In 1379 July 4, Ricardus Lescrop, Cancellarius noster in Wencelowedale (Richard, Lord Scrope) was granted, by Richard II, (In year 3 of his reign) a Royal licence to crenellate Bolton (Bolton Castle)

"Licence for Richard Lescrope to crenellate his manor of Bolton in Wencelowedale or a place within it (seu unam placeam infra idem manerium) with a wall of stone and lime.
Richardus Dei gracia rex Angliae et Francia et dominus Hibernie, omnibus ad quos presentes litterae prevenerint salutem, sciatis quod de gracia nostra speciali concessimus & licentiam dedimus pro nobis & heredibus nostris dilecto & fideli nostro Ricardo Lescrop, cancellario nostro, quod ipse manerium suum de Bolton in Wencelaw Dale, seu unam placeam infra idem manerium muro de petre & calce firmare & kernellare & manerium illud ceu placeam, illam sic firmatum & kernellatum vel firmatam & kernellatam, tenere possit sibi & heredibus suis imperpetuum sine occasione vel impedimento nostri vel heredum nostrorum vel heredum nostrorum quorumcunque. In cujus rei testimonium has literas nostras fieri fecimus patentes. Teste meipso apud Westmonasterium quarto die Julij anno nostri tertio. Per breve de privato sigillo. Waltham. [Grose]"

Granted at Westminster, by privy seal.

Original source is

• Calendar of Patent Rolls (1377-81) p369

(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. Licentia is best translated as 'freedom to' not 'permission'.)

Significant later source are;

• Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses Vol1 (Cambridge) p421
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p536n8
  Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p418
  Grose, F.,1783 [new edn], The antiquities of England and Wales p4n.p http://www.archive.org/stream/antiquitiesenglish01gros#page/n15/mode/1up

Scrope, Richard, first Baron Scrope of Bolton (c.1327–1403)

Scrope, Richard, first Baron Scrope of Bolton (c.1327–1403), soldier and administrator. Long royal service as Treasurer, steward of the royal household and, at this time, chancellor of England.
'Richard Scrope had achieved one of the most spectacular feats of social climbing in fourteenth-century England, which had propelled the Scropes of Bolton into the ranks of the peerage'. (King, 2007, p392)

Biographical source include;

• King, Andy, 2007, 'Fortress and fashion statements: gentry castles in fourteenth-century Northumberland' Journal of Medieval History Vol33 p392
  Brigette Vale, ‘Scrope, Richard, first Baron Scrope of Bolton (c.1327–1403)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/24963, accessed 28 Jan 2008]

More details about licences to crenellate can be found here.

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