The early municipal history of ‘the Queen’s Majesty’s town and borough of Great Grimsby’—the phrase comes from the 1584 election return—is uncertain. The surviving returns show that the MPs were chosen by the mayor and burgesses with their ‘whole and mutual assents and consents, voices and agreements’ but it is impossible to say how many were present at the elections.
The city of Lincoln, with a population of more than 2,000 in the middle of the sixteenth century, was a county in itself. It was governed by a mayor and 12 aldermen, constituting a self-perpetuating body usually known as the ‘inner chamber’: most of its members were merchants. There was also a common council of ‘discreet and honest persons’, chosen by the aldermen. The city had a recorder, usually elected from the local gentry, and two sheriffs.
By the beginning of this period Boston was in decline, the townsmen a ‘factious people imbued with a puritan spirit’. Its charter of 1545 provided for a mayor, 12 aldermen, 18 common councilmen, a recorder, town clerk and other officials. The recordership was honorary, a deputy performing the duties of the office. Sir William Cecil was recorder throughout this period until his death in 1598, when he was succeeded by his son Thomas, 2nd Lord Burghley.
In this period Grantham was governed by an alderman and 12 comburgesses. There was also a recordership held for much of the Elizabethan period by the Thorold family, who lived nearby. In a letter dated 1581 Anthony Thorold implied that he had held the position for many years and his father before him.
Like other market towns in Lincolnshire, Stamford suffered from the decline of the wool trade and in 1542 it was included in an Act (33 Hen. VIII, c.36) for decayed towns. The castle, manor and town belonged to the crown as part of the duchy of York, and formed part of the jointure of each of Henry VIII’s consorts. In 1462 the borough had been incorporated as the alderman and burgesses. Edward IV granted a second charter in 1481 modifying and extending the earlier one. Three years later Richard III confirmed the charter of 1481 and in 1510 Henry VIII confirmed both.
By the 16th century Lincoln was in full decline. The departure of the wealthier merchants formerly resident there left less influential citizens to administer the city. Houses fell vacant as the population continued to fall—in 1540 it was estimated to be less than 2,000—and churches became redundant. The city was exempted from payments towards the subsidies of 1512, 1513 and 1515; it was included in the Act of 1540 (32 Hen. VIII, c.18) for the re-edification of towns and in 1549 it secured an Act (2 and 3 Edw. VI, no.48) for the reorganization of its parishes.
Since the early 15th century the haven at Grimsby had been silting up, while the draught of ships had been increasing; the resultant loss of trade was so severe that a commission was appointed in 1490 to investigate the town’s poverty. The decay of the port led to an exodus of many merchants and thus to a decrease in the town’s ability to resist the influence of the crown, the earls of Westmorland and local gentlemen.E. Gillett, Grimsby, passim.
The borough of Grantham had been incorporated by Edward IV in 1463 as the alderman and burgesses. The alderman was elected annually from a body of 13 comburgesses holding office for life and forming the alderman’s court; vacancies among the comburgesses were filled by election from among the freemen. There were various municipal officers, including by the early 16th century a recorder, who was often a member of the Thorold family. The charter was slightly modified in 1484 and confirmed in 1504, 1510 and 1547. No municipal records survive for the period.
On 14 May 1545 Henry VIII granted Boston a charter of incorporation at the suit of his brother-in-law, Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, who owned property in and near the town. The charter vested authority in a mayor, 12 aldermen and 18 common councilmen chosen from the resident freemen. The mayor was to be assisted by a town clerk, a recorder and a number of minor officials. George Foster was named the first town clerk and William Cecil recorder.
The strategic importance of Lincoln’s position upon a steep hill commanding the river Witham was early recognized by the Ancient Britons and subsequently by the Romans who established a colony there. The construction of Ermine Street, which stretched from London to York, and of the Fosse Way, which linked Exeter with Leicester, proved a great stimulus to the city’s development, since it lay at the intersection of these two major thoroughfares.
