. op. cit., 339. 110 Ibid, 341. 111 Ibid, 362. 112 Ibid, 371. 113 Ibid, 383. 114 Ibid, 162, 165. A secular deacon belonged to the community, but did not take vows or live in common under the Rule.

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Medieval Birmingham 1370 John de Pakwode, House of St Thomas, Bermingham;115 Roger del Heth of Walshale – House of St Thomas, Bermingham;116 Hugh Walter of Lyndon – House of H. S. T. Bermingham 117 1371 Richard Cole – H. S. Thomas, Bermingham;118 William Ward – House of H. S. Thomas, Bermingham; William Cadull – House of H. S. Thomas, Bermingham119 1375 Ric de Bloxwich – House of H. S. Thos. Bermingham;120 Robert Marchall, John Pyddok, Robert Pyddok121 1376 John Grete – Hospital of S. Thomas, Bermingham; John Monyng – Hospital of S. Thomas, Bermingham122 1377 John son of John Hugon – Hospital of S. Thomas. Bermingham;123 Hugh Stevene of Hertilbury – Hospital of S. Thos., Bermingham 124 1378 Richard Neubrugg – Hospital of S. Thomas, Bermingham125 1379 John Coven – Hospital of S. Thos. Bermingham126 1383 Thomas Bondok of Walshale – Hospital of S. Thos., Bermingham; John Pakynton of Walshale – Hospital of S. Thos. Bermingham127 The register shows that in the twenty-five years of Stretton’s time, nineteen men served as deacons who had been elevated from subdeacon. They include: Pakwode, Heth, Walter, Bloxwich, Marchall, the Pyddocks, Grete, Stevene, Neubrugg and Pakynton. Cole, Ward, Cadull, Monyng, Hugon, and Bondok either had been subdeacons before Bishop Stretton’s time, or had come from elsewhere. PRIESTS: 1360–1385: 1370 John de Pakwode – House of Bermingham128 1371 Hugh Walter of Lydon – House of S. Thomas, Bermingham; Roger de Heth of Walsale – House of S. Thos. Berm;129 John Neuhay de Byrmyncham – House of S. T. Bermingham130 115

Ibid, 238. Ibid, 244. 117 Ibid, 244. 118 Ibid, 254. 119 Ibid, 251; Reaney, P. H. & Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 80. From a place called Caldwell. 120 Wilson, Rev. R. A. 1905. op. cit., 297. 121 Ibid, 306. 122 Ibid, 320. 123 Ibid, 333. 124 Ibid, 337. 125 Ibid, 342. 126 Ibid, 366. 127 Ibid, 385. 128 Ibid, 241. 129 Ibid, 247. 130 Ibid, 249. 116

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The Priory and Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr 1372 Richard Cole – H. S. Thos., Bermingham;131 Richard Cadull – H. S. Thomas Bermingham132 1374 Roger Sethe of Hereford diocese – H. S. Thos., Bermingham133 1375 Richard de Bloxwich – House of Hospital, Bermingham;134 John Pyddok – House of S. Thos., the Martyr, Bermingham; Robert Pyddok – House of S. Thos. Bermingham135 1376 John Grete – Hospital of S. Thomas, Bermingham; John Monyng – House of S. Thos. The Martyr, Bermingham136 1377 John son of John Hugon – Hospital of Bermingham137 1378 Hugh Stevene of Hertilbury – House of S. Thomas, Bermingham;138 Richard Othyn – House of S. Thos., Bermingham139 1379 John Coven – Hospital of S. Thos. Bermingham140 1382 John Gubb of Hertyngton – Hospital of S. Thos., Bermingham141 1383 John Bondok of Walsale – Hospital of S. Thos., Bermingham; John Pakynton of Walsale – Hospital of S. Thos., Bermingham142 The register shows that during Bishop Stretton’s time nineteen men had been elevated to the priesthood at St Thomas’. Only two had not come through the system at the priory. A Richard Otheyn was promoted to secular deacon in March 1379 from St Thomas’ Hospital, Birmyngham, and Roger Newbur, (possibly Newbrugg) left Bermingham and was promoted to secular priest in the Diocese of Worcester.143 Othyn and Sethe had done their initial training elsewhere. It is not known if any of these were the reprobates mentioned in 1344, or if in fact there were any reprobates, but the priory must have been known as a suitable place for anyone who was ambitious. The list of ordinations shows that between 1360 and 1383 individuals quickly rose from being subdeacons, to be deacons and to the priesthood. John Pakwode rose from subdeacon to priest in one year. Thomas Heth rose from subdeacon in 1362 through deacon to priest in 1363. 144 The figures suggest that at least nineteen men were at any time on the staff as priests at St Thomas’ and at any one time there may have been more than thirty men serving in the priory. 131

Ibid, 260. Ibid, 268. 133 Ibid, 282. 134 Ibid, 304. 135 Ibid, 310. 136 Ibid, 329. 137 Ibid, 338. 138 Ibid, 340. 139 Ibid, 345. 140 Ibid, 368. 141 Ibid, 377; Reaney, P. H. & Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 208. Old French Giboin. 142 Wilson, Rev. R. A. 1905. op. cit., 387. 143 Marett, P. W. 1972. A Calendar of the Register of Henry Wakefield Bishop of Worcester 1375-1395: 176-177. Leeds: W. S. Maney & Son. 144 Ibid, 176, 179, 187. 132

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Medieval Birmingham Although no chaplains were recorded in 1296, ten appear in the 1344-5 Rentals. Seven have already been mentioned, but we have no further evidence for three, William Colynes, William Colbe and William Paas.145 The only establishments at which they could have served at this time were St Thomas’ Priory Church, St Martin’s Church and the Clodeshale Chantry, for each of which we have names of the men that served there, so this is a mystery. All held property in the town and Paas was said to have held a butcher’s shop, so perhaps they were locals who became extra churchmen to the community. Bermingham names recorded elsewhere Just as men like Sethe of Hereford came from other dioceses, so others went to different communities, like Thomas de Burmingham who was recorded in 1284 as a canon of Haghmon in Wales146 and the more itinerant Friar Richard de Bermyncham, who in 1370 was recorded as a preacher.147 The Order of Preachers, or Dominicans, was an order of friars established by St Dominic in 1214, based on the Rule of St Augustine. The order was approved by Pope Honorius in 1217;148 their purpose was to travel around preaching the gospel. More stationary positions can be found in the Diocese of Worcester where Bermingham men were promoted, as in 1337 when John Colet de Bermyngham, John de Byrmyncham and Henry de Burmyngham were made acolytes by the Bishop of Worcester.149 In 1336 Brother John de Bermyngham and Adam Burdon of Yardley (Yerdeleye) were made priests at Worcester by the title of the Prior and Convent of Bermingham.150 A few of the men who had been educated at Bermingham rose high in the church. Brother Thomas de Burmeigham was elected as Abbot of the Premonstratensian abbey of Halesowen in May 1331,151 and Brother Adam de Burmingham is thought to be the cellarer of the same abbey recorded in April 1323.152 In 1337 the subdeacon, William de Bermyncham, was made rector of St John’s Church, Bristol and an archdeacon of Gloucester Abbey.153 Friar William de Byrmincham, a canon of Halesowen Abbey, was appointed to the church at Walsall in 1346.154 In 1366 Friar John de Bermyncham was ordained a canon at Maxstoke,155 and 145

Ibid, 60, 62, 63. Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1893. Patent Rolls Edward I, 1281-1292. op. cit., 125. 147 Marett, P. W. 1972. op. cit., 237. 148 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominican_Order 149 Haines, R. M. 1996. Calendar of the Register of Simon de Montacute, Bishop of Worcester 1334-1337: 148, 149, 151, 152. Kendal: Titus Wilson. 150 Ibid, 103, 133, 120, 167. In this case the term convent probably just refers to the community of St Thomas’. 151 Haines, R. M. op. cit., 1979. 176; Tomkins, M. 2017. Court Rolls of Romsley 1279-1643: 100. Bristol: 4word Ltd. He still held the post in 1334. 152 Tomkins, M. 2017. op. cit., 73. 153 Haines, R. M. 1996. op. cit., 60. 154 Wilson, Rev. R. A. op. cit., 143. 155 Ibid, 205. 146

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The Priory and Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr in April 1378 another William Birmingham was recorded as being a dean of Hereford Cathedral.156 A John Bermyngeham gained the secular appointment of Surveyor of the Search in the Port of Southampton in 1414.157 Master John de Bermyncham was the incumbent of the church of Berkswell until his death in 1382,158 and in the same year another Master John de Bermyncham died in post at Heywood.159 Fulk Burmyngeham became prebendary of the free chapel of Bridgnorth in November 1436,160 and John Bernyngham, was promoted from clerk to Dean of the King’s Free Chapel of Wolverhampton between 1437 and 1450.161 A grand position was attained in 1462 when a Fulk Bermyngham, possibly the Bridgnorth man, was made Archdeacon of Oxford.162 All this is evidence that may suggest that men who had been trained in Bermingham were well received by other English communities. How the establishment was used: caring at St Thomas’ Hospital One of the main purposes of St Thomas’ was its role as a hospital. This was to look after the sick, old, and pilgrims (strangers to the town). THE SICK: The only cures that were thought applicable were based on the ancient Greek idea of the four humours: black bile, yellow bile, phlegm and blood. These were associated with air, fire, earth and water. It was thought that any deficiency or excess in one of these in the body made the person sick. One example of this is when people were thought to be too ‘hot’ and a way of reducing the heat was to bleed the patient by a lancet or leeches because they had too much blood in the body. Not all contemporary ideas were as strange as this, for example the use of herbal medicine was well advanced. Medicines were prescribed, as most medieval hospitals had herb gardens and had an impressive number of plants to work with, but they were above all Christian organisations and faith was an important cure. The belief in miracles was universal and the likelihood of a miraculous cure was considered higher in a hospital of a religious community. Many people believed in evil spirits and magic so a Christian ceremony like the Mass was thought to be important. This was bolstered by the doctrine of transubstantiation – that the bread and wine physically became the body and blood of Christ. Communion was thus thought to be a remedy for most diseases, though medieval people tended to be philosophical about ill-health: if the sick person recovered and returned 156

Marett, P. W. 1972. op. cit., 111. Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1908. Calendar of the Patent Rolls Henry VI 1441-1446: 313. London: HMSO. 158 Wilson, Rev. R. A. op. cit., 64. 159 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1907. Register of Bishop Roger de Stretton 1358 – 1385, op. cit., 64. 160 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1908. Patent Rolls, Henry VI 1441-1146, op. cit., 26. He resigned in 1443. 161 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1907. Patent Rolls, Henry VI 1436-1441. op. cit., 32. 162 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1949. Fine Rolls, Edward IV Henry VI 1461-1471. op. cit., 86. 157

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Medieval Birmingham home it was the will of God; if they died God was credited with wanting the person close to him in heaven. Some hospitals had paintings on the walls displaying the various deaths of martyrs which were supposed to help the sick and old with the knowledge that they were not the only ones who had to go through pain and suffering during their final hours. Saint Abel was patron of the blind and the lame; Agapitus of Palestrina was invoked against colic; Agatha against breast cancer; Agathius against headache; and St Apollonia, whose jaw was smashed by her torturers, against toothache. St Balbina was the patron saint of throat diseases; Bernadino of Siena of chest problems; Blaise of sufferers from sore throats; Conrad of Piacenza of hernias; Cyriac of eye disease; Dymphana of mental illness; Fiacre of venereal disease; and Giles looked after cripples. Hugh of Cluny was invoked against fever; James the Great against rheumatism; Liborius of Le Mans against gall stones; Peregrine Laziosi against cancer; Quentin against coughs and sneezes; Roch against cholera and epidemics; Juliana of Nicomedia against general sickness; and Uncumber by women who wished to be liberated from abusive husbands163 (not quite an illness, but certainly a pain to those who suffered with it). THE OLD: Parts of a priory were used as a retirement home where lay people and clergy would have ended their days. At the end of life people desired a peaceful place to die in, and one that was close to people in touch with their maker was no doubt thought valuable. Elderly lay people might give some or all their property to the priory as corrodies. In return they would be fed, clothed and given a bed for the rest of their lives. No documentation has survived for the priory and hospital so there is no evidence for how often this happened in Bermingham, but many of the properties previously mentioned may have been given in this way. PILGRIMS: Travel was commonplace in the Middle Ages, and although many were not visiting religious shrines, they would nonetheless need a place to stay. Local taverns put up strangers for a fee, but the priory did so for nothing. Travellers could get a bed and a meal for the night in the hospitum or guest hall. Normally they received only one night’s free lodging and a meal before they were sent on their way. If they were wealthy enough, they might be expected to give a donation for the upkeep of the community. EDUCATION: As we have seen men were educated at the Priory, but it is also possible that boys underwent some training. There was a school at the Priory of St James, Dudley and it is likely that some form of education for the lay people went on in Bermingham. It could have been a song school where boys were taught to sing chants in Latin or more likely a monastic-type school where 163 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patron_saints_of_ailments,_illness,_and_dangers; Bryant, A. op. cit., 340.

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The Priory and Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr boys were taught reading and writing in return for work done at the priory. Perhaps some of the boys joined the community as adults and studied for the priesthood, as mentioned above? This may account for the instances of rapid promotion if they had gone through sufficient training at an earlier age. The Gild at Deritend funded a priest at St John’s chapel to teach at a grammar school164 and a ‘ffree Schoole’ was said to have existed in Bermingham when the priory was suppressed in 1546.165 After that date the monies of the Holy Cross Guild, an organisation that we have no prior evidence for having an educational role, were expended on a school, and their guildhall in New Street became its home. The school still exists today (2018) as the King Edward VI Grammar School.166 The Dissolution of the Priory In the period 1536–1546 all religious houses were closed by the order of King Henry VIII in what has become to be called the Dissolution of the Monasteries. From studies of other houses, by the 1530s there appears to have been a steady decline in their revenues and faith.167 The wealthier Holy Cross Gild seems to have taken over much of the charitable role of the town, however, the priory graveyard was still being used and, as Bassett comments, the churchyard of St Martin’s had to be stipulated if one wanted to be buried there, which implies that St Thomas’ cemetery was the main area for the burial of the townspeople.168 It must have been clear to the townsmen that St Thomas’ was not going to last and when the end came it was rapid. St Thomas’ Priory and Hospital was eventually suppressed in 1546, when the annual value was declared to be £8. 5s. 3d.169 This was a very small sum given the property and goods which must have been originally owned by the priory, and may suggest that much of the priory’s assets had been stripped prior to the arrival of the royal commissioners. The demolition of the structures must have started early to stop the locals ransacking the buildings. In the records of Lewes Priory, Sussex, there is an example of how quickly the inhabitants of the community started to steal objects from the dissolved structures. In December 1537 John Milsent, one of Thomas Cromwell’s servants, wrote of the difficulties in maintaining the security of the Prior’s lodging with only four servants still in residence: ‘Here is a wide house, and but 4 lieth in it; when we be at one end, they steal the glass out of the windows, bear away the doors and pluck down ceilings at the other 164

Bassett, S. & Holt, R. 2016. op. cit., 95. Upton, C. op. cit., 19. 166 Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 660. 167 Lawrence, C.H. 1985. op. cit., 232. 168 Bassett, S. 2001. op. cit., 23-24. 169 Page, W. (ed.) 1908. Hospitals: St Thomas, Birmingham, in A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 2: 108-109. London. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks vol2/ pp108-109 [accessed 6 November 2019]. Chantry Certificate, Warwick 1548. 165

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Medieval Birmingham end, nor will walls, nor doors, keep them out.’170 The same probably happened with St Thomas’, for nothing has survived of the medieval structures. William Hutton stated in his History of Birmingham that he had demolished an old house, formerly a public house called The Garland Inn, which had been erected in 1567 opposite New Street in the Market Place twenty years after the dissolution of the establishment. He wrote: The foundation of this old house seemed to have been built of chiefly with stones from the Priory; perhaps more than twenty wagon loads. These appeared in a variety of forms and highly finished in the Gothic taste, parts of porticos, arches, windows, ceilings, etc., some fluted, some cyphered, And otherwise ornamented, yet complete as in the first day they were left by the chisel. The greatest part of them were destroyed by the workmen.171 John Sumner, a kinsman of Hutton, conducted an excavation at the house site and found a moulded stone, which he donated to the City of Birmingham Museum in 1921, though it does not seem to be there now. Free Chapel Although the lords of Bermingham held the advowson of St Thomas’ and had given lands to it, it was still a priory in which they had few rights; their aim was to have their own chaplain and an altar in the church. On 3 July 1350, Sir Fulk de Bermingham applied to the king’s escheator of the county in a writ called ad quod damnum to give extra lands to the priory to support a chaplain who would celebrate divine services at the altar of St Mary.172 A number of other townsmen clubbed together to fund the chaplain, including William and Margery le Mercer, Robert and Isabella le Spenser (both gave on the condition that the chaplain would pray for the souls of their ancestors),173 and Henry and Margery Caldwell. A jury was summoned and held in Bermingham on the 19 July to make inquiries about the affair; the jurymen included Richard de Shirynton, Richard atte Chappelle,174 Thomas de Wyttton, John Coleyn,175

170

Letters & Papers Henry VIII, Addenda I, (i), no 12. Sumner, J. 1922. A Fragment from Birmingham Priory, in Transactions of the Birmingham Archaeological Society: 48: 169. Walsall: W. Henry Robinson. 172 Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 660. 173 Hill, J. 1887. The Old Families of Birmingham, in Transactions of the Birmingham and Midland Institute: Archaeological Section: 81. Birmingham: Herald Press. 174 Reaney, P. H. & Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 91. From a person who lived near a chapel or one who did service at the same. 175 Ibid, 103. From a pet-name for Nicholas. 171

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The Priory and Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr William de la Neowenay, John Michel,176 Richard Judden,177 Thomas Michel, John Kempe,178 Thomas de Streeton, John Philip and John le Raggede.179 The jury had to determine whether the lands and houses that the group of townspeople intended to give to the Priory were in fact theirs to give. One house and thirty acres in Aston was occupied by the Lady of Aston who held them from John Botetourt, Lord of Weoley.180 The land that she gave was situated between Priors Coneygree Lane, Walmer Lane, Sandy Lane and Snow Hill.181 Sir Fulk gave a house and seventy acres of land in Bermingham. The Licence in Mortmain for the transference of land was issued on 12 February 1351.182 Other documents refer to a field off Chapelle Strete (Bull Street) on the south side (the north was occupied by the priory itself) occupied by William de Packwood of Bermingham in 1379,183 and a grant of land between le Dale End and the land of the brethren of St Thomas the Martyr.184 Many historians have assumed that the chapel was erected as a separate building, but the document stipulated the ‘Altar of the Blessed Virgin in the church of St Thomas.’185 At the Dissolution the Priory/Chapel possessions were sold to Thomas Hawkins, brother-in-law to Thomas Holte, who in turn sold them to William Willington, whose daughter had married Holte. They in turn left them to their descendants, the Holtes of Aston Hall. A list of the lands that had been held by the Free Chapel, Chantry and Priory was made in 1555. It included Shawe Meadow, The More, Broome Close, Chappell Orcherde, Chapel Conigree, Horne Broke Close, two Brome Closes, meadow at Walmer Lane, Roundhills Pasture, five folds in Chappell Street and houses in More Street, Chappell Street and a garden in New Street, plus a house near the (Priory) burial ground.186 Strangely, the priory seems to have been subsumed into the Chapel – why this occurred is unknown. Perhaps the lands of the Priory, as compared with the chapel, do not occur in the rentals because they were rent free?

176

Ibid, 259. A pet-name for Jordan, a river in the Middle East. Ibid, 466.Veritie; a nickname and French word meaning ‘truth’. 178 Ibid, 262. From ‘warrior’, ‘athlete’ or ‘wrestler’. 179 Smith J. T. 1864. op. cit., 40. 180 Hemingway, J. 2006. op. cit., 45. On the death of John de Somery in 1322 the baronial lands of Dudley were granted to his two sisters: Margery, who had married John de Sutton and Joan, who had married John de Botetourte. The Suttons got Dudley Castle and Bermingham, the Botetourte’s got Weoley Castle and Aston. 181 Hill, J. 1887. op. cit., 5. 182 Smith, J. T. 1864. op. cit., 40-42. 183 MS 3041/ACC 1893-002/120823, Birmingham Archives, Heritage and Photographic Service. 184 E 210/7068, National Archives, Kew. Thomas de Witton was the grantee and William, son of John Perkyns, who it was granted to. 185 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 38. 186 Ibid, 38. 177

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Figure 66: Property of the Free Chapel of St Thomas’ Priory. We do not have evidence for where the individual properties were situated.

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The Priory and Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr Parsonage The parsonage plot was a sub-rectangular feature just off Smallbrook Street.187 It had a moat fed by the Colbourne, upstream from the manor house, and is shown in a map of 1760 as having two entrances across the moat.188 The raised area beside the Small Brook indicates that the land was made-up, and the brook redirected to the east, the original course having gone through the east side of the moat. The Lady Well, next to the south-west boundary, was one of the major sources of clean water in the town and its name is derived from Mary, mother of Jesus.189 The parsonage building is a large complex as compared with domestic houses of the period. This as well as the fact that a moated site for a parish priest is not the norm, may indicate that it was the home of the priors of St Thomas’ Hospital. The evidence that this was so, apart from the fact that the priory was called a parsonage in sixteenth century documentation, is in a document of the Court of Requests where there was a dispute between Parson Edmund Tofte of Birmingham Priory and William

Figure 67: Parsonage complex. 187

Hodder, M. op. cit., 79. Pearson, H. S. op. cit., 59. The original drawing is said to be pre-1760. 189 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 39. The ladiwalle – Lady Well is mentioned as early as 1296. 188

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Medieval Birmingham Blyke over the parsonage.190 This is supported by Joseph Hill who stated that ‘the rich endowment of the Chapel of St Mary in the Free Chapel of St Thomas was probably the whole source of the incumbent’s income.’191 Friars This religious order came into being during the thirteenth century, during a period of reform in the church. One example of this reforming zeal was the rise of mendicant friars.192 The first to arrive in England were the Dominicans in 1221, but others quickly followed.193 The mendicants autonomy became a problem to the church, so in 1274 Pope Gregory X suppressed the other mendicant orders recognising only the established four orders of friars; Dominicans, Carmelites, Franciscans and Augustinian.194 Friars tended to form themselves into those interested in academic study who progressed in the church hierarchy and the universities (Oxford and Cambridge which had a preponderance of them), and friars who felt that preaching the word of God to the laity was more important. These latter men had a dependence on begging in return for their public sermons and other services. They became popular with the people of town and village, though far from approved of by the established church authorities. Their universal appeal arose from their popular style of preaching – an art in which they were carefully trained and in which they far excelled the uneducated and un-travelled parish priests. Their genial, man-ofthe-world approach was combined with a highly emotional appeal, and they were particularly popular with the ladies, to whom their gaiety, good humour and here-today, gone-tomorrow approach much endeared them – according to their enemies far too much! 195 Their sermons spoken outdoors at town crosses were in English, not the Latin often read and spoken in the priory or the parish church and the stories of the Bible were preached in a style of delivery that was entertaining – another aspect that was condemned by the established church. The church was not democratic, but the friars’ sermons spoke of a world where whether rich or poor, aristocrat or peasant, what people did in life would affect their chances of residing in heaven or hell for eternity;196 this also was not a popular concept with the ruling classes. Late medieval Bermingham bequests highlight that all four orders at one time preached in Bermingham. A will of Richard Bird 190

Court of Requests, The National Archives Kew, Req. 2/4/190. Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 39. 192 Barrow, G. W. S. op. cit., 310. Mendicant - ‘begging’. 193 Ibid, 323. 194 Lawrence, C. H. op. cit., 217. 195 Bryant, A. op. cit., 356-357. 196 Ibid, 358. 191

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The Priory and Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr (1516), who lived in New Street, began with ‘To the three orders of freers that be within the lymytacons of Byrmyngham and every of them 10/- to syng at every house of them a trentall of S. Gregory.’ A later will (1522) of Thomas Redhill stated, ‘to repair the seven altars and to every order of friars within the limitation’. This is also evidence of the priory church being quite large. A further will (1533) of William Sedgewick, the landlord of The Bell opposite the priory, gave a bequest to ‘the IIII orders of friars’.197 The friars also took confessionals. In the Roman Catholic Church, every person was considered guilty of ‘sin’. The only way of escaping the punishment for these sins was to confess ones guilt and be absolved by a priest, and the friars did this service. As mendicants they could not be paid in money for their preaching, but could be given clothing or/and food. Not all friars followed the rules closely – some gravitated to the wealthy and, as William Langland stated in Piers Ploughman, they would be given the money ‘to roof your church, build you a cloister, whitewash your walls, glaze your windows have paintings and images made and pay for everything’ as probably happened occasionally in Bermingham. In return the lay man or woman could be made a lay-brother or sister of the order. This was by means of a ‘letter of fraternity’, which gave a lay person a share in all the spiritual gifts of the order.198 There seems to have been no friary in Bermingham so where they lived in the town is presently unknown, perhaps they were given a bed in the manor house?

Figure 68: Friars invited to Sir Geoffrey Luttrell’s dining table, from the fourteenth century Luttrell Psalter.199 197

Hill, J. 1897. op. cit., 6. Goodridge, J. F. (trans). 1978. William Langland: Piers the Ploughman: 46-7. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd. 199 Original document © British Library Board, Add. 42130, f.208, c06174-01 – The Luttrell family feasting. 198

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Chapter Seven

St Martin’s Church

Figure 69: St Martin’s Parish Church, from Westley’s map of 1731. It was rebuilt in 1690, 1781 and 1873.1 Reproduced by permission of the Library of Birmingham.

Martin was a popular saint in the medieval period and churches dedicated to him can be found throughout the Diocese of Lichfield. He had been a Roman cavalry officer of the fourth century AD and a legend associated with him tells that as a soldier he cut his cloak in half to give to a beggar clothed only in rags on a cold winter’s night (see St Martin’s chancel arch painting). Later he had a dream in which the beggar was transformed into Jesus of Nazareth, prompting Martin’s conversion to Christianity. After leaving the military he became a hermit and due to his good works eventually became Bishop of Tours in France. He withdrew from the bishopric and founded a monastery at Marmoutier. Marmoutier was the French family monastery of the House of Paganell, barons 1 Westley has placed the tower and spire on the south side of the church when it was, and is, on the north side. The churchyard is shown as a raised area, possibly due to the high number of burials shown in the steps up to it on the south-east side.

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Figure 70: Plan of St Martin’s church prior to the post-medieval changes.

St Martin’s Church

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Figure 71: Medieval phase plan of St Martin’s church.

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St Martin’s Church

Figure 72: Longitudinal section showing the crypt under the west side and the chamber underneath the east, from John Thackray Bunce’s book.2

of Dudley, 2and when they came to England many of their foundations were cells of that monastic house.3 It may have been for this reason, and the fact that he was a military man, that the Bermingham family choose Martin as the dedicatory saint. St Martin’s Day was on 11 November and it would have been reserved for celebrations of the town and country people.4 St Martin’s church stands in the center of the marketplace (later called the Bull Ring) and a semi-circular graveyard was set around it. The debate continues as to the status of the original church. Bassett considered that it was initially a borough chapel, probably without a graveyard, as both church and cemetery disrupt the flow of traffic through the town, while Demidowicz thinks it was a parish church from its inception.5 The writer’s opinion tends towards a borough chapel as the nature of St Thomas’ Priory was not observed until recently and if it was originally sited at the end of the outer bailey of the manor house site, this would be where the Edgbaston Road and Wolverhampton Road met. Only later, with the extension of the marketplace westward, did its position become 2

Bunce, J. T. (1875), op. cit., plate 2. Dalton, P. 2004. Paynel family (per. c.1086–1244), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, online edn. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/53593 [accessed Jan 2008] 4 No author given. 1851. The Calendar of the Anglican Church: 134-35. Oxford: John Henry Parker. 5 Bassett, S. 2001. op. cit., 16; George Demidowicz, pers. comm. 3

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Medieval Birmingham a problem, but by then it was too late to do anything about it. As referred to previously, it is likely that the priory was originally responsible for supplying a preacher for the chapel. As the list of parish priests does not start until 1300 it may have been around that date that it became the parish church. The church was refashioned in the fourteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries and rebuilt in the nineteenth century. The later stonework was placed in the original footprint of the earlier building, making conclusions to the building’s development easier. The architect in the latter period, Mr. Chatwin, made a detailed survey of the existing architecture which showed its layout.6 In an archaeological excavation in the graveyard in 2001 only post-medieval burials were found, though there were also disarticulated remains that may relate to the medieval period.7 PHASE A: c.1170–1300: It seems likely that the church was originally built as a market chapel in the late twelfth century. The early chapel seems to have been a simple rectangular feature, without an aisle, built of the local red sandstone. Support for this was put forward by Hodder who thought that the chevron decoration of some of the fragments of stones found in the nineteenth-century were of twelfth-century origin.8 The twelfth century material consisted of the north-west corner of the nave (the base of the south wall of the tower), the south aisle and a chancel built to the east. A few ancient stones existed in the plain two-centered arches opening into the nave and north aisle where there had been a wall in an earlier phase. The south aisle must have come later, perhaps at the time that the tower was added. During the nineteenth century rebuild, a chamber was discovered below the eastern end of the chancel in the south aisle. Some of its walls had been demolished and it had been backfilled. In a later period, it had been used for burials so finding out its extent was not possible. Enough was found, however, to recognise that it had run along the whole width of the chancel and south aisle. The lower parts of its walls and floor was excavated from the solid rock of the area and its east and south walls formed part of the chancel and south aisle, indicating that they had been built at the same time. There were openings in the walls on the north and south side of the structure into the churchyard, which allowed access. As the later floor above had been lowered, the ceiling of the structure was missing, so nothing can be determined about it. The chamber had a fireplace on its north side with a flue that had been blocked off when the north aisle was built. Above the fireplace was a stone lintel, three feet above the floor. Fireplaces signify occupation, and 6

Bunce, J. T. (1875), op. cit., p. 9. Adams, J., Buteux, S. and Coates, G. 2000. Birmingham, St. Martin’s Churchyard, The Bull Ring, in West Midlands Archaeology: 44: 187-191. Birmingham: CBA West Midlands. 8 Hodder, M. 2004. op. cit., 86; Bassett, S. 2001. op. cit., 27. As J. R. Holiday, who stated this information, did not include drawings in his publication Bassett did not see this as incontestable proof, besides which the stones were reused and could have come from anywhere, including the Priory. 7

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St Martin’s Church given that the chancel above was the area the clergyman occupied, it is likely that the chamber was used as a cell for early priests, possibly where they lived from the twelfth to the mid-fourteenth centuries. The south aisle was built at the same time as the re-built east wall of the chancel as they were bonded together. TOWER: The earliest record of the tower is in the 1344 rental, where it was described as a campanile – a bell-tower.9 The tower is of two stages, the upper one containing the bell-chamber. In the north wall of the lower stage there is an open-air pulpit, presumably used when the chapel could not contain the congregation because of its small size. Above the north and west windows there are niches with figures of St Martin and St George. St George became the patron saint of England in the fourteenth century which fits in with a fourteenth century construction date. In the north-west angle of the tower a splayed doorway led to the stair-vice (spiral stair). Higher up are north and west traceried windows of three lights: the wide internal splays of these may be original and perhaps also their rear-arches of three chamfered orders. Although the two-hundred-foot spire is later than the tower, the massive walls of the tower suggest it may have been planned with that in mind. In the west wall was a pointed doorway. The trefoil-headed window (Figure 73) was also found in the west wall.

Figure 73: Blocked window aperture with trefoiled-head, from John Thackray Bunce’s book.10 9

Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 62. Bunce, J. T. 1875. op. cit., 12.

10

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Medieval Birmingham PHASE B, c. 1300–1325: The architecture indicates that the church was rebuilt sometime around the first part of the fourteenth century. The nave was extended to the west and a doorway was constructed in the centre of the wall. If there was a porch built next to the doorway it may have been where coroners’ inquests were held, and the payment of legacies took place. Many documents were held in the parish chest inside the church.11 A crypt was built under the south-west corner. It had a groined vault of stone (produced by the intersection of two barrel vaults at right angles), which sprang from each corner with plain chamfered (bevelled edge) ribs. A corbel supported each of the four ribs and a band of distemper-painted fleurs-de-lys extended between each corbel around the walls. The floor of the crypt was beaten earth and lay only four feet beneath the corbels. There was no light source, but a hole was later made in the southern external wall. Steps were observed on the north side which led up to the nave floor. Chatwin inferred that the entrance had been covered with a trap-door. The nave floor was originally higher and had been lowered at a later period (hence the replacement of the west crypt roof in brick from its original composition of stone). The original nave did not have a clerestory (a high section of wall that contains windows). This is proven by the weather-mould on the tower, which shows that the aisle had a steeper roof, and by the position of a doorway on the south side of the tower, which would have opened to the nave roof. Beneath the doorway was a string-course (a continuous projecting band of stone) which showed the original level of the gutter at the junction of the nave roof with the south face of the tower. The string-course, as a weather-mould, on the eastern face square pier, projected from the south-east angle into the church which defined the pitch of the roof, only a little higher than the nave roof. PHASE C c.1325–1350: Chatwin believed the east wall in the centre of the chancel was another later addition, an extension from the original squareended church. He also believed that the north aisle was added after this phase as it was in a later decorated style (1350-1400) and it butt-jointed with the wall of the chancel. The tracery of the windows of the north aisle was in a reticulated pattern (1330-1414).12 PHASE D c. 1350–1400: By the late fourteenth century the north aisle had been built. This became the home of the Holy Cross Chantry. A document on the foundation of the Holy Cross Guild in 1383 stated that there were three altars at St Martin’s:13 one dedicated to St Mary (mother of Jesus) in the south aisle – the site of the Clodeshale Chantry; a High Altar at the east end of the 11

Bryant, A. op. cit., 344. Randall, G. 1988. The English Parish Church: 38-39. London: Spring Books. 13 Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 660; Patent 6 RII p. 1. 12

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St Martin’s Church chancel; and an altar dedicated to St Catherine in the north aisle.14 A clerestory was added by the end of the fourteenth century.15 No building remains the same forever and changes to the church also included the windows. From a simpler version they were altered to the newly fashionable perpendicular style (1375-1550). As a result, some of the jambs had to be enlarged, often making it difficult to determine their previous form.

Figure 74: Medieval clerestory window, possibly dating to 1375-1400, as revealed in the nineteenth century by the removal of the eighteenth-century plaster coating in old St Martin’s Church.16

14

Whitehouse, S. 1922. A history of St. Martin’s Parish Church, Birmingham: 5. Birmingham: Cornish Brothers. 15 Bunce, J. T. 1875. op. cit., 14. 16 Source: John Thackray, Bunce, Plate 2.

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Medieval Birmingham

Figure 75: Medieval column capital as revealed in the nineteenth century in St Martin’s Church. The Gothic form is very simple in comparison to many churches.17

Figure 76: Medieval stonework as revealed in the nineteenth century in St Martin’s Church.18 The trefoil-headed arches look as if they formed part of a blind arcade, perhaps used in the chancel area. 17 18

Ibid. Ibid, St Catherine’s altar is recorded by 1386, hence the north aisle had been built earlier.

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St Martin’s Church Medieval wall paintings were also found in the nineteenth century. A piece of wood displaying the Last Judgment stood over the chancel arch, with Christ holding up one hand in supplication and another wall painting that depicted episodes in the life of St Martin was found on one side of the arch (see Figure 77). The floor of the church had encaustic tiles, remnants of which were found, as was coloured glass in the soil that lay beneath the floor. These fragments were the remains of stained glass windows that once decorated the church.

Figure 77: A copy of the medieval wall painting as seen in the south corner of the chancel of St Martin’s church. The upper register shows St Martin cutting his cloak with a sword and giving it to a beggar. The lower image shows woodsmen at work. The piece of timber below shows part of an image of the Last Judgment.19 19

Bunce, J. T. 1875. op. cit., plate 8.

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Medieval Birmingham The various post-medieval rebuilds did a great deal of damage to the architecture of the building. By 1690 the fabric was said to be considerably decayed, and the whole building except for the spire was encased in brick, the medieval character of the building being hidden behind an exterior. By the eighteenth century the floor of the church was covered in grave slabs, but these were disposed of together with the arms, monuments, pews, pulpit, roof and chantries in the 1786 rebuild.20 Medieval parish priests: documentary details An early reference, that could relate to either St Thomas’ Priory or St Martin’s, can be found in a document of 1285 in the Pleas of the Crown when William Basseley and William de Torpeley claimed sanctuary in the church of Bermingham.21 It was a very old tradition that if a malefactor went into a church, he was safe from retribution by the authorities. Basseley entered the church, acknowledged he was a robber, gave the coroner his chattels of 4s 4d and left England.22 St Martin’s is definitely referred to in Roger de Somery, Baron Dudley’s, Inquisition Post Mortem on his death in 1290.23 As it appeared in the Norwich Taxation in the same year to be worth seven and a half marks (£5).24 In 1292 the church was again mentioned in Pope Nicholas IV’s taxatio, in which it was said to be in the Deanery of Arden and worth the same amount. The patron at the time was Isabel, the widow of Sir William de Bermingham VI.25 In the Inquisitiones nonarum of 1340 it was said to be taxed at £5; the ninth of sheaves of corn, fleeces and lambs valued at £3; and the glebe, with the tithe of hay, at £2.26 This was never a very valuable church during the medieval period and it might be considered that a greater wealth in rights and property would have been granted on its inception if it had been a parish church.

20 The structure was rebuilt in 1786. The 1873-5 rebuild revealed much of the earlier history of the church. 21 Whitehouse, S. op. cit., 3. Though whether this was St Martin’s or St Thomas’ was not stated. 22 Hill, J. 1887. op. cit., 80. 23 Hemingway, J. 2006. op. cit., 39. 24 Bunce, J. T. 1875. op. cit., 2. According to Cornish’s Guide, 1851. op. cit., 51. 25 https://www.dhi.ac.uk/taxatio/benkey?benkey=CL.CT.AR.01 26 Hill, J. 1887. op cit., 79.

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St Martin’s Church Patrons and incumbents from 1294 to 1504 Patron ?

Rector Baldwin de Insula Vacant

Dame Isabel Wife of Sir William de Bermingham VI .. ..

Thomas de Hinklegh, acolyte Stephen de Segrave John de Ailleston

Fulk de Bermingham

Robert de Shuteford Walter de Seggeley Lord Thomas de Dumbleton Hugh de Wolvesey, priest Thomas Darnall William Thomas Richard Slowther Thomas Darnelle John Waryn William Hyde John Armstrong John Wardale Henry Symon Humphrey Jordan William Moore Richard Dudley John Dudley Richard Myddlemore William Wrixham Sir Thomas Norris, priest and curate36

John de Clinton Lady Elizabeth de Clinton Sir Edward Ferrers

Elena, Wife of Earl Ferrers William de Bermingham Edward Sutton Edward Lyttelton

r27 y28 l29 r30 t31 132 y33 434 435 e36

27

Date 1294 1300 4th December27 1301 14th February28 1304 28th April29 1304 24th October30 1336 1349 1369 (death) 1369 5th August31 1396 1412 1414 142132 1428 1432 1433 1433 1436 1444 1474 1504 8th May33 1529 1536 - 154434 154435

Hughes, J. B. op. cit., 179, 461, During the vacancy of ten weeks the bishop received 12 shillings and 11 pence. 28 Ibid, 356. 29 Ibid, 378. Dated from Stirling as the Bishop was with the king’s forces in Scotland. 30 Ibid, 380. 31 Wilson, Rev. R. A. op. cit., 42. 32 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1932. Close Rolls, Henry V, 1419-1422. op. cit., 145. 33 Grazebrook, H. W. S. 1888. op. cit., 81. Richard was a chancellor of the Cathedral church of Salisbury and founder of two fellowships at Oriel College, Oxford as well as having the incumbencies of Brington, Northants and St Martins, Bermingham, and was half-brother to Edward Sutton, Baron Dudley. 34 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Martin_in_the_Bull_Ring List of Clergy. 35 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 31. 36 Ibid, 29.

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Medieval Birmingham The work of parish priests To his parishioners the incumbent at St Martin’s was invested in his calling with mysterious powers as it was he who officiated at the Mass that turned bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. He was also the guardian of his parishioners’ souls, and to keep them on the straight and narrow moral path he would warn them that life after death could be eternal damnation to the unwary. One medieval commentary promised that in hell: Some shall burn in the great flaming of fire which is ten times hotter than any fire in the world; some shall be hanged by the neck, and devils without number shall draw their limbs and smite their bodies with fiery brands. There shall be flies that bite the flesh and their clothing shall be worms. There is no sound but horrible roaring of devils and weeping and gnashing of teeth and wailing of damned men, crying, ‘Woe, woe, woe, how great is this darkness.37 His day-to-day occupation was to help the people on their way through life. A ruling made in the thirteenth century required that bells be tolled when the priest was elevating the host in the Mass so that passers-by could kneel or bow their heads in awareness of the mystery that was being enacted within the church.38 It was also instructed that when the priest carried the Host (sanctified bread and wine) to the bedside of the sick or dying he should be preceded by a person holding a bell and candle.39 A more worldly consideration, however, was how much money he would get in post. His income was based on the offerings he received at baptisms, weddings, churchings (the ceremony wherein a blessing is given to mothers after recovery from childbirth), deathbed visitations and funerals, and he was entitled by law to an annual tenth or tithe of the produce of every parishioner. Not all priests received the great tithe, on crops, sheep and cattle, as the owner of that right often reserved it to themselves, but the lesser tithe, on pigs, fish, poultry, eggs, honey and garden produce, would come his way.40 The parish priest was as much a farmer as his flock and was allocated the glebe land. The medieval parish priests who took their vows before the bishop were supposed to be celibate, but human nature being what it is, many were not. The unofficial partners of many of them were called foccaria – or hearth-mates, and as long as no fuss was made about the relationship things went well. However, when a child was born to the couple, this was another matter, and although the bishops kept up pressure to bring an end to their cohabitation, in the normal English way it often resorted to a fine called a ‘cradle crown’.41 The child of the union could take either parent’s 37

Bryant, A. op. cit., 337. Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. op. cit., 79. 39 Ibid, 78. 40 Bryant, A. op. cit., 334-336. 41 Ibid, 369. 38

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St Martin’s Church surname, but some were called priest as was Edith le Prestes in the 1344/5 Rental.42 The incumbent’s role was to take Mass, but followed the rituals in the Latin Mass books and missals. They relied upon the paintings on the church walls, and the statues that stood in the church for their parishioners to understand the realities of their faith.43 Generally individuals relied on the saints to intercede on their behalf. There were saints for every job imaginable which made the artisans of Bermingham feel they had someone to support them. St Amand was the patron saint of innkeepers; Anastasius, of goldsmiths; Andrew of fishermen, Anthony of Egypt of butchers; Augustine of Hippo, brewers; Bartholomew, who was flayed alive, of tanners. St Cecilia looked after musicians; Christopher, who was said to have carried Christ on his shoulders, was the patron and protector of porters; Clement, masons; Crispin, cobblers, Dunstan, blacksmiths; Eustace and Hubert, huntsmen, and John, who had been plunged into a cauldron of burning oil, of candle makers. Katherine protected little girls; Lawrence, cooks; Mary Magdalene, makers of perfume; and St Osyth was invoked by women who had lost their keys. The veterinary saints included St Cornelius if an ox was sick, St Anthony if a pig was ailing and St Gall if the chickens were poorly.44 After the 1349 Black Death, due to the poor pay of the parish incumbents many sought employment as chantry clerks or chaplains.45 Coats of arms of families recorded in St Martin’s church The coats of arms recorded by Dugdale in St Martin’s were added at different times through the medieval period. No. 1, the Astley family probably dates to the thirteenth century, as Sir Thomas de Astley was William de Bermingham V’s father–in-law. No. 4 bears a label, signifying that it belonged to the eldest son of a living Bermingham lord. No. 5 belonged to Stephen de Segrave, who was Rector of St Martin’s from 1304. The Irish Bermingham coats of arms (barons of Athenry), Nos. 6 and 19, were perhaps added at the beginning of the fourteenth century. A labelled version can be seen in No. 15. Sometimes the coats were quartered as in No. 7, showing the relationship of the two Bermingham families. No. 8, the Peshale family quartered by Botetourte must date to the early fifteenth century when Joan de Peshale married Sir William de Bermingham IX. No. 9 suggests a relationship that is not recorded elsewhere between the Wirley family of Handsworth and the Berminghams. The coat shown in No. 10 was that of the Frevill family of Tamworth Castle. Baldwin de Frevill married Joyce de Botetourt, Joan Peshale’s mother, but died in 1387. 42 Demidowicz, G. 2008. op. cit., 59: Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 362. A woman could not be a priest in the medieval period. 43 Bryant, A. op. cit., 341. 44 Ibid, 344; http://www.mostly-medieval.com/explore/stocc.htm 45 Bryant, A. op. cit., 395.

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Figure 78: Coats of arms, as recorded by Dugdale, formerly in St Martin’s Church.46

Joyce’s second husband was Adam de Peshale, Joan’s father. The coat in No. 13 was that of Fulk FitzWarin, 7th Baron FitzWarin of Whittington, in Shropshire. He was half-brother to Sir John Clinton, who married Elizabeth Plaunke after the death of Sir John de Bermingham in 1388. No. 17 was that of the Burdet family (Thomas Burdet was an associate of Edmund Ferrers, Lord Chartley, who married Sir Thomas de Bermingham’s granddaughter). No. 21, the coat of the Ferrers family (Lady Ellen/Helen grand-daughter of Sir Thomas de Bermingham) is also shown. These latter two would have been fifteenth century. Nos. 2 and 3 were of the barony of Dudley and could have been added at any time in the medieval period. No. 16 is of the Hampden family, who were tenants of the barons of Dudley in Buckinghamshire.47 The relevance of the Latimer family arms, No. 22, is clear, for Oliver Dudley, (Sir Edmund Sutton, Baron Dudley’s brother), married Katherine, daughter of George Neville, Lord Latimer; her mother was daughter to Sir Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick).48 The Beauchamps’ coat is No. 20. Not all the relationships alluded to in the family coats can now be identified. No. 11 shows the Berminghams’ connexion with a presently unknown family49 and 12 shows the arms of the Knell family, who came from Herefordshire. Neither is it clear why the Montalt family of Hawarden, Flintshire’s (Nos. 14 and 18) arms were present. 46

Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 661. Demidowicz, G. 2008. op. cit., 54. 48 Grazebrook, H. W. S. 1888. op. cit., 76. 49 This device is called impaling, that is displaying two coats of arms on a shield with a vertical line separating them. 47

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St Martin’s Church The medieval tomb of a canon in St Martin’s

Figure 79: Tomb of a fourteenth century canon in St Martin’s Church, Birmingham, as drawn for Sir William Dugdale’s Book.50

Figure 80: Tomb of the canon in St Martin’s Church, Birmingham, as drawn for John Thackray Bunce.51 50 51

Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 662. Bunce, J. T. 1875. op. cit., 9. This illustration was taken from Cornish’s Guide, 1851. op. cit., 55.

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Figure 81: Tomb of the canon in St Martin’s Church today, possibly Richard de Bermingham. Reproduced by permission of Elaine Mitchell.

The medieval alabaster tomb of a canon in St Martin’s church was perhaps the burial place of Master Richard de Bermingham, a late fourteenth century canon of Coventry. Bunce describes the effigy on this tomb as that of a canon attired and vested in the choir habit. The hands are joined on the breast in prayer. The apparel consists of a cap, a cope over the shoulders and a long cassock under-robe. An angel reclines on either side of the head next to a pillow and seven angels with shields stand within crocketed arches on the tomb’s side.52 If this was Richard, he was an important person at the time. In 1361 Richard de Bermingham, clerk, ‘given his skill in letters and other virtues’ was made Archdeacon of Coventry.53 He was made a canon and prebendary of Preez in the same year,54 and was a witness to a pension paid by the Chapter of Lichfield.55 In 1362 he acted as the bishop’s official and investigated the case of the Polesworth Nunnery. He reported that the abbess was entitled to hold the post and confirmed her in office.56 He was sent to Rome in the early 1360s to give an account of all his benefices to the Papal Chamber and reported 52

Bunce, J. T. 1875. op. cit., 9. Wilson, Rev. R. A. op. cit., 24. The apostolic chamber was the treasury of the Papal curia (court) and it seems there was some questioning about the financial affairs of the diocese. 54 Ibid. 110. A prebendary is a senior canon at a cathedral that is given cathedral property and has a seat in the chancel at the back of the choir stalls called the prebendal stalls. 55 Ibid, 160. 56 Ibid, 28. 53

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St Martin’s Church back to Lichfield in 1366.57 He was given a house in 1367 in Lichfield Close, near the cathedral, along with its associated gardens,58 and was awarded the church of Worfield in 1369.59 He may have resigned his offices at Lichfield due to his incumbency in Worfield in December 1369,60 but was still official and commissary in 1373/4.61 He also was recorded as promoting John Hugge as a secular deacon to the Trinity Hospital, Bridgnorth.62 If his tomb is indeed that which is presently in the church, it may have originally erected in the church of St Thomas’ Priory, like those of the lords of Bermingham, it was moved to St Martin’s when the former was dissolved at the Dissolution in 1546.63 St Martin’s did not appear to be very wealthy. This may help to support the suggestion that it started out as a borough chapel. By the sixteenth century even the altar goods were poor, comprising only a brass cross and two brass candlesticks. The altar was covered with a silk cloth. There were five other altar cloths and two cloths that were draped in front of the altar, one silk and the other painted. An interesting set of items, however, did include a set of four bells and a clock which chimed.64 It may have been because of this poverty that people outside the parish are recorded as leaving possessions to it. In 1510 Richard Dolfyne of Yardley left ‘to the church of seynt Martin of Burmycham iiii kyne’ (4 cows),65 presumably for the incumbent to keep in his glebe fields. Apart from the incumbent St Martin’s did have another person involved in its welfare, for a procurator (church warden) was recorded in the 1334 Rental called Richard de Norton.66 Clodeshale’s Chantry In 1330 a chantry was endowed in St Martin’s parish church by Walter de Clodeshale and his wife Agnes. Their purpose was to provide a priest to take divine service once a day for the souls of their ancestors and themselves.67 The Clodeshales belonged to a wealthy Bermingham merchant family who had purchased the sub-manor of Saltley in 1322, where they resided.68 57

Ibid, 217. Ibid, 121 59 Ibid, 132. 60 Ibid, 44. 61 Ibid, 49. 62 Marett, P. W. 1972. op. cit., 200. 63 Hill, J. 1887. op. cit., 9. 64 Bunce, J. T. 1875. op, cit., 6. 65 Skipp, V. 1970. Medieval Yardley: 90. Chichester: Phillimore. The Dolphyns came from Bermingham. Thomas Dolphyn was recorded as a smith in a National Archive document C1/1499/1. 66 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 62. 67 Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 646-7. 68 Stephens, W. B. 1964. 1-3. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol7/ pp1-3 [accessed 4 December 2019]; Hutton, W. 1795. The History of Birmingham: 32. Birmingham: 58

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Medieval Birmingham The messuages, lands and rents were said to be occupied by Sir William de Bermingham VIII, who held them as part of this manor from Sir Henry de Bermingham for the service of one flowering rose per year, who in turn held them from Sir John de Sutton, Baron Dudley, and his wife, Margaret.69 The witnesses who formed the jury for the inquiry were Bermingham men and included William Verite, John Corbyn, John atte Holt, John le Porter, William de Neuport,70 Thomas Mareschal, Thomas Corbyn, John de Colsull, Adam de Packwode, John le Deyster, John le Fychelere71 and William le Mey.72 The chantry had not, in fact, been set up by the time of Walter’s son, Richard de Clodeshale, who took out a Writ on the 27 April 1347 to establish it. The document stated that he did so ‘by homage, fealty and the service of 40 shillings’, and stated it would be established for ‘the well-being of Richard himself and Alice his wife’.73 The Bermingham jurymen for this case included Henry Morys,74 John son of Gilbert, Geoffrey Morys, Robert Page,75 Thomas son of John, William le kynges, William Colemon,76 John Parys, William son of Margery, John Burgeys,77 Henry Colemon and John Frewes.78 Richard became sheriff of Leicestershire in 1426 and bequeathed his body to the chapel in 1428.79 An Assize of 1403 provides more information about the history of the chantry. It stated that in 1323 Sir Henry and William de Bermingham VIII, his brother, agreed that William Clodeshale could have five messuages (houses), forty acres of land and twenty shillings rent in Bermingham. Some argument later occurred as to whether the de Berminghams had the right to grant the property, and Richard’s grandson, also called Richard then denied that his grandfather had held the property from William de Bermingham VIII.80 Quite how the matter was concluded is not clear! Many Clodeshales were buried in the chantry, though nothing is known about their tombs, whether chest, floor slabs, Thomas Person. 69 Whitehouse, S. op. cit., 7. This ownership of manorial property suggests that Sir Henry, brother of Sir Fulk, held much of the manorial lands, although why he never inherited the lordship of the manor is unclear. 70 Demidowicz, G. 2008. op. cit., 35. William de Neuport had a stall in the market place in the 1296 Rentals. 71 Reaney, P. H. & Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 169. An English corruption of a word for ‘fisherman’. 72 Smith, J. T. 1864. op. cit., 36; Reaney, P. H. & Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 304. Either meaning a young person or a hypocoristic (pet-name) form of Matthew. 73 Smith, J. T. 1864. op. cit., 35-6. 74 Reaney, P. H. & Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 303. Possibly from the word ‘Moorish’ meaning someone with a dark complexion. 75 Ibid, 335. From the French word meaning a ‘Page’ – a servant, possibly of the lord of the manor. 76 Ibid, 105. The surname of a ‘charcoal burner’, possibly working in the woods of the manor. 77 Ibid, 74. Burgess, a freeman of the town. 78 Smith, J. T. 1864. op. cit., 36; Reaney, P. H. & Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 178. A nickname from the English for ‘noble-friend’. 79 Cornish’s Guide. 1851. op. cit., 51-2. 80 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1894. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 112-113. Wrottesley observed that the Clodeshale coat of arms was the same as the Berminghams and concluded they were related.

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Table 2: Clodeshale family tree81 John de Clodeshale 1285 I Walter de Clodeshale 1311 m. Alice or Agnes de Bishopesden I Richard de Clodeshale 1350 m. Joanna I John de Clodeshale 1373 m. Beatrix Golofre I Richard de Clodeshale 1415 m. Isabella Edgbaston I Elizabeth de Clodeshale 1425 m. Robert Ardene (Arden)

or brasses; they were probably removed in 1786.82 The Clodeshale chantry was later called the Arden Chantry because a Clodeshale heiress married Robert Arden.83 Knowledge about the chaplains who served in the chantry is uneven. John Andrew, who was included as a chaplain in 1296, was mentioned in the Borough Rentals for 1344-5 as living in a house in the town with a solar.84 During Bishop Stretton’s time at Lichfield he conferred the chaplaincy of the chantry on John Jeke in 1360. Jeke was presented by Sir Fulk de Bermingham which is perhaps evidence for the involvement of the Bermingham family in its foundation.85 The next chaplain, Lord Thomas Edmound, in 1363, was presented by Richard de Clodeshale, so nothing is at all clear concerning this issue.86 A later chaplain in 1369 was Thomas de Colleshull, priest.87 In 1382 William atte Slowe set aside lands in Edgbaston to the value of £13 6s 8d for the maintenance of two priests 81 Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 646. The dates refer to mentions in documents. Robert and Elizabeth Arden’s great, great, granddaughter was Mary Arden, the mother of William Shakespeare, the playwright. 82 Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 647. 83 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 11. 84 Demidowicz, G. 2008. op. cit., 29, 58. John Andrew was promoted to the priesthood while at the priory in 1310. 85 Wilson, Rev. R. A. op. cit., 19. 86 Ibid, 31. 87 Ibid, 42.

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Medieval Birmingham to celebrate services at the altar of St Mary; these would have been chantry priests.88 John Smyth resigned as chantry priest in 1384 when Thomas de Colshull, a priest took his place. Thomas was presented by Roger and Beatrice de Burgulon, of whom nothing is known.89 John Piddoke was recorded as a chaplain in 1391,90 and John de Clodeshale in 1403.91 An inventory was made of the goods held by the chantry in 1424. This list not only displays the wealth of the chantry, but also that it was taking over many the services of the parish priest, whose income was not sufficient to employ people to carry them out. Imp. One old missall, prec. vis. [Missal: a Mass book with all the instructions and Latin texts for a priest to celebrate the Mass throughout the year.] One portuos, prec. Xls. [Portuos: possibly some kind of container.] A peyre vestments, the chesypell of red tartry, price of the vestments holl, xxvis viiid. [Vestments: clothes of the priest. The red chasuble was a conical poncho worn over the robes of a priest while performing the Mass.] Item. An Auter cloth, with a front blue yende, wyrked with I and B prec. xs. [Auter: Horizontal altar cloth with a vertical board on the front of the altar. This one was a blue colour and with the initials of Jesus Beatus – ‘Blessed Jesus’ on it.] A corporas, prec. xiid. [Corporas: linen cloth on which the sacraments (wine and bread) are placed on during the Mass.] A cas therefore wuith red silk with sterrs and mones, prec. xxd. [Cas: possibly a cope with stars and moons embroidered on it.] Another vestment ferial, of fustioan, the chesibill, prec. In toto xs. [Chespell: This one was red, they also had one made from purple silk.] Two other corporasses, prec. iis. A cas for hem of ray silk, prec. xiid. [Cas: a long vestment of decorated cloth worn on top of the surplice and cassock. ] Another Auter cloths, with a front borally saunder, prec. xld. Another Auter cloth, steynet, prec. xvid. [‘Stained’.] Three twayles, prec. xviid. Twyales: towels for wiping hands during the Mass. Four other Auter cloths, without fronts, one prec. xxd. a- piece, another prec. xid, the third vid., the fourth, prec. ivd. Two cruets, prec. vid. 88

Whitehouse, S. op. cit., 8. Wilson, Rev. R. A. op. cit., 69; Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1907. Register of Bishop Roger de Stretton, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: XX: part II, 69. 90 MS 3375/428400, Birmingham: Archives, Heritage and Photography Service. 91 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1894. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 112. 89

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Figure 82: The Sherbrooke Missal, one of the earliest surviving Mass books of English origin.92 The theme on this page is baptism with musical notation. Reproduced by permission of the National Library of Wales. 92

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missal#/media/File:F._1r._Sherbrooke_Missal.jpg

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Medieval Birmingham [Cruet: a small container to hold wine and water used in the Mass.] Two paxbreds, prec. Ivd. [Paxbred: a brooch showing a Christian scene on it.] Three pieces of old silk for the images, prec. xid. [Silks to decorate the statues of Mary and the saints standing in the church. ] A cofer in the chapel, prec. vs. [Cofer: A chest to put articles of clothing and utensils of the Mass in.] Another cofer in Sir Thomas Bromley’s chamber, prec. iis. [A chest in a vestry.] A folet of third, also a great portuos prec. Cs. [Folet: container?] A vestment of the cheyspel of purple silk, prec. xxxiiis ivd. A chalice with patyn and spone, prec. xxvis viiid, and this boke, vestment, and chalis were yeoveb by Sire Henry Wastneys, priest. [Chalice: a vessel used for holding wine during the Mass. Patyn: plate to hold bread during the Mass. Spone: Spoon for use in the Mass. A book, vestments, and a chalice given by Henry Wastneys.] And also a new missale, prec. ix marks, yeoven by Sirte Roger Bugge, priest.93 [A missal given by Roger Bugge, chantry priest of St Martin’s.] In 1535 the endowments were worth £10 1s and the wardens were Sir Thomas Alyn and Sir John Grene. Part of the property of the two chantries included houses in Bermingham and there is a record of their sale after the dissolution in 1549 when two shops went to John Nethermill, a draper of Coventry and John Milward of Ansley, yeoman. A house was furthermore sold in 1553 to Edward Aglionby and others.94 The Guild of the Holy Cross95 During the fourteenth century guilds across England had obtained a great deal of local power, but in Bermingham’s case it was more of a religious and charitable one as the power of the ruling family was still strong. The Holy Cross Guild in Bermingham was probably first mooted in 1383 when Thomas Sheldon, John Colshill, John Goldsmyth and William atte Slowe obtained a licence for its founding, but nothing further happened for ten years. A subsequent historian, Joseph Toulmin Smith, concluded that the original guild was intended solely for chantry priests, so there was little interest in the community for promoting it.96 93

Bunce, J. T. 1875. op. cit., 5. Bunce, J. T. 1875. op. cit., 4. 95 Bunce, J. T. 1878-85. History of the Corporation of Birmingham: 21-31. Birmingham: Cornish Brothers; Smith, J. T. (ed.) 1892. English gilds. The original ordinances of more than one hundred early English gilds: Together with e̓ olde vsages of e̓ cite of Wynchestre; the Ordinances of Worcester; the Office of the mayor of Bristol; and the Costomary of the manor of Tettenhall-Regis. From original mss. of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries: 250. London: Oxford University Press. See Chapter II. Guild of the Holy Cross. 96 Smith, J. T. 1892. op. cit., 241. 94

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Figure 83: A drawing of the Common Seal of the Guild of the Holy Cross, Bermingham.97

When, ten years later, a more successful attempt was made, it had become a more charitable organisation whose remit included repairs to Deritend Bridge and social services like providing alms-houses for the town.98 This time the Bailiff and Commonalty of Bermingham were involved and procured a patent from the king, at a cost of £50, to found a perpetual fraternity to the honour of the Holy Cross. The initial inquiry found that no one would be hurt by the creation and letters patent were granted that stated that land worth twenty marks a year would be put aside for: two chaplains for the celebration of divine service to the church of St. Martin of Bermingham, to the honour of God, the blessed Mary His mother, the Holy Cross, St. Thomas the Martyr and St Catherine; to be held by the said Chaplains and their successors forever; as in our letters patent aforesaid set forth.99 It particularly recorded that all works of charity carried out by the guild ‘shall be done according to the ordering of the will of the Bailiffs and Commonalty’ and therefore it should be considered to be partially run by that authority.100 It was paid for by ‘eighteen messuages, three tofts, six acres of land and forty shillings from rents with the appurtenances in Bermingham and Edgbaston.’101 97

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guild_of_the_Holy_Cross, Public domain. Holt, R. 1985. op. cit., 13. 99 Smith, J. T. 1864. op. cit., 239-40, Transcription of the Writ of Inquiry, dated 10th July 1392. The overlord, Isabella Sutton, Baroness Dudley, was also mentioned in the document. 100 Ibid, 241. 101 Bunce, J. T. 1878-85. op. cit., 24. 98

189

Medieval Birmingham It was to be directed by a master with wardens, and they were to erect a chantry in the church for the souls of the founders and the members of the guild. The chantry was St Catherine’s Chapel in the new north aisle of St Martin’s Church, as the Clodeshale chantries already used the St Mary Chapel in the south aisle. This begs the question as to whether the north aisle was built specifically as a home for the guild and thus whether the dedication was guildinspired. Catherine of Alexandria was believed to be a Christian daughter of the ‘king’ of Egypt who was desired by the Emperor Maximin. She refused his advances and he had her tortured on a wheel (Catherine Wheel used in firework celebrations) before executing her. She became a patron of learning and philosophy and it may have been this side of her that led to her dedicatory chapel in St Martin’s church.102 Priest of the Gild Nicholas Baylie, former priest103 There is a fifteenth and sixteenth century list of the masters of the guild: Magister Gilde of Sancte Crucis de Bermyngeham 1426 William Rydware. 1437 John Belle.104 1481 Henry Cheshire. 1483 John Lenche. 1484 John Byrde. 1493 John Lyddiate. 1501 Roger Byrde. 1507 Thomas Belle105 1517 William Russell. 1524 John Locock. 1540 Humfrey Colchester.106 These names also occur in many of the local documents. For instance, ‘Henry Chesshire, now Master of the Gild’ was a witness to an indenture of 1481.107 His significance in Bermingham is shown in the following year when he was recorded at the top of the list of important Bermingham men, with the

102

The Calendar of the Anglican Church. op. cit., 142-145. Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 24-25. He had a stipend (sum of money) from the gild for chanting masses. 104 Ibid, 95. 105 Ibid, 57. 106 Hill, J. 1887. op. cit., 95. 107 MS 1098/5, Birmingham Archives, Heritage and Photographic Service. 103

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St Martin’s Church High Bailiff, Roger Peplow, coming second.108 His successor, on 1 April 1487, was John Belle, ‘master of the Gild of Holy Cross in Bermingham, and the Brethren and Sisters of the same.’ Belle is shown acting in his new position when a lease was granted to John Crowe, of a tenement and land in Mowlestrete, Bermingham, for a term of 30 years. It was dated Monday after the Feast of the Annunciation of St Mary.’109 There is little we can say about the guild until the sixteenth century dissolution when they were said to have held a property in New Street called ‘le Towne Hall, alis dict’ le Guilde Hall’ - Bermingham’s first Town Hall.110 The original hall contained various windows where the arms of its earlier benefactors were displayed, including the Berminghams, Ferrers and Staffords.111 This building was likely to be where they held their annual feasts. They also had a Great Guild Garden, or the Town Garden, behind the hall. It later served as the school house for King Edward’s School, but the guild’s role continued for some years afterwards, as documents of a public nature were ordered to be placed in the School Chamber. The two guild priests had their own quarters in the building over the churchyard entrance, called the Priests Chambers.112 The guild also maintained four almshouses in Digbeth113 and other houses where poor members could live rent-free. They paid the costs of the burial of the poor ‘and whene any of them dye, they be buryed very honestlye at the costes and charges of the same Gilde, wt dyrge (dirge) and messe (Mass), according to the constitucyons of the same Gilde’.114 The master was the chief warden and under him were other wardens who were paid a fee for the work they did. By 1547 the guild had three priests, who sang Mass and were paid a hundred and six shillings apiece; a ‘commen midewyffe’, who was paid four shillings; and a Bellman, who was paid six shillings and eight pence a year. An organist is also documented by the name of William Bothe as well as a clerk called Thomas Grove, who lived rent free in one of the guild’s cottages. He was said to be the keeper of the house and garden of the guild.115 In 1547 a Royal Commission, as part of the dissolution, was held to determine how much the guild was worth. A full rendition of the commission is stated below: 108

Holt, R. 1985. op. cit., 13. MS 3033/ACC 1914-008/249974, Birmingham Archives, Heritage and Photographic Service; Langford, J. A. 1887. The Confiscation of the Birmingham Gilds, in Transactions of the Birmingham and Midland Institute: Archaeological Section: 24. Birmingham: Cond Brothers. 110 Smith, J. T. 1864. op. cit., 250. 111 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 37. 112 Bunce, J. T. 1878-85. op. cit., 7; Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. op. cit., 6. Bickley and Hill thought that the priests’ chambers lay over the gateway that led to St Martin’s Church. 113 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 36. 114 Ibid, 28. 115 Smith, J. T. 1892. op. cit., 100. 109

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Medieval Birmingham The Guilde of Briminchem was ffounded by one Thomas Sheldon and other, in the xvith yere of king Henrye the Seconde; and incorporate, by the name of Mr and Bretheren of the guilde of tholye Crosse in brymyncham, ffor the maintenance of certein priests; whereunto belonge landes and possesssions to the yerelye value of xxxii.l. xii.s. v.d. prima facia: wch are nowe, and have bene of longe tyme, converted as well to dedes of charyte and to the commen-welth there, as hereafter shall appere………………………………… xxxii.l. xii.s. v.d. Wherof In Rentes Resolute, as well to theerle of Warrwick as to divers other, going owte of the premisses, lv.s. x.d.; in stipendes of priests and other ministers of the churche xx.l. vi.s. viii.d.; In ffees and annuytes lx.s.; ffor bread and wyne ffor the churche, xx.s.; ffor keping the clocke and the chyme, xiii.s iiiid. and in allowance ffor Reperacions of the same possessions, consisting moste part in tenementes, comunibus annis, iiii.s. In all…………………….………xxxi.l. xv.s. x.d. So remains ……………………………………………………. xvi.s. vi.d. Plate and Jewells to the same guilde belonging; viz three chalices of silver, waying xxiiii.oz., and a nutte wth a cover, waying iiii.oz.; in all ………………………………………………………………..xxviii. oz. Wereof, ii. chalices, waying xvi. oz., are left for Adminis… Goodes, Ornamentes, and howshold stuffe, arte praysed at………… xli.s viii.d. Theare be relieved and mainteigned uppon the same posessions of the same guilde, and the provision of the Mr and bretherne thereof, xii poore persones, who have their howses Rent free, and alle other kinde of sustenaunce, as welle ffoode and appararelle as alle other necessaryes. Allso theare be mainteigned, wt parte of the premisses, and kept in good Repararciouns, two great stone bridges, and divers ffoule and dangerous high wayes; the chatge whereof the towne of hitsellfe ys not hable to mainteign; So that the Lacke thereof wilbe a greate noysaunce to the kinges maties Subiectes passing to and ffrom the marches of wales, and an utter Ruyne to the same towne, - being one of the fayrest and moste proffittuble towne to the kinges highnesse in all the Shyre. The said Towne of Brymyncham ys a verey mete place, and yt is very mete and necessarye that theare be a ffree Schoole erect theare, to bring uppe the youthe, being boathe in the same towne and nigh thereaboute. Howselinge people in the said Paroche of Brimyncham...……… M.DCCC.116

116

Smith, J. T. 1892. op. cit., 248-9.

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St Martin’s Church Translation: The Guild of Bermingham was founded by one Thomas Sheldon and other(s), in the sixteenth year of King Henry II, and incorporated by the name of Masters and Brethren of the Guild of the Holy Cross in Bermingham for the maintenance of certain priests, to whom lands and possessions belong coming to the yearly value of £32 12s 5d. Which have now, and have been, for a long time converted to deeds of charity and to the common wealth (of Bermingham) at £32 12s 5d. Whereof: In fixed rents owed to the Earl of Warwick117 and to others (are) 55s 10d (see below for the tenants and tenancies). In stipends to the priests and other ministers of the church £20 6s 8d. In fees and annuities 60s; for bread and wine for the church 20s; for keeping the church clock and the chimes 13s 4d; and the allowance for any repairs to the same possessions, particularly on the guild’s houses, in an average year 4d. In all £31 15s 10d. So, remains …………………………………………. 16s 6d. Plate and jewels belonging to the guild being three silver chalices, weighing 24 ounces and a paten with a cover weighing four ounces. In all ……………………………….………………………… 28 ounces. Of these, two chalices, weighing 16 ounces, are left for the administrators. Goods, ornaments and household items are appraised at 12s 8d. The possessions of the guild and the good provision of the master and brethren are used for relief and maintenance for 12 poor people, who have their rents free and all kinds of sustenance as well as food and clothing. Also, with part of the income, two large stone bridges (across the River Rea) are maintained and kept in good repair along with many foul and dangerous highways, the town being unable to afford the charges. Thus the lack therof would be a great annoyance to the king’s subjects passing to and from the Marches of Wales and an utter ruin to the town, it being one of the fairest and most profitable town to the king’s highness in the Shire. The said Town of Bermingham is a very fitting place and it is befitting and necessary that there be a Free School erected there to bring up the youth both in the town and surrounding area. Communicants in the said parish of Bermingham - 1800. In 1552 it was recorded that St Martin’s had four bells that were housed in the tower, while Bell Rope Croft was the name of the field off the Holloway that supplied funds for the bell ropes.118 The guild was far wealthier than the 117

This is evidence that the Earl of Warwick owned property rented by the Guild, and possibly the reason his coat of arms lay in the church. 118 Langford J. A. op. cit., 20. The amount paid was the medieval sum of six barbed bolts. Demidowicz, pers. comm., had evidence that Bell Walk Rope lay west of Broad Street.

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Medieval Birmingham church and it appears they had taken over the payment for things like bellringing and winding the clock up. The school disappeared in the dissolution, but the four almshouses were given over to form the lands of the Free School. Bickley and Hill thought the confiscation of the Gilds records by the royal commissioners was a great loss to the history of Bermingham.119 The coats of arms that once stood in the window of the Holy Cross Chapel belonged to several families. No. 1 belonged to the Stafford family of Grafton near Bromsgrove. This would have been placed there at the end of the fourteenth century. They held Amblecote from the lords of Bermingham. The cross quartered arms of No. 2 belonged to the English and Irish houses of the Berminghams and are 14th century, belonging to Sir Fulk’s period and after. No. 3 dates to around the fifteenth century, displaying the Ferrers family impaling Belknap. Elizabeth Belknap was the wife of William Ferrers, son of Edmund Ferrers. The Belknaps were also related to the Danett family, the wife of Edward Bermingham. No. 4 is of the Bryans of Walwyn Castle, Pembroke, impaled by an unknown family.120 The figure is stated to be the wife of Edmund Ferrers: Lady Ellen, granddaughter of Sir Thomas de Bermingham.

Figure 84: Coats of arms in the north aisle window of St Martin’s Church, as shown in Sir William Dugdale’s book.121 119

Ibid, 9-10. Bryant, A. op. cit., 311. Sir Guy de Brian carried the king’s banner at the Battle of Crecy. 121 Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 661. 120

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Figure 85: The property of the Holy Cross Guild in Bermingham. This displays owners, not necessarily occupiers of the property. Only a few actual sites of the property owners are known.

St Martin’s Church

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Medieval Birmingham Tenants and tenancies of the Holy Cross Guild recorded at the Dissolution, 1547 The guild held houses in the town which the following persons paid rent for: Thomas Cowper, with a house at the Highe Crosse called The Mayden Hede; Humphrey Jorden held a house called Whyte Hart; and William Lane, a house near The Peacocke. These may have been taverns in the town. The heir of Nicholas Baylie held two houses: a house in the Bull Ring, and another in New Street. The heirs of Robert Rastell held a house in the Englishe Market. William Philippes held a house at Molle Strete Ende, a garden near Molle Strete Barres and a garden in Parke Street near a barn of the Guild. William Paynton held a house near Molle Strete Barres. The Molle or Moor Street Bar led to the Little Park in which stock may have been pastured at that time (sheep, cattle or deer). John Shylton rented a house in Molle Street, called Tenter Crofte and a house in Digbeth, lately held by Thomas Walton. Robert Porte and Robert Myddelmore had one house each in Edgbaston Street. William King had a house in Well Street, and Richard Swyft a house in Englishe Street. (This may mean English Market). Edward Taylor held a house in Deritend, next to the house of Thomas Greve, and John Bonde, a house in Deritend, near Heath Mill. Shawmore was held by the incumbent of the Free Chapel, and a croft in Godes Cart Lane was rented by Robert Rastell. 122 The guild was abolished in 1547, but most of its revenue went to support a school founded at the Guildhall, called the King Edward VI Grammar School.123 Like the Clodeshale Chantry the guild was extremely wealthy compared with the parish church in which it had its chapel, so much so that the guild paid for things that the parish priest was expected to do. Deritend Chapel The old formal description of Bermingham was ‘The Borough of Bermingham and Deritend.’124 Deritend or Dergatestret was recorded as early as the 1296 Rental as the home of Nicholas the Smith, but obviously predated this.125 One of our earliest records refers to the building of Deritend Chapel.

122

Smith, J. T. 1864. op. cit., 97-8. Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 660. 124 Smith, J. T. 1863. op. cit., 258. 125 Demidowicz, G. 2008. op. cit., 37. 123

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St Martin’s Church

Figure 86: St John’s Chapel at Deritend in Joseph Toulmin Smith’s book. This engraving was made prior to 1735 when a new building replaced the original one.126

Deritend was always in a peculiar position, as it was included in the manor of Bermingham, but was part of the parish of Aston. The residents of Deritend were required to attend the parish church at Aston, but it was some way away and they complained in winter: ‘by-cause they be ii myles dystannt ffrom there parisshe churche, so that, in wynter season, the seyde parisshyoners coulde not go there parisshe churche wt-out daunger of perysshyng’.127 This was remedied in 1375-80, when, in the reign of King Richard II, they built a chapel that was shared between the people of Deritend and the people of Bordesley.128 How many people attended the chapel is difficult to determine, but in 1547 200 people were reported to be living in the two settlements.129 The chapel was constructed shortly after the second bout of the Black Death, when the established church was undergoing serious criticisms. Men like John Wycliffe and poets like William Langland complained bitterly of the corruption that

126

Frontispiece of Joshua Toulmin Smith’s book, 1864. Langford, J. A. op. cit., 19. 128 Smith, J. T. 1863. op. cit., 46. 129 Ibid, 260. 127

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Medieval Birmingham was occurring within it.130 Their vision of Christianity was a personal one,131 and the Deritend people appeared to be attracted to this way of thinking. As the building of a chapel by the parishioners had never occurred in England before Toulmin Smith proclaimed it as being the first Reformation church in the country.132 The system of the time, however, prohibited it being truly independent and the inhabitants had to recognise that the Church of Aston had superior control, while Aston itself was under rectoral control of the monks of Tickford in Buckinghamshire.133 A formal agreement was made with Tickford in 1381.134 The Deritend and Bordesley men mentioned in the agreement included Geoffrey Boteler,135 Robert o’ the Grene, John Smyth, Thomas Holden,136 William Couper, William Dod,137 Adam Bene,138 Richard Bene, Simon Huwet,139 Richard de le Broke, Robert Flaumvile140 and Thomas Chattok.141 A document of 1545 reiterated what was said in the fourteenth century: the Guild of St John the Baptist was created through the ordinances of ‘the Prior and munks of Tickford, being patrones of the paroche of Aston’,142 the parsons of Aston and Deritend and by Sir John de Bermingham and the bishop of Coventry and Lichfield.143 According to the document, the income at the time was £13 1s 2d and the expenditure was £13 12s 8d, this makes a loss of eleven 130 John Wycliffe (1320s – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, Biblical translator, reformer, and seminary professor at Oxford. He was an influential dissident within the Roman Catholic priesthood during the fourteenth century. Wycliffe disliked the privileged status of the clergy, which was central to their powerful role in England and attacked the luxury and pomp of local parishes and their ceremonies. William Langland, came from the West Midlands and wrote Piers Plowman (c. 1370–90) The work is a Middle English allegorical narrative poem written in unrhymed alliterative verse. It is considered by many critics to be one of the greatest works of English literature of the Middle Ages. Goodridge J. F., op. cit., pp. 129130. Langland’s antipathy to the friars is made clear in the poem. 131 Bryant, A. op. cit., 488. 132 Smith, J. T. 1864. op. cit., 47. 133 Hemingway, J. 2005. op, cit., 19. Tickford Priory was the premier establishment of the barons of Dudley in their home-county estates in Buckinghamshire, itself a dependency of the Priory of Marmoutier in France, which had been the mother church of the Paganell properties. The dependencies of Aston, next to Birmingham, which were also held by Tickford, included Yardley, Water Orton and Castle Bromwich. 134 Smith, J. T. 1863. op. cit., 54-61. 135 Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 55. From ‘Leather bottle-maker.’ 136 Ibid, 235. From residence in a ‘hollow valley.’ 137 Ibid, 137. Possibly a derivative of the place-name Dudley. 138 Ibid, 34. This name has several possible meanings. In Middle English it meant ‘genial’, or may be a nickname for a person of little worth – a bean, or refer to the Twelfth Night custom when the man who found a bean in his cake was declared the King of the Company. 139 Ibid, 230. Derived from the Old English term for a person who lives close to where trees were cut down. 140 Possibly from Flamanville, a French place-name. 141 Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 89. From Chadwich near Bromsgrove. 142 Hemingway, J. 2006. op. cit., 25. 143 Langford, J. A. op. cit., 21.

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St Martin’s Church shillings and six pence. The one independent action achieved by the guild was to be able to choose their priest, and this was agreed in a document of 1382/3: a licence issued in mortmain to William Geffon,144 Thomas Holden, Robert o’ the Grene, Richard Bever,145 Thomas Belne,146 and John Smyth to endow a chaplain to perform divine service, and fulfill the ordinary duties of parish priest, in the newly built Chapel of St, John the Baptist at Deritend.147 The guild had possessions in Deritend, Moseley, Saltley, Castle Bromwich, Handsworth and Erdington.148 Right from the start two priests were empowered to serve the church, one to take the services and the other to teach at a grammar school. The report of the Commissioners in 1547 stated the following, Ye Chauntrie of Deriatende hath no ffoundacion, But a certaine Composiciounn or Ordinannce betwene the Prior and munks of the late Monasterye of Tykforde, being patrones of the paroche of Aston nere Brymyncham and Deriatend, on thone partye, and Sr. John Brymyncham, Knight, and thinhabitantes of Deriatend on thother partye wt the assent of one Robert, Byshopp of Coventre and Lichfield; That the inhabitantes of the said Hamlett of Deriatend shollde have a priest to celebrate divine service in Chappelle the one newyle therefore erecte, and to minister alle maner of Sacramentes and Sacramentalls (buryinges onely except); In which service are nowe two priestes. And have landes and possessions to the yerelye value of ……………………..... xiij.li. xix.d. Agnnist wch In rent resolute due to diuers persons, going owte of the premisses, lxxij.s. viii.d.; To two priestes mynystryng theare, that ys to saye, Sr. Edmunde Kaye, (c. s.), and Sr John Mote (c. s.), = x. li.; amounting in alle to ………………. xiij.li. xij.s. viij.d. Et rem. nil, ffor the srplusage to ………………...…... xj.s. j.d. In Plate and jewells therunto belonging, lvj.oz. Whereof one crosse, wayinge i. oz. ys remayninge in the hands of Sr. Fulke Gryvelle, Knyght in gage for iiij.li; and chalice in thandes of the Incumbentes vj.oz. Goods and ornaments thereunto belonging are prayed at x.s.149 Translation The Chantry [there was no chantry at Deritend] has no foundation, but a certain composition or ordinance between the prior and monks 144

Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 187. This name appears to be a pet-form of a French word and generally is only found in the West Midlands. 145 Ibid, 35. A nick-name taken from the animal, the beaver. 146 Mawer, A. and Stenton, F. M. 1969. The Place-names of Worcestershire: 274. Cambridge: University Press. Belne was a medieval place in Belbroughton, Worcestershire. 147 Smith, J. T. 1864. op. cit., 46. 148 Ibid, 17. 149 Langford, J. A. op. cit., 21- 22.

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Medieval Birmingham of Tickford [Buckingham], being patrons of the parish of Aston near Bermingham and Deritend on the one part and Sir John Bermingham, knight, and the inhabitants of Deritend on the other, with the assent of one Robert, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield: that the inhabitants of the said hamlet of Deritend should have a priest to celebrate divine service in a chapel there newly erected, and to minister all manner of Sacraments and Sacramentals (burials only excepted); In which service are now two priests. And have lands and possessions of the yearly value of ……………………………… £13:19d Against which, The fixed rents due to divers’ persons, going out of the premises, 72 shillings, eight pence; To two priests ministering there, that is to say, Sir Edmund Kaye, and Sir John Mote £10 amounting in all o……………………………………………………………… £13 12s 8d. For the surplus is………………………… eleven shillings and one penny. Plate and jewels belonging to the chantry…..………fifty six ounces. One cross weighing one ounce, is to stay in the hands of Sir Fulk Grenville, knight, as a pledge for £4; and a chalice in the hands of the incumbents six ounces. Goods and ornaments belonging to the chantry are appraised at 10 shillings.

Figure 87: Sir John Sutton VI, Baron Dudley, is dressed in ermine with coats of arms surrounded by the Order of the Garter as shown in a window of St John’s Chapel in Sir William Dugdale’s book.150 The impaling of the Dudley coat of arms with Berkeley occurred at the time of Sir John (1401-1487) marrying Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Berkeley. 150 Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 645; Grazebrook, H. W. S. 1888. op. cit., 63-5, 70. Sir John Sutton was elected a Knight of the Garter before 1459. Elizabeth’s sister was married to John FitzAlan, Earl of Arundel. The two lions passant (an animal shown as walking with one of his two front legs raised) impaling Berkeley were also represented in a window in St Edmund’s Church, Dudley.

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151

Smith, J. T. 1863. op. cit., 95-96.

Figure 88: The precise position of the property of St Johns’, Deritend is presently unknown, but ownership of lands in the streets of Deritend and Bermingham is understood.151

St Martin’s Church

Medieval Birmingham Masters of the guild 1483 John Lench.152 1517 Baldwin Broke.153 Amongst the guild’s property was the ‘Tanyard’ near the old course of the River Rea. Bickley and Hill stated that it lay near to the spot ‘that the ancient bed of the river was recently opened, when a massive stone wall and a very ancient recessed well were brought to light, which is zealously preserved in the Cellars of the “Big Bulls Head”.154 At the dissolution the priests that administered there were dispossessed of all the property of the church; only the chapel survives today.

Figure 89: Even as late as the eighteenth-century Deritend was small. This map, dated to 1750, shows the River Rea, Heath Mill Lane and the Chapel of St Johns with the main street called Deritend.155

152

Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891 op. cit., 3. Ibid, 2. 154 Ibid, 22. 155 Digitized by New York Public Library. Public domain. 153

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St Martin’s Church

Figure 90: The Old Leather Bottle, Deritend shown in an engraving of 1629 in Joseph Toulmin Smith’s book.156 It can be seen by the raised road in front of it that the structure is very ancient.

Property of other guilds Other guilds owned property in Bermingham. The Gild of Aston Cantlow owned a tavern called the Crown in Edgbaston Street in 1553 and the Gild Companies of Coventry held quit rents in Deritend, while the Monastery of Studley held a tenement in High Street.157

156 Smith, J. T. (1863) op. cit., 40. Smith’s thoughts about the site being the position of the Old Crown have now been refuted in, Price, Stephen. 1993. The Old Crown, Deritend, Birmingham. A report on its history and Architectural Development prepared for English Heritage and Birmingham City Council, Birmingham. 157 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 35-6, 39. The endowment of Studley in Bermingham was probably made by the Middlemore family of Edgbaston, who occupied the estate.

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Part Three Life in the town and country

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Chapter Eight

Life in the town

Figure 91: The layout of the townscape of Bermingham.1

General taxes and representatives in parliament Most medieval people regarded taxes as a form of robbery and injustice, but pay them they did.2 The manor of Bermingham was valued at forty shillings in 1322,3 which was only the value of an average estate, but by the Lay Subsidy of 1327 only Warwick and Coventry had as many taxpayers in Warwickshire,4 and by 1334 it overtook Warwick for tax payments.5 Its growing importance can be seem in that as early as 1264, 1275 and 1295 both Dudley and Bermingham 1

Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 23; Hodder, M. 2004. op. cit., 85. Barrow G. W. S. op. cit., 198. Barrow suggests that Magna Carta came about partially due to King John’s exorbitant taxation. 3 Grazebrook, H. W. S. 1888. op. cit., 44. 4 Stephens, W. B. (ed.) Manors. op. cit., 73-80; The Lay Subsidies of 1327 and 1332 were taxes on residents of a place. See Carter, W. F. and Wellstood, F. C. 1926. Lay Subsidy for Warwickshire 1327: 1-6. London: for the Dugdale Society by H. Milford, Oxford University Press. 5 Hilton, R. H. op. cit., 174. 2

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Medieval Birmingham sent representatives to Parliament. The 1264 parliament was the first where all the estates of the realm were called and the fact that Bermingham sent two representatives demonstrates how important it had become. The 1295 parliament was the most comprehensive yet assembled in England and included everyone from the magnates to the burgesses of towns. At first this seems to be a more democratic policy by the crown, but the king needed money and extracting it from the towns was his prime goal.6 Street names The streets of medieval Bermingham were busy places and they all had names. CHAPEL STREET, which ran past St Thomas’ Priory, was named after the church that lay within the complex. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it was called Bull Street, the name of a tavern that lay on the opposite side of the road (see Fig. 99). LITTLE PARK: Scites Well is possibly an early name for the brook that flows east from the priory.7 The later name, Buttesdych would normally refer to the furlongs in plough lands butting one another, but as this feature was in the Little Park it probably relates to the town’s archery butts close by. Buttes Meadowe is where the archery butts were set up. Archery was a legal obligation (that was only repealed in 1960), with every man and boy over the age of fourteen being required to do weekly archery practice. Normally this would have been on Sunday after morning church, but in 1361 a ruling was made that it should be extended to saints days because men had resorted to football, handball, and hockey to amuse themselves instead.8 Its value came in times of war when English archers could defeat armies with superior numbers (see Chapter Four). PRIORS CONEYGRE LANE was named after the rabbit warren, the field north-west of the lane, where the priory kept coneys for eating and other products.9 ASPLELAN STREET (Aspelanstret), perhaps referred to the Jewish community who had once lived in the town, now part of Dale End.10 6

Hemingway, J. (2009), op. cit., 67. Mawer, A. and Stenton, F. M. 1969. op. cit., 32. The use of the word scite (shit) can also be found in the original place-name for Shatterford in Worcestershire. 8 Bryant, A. op. cit., 433. 9 Coney was the name for the adult rabbit; rabbit was the name for the young. The young are known in the twenty-first century as kittens. It is now called Steelhouse Lane. 10 Demidowicz G. op. cit., 22. Aspelan is derived from the Hebrew name Absalom. The Jews were supposed to be expelled from England in 1290, but they seem to have still existed in the town after this date. 7

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Life in the town DALE END (Dalende) was probably the side of the valley that Hockley Brook flowed through. Originally it lay next to a town barrier, known as a Barre. These barriers may have been poles placed across the road to prevent access at certain times of the day and night and seemed to have existed at nearly every major road entrance to the town. NEW STREET (Newestret), refers to a new road that divided a large arable field, possibly later called Stoctonesfeld and Barlicroft.11 HIGH STREET seems to have been called super montem, which strictly speaking means above the mountain, but refers to the slope of the land running up from the river. DOD WALL GATE (Dodewalleyate), is somewhat more convoluted, the first element seems to refer to Dudley, it being on the road to that place. The wall component may be a wall, but more likely relates to a watercourse that flowed into the Colbourne or the stream to the west of it, yate is the medieval spelling for a gate.12 EDGBASTON STREET (Egebastonstret) is the road that led to Edgbaston. MOUL STREET (Moulstret), is named after the Moul family who lived there circa 1300, it has subsequently been corrupted to Moor Street. GODS CART LANE (Godes Cart Lane), (Carrs Lane) was a reference to where the cart was kept in which the crucifix was carried in the Easter and Whitsunday processions.13 OVER PARK STREET (Overparkstret), now known as Park Street,14 which led from the English market north to the Little Park, was recorded in 1296. Over Park Street led into the Little Park which was beginning to be developed by the end of the thirteenth century. A 2001 archaeological excavation in the street found that large property boundary ditches were established in this period. Associated with these were pits, post holes, a possible kiln and two grave cuts containing articulated skeletons.15 As burial outside consecrated ground was illegal in the medieval period, they might be victims of murder who had been 11

Ibid, 23. A croft generally backs on to houses. One of the plantings of the field was barley, grown to make beer. Now called Steelhouse Lane. 12 It relates to the Anglo-Saxon habit of not sounding ‘g’s in a word, like the modern word for gnome or daughter. 13 Mawer, A. & Stenton, F. M. 1936. op. cit., 37. 14 Bassett, S. & Holt, R. 2016. op. cit., 90. They suggest that Moul Street and Park Street were late thirteenth century creations when the population was rising. 15 Burrows, R. & Martin, H. 2002. op. cit., 186.

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Medieval Birmingham secretly concealed or this may have been where plague bodies were buried at a time when burial anywhere was thought appropriate. DEAD LANE (venelam mortuam): Demidowicz suggested that Dead Lane should be considered synonymous with Carrs Lane, but that already had a name, and Dead Lane is much more likely to have been closer to St Thomas’ Cemetery.16 The present writer believes it was the former designation of Livery Street. DIGBETH (Dicpaeth/Dyke Path) was a term for the causeway that ran across the flood plain between the English Market and Deritend. The date of the causeway’s construction has been speculated by Hodder to be between 1250 and 1300.17 FLOOD GATE STREAM (Flododyatesstreme) refers to a gate across the River Rea, possibly to dam up the waters for the use of the Heath Mill downstream. DERITEND (Deregate-end) is Deer Gate End signifying a leap-gate for deer. Smith thought that the deer-gate was on the east boundary of Deritend, in Bordesley, as it was recorded that a woodland area occurred at this juncture.18 Hetmulne and le hetefeld and the later Hethmylfleme refer to the mill, field and mill-stream on Deritend Heath.19 Marketplace and fairs I do not intend to discuss the seemingly never-ending debate of what constitutes a medieval town except to say that to include the level and density of population, and their occupations,20 as Terry Slater does is good enough.21 Bermingham had the status of a manor (a privately-owned place) rather than a borough (governed by a committee). In Birmingham’s case this allowed trades to exist without the restrictions of a craft guild. Although many historians have queried the absence of a market charter, as Richard Holt pointed out, it is more likely that one has not been found than that it never had one.22 Barons were careful over the setting up of markets in the vicinity of their own, as representing competition, and in order to prevent rivalry, Baron Dudley 16

Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 8. Hodder, M. 2004. op. cit., 91. 18 Smith, J. T. 1863. op. cit., 71. 19 Ibid, 37. Fleme is a local dialect word for a mill-stream. 20 Dyer, C. 2000. Bromsgrove: A Small Town in Worcestershire in the Middle Ages: 2-3. Worcester: Worcester Historical Society, Occasional Publications No. 9. 21 Slater, T. R. 2004. Plan Characteristics of Small Boroughs and Market Settlements: Evidence from the Midlands, in K. Giles and C. C. Dyer (eds.) Town and Country in the Middle Ages: Contrasts, Constraints and Interconnections, 1100 -1500: 23-24. Society for Medieval Archaeology Research Monograph 20. 22 Holt, R. 1985. op. cit., 4. 17

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Life in the town in 1218 made sure the market traders who lived in the two towns within his lordship – Dudley and Bermingham – would be exempt from market tolls in each of the towns.23 The Thursday market granted to Peter de Bermingham was added to when Sir William de Bermingham IV was granted the right to hold a four day fair in Bermingham on Ascension Day Eve (29 April) in AD 1250. This was further augmented in the following year by a two-day fair on the Feast of St John the Baptist (June 24–Midsummer Day) and a Whitsunday Fair.24 In 1318 a licence to take a toll of a farthing on every quarter of corn sold in the marketplace was taken out by Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke for the period of three years to pave the streets. Pembroke was ‘a mover and shaker’ in the years of Edward II’s reign, though nothing is known of why he became involved in Bermingham. The paving obviously took some time as fifteen years later another three year toll was enacted for the same purpose.25 In 1403, the town was said to have dealt in linen, woollen cloth, iron, brass and the cattle that were bought and sold at the Thursday market.26 A stone lined well was discovered in the market place near the church in 2001, and this was probably for public use and for watering the animals.27 There were two market crosses in Bermingham: the Welsh Cross at the junction of Chapel Street and High Street, and the ‘Old or English Cross’ at the junction of High Street where the marketplace widened out.28 Dudley is mentioned as having a market cross in 1441, but it must have been set up in an earlier period, and so too with Bermingham.29 Interestingly, in Bermingham’s case there were two markets, implying some form of segregation. Whether the two markets were divided into the cattle market in the west and the corn market (called Corn Cheaping in the sixteenth century) in the east, or whether they were defined as separate markets for the Welsh and the English is not clear.30 The English had mixed feelings about the Welsh. In Worcester they were not allowed in the town after dark, but were ushered across the river to the settlement of St John’s. One of the earliest ‘council houses’ was the Tollbooth at the corner of New Street and High Street. A 1528 survey stated that it was where tolls were collected: 23 Part of Wolverhampton had been a Dudley estate and the market, the property of the barons of Dudley, was given to King John in exchange for the royal manors of Clent and Kingswinford, so by the thirteenth and fourteenth century it was a royal manor. The barons, however, still held on to some rights in the town; Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 657, noted that when King Edward II enquired about Bermingham’s rights to hold a market he was referred to a document of Gervase Paganell, Baron Dudley, for justification. 24 Hutton, W. op. cit., 44. 25 Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 660. 26 Stephens, W. B. 1964. The City of Birmingham. op. cit., 1-3, in British History Online http://www. british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol7/pp1-3 [accessed 4 December 2019]. C 139/12/36. 27 Hodder, M. 2004. op. cit., 86, 92. 28 Upton, C. op. cit., 17. 29 Hemingway, J. 2009. op. cit., 83. 30 Upton, C. op. cit., 15.

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Medieval Birmingham Item. Ther ys ii Fayres holden every yere upon Holy Thursdaye and the other upon Mycelmas daye and merkett ones a week upon Thursdaye and hit byginneyth at x of the clok before none and lastith unto iii of the clock at after none and there ys shewe of all maner of Bestes and every straunger being not fre of the market doth paye Tolle for every iii bestes that they bye and for every score iii d and for every C shepe ii d and so doth the seller lykewyse and every straunger being fre of the market doth paye for the same tolle but i d a yere and the Burgeysses and commoners of the Town pay no tolle.31 Translation: Item. There are two fairs every year, one upon Holy Thursday and the other on Michaelmas Day. Markets occur once a week upon Thursday and begin at 10 o’clock before noon and last till 3 o’clock in the afternoon. There are shown all manner of beasts and every stranger who has not the freedom of the market must pay a toll for every three beasts that they buy and for every 20, three pence, for every 100 sheep two pence. The seller and stranger being free of the market will pay a toll of one penny a year and the burgesses and commoners of the town will not pay anything. The Tollbooth had probably evolved from a toll booth put up in the marketplace by the English Cross where money would have been collected by Bermingham’s toll keeper. When the Tollbooth building was constructed, it also served as a prison to harbour people suspected of criminal activities and those convicted. Permanent gallows were erected in the marketplace and those hung were left on them for a while as a warning to potential malefactors.32 A description given of the Tollbooth by J. B. Bickley and John Joseph Hill stated: A careful examination of our oldest maps shews the building obtruded far into the High Street, as viewed from the Bull Ring, ranging in a straight line with houses in Rother Market,33 it rendered the roadway in front extremely narrow, on the north side was the arched gateway entrance into New Street, whilst on the lower or south side was another passage which turned at right angles into New Street near a public well behind the Tollbooth.34 As the Tollbooth and prison partially blocked New Street it seems unlikely that it was erected at the same time that the street was laid out; therefore it is probable that the street evolved out of a public path that ran across the Stoctonesfeld – Stockton Field. The Tollbooth eventually evolved into the Leather Hall where 31

Ibid, 15-16. Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 357. 33 Rother – cattle market. 34 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 76. 32

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Life in the town

Figure 92: A reconstruction of the medieval marketplace of Bermingham by Martyn Cole.

leather was stamped, so presumably tolls were collected elsewhere – possibly the Guildhall.35 By the end of the thirteenth century, it has been estimated that nearly half the population in the country were villeins – peasants – who were not legally free and could not claim a free man’s rights under the Common Law. Villeins might become free men either through a formal grant of manumission from their lord, or by escaping to a town and living there for a year and a day.36 If they were not dragged back to their original home within that time, they were then considered to be free and could go on living in the town or were ever else they wanted to go. It seems likely that townsmen were eager to employ men who were not originally free. Richard Ticitus had bought Thomas de Turkeby’s freedom from the Abbot and Convent of Halesowen in January 1281.37 Richard seems to have passed away by 1296 when a lady, Sibella, possibly his wife, was 35

Upton, C. op. cit., 16. Bryant, A. op. cit., 497. 37 Razi, Z. 1976-77. The Big Fire of the Town of Birmingham, in Transactions of the Birmingham Archaeological Society: 88: 175. The court case revealed that Thomas’ charter of manumission had been burnt in the Great Fire of Bermingham. 36

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Medieval Birmingham holding two tenements and four other plots of land in the town for which she collectively paid 50d in rent.38 His daughters, Edith and Margery, also held a burgage and a stall in the town.39 This was a large sum, and the family were clearly doing well. By this date Thomas de Turkeby was holding a stall for which he paid 16 pence and was living in Wodegrene.40 By the 1344/5 Rental the Titicus lands were being held by William Ticitus, possibly Richard’s son; the properties in his name owed rent for a total of 10s 11d.41 Although we have a considerable number of the names of the people who lived in medieval Bermingham, many townspeople have gone unrecorded, and it is likely that some of them were not free. Demidowicz has calculated that as many as 1,250 people lived in Bermingham in 1296.42 This would have made approximately 325 families, close to the 323 heads of families that were recorded. The independent streak occurred early in Bermingham, as in 1232 there is evidence that the burgesses thought of themselves as townsmen, not countrymen, and wanted their rural services commuted to a money rent.43 This would make them legally free men, not liable to for labour services, nor to pay any tolls, just the rent and a heriot of 40d.44 Their annual rents were eight pence, and half a penny each time ale was made, but seventeen of them were prepared to pay Sir William de Birmingham III fifteen marks in cash and two shillings a year to be quit of the ale fee and haymaking.45 The fact that they could afford these sums imply that business was good. A further attempt to get out of ‘boon work’ (unpaid agricultural work owed to the lord) came about in 1239 when twenty-one tenants took Sir William de Bermingham III to court to get it rescinded.46 The tenants that occupied the demesne, as distinct to other lands in Bermingham, were entitled to be called free tenants at fixed annual rents.47 The 1296 rental has allowed Demidowicz to work out the sub-categories of people in the town. The most important were the burgesses and there were 98 of these, paying the full rent. Next were the 33 half-burgesses who paid four 38

Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 39. Ibid, 39-40. 40 Ibid, 46. 41 Ibid, 58. 42 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1889. Plea Rolls for Staffordshire, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: X: part 1, 13-15. London: Harrison and Sons; Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 12. If we add up the quantities in the 1296 rent at four members of the family to the person mentioned this would have made approximately 1,300 persons. 43 John I, 1/951/17. 44 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., xiii. A heriot was originally a payment in kind, the best bill or pole-axe commuted to a money payment on a tenants’ death. 45 Feet of Fines: XI: No. 479. Dugdale Society; Holt, R. 1985. op. cit., 7. Evidence of the importance of stock rearing in the area. 46 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1894. Plea Rolls for Staffordshire: Henry IV., A.D. 1387 to A.D., in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: XV: 107. London: William Salt Archaeological Society, Harrison and Sons. 47 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., xii. 39

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Life in the town pence, a half rent. After these were those who held houses in the town and there were 117 of these. Although the tenement-holders had no title they still paid a rent, sometimes as much as eight pence, the burgesses’ sum, and they may have been burgesses, but not in name.48 An interesting sub-group were the chensarii who paid a licence or cens, to trade; in Bermingham they numbered eighty-five persons. They are better known as a group of people of the west and south Wales and normally paid a penny a year for the right to trade, which was a lot less than the burgesses paid.49 It is possible that they were out-of-town traders who somehow had got the right to trade in Bermingham. That the market was working was recorded in 1313, when the king ordered his Sheriff of Warwickshire, to raise twenty marks from the lands and chattels of Sir William de Bermingham VII, as the royal manor of Bremesgrave (Bromsgrove) had sustained damages through a toll taken illegally in the township of Bermingham. Strangely, the sheriff reported that there were no goods or chattels from which any money could be raised, and that all the lands of the said Sir William lay uncultivated.50 Put that way it sounds as if the town had been abandoned, but the description of it being ‘uncultivated’ may mean that most of the fields were reserved as pasture land for the stock that came in to the manor. Alternatively, perhaps the sheriff was a friend and wanted to get Sir William out of trouble? Either way, the case was dismissed and Sir William was awarded costs.51 This may have been part of an ongoing dispute with the traders from Bromsgrove, as they were previously accused, together with traders from Kings Norton, of not paying market dues in Bermingham in 1309.52 Out of towners regularly brought goods into Bermingham; stock from as far away as Wales were driven and sold at the weekly market for local distribution.53 Archaeological evidence has supported the idea that the cattle market had an important place in the medieval town. Trade was very important for Bermingham and people who tried to avoid paying the market tolls were quickly brought to book. That cattle were the most important can be seen in the quantity that came into the town. In 1403 Sir William de Bermyngham IX sued John Ryngsley of Tybynton (Tipton) for not 48

Bassett, S. & Holt, R. 2016. op. cit., 91. Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 18-21. Historians have not actually worked out whether these people were living in the town or not. 50 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1889. Extracts From the Coram Rege Rolls and Pleas of the Crown, Staffordshire, of the Reign of Edward II AD 1307 to AD 1327, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire X: 14 51 Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 657. Dyer, C. 2000. Bromsgrove. op. cit., 21. 52 Hutton, W. op. cit., 41; Dyer, C. Bromsgrove. op. cit., 21. Dyer recorded that in the Placitorum Abbreviatio the men of Bromsgrove and King’s Norton claimed successfully that they should be exempt from tolls at Bermingham for ‘lesser merchandise and victuals. 53 Dyer, C. 1972. A small landowner in the fifteenth century, in Midland History: 1. Birmingham: School of History and Culture; Holt, R. 1985: 10. 49

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Medieval Birmingham paying a toll of £10 for bringing oxen into the town; he was accused of selling between 1,000 and 2,000 animals in a year.54 Ryngsley did not turn up to the hearing so the sheriff was ordered to arrest him.55 Sir William charged others with non-payment. Richard Lydegate, John Hounte and John atte Lynde had gone to the fairs held on the Feast of the Invention of the Holy Cross in 1399, and on the Feast of St Michael in 1400, and should have paid two pence for each beast bought or sold: one penny for the buyer and one penny for the seller. They had refused to pay the toll for sixty oxen, sixty steers, and forty cows. They also refused to pay for linen and woollen cloth, iron and brass and Sir William claimed 100 marks in damages.56 Another example of evasion was when three men from Wednesbury were recorded in 1400 as not paying for 300 cattle sold in the market. Not all the stock, however, was legal and stolen cattle were said to be sold in the market in 1285 and 1306.57 It was not only stolen cattle that were a problem for Bermingham, for selling and buying anything outside a town market was illegal. In 1401 King Henry IV ordered a commission to look into ‘certain evildoers, scheming to hinder the king’s lieges, merchants and others going by the roads and highways between the towns of Bermingham and Stratford’. The document goes on to state that between the towns of Coleshull, Duddeley, Bermyngham and Walshale there were assembled, in divers conventicles and veiling their faces with garments turned in the manner of torturers and carrying machines called ‘gladmores’ and other instruments lay in ambush and assaulted the king’s lieges going to and from the markets and put them and the horses to flight, so that the women and children riding on the horses with sacks filled with corn fell off and some died and some were injured, and cut the sacks and scattered the corn along the road.58 Town governance and law and order The lords of Bermingham had permission to hold a Court Baron and a Court Leet. This is proven by a statement of 1529: ‘It’m ther ar ij lets (Court Leets) for the foren & ij lets for and one great courte & ev’y fortenyght courte Baron for the Borough.’59 The Court Baron dealt with cases related to rights, property and inheritance. It made judgments on the surrender and transference of 54

Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1894. Plea Rolls. op. cit., 107; Holt, R. 1985. op. cit., 10. Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1894. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 107. 56 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1894. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 110. This is one of the earliest records of the Bermingham brass industry. 57 Public Record Office. jI 1/956 m 34d; jI 1/966 m 2d in Holt, R. 1985. 10. 58 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1903. Calendar of the Patent Rolls Henry IV 1399-1401: 552-553. London: HMSO. Perhaps a gladmore was a type of sword. 59 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 108. 55

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Life in the town land, agricultural management of the common and waste and the rights of lords and tenants. The Court Leet was a court of criminal procedure and dealt with petty offences such as common nuisance, public affray, breaking of the Assize of Bread and Ale (quality control) and the maintenance of highways and ditches. Every tenant of the manor was under the jurisdiction of the courts (separate to the one at Dudley). The old name for a street leading to the manor house was Court Lane suggesting that the courts were held at the Great Hall in the manor house site. The Hundred Courts, held every three weeks, were also held in Bermingham. These would have covered the different manors that the de Bermingham’s held. Accordingly, when Hugh FitzPeter and Henry le Notte in Bushbury needed to settle a dispute, the case was held in Bermingham.60 When Peter de Bermingham received permission to establish a town he created by default two separate jurisdictions: the town with its tenants – the borough rental – and the countryside or Foreign with its unfree serfs and the lord’s rental. This meant that they needed two courts.61 The 1296 and 1334-5 rentals are invaluable for showing the town as it existed at those two dates. Although the Foreign is not included, the 1334-5 rental shows that the rent-paying days were quarterly: Michaelmas (29 September), Christmas (25 December), Lady Day (the Feast of the Annunciation, 25 March) and the Nativity of St John the Baptist (Midsummer Day, 24 June).62 The work of the Bermingham Courts The Sheriff ’s Court called a tourn, was a criminal court. It was held twice a year and tried: ‘all acts of petty treason, and the crimes of murder, and man-slaughter (as felony), rape, arson, burglary, larceny, accessories, voluntary escape, and every other description of felony, and negligent escape.’63 The court was also to look into ‘all assaults and batteries with bloodshed; all railers, common scolds, eavesdroppers and sowers of discord; all conspiracies and combinations of victuallers, labourers and artificers (unions), the several offences of exacting excessive tolls; neglecting to pursue hue and cry lawfully raised; of vagrancy and noctigavancy (night-walkers); and the receivers of any such characters; of buying and selling by false weight and measures; and violating any assize; of forestallers, ingrossers, and regraters’, and also any other act which may tend to the nuisance of any of the King’s liege subjects’.64 The Bermingham tourn was represented by the lord’s steward and four other men who were also accountable for strangers who came to trade in the town. 60

Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1882. Plea Rolls for Staffordshire: Richard I & John I, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: III: 4. 61 Bassett, S. & Holt, R. 2016. op. cit., 89. 62 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 5. 63 Bryant, A. op. cit., 36. Murder and theft was later transferred to the royal courts taken by a judge in Eyre. 64 Bunce, J. T. 1878-85. op. cit., 10-11.

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Medieval Birmingham The lowest court was the Hundred Court, held every three weeks. It dealt with local matters. They were to inquire of ‘what lands and tenements, goods and chattels any felon had at the time the felony was committed.’ Its members were to ‘inquire about all obstructions of public bridges, ways and paths, the stoppage of all public watercourses, the removal or destruction of landmarks, and any pound breaches, the neglect of cleansing pools or of enclosing stone, marl, and other like pits, or of the reparation of bridges and causeways, the laying of dung, soil or any other offensive thing in any public highway; Unfortunately, the medieval Court Rolls of Bermingham do not seem to have survived. If they were taken to Dudley Castle after the attainder of Edward Bermingham they probably were destroyed in the 1750 conflagration.65 In the 1296 Rental there is a reference to a piece of land in the cemetery designated de Communitate ville (commonalty of the vill) which appears to be the earliest reference to ‘council owned’ land.66 Quite what it was used for is unknown, perhaps the town needed a plot to bury people in: strangers who had died and did not leave money for their own burial. For the town, local affairs were controlled by the manorial officers. The principal citizen for most of the time, was the high bailiff (later the mayor).67 He was the leading member of the community and any instructions from the government regarding the town often came to him. The high bailiff ’s contact with outsiders is interesting as, for instance, they were approached when the town was taxed. This occurred in 1388 when the fifteenth and the tenth tax was collected by Thomas Sheldon of Bermingeham,68 in 1432 when Thomas Warde of Bermingham was notified about the payment of the same tax,69 as was John Belle of Bermingham in 1449,70 William Fylyppes of Bermingham in 1453,71 and Roger Pypewall of Bermingham in 1463.72 The high bailiff was annually elected, and his/her role was to organise the fairs and markets of the town and lease the permanent stalls in the market place.73 They were particularly responsible for the weights and measures in all sales. The bailiff and commonalty held the market at a fixed rent from the lord. Interestingly in

65

Hemingway, J. 2006. op. cit., 119. Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 45. 67 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 70. This was an honorary position; the bailiff was not paid. 68 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1929. Calendar of the Fine Rolls Richard II 1383-1391: 217. London: HMSO. 69 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1936. Calendar of the Fine Rolls Henry VI 1430-1437: 106. London: HMSO. 70 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1939. Fine Rolls Henry VI 1445-1452. op. cit., 125. 71 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1939. Fine Rolls Henry VI 1452-1461. op. cit., 49. 72 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1949. Fine Rolls Henry VI Edward IV 1461-1471. op. cit., 112. 73 Ibid, 60. The whole of the market tolls and the fairs were eventually farmed out; in Edward Bermingham’s time they were let to Thomas Holte. 66

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Life in the town the 1344/5 rental an Agnes le Baylif, is recorded, showing that the position was not just restricted to men.74 Bailiffs of Bermingham Town75 Thomas le Taylor, 1247 76 John de Stodley, 128477 Simon de Blackgrave, 128578 John le Baylif, 1317 79 Agnes le Baylif, 1344-5 Thomas Sheldon, 1388 Thomas Warde, 1432 John Belle, 1449 William Fylyppes, 1453 Roger Pypewall, 1463 Roger Pypewall, 148280 Henry Squyer, Senior, 150181 Roger Foxall, 151882 Roger Foxall, 152083 Robert Whytworth, 1547 Richard Smalbroke, 155284 Robert Rastell, 155385 There were also bailiffs of the Foreign, but they are not recorded so often. Bailiffs of the Foreign Roger Redhyll, 152986 Thomas Whitworth, 1518-1546,87 Next came the low bailiff, said to be the ‘sheriff of the town’. He was responsible for summoning people to the Court Leet at its twice annual meetings at Easter 74

Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 60. Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 70. There was a bailiff of the Foreign who was paid £3 3d, but the post lapsed and was probably taken over by the Collector of Rents. 76 Hill, J. 1887. Old Families of Birmingham. op. cit., 78. 77 Stephens, W. B. (ed.) 1964. The City of Birmingham. op. cit., 1-3, in British History Online http:// www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol7/pp1-3 [accessed 2 March 2017]. 78 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 108. 79 Stephens, W. B. (ed.) 1964. The City of Birmingham. op. cit., 1-3, in British History Online http:// www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol7/pp1-3 [accessed 2 March 2017]. CR 299/146. 80 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 10. 81 Ibid, 14. 82 Ibid, 22. 83 Ibid, 67. 84 Ibid, 7. 85 Ibid, 7. 86 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 108. 87 Ibid, 108-9. 75

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Medieval Birmingham and Michaelmas, and was entitled to one penny from each stall holder in the market place. Low bailiff Robert Vernon, 154088 Then a constable and headborough (his assistant).89 The constable was responsible for keeping law and order in the town and the complete control over the lettings in the marketplace to the locals.90 He was also responsible for billeting officers and soldiers of the crown. Constable William Niccols alias Merch, 152091 Medieval Bermingham also had quality control officers. These included the Ale Conner who apart from controlling the quality of ale and beer also saw that no unlawful gaming went on in the ale houses and taverns. The Flesh Conner was responsible for the quality of all meat and fish sold in the market and although the Sealer of Leather was not mentioned till 1789 it is likely the quality of leather was supervised in the medieval period to ensure that it was tanned properly.92 People who committed these offences generally were not taken to court, but paid a fine to the officer in charge. Murder In the Middle Ages everyone was involved in law and order. The residents were organised into groups of ten men who were responsible for each other’s behaviour. A person was selected out of the group to lead and he was accountable to the bailiff and law officers. This was called the frankpledge and grew out of the Anglo-Saxon role of tithing-men.93 One of the conditions of the frankpledge was that everyman was called on to attend the ‘hue and cry’. Thereby, if a person had committed a crime, all were expected to chase and capture them. 88

Ibid, 24. Stephens, W. B. (ed.) Manors. op. cit., 73-80, in British History Online http://www.british-history. ac.uk/vch/warks/vol7/pp73-80 [accessed 2 March 2017]. 90 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 60. 91 Ibid, 67. 92 Bunce, J. T. 1878-85, op. cit., 3-7, 11. This information came from a record made of the duties of the main representatives of the manor in 1789. The leather industry was so important that they had a meeting place – the Leather Hall – a room erected over the gateway that nearly blocked the entrance to New Street. 93 Jusserand, Rev. J. J. 1886. Wandering life in England in the Fourteenth Century, in Transactions of the Birmingham and Midland Institute: Archaeological Section: Birmingham: 84. Birmingham: Cond Brothers. Tithing-men, meaning ten men. 89

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Life in the town Another official, who normally only dealt with murders, was the coroner. The local coroner was the law officer who looked at deaths for the crown with the presumption that the king could make money out of the deceased person’s estate. Their courts in Bermingham normally had a jury of important local men and the same names come up again and again.94 One of the earliest cases we know about was when John de Kent of Bermingham was murdered in 1221 by his servants, John and Henry. The murderers were in the frankpledge of Peter le Fraunceis (the Frenchman) and as they escaped, he was fined half a mark for allowing it.95 Murder was not an infrequent event in Bermingham. In the same year as John de Kent met his end, John Co (Cook?) was murdered by Edward Pudding, who was a stranger; Robert le Miller of Aston was murdered by Peter the Proud; and Earnald, Reeve of Bordesley, was murdered by John Oclfey.96 Oclfey was in the frankpledge of Earnald’s grandson so was very local. It was not only men who were killed in the town: in 1231 Emma, the daughter of Asteiline, was found dead on the heath (as the heath led to Edgbaston it was south of the town), and in the same year Elena, the wife of Ailwan Trua (trustworthy), was murdered by Thomas Helle (Hill). Hill remained at large in the town and the authorities in Bermingham were fined, firstly, for permitting him to remain without being under pledge and secondly, for not pursuing and capturing him.97 In 1365, one of the town’s leading citizens was murdered. The coroner’s report stated that ‘John Musard de Byrmyncham without any reasonable cause struck William le Moul de Byrmyncham with a certain knife in the breast to the heart at evening time, of which wound he died.’98 In 1366, a report stated that ‘Robert, the son of Richard atte Grene was standing at supper in the house of John Hannen at night time, contentious words having been moved between the said Robert and John and the said Robert feloniously struck the said John with a certain knife in the right shoulder of which wound the said John immediately died.’ The man who found the body, William Cook, raised the hue and cry. Robert fled, and his goods of forty shillings were confiscated.99 In the 1306 assize, Thomas de Norton was accused of killing Agatha, the wife of John de Coston, and Henry Hende of Duddeston of the murder of Alexander Bilet.100 Other cases included that of Walter de Paxford of Bermingham in 1320 who had fled England after killing his wife, Juliana Edwyne. As John de Stratford, king’s clerk, attempted to get a pardon for him, it is likely he was fighting in one of the king’s campaigns to escape punishment.101 Assault was 94

Hill, J. 1887. op. cit., 83–88. Ibid, 77. 96 Ibid, 77. Oclfey was probably a corruption of oak hill with the French fey – ‘beech tree’ on the end. 97 Ibid, 78. 98 Ibid, 83. 99 Ibid, 83. 100 Ibid, 79-80. 101 Deputy Keeper of the Records. Patent Rolls Edward II, 1324-1327. op. cit., 497. 95

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Medieval Birmingham

Figure 93: A fight taking place during a drinking session, from the fourteenth century Luttrell Psalter.102

also a common crime. In 1312, Nicholas de Bermingham and others were accused of assaulting George de Charneless at his house in Rokeby (Rugby) until he was forced to pay them to leave.103 102

Robbery Theft as well as murder were tried at the Royal courts. In the Assize Rolls of 1247 there is evidence of the Bermingham jury who all appear to be locals. The jury at that court was stated to be: Thomas le Taylur (Chief Bailiff). William Martin. Ralph de Grene. John de Grene. John de Stodelegh. Benedict (a friar?) Hugh le Mercer. John Hethewy. Peter de Overton. John le Cottan. Absalom, (a Jew). John Treyte.104 The inclusion of the Jewish Absalom in Bermingham is noteworthy. Serving on a jury indicates he must have been an important townsman and he may have been the person who gave his name to Aspelanstret. In an interesting case heard by the assize, two men, Simon and Ralph, had come into Bermingham with six beasts. They were arrested for robbery (rustling?), but Simon had broken out of the gaol and fled. According to a 1284/5 assize at Bermingham the gaol was under the Tollbooth and it was occupied by paid gaolers. In this 102

Original document © British Library Board, Add. 42130, f.153, 004701 - Fighting. Deputy Keeper of Records. 1894. Patent Rolls of Edward II 1307–1313. op. cit., 535. 104 Hill, Joseph, 1885. ‘The Old Families of Birmingham’: 78 in Transactions of The Birmingham and Midland Institute. Birmingham: Herald Press. 103

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Life in the town case the gaolers raised a hue and cry and the townsmen pursued Simon and killed him. Ralph afterwards came to the court, confessed his crimes and was hanged.105 The 1306 Bermingham Assize dealt with a number of criminals: Walter de Barre for stealing a casket worth 16 shillings in silver from Sibyl de Huntyngdon, and John de Webbley who was hanged for stealing five oxen.106 In 1464 an inhabitant of Bermingham, one Richard Brommeley, was accused of breaking into Thomas Lyttleton’s close at Frankley with others and taking four young hawks from their nest, worth 40 shillings.107 He seems to be an inveterate lawbreaker for in 1467 he was sued by John Hare of Edgbaston, and John Middelmore of Kings Norton, gentleman, to answer another complaint of Thomas Littelton for trespass.108 At a Westminster Court in 1465 Henry Fletcher, corveser (shoemaker), late of Bermingham, was accused of not attending the court concerning a case of trespass brought by William and Agnes Fyssher.109 In 1468 and 1472 Thomas Johnson, yeoman, late of Bermingham, was pardoned for some unknown offence.110 At the end of the fifteenth century, Joan Squiere, widow, was made executrix of Richard Forrest of Stratford-upon-Avon, a goldsmith and her son-in-law, together with Robert Fisher of Stratford-uponAvon, a priest, and Richard Lord. It appeared they had substituted a false will in order to rob the effects of Forrest and were taken to court over this offence.111 A case occurred in 1407 when Thomas Prat of Bermingham attempted to gain the rights to land in Barre, but was thwarted by the court.112 Disputes over property often occurred as when Richard Fenton, a priest, argued with John Sheldon and Humphrey Bawdrick over the ownership of a vintners called The New Wine Cellar in Bermingham.113 Debtors were also brought to the courts in Bermingham, although in some cases they failed to attend and had to be apprehended by the sheriff. In 1416 Henry atte Lee of Wolverhampton, husbondman, failed to appear at the court to answer to a debt of £10 he had with Ralph de Gamall of Bermingham and Thomas Taillour, a tailor of Bermingham. He was incarcerated in Warwick gaol by the sheriff.114 A person with the same name was given a pardon in 1476 when he was forgiven for all offences previously committed.115 John Traford, 105

Holt, R. 1985. op. cit., 4. Ibid, 79-80. 107 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1883. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 154. 108 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1900. Patent Rolls Edward IV, Henry VI 1467-1477. op cit., 10. 109 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1904. Calendar of the Patent Rolls Edward IV, 1461-1467: 419. London: HMSO. 110 Deputy Keeper of the Records. Patent Rolls Edward IV, Henry IV 1467-1477. op cit., 49, 331. 111 REQ 2/7/6, National Archives, Kew. 112 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1894. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 121. 113 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 50. 114 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1911. Calendar of the Patent Rolls Henry V 1416-1422: 21. London: HMSO. 115 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1901. Calendar of the Patent Rolls Edward IV, Edward V Richard 106

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Medieval Birmingham late of Bermingham, yeoman, was outlawed for not turning up at court for a debt of 110 shillings owed to William Horsley of Coventry, a dyer.116 Not all those cited were Bermingham residents. In 1477 Sir William Bermingham was given a commission to deliver two persons, Roger Perkys, nailor of Pakemore and William Whyle, labourer of Rowley to the gaol in Warwick.117 Affray and rebellion in Bermingham No doubt ill feelings occasionally erupted between the residents, but in 1431 a real affray broke out between the followers of William, Lord Beauchamp of Abergavenny and Thomas Burdett. The two families were both nationally and locally constantly at loggerheads. Burdett was frequently involved in local criminal activities and was a man of a violent temperament. In 1381 he and his father were indicted for aiding certain ‘notorious thieves and murderers’. This may have been associated with the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, which was a result of the Poll Tax of 1379/80 resulting from the high cost of the French wars. Eight years later he was held personally responsible for manslaughter, and by 1431 his behaviour had not improved. The dispute between Joanne Beauchamp, Lady Bergavenny118 and Burdett had started in 1418, but was still ongoing in the 1430s. In 1431 Burdett was associated with Edmund, Lord Ferrers of Chartley in transactions concerning the manor of Frankley. Ferrers had married Sir Thomas de Bermingham’s granddaughter, Ellen, and there was some difference of opinion about the dower lands that had been left to her. Although the Bermingham family had recovered them by that date there was no love lost between the two families. The affray occurred on a market day, Saturday in the third week before Easter (4 March). According to most local historians, Lady Bergavenny was to blame. The town seems to be evenly split between supporting Burdett and Bergavenny. Why anyone supported Burdett, given his record, is anyone’s guess, but it does suggest that they did not support their own lord. The affray was so important it was recorded in the Rolls of Parliament.119

III 1476-1485: 3. London: HMSO. 116 Ibid, 359. 117 Ibid, 50. 118 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki /Joan FitzAlan, Baroness Bergavenny. She was the daughter of John FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel, who married William de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Bergavenny, the son of Thomas Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick. 119 Smith, J. T. 1864. op. cit., 80.

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Life in the town Joanne de Beauchamp (Lady Bergavenny’s supporters.)120

Sir Thomas Burdett of Arrow (Burdett supporters.)

William Lee. Henry Brokesby. Henry Fylongley. John Ryder. Thomas Russell. John Seggesleye. Meredith Walshman. Thomas Fauconer. Thomas Yeardeley. John Loudham. John de Wyrley.

Thomas Peyton. Richard Arblastre. John Cutte. John Glover. William Squyer. John Cooke. John Fraunceys. William Stretton. Hugh Roggeres. John Penford. Richard, formerly servant of Richard Walrond. John Lord and others more.121

Alexander Shefeld. John Morys. )120 .121

A more important event occurred in May 1450 in Kent. This was called the Cade Rebellion, an uprising against the corruption and abuses of royal government. That the rebellion had spread as far as Bermingham could be seen in the men who were arrested that month in Bermingham by Sir William Bermingham X and taken to Worcester castle gaol. The men involved included, Edmund Sutton, John Blount, William Kenaston, William Clarke, John Jones, Richard Fraunceys, John Salley, John Prestwode, Ellias Patyngehan, Thomas Mokelowe, Thomas Grene, William Walsale, William and Thomas Walsale, John Barboure, Nicholas Prestate, Thomas Pogmore, Thomas Coke, Thomas Hopkys, John de la Chambre, William Fysshar, Thomas Bradeley, Richard Whitechuirche, Robert Forest, John Sheldon, Richard Delf, John Clerk the younger, Thomas Colbarne, Henry Benet and Richard Badlond, clerk. Quite what the rest of the inhabitants thought of this treatment to their own is unknown, but Sir William is afterwards recorded as living away from Bermingham, possibly for his own safety. An example of the growing lack of deference for their lord can be seen in 1476 when a case was brought up that accused fourteen townsmen for breaking into Sir William Bermingham X’s 120 http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/burdet-sirthomas-1442 121 Smith, J. T. 1864. op. cit., 80.

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Medieval Birmingham property and attacking him. It stated that he was insulted, wounded, ‘and beating up, so that his life was despaired of ’, but this was a form of language was used in most cases, so should not be taken as literal. Their names and occupations are given: Henry Hopwas, wolman, Nicolas Sherman, sherman, Henry Jakes, baker, John Snowedon, dyer, John Dene, smyth, John Byrd, bocher (butcher), Richard Vincent, shoemaker, John Adams, taillour, Richard Fernivall, taillour, John Turnour, turnour, John Bury, inholder, Roger Monkes, husbondman, Simon Hyot, yoman, John Wherel, lorymer, Hugh Dene, smyth, John Heywode, baker, and John Sclatter, yoman.122 As none of them attended the court, the sheriff was ordered to find and arrest them. Some were important people and the episode appears to have been an argument with the townsmen that got out of hand. The behaviour of Bermingham men away from home were not always what it should have been. A crime occurred in 1275 when Roger, son of Felice de Bermingham, and others were arrested for breaking into Richard de Garyn’s house in Northfield, killing him and stealing his property. They were outlawed at the Worcester Eyre.123 In 1311 Robert de Burmyngham and 54 other locals were sued by William Hilary of Berkmundescote (Bescot) for shooting arrows at his home, taking his goods and for beating his men outside the house.124 Another court case in 1406 suggests that Bermingham entrepreneurs held property in other towns. It involved William Tailluir of Bermingham who was a Hosteler (inn keeper) and had an inn in Stratford-upon-Avon. One of his guests said that he had lost property in the inn while staying there and that it was the landlord’s responsibility to keep property in safe custody. It appears he was not given a key to lock his bedroom door.125 In the Plea Rolls for 1472 two individuals of Bermingham: Thomas Jenkyns, a yeoman and John Tournour, a turner and carpenter were accused of breaking into a close at Barr and intimidating the residents to the effect that William Frebody lost their rents and services. This was a false accusation as Thomas was married to Christine More, a resident of Barr, and had full rights to property there.126

122

Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1885. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 94. Rohrkasten, J. 2008. The Worcester Eyre of 1275: 473. Worcester: Cromwell Press. 124 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1888. Assize Rolls, op. cit., 31. 125 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1895 Cheshire Plea Rolls, op. cit., 60-61. 126 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1901. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 185, 207. 123

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Life in the town Property in the town One way by which we can determine ownership of properties in Bermingham is through documentary evidence. These documents normally stated the person who rented or transferred property and to whom. In about 1250, Henry Middelton passed two messuages in Bermingham to Thomas Annger of Kington for a sum of 28d.127 The property was owned by Sir William de Bermingham IV and Middleton had paid an annual rent of four pence. He did not live on the messuages, but sub-let them to Roger Pepercorn for an annual rent of two shillings and to Richard Tope’s daughter, Aldith for eight pence.128 Not all of the properties can be located, but in 1294 the Moule’s of le Moulestret renounced their rights to a curtilage occupied by Lucy, formerly wife of William de Mardon, next door to their home in le Parkestrete, later called Moulestret. 129 Although the exact site of the property is unknown, another town street is recorded in 1317 when ‘Thomas, son of John le Baylif ’ rented property in Egebastone stret from William Courtys who passed it on to William de Neuport, senior. 130 Edgbaston Strete turns up again when in 1449 Roger Cutte of Erdington granted property to John and Juliana Kockies (probably Cocks or Coxe): one burgage and one butcher’s shop there.131 Cokkes returns in 1486 when Sir Thomas Erdyngton and Thomas Holdon granted him a messuage and garden in the town.132 In 1485 John Lenche of Bermingham was granted a burgage in la dalende from John & Mergerie Trayford of Bermingham and his wife.133 Quite often, however, no street names are given, as in a transfer of property from William, son of Robert Quoten of Wolverhampton, to John Mychel the younger of Bermingham of a messuage and lands in Bermingham134 and quitclaim of a piece of land surrounded by hedges and ditches, held of the lord, William de Birmingham VI, lying between land formerly of Richard Titicus and the waste of the lord of Bermingham (Bermingham Heath), in 1300.135 It lay near the king’s highway (Great Hampton Street) from Birmingham to Handsworth.136 Due to their comparative wealth mercers could deal in property transference as in 1497 when John and Joan Skarlet of Worcester leased for forty-eight years a messuage, land and premises in le Pek lane to Richard Waldron of Bermingham, smith.137 It appears that Sir Henry de Edgbaston, lord of Edgbaston, was aware 127

The Middleton’s lived in Northfield at a place called Middleton. ER139/2, Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. A circuit court presided by a judge (a Justice in Eyre) who rode from county to county. 129 CR 299/144, Warwickshire County Record Office. 130 Ibid, CR 299/146. 131 MS 3041/ACC 1893-002/120835, Birmingham Archives, Heritage and Photographic Service. 132 Ibid, MS 3033/ACC 1914-008/249982. 133 Ibid, MS 3041/ACC 1893-002/120825. 134 Ibid, MS 3375/429185, Release on the 9th August 1359. 135 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 76. Birmingham Heath was eventually enclosed in 1799. 136 MS 1098/1, Birmingham Archives, Heritage and Photographic Service. 137 MS 3307/ACC1937-048/467548, Birmingham Archives, Heritage and Photographic Service. 128

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Medieval Birmingham of the value in having town houses as he owned two, both tenanted, one by a tailor and the other by a possible Jew, called Saleman. Stalls In the 1296 Rental, the market place was said to hold thirty-four stalls. These seemed to be semi-permanent stands or booths for the sale of goods. In Bermingham deeds, these are said to be connected to one another like many market stalls today.138 William Simon, a carpenter, held one and it is probable that he sold the articles he made. Another stall holder was John le Hunte, who perhaps sold the animals that he hunted.139 Eleven butchers’ stalls were recorded in 1344-5.140 A third of the stalls (eleven) were situated below St Martin’s church, where the conjectured earlier market had stood. Many of the stalls were owned and occupied by people who held other property in the town, though occasionally they were let out to other traders. Anketel de Coventre held the most, seven stalls. This is probably evidence of Coventry men expanding their influence through involvement in the trading that was going on in Bermingham. On market days and fair days there would have been many more stalls that the marketeers would have set up and paid a penny for. Buildings The houses in Bermingham would have varied in size depending on the wealth of the occupier. The richest tenant in Bermingham was Roger le Moul. He occupied thirteen full burgages, eight half burgages and six tenements and paid over twice the rent of the next man in the 1296 Rentals.141 No stone structures have so far been discovered, and no doubt most would have been timber framed. Although many buildings would have been detached, six semidetached houses are mentioned in 1296. The roof material often varies. A few wealthy individuals would have tiled roofs, like William, son of Clement Corbyn, who lived at le Tylhous,142 while others would have shingle (wooden tiles). One man who made shingles and possibly fitted them on the roof was Adam le Shyngler who is recorded as living in the town in 1344-5.143 Most houses, however, probably had thatch, turf or heather roofs.144 In 1413 a case involving William de Bermingham IX and a person called Thomas Glasyer Peek Lane – near New Street Station. 138 Demidowicz, G. 2008. op. cit., 30. 139 Ibid, 36. 140 Ibid, 26. 141 Ibid, 15. 142 Hodder, M. 2004. op. cit., 89; Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 25, 51, 65, Clement Corbyn lived in the Tylehous in the 1344-5 Rental. Hodder and Demidowicz, pers. comm., see the Tylhous as being a tile kiln, if so how many other buildings had tile roofs to make it worthwhile to make them? 143 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 63, 144 Hodder, M. 2004. op. cit., 89.

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Life in the town over land that Glasyer held suggests that glass was used in local buildings. By that date the name may have been just a surname, but an ancestor had been a glazier, dealing in glass, possibly including windows, and may have been an inhabitant of Bermingham.145 In the 1296 Rental the term solar is used. A solar was a private space – a sunny room either attached to a wall of the house, like a conservatory, or a room on a first or second floor which had large windows. Normally only the wealthy had them. In Bermingham, Stephen de Aysseleg (Ashley), who held six other properties, had one; Agnes le Mareschal (Agnes Marshall), with five, had one; John de Norton, who had four properties, together with William de Doddwell, William Corbyn, with three, had one each; and Cristina Bateman, with two properties, had one. There were two others with a solar who only owned one property: Alicia Fokerham, the daughter of Sir William, who held large estates off the barons of Dudley in England, including Warley; and Master John, a chaplain at St Martin’s Church.146 Alternatively, some solars may have functioned as weavers’ shops, as they needed light for their work. Nicknames The habit of giving nicknames to people has always been popular and never more so than in the medieval period. The name Moul, of the Bermingham family who held property in the street named after them, is derived from the animal and was given to people of small stature.147 Once the name had been given, however, it stuck down through the generations. Roger le Moul in the 1296 Rental may not have had a diminutive stature in reality, nor his son, Thomas, who is recorded in the 1344/5 Rental with the same use of the definite article. P. H. Reaney and R. M. Wilson, in their Dictionary of English Surnames warned against assuming the use of ‘le’ in the case of the Mouls denoted that every person who was given the name was small.148 Many generations of Mouls may have inherited the name and by the end of the thirteenth century the original short person, called Moul, could have been long forgotten. Likewise the name Thomas le Kyng did not mean he was king of England, but probably took the part of a king in the town’s pageant plays that were then popular.149 As we have a Cecilia le Kinges it may infer that families took on these roles.150 Nor does Richard le Noble mean he was of noble blood as the word was often used to mean ‘well known’.151 John and Roger Cokayne, or their ancestors, may have 145 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1896. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 42. The case involved 30 acres of land and 4 acres of woodland. 146 The Fokerham family originally came from a place called Fokerham in Berkshire. 147 Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 312. 148 Ibid, xvii. 149 Demidowicz, G. 2008. op. cit., 37; Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 265. 150 Ibid, 41; 265. 151 Ibid, 48; 323.

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Medieval Birmingham been fantasists as their surname refers to the imaginary and fabulous country of Cockaigne.152 John Russel is a colour name; it is a French term meaning ‘red’, though in this case it is a diminutive rous-el.153 Another colourful nickname can be found in Robert and Richard Broun, the brown element implying that the face or hair was that colour.154 It is possible that John le Curly also refers to hair, but quite what John Bugging’s name meant, as the word ‘bugg’ refers to a hobgoblin, is unclear.155 William le Ragged and Richard le Raggede are names that state that the men, or their ancestors, were roughly clad or of a rough appearance.156 Thomas Jurdan had a name that went back to the crusades when pilgrims brought back water from the River Jordan to baptise their infants.157 The name became popular thereby, though alternatively it may have been a Jewish name. Wealthy families can be seen in William le Riche and John de Rich.158 Another name that symbolises behaviour can be found in Ralph Corteys which is derived from corteis, a medieval French term for someone who is courteous or well educated.159 The derivation of Cristina Bateman’s name was ‘servants of Bartholomew’.160 William Pitecok is an interesting name the first element means ‘dweller by the pit’, but the second element in this case is a diminutive sometimes used by a father to his son.161 In John Nytegale, the songful bird the nightingale is referred to. It is probable that one of John’s ancestors or he himself had a fine singing voice.162 A John Bermars in the 1344-5 rental owes his name to either having a loud voice or being able to play the trumpet, both of which make a conspicuous noise.163 Walter Sparke indicate that the man, or his ancestors, had a lively manner,164 Swyft that they were swift,165 and in Ralph le Wise and Richard le Wyse we get the compliment that they had wisdom.166 Less pleasant names were John le Fox, indicating that he or his ancestors were devious and cunning,167 and Henry le Mulethe, presumably meaning that he was as stubborn as a Mule.168 The ancestors of Aubrey Bonde, mentioned in the 1296 Rental, had not been freemen, as the 152

Ibid, 37, 38; 102. Ibid, 54; 386. 154 Ibid, 37, 43; 68. 155 Ibid, 38; 102. 156 Ibid, 39, 44; 370. 157 Ibid, 39; 257. 158 Ibid, 38, 44; 377. 159 Ibid, 45; 121. 160 Ibid, 39; 31. 161 Ibid, 39; xxxix, 353. 162 Ibid, 40; 322. 163 Ibid, 51; 36. 164 Ibid, 40; 419. 165 Ibid, 41; 436. 166 Ibid, 42, 43; 497. 167 Ibid, 42; 176. 168 Ibid, 50; 316. 153

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Life in the town word bond is suggestive of a serf,169 while Thomas le Freman’s name implies he was free.170 People who came from areas well away from Bermingham were recorded as William le Westerne, who came from the west,171 and Adam le Noriseson, the ‘son of a northerner’.172 Another outsider was William le Guest as his name meant he or his ancestors had been ‘strangers’173 and a family relationship can be seen in le Renestepsone (Rene’s step son).174 Irish or Welsh Names With the Berminghams having Irish kinsmen, it is likely that a few Irishmen lived in Bermingham. A burgess called Richard Brangwam was recorded in 1296. This is perhaps derived from Branagan, a personal name. The surname was derived from a literary heroine, Brangwain, a handmaiden to Isolde, in the legend of Tristan and Isolde.175 House names People often gave names to their houses in thirteenth century Bermingham. Brendeplace was one such, indicating that it, or its predecessor, had been on fire. Cachepol meant a constable’s house. It is derived from the old French for ‘chase fowl’, which meant ‘a collector of poultry in lieu of money’.176 Others include Portjoys (an old French name for a happy man),177 Aspelon (a Jewish name, derived from Absalom),178 Hathewy (a dweller by the Heath Way),179 Moxlowe (from Mucklow), Halesowen (dweller by the large burial mound, a personal name in Moul Street), Byndesend (bind is Old English for ‘blind’; this may mean it was a cul-de-sac)180 Godusblesse (an oath, a house occupied by a religious person: Nicholas Godusblesse in 1296),181 Hurneplace (a nook or corner),182 Cristestok (a Christian wooden cross)183 and Boldry (from the French words for bold + rule).184

169

Ibid, 46; 53. Ibid, 35; 177. 171 Ibid, 44; 482. 172 Ibid, 60; 324. 173 Ibid, 49; 208. 174 Ibid, 41. 175 Ibid, 43; 61. 176 Ibid, 38; 87. 177 Ibid, 64; 358. 178 Ibid, 22; 2. 179 Ibid, 43; 220. 180 Ibid, 44; 44. 181 Ibid, 43; 195. 182 Ibid, 58; 228. 183 Ibid, 41. 184 Ibid, 22; 25. 170

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Medieval Birmingham Where the townspeople came from Not all planned towns succeeded, but Bermingham drew in people from the surrounding estates as their names testify. The recently discovered Borough Rentals of 1296 and 1344/5 add an important dimension to the Bermingham townscape.185 In the 1296 rental 290 individuals are mentioned.186 Surnames were in a state of flux in the thirteenth and early fourteenth century, developing from places a person lived in, jobs they did, nick-names and parental names (patronymics). When they referred to a place, this often records where they or their ancestors came from. Bermingham has often been thought of as an insignificant market town in the medieval period, but when the areas that people came from to work and trade are analysed its importance grows. The furthest places people came from to work in Bermingham were in Buckinghamshire and formed part of the barony of Dudley’s estates in the Home Counties.187 Two persons whose surnames were Newport came from, or had antecedents, in Newport Paganell, the barony’s premier estate in Buckinghamshire. The name Tyringham, referring to a part of that estate, can also be found. Shyryngton (Sherington) near Milton Keynes was another baronial property. People came from estates in other counties including Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire. One of the most interesting names is of John and Richard de Parys,188 which if not a misspelling of Prys (Price - ap Rise), a Welsh name, may indicate they came from Parys in north Wales. Parys (Mynydd Parys) has been a copper mining area since the Bronze Age and this may be further evidence of copper and brass manufacturing in Bermingham as early as the fourteenth century.189 Christians would not have been able to deal in cash loans – this was condemned as usury – but Jews could, and they became the main source of credit. Most towns needed them and Bermingham was no different. In the 1296 Rentals there were persons called Thomas and Julian Saleman.190 These may have been the children or grandchildren of Elyas, son of Moses, or one of the other unnamed Jews mentioned in the Plea Rolls of 1265 for Handsworth.191 It is probable that they changed their surname as the Jews were officially expelled from England in 1290. Possible Jewish names that survived in the Bermingham area include, Adams, Amos, Lowe, Hayes, Jordan, Newman, Phillips, Rose, Simons and Solomon.192 Not all the people who occupied property in Bermingham 185

Demidowicz, G. op. cit. Ibid, 27-29. 187 Hemingway J. 2006. op. cit., 11-13. 188 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 38, 61. 189 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parys_Mountain 190 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 38-39; Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. 389. 191 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1883. Plea Roll, 191. Saleman may have been an anglicised version of Solomon. 192 Hill, J. Old Families of Birmingham. op. cit., 82. 186

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Figure 94: Residents of Bermingham in 1296 and 1344-5 whose surnames suggest an origin from other estates in England.

Life in the town

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Medieval Birmingham were residents however. In 1354/5 William and Sibyl Hay of Yardley sold seven messuages (a house and garden), three shops, two tofts (house sites) and one carucate of land in Bermingham and Bordesley to Richard Mercer and one messuage and thirty acres of land to Sir Fulk de Bermingham.193

193

Skipp, V. op. cit., 42.

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Chapter Nine

Work and Trades in Bermingham A number of earlier historians have reported that Bermingham was an agricultural village which happened to have a market, implying it did not really work as a borough town.1 It was not until Richard Holt, in his 1985 paper, stated that the previous interpretations did not go far enough in analysing the documentary evidence and that Bermingham was a place of some significance in the medieval period that the material was more intensively scrutinised.2 This allowed others to explore the potential evidence and no one did it better than the Planning Archaeologist of the Borough of Birmingham, Michael Hodder. In his book published in 2004, he demonstrated the proof of the town’s industrial past by presenting the archaeological evidence,3 though the point that the town began as an agricultural settlement cannot be refuted, and this is where we must start. Agricultural Bermingham There are no records to tell us who the early residents were, but some evidence exists for their activities in the eleventh century. The Domesday Manor of Bermingham was an agricultural holding, but although it was assessed as being suitable for six plough teams, they only had three ploughs to work it. Why the difference is an interesting question, that we can only guess at. The number of acres a plough team could plough depended on the soil type, but an acre a day was the norm. In Worcestershire they practiced a two-field rotation system, that is they left half of the plough lands each year to fallow and as pasture for the stock.4 A plough was pulled by a team of eight oxen, and thus the people of Bermingham may have kept at least twenty-four animals.

1

Gill, C. op. cit., 12-31. Holt, R. 1985. op. cit., 3. 3 Hodder, M. 2004. op. cit., 93-96. 4 Dyer, C. 1980. Lords and Peasants. op. cit., 68. 2

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Medieval Birmingham

Figure 95: Ploughing from a fourteen-century image in the Luttrell Psalter.5

The early medieval ploughmen used the heavy two-wheeled plough. As the length of the team made controlling the direction of the plough difficult the ploughman had an assistant guiding the oxen team with a long staff to coax them into walking in the right direction. The team would have quickly run out of breath and where they stopped was the end of one furrow; the distance was called a furrow long (furlong), which is where we get the measurement from.

Figure 96: Sowing, from a fourteenth century image in the Luttrell Psalter.6

5 6

Original document © British Library Board, Add. 42130, f.170, 064618 Ploughing. Original document © British Library Board, Add. 42130, f.170v, 071933 - Man sowing.

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Work and Trades in Bermingham

Figure 97: Harvesting, from a fourteenth century image in the Luttrell Psalter.7

Once the soil had been ploughed, wheat, barley and oat corn were sown by hand. Broadcasting was the only method available. The man in Fig. 96 has the seed corn in a basket and throws it sideways and forwards as he walks up the furrow. As birds and beasts could pick up the corn on the surface a lot went to waste, but crops grew. 7

Harvest was one of the busiest times in the year and men, women and children helped with the work, cutting the corn with scythes. It was a hard job and even harder and more back-breaking if the image in Fig. 97 is considered, where sickles are being used. The corn stalks were collected into sheaves and taken to the barn. Bere Arn – barley house, (barn) is the Anglo-Saxon word for a house that stores corn.

Figure 98: Threshing, from a fourteenth century image in the Luttrell Psalter.8 7 8

Original document © British Library Board, Add. 42130, f.172v, 072061 – Harvesting. Original document © British Library Board, Add. 42130, f.74v, 064554 – Two men threshing.

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Medieval Birmingham At the end of harvest time and through the winter the corn was threshed. This was done either at the barn or close to it. The corn heads were thrashed with a wooden flail and then the mixture winnowed – thrown into the air for the chaff to be separated from the grain. The grain was then stored in the granary. The disparity between what Bermingham was potentially capable of ploughing and that which was actually in use, may have resulted from the knowledge of the people who lived there that the soil was not worth the effort. Like most of the locality the land’s value was in stock farming. A large part of the manorial lands would have been used as pasture for stock: sheep and cows. Cows would be needed to produce the oxen for the plough teams and later some were used for milk.9 Sheep were mainly kept for milk (to make butter and cheese as well as to drink) and wool to make garments with. Any surplus stock could be killed and eaten, normally in November, as they had to be fed through the winter with the limited hay resource that was collected from the manorial meadows. Bermingham had extensive woodland on both sides of the manor. This does not mean that the manor was in a densely wooded area as has been intimated in several works, but it was a woodland estate and the residents would have

Figure 99: Women milking sheep, from the fourteenth century Luttrell Psalter. Reproduced by permission of the British Library Board, Add. 42130. f.163v, c13382-18. 9

Dyer, C. 1980. Lords and Peasants. 34. Oxen are castrated bulls, bred for their superior pulling power.

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Work and Trades in Bermingham been involved in woodland activities. The original western wood was a league long (one and a half miles) by two furlongs (220 yards, or half a mile) wide.10 The eastern woodland may have been meadow before the Conquest, but it was eventually put down to timber to make the lord’s parks.11 The presence of so much wood makes it likely that much of the work done in the manor was in the woodland. Wood was also important to the residents, for as well as supplying timber for their houses and fences for their enclosures, it was used to make tool handles, ploughs and domestic utensils, quite apart from its use as a fuel. The winter scene in Figure 100 shows men chopping timber down and piling it in a cart, while the oxen, which are to pull it are grazing nearby. A favourite peacetime pursuit of most lords of the period was hunting. In the scene in Figure 101, a lord and his staff are shown hunting a stag, probably in his own parks, just as many of the lords of Bermingham would have. They would hunt any wild animal, but the main quarry were fallow deer (which they would have imported) and boar.12 The lord is holding a staff while two other riders are blowing hunting horns. Servants are holding two types of hunting dog with greyhounds leading the way. 13

Figure 100: Collecting timber from a wood, from an illustration in the British Library.13

10

The parkland beside the River Ray was also woodland, but privately owned by the lord of Bermingham. 11 Most parks in the medieval period were wood-pasture, an area that comprised both open land and thickly planted trees; see Rackham, O. op. cit., 145; and Hodder, M. 2004. op. cit., 86. 12 Rackham, O. op. cit., 123. 13 Copied from a calendar in the British Library. Brit. Bib, Cotton Tiberius Bv, f8R.

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Medieval Birmingham

Figure 101: Hunting in a wood, from Le Livre de chasse de Gaston Phébus.14

The five villagers or villeins recorded in 1086 had their own farms. It is not clear if their farmsteads were scattered across the manor as they were in Edgbaston or had been nucleated into a village street, probably the latter as the manor was called a ham. Bermingham also had four smallholders. These would have had a few acres of their own, but generally worked on the lord’s demesne. Population is generally assessed as each family being five in number, so this would mean about sixty-five residents lived in the settlement of Bermingham. Domesday Book does not mention a church for Bermingham and given its size and value it was unlikely to have had one. The surrounding manors of West Bromwich, Handsworth, Smethwick and Edgbaston ecclesiastically belonged to Harborne church therefore and it is likely that the same was true for Bermingham.15 The Christian residents of Bermingham probably went to Harborne minster for weekly services and for ‘hatchings, matchings and dispatching’s’ (baptism, marriage and burial). Occupations Surnames such as Baker, Brewer and Smith can be used in considering occupations. That said, they should only be used for signifying an occupation 14 Original document: Bibliothèque Nationale de France. MS. Fr. 616; Wikimedia Commons, Public domain. 15 Bassett, S. and Holt, R. 2016. op. cit., 78-80.

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Work and Trades in Bermingham when the surname is proceeded by the French le and la, though even this is doubtful in later names. Any other use merely indicates that his or her ancestor did that job, though invariably sons and daughters did follow their parents’ occupations. The surnames of the inhabitants of Bermingham often describe the traders and craftsmen and what they were doing in the town. AGRICULTURALISTS Many people would have worked in the ‘foreign’, outside the town limits. Despite the Domesday reference to ploughlands, the soil in the manor was not conducive for arable farming, which consequently steadily diminished, and stock rearing became more common. The fields that had been put down to grass were used for cattle and sheep grazing. Walter Cribester (cowman),16 Richard le Couherde and William le Herdeman, recorded in the 1296 Rental, are some of the men who looked after the stock.17 A barn-man called John le Lethe is also recorded in 1296. He oversaw the corn coming into the barn, though this may not necessarily have come from the Bermingham lands.18 Two yeoman farmers who held their own land, an inholder - who occupied land within a larger field, and a tenant farmer (husbandman) were involved in the attack on Sir William de Bermingham X in 1475.19 Whether these people lived in the town or cottages out in the Foreign is unclear. WARRENERS The lord employed warreners to look after his rabbits in the Coneygree. In 1296 two men are named as warreners, Adam (wareyn) and Roger.20 Roger’s name was spelt ‘Warner’, another version of warrener. The warreners would have lived in lodges in or around the Coneygree. A Roger Wareyn is also recorded as having previously held a burgess property belonging to the brothers of the priory in the town in the 1296 Rental.21 STOCKMEN: A major trade in Bermingham was the selling of cattle in the markets. As Bermingham lay on a medieval road system from Wales to Coventry (the premier city of the region), it was used as a stopping-place by drovers to rest their animals for the night. Many of the fields would thus have been used by drovers for pasturing. The fact that there were two markets, the Welsh and the English, suggests that for many of the Welsh drovers Bermingham was the terminus for their stock drive. Not all the drovers were Welshmen; some were local like William Taylor, drover of Bermingham, recorded in 1483,22 who probably drove stock from Bermingham to Coventry. With money received 16

Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 62; Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 116. Ibid, 48. 18 Ibid, 48; 272. 19 Wrottesley, G. 1903 (ed.) Plea Rolls, op. cit., 94. 20 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 43-44. 21 Ibid, p. 36. 22 MS 3307/ACC1937-048/467544, Birmingham: Archives, Heritage and Photography Service. 17

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Medieval Birmingham through the selling of their stock, it is tempting to think that the drover’s behaviour may have been like that in the cattle towns of the United States, such as Dodge City and Wichita, in the nineteenth century, and no doubt quite a few ended up in the stocks close to St Martin’s church after a drunken night out. The debt of John Bradwall of Bermingham and William Eyton of Handsworth, drovers, of £10 to Agnes Hampton in 1455 may have been an unpaid loan prior to the delivery of stock.23 In the 1440s John Brome, lord of Baddesley Clinton in Warwickshire, was said to fatten cattle on his own holding and then bring them to Bermingham to be sold.24 He purchased at least 78 cows to take back home for future reselling at the market. Sheep were also brought into town and kept in sheep folds prior to milking, shearing or slaughter. The ten recorded folds in Bermingham were normally kept in the lord’s hands and rented out when appropriate. Seven of the ten were just off Chappell Street, while the other three may have been in Digbeth.25 LEATHER WORKERS Associated with the cattle trade was tanning (curing leather). The killing and removal of the meat, bones and hides of the animals was probably done by the butchers. They then passed the hides onto the tanners. Tanning was a smelly job as it involved placing the animal hides into pits of water with crushed oak bark and urine to cure the skins. Normally they were placed next to watercourses where fresh water could be easily found. Archaeological evidence shows that tanning occurred beside the Colbourne Brook next to Edgbaston Street. In 1999, excavations revealed thirteenth and fourteenth century circular and rectangular tanning pits, and in the pits, archaeologists discovered the tools the tanners used to scrape the hair from the hides.26 Evidence has also been found of tanneries beside the Buttesdych, which flowed from the Priory lands. The Buttesdych may have been the water source for the Park Street and Digbeth Tanneries.27 A tanner, Richard le Tanner in 1296, and Thomas Corbyn the tanner in 1344 were recorded as holding houses in the town,28 alongside a skinner in 1455, and a tanner in 1483.29 Shoe making and gloving also occurred: Thomas de Hales was a cobbler (sutor), while the court case brought against those who assaulted Sir William de Bermingham X in 1475 included a shoemaker. Bermingham shoemaking had 23

Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1900. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 221. Holt, Richard. 1985. op. cit., 10; https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/baddesley-clinton/features/ john-brome. John Brome was an influential lawyer from Warwick, a man who became UnderTreasurer of England. 25 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 58. 26 Mould, C. 1999-2000. Birmingham. The Bull Ring, Edgbaston Street, in West Midlands Archaeology: 42: 135-6. Birmingham: CBA West Midlands. 27 Hodder, M. 2004. op. cit., 94. 28 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 40, 55. 29 Birmingham Reference Library, 112982; Birmingham Reference Library 120824; 1553 Survey, 22 (citing a deed). 24

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Work and Trades in Bermingham become so well-known it had spread to London by the fourteenth century.30 William le Glover, who lived in Park Street,31 was mentioned in 1296, and a saddler in 1429. As well as that for tanning, evidence for the associated industries of bone and horn working (making handles for knives and tools and cups) has also been found in archaeological excavation (see below).32 At Floodgate Street Jennifer Browning reported that a large quantity of sheep/ goat foot bones were found and suggested that tawyering and the manufacture of knife handles took place at this location.33 METAL WORKING Birmingham’s role in manufacturing metal articles came early. Pig iron, which had been smelted in the Black Country, would have been brought into the town and then worked up into an assortment of tools and implements. Evidence for metal working has been found in the Moor Street, Park Street and Digbeth areas. All three border the Little Park. Perhaps the woodland of the park was used for charcoal burning as a fuel for the blacksmiths, although coal (again from the Black Country) was often used as early as the thirteenth century, as found in archaeological excavations.34 There were four forges mentioned in Bermingham in the 1296 Rental. Among the metal workers were blacksmiths who did general smithing, including Nicholas and John Smith (faber), plus three unnamed ones. William, Robert and Agnes Marshall35 were farriers – artisans who made and fitted horse shoes. In the 1344-5 Rental they have been replaced by the Aleynes (Alans) and the Caldwalles.36 They were important artificers as far as the lords were concerned, as was William le Armurer (armourer) who made and repaired Lord Bermingham’s armour and Felicia le Typper who made arrowheads.37 Others included lorimers (makers of small iron objects, especially bits, spurs, stirrups, and mountings for horse’s bridles).38 Among those accused of attacking Sir William de Birmingham X in 1475 were two smiths and a lorimer.39 Moreover, archaeological evidence has been revealed for a variety of industrial occupations. Two ironmongers are recorded in 1449 and this seems to suggest the selling of objects had now 30

McKenna, J. 1979. Birmingham as it was: 16. Birmingham: Birmingham Public Library. Ibid, 45. 32 Hodder, M. 2004. op. cit., 93. 33 Kipling, R. Browning, J. Greig, J. Higgins, D. Kendrick, D. Radini, A. Rátkai, S. and Smith, D. 2014. Beorma Quarter, Digbeth, Birmingham (Phase 1) Post-Excavation Assessment Report and Updated Project Design: 62. Leicester: University of Leicester, ULAWS Report Number 2012/154. 34 Hodder, M. 2004. op. cit., 128. 35 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 37, 40, 46; Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 300. The term marshal is derived from the French mareschel – a person who tends horses, a farrier. The Marshall family seem to have particularly cornered the market in this trade in late thirteenth century Bermingham. 36 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 25. 37 Bassett, S. and Holt, R. 2016. op. cit., 90-91; Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 13, 36, 37. 38 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1903 Plea Rolls, op. cit., 94. Holt, R. 1985. op. cit., 9. By the late 1300s Birmingham was the second largest cloth producing town in Warwickshire. 39 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1885. Plea Roll, op. cit., 94. 31

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Medieval Birmingham become important perhaps indicating that by then iron-working had become more than a local and domestic industry.40 By the beginning of the sixteenth century the town’s iron working was so well known that royal purveyors came to Bermingham to acquire bills for the king’s armouries.41 JEWELLERY TRADE It also appears that the ‘toy trade’ started early in the town. In an inventory of the personal effects of the Master of the Knights Templar in 1308 were ‘Bermingham Pieces’, which appear to be ornamental jewelry.42 It seems that Bermingham had become well-known for precious metalworking or jewellery as the general term for the ware was known in London. Not all ‘toy makers’ were honest, however, for in 1343, three men, Walter de Warwick, John de Pershore, and Roger le Barker of Bermingham were ordered to be arrested for having made and sold base metal goods which they asserted to be pure silver.43 An unexpected first class trade can be found in 1498 when the Abbot of Halesowen recorded that he had paid 10 shillings ‘for repeyling the organs, to the organ-maker of Bromicham’.44 This tells us that the organ-maker made instruments as well as repairing them and that the demand was high enough for him to make a living out of it. POTTERY MAKING Pottery was made in the Moor Street, Park Street and Digbeth areas, including cooking pots and jugs. This is called Deritend Ware, because it was first identified in salvage recording on the south side of High Street, Deritend in 1953.45 The similarity of Deritend ware forms, manufacture and decoration to London type ware has been observed.46 As thirteenth and fourteenth century clay pits (with Deritend pot sherds in) have been found at the back of ‘The Crown’, around Heath Mill Lane, this was likely to be where some of the clay was dug to make the pots?47 A Henry le Marler and Richard le malier de Waleshale (Richard the Marler of Walsall) are recorded in the 1296 rental and would have been the persons who dug the clay (see archaeological work done in the town below).48 40

Birmingham Reference Library, 94315. Bassett, S. & Holt, R. 2016. op. cit., 94. 42 Gooder, E. A. 1978 for 1976-77. VI. Birmingham Pieces, in Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society: 135. According to Gooder, the Master of the Order, William de la More, was imprisoned in London and had brought from his wardrobe personal property amongst which were (pecie de Birmingham) ‘worth 22s, six more worth 36s, and five more worth 40s.’ 43 Cal. Pat. 1343-6, op. cit., 69. The arrival of the jewellery trade in Bermingham has often been debated, but not considered to be as early as the fourteenth century as this suggests. 44 Hutton, W. op. cit., 47. 45 Hodder, M. op. cit., 94-5. 46 Williams J. et. al. op. cit., 12. 47 Ramsey, E. 2004. Birmingham City Centre, 25-27 Heath Mill Lane, Deritend, in West Midlands Archaeology: 47: 87. Birmingham, CBA West Midlands; Hodder, M. 2004. op. cit., 95. 48 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 47. 41

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Work and Trades in Bermingham LINEN, CANVAS AND ROPE MAKING Flax for linen, canvas, and rope (made from hemp which was a derivative of flax) also needed pits or running water as the flax fibers needed to be broken down before use.49 To make the long length of rope the strands of flax fiber are ‘woven’ together in a large narrow stretch of land called a Rope Walk. As most of these industries were associated it is not surprising that they were found close together in the archaeological excavations of the town (see below). WOOLLEN TRADE Another industry that Bermingham people were engaged in, although there is little archaeological evidence for it, was wool. The residents used many of the fields of the ‘Foreign’ for their own stock, and individuals called shearers suggest that sheep were of local importance. It was reckoned that 30,000 sacks or eight million fleeces was exported from England to Italy and Flanders every year, even so they could never get enough of it.50 The preparation of the wool, once shorn of the sheep, included combing it and a Stephen le comber is recorded in 1296.51 The native cloth industry grew during the Later Middle Ages and weaving became a major industry; English wool cloth was of good quality and internationally famed, so it is unsurprising to see it mentioned. Weavers are often recorded,52 for instance a Thomas Maynard, weaver, is mentioned in a late fifteenth century document.53 Associated with this industry were the dyers (who used dyes to colour the cloth), like Richard le Deyster,54 who collated the 1296 Rentals. A field north of the Priory had the name Teyntour and a William le Teynterer (dyer) is recorded as being a deacon at the Priory.55 A Tenter Field was an area where cloth was strung out on frames to stretch it during the manufacturing process.56 Cloth finishers are recorded in 1448 and 1475.57 Artisans who made clothes are also mentioned: tailors like William le Taylur and Adam le Taylur (who owned two burgages) in 1296 and Robert le Taylour, mentioned in 1344, who may have been Adam’s son.58 A cap maker called Richard Capper is recorded in 1296.59 Blankets were made by people called chaloners, Edmund le chaluner was a 1296 Bermingham blanket maker, as was Walter le chaloner in 1344.60 Those accused of assaulting Sir 49

Ibid, 93. Bryant, A. op. cit., 255 p. 261. 51 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 41. 52 Bassett, S. and Holt, R. 2016. op. cit., 90-91. 53 REQ 2/10/241, National Archive, Kew. 54 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 35; Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 147. 55 Hughes, J. B. op. cit., 843. 56 Field, J. op. cit., 227. 57 Birmingham Reference Library 94315; Wrottesley, G. 1903. (ed.) Plea Rolls, op. cit., 94. London: Harrison and Sons. 58 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 38, 54. 59 Ibid, 36 60 Bassett, S. and Holt, R. 2016. op. cit., 90-91; Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 48; Reaney, P. H. & Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 89. 50

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Medieval Birmingham William de Bermingham X in 1475 included a shearer, a comber, a dyer, two tailors and a dealer in wool. By 1322 the wool trade was a principal industry of the town.61 SILK WEAVING: Silk is not often thought to be a Bermingham industry, but Juliana le Sether is referred to in 1296. A setter was a silk-weaver and an embroiderer who often made copes for the church.62 Perhaps the copes used in services performed at St Thomas’ and St Martin’s were made by Juliana? MERCERS: Mercers were probably the wealthiest individuals in the town. They were middle men, who bought fleeces or cloth from the stockmen and weavers, and then sold them in the town, or nationally and internationally. The export of cloth overtook that of wool by the end of the fourteenth century. The Mercers bought the material, probably from sellers in the market place, and then had them taken down by pack-horse to Coventry or Worcester to transship by wherry or trow down to Bristol where they would be exported overseas.63 Recorded mercers included Alexander le Mercer (who had two properties in the town), William le Mercer (he owned the rights of nine burgages and one messuage) in 1296; Thomas le Mercer, John le Mercer, who had a capital property (a large house), William le Mercer Senior, whose estate included nine burgages and houses in Dale End and in Butter Cheaping (close to St Martins) and Geoffrey le Mercer, whose heirs had a house in Edgbaston Street in 1344.64 Mercers of Bermingham became nationally important as Walter de Clodeshale and William le Mercer were among the majores mercatores lanarum to be selected by the sheriff to represent Warwickshire at the council held at York to discuss the establishment of a wool staple.65 John le Deyster together with John le Mercer answered for the merchants of Bermingham to the assessors of the 1340 subsidy,66 and John atte Holte of Bermingham was summoned to the national wool merchants’ assemblies in 1340, 1342 and 1343 in Westminster.67 61

Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1903. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 94. Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 46; Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 401. 63 Bryant, A. op. cit., 256. 64 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 37, 38, 41, 52, 54, 60. Butter Cheaping was next to St Martin’s Church and apart from the sale of butter it was the business part of the town. Dale End was next to the Priory and had finer properties that the leading men like mercers and spicers lived in. 65 Davies, J. C. An Assembly of Wool Merchants in 1322, in English Historical Review: xxxi: 603. The wool staple was set up by King Edward III as a means of controlling the principal English export, wool, so that he could be guaranteed the tax due on it at the customs point. By the Ordinance of the Staple (1353), fifteen British staple towns were established, but in 1363 Calais was made the wool staple through which all wool exports had to pass. 66 E 179/192/11 m. p. 6 67 Pelham, R. A. Early Wool Trade in Warwickshire, in Transactions of the Birmingham Archaeological Society: lxiii: 43-44; Report on the Dignity of a Peer: iv: 513, 541, 549. In the records relating to 1342 and 1343 the local representation is not indicated, and in the record for 1340 John atte Holte is not in fact included among the Warwickshire representatives, but follows immediately afterwards and is bracketed with the subsequent names as representing Winchester. There is no doubt (pace Transactions of the Birmingham Archaeological Society: lxiii: 43n.) that Holte is shown in 62

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Work and Trades in Bermingham Holte was shipping wool in the 1340s to the continent in great quantities.68 In 1390, a Thomas of Birmingham is mentioned as a cloth-merchant and Henry Howas, a wool man, in 1475.69 In the 1330s the king borrowed money from the wool merchants, which he attempted to pay back by reducing the export duty on it. A Close Roll entry for 1338 records that Thomas atte Holt of Bermingham was assessed for £541 19s 2d at the port of London.70 The king still owed a Thomas atte Holt in 1443.71 This was a large amount of money and it shows how wealthy the mercers became. A wool tax called the Customs Staple was set up by the king to get monies from the export of wool. This was assessed at half a mark (six shillings and eight pence) a sack.72 Richard de Clodeshale of Bermingham was a royal collector of the revenue from wool and in 1342, he and others did not pay their dues. The Sheriff of Warwickshire was ordered to arrest them and confiscate their property until they did. In the end they paid up.73 Being involved in such wide-ranging trade deals, merchants sometimes got into debt and these occurrences were normally picked up by the authorities. Thomas Harper, of Bermingham, John Harper, his son, of Warwick, and, John Goldsmith, a merchant of Oxford were debtors to John Swelle, a merchant of Bristol. They owed him £80, for merchandise (wool) bought at the Staple.74 In 1332 William de Blythe, merchant, owed John Godewyn, of Shrewsbury, merchant, £4. 2s. 0d, for cloth bought from him.75 Other debts by Bermingham men included John le Moul, in 1359, to John Burnel of Hadenhull, Shrewsbury for £40;76 Richard Walleren, in 1372, to John de Maxstoke of Coventry, draper, for a sum of £19;77 and Thomas Lutterworth to Thomas Otley, citizen and grocer of London for £10 in 1389.78 In 1305 the debts went further afield as Richard de Bermingham was contacted by William de Hamelton, chancellor, for debts owing to the merchants of Brabant in Holland.79

the record as a Winchester representative (C 54/166 m. 40d, from which Report on the Dignity of a Peer: iv: 513, is accurately printed), but that he represented Warwickshire is strongly suggested by the order of entries, by the appended ‘of Bermingham’, and by other evidence that he traded in Bermingham, e.g. Transactions of the Birmingham Archaeological Society: lxiii: 52. 68 E 101/457/31; Cal. Close, 1349-54, 441 69 Wrottesley, G. 1903. (ed.) Plea Rolls, op. cit., 94. 70 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1900. Calendar of the Close Rolls Edward III, 1337-1339: 428. London: HMSO. A son or grandson of the previous Thomas! 71 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1904. Close Rolls Edward III, 1343-1346, op. cit., 142. 72 Bryant, A. op. cit., 262. 73 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 1902. Calendar of the Close Rolls Edward III, 1341-1343: 503. London: HMSO. 74 C 241/159/32, National Archives, Kew. 75 Ibid, C 241/103/20. 76 Ibid, C 241/139/75. 77 Ibid, C 241/153/150. 78 Ibid, C 131/205/32. 79 Ibid, SC 1/25/174.

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Medieval Birmingham SPICERS Next to the mercers in terms of wealthy traders were the spicers. The spice trade drew in a great deal of money and the importance of the spicers was such that Mercer Street was renamed Spicer Street after the people who traded there. In 1376 a William the Spicer and his wife, Margery de Bermingham, paid £5 for a property in Dudley. This was a great deal of money at the time, an indication that business was good in the spice trade in Bermingham.80 Robert le Spicer lived in the le Dale (Dale End), which was rather a select part of town. An associated name can be found in Henry Mustard in the 1344-5 Rental.81 The condiment, mustard seed, was grown in south-west Worcestershire, and Tewkesbury was the main area where it could be bought; presumably Mustard, or his ancestors, were dealers in this foodstuff. CHAPMEN were itinerant dealers or hawkers that wandered from town to town selling small articles that they carried in a basket. A Roger le Chapman was recorded in 1296, so he was a settled chapman.82 MASONS Associated with stone buildings such as the Priory complex, St Martin’s Church and the manor house would have been the people who worked on them – the masons. John le Mason had a tenement near the water, though which brook or the river this indicates is not clear.83 Demidowicz suggested that John de Stanidelf in 1296 and Thomas atte Stanidel in 1334-5 perhaps lived at the quarry where the stone for the priory and parish church was obtained.84 WOOD WORKERS To start work with timber products a woodsman is needed to select the trees and then a sawyer to cut the wood into appropriate sections – Nicholas le Sawier was the man to do this in the 1296 Rental.85 General woodwork would have been done by carpenters and William or Simon le Carpenter and John Carpentar are recorded in the same rental.86 As most houses were built of timber this would have been an important job. Specific work such as barrel making had its own artisans.87 John Bareyl, Thomas Bareyl, William and Edith Bareil88 may have been barrel makers. Another term for this is cooper and Bermingham seems well endowed with these: Osbert le couper (who held a house near Dale End, another half burgage is also mentioned as formerly held by Osbert le Couper); Ralph le Couper; and John le Couper.89 80

Hemingway, J. 2009. op. cit., 77. Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 59: Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 318. 82 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 47. 83 Ibid, 40. 84 Ibid, 28. 85 Ibid, 47. 86 Ibid, 36, 38. 87 Bassett, S. and Holt, R. 2016. op. cit., 90-91. 88 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 37, 40, 44. 89 Ibid, 35, 38, 42, 49. 81

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Work and Trades in Bermingham Another worker in wood was Roger le Homberwryghte, recorded in 1296.90 A carpenter or turnour (turner) was also involved in the attack on Sir William de Bermingham in 1475.91 MILLERS Bermingham had two watermills, Heath Mill and a small mill close to the manor house. Millers are recorded several times. Henry was the miller at Heath Mill in 1296. Other millers working in the two watermills are Adam, Alan, Richard and Geoffrey.92 Service Industries BAKERS Bakers were recorded as having shops in Bermingham (they made bread and pastries themselves, and also baked other people’s foods in their ovens).93 A Henry le Baker together with Robert le furnor (a furnus is an oven used for baking) are recorded in 1296,94 and a pistrina (bake house) is also recorded.95 An oven was found outside a building in an excavation at Edgbaston Street, perhaps from just such a bake house.96 Two bakers were also involved in the attack on Sir William de Bermingham in 1475.97 BARBERS Other occupations of a personal nature included the barber, who seconded as a dentist and a surgeon, like Roger le Barber, of Bermyngeham,98 who may have been the (Barbour) recorded in the 1344 Rental as having heirs living next to the bridge across the River Rea.99 APOTHECARIES There were no medical doctors in Bermingham so the sick would visit the herbalist at the priory. As well as the hospital at the priory, people also sold drugs in Bermingham; these were called simples. William le Simple had a house in Park Street; another apothecary was Roger le Symple.100 Thomas le Symple seems to have been entrepreneur, as he is recorded in the 1344 Rental as paying rent for a butcher’s shop; he also served the community as a capellano (a chaplain).101 90

Ibid, 52; Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 505. Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1903. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 94. 92 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 36-38, 44 and 47. 93 Bassett, S. and Holt, R. 2016. op. cit., 90-91. 94 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 39, 44. 95 Ibid, 13, 37. 96 Hodder, M. 2004. op. cit., 120. 97 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1903. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 94. 98 Wrottesley G. and Parker, F. (ed.) 1890. Plea Rolls, op. cit., 89; Smith, J. T. 1864. op. cit., 18. Roger was granted a pardon on 10th March 1327 for some unknown offence, but the end of Edward II’s reign had seen a breakdown in law and order. 99 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 57. 100 Ibid, 39, 41. 101 Ibid, 59-60. 91

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Medieval Birmingham Table 3: Some medieval trades recorded in Bermingham.

BUTCHERS: Butchery must have been a common occupation considering the amount of stock being killed, and although none were recorded in the 1296 rentals, eleven were mentioned in 1344. Butchers were also likely to be graziers as well as wool and skin dealers102 They brought the animals into town and killed them on their premises.103 It is probable that as well as meat sales they also supplied the skins to the tanners and materials to the bone and horn working industry. Most butchers’ shops were not held by men whose surnames imply a connection to the trade and were presumably sublet. Many of those who owed rent for butchers’ shops had surnames indicating other (higher status) professions; indeed, only one butcher is specifically recorded as such, Richard de Edgbaston.104 Thus one butcher’s shop was held by a chaplain, William Paas,105 and another by John, son of Geoffrey le Mercer.106 Many of those that owed rent for butchers’ shops held multiple properties and can be seen as prominent townsmen, a further sign that they were sublet. Walter de Clodeshale, for example, owed 6d rent on a butcher’s shop, one of eleven 102

Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 16. The writer remembers butchers in The Shambles, Worcester, unloading cattle to be slaughtered in their premises in the late 1950s. 104 Ibid, 62. 105 Ibid, 62. 106 Ibid, 63. 103

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Work and Trades in Bermingham holdings on which he paid 4s 11d in total,107 while the heirs of Roger le Barbour owed 7d rent on a three butcher’s shops, from a total of ten properties for which they paid 7s 3d.108 Therefore we can construe that this was not thought to be a socially important trade. A named butcher was involved in the attack on Sir William de Bermingham in 1475.109 OTHER OCCUPATIONS These included William carettari(us) (a carter), Henry le Gardener (presumably where the rent holders got the red roses for their annual rents) and William le Porter in 1296,110 and Richard le Rete (netmaker) in 1344. Adam le Trunteman may have been named after a trundle, the maker or user of a low wheeled truck,111 and the reference to a vocalist in Isabella le Sonster (singer) is interesting, quite what songs she sang is open to question, religious or popular, or both?112 Where the people lived A possible fair description of the medieval town was given by Bickley and Hill, with its, half-timbered buildings, numerous barns and thatched hovels, the adjacent water mills, moats and market-cross, the dung-hills and foul ditches, badly paved footways, dyke paths, and alleys, tan or skin yards and sheep folds with a decaying ancient Church, and timber-hid Parsonage.113 For most of the medieval period where individuals lived is unknown, but in the 1296 Rental a few references occur which tell us in which street a few individuals dwelled. Although the actual sites where people lived remain unknown, this at least gives information as to what part of town they lived in. The annual rents listed in the rentals would have been paid to Sir William de Bermingham VI on the rent day(s).

107

Ibid, 52. Ibid, 57. 109 Wrottesley, G. (ed.) 1903. Plea Rolls. op. cit., 94. 110 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 36, 47, 48. 111 Ibid, 40. 112 Ibid, 47. 113 Bickley, W. B. & Hill, J. 1891. op. cit., 63. 108

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Figure 102: Archaeological excavations in Birmingham.

Medieval Birmingham

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Work and Trades in Bermingham

Figure 103: Archaeological watching brief on Birmingham Moat. The wider area of the south part of the moat resulted from the main flow of the brook running in that direction.

Moated Manor House Island In 1973-5, the destruction of the old Smithfield Market to erect a new market led to the discovery of stonework by an earth digger on the site of the medieval moated site. In those days, PPG 16, a government circular that insisted the developers get archaeologists involved in a site, did not exist. The site workers, however, recognised that the stonework was old (Structure One in Figure 104) and called archaeologists in to look at it. The developers removed the silt from around the wall, but only gave the archaeologists two days to record the structure, hence the impossibility of finding further features.114 Two distinct features were recognised, a short piece of stone wall and a more finely built wall with wings. The earlier wall was more crudely constructed of the two and had been cut on its south side by the building of the later wall (see Figures 104 & 106). The later wall had been constructed from fine local ashlar stone, which showed no signs of decay, which was surprising as local stone is very friable. A 114

Watts, L. op. cit., 34.

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Medieval Birmingham

Figure 104: Archaeological plan of Structure One.

Figure 105: Archaeological section drawing of south facing façade of the wall.

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Work and Trades in Bermingham

Figure 106: East facing wall of the feature, with the earlier wall behind it, on the medieval manor house site, photographed by Lorna Watts in 1973-5 during the construction of the Wholesale Market.115

line indicating that the moat water had once lapped against the base of the wall was recorded, but the stonework had probably silted over quite quickly after it was built. The site was shown to be a high point in the area descending to the south, with the stonework built on the broken bedrock as footings to the wall. A buttress had been constructed off-centre to support the wall and straight joints occurred on the west and east sides opposite each other. The flooring of the structure had been removed at some time in the past, probably during the construction of the first market in the nineteenth century.116 115

Dr L. S. A. Butler of Leeds University suggested the stonework was of early thirteenth century date. He concluded that it could have been constructed as either a revetment around the central ‘island’, a chapel, a base for an oriel window or a support for a bridge.117 It is unlikely to be either of the former two 115

Shown as an image in Hodder, M. 2004. op. cit., 88. Ibid, 38. 117 Ibid, 40. 116

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Medieval Birmingham as there seemed to be no continuation of it around the ‘island’ while a chapel should have been aligned east-west. Whatever it was, it seems to have had two gaps on either side and it could be argued that these were doorways, probably leading outside the feature. This may mean it was part of a rectangular room with the short side on its north and south sides. The oriel window idea is possible as four fragments of shafts, a voussoir (a wedge-shaped stone that is used at the top of an arch), and tracery, which had been plastered and painted red, were found close by.118 Fragments of glazed (yellow-brown) and unglazed floor tiles were also found which may have covered the floor of the structure or another room or building on the site.119 The suggestion that it was an abutment for a bridge that ran across the moat appears even more likely. Although this would have been on the opposite side of the ‘island’ to the town and main communication route, it perhaps would have led into Holme Park. An access route to the park would have been important to a family where hunting was a major interest.

Figure 107: Section of Structure two (drawing of the side of the pit) showing the stakes and the silting up that took place. The silting material above had all been contaminated by post-medieval finds. The upper parts of the mudstone contour had been reduced in recent times.

118 119

Ibid, 47. Ibid, 48.

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Work and Trades in Bermingham Moat Unlike Dudley Castle, where the water in the moat around the fortifications was still, the Birmingham moat was part of Colbourne brook. The rate of flow was recognised by Dr Susan Limbrey, who stated that the silt layers were deposited in a stable condition, being clean and derived from local sand and glacial deposits.120 The flow rate of water varies, however, particularly when it moves around a bend. The outer course flows faster than the inner course resulting in the erosion of the outer bank and the build-up of silt in the inner bank. This is probably the reason the southern part of the moat is shown wider than the rest, being in the main flow (see Figure 103),121 while the stonework of Structure One was unworn due to its silt covering. Structure Two lay across the space shown as crossing the moat in post-medieval drawings. Although the area has been suggested to be a causeway, the archaeological evidence refutes this, as water borne silts and objects appeared in it, though no sign of a bridge was observed. The evidence for this was only seen in a section (the sides) of a hole excavated for a lift shaft.122 The section shown in Figure 107 must have been under the bridge in part and is evidence of the silting up that took place from the northern stream. The fact that many of these layers had medieval pottery sherds in them indicated that they were laid down in that period. After sorting, the sherds suggested that the broken pots were thrown into the brook upstream and were separated and taken downstream until resting in their final position. The stakes lay alongside the ‘island’ and probably served as revetting to stop erosion of the bank. The sandstone tile found in lens 2 suggests that a building on the ‘island’ had a sandstone tiled roof; perhaps most of the buildings had this form of roof covering. The pieces of wood were not driven into the underlying clay, and they, with the hazelnut shells, were either thrown in from the bridge or came from upstream. English Market English Market (Englishe Markett) The market itself was divided into differing sectors: Butter Cheaping (market), Corn Market (Cornemarkett) and the Shambles (the beast or cattle market) and had ‘divers stalls for the fysshemongers (fish sellers), bourchers (butchers) and tannours (tanners)’.123 This area was the working part of the town. The area around the market would have been filled with the properties of those involved in trading. In Westley’s plan of Birmingham in 1731 he showed that thirty strips of land stood around the Market Place. There are only sixteen described in the 1296 Rental. This is due 120

Ibid, 44. No drawing of the moat is earlier than the sixteenth century, and its shape had probably undergone some change since the medieval period. 122 Watts, L. op. cit., 41-3. 123 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 61. 121

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Medieval Birmingham to the nature of the record as only people named in relation to St Martin’s Church and graveyard are described; in most cases, they are the business people of the community. Those who were mentioned are described in two ways: firstly, those having property next to and above the church: 1. John Clodeshale junior held a burgage with a rent of eight pence.124 2. He also held half a burgage near the church door with a rent of four pence.125 3. And held two strips of plough land opposite the church with a rent of four pence.126 4. He also held half a burgage next to the chapel for a rent of four pence which had formerly been held by Roger Wandelard.127 5. Felicia le Typper held half a burgage next to the chapel for a rent of four pence.128 6. John Cockaigne, who had a burgage in Dale End, held half a burgage near the chapel that had formerly been held by Edith Bareil for a rent of four pence.129 7. Sir William Fockerham of Warley held a tenement with a rent of six pence near the chapel.130 8. Richard Brangwayn held a tenement opposite the cemetery with a rent of four pence.131 Secondly, in the area close to, but below the church, which has been conjectured as the original marketplace: 1. The heirs of Thomas Saleman held a burgage next to the barn (grangiam) of William Asketel with a rent of eight pence.132 2. Walter le Mey held two barns near the chapel with a rent of 14 pence.133 3. William le Mercer held property (messuage) below the cemetery with a rent of 18 pence.134 124 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 42. A burgage was land and/or a tenement with the right to trade that the burgess paid a rent for. The Clodeshales were a wealthy family who later purchased the manor of Saltley and founded the Clodeshale Chantry in St Martin’s Church. 125 Ibid, 42. 126 Ibid, 42. This plough land may have been a house plot that had not been built on. 127 Ibid, 42. 128 Ibid, 36. 129 Ibid, 37. 130 Ibid, 36. A tenement was a house, whether it had a garden or not is unknown. The variation in rents was probably due to the size of the property. 131 Ibid, 44. 132 Ibid, 39. This barn and the one below were probably in the area later known as the Corn Market, which presupposes that that is how it was used in the thirteenth century. 133 Ibid, 45. 134 Ibid, 41. A messuage is a house and garden. Why it should be differentiated from a tenement is unknown.

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Work and Trades in Bermingham 4. Richard Norton held a tenement below the cemetery with a rent of 13 pence.135 5. Roger le Moul held a tenement below the cemetery with a rent of 12 pence.136 6. John Nytegale held a tenement below the cemetery with a rent of six pence.137 7. Anketel de Coventry held three stalls below the cemetery with a rent of 16 pence.138 8. Adam Rotton held two stalls below the cemetery with a rent of five pence.139 9. William Asketel held a stall with a rent of 16 pence below the cemetery.140 10. Asterild de Newport held property below the cemetery with a rent of two pence.141 11. John Porter held a stall with a rent of one penny rent.142 High Street High Street (super montem) This was the street that led up the slope from the English Market to Bull Street (Chappellestrete). There were twelve persons recorded as living or holding property in the High Street. According to Westley there were twenty strips. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Richard Bordesley held a burgage and half with a rent of 12 pence.143 Richard Tanner held a burgage called Portejoys with a rent of 10 pence.144 Anketel Coventry for a burgage with a rent of eight pence.145 William Corbin held a burgage with a rent of eight pence.146 John Bradwall held a burgage opposite William Corbin with a rent of eight pence.147 6. Clement de Wednesfield held a burgage with a rent of eight pence.148

135

Ibid, 35. Ibid, 42. The Mouls owned a great deal of property in Bermingham. 137 Ibid, 40. 138 Ibid, 45. These were stalls in the market place from which to sell goods. The fact that they were only referred to below the church perhaps tells us about the site’s antiquity. 139 Ibid, 36. 140 Ibid, 38. 141 Ibid, 36. 142 Ibid, 36. 143 Ibid, 44. 144 Ibid, 40. Tanner, having a house with a name, may have been a publican as most taverns had names. It also may explain the inflated rent that was paid out. The same can be said of John Edwin below. 145 Ibid, 45. Anketel Coventry was a major property holder in the town. 146 Ibid, 46. 147 Ibid, 46. 148 Ibid, 46. 136

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Medieval Birmingham 7. Simon Berstaton held a burgage with a rent of eight pence.149 8. William Pitcoke held a burgage with a rent of eight pence.150 9. Margery Ticitus held half a Burgage next to William Pitcoke with a rent of four pence.151 10. Walter Green held a burgage with a rent of eight pence.152 11. John Edwin held a tenement formerly held by (Jude?) Byndesend with a rent of 12 pence.153 Dale End Dale End (La Dale/Aspelanstret) Aspelon was recorded as a former tenant of two properties in 1296 and had given his name to a street by 1344-5,154 the continuation of the High Street up to Dale End. The area seems to have been an upmarket one to judge by the people who had property there. According to Westley there were ten strips and ten persons were recorded as living or holding property there. The recorded occupants were: 1. Roger Moul held a burgage and a half formerly occupied by Aspelon with a rent of 12 pence.155 2. John Cockaigne held a burgage (plus an augmentum) with a rent of 10 pence.156 3. Anketel de Coventry held half a burgage with a rent of five pence.157 4. Thomas, son of Master Nicholas, held half a burgage with a rent of four pence.158 5. The heirs of Thomas Saleman held half a burgage with a rent of four pence that was formerly held by Osbert le Couper.159 6. Roger le Moul held (next to Osbert Cooper) half a burgage with a rent of four pence.160 7. Christine in the Dale held (from Roger le Moul) half a burgage with a rent of four pence.161 8. Christine in the Dale held Adam Packwood’s barn with a rent of eight pence.162 149

Ibid, 40. Ibid, 41. 151 Ibid, 39. 152 Ibid, 35. 153 Ibid, 44. 154 Ibid, 53. 155 Ibid, 42. The largest house in the street. 156 Ibid, p. 37. Augmentum– an extension to the plot of land? 157 Ibid, 46. 158 Ibid, 36. 159 Ibid, 38. 160 Ibid, 42. 161 Ibid, 42. 162 Ibid, 40. 150

260

Work and Trades in Bermingham 9. Christine in the Dale sublet a burgage to William Asketel and Adam Packwood for eight pence.163 10. Adam Oak held a tenement and paid six pence rent.164 Dead Lane Dead Lane (venelam mortuam) is now on the site of Livery Street. It was perhaps the original lane that ran past the priory, as the present-day Bull Street (Chappellestrete) ran across the priory cemetery and was not recorded in the 1296 Rental. Skeletons were discovered close to the Bull Tavern in the eighteenth century between Bull Street and Livery Street signifying that it was part of the cemetery. According to Westley there were seventeen strips there. Four persons (five properties) were recorded in 1296 as living or holding property in Dead Lane: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

William Corbin junior held a burgage.165 And a tenement called Hatheway with a rent of eight pence.166 John Cokayne held his father’s tenement with a rent of eight pence.167 John Clodeshale junior held half a burgage with a rent of four pence.168 John Clodeshale junior held a yard next to the lane with a rent of six pence.169

New Street New Street (Novo Vico), as its name suggests, was new in the thirteenth century, probably created from a footpath that had led across Stockton Field behind. The Tollbooth building, which predated the street, provides evidence for it being inserted across its entrance from the High Street. The property holders look as if they were important inhabitants of Bermingham. There were twelve units (eleven of which were houses) in New Street in 1296, while nine plots were shown in one block and five plots in a smaller block (former furlongs in an open field?) in Westley’s plan. The people who occupied them included: 1. Adam atte Stile held three burgages and a half with a rent of two shillings and four pence that were formerly held by Roger Studley.170 163

Ibid, 45. Ibid, 39. 165 Ibid, 43. 166 Ibid, 43. Is Hatheway the early name for the Bull Tavern? 167 Ibid, 37. 168 Ibid, 41. 169 Ibid, 42. The yard may have been the land that lay off the main street alongside the ‘lane’ into The Folds. 170 Ibid, 41. New Street looks as if it was well settled by 1296. Atte Stile, and before him Studley, was the main property holder in the street. 164

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Medieval Birmingham 2. John Fox (who lived in Hurneplace) held two burgages with a rent of 16 pence.171 3. John Clodeshale held a burgage and a half with a rent of 12 pence.172 4. William Steyk and John the smith held (from Roger le Moul) a burgage with a rent of eight pence.173 5. William Jory held a burgage with a rent of eight pence.174 6. Richard Brown held (from Roger le Moul) a tenement with a rent of two shillings and six pence.175 7. Adam Stile held a tenement with a rent of eight pence.176 8. John Clodeshale junior for land recently brought into cultivation, formerly held by John de Lynde, with a rent of six pence.177 Stockton Stockton Field/ Stockwell (Stoctonesfeld/ le stokewelle) had at least eight sheep folds in it and a watercourse, called the Stock Well. It lay between New Street and Chapel Street (Bull Street). As most properties lay beside a street it is likely that these two also did, though whether they lay next to Priors Coneygre Lane or an unmentioned street is not clear. 1. Roger le Moul held half a burgage in Stoctonesfeld with a rent of four pence178 2. Ayssulf held (from the heirs of Thomas Saleman) half a burgess in le stokewelle with a rent of four pence.179 Edgbaston Street Edgbaston Street (Egebastonstret) was an ancient route that led out of the Lower Market Place south towards Edgbaston. It had fourteen recorded properties in 1296. According to Westley’s plan there were nineteen plots in the street in 1731. 1. Geoffrey Rakeway’s heirs held a capital messuage with a rent of eight pence and a ‘place’ (placea) in Edgbaston Street for six pence rent.180 171

Ibid, 42. Hurneplace must have been situated in New Street. Ibid, 41. 173 Ibid, 42. 174 Ibid, 40. 175 Ibid, 43. 176 Ibid, 41. 177 Ibid, 42. Called a Close in subsequent records, was probably a field further along the street. 178 Ibid, 43. 179 Ibid, 39. Stockton Field and Stock Well (probably a brook) seem likely to be in the same unit of land. 180 Ibid, 38. Rakewayes was a field that lay on the east side of the lane to Edgbaston. A ‘place’ may be what was later called a cottage 172

262

Work and Trades in Bermingham 2. John Bugging held two burgages with a rent of 16 pence.181 3. Roger Pekke held a burgage with a rent of eight pence.182 4. Richard Sardon held a burgage (which had been occupied by William Martin) with a rent of eight pence.183 5. William Edwin held half a burgage (formerly that of Richard Caperon) with a rent of eight pence.184 6. William Ragged held half a burgage with a rent of four pence.185 7. Henry Baker held half a burgage with a rent of four pence.186 8. William Mercer held a tenement (from the heirs of Geoffrey Rakeway) with a rent of 12 pence.187 9. Alan Hall held a tenement (from The Prior of Sandwell) with a rent of four pence.188 10. Sybil Ticitus held a tenement with a rent of five and a half pence.189 11. William, the son of Ralph the chaplain, held a tenement with a rent of two pence.190 12. Richard Hickman held a ‘place’ with a rent of two and a half pence.191 In the 1344-5 rental the name of a person who lived by the Barre in Edgbaston Street is given as Joanne, Thomas atte Grange’s daughter.192 Archaeological excavation in Edgbaston Street The excavation on the south side of the street in 1997 suggested that prior to the town’s formation the area was semi-woodland.193 James Greig observed in the pollen samples that came out of the excavation that mature woodland such as oak (Quercus), hazel (Corylus), alder (Alnus), lime (Tilia), elm (Ulmus), willow (Salix), ash (Fraxinus) and birch (Betula) was present in the Colbourne Brook. This presumably indicates the types of trees that were growing in Holme Park. This became less observable as the medieval period progressed, suggesting that the park was being denuded of its tree growth. The point that

181

Ibid, 38. Ibid, 47. Possibly of the family that gave Peck Street its name, though no record of the street is referred to in 1296. 183 Ibid, 37. 184 Ibid, 37. 185 Ibid, 39. 186 Ibid, 39. 187 Ibid, 38. The high rent of the mercer’s property suggests it was probably a grand house. 188 Ibid, 41. 189 Ibid, 39. 190 Ibid, 40. 191 Ibid, 46. 192 Ibid, 59. 193 Ibid, 34. 182

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Medieval Birmingham

Figure 108: Archaeological excavations at Edgbaston Street.

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Work and Trades in Bermingham

Figure 109: Area A, Edgbaston Street under excavation.194

the parks became wood pasture rather than natural woodland was possibly due to subsequent stock grazing.195 The remains of a watercourse that once flowed from the parsonage moat to the manor house moat was discovered. It was found to have straight sides and a flat base, not the sort of evidence to be expected of a natural feature.196 A smaller, 194

Permission to reproduce this image was not acquired due to Birmingham Archaeology, who owned it, no longer existing. Patrick, C. and Rátkai, S., The Bullring Uncovered plate, Figure 2.6. 195 Greig, J. The Pollen, in Patrick, C. & Rátkai, S., op. cit., 268. 196 Patrick, C. & Rátkai, S., op. cit., 23. This watercourse may have been cut at the time of the

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Medieval Birmingham more natural watercourse to the north may have predated A.D.1166 and the town’s creation. The importance of the large watercourse, however, can be seen in the way it was regularly cleaned out, although eventually the occupants were not averse to throwing household waste into it.197 The smaller watercourse, possibly the original Colbourne Brook, flowed in the same direction, to the east of the larger one.198 The boundaries of the house plots east of the street came down to join the large watercourse. They seemed to have been hedged and may have been created at the same time as the foundation of the town.199 Grassland plant pollen was also found in the brook. This had come from cornfields, though Greig did suggest that it may have resulted from straw and cereals brought into the town and laid on the Edgbaston Street gardens. One type was Buckwheat, a crop which is more likely to have been grown on sandy soils such as Birmingham has.200 Although there were many post holes and pits found during the excavation only those with an explanation are noted on the Plan (Figure 108). In one house plot in Area B there were several tan pits that continued to be used throughout the medieval period. They utilised the water from the natural watercourse. Some of the pits were wood-lined.201 The process of tanning was first to place animal skins, with salted water to cure them in the pits, then to wash out the salt with water, after which lime was used to remove the hair, fat and any other extraneous matter. Any hair left was then removed by a knife. The skin was then tanned, that is placed in the pit with a mixture of oak bark and urine. The skins were turned once a week, the aroma of which would have pervaded the town. The skins were then tawed with alum and salt and allowed to be air-dried over a few weeks before going to their final finisher. Fragments of decomposed leather were found in some of the pits.202 There was little evidence of other animal parts, and therefore, it was concluded that the skins were brought to the site from elsewhere.203 The only evidence of other animals were the remains of calves that may have been brought to the plots to feed up for later sale in the town’s market, as remnants of their bedding and feed were found. Whetstones or rubbing stones were found which may have been used to sharpen knives to cut the finished leather.204 The dating of these pits seems to suggest that tanning was an early industry in the town. building of the moated manor house site in 1166 to increase the flow to the moat. 197 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 35. 198 Ibid, 18. 199 Ibid, 23. 200 Ibid, 260. 201 Patrick, C. & Rátkai, S., op. cit., 24. 202 Ibid, 19. 203 Ibid, 35. 204 Bevan, L. Mould, Q. Rátkai, S. 2009. The Medieval and Post-Medieval Small Finds, in The Bull Ring Uncovered: 183-184. Oxford: Oxbow Books.

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Figure 110: Whetstones used for sharpening knives in the tanning process.205

A tile oven was found in the east plot, perhaps for baking (see Figure 111), and a wood lined water tank in the plot next door to this. The disuse and backfill of many of these features were interesting in terms of the objects that were dumped in the holes. The lined water tank had a used Deritend cooking pot (Figure 112) within the backfill. Fragments of glazed crested ridge tiles and flat tiles were also found. These were unabraded so probably had been broken in the course of tiling the roof of a nearby property. This is further evidence of the dwellers in at least this part of the street being well off.206

205

Permission to reproduce this image was not acquired due to Birmingham Archaeology, who owned it, no longer existing. Patrick, C. and Rátkai, S., The Bullring Uncovered plate, Figure 2.10. 206 Bevan, L. Mould, Q. Rátkai, S. 2009. The Medieval and Post-Medieval Small Finds, in The Bull Ring Uncovered: 187-188.

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Medieval Birmingham

Figure 111: Area A, Edgbaston Street – tiled oven base.207

Figure 112: Area A, Edgbaston Street – a Deritend cooking pot that has been well used.208 207

Permission to reproduce this image was not acquired due to Birmingham Archaeology, who owned it, no longer existing. Patrick, C. and Rátkai, S., The Bullring Uncovered plate, Figure 2.10. 208 Permission to reproduce this image was not acquired due to Birmingham Archaeology, who

268

Work and Trades in Bermingham Moor Street Moor Street (le Parkstret) Moor Street underwent several name changes in its history. In the beginning it was called Park Street. By the fourteenth century the Moul family’s fortunes had risen to prominence and they gave their name to the street. It was called Mulstret/Moulestret.209 (This must have occurred after 1296). Eventually it was corrupted to Moor Street, which the residents presumably felt appropriate as Little Park at the rear was very moor-like. Westley’s plan only shows two plots; therefore, we must assume that the plots disappeared with the population at the time of the Black Death (1349 onwards). 1. Alice Ken held a burgage in le Parkstret with a rent of eight pence.210 2. John Simming held a burgage with a rent of eight pence.211 3. John Carpenter held a burgage with a rent of eight pence, formerly that of William Taylor.212 4. William Marshall held a burgage with a rent of eight pence.213 5. Roger Moul held a burgage with a rent of eight pence.214 6. Ralph Corteys held a burgage with a rent of eight pence, formerly that of William Glover.215 7. William Dodwell held a burgage with a rent of eight pence.216 8. William Simple held a tenement in Parcstret formerly held by Aspelon with a rent of ten pence.217 9. Richard Ragged held a yard with a rent of six pence.218 10. Thomas Gerard held extra land in le Parkstret with a rent of one penny.219 Archaeological Excavation in Moor Street Archaeological evidence proved that prior to the town’s existence the land to the north was woodland and it continued as part of Little Park for many years afterwards. There was some open grassland within it, and as fallow deer bones were found in the excavated ditch, it can be assumed that they belonged to the stock that were kept in the park.220 The ditch suggested the street came later owned it, no longer existing. Patrick, C. and Rátkai, S., The Bullring Uncovered plate, Figure 2.9. 209 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 8, 38. 210 Ibid, 46. Ken’s burgage was over twice the price of other burgages which suggests a valuable property. 211 Ibid, 35. 212 Ibid, 38. 213 Ibid, 46. 214 Ibid, 43. 215 Ibid, 45. 216 Ibid, 46. 217 Ibid, 39. 218 Ibid, 44. 219 Ibid, 47. Possibly the family that Gerardesfeld is named after. 220 Burrows, B. et. al., Moor Street, in Patrick, C. & Rátkai, S. op. cit., 46.

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Medieval Birmingham than the town’s formation as it was ‘cut’ (bridged or back-filled) to form the streets that passed over it. Moor Street, like Park Street and New Street, may have started life as a trackway which was broadened when houses started to be built alongside it.221 The evidence for this is the narrowness of the entrance from the market place. The archaeology seemed to suggest that the street was more intensively developed than its neighbour, Park Street.222 The northern boundary ditch which separated the town from the Little Park was likely to be the hyrsonedych mentioned in documentary sources. The ditch had sloping sides with a flat base which suggests that it was a man-made feature, though it may have been recut as water seems to have flowed through it, though this flow may have been re-directed from the Buttesdych. The archaeological report suggested that the ditch was backfilled before c. 1250, though it is still being referred to in 1296 and again in 1341.223 It is possible that the name hyrsonedych was used of other boundary features that carried water into the town, such as the ditch that backed onto the Park Street properties. The lower fill of the town ditch, apart from fallow deer remains, had charcoal, burnt peat and coal (from the Black Country – probably Dudley), a Deritend white ware jug and heavily sooted cooking pots from the kitchens, with pieces of broken green glazed roof tiles and crested ridge tiles.224 This latter object suggested that at least one high-status building had stood nearby,225 but the discovery of heather thatch suggested that not all the residents lived in such grand houses.226 A stone-lined well was excavated which probably belonged to one of the grander houses on the street frontages. The ditch was later recut and still had water flowing through it. The archaeological evidence suggested it was finally backfilled in the mid-thirteenth century and showed a variation of fills suggesting that the property owners deposited differing material at different times.227 The fills included waste from domestic fires, beer-making, crop processing (cereals and flax), stock keeping, leather working, and a crucible fragment and hammer scale suggesting smithing.228 After the Black Death in 1349, the pottery sherds occur at a reduced level suggesting that the town, and particularly Moor Street, underwent a substantial reduction in population.229

221

Ibid, 49. Ibid, 39. 223 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 8, 38. Demidowicz noted the various dates when the ditch was referred to. 224 Burrows, B. et. al., op. cit., 41-43. 225 Bevan, L. et. al. op. cit., 188. 226 Ibid, 187. 227 Burrows, B. et. al., op. cit., 41. 228 Ibid, 49. The dating of the backfilling of this feature may need to be reconsidered after further archaeological work in the town. 229 Ibid 49. 222

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Work and Trades in Bermingham

Figure 113: Moor Street Excavation.

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Medieval Birmingham

Figure 114: Area A, Moor Street, section of hyrsonedych.230

Figure 115: Area A, Moor Street, Medieval Well.231 230

Permission to reproduce this image was not acquired due to Birmingham Archaeology, who owned it, no longer existing. Patrick, Catharine and Rátkai, Stephanie, The Bullring Uncovered plate, Figure 3.7. 231 Ibid, plate, Figure 3.11.

272

Work and Trades in Bermingham Park Street Park Street (le Overparkstret) Park Street, like Moor Street, led into the Little Park. It was earlier called Over Park Street, but this was later reduced to Park Street. No plots are recorded on Westley’s map, suggesting a decline, probably due to the Black Death. However, the street had ten property holders in 1296: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

John Simeon held a burgage with a rent of eight pence.232 Richard Sardon held a burgage with a rent of eight pence.233 William Dodwell held a burgage with a rent of eight pence.234 William Glover (held by Ralph Corteys).235 William Philip (Phelip) held a tenement and le hyrsonedych with a rent of nine pence and one penny.236 6. Agnes, William Taylor’s daughter, held a tenement in Overstret with a rent of two pence.237 7. Adam Oak held a tenement with a rent of eight pence.238 8. William, Ralph the chaplain’s son, held half a burgage in le Overparkstret with a rent of four pence.239 9. Richard Brangwayn held a tenement in Overparkstret with a rent of 20 pence.240 10. Roger Moul held a burgage in Overende (formerly that of John Brid) with a rent of eight pence.241

Archaeological Excavation in Park Street According to the archaeological report, the zone around both Areas B and C had been liable to flooding shown by the accumulation of a dark silty deposits,242 so population may have been initially limited due to its wet nature. The ditch separating Digbeth from the Little Park (hyrsonedych) measured seven metres in width by two metres in depth and was cut into the natural sand.243 Both Moor Street and Park Street site showed a similar tree cover to Edgbaston Street, although with hawthorn (Crataegus) and damp-land species such as poplar (Populus). The hawthorn may have come from hedges that lay on the 232

Demidowicz, op. cit., 37. Ibid, 37. 234 Ibid, 46. 235 Ibid, 45. 236 Ibid, 38, 52. In 1426 John Phelp is described as a chalonnere. Chalons are blankets which supplies the information as to the trade by which the Phillips family acquired their wealth. 237 Ibid, 38. 238 Ibid, 39. 239 Ibid, 40. 240 Ibid, 44. 241 Ibid, 43. 242 Burrows B. et. al., op. cit., 58. 243 Kipling, R. et al., op. cit., 4. 233

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Medieval Birmingham

Figure 116: Park Street: location of excavation.

townspeople’s’ plot boundaries. Cereal crop pollen from plants and weeds included rye, which may have been grown as a foodstuff, either for animal or human consumption. Heather was also observed, probably brought into the area for making brooms or roofing material.244 Pottery thrown into the ditch suggested that it was beginning to be backfilled by the middle of the thirteenth century and the site report suggested that this was due to the laying out of Park Street. Part of the fill of the ditch was kiln waste from the production of Deritend ware, suggesting that it was manufactured close by.245 The boundary ditch which was excavated at the rear of the Park Street house plots had been 244 245

Ibid, 264-266. Burrows B. et. al., op. cit., 55.

274

Work and Trades in Bermingham recut during its life and hemp was observed in it suggesting that it was fed by running water from one of the brooks in the Little Park. Hemp was used in the initial stages of linen production, where the fibres were steeped in water to induce them to break down. Hemp was also observed in the hyrsonedych. Two pits that lay alongside the Park Street boundary were clay lined and therefore were used to hold water. One pit had lime in it suggesting that it was used in the pre-tanning process to remove hair from the hides.246 David Smith, in an environmental study of the sites, recorded that the insect remains from the three excavations of Moor, Park and Allison Streets did not materially change in the medieval period and that they were all creatures that could be found in urban rubbish and waste material. He particularly observed that some were typical of housing with earthen floors.247 Ian Baxter, while looking at the animal bones from the Bull Ring sites, observed that there was no evidence of the use of the animal parts except for general butchery and kitchen waste. There is, however, evidence of the increased size of the sheep, indicating in the improvement in the breeding of the animals and their husbandry in the later period.248 This is hardly surprising considering the importance of wool to the community. Pigs, strangely, were not common and therefore pork was not considered to be a common dietary consideration. Bones from ponies were found and assumed to be pack animals as well as chicken, duck, geese, fallow deer, domestic dog and cats. The short-horned cattle were genetically distinct suggesting that breeding had taken place.249

246

Ibid, 58. Smith, D. 2009. The Insect Remains from Edgbaston Street and Park Street, in The Bullring Uncovered op. cit., 275. 248 Thomas, R. M. 2005. Zooarchaeology, Improvement and the British Agricultural Revolution, in International Journal of Historical Archaeology: 9: 2. New York: Springer+Business Media; Hemingway, J. 2009. op. cit., 82. Dr Thomas’ study of the animal bones excavated at Dudley Castle dated to the period after the Black Death displayed that many of the stock species increased, thus indicating stock in the West Midlands were improved well before the Agricultural Revolution in the eighteenth century. 249 Baxter, I. L. The Mammal, Amphibian and Bird Bones, in The Bullring Uncovered: 295-304. 247

275

Medieval Birmingham

Figure 117: Park Street Areas A and B.

276

Work and Trades in Bermingham

Figure 118: Park Street, Area C.

Stephanie Rátkai’s report on the pottery from Park Street excavation disclosed the residents were throwing away a great deal of broken potsherds that belonged to badly fired pots, called wasters, from pottery manufacture. This was the Bermingham-made pottery called Deritend ware and included cooking pots, jugs, sloping side bowls, pipkins and dripping trays. A fire bar from a pottery kiln was also found.250 Not all were wasters as some of the cooking pots had been used and were heavily sooted. These were assumed to have been used over an open fire – some looked as if they were made to have lids over them. Rátkai proposed that the area of the industry ran from Alcester Street (Deritend) to Park Street, as wasters had been found throughout this area. A small number of imported wares were found in all the excavations. The most interesting was the Boarstall-Brill ware which came from a site a mile away from the lords of Bermingham’s Buckingham manor of Dorton. Sherds of these were also found in Edgbaston, Park Street and Moor Street and were generally jugs with anthropomorphic decoration.251 250 251

Rátkai S. The Pottery, in The Bullring Uncovered: op. cit., 113. Burrows B. et. al. op. cit., 97.

277

Medieval Birmingham

Figure 119: Park Street, Area C, female burial.252 Did she die of plague or was she murdered?

Figure 120: Park Street, Area C, kiln.253 252

Permission to reproduce this image was not acquired due to Birmingham Archaeology, who owned it, no longer existing. Patrick, C. and Rátkai, S., The Bullring Uncovered plate, Figure 4.13. 253 Permission to reproduce this image was not acquired due to Birmingham Archaeology, who owned it, no longer existing. Patrick, C. and Rátkai, S., The Bullring Uncovered plate, Fig. 4.15.

278

Work and Trades in Bermingham A special sherd was a facemask, which suggested it had been made in the period c. 1250-1325, from a white ware jug found in ‘garden soil’.254 Other namedpottery was Worcester glazed ware and Chilvers Cotan type ware. Deritend ware found its way to other Warwickshire towns including Warwick, Alcester and Stratford-upon-Avon.255 Rátkai also observed a jug handle from a type normally dated to the first half of the twelfth century, before the foundation of the town. If this was so, did pottery production provide the impetus to place the town where it was? Little Park (Lytul parco) and ditches (dych) The wooded area probably predated the town and its southern boundary was possibly the road that went through the later English Market. The boundary would have been taken back when the house plots were laid out. The Park was a low-lying flood-plain that not only flooded from the River Rea, but also drew much of the water from the surrounding high land. It was not, however, devoid of trees as Greig, a pollen specialist, identified pollen grains that belonged to alder and suggested that the landscape included alder carrs and possibly birch, typical wetland species.256 The drainage pattern had as much to do with the undulating nature of the land, but the watercourses had been dug deeper to take away the water, which is why they were called ditches – manmade features! To reduce the dampness of the land, the various drains were re-directed throughout the medieval period, making it difficult to determine which came first. The hyrsonedych, the main drain that served as a boundary between the park and the town, was probably dug, or a natural watercourse re-dug, at the time of the town’s formation as a drain to take water away from the marketplace area. Although the Little Park was one of the lords of Birmingham’s deer parks it already showed signs of encroachment by the late thirteenth century. Roger Moul paid a rent of four pence in 1296 for land recently brought into cultivation in the park.257 It is possible that this was the period in which many of the ditches were deepened and widened to make the land drier for agricultural use. David Smith observed that the insect remains indicate open grassland with grazing livestock, though this would have been later.258 That people paid rent for the ditches implies they were using them to make profits and as most uses were to do with leather production, tanning pits, lime pits etc., it is probable that those persons listed below were involved in the leather industry. It is unknown if the following holdings also referred to the hyrsonedych or to other watercourses in the town. 254

Kipling, R. et. al. op. cit., 18. Rátkai S. op. cit., 94. 256 Kipling, R. et. al. op. cit., 14. 257 Baxter, I. L. op. cit., 43. 258 Kipling, R. et. al. op. cit., 14. 255

279

Medieval Birmingham

Figure 121: Allison Street – Digbeth excavation location sites.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

William Phelip for le hyrsonedych with a rent of one penny.259 Geoffrey Cofton for a ditch with a rent of one and a half pence.260 Walter Clodeshale for a ditch with a rent of half a penny.261 William Studley for a ditch with a rent of two pence.262 William Edric for a ditch with a rent of four pence.263 Clement Wednesfield for a ditch with a rent of three pence.264 John Norton for a tenement next to the ditch with a rent of 12 pence.265

259

Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 38. Ibid, 43. 261 Ibid, 43. 262 Ibid, 44. 263 Ibid, 45. 264 Ibid, 46. 265 Ibid, 39. 260

280

Work and Trades in Bermingham Archaeological excavation on the Allison Road-Digbeth site The excavation in 2011 revealed the course of a medieval ditch from the hyrsonedych to Digbeth, and probably originally crossing the road and joining up with the Colbourne Brook. According to Roger Kipling it had a V-shaped profile, different to the main ditch to the north, and had been deliberately back-filled during the thirteenth or fourteenth century.266 It was purported to have very slow flowing water267 and this was supported by David Smith who looked at the insects, which included a large proportion of species of water beetle, such as Hydroporus, Limnebius, Hydraena and Helophorus spp., which are associated with very slow flowing or still water.268 The fills included oak (Quercus), willow (Salix), poplar (Populus) and hazel (Corylus avellana) and assorted species of a grassland environment including hawkbit (Leontodon), sow-thistle (Sonchus), buttercups (Ranunculus), thistle (Circsium), grasses (Poaceae), and nettles (Urtica dioica). Smith also observed rushes (Juncus), spike rush (Eleocharis palustris) and sedges (Carex spp), all commonly found at watersides. Human materials were also found, including small numbers of charred remains representing food plants. These included a single charred grain of free-threshing wheat (Triticum aestivum/durum), wheat (Triticum spp) and a few grains of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Both were common cereals in the medieval period. However, no chaff was found to identify the type of wheat present, so it was assumed to be bread wheat.269 Flax (probably from retting) was also found.270 A high phosphate level and whipworm eggs (Trichuris) suggested that some of the residents were pouring faeces and urine into the ditch, using it as an open sewer.271 There is evidence that the area around the ditches consisted of open grassland containing grazing animals. This is clearly suggested by the recovery of comparatively large numbers of a range of Aphodius and Geotrupes, ‘dung’ beetles, which are normally associated with the dung of herbivores lying in open grassland.272 Jennifer Browning reported that cattle bones were most common in medieval deposits and she observed that much of the faunal material consisted of metapodials, particularly of sheep, and cattle horn cores. This is evidence of industries which processed horns and bones.273 Rátkai stated that the sherds of pottery found were mainly of locally produced Deritend wares, with utilitarian cooking pots predominating. Only five Deritend ware jug sherds were recorded. These sherds are most likely to pre-date c. 1250. The balance of probabilities is that the earliest occupation 266

Kipling, R. et. al. op. cit., 4. Ibid, p. 14. 268 Kipling, R. et. al. op. cit. 77. 269 Ibid, 68. 270 Ibid, 73. 271 Ibid, 67. 272 Ibid, 77. 273 Ibid, 62. 267

281

Medieval Birmingham

Figure 122: Window tracery from Allison Street-Digbeth site with two cusps, evidence of white wash in one of the cusps.274 Reproduced by permission of University of Leicester Archaeology Service.

represented 274by the pottery dates to the first half of the thirteenth century. Green-glazed white ware sherds, of which a small number were found, have a floruit of mid-thirteenth to fourteenth century, but there is little pottery which can definitively be said to post-date c. 1325, although a couple of iron-poor sherds have a broad date range of thirteenth to fifteenth century.275 A facemask, with a suggested date range of c. 1250-1325, from a white ware jug was found in ‘garden soil’. The pottery suggests that material first started to accumulate in the ditch in the first half of the thirteenth century and that the backfilling was completed by c. 1300, if not earlier.276 In the park itself were found three post pads aligned on the ditch, not the later streets, so it can be assumed that they were placed there when the ditch was open. Post pads are stones placed in a position for a timber post to stand on end. The post supports a horizontal roof timber and is normally situated in an aisled building, like a barn,277 so must have been placed there when the park was started to be developed in the fourteenth century. The barn-like feature 274

Kendrick, D. J. et. al., in Beorma. op. cit., 48. Ibid, 18. 276 Ibid, 19. That is assuming they did not have elsewhere to dump their waste items. 277 Brunskill, R.W. 1982. Traditional Farm Buildings of Britain: 43-47. London: Victor Gollancz Ltd. 275

282

Work and Trades in Bermingham was eventually demolished, but a structure of later date (possibly seventeenth century) was erected on the site and included worked stone, some with glazing grooves, as foundation material. One piece was sooted, suggesting its former use had been in a fireplace.278 The stone came from substantial church windows in the Decorated style (thirteenth to fourteenth century). David J. Kendrick, who studied the stone, thought it had come from St Martin’s, but it was more likely to have come from St Thomas’ Priory.279 Most of the stones show signs of secondary mortar and some re-cutting, indicating that they had been used elsewhere after their initial use before being brought to this site (see Dissolution of the Priory, for the reuse of priory stone). They had also been white-washed, though it is not known whether this occurred during its primary use or a secondary one.280 Digbeth (Dicpaeth) The north side of the Digbeth road was developed earlier than the south and there were sixteen plots shown in the Westley Map, but only two are mentioned in the 1296 survey, and one of those was the Little Mill on the south side of the road. A causeway was built some time later, disrupting the flow of water into the Colbourne. 1. William Jory held a place next to the little watermill (parvum molendinum) for a rent of 11 pence.281 2. Richard Ragged held half a burgage next to the bridge with a rent of four pence.282 Floodgate Street The earliest name associated with this river-side area was floodyatesstreme, a reference to a gate across the river. The gate may have been to control the water to help prevent flooding (the area was still flooding in the nineteenth century), or to hold back waters for the mill downstream. The street that took the name Floodgate ran north of Digbeth in the early modern period and crossed the river. Archaeological excavation at Floodgate Street An archaeological excavation, performed in 2002, found evidence for a large ditch, roughly parallel with the causeway. This may have been to drain the 278

Kipling, R. et. al. op. cit., 38. Ibid, 37. 280 Ibid, 39. 281 Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 40. 282 Ibid, 44. 279

283

Medieval Birmingham

Figure 123: Floodgate Street showing areas of archaeological excavation.

water, which originally had run into the Colbourne Brook, and thence to the River Rea. A series of other ditches and gullies set at right angles to this ditch probably represent property boundaries and possibly even buildings along the street. These features were generally represented by postholes and small pits and were dated to the twelfth and thirteenth century by the pottery in their fills. Later medieval features, particularly a long and straight boundary ditch, were on a different alignment which was more perpendicular to the presentday road frontage than the earlier ditch. This realignment may have been the 284

Work and Trades in Bermingham

Figure 124: Floodgate Street showing excavated medieval features.

result of the solidifying of the road line following the construction of a more permanent pair of bridges over the Rea.283 It is unknown when the floodgate was inserted across the River Rea, but in the 2002 excavation Rátkai identified medieval pottery in the area. The dominant ware were grey sherds that were hand-formed and wheel-finished 283

Williams, J., with contributions by Ciaraldi, M., Hammon, A., Litherland, S., Macey, E., Tyers, I., and Rátkai, S., 2002. Floodgate Street, Deritend Island, Digbeth Birmingham; Archaeological Excavations 2002 Post-Excavation Assessment and Updated Research Design: 9. Birmingham: Birmingham University Field Archaeology Unit.

285

Medieval Birmingham and consisted almost entirely of rounded cooking pots with angular everted rims. The second largest group was iron-rich sandy cooking pots, with a few examples of Warwickshire black ware. There were very few glazed wares, and these fell into three main groups. The best represented was Deritend ware of the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, with only three iron-rich glazed wares and one iron-poor glazed ware. There was a single white ware sherd which was generally well represented in the second half of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Its near absence from Floodgate Street suggests that most of the medieval activity occurred before c. 1250 and certainly before 1300.284 The environmental specialist, Marina Ciaraldi, commented that tanning activity was one of the major industrial features that took place on site. Tanning pits/ tanks were discovered, and the abundance of leather offcuts and deposits of horn cores was particularly evident. Furthermore, thick, silty, organic deposits, were found in various parts of features. Some of the layers in the deposits contained large amounts of animal hair, clearly visible to the naked eye during excavation.285 Andy Hammon, who looked at the bone assemblage, reinforced this, stating that it was dominated by cattle and sheep/goat, which clearly related to the industrial activities on the site at this time. Sixty-five percent of the bone fragments were cattle horn cores and the majority were of a large longhorn breed. Large accumulations of horn cores are usually interpreted as a by-product of the tanning industry, as cranial elements were often left attached to hides intended for leather working. Horn cores, once removed, were often soaked in water to facilitate the removal of the horn, and this appears to have been the case at Floodgate Street. The deliberate removal of the horn from the core is also attested by the presence of concentric cut-marks running around the core base of many fragments. The sheep/goat remains are equally interesting, as a large proportion consisted of complete lower long bones (metapodials). Sheep and goat skins were not especially favoured for leather production, so the obvious implication is that carcass reduction was taking place on or near to the site, and the bone was being collected together for working.286

284

Williams J. et. al., op. cit., 12. Ibid, 27. 286 Ibid, 25. 285

286

Work and Trades in Bermingham Deritend Deritend (Dergatestret) was a separate community to Birmingham and was situated on the east side of the River Rea. Dergatestret, the original name of the area, was named after a gate into a deer park. This may have been Holme Park across the river, or more likely, a park that existed to the south of the settlement as implied by the name Buckfold – an enclosure for bucks (male deer). It had three named properties in 1296 – one of these was the Heath Mill – while Westley recorded 15 plots in 1731. 1. Richard or Robert Green who owned the property called le hetplace in 1296 for 23 pence rent.287 2. Nicholas Smith held an extension to his tenement in Dergatestret for eight pence rent.288 3. Ralph or Richard Capper held a tenement which extended to Heath Mill for 3s.289 Barley Croft Barley Croft (le Barleycroft) is assumed to have been situated between New Street and Edgbaston Street. This may have been at the start of the street later called Peek Street that was named after the Pekke family who lived in Bermingham at the time. Four properties are recorded there: 1. One unknown. 2. John Cofton or Walter Clodeshale held one and a half burgages next to le Barleycroft for a rent of 12 pence.290 3. John Cofton held le Barlicroft for a rent of one penny.291 4. John, son of Ralph held le Barlicroft for a rent of 12 pence.292 Dudley Road (Dodewalle) The walle element related to a watercourse which possibly drained into the Colbourne Brook. Seven properties are recorded: 1. John Wall. 2. John Hunt.

287

Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 37. Ibid, 37. 289 Ibid, 36. 290 Ibid, 38. 291 Ibid, 38. 292 Ibid, 40. 288

287

Medieval Birmingham 3. Stephen Hodenhul held a burgage facing Dodewalle (formerly held by John Cofton) and paid eight pence in rent.293 4. Roger Startin rented (from Roger Moul) a burgage with a rent of eight pence.294 5. Roger le Symple had half a burgage with a rent of four pence.295 6. William Studley for half a burgage next to Donewall with a rent of four pence.296 7. William Purneur for a burgage by Dodewalle with a rent of 10 pence.297 Sandpits (la Sondputtes) The name refers to pits where sand was retrieved; the area is still called the Sandpits. Two properties are recorded: 1. Richard Gyrewynce had a burgage next to the Sandpits with a rent of eight pence.298 2. John Clodeshale had two burgesses facing the Sandpits with a rent of 16 pence.299 Wood Green Wood Green (Wodegrene) was possibly close to the Holme Park. Two properties are recorded: 1. John Carpenter held Wood Green for 2s; it had formerly been held by William Taylor300 2. Thomas Turkeby held a part of Wood Green (formerly that of William Edwin) with a rent of 12 pence.301 Next to the water (iuxta aquam) It is not known if this refers to brooks or the river. Five properties are recorded: 1. Nicholas the smith held a tenement next to the water that he had bought from Robert Brown and paid rent of eight pence.302 293

Ibid, 36. Ibid, 42. 295 Ibid, 41. 296 Ibid, 44. 297 Ibid, 45. 298 Ibid, 35. 299 Ibid, 41. 300 Ibid, 38. 301 Ibid, 46. 302 Ibid, 37. 294

288

Work and Trades in Bermingham 2. William Jory held half a burgage next to the water for eight pence rent.303 3. John Mason held tenements beyond the water for six pence rent.304 4. Walter, son of Matilda held a piece of newly cultivated land beyond the water for one and a half pence rent.305 5. The heirs of Swift held property of three burgesses next to the water for a rent of two shillings.306 Next to the River Rea (iuxta pontem) Richard Ragged was recorded as holding property next to the River Rea Bridge, but whether the Bermingham side or the Digbeth side is not stated.307 Lord’s fish pond (vivarium domini) Thomas Bilston was said to hold a house near the lord’s fishpond for a rent of six pence.308 Lady Well (La Ladiwalle) It is not certain if this was a brook or the name of a well, which is what it became in the later period. Adam Oak held a recently piece of cultivated land next to le Ladiwalle with a rent of half a penny.309

303

Ibid, 40. Ibid, 40. 305 Ibid, 40. 306 Ibid, 41. 307 Ibid, 44. 308 Ibid, 41. 309 Ibid, 39. 304

289

Chapter Ten

High days and low days It is often thought that the medieval period was violent, full of disease and with correspondingly short lifespans, and although there was clearly some truth in this, it was also a time when people would enjoy themselves, most notably on the thirty or forty holy days that they had.1 Today we think of a holiday as a time to relax, but in the medieval world it was a time to strengthen Christian belief and most entertainments had a Christian element to them. Mystery plays or pageants were universally practiced in towns of England and were all related to biblical stories, albeit with one or two additions to the cast of biblical characters. A few survive, today including two plays from the cycle known as the Coventry Mystery Plays, or Coventry Corpus Christi Pageants, which are first documented in 1392/3. 2 There was so much contact between Coventry and Bermingham it is hard to see that one did not influence the other. These plays were normally paid for by the guilds and had a certain amount of set apparatus. Some of this equipment can be seen in Bermingham through the name of a street where it was kept – Godes Cart Lane.3 The cart was called a pageant wagon, a moveable stage to accommodate the play. David Rogers in the sixteenth century described one as being a wooden structure with two rooms: a higher room where the play was performed and a lower room where the players changed clothing. The whole structure was mounted on six wheels. It was fifteen feet tall in total, with the playing space nine feet above the street so the audience could see the presentation. 4 These performances cost money, there were however Mummers plays that were normally performed by independent groups of citizens. Mumming can be traced back to at least 1296 when it was first recorded. In the early days, the events took place in the palaces of the great and were related to dicing, but later became an example of masquerading with certain basic characters, normally masked. In 1418 a law was passed forbidding ‘mumming, plays, interludes or any other disguisings with any feigned beards, painted visors, deformed or coloured visages in any wise, upon pain of imprisonment.’5 Although it is unknown how much this law dates back previously, it is possible that some elements had a long life – particularly those that hid the persons real face and form. These plays included a hero, most commonly Saint George or Robin 1

Bryant, A. op. cit., 338. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coventry_Mystery_Plays 3 Smith, J. T. 1864. op. cit., 97-8. 4 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pageant_wagon 5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mummers_play 2

290

High days and low days Hood and their chief opponent, known as the Turkish Knight in southern England (named Captain Slasher elsewhere), the King of Egypt and a quack Doctor. Other characters include Father Christmas, who introduced the plays; the Fool, who wandered around hitting people with a bladder filled with air; and the Devil, who demanded money from the audience. The roles of these characters were taken over for many generations by individual families as can be seen in Bermingham when Thomas le Kyng6 and Cecilia le kinges7 are mentioned. The story is basic: the hero is killed after countless battles by the villain and then brought to life again by the doctor, at which everyone celebrates. Dancing also took place in the streets, both with couples and with men alone in Morris dancing. The word Morris comes from the term Moorish Dance. The earliest mention of Morris is in 1448 when a payment of seven shillings is recorded by The Goldsmiths’ Company in London. The local tradition is known as Border Morris and is not recorded until the sixteenth century, but obviously predates it. The participants in these events included two musicians, twelve dancers, a hobby horse and Maid Marion; they also normally blackened their faces.8 The year was divided up into four quarters, reflecting the solstices and equinoxes. These rent-paying days fell at Michaelmas, Christmas Day, Lady Day, and Midsummer Day. They were also the days in which the main festivities took place. These, however, were not the only holy days to be celebrated. We must remember that even among townsmen and women country traditions were still observed and their festivals were often based on the rural round of activity. We should also remember that the medieval day started at dusk the previous evening, not midnight as it does today; that is the reason the celebrations are still called All Hallows Eve (Halloween), Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. LADY DAY, or the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin (25 March) was the medieval New Year’s Day. It was the time when new contracts between landowners and tenants were made, but when this was done some celebrations did occur.9 SHROVE TUESDAY is the day in February or March immediately preceding Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) and was the day when the last of the rich food would be consumed and the inhabitants would then fast for forty days until Easter.10 ‘Shrove’ is a modern corruption of ‘shrive’, that is to receive absolution for ones sins as a result of confession to a priest. It is called Pancake Day today. The tradition of running and tossing a pancake is said to have started 6

Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 37; Reaney, P. H. and Wilson, R. M. op. cit., 265. Ibid, 41; 265. 8 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_Morris 9 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Day 10 Bord, C. and J. 1982. Earth Rites: 224. London: Granada. 7

291

Medieval Birmingham in 1445, but is probably older. Lent was a time when people were supposed to eat frugally; the poor generally did not have any alternative. Street football games occurred on this day as they still do in Atherstone, Warwickshire.11 EASTER WEEK The whole week preceding Easter Day was taken up by ritual activities. On Palm Sunday (the Sunday before Easter), after the service, a procession would parade through the town between the two churches waving branches representing the palms of the Holy Land with a crucifix leading the way. On Maundy Thursday a Mass would take place and the bread and wine would be laid out for the short Mass on Good Friday. A ceremony occurred in which the priest would wash the people’s feet in memory of Jesus doing the same thing. On Good Friday the church would be cleaned and the altars ceremonially washed. The service would be performed in a doleful way with no music and the incumbent dressed in black. EASTER DAY was a joyous occasion with colour and music in the town.12 It was a time when the rejuvenation of the year was celebrated, and egg events were prolific. The egg represented rebirth, recreation and immortality. The eggs themselves were called pace-eggs (deriving from paschal in reference to the Jewish Passover). The eggs were sometimes dyed and given away. Games were played with them, including shackling, where two unboiled eggs were held by two parties who hit each other’s egg until one of them cracked. Egg rolling down slopes was also common, but it is not known if these events occurred in Bermingham. What has survived is the giving of Easter Eggs to children, though chocolate was not available in the medieval period.13 This was also a time when the intake of food was relaxed. Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday may have started with the Alban Bun in 1360 when Brother Thomas Rocliffe, of St Albans Abbey, developed a similar recipe.14 The main event of the period leading up to Easter was the Mystery or Passion play which told the story of Jesus Christ’s death. The Mystery Plays were epic play cycles financed and produced by medieval guilds for the glory of God and the honour of their city. These were no doubt enacted and paid for by the Guild of the Holy Cross in Bermingham. The habitual bonfire was lit in celebration that Jesus had risen from the dead. Easter was when the local leet courts were held, accompanied by leet-ales, where the profits on the sale of food and drink went to the church. Quite often baptisms took place at Easter because the thought was that the water took on a special sanctity. Easter Monday saw the tradition of ‘heaving’. This was when ladies would ‘capture’ a man, place him in a chair decorated 11

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrove_Tuesday Brandon, S. G. F. 1970. Easter and Holy Week, in Man Myth and Magi: 2: 760-6. London: BPC Publishing. 13 Bord, C. and J. op, cit., 178-180. 14 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_cross_bun 12

292

High days and low days with ribbons and raise it up and down three times. The man would pay with a kiss and money for this privilege. The following day men would perform the same ritual.15 In the late thirteenth century King Edward I was ‘heaved’ by the ladies of the court for which he paid them £14.16 HOCK TIDE was the name for the Monday and Tuesday two weeks after Easter. The earliest use of the term is in the twelfth century. It was one of the annual holidays allowed to villeins and was a half-yearly rent day. This was also a day when the church held its annual audits, when the congregation in its respective trades and groupings would bring in gifts to the church. Amongst the celebrations, on the Tuesday, the actual Hock-day, the women would tie up the men and demand a payment before setting them free. The monies collected would then be donated to the parish funds.17 MAY DAY was considered the first day of summer and as such was celebrated everywhere in England. Young people would go out into the woods and cut the May blossom off the hawthorn trees, bringing it back to the houses for decoration. An interesting point about the blossom is that it was never allowed in a church which suggests that this had evolved from a pre-Christian celebration. The May Queen is first recorded around 1300, when she is called the Summer Queen,18 and her crowning was integral to the Mayday events. The Maypole, which people danced around, was well established by 1350,19 and Morris men were associated with the celebrations. In the post-medieval period, the Midlands May Day was often called Robin Hood’s Day and wearing green apparel was common: Robin Hood, Maid Marion, Little John, Will Scarlet, the fool in the cap, Tom the piper and the hobby horse all attended the event.20 Given the contemporary importance of Robin Hood it is more than likely that these characters and events existed in the medieval period. ROGATIONTIDE was held on the fifth week after Easter. The inhabitants would walk around the parish in a ceremony called ‘beating the bounds’. This had a useful benefit as it made sure there was never any encroachment on their lands from neighbouring parishes. It also was a time when the fields and animals were blessed. This was one of the numerous annual fertility ceremonies.21

15 Bord, C. and J. op, cit., 142; Gwilliam, H. W. 1977. Old Worcester: People and Places: 1: 99. Worcester: Rose Hill Teachers Centre. 16 Brandon, S. G. F. op. cit., 763-4. 17 Bryant, A. op. cit., 345. 18 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maypole 19 Ibid. 20 Cavendish, R. (ed.) 1970. May Day, in Man Myth and Magic: 4: 1773-1774. London: BPC Publishing. 21 Bord, C. & J. op, cit., 143.

293

Medieval Birmingham WHITSUNTIDE Whitsunday was the celebration of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost descended on Jesus Christ’s disciples. It lasted a week for the medieval villein, and on most manors he was free from service on the lord’s demesne, which marked a pause in the agricultural year. From the twelfth century in Bermingham, the Whitsunday Fair was held, which would have involved pageants, parades and singing and dancing. Whitsun-ales was another drinking session at which the church profited from the sale of ale by the church wardens.22 CORPUS CHRISTI DAY Nine weeks following Easter was the feast of Corpus Christi when plays of the life of Jesus were performed. The Coventry Carol features in the Pageant of the Shearmen and Taylors, one of only two surviving plays from the Coventry Cycle, and is a religious song which may have been performed in the Bermingham Corpus Christ celebrations. Part of the 1534 wording, edited by Robert Croo, and republished by Thomas Sharp in 1817, is copied below: Lully lulla þw littell tiné child By by lully lullay þw littell tyné child By by lully lullay O sisters too how may we do For to preserve þis day This pore yongling for whom we do singe By by lully lullay Herod the king in his raging Chargid he hath this day His men of might in his owne sight All yonge children to slay That wo is me pore child for thee And ever morne and say For thi parting nether say nor singe By by lully lullay.23 MIDSUMMER DAY (24 June) was the feast of St John the Baptist, but as a festival the day is liable to have predated the Christian era as that of the summer solstice. Its importance to the Bermingham people can be seen when it became a two-day fair in the thirteenth century. John Mirk of Lilleshall Abbey, Shropshire, gives a late fourteenth-century English description of Midsummer Day celebrations, although, not, it should be said, an approving one: 22

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitsun https://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/Notes_On_Carols/notes_to_ the _coventry_carol.htm. Source: Thomas Sharp, 1825. A Dissertation on the Pageants or Dramatic Mysteries Anciently Performed at Coventry: 113-114. Coventry: Merridew and Son. ’Þ’ – thorne character represents ‘th’. 23

294

High days and low days At first, men and women came to church with candles and other lights and prayed all night long. In the process of time, however, men left such devotion and used songs and dances and fell into lechery and gluttony turning the good, holy devotion into sin. He added another piece of information: In worship of St John the Baptist, men stay up at night and make three kinds of fires: one is of clean bones and no wood and is called a bonnefyre; another is of clean wood and no bones, and is called a wakefyre, because men stay awake by it all night; and the third is made of both bones and wood and is called St. John’s fire.24 The three bonfires were said to be for St John, but the pre-Christian element can be clearly seen. The wood fire was called the ‘lantern of light’ and was said to represent St John. The bone fire was intended to drive off dragons (it was popularly held that they did not like the smell of burning bones), and the mixed wood and bone fire was said to be in recognition of the fact that St John’s bones had been burnt. The dividing line between religion and superstition was never clearly marked in the medieval period. It is much more likely that the fires represented the fight between good and evil – light and darkness – an appropriate symbolism at the time of the year when the days were changing from getting longer to getting shorter. LAMMAS DAY (1 August) This was the day on which the first loaves of the new harvest were eaten.25 For farmers the last sheaf of the corn was of a special character and would be made into a corn dolly and hung up in the house.26 MICHAELMAS The feast of St Michael marked the end of harvesting. This was one of the days were going to Mass was demanded, but after that the rest of the day would be for pleasure. No doubt pageants, plays and music played a part in the day’s entertainment. Medieval musical instruments included trumpets, clarions (a form of trumpet), shawms (a double-reed woodwind instrument), bagpipes, fiddles, citoles (a plucked string-instrument) and nakers (kettledrum).27 Drinking would have been common, and Michaelmas also featured a leet-ale.28 Goose was normally on the menu on this day. According

24

Erbe, T. (ed.) 1905. Mirk’s Festial: a Collection of Homilies: 182. London: Kegan Paul et al. Bord, C. & J. op. cit., 146. 26 Ibid, 152-3. 27 Bryant, A. op. cit., 305. 28 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parish_ale. The word Bridal is derived from Bride-ale where the money was raised for the bride and groom in a drinking session to help the couple financially at the beginning of their married life. 25

295

Medieval Birmingham to popular legend, the Devil was sent out of heaven on this day and landed in a blackberry bush, tainting the berries, so they were not eaten after this date.29 CHRISTMAS: The celebration of this feast normally lasted twelve days and was a time when everyone could relax. After going to Mass, drinking, eating, music and dancing would have taken place. Not all elements of Christmas were Christian; the habit of bringing holly and mistletoe into the house and wassailing in the orchards by making a noise to frighten away evil spirits and encourage the trees to bear fruit seems to be an earlier enterprise.30 CANDLEMAS DAY (2 February) According to the Bible, Simeon held the baby Jesus in his arms and said that he would be a light for the Gentiles (Luke 2:32). It is for this reason that this feast is called Candlemas. All the candles of the church were paraded around by the congregation and were blessed on this day.31 Fires, weather and health conditions Living in Bermingham was not always a holiday, but for most of the twelfth to thirteenth century it was a period of comparatively fine climate and the population grew. Town fires did occur, and in the middle of the thirteenth century a devastating volcanic eruption affected the country for a while, but nothing as bad as the plague called the Black Death in the fourteenth century, which devastated the town and may have cut the population down by nearly a half.32 TOWN FIRES: As has been disclosed Bermingham became a popular market town and more and more people went to live there. By the end of the thirteenth century the buildings had been so closely constructed, that most being built of timber and thatch, they became a fire hazard. A major fire occurred between 1281 and 131333 and was recorded at a court of the Abbot of Halesowen.34 The house name Brendeplace may relate to a fire that occurred before 1296, and town fires may have been more frequent than we have records for. It is not known if a fire brigade was organised or how effective it might be if it were formed.

29

Bord, C. & J. op. cit., 143. Ibid, 143. 31 Bryant, A. op. cit., 338. 32 Manley, G. 1973. Climate in Britain over 10,000 years, in Baker, A. R. H., & Harley, J. B. Man Made the Land:19. David & Charles: Newton Abbot. 33 Davies, J. C. 1960. Cartae Antiquae: Rolls 11-20, New Series, XXXIII: 191. Pipe Roll Society; Demidowicz, G. op. cit., 10. 34 Razi, Z. 1976-77, op. cit., 175. 30

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High days and low days CLIMATE: The first part of the medieval period was comparatively fine with dry summers and mild winters, but in 1257, the largest volcanic eruption of the last 7000 years took place on Lombok Island in Indonesia. The eruption was so violent that it blew the sides out of Mount Somalas (now called Mount Rinjani), depositing 80 metres of ash on the whole island. Far more dangerously, it spewed ash, gas and pumice dust miles into the atmosphere. As Indonesia is close to the equator the debris circled the globe in both hemispheres, blocking out the rays of the sun. Bermingham, like the rest of England, went into an extended winter between the years 1258 and 1260.35 Matthew Paris of St Albans states that in 1258: from about this time, that is to say from the Purification of the Blessed Virgin till the end of March, the north wind blew without intermission, a continued frost prevailed, accompanied by snow and such unendurable cold, that it bound the up the face of the earth, sorely afflicted the poor, suspended all cultivation and killed the young of cattle.36 By the summer no shoots had appeared in the food plants and owing to the scarcity of wheat, a very large number of poor people died; and dead bodies were found in all directions, swollen and livid, lying by fives and sixes in pigsties, on dunghills and in the muddy streets. Those who had houses did not dare, in their own state of need, to provide house-room for the dying for fear of contagion. When several corpses were found, large and spacious holes were dug in cemeteries, and a great many bodies were laid together.37 This particularly affected the towns and mass graveyards have been found in sites such as Spitalfields, London, from this period. Bermingham would also have suffered a rise in deaths.38 GREAT FAMINE: After the volcanic winter of the 1250s, the climate temporarily improved, but the comparatively fine weather of the thirteenth century began to change in the fourteenth century and torrential rains brought about a European-wide famine starting in the spring of 1315. The wet weather continued throughout the summer, lowering the temperature and causing the 35 http://www.pnas.org/content/110/42/16742.abstract. According to an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States, at least 40km (dense-rock equivalent) of tephra were deposited and the eruption column reached an altitude of up to 43km. Three principal pumice fallout deposits mantled the region and thick pyroclastic flow deposits were found at the coast, 25km from source. With an estimated magnitude of seven, this event ranks among the largest Holocene explosive eruptions ever. 36 Giles, Rev. J. L. (trans.) 1854. Matthew Paris: English History from the year 1235 to 1273: 3: 266. London: Henry G. Bohun. 37 Ibid, 280. 38 Walker, D. 2012. London’s Volcanic Winter, in Current Archaeology: 270: 13–19.

297

Medieval Birmingham rotting of grain in the stem. Straw and hay rotted so there was no winter fodder for the stock. The price of food began to rise, and the poor were left to eat wild roots, grasses, nuts and tree bark. A contemporary observer was John of Trokelowe, who wrote in his Annales: Meat and eggs began to run out, capons and fowl could hardly be found, animals died of pest, swine could not be fed because of the excessive price of fodder. A quarter of wheat or beans or peas sold for twenty shillings (in 1313 a quarter of wheat sold for five shillings), barley for a mark, oats for ten shillings… …Entering the city we consider “them that are consumed with famine” when we see the poor and needy, crushed with hunger, lying stiff and dead in the wards and streets...’39 The next year was just as bad and people began to slaughter their draft animals and eat their seed corn. Many children were abandoned, which may have given rise to the story of Hansel and Gretel in Germany. Diseases such as bronchitis, pneumonia and tuberculosis began to attack the population. By the spring of 1317, as the rain continued, starvation and cannibalism were occurring, but fortunately the rains dried up in the summer and things began to get better. The Bridlington chronicler declared it caused ‘misery such as our age has never seen’.40 Between 10% and 25% of the population had died, and it took another eight years before the conditions returned to normal. There is no record of the number of dead in Bermingham. The next occurrence of a series of three abnormally wet summers fell in the years 1346–1348 and poor weather conditions again returned in 1359 and 1360.41 GREAT DISEASE: The 1346-1348 poor weather led to starvation and malnutrition, but in the following year the plague, called the Black Death, hit, diminishing an already weak population.42 This was one of the greatest disasters to hit Bermingham, as well as the rest of Europe. The Bubonic plague had arrived in Britain before, but this version did untold damage to population levels. In August 1348 it arrived in Weymouth and quickly spread across the south of the country; by the spring of 1349 it reached the West Midlands. The symptoms were a high fever, the eruption of buboes (swellings that turned black, hence the name) in the groin or underneath the arms and death after a few days. It was estimated that, due to the communal monastic lifestyle and (in the case of secular priests) to visiting the dying to administer the last rites, half the personnel of the church were taken.43 Henry Knighton, in his entry 39 Riley, H. T. (ed.) 1866. Johannis de Trokelowe et Henrici de Blaneforde chronica et annales: No. 28: 92-95. London: Rolls Series. Translation by Brian Tierney. 40 Bryant, A. op. cit., 212. 41 Ibid, 418. 42 Cartwright, F. F. 1972. Disease in History: 36. London: Rupert Hart-Davis. 43 Ibid, 387.

298

High days and low days for the years 1348-1350, stated that people ‘laid in their beds more than two days or two and half days; then that savage death snatched them.’44 The lack of people had a detrimental effect on agriculture: ‘And the sheep and cattle wandered through the fields and among the crops, and there was no one to go after them or to collect them … much grain rotted in the field for lack of harvesting’.45 ‘At this time there was so great a lack of priests everywhere that many widowed churches had no divine services, no matins, vespers, sacraments, and sacramentals.’46 Knighton then reported: After the aforesaid pestilence, many buildings, both large and small, in all cities, towns and villages had collapsed, and fallen to the ground in the absence of inhabitants.’ Prices of goods then went up: ‘All necessities became so dear that anything that in the past had been worth a penny was now worth four or five pence.’47 There is no evidence for the total number of deaths in Bermingham, but in nearby Halesowen Abbey it has been estimated that over 40% of the population succumbed to the infection.48 Such a death rate must have had a catastrophic effect on the workings of the town. The plague returned year after year, keeping the population down. It reoccurred in 1361-2, 1369, 1430, 1471, and 1480. It also influenced the size of the town. The documentary evidence above for Moor Street, Park Street and Digbeth suggests that after this date these areas underwent a decline in occupation, and Hodder noticed that, archaeologically, the intensity of activity diminished in this period. Along these lines, he speculated that Floodgate Street was abandoned at this time, though he stated this may have been due to the deteriorating weather conditions.49 The reduction of people may have affected the power of the Bermingham family, which had already begun to deteriorate. From this period, it began an ever downward spiral, though it took many more years before they were considered to be just another obstacle to get around. An interesting question relates to the burial of the victims of the Black Death of 1349. As Demidowicz calculated that there were a minimum of 1250 people living in Bermingham 44

Lumby, J. R. 1889, Chronicon Henrici Knighton. Rolls Series, Vol. 92; translation McLaughlin, M. M. 1949 The Impact of the Black Death, in Ross, J., B. & McLaughlin, M. M. (eds.), The Portable Medieval Reader: 218. Harmondsworth, Penguin. 45 Ibid, 219. 46 Ibid, 220. 47 Ibid, 221. 48 Razi, Zvi, 1980. Life, Marriage and Death: Economy, Society and Demography in Halesowen 1270 -1400. Cambridge: University Press. 49 Hodder, M. 2004. op. cit., 91-92. Later fifteenth century material seems to suggest the recovery did not occur in the Floodgate Street area till that period.

299

Medieval Birmingham in 1296,50 at a 40% death rate nearly 490 would have succumbed to the disease and would have to be buried in one, or several mass graves.

50

Ibid, 12.

300

Conclusion

Figure 125: The later prospect of Bermingham in 1656 with Deritend chapel in the foreground as shown in an engraving in William Dugdale’s Antiquities of Warwickshire.1 This scene is likely to be a similar depiction to that of the town in the medieval period.

What Bermingham looked like in the Middle Ages was up until recently a mystery, but due to the efforts of a handful of historians and archaeologists we are now beginning to tease out its early history. Without the financial status of his position as chief steward of the barony of Dudley, Peter de Bermingham, would have been unable to afford to build a wall around and crenelate his manor house. Without funds he had accrued he would not have been able to turn his village into a market and embryonic borough (both these things cost money). The manor may have stayed as a small riverside settlement with a low population if the town had not been created. Bermingham’s growth in the medieval period, led to its enormous expansion in the early modern period, but without the Bermingham family there would be no Birmingham as it is today. As a premier member of the barony of Dudley’s household, Peter and his descendants would often be sent to royal courts as the baron’s representative. This allowed them to mix with the great nobles of the kingdom and gave them a sense of freedom, which led to a relaxed relationship with their overlords, at least on their side. The Bermingham family were knights of the realm, military 1

Dugdale, Sir W. op. cit., 655.

301

Medieval Birmingham figures, and the purpose of their role in life was to fight, which they did. They would many times be called to battle in England’s numerous wars both at home and abroad. As they belonged to the barony of Dudley they were often in the baron’s retinue when war was declared, but as time went by, they also came to be affiliated with other barons. Frequently the men they took with them came from their own holdings in the West Midlands. Documentary evidence suggests that their forces could vary between fifty-four to four hundred men. Their occupation as fighting men meant that they were commonly away from home for a great deal of the time and what went on in their estates probably frequently escaped them. This may lie behind the numerous cases that reached the local courts. The land in Bermingham was not conducive to arable farming, being composed of clay, marl and sandstone that sloped down from south-west to north-east. The area around the town was very wet, so it was not the geology and topography, but the people, shops and services that led to growth, with the river crossing the key element that allowed the town to thrive. Crucially, the people who lived in the medieval town were commercially astute and practiced many occupations. At the top of the tree were the merchants, mercers and spicers, whose local, national and international trading brought wealth to the town. Next were the tradesmen, the people who worked in the cattle industry both on the farms and in the borough, from the herdsmen to the tanners and through them to the horn workers (making buttons, handles and cups), weavers and dyers. The presence of a silk worker shows that even expensive items were made, including silver ware (the beginnings of the jewellery trade). There were craftsmen in wood: carpenters, turners, barrel makers and coopers next to workers in stone, masons and metal workers, smiths, farriers, armourers, arrow makers, net makers, and makers of household objects like pottery. Tailors, cappers, cobblers, and glovers made items for the local populace. Objects that needed to be transported locally or further afield were carried by porters and carters. People who constructed the houses should not be forgotten, nor the service industries: the millers, bakers, barbers, butchers, and apothecaries. Medieval Bermingham was a hubbub of trade and industry, but had it not been on a major route leading to greater towns, it would never have taken off. Past in the Present Birmingham today is filled with a mixture of dwellings, shops, factories and offices and has changed radically since the medieval age, but here and there elements of its medieval past still exist. St Martin’s Church still stands in what once was the epicentre of the town. Edgbaston Street, Great Hampton Street, Dale End, Moor Street, Park Street, Digbeth, Deritend and Dudley Road are still there and despite interruptions, the courses of Icknield Street, Steelhouse 302

Conclusion Lane and New Street (which is now called Bath Row and Bristol Road) can still be determined. Few people now think about Birmingham in the medieval period, but in 1838, when the town was incorporated, the borough residents decided they needed a coat of arms. It was the arms of the Bermingham family that they chose. The gold lozenges on a diagonal ‘bend’ with a sky-blue background were the arms of the English lords, while the vertical indented line, gold on the left, red on the right (or black depending on which of the lords held them), belonged to the Irish baronial family. It is observable that the originators of the nineteenth century borough’s coat were not heralds as the lozenges are the wrong way around on the illustration below (Figure 126). Medieval documents relating to the town’s history are now stored at the Birmingham Archives and Heritage Service, where interested parties can consult them, while archaeological objects retrieved from below the town can be observed in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. This present work is not the end of the story; further documentary study and archaeological work will in future allow us to ‘dig’ deeper into Birmingham’s past and hopefully explain in more detail the story of the city’s rise from its primitive rural origins to its present national importance.

Figure 126: Seal of the Borough of Birmingham, 1838.2

2

Source: Digitised from the collection of the British Library. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ File:Common_seal_of_the_Mayor,_Aldermen_+_Burgesses_of_the_Borough_of_Birmingham. jpg Public domain.

303

Medieval Birmingham

Figure 127: The present-day coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Birmingham.3 The Bermingham family’s coat of arms is still with us, although various other devices have been added: a helmet, an ermine fess across the centre (the arms of the Calthorpe family of Edgbaston), which was turned into a cross, with a bishop’s mitre representing Bishop Vesey of Sutton Coldfield. Another Sutton feature is the mural crown with a Tudor rose, representing local government. The female figure represents the arts while the male figure with hammer and anvil represents industry.

3

Source: Author Jimmy Guano. Creative Commons in https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Coat_of_arms_of_Birmingham.svg

304

Figure 128: Modern townscape of the Manor of Birmingham.

Conclusion

305

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Bibliography Wrottesley, G. 1901. (ed.) ‘Extracts from the Plea Rolls, 34 Henry VI to 14 Edward IV’, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire N.S. IV. London: William Salt Archaeological Society, Harrison and Sons. Wrottesley, G. 1903. (ed.) ‘Extracts From the Plea Rolls. temp. Edward IV, Edwards V and Richard III’, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire N.S. VI, Part 1. London: William Salt Archaeological Society, Harrison and Sons. Wrottesley, G. 1904. (ed.) ‘Early Chancery Proceedings, Bundle 3, No. 16b’, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire VII. London: William Salt Archaeological Society, Harrison and Sons. Wrottesley, G. 1905. ‘Pedigrees from the Plea Rolls: collected from the pleadings of the courts of law, A.D. 1200 to 1500’. The Genealogist. Wrottesley, G. 1907. (ed.) ‘The First Register of Bishop Roger de Stretton 1358 – 1385’, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire XX Part II. London: William Salt Archaeological Society, Harrison and Sons. No author given. 1851. The Calendar of the Anglican Church. Oxford: John Henry Parker. No author given. 1911. ‘Inquisitions Post Mortem and Ad Quod Damnum, Staffordshire, Henry III, Edward I, Edward II 1223-1327’, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: Third Series 1911. London: Harrison and Sons. No author given. 1911. Calendar of Final Concords or Penes Finium, Staffordshire. Edward I and Edward II 1272-1327, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire: New Series 1911. London: Harrison and Sons. No author publisher or date given. Records of Dudley from the British Library Collection Vol. I, and Vol. II. Select Websites Clemmenson, Steen, The Newcastle Armorial (The Boroughbridge Roll of Arms), 03., http://www.armorial.dk/ [accessed 20 November 2019]. Dalton, P., 2004. Paynel family (per. c.1086–1244), in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. http://www.oxforddnb.com/ view/ article/53593 [accessed January 2008]. Farrer, W. and Brownbill, J., (ed.), 1911. Townships: Little Harwood, in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6, London: British History Online. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol6/249-251 [accessed 29 October 2017]. Kirby, J. L. 1992. Inquisitions Post Mortem, Henry IV, Entries 351-40, in Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem: Volume 19, Henry IV. London: British History Online. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/inquis-post-mortem/ vol19/120-141 [accessed 31 October 2017]. Lewis, C. P. and Thacker, A. T., (ed.), ‘Later medieval Chester 1230-1550: City and crown, 1237-1350’, in A History of the County of Chester: Volume 5 Part 1, the City of Chester: General History and Topography, (London, 2003), pp. 3438. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/ches/vol5 /pt1/ pp34-38 [accessed 29 October 2017]. Lewis, Samuel, (ed.), A Topographical Dictionary of England, (London, 1848), pp. 177-181. http://www.misericords.co.uk/enville.html#History; ‘Enford 317

Medieval Birmingham - Eriswell’, in British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/ topographical-dict/england/pp177-181a. [accessed 29 October 2017]. Page, W., 1908. (ed.), Hospitals: St Thomas, Birmingham’, in A History of the County of Warwick 2. London: British History Online. http://www.britishhistory.ac.uk/vch /warks/vol2/pp108-109. Chantry Certificate, Warwick 1548 [accessed 6 November 2019]. Page, W., 1925. (ed.), Parishes: Hoggeston, in A History of the County of Buckingham 3. London: British History Online. http://www.british-history. ac.uk/vch/bucks/vol3/ pp369-372 [accessed 6 November 2019]. Page, W., 1927. (ed.), Parishes: Dorton, in A History of the County of Buckingham 4. London: British History Online. http://www. british-history.ac.uk/vch/ bucks/vol4/ pp45-48 [accessed 6 November 2019]. Stephens, W. B., 1964. (ed.), ‘The City of Birmingham’, in A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 7, the City of Birmingham, (London, 1964), pp. 1-3. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol7/pp1-3 [accessed 2 March 2017]. Stephens, W. B. 1964. (ed.), Economic and Social History: Medieval Industry and Trade, A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 7, the City of Birmingham. London: British History Online. http://www.british-history.ac.uk /vch/warks/ vol7/pp58-72. accessed [accessed 2 March 2017]. Stephens, W.B. 1964. (ed.), Manors in A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 7, the City of Birmingham. London: British History Online. http://www.britishhistory.ac.uk /vch/warks/vol7/pp58-72 [accessed 2 March 2017]. Salter, H. E. and Lobel, Mary D., 1954. (ed.), ‘Lincoln College’, in A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 3, the University of Oxford. London: British History Online. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/oxon/vol3/pp163-173 [accessed 29 October 2017]. Wrottesley, George, (ed.), ‘Staffordshire Lay Subsidy, 1327: Seisdon hundred’, in Staffordshire Historical Collections, Vol. 7, Part 1, (London, 1886), pp. 246-255; British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/staffs-histcollection/vol7/pt1/pp246-255 [accessed 31 October 2017]. Wrottesley, George, (ed.), ‘Feet of Fines’ (1883), op. cit., pp. 218-237; British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/staffs-hist-collection/vol4/ pp218-237 [accessed 31 October 2017]. No author given. 1981. Braunston, in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the County of Northamptonshire, Volume 3, Archaeological Sites in North-West Northamptonshire. London: British History Online. https://www.britishhistory.ac.uk/rchme/northants/vol3/pp21-25 [accessed 23 June 2022]. No author given. Charles 163 & St. Georges Roll, E143. http://www.briantimms. com/rolls/charlesF04.htm.

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Medieval Birmingham: People and Places, 1070-1553, attempts documentary and Places, archaeological evidence evolved from a vill Medieval Birmingham: People and 1070-1553, attemptshow to itshow through rolearchaeological as the second city ofhow theit United Kingdom. looks at the lives o documentary and evidence evolved from a villageItinto its present role as the second city of the United looks at the lives of the Bermingham family, who ownedKingdom. the townItand ruled the townsmen. It looks at thei family, who owned the town and ruled the townsmen. It looks at their retinue, who held both s surrounding manors in the area. It tells of the various wars surrounding manors in the area. It tells of the various wars both served in - civil and overseas. The medieval period was a time when the Christian churc overseas. The medieval period was a time when the Christian church had great power, andmanor its role in the manorthe is told, examining the of the the priory and its role in the is told, examining canons of the priory, thecanons friars and parish priests. mostwere important element were the inhab parish priests. Probably the mostProbably importantthe element the inhabitants of the town, wasit they that built up their through and and their lives, occup for it was they for that it built up through trade,itand lives, trade, occupations physical surroundings form the final section of the the book. surroundings form final section of the book.

John Hemingway took a Bachelor of Education degree at Worcester before becoming a John Hemingway took Bachelor of Education degree at Worcester history teacher at a preparatory school. Heachanged his career, becoming an archaeologist, history teacher at a preparatory school.Herefordshire, He changedStaffordshire his career, becomin and worked in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, and the West Midlands. He chaired the day school for CBA West Midlands for many and worked in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Hereford years, giving many presentations in the region and writing articles, chiefly relating to West M and the West Midlands. He chaired the day school for CBA his work. On retiring he took a doctoral degree at the University of Birmingham.

years, giving many presentations in the region and writing articles his work. On retiring he took a doctoral degree at the University of

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