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Question
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Why did Malmesbury have both an Old and a New Corporation at the same time?
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Question asked on
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04 July 2011
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Answer
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Malmesbury is unique in having two corporations such as these. The Old Corporation dates from 939 when King Athelstan gave the King's Heath to the Burgesses, their Heirs and Successors for ever. This still exists under a High Steward ruling the Capital Burgesses and Commoners. People can only become a Commoner by right of descent and so it is a very exclusive club. The Old Corporation chose the Members of Parliament until the Great Reform Act of 1832 and Malmesbury became known as one of the most notorious of the rotten boroughs. Complaints had been made about the administration of justice by the Old Corporation and about the character of its aldermen and burgesses in the 1830s but it remained unchanged until 1886.
In that year the New Corporation, with a mayor, four aldermen and twelve councillors, was incorporated under the Municipal Corporations Act of 1882. This survived, running the affairs of the borough, until 1974 when Malmesbury became part of North Wiltshire District Council. The Old Corporation retained the borough lands, granted by King Athelstan, and had a new title, The Warden and Freemen of Malmesbury. They also became the trustees of several borough charities and continue their work on behalf of Malmesbury to this day.
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Bibliography
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The Victoria History of Wiltshire, Volume 14, edited by Dr. D.A. Crowley. Oxford University Press for the Institute of Historical Research, 1991.
A History of Malmesbury by Dr. Bernulf Hodge. 1968.
