The word borough is used today to mean a town. In the Middle Ages a borough was a settlement that included burgage plots. Someone who held a burgage was known as a burgess and had certain rights in the settlement, including the right to elect borough officials.  

Burgage plots were freehold properties, this meant that they could be bought and sold by the person that owned the freehold. They had to pay a “rent” to the lord of the manor, but this was often a small sum that did not reflect the value of the property. 

Within a manor most of the land would be held by “copyhold”. Copyholders would be granted land by the lord of the manor in return for working on the lord’s own land for a certain number of days, which could vary from manor to manor. The copyholder could not sell the land that they held as they liked but had to “surrender” it to the manor court, which would then decide who would hold it next. Copyholders often had to pay “fines” when being “admitted” or when surrendering. 

The legal proof of admissions and surrenders was recorded in the manor rolls (or sometimes manor court book). Tenants (copyholders) were given a copy of the entry from the manor court book/rolls. 

Throughout this charter (Morpeth, 1663) the town of Morpeth is referred to as the Bailiffs and Burgesses; it was these groups that make up the “body politic”. The bailiffs were a representative of the manorial lord who collected the money owed to them by their tenants. The burgesses were freeman who owned burgages, often skilled craftsmen or merchants. The charter that this detail is from confirms the rights and privileges of the bailiffs and burgesses of Morpeth. 

The “Borough Books” were the manorial roll of Hexham manor. The books record the amercements or fines that the manorial courted ordered to be paid for breaking the rules (called the “customs”) of the manor. 

This detail from one of the pages of the Borough Books from 1634 shows William Todds and George Thompson being fined (amercyed) for not taking proper care of the hedge between their burgages. 

We present the owners & occupiers of the garth lyeinge one [on] the 

backside of wm Todds Burgage adioineinge upon the backside 

of George Thompsons Burgage for the hedge or dike lyinge 

downe Contrary to a former verdict & therfor amercyed – 3s 4d