Purveyance facts for kids

Purveyance was an old rule that allowed the kings and queens of England to buy food and other things for their royal household. They could get these supplies at a price set by others. The Crown could also demand horses and wagons for royal use. This special right was finally stopped in 1660.

How Purveyance Worked

This system grew in England between the late 1000s and the 1300s. In theory, the king could collect goods for his home and for his army. However, using it for the army stopped in 1362. The main problem was that dishonest officials often misused the system. They would take goods and sell them for their own gain. They might also use threats to get items or money, which they would then keep for themselves instead of giving to the king. Because of this, English kings made many laws to try and stop this corruption, but they often didn't work very well.

Early Kings and Purveyance

When King Edward I and the English Army went to Scotland, there wasn't much food there. So, they used purveyance. The English court already had a right to buy food for the poor, called "prise." Edward I greatly expanded this right, turning it into purveyance. Local officials called sheriffs would buy food in their areas at a fixed price. Sellers had to sell their goods at this government price.

The government then created a system to store all this food. Edward I set up a way to move huge amounts of food from central England to southern Scotland, which the English controlled. Historians say this was a big success for the government's organization. However, it was also unfair because Edward often paid very late and very little.

Edward I also used purveyance for his many wars in Wales. He took food from the Isle of Anglesey and Ireland. Purveyance caused a lot of anger during Edward's war in Gascony from 1294 to 1298. In 1298, a country-wide investigation looked into the bad actions of royal officials, including those who handled purveyance.

Purveyance remained the main way English kings got food and other supplies for their armies, castles, and traveling households. Both King Edward II and King Edward III used it a lot. Edward II used it in his failed war against Scotland and in a civil war. Edward III used it in his successful war against Scotland and later in France during the Hundred Years' War.

Stopping Military Purveyance

Under Edward III, the problems of corruption and abuse in collecting goods for the army became very serious. Complaints were so strong at the start of the Hundred Years' War that Edward III started another investigation across the country. He removed most of the purveyors from their jobs.

However, purveyance was a very important royal right, and the king didn't want to give it up. It was only in 1362, after a lot of pressure from Parliament, that Edward III agreed to stop using purveyance for military purposes.

Henry V and Purveyance

When King Henry V was getting ready for war against France during the Hundred Years' War, he ordered that purveyance continue for military needs. He said that all purveyors should be fair and reasonable. They were not supposed to take anything from church property and had to pay a fair price.

But many purveyors behaved very badly. They forced peasants to give them food. They would either buy it at a very low price and sell it for a high profit, or they wouldn't pay at all. If a purveyor came with armed men, most peasants were too scared to resist. King Henry knew about the corruption. He announced that anyone treated badly by a captain or soldier should report it to the king's treasury official, called a seneschal. The king promised that full justice would be given when he arrived at Southampton. The use of purveyance to supply the growing royal household would later cause problems with the Stuart kings.

The End of Purveyance

In the 1600s, purveyance was worth about £40,000 a year to the king. However, Parliament wanted to end it. King James I did not want to give up this control without getting money in return. Parliament feared this would only lead to more corruption, so no changes were made during James I's rule.

During the time when England was a republic (the Commonwealth), a law was passed on December 12, 1656, to get rid of purveyance. This law was approved on June 9, 1657. But when the king returned to power in 1660 (the Restoration), all laws from that period were canceled. So, it was the Tenures Abolition Act 1660 that finally ended purveyance and other old feudal charges.

See also

• Eminent domain