McKisack, May, 'Borough Representation in Richard II’s Reign', The English Historical Review 39 (1924), 511-525

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Quick Summary

More representatives from towns attended parliament in the late-fourteenth century that previously believed

  • The surviving expenses claims of MPs do not represent the total number of MPs attending parliament
  • During the reign of Richard II around 70 towns sent representatives to each parliament
  • Large towns took care to send MPs who had distinguished themselves in local politics
Key Conclusion

McKisack explores the representation of boroughs (towns) in parliament by examining the attendance of burgesses (wealthy townsmen) at late-fourteenth-century parliamentary assemblies. The article concludes that the surviving writs de expensis – documents that allowed members of parliament to claim expenses for attending parliament – do not accurately indicate the number of burgesses present in parliament. Notably, these writs were just one way of being reimbursed for expenses, and burgesses could actually obtain payment at a higher rate by other means. This conclusion challenges the work of A. F. Pollard, who suggested on the basis of the writs de expensis that the average number of boroughs represented in parliament was below twelve.

Content Overview

The total number of boroughs sending representatives to parliament varies from one assembly to the next, but the average number in the reign of Richard II is about seventy. Each borough normally ‘returned’ two representatives. The article challenges Pollard not only on the issue of writs de expensis – but also on his assertion that burgesses may avoided parliament because ‘towns which sent members to parliament were taxed at a higher rate than those which were represented only by the knights of the shire’. In fact, McKisack points out that in 1334 it was established that each county and town was ‘liable for a certain amount which had to be produced, whether members were sent to parliament or not’ (pp. 514-5).

Further Findings

McKisack observes that in large towns ‘great care seems to have been taken to return citizens who had already proved their worth in local politics’ (p. 517). For example, in Northampton the mayor was automatically returned to parliament, and in other towns bailiffs (civic officers) were returned with great frequency. There was also a tendency for towns to return very wealthy citizens – which may partly explain the frequent failure of members to claim their expenses. The city of London was represented in parliament by four members rather than two, and further citizens may have attended parliament in addition to these elected representatives.

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