The citizens of York; People living along the rivers Ouse and Ure between York and...

Petitioners

The citizens of York; People living along the rivers Ouse and Ure between York and Boroughbridge.

Addressees

King and council.

Nature of request

The citizens of York and the people living along the rivers Ouse and Ure between York and Boroughbridge request that the king command that these rivers should not be in defence, as in the recent ordinances it was said that the Great Charter of the franchises of England should be upheld in all points, and this charter states that no river should be in defence, except for those that were in defence in the time of King Henry, great-great-grandfather of the present king. However these rivers were put in defence, contrary to the Great Charter, by Richard earl of Cornwall, and this was continued by Edmund, his son and heir. The community of York, together with the country of the said rivers, deraigned a franchise by an assize of twenty-six knights in the eyre of John de Vaux in the county of Yorkshire, and were seised of this franchise for two years, until Edmund, earl of Cornwall, disseised them without a judgement, to their great impoverishment. By virtue of this bill they were granted, in the last parliament at Lincoln, a writ to the treasurer and chamberlains to have a record of the process produced.

Nature of endorsement

[On separate strip of parchment.]Coram domino rege pro civibus Ebor et aliis in brevi (Before the king for the citizens of York and others in the writ).

Places mentioned

Everwyk (York)

River de Use (River Ouse), [West Riding of Yorkshire]

River de Yor (River Ure), {West Riding of Yorkshire]

Le Pont de Burgh (Boroughbridge), [West Riding of Yorkshire]

Nichole (Lincoln), [Lincolnshire]

People mentioned

Henry II, king of England

Richard [of Cornwall], earl of Cornwall

Edmund [of Almaine], earl of Cornwall

John de Vaus (Vaux).

For a later related petition from the citizens of York see SC 8/2/73

For a related petition, see SC 8/148/7394