Council of the Marches
Encyclopedia
The Council of Wales and the Marches was a regional administrative body within the Kingdom of England
between the 15th and 17th centuries, similar to the Council of the North
. Its area of responsibility varied but generally covered all of modern Wales
and the English counties of Shropshire
, Herefordshire
, Worcestershire
and Gloucestershire
.
, the lands directly administered by the English crown following the Edwardian conquest of Wales
in the 13th century. It was first established in 1472 by Edward IV of England
as a body to counsel and act on behalf of his son, the infant Edward, Prince of Wales
. King Edward had recently been restored to the monarchy during the Wars of the Roses
, and he and his allies controlled most of the marcher lordships within and adjoining Wales. He established his son at Ludlow Castle
, and appointed his allies from the Woodville
and Stanley
families as leading figures in the Council.
. Under Henry VII
, the Council was responsible for acting on behalf of his sons as successive Princes of Wales, first Arthur
and then Henry
.
The second Laws in Wales Act of 1542 gave the Council statutory recognition; it had previously been based solely upon the king's prerogative
. The full Council was composed of the Lord President and his deputy, with twenty members nominated by the king; these included members of the royal household, some of the bishops of Wales, and the justices of the Court of Great Sessions
. It continued to sit at Ludlow, and had responsibilities for the whole of Wales together with the Welsh Marches
. These were initially deemed to comprise Cheshire
, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire; the City of Bristol was exempted in 1562, and Cheshire in 1569. Worcestershire unsuccessfully attempted to free itself in 1576, and the Council's authority over the English counties was relaxed in 1606 but restored by royal decree in 1609.
The legislation which gave statutory recognition to the Council did not specify its role, but declared that the President and Council should have power to hear and determine "such Causes and Matters as be or heretofore hath been accustomed and used". However, its functions were interpreted widely. It was to hear all suits, civil and criminal, which were brought by individuals too poor to sue at common law; it was to try all cases of murder, felony, piracy, wrecking, and such crimes as were likely to disturb the peace; it was to investigate charges of misgovernment by officials and the false verdicts of juries; it was to enforce the laws against livery and maintenance, to punish rumour mongers and adulterers, and to deal with disputes concerning enclosures, villein service, and manorial questions; it heard appeals from the common law courts; and it was responsible for administering the legislation dealing with religion. A leading figure was Sir Henry Sidney, President of the Council from 1560 to 1586. According to historian John Davies
, at its peak under Sidney and for a period thereafter the Council "represented a remarkable experiment in regional government. It administered the law cheaply and rapidly; it dealt with up to twenty cases a day and George Owen stated that the 'oppressed poor' flocked to it."
" of 1688 which overthrew James II
(VII of Scotland) and established William III
(William of Orange
) as king. According to Davies, "when the Council at Ludlow was abolished...there was very little protest in Wales. Instead, the Welsh gentry embraced London..." Its abolition ultimately led to Ludlow Castle's dereliction.
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
between the 15th and 17th centuries, similar to the Council of the North
Council of the North
The Council of the North was an administrative body originally set up in 1484 by king Richard III of England, the third and last Yorkist monarch to hold the Crown of England; its intention was to improve government control and economic prosperity, to benefit the entire area of Northern England...
. Its area of responsibility varied but generally covered all of modern Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and the English counties of Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
, Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
and Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
.
The 15th Century
The Council was initially responsible for governing the lands held under the Principality of WalesPrincipality of Wales
The Principality of Wales existed between 1216 and 1542, encompassing two-thirds of modern Wales.It was formally founded in 1216 at the Council of Aberdyfi, and later recognised by the 1218 Treaty of Worcester between Llywelyn the Great of Wales and Henry III of England...
, the lands directly administered by the English crown following the Edwardian conquest of Wales
Llywelyn the Last
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd or Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf , sometimes rendered as Llywelyn II, was the last prince of an independent Wales before its conquest by Edward I of England....
in the 13th century. It was first established in 1472 by Edward IV of England
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
as a body to counsel and act on behalf of his son, the infant Edward, Prince of Wales
Edward V of England
Edward V was King of England from 9 April 1483 until his deposition two months later. His reign was dominated by the influence of his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who succeeded him as Richard III...
. King Edward had recently been restored to the monarchy during the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
, and he and his allies controlled most of the marcher lordships within and adjoining Wales. He established his son at Ludlow Castle
Ludlow Castle
Ludlow Castle is a large, partly ruined, non-inhabited castle which dominates the town of Ludlow in Shropshire, England. It stands on a high point overlooking the River Teme...
, and appointed his allies from the Woodville
Elizabeth Woodville
Elizabeth Woodville was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Edward IV from 1464 until his death in 1483. Elizabeth was a key figure in the series of dynastic civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses. Her first husband, Sir John Grey of Groby was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans...
and Stanley
Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby
Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby, KG was titular King of Mann, an English nobleman and stepfather to King Henry VII of England...
families as leading figures in the Council.
The 16th Century
The Council continued after the death of Edward IV and the disappearance of his sonPrinces in the Tower
The Princes in the Tower is a term which refers to Edward V of England and Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York. The two brothers were the only sons of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville alive at the time of their father's death...
. Under Henry VII
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
, the Council was responsible for acting on behalf of his sons as successive Princes of Wales, first Arthur
Arthur, Prince of Wales
Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales was the first son of King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and therefore, heir to the throne of England. As he predeceased his father, Arthur never became king...
and then Henry
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
.
The second Laws in Wales Act of 1542 gave the Council statutory recognition; it had previously been based solely upon the king's prerogative
Prerogative
In law, a prerogative is an exclusive right given from a government or state and invested in an individual or group, the content of which is separate from the body of rights enjoyed under the general law of the normative state...
. The full Council was composed of the Lord President and his deputy, with twenty members nominated by the king; these included members of the royal household, some of the bishops of Wales, and the justices of the Court of Great Sessions
Court of Great Sessions in Wales
The Court of Great Sessions in Wales was the main court for the prosecution of felonies and serious misdemeanours in Wales between the second Laws in Wales Act of 1542 and the court's abolition in 1830....
. It continued to sit at Ludlow, and had responsibilities for the whole of Wales together with the Welsh Marches
Welsh Marches
The Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods...
. These were initially deemed to comprise Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire; the City of Bristol was exempted in 1562, and Cheshire in 1569. Worcestershire unsuccessfully attempted to free itself in 1576, and the Council's authority over the English counties was relaxed in 1606 but restored by royal decree in 1609.
The legislation which gave statutory recognition to the Council did not specify its role, but declared that the President and Council should have power to hear and determine "such Causes and Matters as be or heretofore hath been accustomed and used". However, its functions were interpreted widely. It was to hear all suits, civil and criminal, which were brought by individuals too poor to sue at common law; it was to try all cases of murder, felony, piracy, wrecking, and such crimes as were likely to disturb the peace; it was to investigate charges of misgovernment by officials and the false verdicts of juries; it was to enforce the laws against livery and maintenance, to punish rumour mongers and adulterers, and to deal with disputes concerning enclosures, villein service, and manorial questions; it heard appeals from the common law courts; and it was responsible for administering the legislation dealing with religion. A leading figure was Sir Henry Sidney, President of the Council from 1560 to 1586. According to historian John Davies
John Davies (historian)
John Davies is a Welsh historian, and a television and radio broadcaster.Davies was born in the Rhondda, Wales, and studied at both University College, Cardiff, and Trinity College, Cambridge. He is married with four children...
, at its peak under Sidney and for a period thereafter the Council "represented a remarkable experiment in regional government. It administered the law cheaply and rapidly; it dealt with up to twenty cases a day and George Owen stated that the 'oppressed poor' flocked to it."
The 17th Century
The Council was abolished on 25 July 1689, following the "Glorious RevolutionGlorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
" of 1688 which overthrew James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
(VII of Scotland) and established William III
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
(William of Orange
House of Orange-Nassau
The House of Orange-Nassau , a branch of the European House of Nassau, has played a central role in the political life of the Netherlands — and at times in Europe — since William I of Orange organized the Dutch revolt against Spanish rule, which after the Eighty Years' War...
) as king. According to Davies, "when the Council at Ludlow was abolished...there was very little protest in Wales. Instead, the Welsh gentry embraced London..." Its abolition ultimately led to Ludlow Castle's dereliction.
Presidents of the Council
- Bishop John AlcockJohn Alcock (bishop)-Biography:Alcock was born at Beverley in Yorkshire, son of Sir William Alcock, Burgess of Kingston upon Hull and educated at Cambridge. In 1461 he was made dean of Westminster, and his subsequent promotion was rapid in both church and state. In the following year he was made Master of the Rolls,...
1473–1500 - Bishop William SmythWilliam SmythWilliam Smyth was Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield from 1493 to 1496 and then Bishop of Lincoln until his death. He held political offices, the most important being Lord President of the Council of Wales and the Marches. He became very wealthy and was a benefactor of a number of institutions...
1501–1512 - Bishop Godfrey Blyth 1512–1525
- Bishop John VeseyJohn VeseyJohn Vesey or Veysey was an English bishop.-Life:He was born John Harman, probably about 1462, the son of a yeoman farmer, in a farmhouse now known as Moor Hall Farm, Sutton Coldfield...
1525–1534 - Bishop Rowland LeeRowland LeeBishop Rowland Lee was an English administrator and bishop of Coventry and Lichfield.He belonged to a Northumberland family and was educated at Cambridge. Having entered the Church he obtained several livings owing to the favour of Cardinal Wolsey; after Wolsey's fall he rose high in the esteem of...
1534–1543 - Bishop Richard SampsonRichard SampsonRichard Sampson was an English clergyman and composer of sacred music, who was Anglican bishop of Chichester and subsequently of Coventry and Lichfield.-Biography:...
1543–1549 - John Dudley, 1st Duke of NorthumberlandJohn Dudley, 1st Duke of NorthumberlandJohn Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, KG was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane Grey on the English throne after the King's death...
1549–1550 - William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke 1550–1553
- Bishop Nicholas HeathNicholas HeathNicholas Heath was archbishop of York and Lord Chancellor.-Life:Heath was born in London and graduated BA at Oxford in 1519. He then migrated to Christ's College, Cambridge, where he graduated BA in 1520, MA in 1522, and was elected fellow in 1524. After holding minor preferments he was appointed...
1553–1555 - William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke 1555–1558
- Bishop Gilbert BourneGilbert BourneGilbert Bourne was the last Roman Catholic Bishop of Bath and Wells, England.-Life to the death of Mary I:Bourne was son of Philip Bourne, of Worcestershire...
1558–1559 - John Williams, 1st Baron Williams de Thame 1559
- Sir Henry SidneyHenry SidneySir Henry Sidney , Lord Deputy of Ireland was the eldest son of Sir William Sidney of Penshurst, a prominent politician and courtier during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, from both of whom he received extensive grants of land, including the manor of Penshurst in Kent, which became the...
1560–1586 - Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of PembrokeHenry Herbert, 2nd Earl of PembrokeHenry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke KG was an English peer of the Elizabethan era.-Life:He was the son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Anne Parr. His aunt was queen consort Catherine Parr, last wife of King Henry VIII. Herbert was responsible for the costly restoration of Cardiff Castle...
1586–1601 - Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron ZoucheEdward la Zouche, 11th Baron ZoucheEdward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche, 12th Baron St Maur was an English diplomat.-Early Life:Zouche was the son of George la Zouche, 10th Baron Zouche and his wife Margaret, née Welby....
1602–1607 - Ralph Eure, 3rd Baron Eure 1607–1616
- Thomas Gerard, 1st Baron GerardThomas Gerard, 1st Baron GerardThomas Gerard, 1st Baron Gerard was an English politician and peer. He was made Baron Gerard, Custos Rotulorum of Staffordshire, president of the Council of Wales and the Marches and Lord Lieutenant of Wales....
1616–1617 - William Compton, 1st Earl of NorthamptonWilliam Compton, 1st Earl of NorthamptonWilliam Compton, 1st Earl of Northampton, KG , known as 2nd Baron Compton from 1589 to 1618, was an English peer.Northampton was the son of Henry Compton, 1st Baron Compton, and Frances Hastings. His maternal grandparents were Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon and Catherine Pole...
1617–1630 - John Egerton, 1st Earl of BridgewaterJohn Egerton, 1st Earl of BridgewaterJohn Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater KB, PC was an English peer and politician.The son of the Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley and Elizabeth Ravenscroft, he was a Member of Parliament for Callington from 1597 to 1598, and for Shropshire in 1601. Knighted on 8 April 1599, he was Baron of the...
1631–1642 - Richard Vaughan, 2nd Earl of CarberyRichard Vaughan, 2nd Earl of CarberyRichard Vaughan, 2nd Earl of Carbery KB, PC , styled The Honourable from 1621 until 1628 and then Lord Vaughan until 1634, was a Welsh soldier, peer and politician...
1660–1672 - Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of BeaufortHenry Somerset, 1st Duke of BeaufortHenry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort, KG, PC was an English peer. He was styled Lord Herbert from 1646 until 3 April 1667, when he succeeded his father as 3rd Marquess of Worcester....
1672–1689 - Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of MacclesfieldCharles Gerard, 1st Earl of MacclesfieldCharles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield PC was an English aristocrat, soldier and courtier.-Life:The eldest son of Sir Charles Gerard, he was a member of an old Lancashire family, his great-grandfather having been Sir Gilbert Gerard of Ince, in that county, one of the most distinguished judges...
1689
Vice-Presidents of the Council
- Sir James CroftJames CroftSir James Croft PC , Lord Deputy of Ireland and MP for Herefordshire in the Parliament of England.He was born the second but eldest surviving son of Richard Croft of Croft Castle, Herefordshire, inheriting the estate on his father's death in 1562.He was elected seven times as knight of the shire ...
1550–1551 - Hugh PauletHugh PauletSir Hugh Paulet or Poulet was an English military commander and governor of Jersey.-Life:Born after 1500, he was the eldest son of Sir Amias Paulet of Hinton St. George, Somerset, by his second wife. A younger brother, John, born about 1509, became in 1554 the last Roman Catholic dean of Jersey...
- Sir William GerardSir William GerardSir William Gerard was an Elizabethan statesman with a distinguished record of service in England, Wales and Ireland. He sat in the House of Commons for Chester for many years, and was Vice-President of the Council of Wales and the Marches...
1562-1576 - John WhitgiftJohn WhitgiftJohn Whitgift was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to his death. Noted for his hospitality, he was somewhat ostentatious in his habits, sometimes visiting Canterbury and other towns attended by a retinue of 800 horsemen...
in 1577 - Sir Richard Lewkenor 1601?
- Gervase BabingtonGervase BabingtonGervase Babington was the Bishop of Llandaff , Bishop of Exeter and Bishop of Worcester from 1597-1610.-External links:...
1605–?