The Court of the Council in the Dominion and Principality of Wales, and the Marches of the same, commonly called the Council of Wales and the Marches (Welsh: Cyngor Cymru a'r Gororau) or the Council of the Marches, was a regional administrative body founded in Shrewsbury.
Ludlow Castle, a headquarters of the Council of the Marches
The Council House Gate House in Shrewsbury, another headquarters of the council
The council was founded in Shrewsbury and met there and in Ludlow
During its years of operation, between the 15th and 17th centuries, it was based between[clarification needed]Ludlow Castle and the council's chambers near Shrewsbury Castle within the Kingdom of England. Its jurisdiction ranged widely, from judicial matters to public health and administration.
It was re-established by Edward IV of England as a body to counsel and act on behalf of his son, the infant Edward, Prince of Wales. King Edward had recently been restored to the monarchy during the Wars of the Roses, and he and his allies controlled most of the marcher lordships within and adjoining Wales. He established his son at Ludlow Castle, and appointed his allies from the Woodville and Stanley families as leading figures in the council.[7]
The council continued after the death of Edward IV and the disappearance of his son. Under Henry VII, the council was responsible for acting on behalf of his sons as successive Princes of Wales, first Arthur and then Henry.
The second Laws in Wales Act 1542 gave the council statutory recognition; it had previously been based solely upon the king's prerogative. The full council was composed of the lord president and his deputy, with twenty members nominated by the king; these included members of the royal household, some of the bishops of Wales, and the justices of the Court of Great Sessions. It continued to sit at Ludlow, and had responsibilities for the whole of Wales together with the Welsh Marches. These were initially deemed to comprise Cheshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire; the City of Bristol was exempted in 1562, and Cheshire in 1569.[2]
Worcestershire unsuccessfully attempted to free itself in 1576, and the council's authority over the English counties was relaxed in 1606 but restored by royal decree in 1609.[7]
Sir Rowland Hill served on the councilSir Henry Sidney, lord president of the council
Leading figures on the council included Sir Rowland Hill and Sir Henry Sidney, (who was president of the council from 1560 to 1586).
According to historian John Davies, at its peak under Sidney and for a period thereafter the council:
represented a remarkable experiment in regional government. It administered the law cheaply and rapidly; it dealt with up to twenty cases a day and George Owen stated that the 'oppressed poor' flocked to it.[7]
The legislation which gave statutory recognition to the council did not specify its role, but declared that the president and council should have power to hear and determine "such Causes and Matters as be or heretofore hath been accustomed and used".
However, its functions were interpreted widely. It was to hear all suits, civil and criminal, which were brought by individuals too poor to sue at common law; it was to try all cases of murder, felony, piracy, wrecking, and such crimes as were likely to disturb the peace; it was to investigate charges of misgovernment by officials and the false verdicts of juries; it was to enforce the laws against livery and maintenance, to punish rumour mongers and adulterers, and to deal with disputes concerning enclosures, villein service, and manorial questions; it heard appeals from the common law courts; and it was responsible for administering the legislation dealing with religion.[2]
Dr John Caius attended to the sweating sickness in Shrewsbury on the instructions of the council.
An Act to execute Judgements & Decrees saved in a Clause in an Act of the First Yeare of the Reigne of King William and Queen Mary, intituled, "An Act for taking away the Court holden before the President and Council of the Marches of Wales.
According to Davies, "when the Council at Ludlow was abolished ... there was very little protest in Wales. Instead, the Welsh gentry embraced London".[7]
John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, sometime president of the council, executed for treason around the succession crisis for Jane Grey and Queen Mary I in 15531549–1550: John Dudley, Earl of Warwick
In addition, from 1542 the Justice of Chester (from 1578 the Chief Justice of Chester) often acted as a de facto vice-president of the council, without formally holding the title.[10]
Griffiths, Ralph (1972). "Wales and the Marches in the Fifteenth Century". In Chrimes, Stanley; Ross, Charles; Griffiths, Ralph (eds.). Fifteenth Century England, 1399–1509: Studies in Politics and Society. Bristol: Sutton Publishing. pp. 145–72.
Lowe, D (1977). "The council of the prince of Wales and the decline of the Herbert family during the second reign of Edward IV, 1471–83". Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies. 27: 278–97.
Lowe, D (1980). "Patronage and politics: Edward IV, the Wydevills, and the council of the prince of Wales, 1471–83". Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies. 29: 545–73.
Williams, Penry (1961). "The attack on the council in the marches, 1603–42". Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion: 1–22.
Williams, Penry (1961). "The activity of the council in the marches under the early Stuarts". Welsh History Review. 1: 133–66.
Williams, Glanmor (1987). Recovery, Reorientation and Reformation: Wales c.1415–1642. History of Wales. Vol. 3. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN978-0-19-821733-6.
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