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BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME
OF THE
Ann S. Farnam Fund
_  j&le: 

THE

Exeter Civic Seals

by

Hi LLOYD PARRY
B.A., B.Sc, LL.B.
TOWN CLERK

JAMES G. COMMIN
230 HIGH STREET
EXETER tiy09

THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS

THE
EXETER CIVIC SEALS

BY
H. LLOYD PARRY
B.A., B.Sc, LL.B.
TOWN CLERK

JAMES G. COMMIN
230 HIGH STREET
EXETER 1909

FOREWORD
It is to me a great satisfaction to introduce to the citizens
this account of the Civic Seals of Exeter by the Town
Clerk, Mr. H. Lloyd Parry, who at my suggestion has
kindly undertaken this task, which will be recognized as a
most important contribution to the existing literature upon
Municipal Seals.
Little has hitherto been published upon the Exeter
Seals, and that little is far from accurate. Mr. Lloyd
Parry has discovered a number of seals previously unre
corded, and has traced back the existence of some of the
more ancient to the century prior to that previously assigned
to them. The incidents in the municipal life of Exeter set out
in connection with the origin and use of the seals should
prove of considerable interest to the citizens, and some of
them form a valuable contribution to the general history of
municipal institutions.
The matrices of many of the seals have been lost, but
it is probable that they are still in existence, and I express
a hope that this publication may serve to make their where
abouts known and enable the Corporation to recover them.
The following pages indicate in slight degree the wealth
of interesting and valuable information buried among the
ancient Muniments of the City, which record for many
centuries, with much wealth of detail, the state of society
and the social condition of the citizens of this capital of
the south-west.
In conclusion I desire to express the obligations of the
Town Clerk and myself to the Rev. G. Holt Shafto for
his valuable assistance in photographing the original seals.
JAMES G. COMMIN,
Mayor,
The Guildhall, Exeter,
August, 1909.

CONTENTS

Page.
Common Seal of the City ... ... ... i
Mayoralty Seal ... ... ... ... 5
Provosts' Seal ... ... ... ... 6
Exe Bridge Seal ... ... ... ... 8
Seal of the Statute Merchant ... ... ... 9
Seal of the Mayor of the Staple ... ... 17
Seal of the Customs ... ... ... ... 21
Common Seal of the City, a.d. 1531 ... ... 22
Mayor's Seal ... ... ... ... ... 22
Common Seal of the City, a.d. 1672 ... ... 25
Sheriffs Seal ... ... ... ... ... 26
Seals of the Hospital of St. Mary Magdalene ... 26
Seals of the Corporation of the Poor ... ... 29
Seal of the Improvement Commissioners ... 33
Later Seals ... ... ... ... .. 34

Fig. x.
Exeter City Seal.

Fig. 2.
Exeter City Seal — Back of Matrix.

The Exeter Civic Seals
The Civic Seals of the City of Exeter are, in number
and in interest, unsurpassed by those of any other Muni
cipality in this country. This is due to two facts, the extreme
age of the municipal institutions of the City and the good
fortune which has preserved to the City that magnificent
collection of ancient documents which now repose in the
Muniment Room at the back of the Guildhall. Among the
thousands of documents in this collection will be found im
pressions of the seals of probably all the ecclesiastical and
civil institutions of the City and nearly all the notable
residents from the period when seals first came into general
use in the 12th and 13th centuries to within a century of
the present day. The matrices of more than half of the
civic seals described below are still in the possession of
the Corporation. The matrices of the remainder have been
lost and such seals are described from impressions found
upon deeds in the Muniment Room.
It is proposed to describe the seals in the order of their
age. This is, however, no more than an attempt, for it
is impossible to tell with any degree of certainty the date
of origin of some of the earlier seals.
The Common Seal of the City (Fig. 1). — The most
ancient and most interesting of the seals is the Common
Seal of the City, which is of the 12th century. Several
attempts have been made in the course of the City's history
to displace it by seals of other designs, but it has held its
own against all interlopers and still attests the acts of the
Corporation though the wax impression from the ancient
matrix is now, owing to the exigencies of modern business,
almost entirely replaced by the more expeditious stamp.
The matrix of the seal, which bears every evidence of
being the original, is made of silver. It represents an
edifice standing in the background and on either side
in the foreground two lofty circular embattled towers
connected by a low parapet. From the further side of each

2 THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS.
tower there runs an embattled wall, in each portion of which
is a double doorway. In chief is a representation of the sun
between a crescent moon and a star and in base is a
fleur-de-lis between two wyverns with their tails flory.
The legend reads * sigillvm : civitatis : exonie.
It may be noted as a peculiarity that the middle of the
design does not coincide with the vertical diameter of the
seal. On the back of the matrix (Fig. 2) is fashioned a
fleur-de-lis having thereon the words lvcas me fecit.
and around the margin is inscribed, in somewhat crude
lettering the words * will, prvdvm. me. dedit. civitati.
exonie. cvivs. anime. propicietvr. devs. am.
There is little doubt that the donor is the William
Prudum who founded in n 70 the Hospital of St. Alexius,
which stood behind St. Nicholas Priory, and the date of
the seal probably lies between 11 70 and 1180. The earliest
impression I have been able to find is on a deed among
the Muniments of the Dean and Chapter of Exeter (No. 293)*
of the Mayoralty of William Derling (c. 1209-1216).
As the seal appears to be the earliest of the civic seals
of this Kingdom {factum ad hoc) a consideration of the
intent of the design is of more than ordinary interest. It
has been variously interpreted. The Rev. George Oliver
refers to the edifice in the background as " possibly intended
to represent a council-house or guildhall of an uncouth and
fantastic style of architecture so greatly resembling the
Chinese as to render it difficult, if not impossible, to give
an adequate description of it.f Mr. R. N. Worth con
jectures that it may " be intended to represent the Cathedral
as it appeared before Bishop Quivil, in the closing years of
the 13th century, converted the towers into transepts, and
commenced the present nave." \ Messrs. Jewitt and Hope
refer to it as " a large hall or shrine." §
* The number noted after each of the deeds hereafter mentioned is
the number of such deed in the catalogue prepared by Mr. Stuart A.
Moore, F.S.A. Except when otherwise stated these deeds are among
the Muniments belonging to the City Corporation.
t History of Exeter, p. 224.
| Reports of the Devonshire Association, Vol. VI, p, 89.
% Corporation Plate and Insignia of Office, p. 136.

F'gr- 3'
Seal of the Dean and Chapter
of Exeter.

Fig. 4.
Seal of St. Nicholas Priory.

Fig-- 5-
Seal of St. Alexius Hospital.

¦"-* .". ^*m
$, - '•».- £% kV

Fig. 6.
First Seal of St. John's Hospital.

THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS. 3
_ From a consideration of the circumstances of the period
m which it was made and a comparison with contemporary
Exeter seals I am inclined to the opinion that the central
edifice is not intended as a representation of any actual
building, but that the whole design is vested with a symbolic
intent such as would suggest itself to an artificer of the day
who, without any precedent except the seals of the monastic
institutions with which he was familiar, was called upon
to represent in pictorial design the corporate being of the
City as a whole. What more natural than that this should
take the form of the Castle and the City walls guarding
the ecclesiastical and civic institutions of the City ! To make
the central edifice an accurate representation of a particular
building would be to narrow the idea and offend all artistic
taste in its departure from the obviously conventional
intention expressed in the castle and adjoining fortifications.
The general scheme of the design of the City Seal is
obviously a development from the seals of the Chapter of
St. Peter and of the St. Nicholas Priory. Illustrations of
these seals are given for comparison, the first (Fig. 3) taken
from a deed (No. 223) of the year 1133, and the second
(Fig. 4) from a deed (No. 153) of the year (?) 1150.
Each shows the same general design, a central building
surmounted by a lantern or bell turret and flanked by two
towers, though in these two cases the towers and central
edifice form one building. The plainness of the building
represented in the former seal and the absence of all
ornamentation make it probable that it is a faithful represen
tation of the Saxon church which occupied a portion of the
site of the present Cathedral.
There seems little doubt that the St. Nicholas Priory
seal represents the main characteristics of the actual Priory
building, for they reappear in the designs of the later Priory
seals.* They differ so considerably in detail, however, that
it is obvious that, in the later seals at any rate, the artificer
was more intent upon a pictorial effect than upon a faithful
representation. While the City Seal in its broad outlines seems to have
been suggested by the Chapter and the St. Nicholas Priory
* See Devon Notes and Queries, Vol. Ill, p. 129.

4 THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS.
Seals, the features of the central edifice seem to have been
suggested by the design in the seal of St. Alexius Hospital.
Figure 5 has been taken from a fragmentary impression
of this seal upon a deed among the Muniments of the Dean
and Chapter (No. 2079). In Oliver's . Monasticon Dioecesis
Exoniensis is figured a complete impression of a seal of the
same Hospital stated to have been taken from a deed
among the Corporation Muniments. No such deed, however,
can now be found.
The buildings represented in these, two seals differ only
in detail ; from which one may assume that they convey a
somewhat fanciful representation of the actual Hospital
building. The points of similarity between these seals and
the fact that the donor of the City Seal was the founder
of St. Alexius Hospital indicate that Lucas was also the
maker of the earlier, if not both, of the Hospital seals.
There seems to have been a close association between the
Guildhall, the St. Alexius Hospital and the St. John's Hospital.
The rents, rights, fee and customs of the former Hospital were
transferred to the latter upon or soon after its foundation,
which took place about 1220.* The City Chamber held the
patronage of the St. John's Hospital from its foundation
until 1244, when they exchanged it for the patronage of the
Hospital of St. Mary Magdalene. This connection between
the three institutions is reflected in their seals. The first
St. John's Hospital seal (Fig. 6) is an exact copy (except as
to the turret) of the edifice in the City Seal. The illustra
tion is taken from an impression upon a deed (No. 126)
of the year 1230. It is obviously a reproduction from the
City Seal and not intended to represent the Hospital building
which is probably depicted as to its chapel in the second
Hospital seal, an impression of which (Fig. 7) is found upon
deeds of the years 1252 (No. 189), and 1292 (No. 139).
The first St. John's Hospital Seal is not the only seal
derived from the Exeter Seal. As will be seen from Fig. 8
the Taunton Borough Seal is evidently made from the same
model, the difference being merely in detail. It may be
observed that the two upright keys in the Exeter Seal,
referring evidently to the Cathedral Church of St. Peter,
* Oliver's Monasticon, p 300.

Second

Fig. 7.
Seal of St. John's Hospital.

Fig. 8.
Taunton Borough Seal.

THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS. 5
are replaced in the Taunton Seal by two pastoral staves.
The matrix of the latter seal is in the custody of the Town
Clerk of Taunton, but, unlike the Exeter Seal, there is no
inscription on the back to indicate under what circumstances
it was made. The inscription reads sigillvm : commvne :
burgi : tantonie * :
It is generally inferred that the Taunton seal must have
been made about the same time as the Exeter seal and by
the same artificer, Lucas. The absence of his name from
the Taunton matrix, the careless workmanship shown by
the faulty " N " in the inscription, and the improbability that
such a master of his craft would have been content to
merely repeat his own design are, however, against such an
inference. The Exeter Guildhall was rebuilt from its foundations
in the year 1330. We know that the building then erected
had a chapel in the forefront and a chamber above in which
the chaplain lodged.* We have no knowledge what the
previous building was like, and there seems to be no clue
unless one may be gathered from the City Seal. A
consideration of contemporary seals affords grounds for
inferring that the central edifice in the City Seal represents
in its main outlines the Guildhall of the 12th century, but is
in other respects a fanciful design. The fact that it is so
closely reproduced in the St. John's Hospital and the Taunton
seals is some evidence of its conventional character, as
it is not reasonable to suppose that a faithful representation
of the Exeter Guildhall or of any other particular building
in this City would have been designed or adopted for any
other institution or borough.
The Exeter City Seal is of the 12th century. The City
Seals of the 13th century (so far as known) are five in
number. The Mayoralty Seal (Fig. 9). — This seal " bears beneath
a fine trefoiled and crocketed canopy, a demi-figure of St.
Peter, vested as a pope, in albe, amice, chasuble and tiara,
holding in his right hand a church, and in his left a cross-
staff. On either side of the seal are a sword and a pair of
* Deed No. 1,379.

6 THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS.
keys, and in base is a leopard's head crowned."* The legend
reads s' maioratvs : civitatis : exonie.
The earliest impression that can be found of this seal is
on a deed (No. 749) of the year 1306.
The Mayoralty of Exeter was created, it is believed, in 1200
and certainly not later than 1206. The use of civic seals
became general in the 13th century, and it may be assumed,
therefore, that the production of a Mayoralty Seal in this City
did not wait long upon the creation of the office. Shortly
before the middle of the 13th century commenced the long
controversy between the Civil and Ecclesiastical Authorities
of the City with regard to jurisdiction, which con
tinued intermittently for the next two centuries, and it may
be doubted whether the Civil Authority, with their jealousy
thus aroused, would have adopted a seal so significant of the
Cathedral. The considerations tend to place the date of the
seal in the earlier rather than the latter half of the 13th
century. The seal, which is of silver, is kept in the Town Clerk's
Office and is still in constant use by the Mayor, mainly for
the sealing of his official appointments, and of certificates for
production in foreign and colonial courts. It must be dis
tinguished from the seal which is used by the Mayor in his
personal capacity, and which will be described later as the
Mayor's Seal.
The Provosts' Seal (Fig. 10). — This seal is octagonal in
form. It represents a masoned and embattled tower of two
storeys, having a round-headed doorway in the base and
above in the second storey three windows, two of like
shape with the doorway, and one trefoiled. On the central
battlements is a lion passant between two flags. On each
side of the tower is, in chief, an estoile, and in base, a lion-
On each side of the second storey extends a wall masoned and
embattled. The legend reads : * s' prepositvrvm civitatis
de exonia.
The Provosts were the chief officers under the Mayor, and
joined with him in the government of the City. Originally
they were two in number and known as Prepositi, or
* From Messrs. Jewitt and Hope's Corporation Plate and Insignia
of Office, p. 137.

Fig. 9.
Mayoralty Seal.

Fig. 10.
Provosts' Seal.

Fig. 11.
Exe Bridge Seal.

THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS. 7
Portegreves. " Afterwards they were called Praefecti,
wch yn the normande speche named Provostres and this
worde thoughe it be worne out concerninge the pson yet it
contyneweth concerninge some pte of their iurisdition : for
the courtes kepte before theym are intituled by the name
Curie Provostrie."* In 1258 the number was increased to
three and their name altered to senescalli, seneschals or
stewards. In 1263, the number was further increased to four.
one of whom was to be Receiver for the year of the City's
rents and other revenues. Hoker states that in the year 1450
their name was altered to ballivi or bayliffes. This name was,
however, frequently applied to them before that year, and
after 1450 they seem to have been styled, indifferently, bailiffs
or stewards. In the City Charters, from the one granted by
Henry III, in 1258, to that granted by George III, in 1770.
they are invariably addressed as ballivi or bailiffs.
The matrix of the Provosts' Seal seems to have been in
the possession of the Corporation within recent years, but
cannot now be found.
The earliest impression I have been able to find is upon a
deed of receipt (No. 199) of the year 1296. Fig. 10 is taken
from the impression upon a deed (No. 717) of the year 1297-8.
It is the counterpart to a grant of a tenement within the
City by Thomas de la Hyde, of the Manor of Brodesydelyng,
to Henry de Trykote. The attesting witnesses are the
Mayor, the four Seneschals and others. The private seal of
the grantor is attached, and the reason for attaching the
Provosts' Seal in addition is stated in the deed, as follows : —
In cuius rei testifn presentem Cartam sigillo meo signam
t quia sigillum meum plurisq3 est incongnitum sigillum
Pretorii Exon Ciuitat presentibus apponi procuram.
The following words in the deed of 1296, which is also
attested by the Mayor and the four Seneschals, indicate the
same purpose : In cuius rei testimofi huic p'senti sc'pto
sigillu meii apposui. t ad maiorem hui9 rei euidentia. et
sec'itate q3 sigillu meu plerisq3 est icognit sigillu ptorii
Ciutat Exofi una cu sigillo meo huic scripto est appens.
The main reasons given above for assigning the Mayoralty
Seal to the earlier half of the 13th Century apply also to the
* Hoker's Common Place Book, fo. 166 b.

8 THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS.
Provosts' Seal, and the fact that the name of the officers
was changed from prepositi to senescalli in 1258 is an
additional reason for assigning the date to the early part of
the century.
One may conjecture that the design signifies the strong
hold of the City's rights and privileges, represented by the
tower, guarded by its chief officers, the Mayor and two
Provosts, represented by the three lions. The same idea is
undoubtedly expressed in the seal of the Mayor of the Staple,
and, as will be seen later, the lion occurs in several other seals
with evident reference to the officers of the City.
The Provost Court, which was a Court with functions and
a jurisdiction quite distinct from the Mayor's Court, did not
change its name with the name of the officers who presided
there. It has even survived the office, for the Provost Court
of Exeter is still in existence with the Recorder as Judge and
the Town Clerk as Registrar. The seal of the Court is a
modern one, and is merely a circular die, i3-i6ths of an inch
in diameter, with the marginal inscription — Sigill : Cur :
CivU : Exon. and with a central hollow for a date die.
Exe Bridge Seal (Fig. n). — This seal is circular and
made of lead. The legend reads * s' pontis : exe :
civitatis : exonie. Unlike the two seals last described
its date can be very closely assigned.
The earliest stone bridge over the Exe within the City
was built in 1250-1.* It had twelve (or more) arches, and
extended from the parish church of St. Edmund to the
point where the present Exe Bridge terminates on the
St. Thomas side. This is the bridge represented on the
seal. It shows the Chantry dedicated to the Virgin Mary
and built, according to the custom of those days, upon
the bridge. The buildings on either side represent the
shops which were built upon the landward arches. The
bridge existed until 1778, when it was replaced by a bridge
in the line of the present structure. Some of the tenements
on the eastern arches of the old bridge remained standing,
* There existed previously a wooden footbridge for pedestrian traffic
— " certeyn clappers of tymber wch served to passe over on foot yn the
sommer tyme and wch yn the for wynter were for the most pte caried
awaye wth the greate floodds." (Hoker's Common Place Book, fo. 241 b).

Fig. 12.
King's Seal.
Seal and Counter-seal of the Statute Merchant.

Fig. 13-
King's Clerk's Seal.

Fig. 14. Fig. 15. Fig. 16.
Private Seals of the 14th Century shewing device of King's Clerk's Seal.

Fig. 17.
Seal of the Staple.

THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS. 9
however, until quite recent years, but in 1879 the last sur
vivors, five in number, were demolished by the City Council.
The seal was no doubt made at the time of the com
pletion of the bridge. A fine impression appears on a
document (No. 671) of the mayoralty of Martin Rof (a.d.
1256 or 1264).
The building of the first Exe Bridge was due to the
perseverance and munificence of Walter Gervase, four times
Mayor of the City, who out of moneys collected during his
lifetime and out of his own private fortunes raised a sum
sufficient to construct the bridge and purchase property in the
vicinity to provide an annual income for its future main
tenance. This estate has been vested in the Corporation
in trust for that purpose since the death of Walter Gervase
in 1259. The management of the estate and the care of
the bridge were in the hands of two officers called the
Wardens of Exe Bridge. This office is now defunct and
the seal has long gone out of use.
Seal of the Statute Merchant. — This consists of a seal
and a counterpart known respectively as the seal of the
greater part and the seal of the lesser part, or the King's
Seal and the King's Clerk's Seal.
The matrix of the King's Seal is still preserved by the
Corporation. It is of silver and circular, one and thirteen-
sixteenth inches in diameter. The matrix of the Clerk's
Seal is lost.
The King's Seal (Fig. 12) bears a crowned bust of
Edward I. charged on the breast with the lion of England ;
on either side is a triple-towered castle, assumed by the
King in compliment to his beloved wife, Eleanor of Castile.
The legend reads : s' edw' reg' angl' ad recogn' debitor'
APUD EXONIA.
The Counter-seal (Fig. 13) bears a lion dormant and the
legend : * civitatis. exonie.
The two seals constitute " the seal of two pieces " pro
vided under the statute of .\cton Burnel, 1283, re-enacted
and extended by the Statutum Mercatorum of 1285. There
exists no original roll of the Statutum Mercatorum (13
Edw. I.) The earliest copy, which was kept in the Tower,
has on it the following memorandum : " Consimile statutum

io THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS.
de verbo ad verbum habent Major et cives Exonie." A
memorandum immediately following (dated September,
5 Edward II.) states that a copy under the King's Seal had
been transmitted to Lostwithiel. The memorandum as to
Exeter has probably reference to the Letters Patent of
1292 granting a seal to Exeter and consequently applying
the provisions of the Statute to the City.
The two Statutes were passed for the better enforce
ment of the payment of mercantile debts. They enabled a
creditor to require his debtor to recognise his debt in a
formal document sealed in the presence of the Mayor or
Chief Warden of certain towns named in the Statutes or
any other town which the King should appoint. This deed
of recognizance sealed by the debtor and by the King's Seal
and Counter-seal was handed to the creditor, the particulars
having been previously entered upon an official roll. In
default of payment at the time specified in the deed the
debtor could be imprisoned and his chattels and burgage
tenements sold by the Mayor to discharge the debt.
The Statutes provided for the appointment by the King
of a clerk to whom was assigned the duty of preparing the
deed of recognizance and entering it upon the official roll.
To maintain the costs of the clerk it was provided that the
King should take of every pound a penny of every town
where the seal was, except fairs, where he should take i£d.
of the town.
The seal of the greater part was to remain in the
custody of the Mayor or Chief Warden and the other seal
in the keeping of the Clerk.*
The advantages given by the Statutes being, however,
abused, an ordinance was passed in 131 1 specifying twelve
towns where recognizances of debts could be taken. The
two towns appointed for the South-west were Exeter and
Bristol. The Letters Patent of Edward I., of the year 1292,
granting to the Mayor of Exeter the custody at will of the
King's seal is still preserved among the City muniments
* " Quel seel ferra de deus pieces dunt la greignour piece demoera
en la garde le meire ou chief gardein e lautre piece en la main le
clerk avauntdit." (Statutum Mercatorum, 1285.)

" — ""- —

-^f,

.¦ «tf~ -""""T^ -«***«'
i -'¦*¦'*. *^>-=ii>-% » "T^--

Charter of 20 Edw. I. granting to the Mayor of Exeter the custody of the
King's Seal of the Statute Merchant.

Two-thirds original dimensions.

THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS. n
(see photo print). It reads as follows, the abbreviations
being expanded : —
"Edwardus dei gratia Rex Angliae Dominus Hiberniae
et Dux Aquitaniae Omnibus ad quos presentes litterae
pervenerint salutem. Sciatis quod commisimus dilecto
nobis maiori Ex[oniae] sigillum ad recognitiones debitorum
mercatorum in dicta ciuitate capiendas deputatum custo-
diendum et officium quod ad hoc pertinet exequendum
quamdiu nobis placuerit. Ita quod inde faciat et recipiat
prout alii custodes huiusmodi sigillorum inde faciunt et
recipiunt in regno nostro. In cuius rei testimonium has
litteras nostras fieri fecimus patentes. Teste me ipso apud
Creyk XXII. die Augusti anno regni nostri vicesimo."
By Letters Patent of the same date Walter de Langedon,
clerk, is appointed to the custody of the counter-seal and
a mandate is issued to Edmund, Earl of Cornwall, to take
the oath of the said Walter and deliver to him the said
office in the King's name.*
The Charter of Charles I., granted in 1627, now regarded
as the Governing Charter of the City, contains the follow
ing ordinance: —
" CUMQUE in Civitate nostra Exon praedicta et
" Comitatu eiusdem Civitatis et in Partibus adiacentibus
" quamplurimi Mercatores et Pannifices commorantur, ex
" quorum quotidianis ibidem commerciis et negotiationibus in
" bonum publicum dictae Civitatis et meliorern expeditionem
" subditorum nostrorum in Partibus illis degentium et ibidem
" confluentium in Contractibus mercaturis et conventionibus
" suis multum conduceret quod Maior Ballivi et Communitas
" Civitatis praedictae et successores sui haberent potestatem
The translation is as follows : —
"And whereas, in our said City of Exeter and the County of the
same City, and in parts adjacent, many merchants and clothiers do
reside, and by reason of their daily trading and business transactions
there it would much conduce to the public good of the said City and
to the better expediting of [the business] of our subjects residing in
those parts, and resorting thither, in their commercial contracts and
agreements, that the Mayor Bailiffs and Commonalty of the said City
and their successors should be empowered to receive all manner
* Calendar of the Patent Rolls, 20 Edw. I., membrane 5.

12 THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS.
" recipiendi quascunque Recognitiones inter Mercatorem et
" Mercatorem, et executiones superinde faciendae iuxta
" Statutum Mercatorum, ac Statutum apud Acton Burnell
" nuper edita, prout in aliis Civitatibus Burgis et Villis
" incorporatis minoris eminentiae iamdudum concessum et
" stabilitum sit. Nos communi utilitate Civitatis nostrae
" Exon praedictae et publico Subditorum nostrorum in
" partibus illis commodo et beneficio gratiose annuentes.
"VOLUMUS ac per praesentes pro Nobis heredibus et
" successoribus nostris de uberiori gratia nostra speciali,
" certa scientia et mero motu nostris concedimus Maiori
" Ballivis et Communitati Civitatis nostrae Exon praedictae
" et successoribus suis quod Maior eiusdem Civitatis pro
" tempore existens, et Clericus ad Recognitiones debitorum
" secundum formam Statuti de Mercatoribus et Statuti apud
" Aeton Burnell nuper editi accipiendas assignandus modo
" et forma postea in his praesentibus expressis aut men-
" tionatis appunctuandus habeant imperpetuum plenam
" potestatem et auctoritatem capiendi et recipiendi quas-
" cunque Recognitiones, et Executiones inde faciendi iuxta
" formam Statuti de Mercatoribus et Statuti apud Acton
" Burnell nuper editi. Necnon omnia alia faciendi et
" exequendi infra Civitatem praedictam et Comitatum
" eiusdem Civitatis quae vigore eorundem Statutorum seu
of recognizances between merchant and merchant, and to make
executions thereupon, according to the Statute of Merchants and the
Statute lately enacted at Acton-Burnel, in like manner as in other
cities boroughs and towns corporate of less importance hath been
long since granted and established : We, graciously assenting for the
common advantage of our said City of Exeter, and the public
convenience and benefit of our subjects in those parts WILL and by
these presents, for us our heirs and successors, of our more abundant
special grace certain knowledge and own accord, have granted to the
Mayor Bailiffs and Commonalty of our said City of Exeter, and to
their successors, that the Mayor of the same City for the time being,
and the Clerk (to be appointed in manner and form hereafter in these
presents expressed or mentioned for recognizances of debt according
to the form of the Statute De Mercatoribus and of the Statute lately
enacted at Acton-Burnel) may have for ever full power and authority
to take and receive all manner of recognizances, and to make
executions thereupon, according to the form of the Statute De
Mercatoribus and of the Statute lately enacted at Acton-Burnel ; And
also to do and execute all things within the said City and County of
the same City, which doth or can or should belong, by virtue of the

THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS. 13
' eorum alicuius ad aliquem Maiorem Vicecomitem Ballivum
' vel alium Officiarum et ad aliquem Clericum in aliqua
' Civitate sive Burgo incorporato infra hoc Regnum nostrum
' Angliae, ad Recognitiones debitorum secundum formam
' Statutorum praedictorum vel eorum alterius appunctuatum
' vel eorum aliquem pertinent vel pertinere possint vel
' debeant. Et quod iidem Maior et Clericus pro tempore
' existentes habeant et habebunt et vigore praesentium
' confident assument et applicabunt unum Sigillum de
' duabus peciis cuius una pars erit maior pars, et altera
' pars eiusdem erit minor pars ad Recognitiones praedictas
' coram eis imposterum cognoscendas sigillandas iuxta
' formam Statuti praedicti de Mercatoribus et Statuti apud
' Acton Burnell nuper editi. Quodquidem Sigillum erit et
' appellabitur deinceps imperpetuum Sigillum Regis ad
* recognitiones praedictas infra Civitatem nostram Exon
' praedictam capiendas sigillandas. Cuius quidem Sigilli
' maior pars remanebit semper in Custodia Maioris eiusdem
' Civitatis pro tempore existentis, et altera pars eiusdem
' Sigilli erit et remanebit imperpetuum in manibus et
' Custodia Clerici pro tempore existentis deputati vel
1 appunctuati ad Recognitiones praedictas scribendas et
' irrotulandas secundum intentionem harum literarum
' nostrarum patentium. Quodque communis Clericus Civi-
same Statutes, or either of them, to any Mayor Sheriff Bailiff or other
Officer and to any Clerk, or any one of them, appointed for recog
nizances of debts, according to the form of the Statutes aforesaid or
of either of them in any city or borough incorporate within this our
kingdom of England. And that the same Mayor and Clerk for the
time being may and shall have, and by force of these presents shall
procure take and use one seal of two pieces (of which one shall be
the greater part and the other the lesser part) for the sealing of the
said recognizances to be hereafter acknowledged before them accord
ing to the form of the said Statute De Mercatoribus and of the
Statute lately enacted at Acton-Burnel ; which seal shall be, and shall
be called, thenceforth, for ever, the King's Seal, for sealing the said
recognizances to be taken within our said City of Exeter ; of which
Seal the greater part shall always remain in the custody of the Mayor
of the same City for the time being and the other part of the same
Seal shall be and remain always in the hands and custody of the
Clerk for the time being deputed and appointed to write and enroll
the said recognizances according to the intent of these our letters
patent. And that the Common Clerk of the said City for the time
being may and shall be, as long as he shall continue in that office,

14 THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS.
" tatis praedictae pro tempore existens quamdiu in eodem
" Officio continuabit sit et erit Clericus noster heredum et
" successorum nostrorum ad Recognitiones debitorum secun-
" dum formam Statutorum praedictorum aut eorum alterius
" infra Civitatem praedictam ac Comitatum Civitatis prae-
" dictae et libertates limites ac praecincta eorum accipiendas
" scribendas et irrotulandas. Et ad Rotulum Memorandorum
" et Recordorum inde servandum et custodiendum ac ad
" minorem peciam Sigilli praedicti custodiendam et ad
" omnia alia facienda et exequenda quae ad aliquem
" Clericum Recognitionum debitorum secundum formam
" Statutorum praedictorum vel eorum alterius appunctuatum
" pertinent facienda et exequenda, dictumque communem
" Clericum Civitatis praedictae Clericum nostrum heredum
" et successorum nostrorum ad Recognitiones debitorum
«' infra Civitatem praedictam secundum formam Statutorum
" praedictorum et eorum alterius accipiendas scribendas et
" irrotulandas et ad minorem peciam Sigilli praedicti cus-
" todiendam et ulterius ad omnia alia facienda et exequenda
" quae ad aliquem Clericum ad Recognitiones debitorum
" secundum formam Statutorum praedictorum et eorum
" alterius appunctuatum pertinent facienda vel exequenda pro
" nobis heredibus et successoribus nostris facimus ordinamus
" et constituimus per praesentes absque aliquo breve proinde
" impetrando, et absque aliqua alia electione fienda."
the Clerk of us our heirs and successors, to take write and enroll
recognizances of debts, according to the form of the Statutes aforesaid,
or either of them, within the said City and County of the said City,
and the liberties boundaries and precincts thereof ; and to preserve
and keep the roll of the memoranda and records, and to keep the
lesser piece of the said Seal, and to do and execute all other things
which fall within the duties of a Clerk appointed for the recognizances
of debts, according to the form of the said Statutes, or either of them.
And we, for us our heirs and successors, by these presents, with
out any writ to be obtained in this behalf, and without any other
election to be made, do make ordain and constitute the said Common
Clerk of the City aforesaid, the Clerk of us our heirs and successors,
to take write and enroll the recognizances of debts within the said
City, according to the form of the Statutes aforesaid, and either of
them, and to keep the lesser part of the said Seal, and, moreover, to
do and execute all other things which in this regard fall within the
duties of a Clerk appointed for recognizances of debts, according to
the form of the Statutes aforesaid or either of them."

THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS. i5
It will be observed that by this Charter the Town Clerk of
the City (Communis Clericus) is appointed to perform the
duties of the King's Clerk for the sealing and enrolment of
recognizances under the Statute Merchants. The rolls
containing the entries of such recognizances for the years
3 Chas. I. to 27 Chas. II. (with some omissions) are still
preserved among the City Muniments {Miscellaneous Rolls,
No. 17). The Statutes of 1283 and 1285 were repealed in
1863, and with their repeal the seals of the Statute Merchant
lost their legal existence.
The King's Seals for the various towns all shew the
King's bust charged with the lion on the breast, but the
device on either side varied with each town. The Clerk's
Seals differ considerably in design.
The only impression of the Exeter Seal now in the
possession of the Corporation appears on a deed of recog
nizance (No. 990) of the year 1384. It is stated to be
taken before Robert Wylford, mayor, and William Gamburn
"clico dfii Regis ad recognioes debito^ ad eadm Civitate
" accipiend deputaf? apud Exon." There are three seals
attached. One shews an impression of the King's Seal on
the obverse, and of the Clerk's Seal on the reverse ; the
second shews an impression of the Clerk's Seal; the third
is merely a fragment. The attestation clause reads : " In
cuis rei testim sigilla nra una cum sigillo dfii Regis de
mercator' psent9 sunt appos."
There is probably no means of deciding at this distance
of time whether the device of the lion dormant had any
particular derivation or significance, but the deeds in the
City Muniment Room shew that during the 14th century
a common use was made of the Clerk's Seal apart from its
association with the King's Seal in the sealing of recog
nizances. Free use seems, also, to have been made of the
device of the lion dormant in the seals of private citizens
or of the minor officials of the City.
The Clerk's Seal and another (a private seal) are affixed
to a deed (No. 929) of the year 1373. This is a grant of
a messuage by Peter Troubridge and Juliana his wife to
Thomas Smythesheghes and Edith his wife. The words
" sigilla nra apposuim? " indicate that each of the grantors
affixed a seal, and the conclusion is that the wife, not having

16 THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS.
a seal of her own, borrowed the Clerk's Seal for the purpose.
It seems to have been not an uncommon practice in those
days upon execution of a document in the presence of
witnesses for one of the parties, if he or she had no seal,
to execute it with a borrowed seal, and there was an
obvious advantage in using an official seal that would be
well known.
A similar use of the Clerk's Seal is made in an indenture
(No. 961) of the year 1381-2. This is a grant of land by the
Mayor and the Commonalty of Exeter to Henry Placy and
Juliana his wife. The indenture retained by the Corporation
is the one sealed by the grantees and presents a private
seal and the Clerk's Seal, the latter presumably affixed by
the wife.
There are several examples among the Corporation muni
ments of seals taking their device from the Clerk's Seal. The
earliest is on an indenture (No. 753) of the year 1307. This
is a grant by the Mayor and Commons {Conciues) of
Exeter to John Direwynt of a rent charge arising out of a
tenement, the property of the City Chamber. The seal
(Fig. 14) shews four lions dormant and the inscription :
s' iohannis d' exonia — the Seal of John of Exeter.
Figure 15 represents the lion dormant of the Clerk's
Seal within two interlacing squares. It is taken from a
deed (No. 866) of the year 1348, being a release and quit
claim of certain land by one Thomas de Licheffelde, and
contains the usual words of attestation, " sigillu meu
apposui." There is a similar seal on a deed (No. 785) of the year
1 32 1, except that the lettering in the margin is different
and the lion is curled in the opposite direction. This is an
assignment of a lease by John de Cokelescome and Lucia
his wife to Walter Godwyne. The document has two seals
and is expressed to be sealed by the husband and wife
separately {diuisim).
Two deeds (Nos. 60 and 61) of the year 1343-4, one
being a lease of a garden and the other a letter of attorney
to give seisin of the same garden, have a seal (Fig. 16)
shewing the lion dormant surrounded by six lions dormants
arranged in a circle. This is referred to in the deed as the
seal of the lessor, John Bochel (or Boghele).

THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS. 17
Mr. Stuart Moore, in the description of deed No. 753
in his Calendar of the City Muniments,* observes that "the
lion seems to have been the emblem of Exeter in early
times. There was a seal having one lion in exactly the
same position as the four in this seal and having for its
legend : s' civitatis exon." He evidently failed to recog
nise the King's Clerk's Seal as such whereby he missed the
clue to the frequent appearance of the lion dormant on private
seals. Seal of the Mayor- of the Staple.— This seal (Fig. 17)
shews on a diapered ground a triple-towered castle having
a large gate-way in the centre tower with portcullis raised ;
in gateway a huge dog sejant chained : in base a fleur-de-lis.
The legend reads : * s. maiora [tus stapul] e civitatis exon.
The matrix of this seal is lost, but two impressions exist
among the City Muniments. One is on a deed (No. 251)
of the year 1449, being a Recognizance of the Staple taken
before John Coteler, Mayor of the Staple of Exeter, and
Walter Pope and John Baufitz, constables of the same
Staple. The seal is referred to in the attestation clause as
" sigillum domini Regis Stapule predicte."
The other is on a Recognizance (No. 259) of the year 1455,
taken before the same John Coteler as Mayor of the Staple, and
Thomas Cook and John Kelle, Constables of the same Staple.
It was in the interests of the export trade of this country
during the 14th and 15th centuries to concentrate into certain
towns the market in such commodities as were the common
objects of export. It was convenient for the foreign mer
chants and the home producers to have a fixed place of
meeting, and the concentration of trade facilitated the
collection of the King's tolls. To these settled marts the
name of staple was applied.
Prior to 1353 there was one central staple for English
goods, which was situate generally in Flanders. In 1353
(27 Edw. III.) the Ordinance of the Staple was passed
which transferred the Staple from Bruges to this side of
the Channel. It was enacted that the Staple for wool,
leather, fells and lead should be confined in England and
*This Calendar is shonly to be printed by the Historical MSS.
Commission.

18 THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS.
Wales to the following towns : — Newcastle-upon-Tyne, York,
Lincoln, Norwich, Westminster, Canterbury, Chichester,
Winchester, Exeter, Bristol and Caermarthen. Under the
provisions of this Statute foreign merchants were to be
given all facilities to attend the marts, and all the trans
actions of the Staples were to be taken out of the jurisdiction
of the justices and the common law and settled by the Mayor
of the Staple in accordance with the law of the Statute
Merchant. The Mayor of the Staple and the two Con
stables were to be chosen yearly.* The Ordinance conferred
upon the Mayor and Constables the power of recording
recognizances and ordained the use of the seal in the
following words : — " Afyn que lez contractz faitez deinz
lestaple soit le meutz tenuz, et lez paimentz prestement
faitez, si avoms ordeigne et establiz, que chescun mair des
dits estaples eiet poair de prendre recognisances de dettes
que home voudra faire devant luy en presence des constables
de lestaple ou lun de eux, et quen chescun des ditez estaples
soit un seal ordeigne, demuraunt en le garde du dit mair de
lestaple south lez seals des counstables, et que toutz obliga
tions que y ferrount faitez sur tielx reconisaunces soient
enseals de dite seal payaunt pur chescum obligation de C.li.
et dedens de chescun livere un maille. Et de chescun
obligation outre C.li. de chescun livere un esterlinge."+
During the remainder of the reign of Edward III., and
during the reign of Richard 1 1., the ordinances in regard
to the Staple are very numerous, and the Staple is shifted to
and fro between Calais and England in most fickle fashion.
In 1464J Calais was finally made the sole Staple town and
the Staple of Exeter was deprived of its original functions.
The Mayor of the Staple continued, however, to take recog
nizances and to exercise jurisdiction in commercial cases.
*"Soit fait et etabli un mair bone loial et suffisaunt, eiaunt
conisaunce de la ley Marchaunt, pur governer lestaple . . . Et que
nul Maire tiegne loffice outre un An, sil ne soit de novel esluz per
la communalte dez Merchauntz, auxibien dez estraungez come dez
denizeins." (27 Edw. III., Stat. 2. cap. 21).
f That is, the fee for sealing recognizances of the Staple was
fixed at Jd. in the £ tor each recognizance of £100 and under, and
Jd. in the £ for each recognizance over £100.
X 4 Edw. IV., c. 2.

THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS. 19
The documents in the City Muniment Room relating to
the Staple consist of the Rolls of the Court of the Staple
for the years 28 to 31 Hen. VI. (1449 to 1452) and 34
Hen. VI. to 2 Edw. IV. (1455 to 1462), also Rolls con
taining the Entries of the Recognizances of the Staple for
(with some exceptions) the years 12 Hen. VIII. to 11
Elizabeth (1520 to 1569).
We find from these that John Coteler* was Mayor of
the Staple during the years 1449 to 1462, but by the
reign of Henry VIII. it had become usual to appoint a
different person every year. It appears that prior to the
Tudor period it was the practice to reappoint the Mayor of
the Staple over a number of years, and while the duties of
the office were mainly judicial and the holder was required
to be a man " eiaunt conisaunce de la ley Marchaunt," the
choice of a Mayor was limited, and some degree of per-
mancy in the office was necessary for the proper discharge
of the duties. The Court of the Staple seems, in Exeter as
elsewhere in this country, to have been absorbed into one
of the other local Courts — the Mayor's Court or the Provost's
Court — and as the office of Mayor of the Staple was stripped
of its judicial functions and the duties became merely formal,
the personality of the holder became of less account and
frequent changes were admissible.
The history of the Staple in Exeter during the reigns of
the first two Tudor kings reveals an interesting struggle for
its control between the oligarchical party, represented by the
City Chamber, and the commonalty of the City. The long
struggle for supremacy between these two parties was ended
for the time being by the Charter granted the City by
Henry VII. in July, 1498, which, in securing to the Chamber
the right of self election and the general right of appointment
of the officers of the City, marked a signal victory for the
oligarchical party. The commons beaten upon the general
question, seem then to have transferred their efforts to the
* This John Coteler was one of the most distinguished citizens of his
day. He was appointed a Bailiff of the City in 1420, Receiver in 1422,
and Mayor in 1436, 1442 and 1448. He is referred to by John Shilling-
ford as his Lieutenant {i.e., Deputy) in his letters from London during the
year of his Mayoralty, 1447-8 (Shillingford Letters, VI., p. 23, and XIV.
P- 39)-

20 THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS.
election of the officers of the Staple, for in the autumn of the
same year (1498) a Petition is presented by the Mayor to the
King's Council praying for the annulment of the election of
one John Bonyfaunt as Mayor of the Staple on the ground
that he had been elected without the knowledge of the XXIIII
contrary to the use and laudable custom of the City and on
certain personal grounds.* Again the governing party come off
victorious, but subsequent references to the strife in the Act
Books of the Chamber show that the victory was not quietly
accepted. The earliest existing Act Book commences with the year
1509, and the first entry relating to the Staple is of an Order
of the Chamber of the nth December, 15 n, from which we
gather that trouble had been experienced in obtaining the due
transference of the Seal and the records of the Staple from
the Mayor of the Staple to his successor upon the termina
tion of the year of office. It runs as follows : —
" The whiche agree that euy maior of the Staple after
his yere is don at the othe of the newe maior of the
Staple the old maior shall bryng in the Seale and the records
of the yere past and the same records to remayn in the
comon coffer upon payn of Xls to be levyed of the olde
mairs goods and catalls to the use of the cite."
On the 10th March, 1518, the Chamber, after reciting
that " the eleccon of the maier and counstables of the Staple
of the Cite of Exceter hath byn pryvatly made w'oute the
more parte of the maier and the XXIIII of the coen Counsell
of the seid Cite for the tyme beyng accompted Staplers of
the seid Staple contry to the laudable custume and usage
of the seid Cite and Staple " and " in derogacon of the
Kyngs Cote of the Guylde Halle of the Cite aforeseid " make
an Order " that the eleccon of the seid maier and Counstabils
of the seid Staple be hensforth made and hadde in the seid
Guylde Halle the thursdaye next after the newe eleccon of
the Maier and Baillifes of the seid cite," " the maier of the
said cite and the most jptie of the XXIIII of the coen
counsell of the same beyng psent and assentyng and prevy
of the same eleccon," and it is enacted that the Mayor and
Constables of the Staple shall each pay a fine of 6s. 8d.
* Leadam, Select Cases in the Court of Request, p. xxiv and p. 3.

THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS. 21
upon any refusal " to deli? the Seale of the seid Staple to
the maier of the seid cite for the tyme beyng if they be
resonably requyred w'in VI dayes after ther patente
expired." There seems to have been further difficulty, however, for
on the 9th May, 1521, is entered a remonstrance that the
Mayor of the Staple had been elected " w'oute the assente
& concente of the XXIIII " contrary to the said Order.
An entry of the 24th January, 1528, records the election
by the Chamber of a Clerke of the Staple to occupy the
office " from thensforth .... by hymselffe or his
sufficient depute as long as he shall welle and honestly
behave him in the said office."
As a consequence of the transference of the control of
the Staple to the City Chamber the taking of recognizances
of the Staple and the use of the Seal became gradually
replaced by the rival procedure under the Statute Merchants.
Seal of the Customs. — In the Gentleman's Magazine for
March, 1802 (vol. lxxii, p. 209) is described an ancient seal
which was being used at that time by the Rector of Bredon
in Worcestershire as the seal of his office. The seal, which
is figured in the Magazine, bears for device, " On a helmet
upon a chapeau doubled, ermine, a lion passant guardant
crowned and gorged with a collar of France," and for legend,
*£g SIGILLUM + COKETTI + IN + PORTU + EXONIE.
The device represents the seal and crest of John Holland,
Duke of Exeter, restored to that title in a.d. 1443.
The legend indicates that this seal was the seal of the
Exeter Custom House or office where goods to be exported
were entered and paid their custom. The term "cocket"
was applied both to the sealed certificate delivered to the
merchants as a warrant that their goods were customed and
also to the office at which the goods were entered.
" How this seal became the seal of office to the Rector
of Bredon, co. Worcester, . . . who exercises exempt
jurisdiction over his church and parish and three chapels,
and has probate of wills and committing of administrations
within that district can only be accounted for by supposing
some rector who first claimed or exercised these privileges
. . . not thinking it worth while to have a seal made on

22 THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS.
purpose, availed himself of the first which by chance fell
into his hands.*
I have endeavoured to trace this seal, but without success.
Common Seal of the City, A.D. 1531, — The matrix
of this seal, which is made of bronze, is in the possession
of the Corporation. It is circular, one and three- sixteenths
inches in diameter and shews a shield charged with the
letter X (for Exeter) and with the date 1531 above (see
Fig. 18). The legend reads : "^ sigillum. civitatis.
exsonie., the letter N in Exsonie being reversed. There
is nothing distinctive about this seal, and I have not been
able to find an impression of it upon any document nor
any information as to the circumstances under which it was
made. Mayor's Seal. — Following upon the ratification of the
City arms in 1564 a seal appears to have been devised for
the personal use of the Mayor, bearing the City arms for
its design.
There is no evidence as to the date when such a seal
first came into use, but it can be traced back to 1604, for
there exists! a matrix in silver of a seal shewing the City
arms with helm crest and mantling (Fig. No. ig), and
upon the handle the words " Nicholas Spicer, Maior, 1604."
It is probable that this was the first Mayor's Seal to be
cast. Nicholas Spicer was appointed Mayor in Michaelmas,
1603, and the fact that this seal was not made till 1604
seems to indicate that there was no such seal provided for
him at the commencement of his year of mayoralty. The
close similarity between the arms of the Spicer family and
the City arms and the inscription on the handle of the seal
are further reasons for assuming that the idea of having a
Mayor's Seal with the City arms for its device originated
with Nicholas Spicer.
The similarity between the Spicer arms and the City
arms is somewhat curious, and I have sought in vain for its
explanation. Upon one of the panels of the Guildhall appears the
inscription, John Spicer, Mayor, 1353, and below it the arms
* From the Gentleman's Magazine, vol. lxxii, p. 210.
t In the possession of City Councillor Henry Campion.

Fig. 1 8.
City Seal, A.D. 1531.

Fig. 19.
Mayor's Seal, A.D. 1604.

Fig. 20.
City Seal, A.D. 1672.

Fig. 21.
Sheriff's Seal.

Fig. 22.
Mayor's Seal. Present day,

THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS. 23
of the Spicer family — a shield divided per pale gules and
sable, three castles in bend, or, cottised within a bordure,
engrailed ermine. The division of the shield per pale gules
and sable and the castle, or, an exact representation of the
triple-towered castle, or, on the City arms, shew that the
Spicer arms were derived from the City arms or vice versa.
There is no evidence as to the use of arms by the City
prior to their ratification in 1564, and the early date associated
with the Spicer arms on the Guildhall panelling would lead
one to infer that they were prior in date to the City arms
and suggested them. As a matter of fact, however, the Spicer
arms were first granted to Nicholas Spicer in 1594, and when
the family were honoured by having their arms emblazoned
on the panelling in the Guildhall, the name of John Spicer
was associated with it, not as one who had borne the arms,
but as the first member of the family who had attained the
dignity of Mayor of the City.
An impression of the Mayor's Seal occurs upon two deeds
(Nos. 1722 and 1723) of the year 1613. It has precisely the
same design as the seal used by Nicholas Spicer and is
approximately the same size, but it differs in form, being
oval instead of circular.
Each of the deeds of 1613 is sealed by the Mayor (William
Newcombe), the Recorder, and the eight Aldermen. The
Mayor seals with the Mayor's Seal and each of the others
with his private seal.
The documents relate to one of those interesting com
mercial ventures undertaken in the name of patriotism which
were so common a feature of the Tudor and early Jacobean
days. The earlier document dated the 24th May, 1613,
recites that Letters Patents had been issued by the Earl of
Nottingham, Lord High Admiral of England, conferring
authority upon the Mayor, Recorder and Aldermen to
accomplish all such things as may be requisite for the
" suppressinge and takinge of pyrates and sea-faringe
Theeves," and that, for the better encouragement and inciting
to His Majesty's service, authority had been conferred upon
the said Mayor, Recorder and Aldermen to take into their
custody and possession all the ships and goods belonging to
any pirates which they might seize upon the seas and keep
and enjoy the same without any account to be made. It

24 THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS.
further recites that the said Mayor, Recorder and Aldermen
" intendinge only the suppressinge and takinge of Leawd
grades and wicked Pyrats and of their shipps and the just
defence and protection of Marchants and others," had retained
and with great cost and charges had freighted a ship called
the Hopewell, of Dartmouth, of the burden of fourscore tons,
and did intend forthwith to apparel and equip her in warlike
manner. The Mayor, etc., then appoint a Captain, a Lieu
tenant, and a Master for the ship, and grant to thirteen
merchants there named, of whom seven are described as of
Exeter, two of Totnes, two of Taunton, and two of Lyme
Regis, full power and authority in His Majesty's name " to
presse such men and boyes for offycers, Soldiers, Marryners
and Saylers to serve in the same Shipp ... for such wadges
as by His Majestie is usually allowed and geven in cases of
such like Service," and also to take up " Ordynances powder
shott ancors Cabells Masts Corde ropes victualls laborers
and other thinges nedefull," provided they pay ready money
for the same. For their better encouragement " to fight
with such Pyrats and Pyraticall Shipps " the Captain, Lieu
tenant and Master and their Company are promised one-
third of all the money and other booty that they might
lawfully take to be divided among them according to such
portions as they shall agree.
The second document, dated the 2nd July in the same
year, is a similar commission in respect of a ship of 100
tons called the Amitie, of Plymouth. The persons that were
appointed Captain, Lieutenant and Master of the Hopewell
are appointed to the same offices in this ship, and the
management of the enterprise is entrusted to them and the
same syndicate of merchants as before except as to the
the person of one of the Totnes merchants and the omission
of the two Taunton members.
The Mayor's Seal now in use (Fig. 22) bears the City
arms with the addition of the City motto and representa
tions of the following articles of the City regalia — the
Cap of Maintenance, the Sword of State and one of the
Maces. The addition of the motto may be appropriate but the
other additions detract considerably from the merit of the
seal.

THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS. 25
The matrix is of silver and is kept in the custody of the
Mayor for the time being.
Common Seal of the City, A.D. 1672.— Figure 20
represents an impression taken from a fine silver matrix in
the possession of the Corporation.
It represents the arms of the City with the City motto
Semper Fidelis and the legend : v sigillum : civitatis :
exon : 1672. The motto is reputed to have been bestowed
upon the City by Queen Elizabeth in reference to the many
distinguished services rendered by the citizens to the Tudor
Sovereigns. This seal is very fine both in design and workmanship,
but, as in the case of the Common Seal of 1531, I have been
unable to find an impression of it upon any document or any
information as to the circumstances under which it was
made. William Harvey, Roi Clarenceux, upon his visitation of
Devon in 1564, ratified and confirmed the City arms and
added the crest and supporters as shewn on the seal.
The original charter signed by William Harvey is still pre
served among the City Muniments. As the arms were merely
ratified and confirmed they must have existed in some form
before the year 1564.
The addition of a crest to the arms of a city overlooks
entirely the original significance of such an heraldic emblem,
which is inapplicable except to a warrior, the crest being
essentially the ornament surmounting a helm. The earliest
instance of a crest used by a municipality is on a seal of
the City of London made in 1539. With this exception no
city or town appears to have used a crest or supporters
proper prior to the reign of Elizabeth. The adoption of
arms, however, came much earlier, and these were commonly
formed by placing on a shield the device of the Common
Seal. It is the natural assumption that such was the case
in Exeter, but there is no evidence of the use of any Common
Seal except what has been described above. Evidence as to
the origin of the Exeter arms seems, therefore, to be incom
plete at present. With the knowledge at hand, one is driven
to assume that the triple-towered castle was suggested by the
towers in the Common Seal (Fig. 1), and derived its form

26 THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS.
from the towers represented upon the Seal of the Mayor of
the Staple (Fig. 17.)
In the Visitation of Devon in 1620 the arms, supporters
and crest are described with the remark, " This is the
common seale of the Citty of Exeter. These are the armes
and the common seale of the Cittye of Exeter . . ."
Here again one is set upon conjecture. The only seal
representing the City arms of which we have any know
ledge as existing in 1620 was the Mayor's Seal. Was this
seal regarded, mistakenly, as the Common Seal of the City,
or was the Common Seal of 1672 a reproduction (perhaps
with the motto added) of a similar seal of which we have
now no trace ? Neither surmise seems satisfactory, and the
true explanation probably lies in some fact which a fuller
knowledge of the subject would reveal. The fact that the
arms and the Common Seal were described as one and the
same in this visitation would lead to the adoption of such
a seal as that of 1672.
Sheriff's Seal. — This seal (Fig. 21) shews the City
escutcheon with the legend : sigill : vicecom : exon :
The Exeter Shrievalty dates from 1537 when Henry VIII
by his Letters Patent under the Great Seal of England
constituted the City a County of itself.
The City still holds all the rights and privileges of a
County separate from the County of Devon and a Sheriff
is annually elected by the City Council.
The seal is kept in the custody of the Under Sheriff
and used for all such documents as are required to be
sealed by the Sheriff in his official capacity.
Seals of the Hospital of St. Mary Magdalene. — It
is not intended to extend this article to the seals of the
Charities of the City, notwithstanding the civic character of
many and those the most important of them. An excep
tion may be made, however, of the seals of the Hospital of
St. Mary Magdalene, as the matrices of two of the Hospital
Seals are still in the possession of the City Council.
This Hospital, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene and appro
priated for the reception of lepers, existed at a very early period.
Bartholomew, Bishop of Exeter, considerably enlarged
the endowment of the Hospital in the year 1163. This gift

THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS. 27
was confirmed by Pope Celestine the Third, a.d. 1192, and
both the Bishop's Charter (No. 1) and the Papal Bull confirm
ing it (No. 3) are preserved among the City Muniments.*
The Mayor, Bailiffs and Commonalty in the year
1244, made an exchange with William Brewer, Bishop
of Exeter, of the patronage of St. John's Hospital for the
patronage of the Magdalen Hospital.
The following passage from Hoker's Common-place Book
(fos. 240 and 241) sets out the reason for this exchange: —
" The Lazare people dyd upon every market daye come
yn to the market wth a clapp dyshe and went from man to
man to begge corne & all other victualls as was to be solde
yn the market wch lybertie they claymed from and by the
graunte of Byshop Bartholomewe who by his lres patentes
A0 1 163 graunted to the sayde sicke people a certeyn toll
of all corne solde yn the market of this citie upon thursdayes
& saterdayes which were then the market dayes for corne :
also toll for bredd sold upon & yn the saterdayes : and a
toll of breade & corne sold upon the fayredayes : Also that
they shold collecte the allmes of all the citisens upon twose-
dayes & thursedayes : The poore people havinge receved
this the byshops blessinge & pswadinge theym selffes that
it wolde be verie profytable & benyficiall unto theym began
forthw"1 to put the same yn exequution and came yn to
the marquetts w,h theire clap disshes and asked the toll
apoynted unto theym : r but the people wch had not benne
acquented wth any suche custome & not brookinge the uglye
faces nor lykinge the thrustinge of the sycke folke yn emonge
theym, some of theym gave theym roughe speches some
of theym shunned theym & some of theym forbad theym of
the markett : And all were streight laced & hard guyrded
for small & lytle was it wch the poore lazares could have
at all : wch thinge greved the bisshop verie miche. but yn the
end for appeasinge of the matter this pmutacion was made
that the bisshop & his successors sholde from thensforthe
be patrones of the hospitall of St. Johns wthin the Easte gate
of this Citie. And the mayor and Coialtie sholde be patrones
of the hospytall of the magdalen for the lazares wthout the south-
gate : wch- thinge from thensforthe was accordingly observed."
* Both documents are printed in Oliver's Monasticon Dioecesis
Exoniensis, p. 402.

28 THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS.
The Hospital buildings stood in a low and unhealthy
situation within what is now the angle formed by the two
streets, Magdalen Street and Fairpark Road. In 1863 an
Order of the Charity Commissioners was obtained for the
demolition of the old buildings and the erection of the
existing almshouses at the junction of Denmark Road and
Magdalen Street.
With the extinction of leprosy in this country the
Hospital ceased to fulfil its original purpose. After losing
its character as a Leper Hospital the practice was observed
of giving preference to candidates afflicted with the disease
of scrofula, but in 1865 the trustees were empowered to
receive poor, old and infirm people as inmates regardless of
their having any particular disease.
The Charity was removed from the control and patron
age of the Corporation of Exeter soon after the passing of the
Municipal Corporations Act, 1835. It is now administered
by the trustees of the Exeter Municipal General Charities.
The Hospital Seals are four in number :
I. The earliest (Fig. 23) presents on a smooth field the
figure of St. Mary Magdalene slightly turned to the left,
bearing in the right hand a fleur-de-lis and in the left hand
a box of precious ointment. The inscription reads : + sigill
s' marie magdalne infirmorvm exonie.
Impressions of this seal appear on deeds Nos. 8, 14 and 43
in the City Muniment Room, the date of the earliest being
about 1200 and the date of the latest 1256.
II. The second seal (Fig. 24) shews a similar figure.
The field is diapered lozengy and the inscription reads:
S. COMVNE BEATE MARIE MAGDALENE EXONIENSIS. ImpreS-
sions of this seal appear on deeds Nos. 55, 58 and 64, of
the years {circa) 1292, 1334 and 1341-2.
III. The third seal (Fig. 25) presents the figure of
Mary, with streaming hair, standing on a cushion and holding
in the right hand a box of precious ointment and in the left
hand a palm branch. The field is diapered lozengy each
space containing a quatrefoil. In base is a shield of arms
bearing a triple-towered castle. The inscription reads :
Sigllu + hospitalis + ice X Marie ~«f. Magdlene
X civitatis -*ft- exonie.

Fig. 23.
12th Century.

Fig. 24.
13th Century.

Fig. 25.
Temp. Henry VII.

Fig. 26.
A.D. 1568.

Seals of the Hospital of St. Mary Magdalene.

Fig. 27.
Seal of the Corporation of the Poor, A.D. 1729.

Fig. 28.
Seal of the Corporation of the Poor. Present day.

Fig. 29.
Seal of the Improvement Commissioners.

THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS. 29
IV. The latest seal (Fig. 26) shews a similar design,
but the workmanship is much inferior. The field is diapered
with cinquefoils. The inscription reads :
+ SIGILLV. HOSPITALIS. BEATE. MARIE. MAGDALENE.
CIVITATIS. Exon * 1568.
the te in beate and the ne in Magdalene being conjoined.
An impression of this seal appears on a deed (No. 124) of
the year 1587.
The first is undoubtedly the most artistic of the four
seals, and the series shews a steady decline in the work
manship. This is a general characteristic. Seal engraving
in this country reached the highest point in its development
in the thirteenth century, and it then gradually deteriorated
though recovering somewhat in the fifteenth century.
The Hospital Seals are all oval in form. This is charac
teristic of ecclesiastical seals as the circular form is of civic
seals. The distinction, however, was not strictly observed.
Two exceptions appear in the Chapter Seal (Fig. 3) and the
Mayoralty Seal (Fig. 9.) The first may be accounted for
by the fact that, at the time of execution of the earliest
Chapter Seal, borough seals had not come into use, and the
second by the ecclesiastical character of the design.
Seals of the Corporation of the Poor. — Figures 27
and 28 represent Seals of the Corporation of the Poor for
the Parish of Exeter, which comprises the whole of the City,
except the Parish of St. Thomas, which was not incorporated
with the City for poor law purposes upon its annexation
in 1900. The Exeter Corporation of the Poor was constituted by
an Act of Parliament of the year 1697. This enacted that
from and after the 30th June, 1698, a Corporation of the Poor
should be appointed for the City and County of the City of
Exeter, consisting of the Mayor and Aldermen of the City
for the time being, and of forty other persons chosen out of
the honestest and discreetest inhabitants, ten out of each of
the four Wards or Quarters of the City. The electors were
to consist of all such persons as paid 2d. per week, or more,
towards the relief of the poor of the City. For the encourage
ment of benefactions the Guardians were authorised also to
elect as a Guardian, for so long as they should deem fit,

30 THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS.
every charitable person who contributed £50 or more towards
carrying on the work of the Corporation. It was enacted
also that the Corporation should choose each year, from
amongst themselves, a Governor, a Deputy Governor, one or
more Treasurer or Treasurers, and sixteen Assistants upon
whom certain executive duties were cast.
The whole body of the Guardians were incorporated under
the title of " The Governor, Deputy Governor, Assistants
and Guardians of the Poor of the City and County of Exon "
with " power and authority, from time to time, to make and
appoint a Common Seal or Seals for the use of the said
Corporation." A Workhouse existed in the city previous to the passing
of the Act of 1697. Canon John Bury, d.d., by his will dated
the 15th June, 1667, bequeathed out of his estates an annual
rental of ^40 a year towards the support of a Workhouse,
should such be erected within twenty years of the date of
the will, wherein the poor of the parish of St. Sidwell may
be maintained and set to work. To obtain the benefit of
this bequest the City Chamber in the year 1671 procured
premises at the lower end of Paris Street and a workhouse
was erected there in 1672-3. Previous to its erection a
Committee of the Chamber visited Taunton and Dorchester
to view the " common workhouses " there " that a hansome
modell or platforme may bee had for the raising of a new
workhouse here." The sum advanced by the Chamber for
the purchase of the site and the erection of the building
amounted to ^739 9s. gd.*
The Corporation of the Poor n entering upon the duties
imposed upon them by the Act of 1697 took up no happy
task. The imposition of a new and heavy rate roused the
animosity of the citizens generally, and the City Chamber
soon came into conflict with the rival Authority. The
Guardians had scarcely settled into office than a petition is
presented to Parliament by the City Chamber and the
principal inhabitants of the City pointing out that as the
Act stood the Guardians were in office for life and praying
for an amendment of the Act so as to provide for re-elec
tion every two years. In a letter forwarding the petition to

* Chamber Act Book, vol. xi, fos. 110(b), 112(b), 114(a), t49(a).

THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS. 31
the two Members of Parliament for the City complaint is
made that " this new Corporacon p'sently cast an envious
Eye upon the p9sent Governm1 by the Civill Magistrate of
the Citty and would tax and assess the honest people of
the Town in a most unreasonable manner, & at last
quarreling with the Mayor and Alderman because they
would not joyne with them in such their unjust gceed-
ings and seeing they could not pvaile did complain to the
Court of Kings Bench." The last statement had reference
to a refusal of the Justices to confirm the rate made by the
Corporation of the Poor and to issue their warrants for
levying the same. The Corporation applied to the Court of
King's Bench for a mandamus to the Mayor and Justices
to approve confirm or alter the rate so made and in the
end obtained their mandamus but not till after strenuous
and costly litigation.
Negotiations had taken place between the City Chamber
and the Corporation of the Poor for the transfer of the
workhouse in Paris Street to the latter body. The temper
of the parties, however, was such that they were unable to
come to terms, and the Corporation purchased the land on the
east side of Heavitree Road for the erection thereon of a new
building. This was completed and opened in 1701. There
upon the old workhouse was abandoned and the benefit of
Canon Bury's bequest was in the year 1704' transferred to
the Corporation of the Poor. The Act of 1697 authorised
the raising of ^3,000 for the erection of such building, but
this sum was exceeded by over ^"2,000. Several Acts of
Parliament were passed later to enable the Corporation to
raise this excess expenditure and the further sums which
were required from time to time for the various extensions.
The constitution of the Corporation has been considerably
altered by recent legislation. The Exeter Extension Act,
1877, which annexed St. Leonards to the City, enacted that
the Guardians of the Poor should consist of the Mayor and
Aldermen of the City for the time being as ex-officio members
and 42 elective members and the constitution so remained till
the abolition of the ex-officio appointments by the Local
Government Act, 1894.
The Exeter Corporation Act, 1900, made no alteration in
the constitution of the body. It specially preserved for them,

32 THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS.
however, their corporate existence with the use of a common
seal and continued their ancient title of " The Governor,
Deputy Governor, Assistants and Guardians of the Poor of
the City and County of Exon," though this title is no longer
an accurate description, the word " Assistants " having now
merely a historical significance.
The earliest entry in the Minute Books of the Corporation
relating to their seal is dated the 18th July, 1698, when an
order was made " That ye specimen of a Seale now produced
by Mr. Bernard Goddard be y" Seale of this Corporation,
being ye device of a Girle sitting at her Turne spinning,
w,h a Labell from her Mouth w* these words, Go to ye Ant,
&c, On ye one, a Lamb sucking her Dam, on ye other side,
a Candle Burning, and Pro: 31: 18. An Eye of Providence
over y" Girle and this Motto, Nocte Dieq, Round yel Circle
being divided by ye City Armes are these words, Charitas
et Industria. sig. gub. d.g. assis. et. gar. pav. civ. et.
com : exon 1698."
At a meeting of the Corporation held the 16th December,
1729, the Treasurer reported that Mr. John Irish who was
at the previous meeting discharged from his office as Clerk
owing to neglect of duty had secreted the Common Seal of
the Corporation and refused to deliver it up, and upon the
Treasurer producing a new seal it was ordered " that the
sd 'seale bearing date 1729 shall be used and taken for the
Common Seale of this Corporacon." It was further ordered
that twenty shillings be paid George Tuthill for the said seal
and that it should be lodged in the hands of the Governor
for the time being.
This seal (Fig. 27) continued in use till the 3rd March,
1908, when the seal shewn in Fig. 28 was adopted as the
Common Seal of the Corporation, and the previous practice
of sealing with wax was replaced by the use of a screw press
with an engraved die. The design of this later seal was
copied from a silver matrix which had been in the possession
of the Corporation for many years, but there is no infor
mation as to the time when or the circumstances under
which it was made.
The Corporation possess a third matrix which resembles
the seal of 1729 in every respect except that the date 1698
appears in place of 1729. It is considerably worn and there

THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS. 33
can be little doubt but that this is the original seal purloined
by the Clerk, John Irish. The design differs from that ordered
in the minute of the 18th July, 1698, in the omission of the
scroll that should issue from the mouth of the maid and of
the words "Pro: 31: 18." These omissions may be ex
plained by exigencies of space.
It will be observed that the latest seal carries out the
original instructions except that the scroll contains the words
" He that hath pitty " in place of " Go to the Ant, &c."
The leading motive is now no longer Industria but Charitas.
The scriptural reference is to the description of a virtuous
woman in the 31st Chapter of the Proverbs which sug
gested the design.
"18. She perceiveth that her merchandize is good;
her candle goeth not out by night.
19. She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands
hold the distaff.
20. She stretcheth out her hand to the poor ; yea, she
reacheth forth her hands to the needy."
Seal of the Exeter Improvement Commissioners. —
The Improvement Commissioners were an administrative
body appointed by the Exeter Improvement Act, 1832, for the
purpose of enforcing the Act which contains provisions for
the better paving, watching, cleansing and otherwise im
proving the City. This body of Commissioners was composed
of six members appointed by the City Chamber, the Dean,
the Canons Residentiary, and representatives of the different
parishes and precincts of the City, the number of whose
representatives varied according to the rateable value, the
largest number of representatives appointed by any single
parish or precinct being six. An amending Act was passed in
1867 when the powers ofthe Commissioners were transferred
to the City Council except as to certain of the powers relating
to the Cathedral Close which became vested in the Dean and
Chapter. The seal of the Commissioners (Fig. 29) shews a repre
sentation of the temple of Hygieia and a fountain with the sun
above pouring down his rays in uninterrupted splendour.
The reference is of course to the sanitary administration of the
Commissioners. Below the design is the date mdcccxxxiii.

34 THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS.
The inscription reads : sigillum curator : pub : salutis
exon. The Commissioners under the Act of 1832 succeeded to a
previous body of Commissioners with somewhat similar con
stitution appointed to carry out the provisions of an Improve
ment Act passed in 1810 and repealed by the Act of 1832.
The earlier body do not appear to have used a common
seal. Later Seals. — With the seal of the Improvement Com
missioners the history of the Civic Seals of Exeter, so far as it
possesses any interest, may be considered to end. Later seals
there are but they possess no artistic value or any originality
of design and deserve no more than a mere reference. The
Exeter Turnpike Trustees (1753 to 1884) adopted a small oval
seal shewing the figure of a key with the inscription " Exeter
Turnpike." The Seal of the St. Thomas Urban Council (1894
to 1900) shows a circular inscription, " The Urban District
Council of St. Thomas the Apostle," with a crown and the
word " Devon " in the centre. Of the three School Boards
that were in existence in the City, the St. Thomas Board
(1871 to 1900) used a seal containing merely the name of the
School Board without any device or ornamentation whatever ;
the St. Leonard's Board (1871 to 1877) had for device a
crown and an open book containing the words " Suffer
little children to come unto me," the name of the School
Board surrounding the whole ; the Exeter Board (1871 to
1903) adopted a more elaborate device, two shields suspended,
one bearing the City Arms, and the other an open Bible
with a scroll below shewing the words " Semper Fidelis,"
around the whole being the inscription " Seal of the School
Board of the City of Exeter, A.D. 1871."
All these Authorities, including the Turnpike Trustees
(so far as their administration related to the City), are now
merged in the City Council.
The seal of the Turnpike Trustees was affixed by
impressions upon wax, but by the time the four later bodies
came into being the modern practice had been introduced
of affixing the seal by direct impressions from an engraved
die. With this practice, which has become universal among
public Authorities, the art of seal engraving may be con
sidered to have died.

THE EXETER CIVIC SEALS. 35
Of all the civic seals figured above, four alone remain
in use, the earliest of the Common Seals of the City, the
Mayoralty Seal, the Sheriff's Seal, and the Seal of the
Corporation of the Poor. The Mayor's Seal may be regarded
as having fallen into disuse.
The tendency of recent years is to concentrate all local
administration in the hands of the Municipal Authority.
The Corporation of the Poor are threatened with the same
fate as has befallen the Improvement Commissioners, the
Turnpike Trustees and the School Boards. With their
extinction the Civic Seals of the City would be reduced to
the seals of the municipality and of its two chief offices.
The Common Seal of the twelfth century, the earliest,
the most picturesque, and the most interesting of all, has
come down through the centuries supreme over all its
rivals, and its existence seems now as assured as that of
the City itself. Coeval with the first City Charter, it shares
with it the interest of being the oldest relic of the municipal
life of the City, but while the Charter of Hen. II has long
ceased to be of any living force the Common Seal still
attests the acts of the Council as in the days of yore,
while yet the City called its chief magistrate the Provost
and long ere the erection of our ancient Guildhall. Chief
emblem of the civic entity of this City, it has remained the
only thing unchanged through the many changing forms
and emblems of over seven centuries of our municipal life.
As it is our pride when we consider its past to call it
ancient, so it is our hope when we contemplate its future
that what we now regard as ancient will prove to be but
in the youth of its existence.

YALE UNIVERSITY

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