Part 3
“Three of the English counties, viz. Chester, Durham, and Lancaster, are called Counties _Palatine_. The two former are such by prescription or immemorial custom, which dates back at least to the Norman Conquest. Lancaster was created a County Palatine by Edward the Third in favour of Henry Plantagenet, Duke of Lancaster, whose heiress being married to John of Gaunt, the King’s son, the franchise was greatly enlarged and confirmed in Parliament to honour John of Gaunt himself.
“Counties Palatine are so called _a palatio_ because the owners thereof, the Earl of Chester, the Bishop of Durham, and the Duke of Lancaster, had formerly in those counties _jura regalia_ as fully as the King in his palace. That is to say, they might pardon treasons, murders, and felonies; they appointed judges and justices of the peace; all writs and indictments ran in their names, as in other counties in the King’s; and all offences were said to be done against their peace, and not as in other places _contra pacem domini regis_. These palatine privileges, so similar to the regal independent jurisdictions usurped by the great barons on the Continent, during the weak and infant state of the first feudal kingdoms in Europe, were in all probability originally granted to the counties of Chester and Durham because these counties bordered upon inimical countries, Wales and Scotland; in order that the owners, being encouraged by so large an authority, might be the more watchful in its defence. In the twenty-seventh year of Henry the Eighth, however, the powers before mentioned of the owners of these three counties palatine were abridged, the reason for their continuance having in a manner ceased, and in modern times alterations have taken place in regard to the administration of justice in the counties palatine, which have, for the most part, assimilated them in that respect to the rest of England. Thus by the Law Terms Act, 1830, the jurisdiction of the Court of Session of the County Palatine of Chester was abolished, and that county was subjected in all things to the jurisdiction of the Superior Courts of Westminster. And by the Judicature Act, 1873, the jurisdictions of the Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster and of the Court of Pleas of Durham were respectively transferred to the High Court of Justice, by that Act established. None of the counties palatine any longer remain in the hands of subjects. For the Earldom of Chester was united to the Crown by Henry the Third, and has ever since been one of the titles of the monarch’s eldest son; the palatine jurisdiction of Durham was taken from the Bishop of Durham by the Durham (County Palatine) Act, 1836 (amended by the Durham Palatine Act, 1858), and was vested as a separate franchise and royalty in the Crown; and the County Palatine of Lancaster, with the duchy which had been conferred on John of Gaunt, was at length, in the year 1485, vested in King Henry the Seventh and his heirs, as a distinct and separate inheritance from the Crown of England.”
Of these three Palatinates we must, however, here treat only of Chester, the eldest of the trio. There were Earls of Chester in Saxon times, but the establishment of the Palatine County of Chester dates from the Norman Invasion. Before we proceed to describe its foundation and history, let us see what Camden, in his quaint way, has to say about Cheshire and its inhabitants. Quoting Lucian the Monk of Chester, he remarks:--
“Whoever sets about to describe the manners of the inhabitants of this County in general, or in particular, according to their situation, he will find them in comparison with those of other parts of England in some respects better, in others the same. Their manners seem to be in the main of the best sort, according to the general idea of manners. They are sociable in their entertainments, cheerful at meals, liberal in their hospitality, hasty, but soon brought to temper, impatient of dependance and bondage, kind to the distressed, compassionate to the poor, fond of their relations, sparing of labour, free from resentment, not given to excess in eating, undesigning, fond of borrowing other people’s property, abounding with woods and pastures, rich in meat and cattle. They border on one side the Britons, and by long commerce of manners are become very like them. Nor must I forget to observe that the County of Chester bounded by Lime (Macclesfield) Forest from the rest of England enjoys distinguished immunities, and by the indulgences of our Kings and the great merit of its Earls is more accustomed to attend on the Sword of its own Prince than on the Crown of the Sovereign in the assembly of the people, and without restraint or reserve determine the most important causes within its own territories. Hence Chester itself is much frequented by Irish, a neighbour to the Welsh, and plentifully supplied with provisions by the English; beautifully situated, its gates are of an ancient form of building; approved by hard experience. It has merited the name of City by its river and its watch-towers, defended by a watchful guard of holy men and through the mercy of our Saviour it has always been preserved by divine assistance.”
The late Professor Freeman has said: “Chester was the last English city to bow to the Norman invader. After the fall of Chester no integral part of the English kingdom remained unsubdued. William was full King over all England.”
Recognising, as the Romans before him had done, that Chester was the key to Wales, and also that it could be made the headquarters for an invasion of Ireland, the Norman Conqueror placed a great military camp there, and in A.D. 1070 granted to his kinsman and follower Hugh, surnamed Lupus of Avranches (which is situate on the borders of Normandy and Brittany close by Mont St. Michael), the whole of the present county of Chester, and as much of the neighbouring parts of Wales as he could secure, to hold as an independent state inferior to the Crown of England, “ita libere ad gladium, sicut ipse Rex totam tenebat Angliam ad coronam,” “as the very words of the Charter do run,” saith Camden. Which words, says Leycester the Chester antiquary, “some expound to be the tenure of being Sword-bearer of England, whence we read in Matthew Paris that when Henry III. married Eleanor of Provence, A.D. 1236, the marriage was pompously solemnised, and all the great men of the kingdom used those offices and places which had of ancient right belonged to their ancestors at the coronation of the Kings. The Earl of Chester (John Scot) then carried the Sword of St. Edward (which is called Curtein) before the King in token that he was an Earl Palatine and had power by right to restrain the King if he should do amiss, his Constable of Cheshire attending on him.
“But although this office might have of ancient right belonged to the Earls of Chester ever since the time of Hugh Lupus, yet I believe there is something more magnificent couched in these words of the first Charter or donation--namely, a dignity inherent in the Sword, as purchased by it, and to be kept by it also; for as in the Crown of England there is an inherent right of regality annexed, so here is given an inherent right of dignity in the Sword. This is to hold as freely by the Sword as the King holds by the Crown, only inferior to the King. Hence was it that whatsoever we say concerning the pleas of the Crown or to be done against the King’s Crown and Dignity, the same is also said (but in a more limited sense) concerning the pleas of the Sword of Chester, or against the Sword and Dignity of the Earl of Chester, as is most evident out of the records and indictments of those times.”
There were seven of these Norman Earls, viz.:--
I. Hugh Lupus, before mentioned.
II. Richard his son who, when only twenty-five years of age and soon after his marriage, was drowned in the _White Ship_ catastrophe, together with his bride and the two sons (William and Richard) of King Henry the First.
III. Randle Meschines, Viscount Bayeux of Normandy.
IV. Randle Gernons.
V. Hugh Cyveilioc.
VI. Randle Blundeville.
VII. John the Scot, Earl of Huntingdon, who died without issue at Darnhall Abbey, Cheshire, on the 7th June 1237.
These Norman Earls had their Chamberlains or Chancellors; also Justices (before whom causes which of their nature should otherwise belong respectively to the King’s Bench and Common Pleas were triable), a Baron of Exchequer, a Sheriff and other officers similar to those of the Crown at Westminster.
They also had palatinate Barons who held court in council with them. The form of act or grant of Hugh Lupus began thus: “Ego Comes Hugo et mei Barones.” These barons were--
I. Nigel, Baron of Halton, High Constable of Cheshire.
II. Robert, Baron of Monte Alto or Montalt (Hawarden and Mold), High Steward of Cheshire.
III. William, Baron of Wich Maldeberg (Nantwich).
IV. Robert FitzHugh, Baron of Malpas.
V. Richard Vernon, Baron of Shipbrook.
VI. Hamo de Massie, Baron of Dunham-Massie.
VII. Gilbert Venables, Baron of Kinderton, whose heirs male in the direct line continued until 1679--the last survivors of the Barons of Cheshire.
VIII. Nicholas, Baron of Stockport.
IX. Robert, Baron of Rhuddlan.
Each of these barons had his own court of all pleas, suits, and plaints (except such as belonged to the Earl), and power of life and death. The last instance of the execution of this latter power was in the person of Hugh Stringer, who was tried for murder in the court of Sir Thomas Venables, Baron of Kinderton, and was executed in 1597.
The business of these barons was to attend the Earl in Council, follow him, and grace his court, and as an old record sets forth, “they were bound in time of war with the Welsh to find for each knights-fee one horse harnessed or two unharnessed within the divisions of Cheshire. And their knights and free tenants were to be furnished with breastplates and haubergeons, and to defend their respective fees in person.”
The Abbots of Chester and Combermere also had their own courts as well as the barons, and doubtless they and the heads of the other monasteries and priories were called to the Earl’s Council in the same way that other ecclesiastics were summoned to the Parliaments of the early Kings of England. We here give a copy of the plate by Hollar in King’s _Vale Royal_ of “Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, sitting in his Parliament with the Barons and Abbots of that County Palatine.”
Of these Norman Earls of Chester the distinguished pre-eminence of Earl Randle Blundeville during his long and active rule has been noticed by all writers on Cheshire history. That he was a strong man is evidenced by his refusal in 1232 to comply with the demand for money from the county made by Henry III., as well as by his resistance to that King’s permission given to the Pope’s officers to collect Peter’s Pence in his Palatinate, and his expulsion of those officers from the county, whereas all England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales paid.
On one occasion Blundeville was surprised and surrounded in his Castle of Rhuddlan by a superior force of Welsh. He contrived to send a message to his Constable de Lacy for help. It happened that the Abbot’s great fair was being held at Chester, and de Lacy at once collected from those attending it an immense crowd of “Players, Fiddlers, Musicians, and other loose persons,” and marched with them to the relief of Rhuddlan. The Welsh seeing this immense host, and hearing withal the terrible discord of “harp, flute, sackbut, psaltery, and other kinds of music,” evidently concluded that Bedlam was let loose, raised the siege, and took flight.
“Was ever an enemy thrown in such plight? Did ever a pen such a hist’ry indite? And yet the fact’s true as black differs from white!”
After the Earl’s return he rewarded de Lacy with an exclusive prerogative over the “Trades and Mysteries” of the followers in his rabble army. The Constable’s son, John de Lacy, reserved his exclusive privileges over the mechanic occupations, but granted the Player and Minstrel prerogative to Hugh Dutton of Dutton and his heirs, who was the son of that Dutton who marched at the head of the minstrels. The Dutton family and their successors, down to the year 1756, regularly held a court (which in the Cheshire Recognisance Rolls is called “a Court of Histrionics”), and granted licences to play on musical instruments within the county and within the city of Chester. The various Acts of Parliament passed for the regulation of “Players Minstrels and other Rogues and Vagabonds” specially recognise this right, and exempt Cheshire from their provisions. We believe to this day this right is recognised in the grant of certain music diplomas.
The rule of the Norman Earls of Chester may be said to have extended over a period of about one hundred and sixty-seven years--that is to say, from the time of the grant to Hugh Lupus down to the death of John the Scot, when, he having died in 1237 without male issue, the Crown seized the Earldom. King Henry III. then gave it to his son, Prince Edward, probably in 1245 (together with other possessions), on his marriage with the Princess Eleanor of Castile. Two years after this the new Earl--the first of the royal Earls of Chester--made his public entry into his county palatine, and in its ancient metropolis received the homage of his officers and military tenants. The entry in the _Chronicle_ of St. Werburgh’s Abbey recording the event runs thus:--
“1236. On the Feast of Kenelm (July 17) The Lord Edward, Earl of Chester, entered Chester for the first time, and was received with all due respect, as well the Clergy as the laity having gone forth to meet him. Having remained three days to receive the homage and fealty, as well of the Nobles of Chester as of Wales, he set out for Wales, to inspect his lands and Castles there, and returning on the day of the invention (or finding) of (the relics of) S. Stephen, August 3rd, he left Chester and returned to England,[3] going by way of Darnall.”
[3] Observe the expression “left Chester and returned to England.” Cheshire was a separate state apart from England.
On Prince Edward succeeding to the throne, he relinquished the Earldom in favour of his eldest son. His successors, on being invested with the executive power when they created their heirs-apparent to the Crown Princes of Wales, at the same time invested them with the Earldom. The oldest title the present King when Prince of Wales held was that of Earl of Chester.
The greater part of the present county of Flint was held by the Norman Earls before the conquest of Wales. King Edward I., after he had created it into a separate county, attached it to the “Sword of Chester” as presently described. It is evident that it was considered an important appanage to the Earldom, as from time to time the name Flint has been associated with that of Chester, the title adopted being that of Earl of Chester and Flint. Edward of Windsor, eldest son of Edward II., was summoned to Parliament by the name of Earl of Chester and Flint, “since which time it has been continued as a title in the Princes of Wales; and there you will be sure to find who were Earls of Flint,” says Peter Heylyn in his _Help to English History_. The last Prince of Wales summoned by that title to Parliament was Prince George, afterwards George II., in 1714.
If the reigning sovereign had no son to succeed him, the Earldom appears to have been retained by the Crown until a new creation. This was so in the case of Richard II., who styled himself Prince of Chester, and created the county palatine a principality. This, however, was revoked in the following reign.
There seems to have been a close attachment between this King and the people of Chester and of Wales, doubtless in consequence of the esteem in which they held his father, the Black Prince, whom they followed in his French wars, and who had placed confidence in them. King Richard had a bodyguard of 2000 Cheshire archers, many of whom accompanied him in his ill-fated expedition to Ireland, on his return from which he was taken prisoner by Bolingbroke at Flint Castle, and from there, it is said, brought to Chester Castle on his way to London.
When the conquest of Wales had been finally completed by the defeat and death of Prince Llewelyn, Edward the First proceeded to regulate the administration of the territory he had acquired. By his ordinance called the “Statute of Rhudland,” he formed Flintshire into a county, attached, as previously mentioned, but subordinate to, that of Chester, and directed the Sheriff of Flintshire to render his accounts to the Exchequer there. The judges were appointed, sometimes for both counties, at others for each county separately. By the same statute the greater part of the district governed by Llewelyn was divided into the three counties of Anglesey, Carnarvon, and Merioneth, and it was to these counties that the name of “North Wales” was originally confined. Chester and North Wales were the oldest of the Welsh Judicial Circuits.
Subsequently, on the petition of the Welsh themselves, in the reign of the Tudor King, Henry VIII., Wales was incorporated with England, and the Lordships Marches were divided into shires, the counties of Denbigh and Montgomery being added to North Wales. Wales then for the first time sent representatives to the English Parliament, but it was not until the reign of his son, King Edward VI., that the County Palatine of Chester was given parliamentary representation. Professor Freeman has said:--
“The Earldom of Hugh of Avranches stood alone in its greatness from the rest of the realm. How distinct Chester and Durham stood from the rest of the kingdom, is best shown by their having for so many ages (not until the reign of Edward VI.) no voice in the national Parliament. While Chester had its own courts and own baronage, knights and citizens from the all but independent state would have been as much out of place as knights and citizens from the Isle of Man or the Norman islands of the English Channel.”
About this time also, viz. in 1542, it was enacted that sessions for the administration of justice should be held twice in every year in each of the twelve shires of Wales, to be called “The King’s Great Sessions of Wales,” apparently to distinguish them from those of the Justices of the Peace, who were directed to be eight in number in each county, and to hold their sessions four times a year. For the business of the Great Sessions, Wales was divided into four districts, each independent of the rest, with its own judge and its own establishment of judicial officers. Anglesey, Carnarvon, and Merioneth continued as before under the Justice of North Wales, and formed the North Wales Circuit; while Denbigh and Montgomery were joined to Chester, to which, as before mentioned, Flint from its first creation had been attached. Each Circuit at first had a single judge, but in the reign of Elizabeth a second one was added. The judges were styled Justices, and within the limits of their Circuits they exercised all the powers of the Justices of King’s Bench and Common Pleas. They also had an equitable jurisdiction, but important equity cases were seldom brought before them, as the Court of Chancery was open to Welsh suitors, and it was only in matters of immediate urgency that the powers of the Great Sessions as a Court of Equity were found of use. In equity an appeal lay to the House of Lords, and in legal cases “error” could be brought in the King’s Bench. In the administration of criminal law, when cases of difficulty arose the opinion of the twelve Judges was obtained, in a similar way to that which was pursued in England. The process of the Courts could only be executed in the counties of the Circuit, and the want of further power to give effect to their orders outside their jurisdiction was one of their greatest disadvantages. But when final judgment had been obtained, a transcript of the record could be removed and execution issued from one of the Superior Courts. Each Circuit had its judicial seal. The use of seals was looked upon as a matter of paramount importance (as it is in many foreign Courts at the present time), and Henry VIII. himself is stated to have devised these seals. The original seal of Chester was used for Flint. Here we give an illustration from the last seal which was in use when the Chester Palatinate Court was dissolved. Another original seal for the shires of Denbigh and Montgomery was entrusted to the Steward and Chamberlain of Denbigh, and these two counties formed in some respects a distinct division of the Chester Circuit. Causes commenced in the Superior Courts could be sent down to Chester to be tried. The equitable jurisdiction at Chester belonged to the Chamberlain and not to the Justices. The Chamberlain’s Court is described as having been one of a very singular character, and to have administered a mixture of law and equity. The Vice-Chamberlain presided as the Judge, and the business, which is said to have been at one time considerable, appears latterly to have been small; but it is to be regretted that it was abolished and not retained, as in the adjoining County Palatine of Lancaster, as in these days it would have been of great use.
The Chief-Justiceship of Chester, being the most lucrative as well as the most important of the Welsh Judgeships, was looked upon as one of the great prizes of the profession, and was held by many distinguished men. When the Great Session came to an end the salary of the Chief Justice was £1630, and that of the second Justice £1250. An annual pension of £1015, 12s. was granted to Thomas Jervis (father of Sir John Jervis, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas), who was second Justice of Chester, by way of compensation for loss of his office. The Chief-Justiceship of Cheshire was vacant at the time. In Ormerod’s _History of Chester_, in the _History of the Great Sessions of Wales_, by Mr. W. R. Williams, and in the contribution to the _History of the Courts of Great Session of Wales and of the Chester Circuit_, by the late Chancellor Trevor Parkins, from which I have obtained a considerable amount of information, is given a list of judges and officers of these Courts from early days to their abolition in 1830. A very important person on every Circuit was the Attorney-General, who was appointed by the Crown, and possessed all the powers of the King’s Attorney-General. The principal officer on each Circuit was the Prothonotary, who attended on the Justices when they held their Courts, and discharged similar duties to those now performed by the Associate. He was appointed by the Crown, and was usually Clerk of the Crown also. The subordinate officers were a marshal, a registrar, and a crier, and these were appointed by the Chief Justice.