Medieval Seals

Seal ad causas of the mayorality of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1483, G&B 3739. This depicts the Tyne bridge surmounted by a battlemented castle which is flanked on either side by a leopard of England, presumably because Newcastle was a royal borough. 1.4.Spec.115

Seal of the Statute Merchant for Newcastle-upon-Tyne, G&B 3740. The document, dated 1366, is an undertaking or bond by a purchaser of wool to make payment in five months to the Durham monks, subject to the penalties laid down in royal statutes issued at the instance of the merchants; in addition to his own seal, he arranged for the king's seal assigned `to the said statutes' to be attached. The central bust of the king on the obverse is very similar to that on the parallel seal for York (G&B 3743), but the flanking castles are somewhat different, and the reverse, with a castle flying the royal banner, is quite different. The availability of seals of this type and the next in major regional centres served to bring commercial transactions within a specific jurisdictional framework. 3.13.Spec.28

Seal of the Staple of the town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, G&B 3741. The document, dated 1403, is an undertaking or bond to pay a large sum in two months if the conditions set out in the defeasance on the dorse were not fulfilled, subject to the penalties laid down in the Statute of the Staple issued at the instance of the merchants; as well as a personal seal, now lost, the seal assigned for the said Staple was attached. The single-sided seal shows a river in front of a castle with a leopard of England under the portcullis. 1.1.Spec.84