These two men acquired, during the summer of 1392, a considerable amount of land, houses, rents and reversions. Two of the conveyances to them still extant are dated in the August of that year. The community then took steps to obtain a license that all this property might be assigned to themselves by one conveyance, as a grant from the persons then legally entitled.
In the first instance it was necessary for an Inquest to be held. When this was done, the Jury found that no loss would ensue from the proposed gift, but they pointed out that some of the Leicester property was held of the Duke of Lancaster, and the Whetstone land of Sir John de Beaumont, both tenants of the King. This inquisition is printed by Nichols, and an English translation will be found in Thompson's History of Leicester. Thereupon the King granted his license. A portion of this document is printed by Nichols, and an English abstract of the whole is given in the Borough Records. Richard II, "by special favour, and for £20 paid to him by the Mayor and Community of the town of Leicester," granted leave to William Mercer and William Spencer to give 8 messuages 15 cottages 2 shops 1 toft 6 virgates and 9 acres of arable land 6 acres and 1 rood of meadow and 25s. 912d, yearly of rent and the rent of 1 cock and 2 hens, with their appurtenances, in Leicester, Whetstone and Great Glen, to be held by them and their successors "for the repair and bettering of the Six Bridges within the town of Leicester and for other burdens arising within the said town according to the ordinance of the grantors." They also had leave to grant the reversions of some other property situate in Leicester. The License is dated September 14th, 1392, and within three weeks from that date licenses were also obtained from the mesne lords mentioned by the Jury, "Prince John, Duke of Aquitaine and Lancaster," and "the reverend lord, the lord John of Beaumont," and a formal assignment of the property to the Mayor and Community of Leicester was duly executed.
The "repair and bettering of the Six Bridges" was put forward intentionally, as one of the good and charitable uses for which the property was acquired, but the Bridges had really
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