Taxor
Encyclopedia
A Taxor was a representative of the University of Cambridge
who exercised the University's rights to intervene in trade in the town of Cambridge
, England
. One senior and one junior taxor was elected each year, and each had to be an MA of the University. These posts have not been filled since 1856.
By the first half of the nineteenth century Benthamite reform
had transformed the role of the borough and increasingly the trade and financial privileges of the University caused friction between "town and gown", with the town's deputy High Steward declaring in 1842 that supervision of weights and measures by Taxors was "quite inadequate for the purpose at the present day."
In 1853-4, conflict between the growing jurisdiction of magistrates' courts and the historical duties of the University Proctors was the trigger for a schism between the University and the Borough. The University suggested that the dispute be referred to parliament and Sir John Patteson was appointed as arbitrator to consider their differences. His 1855 report recommended that Proctors should not have to submit to the jurisdiction of magistrates, but called on the University to surrender its rights over trade and licensing. When his proposals were enacted as the Cambridge Award Act 1856, the office of Taxor was discontinued.
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
who exercised the University's rights to intervene in trade in the town of Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. One senior and one junior taxor was elected each year, and each had to be an MA of the University. These posts have not been filled since 1856.
Historical background
Since the 13th century the University had special privileges and jurisdiction to control aspects of life in the town. Matters relating to morality and discipline were managed by Proctors and those relating to trade were managed by Taxors, whose responsibilities included:- Licensing of Alehouses and Lodging-houses
- Fixing the rent of scholar's lodgings and the price of bread
- Examining and sealing weights and measures, confiscating any that were defective
- Administering Stourbridge fairStourbridge fairStourbridge fair was an annual fair held on Stourbridge Common in Cambridge, England. At its peak it was the largest fair in Europe and was the inspiration for Bunyan's "Vanity Fair"....
(until 1589)
By the first half of the nineteenth century Benthamite reform
Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. He became a leading theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law, and a political radical whose ideas influenced the development of welfarism...
had transformed the role of the borough and increasingly the trade and financial privileges of the University caused friction between "town and gown", with the town's deputy High Steward declaring in 1842 that supervision of weights and measures by Taxors was "quite inadequate for the purpose at the present day."
In 1853-4, conflict between the growing jurisdiction of magistrates' courts and the historical duties of the University Proctors was the trigger for a schism between the University and the Borough. The University suggested that the dispute be referred to parliament and Sir John Patteson was appointed as arbitrator to consider their differences. His 1855 report recommended that Proctors should not have to submit to the jurisdiction of magistrates, but called on the University to surrender its rights over trade and licensing. When his proposals were enacted as the Cambridge Award Act 1856, the office of Taxor was discontinued.