Page 5 - WS The Wokingham Charters

A. FREE TRANSLATION.

Charter for the church of Salisbury, given by Henry, King of the English, concerning
the amercements of the people, lands and fiefs of the bishop, the dean and of all the
canons, for the agreed work and building of the church of Salisbury.

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Henry, by the grace of God King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and of
Aquitaine, and Count of Anjou, to [our] archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors, earls,
barons, judges, sheriffs, Keepers of the Peace, bailiffs, law enforcement officers [and
other officials] [1] and their vassals, greetings:-

Know ye that we, in reverence to God, and for the salvation of our soul, and of the souls of
our ancestors and of our heirs, have rendered to God and to Saint Mary's Church of New
Sarum, and to the honourable Father Richard, bishop of the same church, and to his
successors, the total amercements from all his men, lands and fiefs, and from the dean
and all the canons of the church of Sarum, and from all their men, lands and fiefs, and
any amercements which, if we had not granted them to the bishop and his successors,
might belong to us or to our heirs, or to our sheriffs, constables or to our other officials.
And it is our wish that the same bishop and his successors have full power to distrain all
the aforesaid for the aforesaid amercements, keeping the yields for themselves. And we
shall prevent, on pain of forfeiture, anyone, whether or not connected with the collection
or receipts of the aforesaid amercements, from disrupting this undertaking, unless he is
sent in by the wish of the bishop or his successors.

Furthermore, we have granted, to the same bishop and his successors, that if some man, from
his lands or his fiefs, or of the aforesaid dean and canons or of their men, commits an
offence for which he must lose life or limb, or he flees, and is unwilling to stand trial, or
if he commits some offence or other for which he must lose chattels, wherever this
sentence is passed, whether in our court or in another court, all chattels should become
the property of that bishop and his successors. And it shall be lawful for the same bishop
and his successors themselves, without involving sheriffs and whoever of our bailiffs and
others, to seize the aforesaid chattels, both in the above cases, and in others when, if
those chattels were our due, our bailiffs could, and ought to, seize them on our behalf.

In addition, we grant to the aforementioned bishop and to his successors, that no sheriff nor
constable nor other official of ours should have power over, or right of entry in, the
aforesaid lands, fiefs and men of the aforesaid bishop and of his successors nor of the
said dean, canons, and their successors, but the whole should belong to the above-
mentioned bishop and to his successors and officials, except for attachments relating to
pleas of the Crown. And it is our wish that the above-mentioned bishop and his
successors shall be for ever exempt from all fines for the escape of thieves and all other
prisoners.

We have also granted permission to the illustrious bishop and to his successors, forever
allowing them to hold a weekly Tuesday market in their manor of Sonning at
Wokingham, and a weekly Tuesday market, at a place of their own choice, within
their manor of Ramsbury, together with all franchises and free practices
appropriate to these markets, unless they would be detrimental to (other) local

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