In 1352 July 22, Homines de Gippewico was granted, by Edward III, (In year 26 of his reign) a Royal licence to crenellate Gippewico (Ipswich)

"Licence for the good men, the king's tenants, of the town of Ipswich, to strengthen and crenellate their town (villam) with a stone wall."

Granted at Westminster, by privy seal.

The town had some earthern defences from at least 1204, and possibly earlier. Some walls may have existed and a barred gate (portas barratas) is recorded in a deed of 1343. Here civic pride and economic conflict with Harwich (granted a licence the next month) seem the most likely motivation for obtaining a licence, although the loss of trade following the Black Death of 1348-9 may have also been significant, since the main function of town walls was to regulate trade and the collection of taxes.

Original source is

• Calendar of Patent Rolls (1350-54) p314

(In fact, the original source given is usually a transcription/translation of what are precious medieval documents not readily availably. It should be noted that these transcription/translations often date to the nineteenth or early twentieth centuries and that unwitting bias of transcribers may affect the translation. Care should also be taken to avoid giving modern meaning to the medieval use of certain stock words and terms.)

Significant later source are;

• Alsford, Stephen, 1998-2002, 'History of medieval Ipswich' online at http://www.the-orb.net/encyclop/culture/towns/ipswic12.html (accessed 15 Jan 2008)
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p463n31
  Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p297, 415

More details about licences to crenellate can be found here.

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