| County | Borough | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bedfordshire[1] | Bedford | Borough by prescription. Appears as a borough in Domesday Book. Received confirmatory charter from Henry II with burgesses to enjoy liberties and free customs they had in the time of Henry I.[2] |
| Biggleswade | Borough by prescription. A mesne borough under protection of the Bishop of Lincoln (manor granted in 1132 by Henry I) 1547 passed to the Crown, subsequently held by stewards. Borough courts were held as late as 1670.[3] | |
| Dunstable | Established by Henry I at the beginning of his reign. C.1131 Henry founded Dunstable Priory and endowed it with the manor and borough of Dunstable. Following the dissolution of the Priory, the borough effectively ceased to exist, and was merged with other Crown lands into the Honour of Ampthill in 1542.[4] | |
| Leighton Buzzard | No source for borough status. Leighton, with its hamlets of Billington, Eggington, Heath and Reach and Stanbridge was a soke, not subject to the jurisdiction of shire and hundred. By 1286 these privileges were claimed by the Abbess of Fontévrault directly, and the soke was still in existence in 1390.[5] | |
| Luton | No source for borough status. Described as a borough in a document of 1229, although the Victoria County History of 1908 stated '"this is undoubtedly a misnomer, as Luton was certainly never a borough"[6] | |
| Toddington | No source for borough status. Youngs gives VCH Beds III p.441. Does not appear in online text [1] | |
| Berkshire[7] | Abingdon | Reputedly created a borough by charter of Edward the Confessor, who granted the town to Abingdon Abbey. Continued under the control of the Abbot until the dissolution. Incorporated by charters of 1553 and 1556.[8] |
| Aldermaston | ..." from the 13th to the 15th century there are occasional traces to be found of a small borough"..."The chief official of the borough was the bailiff, who appears to have been elected at the portmote". Boorough appears to have ceased by the 16th century.[9] | |
| Bray | "possibly a medieval borough" "B&F p.67" "The bailiffs and good men of Cookham and Bray" received a pontage grant from Edward I.[10] | |
| Faringdon | A borough by 1169, the Royal Manor of Faringdon was granted to Abbot of Beaulieu in 1204/5 by King John. The borough was governed by the abbot's bailiff. The borough survived the dissolution of Beaulieu, but had ceased to exist by the 17th century.[11] | |
| Hungerford | A borough by 1241. In about 1600 a memorial for the grant of a charter of incorporation was drawn but not forwarded to the Crown. The borough rights were purchased in 1612 and passed to feoffees who hold the estate in trust for the inhabitants. Remnants of the borough government remain in the Hocktide Jury.[12] | |
| Lambourn | "Land here was held by burgage tenure in the late 12th century, but though the tenure continues till the middle of the 15th there are no other signs of an incipient borough."[13] | |
| Maidenhead | Incorporated 1582 as the "Warden, Bridgemasters, Burgesses and Commonalty of the town of Maydenheth"[10] | |
| Newbury | Borough by prescription. Earliest extant charter of incorporation dates from 1596.[14] [15] | |
| Old Windsor | "B&F p.68" | |
| Reading | ||
| Thatcham | Not described as borough in Domesday Book. In existence in 14th Century. Manor and borough granted to Reading Abbey on its foundation by Henry I. On dissolution of abbey in 1540 passed into lay hands, and a separate court for the borough was held as late as 1834.[16] | |
| Wallingford | ||
| Windsor (or "New Windsor") |
References edit
- Youngs, Frederic A, Jr. (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol.I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0901050679.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- ^ Youngs (1979) p.559
- ^ William Page, ed. (1912). "The borough of Bedford: Borough". A History of the County of Bedford: Volume 3. pp. 15–21. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- ^ William Page, ed. (1908). "Parishes: Biggleswade with Stratton and Holme". A History of the County of Bedford: Volume 2. pp. 209–215. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- ^ William Page, ed. (1912). "Parishes:Dunstable". A History of the County of Bedford: Volume 3. pp. 249–368. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- ^ William Page, ed. (1912). "Parishes:Leighton Buzzard". A History of the County of Bedford: Volume 3. pp. 249–368. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- ^ William Page, ed. (1908). "Parishes: Luton". A History of the County of Bedford: Volume 2. pp. 348–375. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- ^ Youngs (1979) pp.563-564
- ^ William Page and P H Ditchfield, ed. (1924). "The borough of Abingdon". A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 4. p. 430-451. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ^ P.H. Ditchfield and William Page, ed. (1923). "Parishes: Aldermaston". A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 3. pp. 386–395. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ^ a b P H Ditchfield and William Page, ed. (1923). "Bray with the borough of Maidenhead: Introduction, borough and manors". A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 3. pp. 93–107. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
- ^ P.H. Ditchfield and William Page, ed. (1924). "Parishes: Great Faringdon". A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 4. pp. 489–499.
- ^ P.H. Ditchfield and William Page, ed. (1924). "Parishes: Hungerford". A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 4. pp. 183–200. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ^ William Page and P H Ditchfield, ed. (1924). "Parishes: Lambourn". A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 4. pp. 251–266. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ^ William Page and P H Ditchfield, ed. (1924). "The borough of Newbury". A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 4. pp. 130–155. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
- ^ Money, Walter (1887). The history of the ancient town and borough of Newbury in the county of Berks. Oxford & London: Parker and Co. pp. 227–229.
- ^ P H Ditchfield and William Page, ed. (1923). "Parishes: Thatcham". A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 3. pp. 311–329. Retrieved 11 August 2012.