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| King John had just made a property investment. He had given several existing places town status but he created Liverpool, a new town on a Greenfield Site (1.) With a charter status of freedom from lordly interference, he built 6 streets, and, so that the town could develop, he gave the township rights to take rent and tolls. He advertised for settlers from anywhere to buy a plot to live on and a share of the town field. People came, mainly from nearby manors. The next King Henry III, was short of cash. He sold the township and its income to the Earl of Chester, who could spend the town's income as he chose(2.) William Ferrers (3.) bought the Lordship of the town and built an enormous castle at the top of what is now Lord Street. Because the township was sold as an investment opportunity to various wealthy families, Liverpool had no money to develop and stayed a small place of between 400 and 1,000 people. In 1632 the Molyneux family got the rights to the town. During the civil war (1642-1644) half Liverpool's population was killed. The Molyneux family were on the losing side and stayed in their Croxteth estates. When peace returned they built a street named Lord Molyneux Street from the Castle, which they had long ago left derelict, to what they thought was their tidal pool. Lord Molyneux (4.) told the people he would build a bridge across the pool so that he could develop land on the other side. The people protested that the other side of the pool was their common as of right. Lord Molyneux was not a good landlord, his brother was accused of murdering 8 poor people, the castle was falling down, and had become a doss house. If he continued to build a bridge the townspeople would knock it down. Lord Molyneux did build his bridge using stone stolen from the common. The people sent Edward Marsh and James Whitefield to knock it down.(5.) Lord Molyneux sent Edward and James to prison and took them to court. The Mayor and Edward Moore bailed them out and hired solicitors to argue for them and the town's rights.(6.) On 20th March 1672 Caryl Lord Molyneux settled out of court giving up the township of Liverpool to the people and agreeing that the people had common rights to the land across the tidal pool.(7.) He gave back all the rights to collect rent and tolls and agreed to pay rent to build a bridge and to build on the common. Liverpool at last had money to expand.(8.) (Read footnotes / bibliography) Marsh and Whitefield : Liverpool folk heroes Edward Marsh and James Whitefield were the two citizens who were told to pull down Lord Molyneux's bridge. While this could be seen as a gesture of justice on Lord Molyneux's complaint, Marsh and Whitefield were arrested for this act by his majesty's Court of Exchequer at Westminster. On 15th October 1669, Mr John Sturzaker, deputy Mayor and Edward Moore, gave a bond to bail them out of prison and Arthur Borren and Samuel Fazakerley, town clerk were employed as solicitors at the towns expense to safeguard Marsh and Whitefield's rights, and hence the towns, in this affair. Four years later in 1672, the case was settled out of court. Edward Marsh and James Whitefield are Liverpool folk heroes. Knocking down the bridge gave Liverpool back its income as of right. However very little is known of Marsh and Whitefield, they may have worked for the deputy mayor, John Sturzaker, who instructed them to pull the bridge down. They did not attend council meetings so they were of no particular standing within the town that could have exerted any influence. They were probably commoners living in a one or two roomed hut with their family, wore one set of clothes and owned a mug, a knife and a plate. As commoners they had an extraordinary effect on Liverpool's development bringing the common rights and rightful income back into the town's control. Relevant links and further reading What I did in the Easter holidays by Dorothy Taylor The Liverpool story as told by the ’Äòpool project and viewed by a foreigner www.poolproject.co.uk |
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