Liberty of Tynedale

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The Liberty of Tynedale was a regional unit of government on the border of the medieval Kingdoms of England and Scotland. It was an estate of the Scottish Kings within England, a situation that resulted in many years of confusion over the sovereignty of the area.

The liberty was created in 1157,[1] although it may have existed in some form in the tenth century.[2] It was governed by the monarch of Scotland as a fief of England[3] until the death of Alexander III, when it reverted to English rule.[4] In 1414 the secular liberties were integrated into Common Law.[5] The liberty was first incorporated into the shire of Northumberland during the reign of Henry VII and was later abolished entirely under Henry VIII.[6]

The lead- and silver-mining area of Alston Moor, associated with the Liberty since at least the tenth century[2] was alienated from Tynedale and added to the new county of Carliol in 1147 for financial reasons.[7]

Secular liberties operated semi-independently, granting local lords significant autonomy to enforce laws and defend their territories.[8] Neighbouring Redesdale also had a liberty. These secular liberties were frequently accused of, and shown to house troublemakers.[9]

References

  1. Robson 1989, p. 5.
  2. Robertson 1999.
  3. Robson 1989, p. 6.
  4. Robson 1989, p. 17.
  5. Armstrong, Jackson W. England's Northern Frontier: Conflict and Local Society in the Fifteenth-Century Scottish Marches. Cambridge University Press, 2021., p246
  6. "The Destruction of the Liberties: Some Further Evidence." Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research, vol. 54, no. 130, Nov. 1981, pp. 150
  7. "Carlisle Diocese: History and Description". Clergy of the Church of England database. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  8. Justice in North East England, 1256-1356, C. M. Fraser, K. Emsley, The American Journal of Legal History, Vol. 15, No. 3 (Jul., 1971), pp. 164
  9. Armstrong, Jackson W. England's Northern Frontier: Conflict and Local Society in the Fifteenth-Century Scottish Marches. Cambridge University Press, 2021., p180

Sources