660 CHARTERS TO SOME October Space does not here permit a comparison clause by clause of the text of the charters to all five boroughs. On the same day when the grant was made to Shrewsbury, Gloucester received a charter containing clauses 1, 2, 3, and 11. The borough was already in a highly privileged position, having obtamed the liberties of Winchester i in a charter of 21 April 1 John, and therefore only needed certain clauses ; it is interesting to see Gloucester, after having first chosen a distant exemplar at this stage, acquiring the privileges of its neighbours. Bridgnorth, a small royal borough some twenty miles south of Shrewsbury on the Severn, obtained its extension of liberties in two grants made at Woodstock on 16 August. 2 Charter (i) contains eight of the Shrewsbury clauses arranged in the order 1, 2, 3, 9, 7, 8, 10, 11. Charter (ii) is identical with charter (ii) to Shrewsbury. The repetition of clauses 8, 9, 10, from the Shrewsbury charter may be due to the fact that these two riverside boroughs were to some extent trade rivals ; they had already gone to law over a question of freedom from toll, and Shrewsbury had obtained a special charter on 20 March 11 Henry III prohibiting the purchase of raw hides or undressed cloth save by the burgesses in order to exclude Bridgnorth traders. For the charters to Hereford, Shrewsbury, and Gloucester, I have made the comparison of the text from the original documents in the respective municipal offices. The Bridgnorth charters were destroyed by fire ; but fortunately both those under consideration were subsequently confirmed in full. The text of charter (i).is rehearsed in the confirmation on 3 April 6 Edward II on the charter roll, which, however, does not include the one clause of charter (ii) ; this clause is preserved in the Inspeximus of the borough charters by James I. The case of Worcester is interesting. The citizens received in all clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, of the Hereford and Shrewsbury charter ; there are, however, certain differences of wording. That Worcester did not obtain more clauses is strange ; the explanation may possibly be found in the powerful influence of the local church. A charter containing clauses 1 and 3 was granted at Brechull on 23 February 1256, which would thus be the prototype for Hereford charter (i).^ The archives of Worcester do not preserve any other charter until 4 Ed- ward III, but the charter roll contains the confirmation on 30 March 48 Henry III of an earlier grant ; this confirmation
- See also Gross, Oild Merchant, i. 248. In this charter four clauses are repeated
from earlier charters.
- See for Bridgnorth R. W. Eyton, Antiquities of Shropshire, i. 241-53.
- Though a difference of ' intromittat se de huiusmodi summonitionibus ', etc., in
the Worcester charter for ' ingrediatur civitatem predictam ad aliquas summonitiones ', etc., in the Hereford clause is found.
