Welsh Journals

CARDIGAN'S ANCIENT BOROUGH So much has been written by so many about the Charters of the ancient borough of Cardigan that a mere layman like myself hesitates to reveal what a study of the subject has produced. As to the town's first charter there has been much guesswork, some writers attribut- ing the honour to King John (in 1199, the year he ascended the throne), and others to his successor, Henry III, who is said to have granted charters in 1216 and 1250. The great handicap is that nobody seems to know where any of Cardigan's charters are now located. I have made numerous enquiries, but without success, and even the late Mr. Daniel Williams, B.Sc., of Cardigan, in his handbook on Cardigan's Ancient Charter, the charter granted by Richard II at Windsor Castle on 22 September 1396, claims to have seen it but does not state where it is deposited. In past years lectures have been given and many articles written about Old Cardigan,' but neither these nor any of the authoritative works published make any mention of an earlier charter than that of Edward I (1272 — 1307). There seems to be no doubt that following this great Charter of Incorporation other charters were granted (or they may have been various patents adding to, or confirming, privileges enjoyed by the burgesses) by Richard II (1377-1399), Henry VI (1422-1461), Edward IV (1461-1483), Henry VII (1485-1509), Henry VIII (1509 — 1547), and James I (1603 — 1625). Whilst it may be true to say that grants of privileges may have been granted by King John and Henry III (and possibly earlier by William II), governing the provision of markets and fairs, it would seem that the first Charter of Incorporation was that of Edward I. This is the view of (among others) Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick, in whose book on Cardiganshire, published first in 1808 and again in 1907, there is a translation of the confirming Charter of Henry VIII. It is unfortunate that Cardigan Borough suffered severely during the Civil War by the loss or destruction of important records and works of art. I am indebted to the officials of the National Library of Wales and others for valuable information on the subject of Cardigan's charters, and for helping to clarify the position that has arisen with reference to the supposed Charter of King John. I am able to say that probably Gilbert de Clare founded a borough with perhaps a market and fairs at Cardigan before 1 165. In 1 199 King John received from Maelgwn ap Rhys the four cantrefi of Ceredigion, and Cilgerran and Emlyn, in return for the surrender of Cardigan Castle and the commote of Is-hirwern, and the reference to a charter of 1199 in Rotuli Chartarum (p. 7) is to this grant, but there is no record of any Grant to the Burgesses in that year. I also quote Edward I in 1284 granted the customs of the borough of Carmarthen to the burgesses of Cardigan (British Borough Charters, 1216-1307, Ballard and Tait, p. 26). References to the subject are also to be found in various Calendars of Charter and Patent Rolls between 1340 and 1583. Incidentally, it is interesting to note that the first Cardigan Council was chosen at a Court Leet in 1653, the mayor then nominated being David Morgans. The mayoral chain of office was presented by the burgesses as a memento of the coronation of Edward VII in 1902. The Corporation Seal shows an embattled castle and a three-masted sailing ship, surmounted by the Latin words Sigillum Commune Burgensium de Cardigan (the Common Seal of the Borough of Cardigan), and, intersected, Anchor a Spei Cereticae est in Te Domine (The Anchor of Hope of Cardigan is in Thee, 0 Lord). The inter-spaces also show two maces. The original Seal (which appears to have been deposited in Carmarthen Museum for some unknown reason) was in two parts, one matrix dating