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| The Moot Hall |
| In the sixteenth century the principal figures of authority were the West Riding Justices of the Peace. As well as administering the criminal law the Justices had the tasks of overseeing the Poor Relief, fixing wages, having vagabonds flogged, determining the paternity of illegitimate children, apprenticing children, regulating the price of corn and numerous other jobs. |
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Up to 1615 the Sessions were held in the old medieval courthouse, near Vicar Lane, which had the Common Ovens on the ground floor, but this was not to the Justices liking as a report of 1598 illustrates. ,a roome beinge directly over the Comon Ovens and furnaces there, which by the smoke and heate of the same ovens and furnaces dayly ascendinge in the said Courthouse, is very inconvenient, noysom and greate hyndrance to such as were to exercise her Majestie's service there.' |
| In 1615 the Moot Hall was built in Briggate for the Justices to hold their Sessions. Moot is derived from the Saxon word 'mote', a meeting place. The hall was the equivalent of a town hall with a courthouse. The south end of the building faced down Briggate and would be passed when crossing from the present day Commercial Street to Kirkgate. On the ground floor were shops and tenanted rooms. |
| In 1620 senior townsmen petitioned King James to establish a commission to investigate the misappropriation of charitable bequests. The Commission immediately revealed the corrupt activities of john Metcalfe the Manorial Bailiff. The building of the Moot Hall had been paid for from the funds given for poor relief on condition that the £20 annual rent should go to the needy. Only £15 had gone to the needy - the remainder to John Metcalfe. Further, Metcalfe had disregarded the custom of dividing monies he collected from a toll at the town markets between himself, repair of the market place and the poor. Since 1617 the tolls of eight to nine shillings a week had gone to Metcalfe alone. Metcalfe was ordered to repay the £10 rent and the Toll Dish of £37-18s-8d. |
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In 1710
the Moot Hall was rebuilt and enlarged and in front of the building
stood the pillory and stocks. The Quarter Sessions continued
to be held there until the Courthouse was built at the bottom
of Park row in 1813. Civic pride in the building was apparent when, in 1713, Alderman William Milner donated a fine statue of Queen Anne which was placed within a niche of the hall on the south side. |
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| The positioning of the Moot Hall had long been an obstruction to traffic in Briggate and in 1825 it was pulled down. Queen Anne reappeared on the south end of the Corn Exchange, that's the old Corn Exchange which was at the top of Briggate. When the Exchange was pulled down in 1868 poor Queen Anne took refuge in the Town Hall and eventually found her way to the Art Gallery where she can be seen today. |
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The Hall
was ideally placed for one of its functions. Being in the centre
of the markets area made for a plentiful supply of soft fruits
and other such missiles. Friday was probably 'pillory and stocks
day'! Another function of the Hall was much more gruesome. |
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The Farnley Wood Plot was a gathering of a score or more of men in those woods. Led by a Captain Oates their declared aims were, '… to reform all orders and degrees of men, especially lawyers, clergy and magistracy, to restore the Long Parliament, to take York and generally upset the order of things..' This was in late 1663, just three years after the monarchy, Charles II, had been restored. The authorities captured 21 of the men who were tried and hung at York. Three men escaped, Robert Atkins, John Errington and Henry Wilson. They made their way to Leeds and hid in an inn near the parish church of Chapel Allerton. They were taken into custody. On 19th January 1664 the three men were sentenced to be hung on Chapeltown Moor. The gallows on Chapeltown Moor, from contemporary maps, appears to have been on the present site of the school between the top of Methley Terrace and Harrogate Road. Situated not far from the gallows was the starting post used for the horse races held on the moor. Sounds like a good day out - a couple of hangings, a bit of money on the horses and then into one of the many inns nearby to discuss the days events! The three men were hung in chains, before a great crowd, and after a while… ' their heads were cut off and put in to a cloth bagg by the executioner, Peter mason, a joyner,… and yt day brot in a cart to Leeds and all yt night lay in a flask of water in the prison to suck out all the blood.' The following day the three heads 'were
sett upon the Moot Hall end, severally fixed upon three spikes
of iron.' |
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