Chief Bailiff of Hereford
The office of Chief Bailiff of Hereford, in Hereford, England, was a feudal appointment instigated by the feudal vassalage owed by an oath of fealty to the overlordship of the King of England. The Bailiwick of Hereford was created after the Norman Conquest in the ancient Anglo-Saxon jurisdiction of the shire. Deriving from Normandy French baillieu, the word is a combination of the two concepts of bail and lieu, referring to payments made to courts leet. It was the first imposition on the city of Hereford of a two-tier feudal jurisdiction, creating a civic officer of the king's court (loi civile) along Roman law lines. The Chief Bailiff's principal duty was as the Lord Paramount of the city burgesses. This title is usually used in the records. Each county had an escheator, whose main role was to collect fines, customs, duties, and levies owed to the Crown.
In order to raise money for the Third Crusade, Richard I sold the township to its citizens on 9 October 1189. The Chief Bailiff became the Lord of the city and the king's representative in his absence abroad for the whole shire county.[1] The Office of Chief Bailiff was first recorded in 1261, following the Provisions of Oxford, and the arrest of a number of Oxford men in Hereford. The defeat of Simon de Montfort ended the provision of Magna Carta for rule by Parliament. After the Lord Edward (later Edward I) escaped from the town's gaol, where he had been taken by baronial rebels, and where he almost died in 1268, he compelled his enemies to sign a truce at Westminster by 1270. The office of Bailiff was eventually superseded by a Mayor, but the legalistic character of the office at least offered an appellate forum.
As an officer of the king's court, the Bailiff also passed judgement on cases in camera, commissioned investigations, and enforced collection. These cases were mostly inquisitions into inheritance, alienation of lands, and rights of wardship, with the Escheator as an inquisitorial presiding judge. For example, by 1291 Reginald Moniword had been made a judge.[2] However historians have noted his lack of real power.
List of Bailiffs of Hereford
| Date | Name |
|---|---|
| 1268 | Richard Bisse |
| 1269 | Adam Swaine |
| 1270 | Adam Swain |
| 1271 | Walter le Wanter |
| 1272 | John Seym |
| 1273 | Hugo Seward |
| 1274 | Reginald Moniword |
| 1275 | Richard Moniword |
| 1276 | Reginald Moniword[3] |
| 1277 | John de Pyon |
| 1278 | Thomas |
| 1279 | John Werrour |
| 1280 | John Catchpol |
| 1281 | John le Gaunter |
| 1282 | Hugo Doreward |
| 1283 | John le Sutton |
| 1284 | John le Gaunter |
| 1285 | William Franklyn |
| 1286 | William Goudry |
| 1287 | John le Gaunter |
| 1288 | John le Gainter |
| 1289 | William Framelyn |
| 1290 | John le Gaunter |
| 1291 | John le Gaunter |
| 1292 | Roberto de Dik.[4] |
| 1293 | Roberto de Dik |
| 1294 | Hugo Frouse |
| 1295 | John Suton |
| 1296 | John Moniword |
| 1297 | Hugo Grovey |
| 1298 | William Vomaller |
| 1299 | John de Stretton |
| 1300 | William de Smey |
| 1301 | William de Smey |
| 1302 | Nicholas Iwayn |
| 1303 | Richard Moniword |
| 1304 | Hugh Froue |
| 1305 | vacant |
| 1306 | vacant |
| 1307 | Richard Moniword |
| 1308 | Richard Moniword |
| 1309 | Richard Moniword |
| 1310 | Richard Moniword |
| 1311 | Henry de Orleton |
| 1312 | Richard de Cruse |
| 1313 | Thomas de Tope |
| 1314 | William de Orleton |
| 1315 | Richard Thurgin |
| 1316 | Richard Thurgin |
| 1317 | Thomas Tope |
| 1318 | Richard Moniword[5][6] |
| 1319 | Philip de Werrour |
| 1320 | Philip le Worror |
| 1321 | Philip le Worror |
| 1322 | William de Orleton |
| 1323 | William de Stanton |
| 1324 | William de Orleton |
| 1325 | John de Lansale |
| 1326 | William Horeman |
| 1327 | Thomas Cope |
| 1328 | Robert de Hompton |
| 1329 | Robert de Hompton |
| 1330 | Robert de Hompton |
| 1331 | Robert de Hompton |
| 1332 | Robert de Hompton |
| 1333 | Robert de Hompton |
| 1334 | John de la Barre |
| 1335 | Thomas Thorpe |
| 1336 | Walter le Catchpole |
| 1337 | Roger Colling |
| 1338 | Walter le Catchpole |
| 1339 | Walter de la Barre |
| 1340 | Walter de la Barre |
| 1341 | Robert de Hompton |
| 1342 | Robert de Hompton |
| 1343 | Nicholas de Bromyard |
| 1344 | Richard Aubrey |
| 1345 | Richard Aubrey |
| 1346 | Nicholas de Bromyard |
| 1347 | Nicholas de Bromyard |
| 1348 | Nicholas de Bromyard |
| 1349 | Richard de Bromyard |
| 1350 | Richard de Bromyard |
| 1351 | Richard Hamond |
| 1352 | Henry Catchpole |
| 1353 | John le Bailiff |
| 1354 | John le Bailiff |
| 1355 | John Field |
| 1356 | Bartholomew le Clerk |
| 1357 | Henry Catchpole |
| 1358 | John le Clerk |
| 1359 | Walter de Ailmeston |
| 1360 | John Field |
| 1361 | Batholomew le Clerk |
| 1362 | Walter Ailmeston |
| 1363 | Thomas Don |
| 1364 | Walter de Ailmeston |
| 1365 | Richard Elliot |
| 1366 | John Bailiff |
| 1367 | John Blod |
| 1368 | William Colling |
| 1369 | Henry Catchpole |
| 1370 | Richard Elliot |
| 1371 | John Blod |
| 1372 | Richard Elliot |
| 1373 | William Colling |
| 1373 | John Goldsmith |
| 1375 | Henry Catchpole |
| 1376 | William Delamere |
| 1377 | Richard Falke |
| 1378 | Hugh Osborne |
| 1379 | Richard Falke |
| 1380 | Richard Palmer |
| 1381 | Richard Falke |
| 1382 | Richard Falke |
| 1383 | Thomas Benger |
Notes
References
- Long Ago, vol.16, issue 11 (1874), p.98
- 1Hereford Corporation, 13th report, part 4, Court Rolls to 1509, pp.292-302
- Court Rolls, pp.292-302, 4th part, 13th Report of Wyelands and Hereford Corporation. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/hist-mss-comm/vol31/pt4/pp292-302
- Court Rolls to 1509, pp.292-302
- the Moneyword family were the best known wool merchants in the county. John was MP in 1322, Richard in 1326, and another John in 1384.
- Lloyd, The English Wool Trade in the Middle Ages (1977), 299; W.R. Williams, The Parliamentary History of the County of Hereford 1213-1896 (1896), 745, 79.
- Johnson's Customs of Hereford is heavily criticised by modern historians as inaccurate. but it is the only source for the above list.