The Court Rolls of Walsham le Willows, 1303-50

Local administration at work in a populous and prosperous medieval community.

These records of the proceedings of the one hundred and fifty-five courts for the two manors of Walsham le Willows, Suffolk, provide a wealth of evidence of a sophisticated system of local administration and justice, operating ina populous and prosperous community. The rolls were designed to be used as working documents, and, being accessible to all, they protected the interest of the ordinary man and woman as well as that of the lord of the manor. Examples of tenants or claimants using the rolls to settle disputes over title show that there was a flourishing land market in Walsham; and the frequent cases of damage by domestic animals reveal details of agriculture, crops grown andanimals kept. The rolls cover two contrasting periods, marked by political unrest and the advent of the Black Death; dramatic evidence of its terrible virulence, and the resilience of the stricken population, survives in these rolls.