The local records of medieval Yarmouth are focused on a fine series of
court rolls; unfortunately these do not extend a great deal beyond
coverage of judicial matters (albeit broadly interpreted), although in
mid-fifteenth century they diversified a little to include accounts of
borough revenues. There is no extant medieval custumal, nor any volume
compiling local by-laws until the Book of Oaths and Ordinances
(Yarmouth C18/1) begun in the Tudor period. This does, however,
include the texts of older documents giving ordinances made at several
times between 1272 and 1491 (when a custumal was compiled –
which must to some degree reflect earlier practices). The ordinances
of 1300 were copied from a now missing volume called the "Golden Book",
which might have been a medieval custumal (but more probably was a book
of general memoranda such as are found at Lynn, Ipswich and Colchester);
we also hear of a Domesday Book, Little Red Book and Great Black Book,
all of similarly unknown character.
The value of these by-laws is, in part, that they reflect some of the
preoccupations, concerns and issues related to borough government and
society.
History of
medieval Yarmouth
