f 193v (9 September)
The same daye & yere yt was Agreed by Mr
William Hall mayor & the more parte of his bretherne with thassent
& consent of all the butchers of the Cytie there present viz
William Lane James Vibert Richarde Harvey William Broxtone John
Vallower William Chapman William Goodale Bartholemew
lardener John Abbot Edmonde Bodham Richarde Kente Edwarde Gardener that
William Broxtone and Richarde Kente ‸⸢& the
survivor of them⸣ shall yerelie fynde and provide for one
sufficient ffightinge bull to be bayted such dayse the first boromote daye at such
tyme & place ‸⸢on that day⸣ within the Cytie
aforesaied as shalbe from tyme to tyme appointed by the mayor for the tyme beinge
& so lykewise euery other day that week in which the mayor
doth kepe any ffeaste and also that the sayed William Broxtone &
Richarde Kent & the Survivor of them doo finde a like bull to be bayted
as Aforesayed the Sonday in which the
⸢the bayliffes⸣ doo ryde the liberties of the Cytie
and that they be bounde in fyve poundes so to doo and that they & the
Survivor of them have of every butcher of the Cytie Aforesayed towards the
findinge of the bull Aforesayed vj d. and that every of the sayed butchers doo pay
‸⸢yerelie⸣ the sayed vj d. the borowmote daye to the sayed
William Broxtone & Richarde Kent ‸⸢or the Survivor
of them⸣ upon payne f to forfayte euery
of them iij s. iiij d. thene half to the butcher sayed William
Broxtone & thother to the pore people of the Cytie the same to be lyvied by
dystresse by the discrecion of the mayor of the said Cytie for the tyme beinge/
...
°Expired°
'Expired' is written in a different but contemporary hand; ordinances were updated or cancelled from time to time. The brethren were ex-mayors and were called upon to assist the mayor in day-to-day decision making. The recorder was also included after the 1587 royal charter. Boroughmotes were held half-yearly, usually between Michaelmas and Christmas and between Easter and Pentecost (Keene, Survey of Winchester in the Late Middle Ages, pp 75–82; Furley, City Government, 62–9).
Record title: Ordinance Books
Repository:
HRO
Shelfmark: W/B1/1
Repository location: Winchester
The ordinance books contain ordinances such as election of officials, granting of leases, and regulations to do with trade and health. Also included are elections to membership of the Merchants' guild and incorporation of various other guilds, such as the Fishmongers' and the Tailors' and Hosiers'. These books can be seen as the official register of decisions made at the general assemblies, the borough motes, held twice a year in either the guildhall or in St John's House and attended by the mayor, the twenty-four, other freemen of the Merchants' guild, and – supposedly – the commonalty, although it is doubtful whether the ordinary citizen had any formal say by this date or was even present, whatever may have been the case earlier (Keene, Survey of Winchester in the Late Middle Ages, 75–82; Furley, City Government, 62–9). Many are ratifications of decisions already made at the more frequent meetings of the mayor and his brethren and initially recorded in the Proceedings Books. The first book includes the queen's proclamation concerning the fate of Mary Queen of Scots and regulations, dated 16 October 1561, concerning the wearing of scarlet gowns by mayors, ex-mayors, and their wives, and the days on which they are to be worn. As the ordinances were amended or cancelled a marginal entry to that effect has been added.
On f 99 there is an ordinance dated 7 November 1552 that all acts and ordinances in Winchester's black book (a forerunner of the ordinance books) that the mayor and the twenty-four considered still valid should be translated into English and bound into a new paper book. The rest of the black book was then to be 'voyde and vtterlye abolisshed for euer.' It appears that the new paper book forms the first ninety- eight pages of this ordinance book and records ordinances dating back to 1358.
1552–1608; English and some Latin; paper; ii + 316 + vi; 310mm x 200mm; contemporary foliation; some pages torn but condition generally good; contemporary brown suede leather binding, gold-tooled title on spine: 'First Book of Ordinances.'