Macclesfield

Who holds it

Name

Ranulf III, earl of Chester

Title

Earl of Chester

Since

See lord_1200

Confidence

medium

Lord in 1200

The earl of Chester (demesne manor and forest).

How things stand that morning

Under its lord on 1 January 1200.

Charter

Its borough charter comes later (Earl Ranulf, after 1200: not yet).

Council

No chartered council; the lord's reeve or bailiff.

Communities

Not recorded.

Fairs and markets

A weekly market (day not pinned).

Militia

The townsmen in the lord's or the shire levy.

Trade and crafts

Market; forest administration.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Minor place; from general histories, not re-checked except where cited.

Primary sources for Chester

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• The Charter Rolls of King John (1199 to 1216, at the royal chancery). The enrolled charters of John's first years, beginning with his accession in 1199: confirmations to towns, bishoprics and abbeys, grants of land and office, and the great grants to men like William Marshal and the king's new allies in Poitou. Read online
• The Great Rolls of the Pipe for 1199 and Michaelmas 1200 (1199 and 1200, at the Exchequer). The audited accounts of every sheriff and farmer for the Exchequer year ending Michaelmas 1200: county farms, the scutage of 1199, the carucage of 1200, debts of magnates and towns, wardships, and the fines offered to the new king.