Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Medieval Confirmation of the Gild Merchant Charters

Description:Newcastle was granted a ‘Gild Merchant Charter’ by King Henry III in 1235.
A charter is a formal document granting rights given by a king or queen written by clerks in the royal chancery.
The original charter has been lost but this wording appears in the 'Calendar of Charter rolls, 18 September 1235:
“Grant to the burgesses of Newcastle-under-Lyme that the said town shall be a free borough, and that the said borough shall have a gild merchant therein, with all liberties and free customs thereto belonging, and that they shall go through all the land with all their merchandises buying and selling and trading in peace, freedom, and honour, quit of toll, pontage, passage, stallage and lastage and all other customs, saving the liberty of the city of London.”

Newcastle became a borough in 1173 Newcastle-under-Lyme and it grew into an important centre of trade.
In 1235 Henry III granted the townsmen the right to a Gild (or guild) Merchant (a merchant is a person involved in business or trade).
Members of the guild controlled the town’s trade.
The charter confirmed their right to buy and sell goods.
They traded all over the country (except the city of London) without having to pay taxes.

Members of the guild merchant paid a fee to became freemen of the borough (burgesses).
Over time some members became involved with running the town.
The first meeting place for the Gild was St. Giles’ Chapel.
A ‘Gild Hall’ was first mentioned in 1389.