A brief history of the Royal Liberty of Havering-atte-Bower

It is commonly thought that Havering's long history began in 1066 with Edward the Confessor and the tales of Havering Palace and also England's defeat to William the Conqueror and his Norman knights, but to set the scene we need to go back briefly to Anglo-Saxon England.

At this time Saxon villages were governed as manors. The King usually granted them as payment to his followers who would then become Lord of the Manors. Havering however was a large manor that was kept by the Saxon Kings for their own use, it was near to London and stretched from the high land of wooded Havering Ridge down to the Thames marshes, on the edge of the forest it provided successive Kings with a convenient yet pleasant retreat. A Saxon village had probably been established at Hornchurch where no doubt the Saxon church would have stood, probably near St. Andrews Parish Church. However Romford was considered to be the capital of the Royal Liberty and is situated on the London to Colchester road.

Edward the Confessor and his brief successor Harold II (Godwinson), were the last of the Saxon kings of England. The Saxons were essentially farming people but they also introduced efficient political and social systems which substantially survived in England until the 19th century. The basic unit of Saxon administration was the 'Hundred' which divided up the shires. Essex was divided into 20 of these units. What is now the London Borough of Havering then straddled two of the 'Hundreds' -Becontree to the west and Chafford to the East. That part in Becontree Hundred
comprised the large Royal Manor of Hornchurch which became the Royal Liberty of Havering in 1465 which was 500 years before the London Borough of Havering was formed in 1965.

The manor of Havering belonged to the Crown from the 11th century to the 19th and from the 13th to the 17th century it normally formed part of the queen's dower. The Liberty of Havering lost its privileged status in 1892, but the whole area was reunited again in 1965 when Romford Municipal Borough and Hornchurch Urban District Council were merged to form the London Borough of Havering.

The charter of 1465 was granted by Edward IV and confirmed by subsequent Kings down to Charles II and Mary and Elizabeth added further clauses. The Charter is a very long document, but a very brief summary is as follows:

The Lordship or Manor of Havering is an ancient demesne of the Crown of England. All actions arising within the Manor are pleadable in its Court before the Steward and Suitors of the Manor. Tenants and inhabitants shall not be compelled or forced or bound to answer before any other justices, judges, or commissioners, but only in the Court of the Manor (It was interesting that even the Sheriff of Essex was specifically barred from the Court). The Steward of the Manor and one of the most discrete and honest tenants or inhabitants are to be Justices of the Peace, to try all felons, trespassers and other unlawful acts.

However they are not allowed to try for treason without the King's special mandate. The Manor is granted the right to hold an annual Fair in the village of Havering, for up to three days, beginning with the eve of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.
The Manor is also exempted from royal and other purveyors who may come into the Lordship and take goods for the King.

The Charter also confirmed exceptional privileges that had already been granted previous to 1465 that included waiving of all national tolls to tenants of the Manor of Havering.

The Liberty survived until the end of the 19th century and escaped the provisions of various Acts that were brought in around the mid 19th century but the Municipal Corporations Act of 1883 did however stipulate that at any future date Havering could be united with the County. Under the Local Government Act of 1888 Havering was placed for administrative purposes under the newly formed Essex County Council. Little remained of the privileges of the Liberty except its separate criminal court, and in 1892 Havering was merged, by agreement, with the county.

Royal Palaces

There were quite a number of royal palaces situated around London often used as hunting lodges. Havering Palace dates from at least Saxon times and was sited close to Havering Green. Later a second Royal Palace was built just to the north at Pyrgo and Havering village grew up between them. Havering's palaces were very popular with virtually all the monarchs from Edward the Confessor in the mid 11th century down through history to Charles II in the 17th century.

The palace site was close to London for travelling and with advantageous views from Havering Ridge down to both the capital city and to the river Thames. During medieval and later times the area must have derived its wealth from supplying goods and services to support the palaces at Havering-atte-Bower. The village of Havering-atte-Bower would also have contained a manor hall where courts were held to try offenders and to arrange for the cultivation of land but records here only survive from the 14th century.