Local Government and Society in Early Modern England: Hertfordshire and Essex, C
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2003 Local government and society in early modern England: Hertfordshire and Essex, C. 1590-- 1630 Jeffery R. Hankins Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Hankins, Jeffery R., "Local government and society in early modern England: Hertfordshire and Essex, C. 1590-- 1630" (2003). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 336. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/336 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY IN EARLY MODERN ENGLAND: HERTFORDSHIRE AND ESSEX, C. 1590--1630 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In The Department of History By Jeffery R. Hankins B.A., University of Texas at Austin, 1975 M.A., Southwest Texas State University, 1998 December 2003 Acknowledgments I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Victor Stater for his guidance in this dissertation. Dr. Stater has always helped me to keep the larger picture in mind, which is invaluable when conducting a local government study such as this. He has also impressed upon me the importance of bringing out individual stories in history; this has contributed greatly to the interest and relevance of this study. I have been extremely lucky in the persons on my graduate committee, and I have learned from all of them. I would like to thank Dr. Suzanne Marchand, Dr. Maribel Dietz, Dr. Meredith Veldman, Dr. Christine Kooi, and Professor James Wilcox. Finally, I would like to thank my wife Jean McWeeney for her constant support in what must have seemed like an unending project. We have both grown through the experience. ii Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . ii LIST OF TABLES . v LIST OF FIGURES . vii ABSTRACT . viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION . 1 2 ANALYSIS OF THE COMMISSIONS OF THE PEACE FOR THE COUNTIES OF HERTFORDSHIRE AND ESSEX, CIRCA 1590-1630 . 37 3 ON BECOMING A JUSTICE OF THE PEACE IN HERTFORDSHIRE AND ESSEX: LAND, LAW, AND MARRIAGE . 72 4 ON BEING A JUSTICE OF THE PEACE IN HERTFORDSHIRE AND ESSEX: QUARTER SESSIONS, SPECIAL SESSIONS, AND COUNTY DIVISIONS. 109 5 ON BEING A JUSTICE OF THE PEACE IN HERTFORDSHIRE AND ESSEX: MAINTAINING THE PEACE. 141 6 THE LIEUTENANCY IN HERTFORDSHIRE AND ESSEX . 171 7 THE JUSTICES OF THE PEACE IN HERTFORDSHIRE AND ESSEX AND SELECTION TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS . .212 8 BOROUGH GOVERNMENT IN THE COUNTIES OF HERTFORDSHIRE AND ESSEX . .248 9 BOROUGH RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE COUNTY AND THE CROWN; TWO CASE STUDIES . .279 10 RELIGION AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN HERTFORDSHIRE AND ESSEX . .308 11 CONCLUSION . .352 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY . 373 iii APPENDIX 1 JUSTICES OF THE PEACE FOR THE COUNTY OF HERTFORDSHIRE, 1590-1630 . 384 2 JUSTICES OF THE PEACE FOR THE COUNTY OF ESSEX, 1590-1630 . 398 3 TREND OF JUSTICES OF THE PEACE APPOINTED TO HERTFORDSHIRE COMMISSIONS OF THE PEACE, 1590-1630 . .420 4 TREND OF JUSTICES OF THE PEACE APPOINTED TO ESSEX COMMISSIONS OF THE PEACE, 1590-1630 . 421 5 BISHOPS OF LONDON AND LINCOLN NAMED TO HERTFORDSHIRE AND ESSEX COMMISSIONS OF THE PEACE . 422 VITA . 423 iv List of Tables 1. Number of Justices of the Peace Appointed in the Hertfordshire Commissions of the Peace, 1590-1630 . 41 2. Number of Justices of the Peace Appointed in the Essex Commissions of the Peace, 1590-1630 . .43 3. Number and Percentages of Ex-Officio JPs in Relation to Resident JPs in Hertfordshire Commissions of the Peace, 1590-1630 . .45 4. Number and Percentages of Ex-Officio JPs in Relation to Resident JPs in Essex Commissions of the Peace, 1590-1630 . .49 5. Percentages of the Total Number of Hertfordshire Ex-Officio JPs (62) and Local JPs (127) Serving in Office for Less Than Five Years to More than Twenty Years . 52 6. Percentages of the Total Number of Essex Ex-Officio JPs (60) and Local JPs (214) Serving in Office for Less Than Five Years to More than Twenty Years . 55 7. Percentage of Hertfordshire Commission of the Peace in Attendance at Assize Sessions, 1590-1625 . 62 8. Percentage of Essex Commission of the Peace in Attendance at Assize Sessions, 1590-1625 . 62 9. Percentage of Resident Hertfordshire Justices of the Peace in Attendance at Assize Sessions, 1590-1625 . .64 10. Percentage of Resident Essex Justices of the Peace in Attendance at Assize Sessions, 1590-1625 . 65 11. Percentage of Essex Resident JPs Attending Each Quarter Session Recorded between 1590 and 1603 . 67 12. Percentage of Resident Hertfordshire Justices of the Peace in Attendance at Quarter Sessions, in Relation to the Number of Resident Justices of the Peace on the Commissions of the Peace . .120 13. Percentage of Resident Essex Justices of the Peace in Attendance at Quarter Sessions, in Relation to the Number of Resident Justices of the Peace on the Commission of the Peace . .120 v 14. Sample of Hertfordshire Recognizances and Location where Recognizances were Taken . .150 15. Sample of Essex Recognizances and Location where Recognizances were Taken . 151 16. Returns to the House of Commons for the County of Hertfordshire, 1590-1630 . .215 17. Returns to the House of Commons for the Borough of St. Albans, 1590-1630 . .218 18. Returns to the House of Commons for the Borough of Hertford, 1590-1630 . .221 19. Returns to the House of Commons for the County of Essex, 1590-1630 . .225 20. Returns to the House of Commons for the Borough of Colchester, 1590-1630 . .233 21. Returns to the House of Commons for the Borough of Maldon, 1590-1630 . .237 22. Returns to the House of Commons for the Borough of Harwich, 1590-1630 . .241 vi List of Figures 1. Map of Hertfordshire Showing the Residential Seats of Principal JPs . 70 2. Map of Essex Showing the Residential Seats of Principal JPs . 71 3. Map of Hertfordshire Showing Eight Hundreds and Two Corporate Boroughs . 246 4. Map of Essex Showing Twenty Hundreds and Three Corporate Boroughs . 247 vii Abstract This administrative and social history of Hertfordshire and Essex tracks the careers, social relationships, and personal tribulations of justices of the peace and other county officials from 1590 through 1630. The study addresses the nature of the relationship between local government and the central government, the social structure of the two counties as reflected in the annual lists of the justices of the peace, and any administrative or social connections between Hertfordshire and Essex. Office holding was not only an administrative duty but also intertwined the lives of real people. Did local officials rise or fall because of central government actions, or did inter-county faction drive the successes or failures of the ruling elite? Was there any underlying social connection among the gentry of the two contiguous counties that influenced local administration? Finally, how did local government function? What role did it play on the lives of the people? The study was accomplished through first examining the annual commissions of the peace for each county; from these lists, information was compiled regarding the nature of local office holding as well as the individuals likely to serve in county government. Manuscript sources revealed the social backgrounds and personal stories of individual justices of the peace. Local records showed the workings of county administration and the jurisdiction of the shires’ ruling elite. Other printed sources tied the counties to the Crown and explored issues of religion, economics, and politics. Local governance in Hertfordshire and Essex was successful to the extent that it provided order and stability to the Crown, the ruling elite, and the inhabitants of the viii counties. For the most part, the magistracy did fulfill this function and the result was a marked continuity in local government and society. Although disorder could erupt on occasion, changes initiated by the central government caused the most tension in the shires. By the late-1620’s, the lords lieutenant, their deputies, and the justices of the peace were stretched to the breaking point by the open-ended threat of economic, political, religious, and social innovations imposed from above. ix Chapter 1 Introduction England in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries saw important changes on a number of levels: social, political, religious, and economic. Some of the changes were imposed from above, by the monarch, while some rose form national demographic shifts or international politics. English men and women experienced these changes differently, depending on their station in society or their location within the realm. Regional or local studies can illuminate the reasons for change and the degree of impact upon those affected. In this dissertation, I propose to study the administrative and social history of two adjoining English counties, Essex and Hertfordshire, for the period of 1590 through 1630. As a political and social history, this study will track the careers and social relationships of the justices of the peace, as well as other county officials, such as the sheriff, the deputy lieutenants, and the lord lieutenant (usually the resident nobleman of a county). The study will address at least three issues for the relevant period: the nature of the relationship between local government and the central government; the social structure of the two counties as reflected in the annual lists of the justices of the peace; and any administrative or social connections between Hertfordshire and Essex.