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The barons of Faversham are granted all the freedoms that the barons of the Cinque Ports have by charter, including immunity from toll and custom and from the jurisdiction of the shire and hundred, and the right to trove by land and sea. In return they are to provide ships with the barons of the Cinque Ports for fifteen days each year, upon summons of the King.
EDWARD, by grace of God, king of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Aquitaine, to archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors, earls, barons, justices, sheriffs, provosts, and to all bailiffs and his faithful subjects, greeting. Know ye that for the good service which our barons of Faversham have hitherto rendered unto us and our predecessors the kings of England and shall render in the future, and in return for a fine of five hundred marks which the barons made with us before the Venerable Father W [alter Langton], Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, our treasurer, by this our charter we have confirmed for us and our heirs to our same barons all liberties and immunities subscribed as follows. That they and their heirs the barons of the same town shall be quit for ever of all toll, lastage, tallage, passage, quayage, rivage, sponsage and all wreck, and all sale, purchase and repurchase throughout the land, with soc and sac, toll and theam, infangthef and utfangthef in their lands within the said town of Faversham just as the barons of the Cinque Ports within their ports have by charter, with wrecfry and wytefry, lestagefry and lovecopfry. And they shall have den and strand at Yarmouth as is contained in our ordinances, and they shall have trove by sea and land and their honours in our court and their liberties throughout our land wherever they shall come. And they shall be immune from shire and hundred, and in respect of all lands which they and their predecessors and the same barons and their predecessors held in the forty-fourth year of the reign of our father King Henry [III, 1260] of England of blessed memory, and they shall be immune from all summons before any justices in eyre to any plea, wherever the land may be, unless anyone shall implead them, and they shall not plead elsewhere than where they were accustomed at Shipeway. And if anyone shall plead against them they shall not answer or plead otherwise than the barons of the said Cinque Ports where accustomed to plead in the time of King Henry [II] our great-grandfather. And they shall not be put in assizes, juries or recognitions by reason of their external possessions against their will, and they shall be immune from our prisage in respect of their own wines in which they are dealing, that is of one tun before the mast and one tun behind the mast. We have granted further to the same barons of the town of Faversham for us and our heirs that they and their heirs shall for ever have all freedoms and immunities aforesaid just as ever our barons of the Cinque Ports and their ancestors best, most fully and most honourably enjoyed the aforesaid freedoms and immunities in the times of Edward, William I, William II, Henry [II] our great-grandfather, Richard, John our grandfather and Henry [III] our father, kings of England, as the charters of those kings which the same barons have and which the king has formerly inspected, testify. And we forbid that anyone shall unjustly disturb them or their market under pain of forfeiture of ten pounds, provided that if they shall be wanting in the execution or acceptance of justice, the Warden of the Cinque Ports shall enter the said town of Faversham to carry out full justice there, and provided that they and their heirs shall provide full annual ship-service to us and our heirs the kings of England with the barons of the Cinque Ports at their own cost for fifteen days upon the summons of the king or his heirs, that is to say, as much as they ought to render and were accustomed to render to the king and his predecessors. We have also granted to them for us and our heirs that we and our heirs shall not have wardship or marriage of their heirs by reason of any of their lands held by them within the said liberties and ports for which they render the said service and for which the king or his ancestors have not had wardship or marriage in the past, saving the king’s dignity and the pleas of the crown of life and limb. Whereby we wish and firmly ordain for us and our heirs that the aforesaid barons of Faversham may have for ever all liberties and immunities aforesaid […], as is contained in our ordinances made by us, and to be perpetually observed. These being witnesses, the Venerable Father W[alter Langton], Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield; John de Warenna, Earl of Surrey; Roger le Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, Marshal of England; John de Brittannia; Hugh le Despenser, Roger de Mortuo Mari; William de Brewosa; Walter de Bello Campo [Beauchamp], steward of the king’s household; Roger le Brabazun; John Butteturte; Walter de Teye; John de Merk, and others. Given by our hand at Westminster the fourteenth day of November in the thirtieth year of our reign.
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