Page:VCH Herefordshire 1.djvu/379

HEREFORDSCIRE In the city of Hereford in the time of King Edward there were 103 men dwelling together within and without the wall, and they had the follow- ing customs. If any one of them wished to withdraw from the city he could with the "consent of the reeve [prepositus) sell his house to another man who was willing to do the service due therefrom, and the reeve had the third penny of this sale. But if anyone through his poverty could not perform his service, he surrendered his house without payment to the reeve, who saw that the house did not remain empty and that the king did not lack (his) service. Within the wall of the city each whole burgage {masurd) rendered ']d. and d. for the hire of horses {ad locandos caballos) and on three days in August reaped {secabat) at Maurdine [Marden], and (its tenant) was (present) on one day for gathering the hay where the sheriff pleased. He who had a horse proceeded three times a year with the sheriff to the pleas and to the hundred (courts) at Urmelauia [Wormelow]. When the king was pursuing the chase, from each house according to custom went one man to the beating {ad stabilitioneni) in the wood. Other men who had not whole burgages provided guards {inewardos) for the hall when the king was in the city. When a burgess serving with a horse died, the king had his horse and weapons. From him who had no horse, if he died, the king had either os. or his land with the houses (thereon). If anyone, when he came by his death {morte preventus), had not bequeathed {divisisset) his possessions the king had his goods {pecuniam). These customs had they who lived in the city, and others likewise who dwelt without the wall, except only that a whole burgage outside the wall only gave 3^^. The other customs were common (to both). Whosesoever wife brewed within or {et) without the city gave lod. according to custom. There were six smiths in the city ; each of them rendered one penny from his forge, and each of them made 120 shoes {ferra) of the king's iron, and to each one of them was given 3d', on that account {inde) according to custom, and those smiths were quit from every other service. There were seven moneyers there. One of these was the bishop's moneyer. When the coinage was renewed each of them gave i8j. for receiving the dies, and from the day on which they returned, for one month, each of them gave the king 20s., and likewise the bishop had from his moneyer 20s. When the king came into the city the moneyers coined money as much as he willed for him, that is of the king's silver. And these seven had their own sac and soc. 309