"in solo suo apud Shirefhoton in Com. Ebor. quandam placeam prout sibi placuerit muro, ... et Castrum inde facere
Licence for John de Nevill of Raby, knight, to enclose with a wall of stone and lime and crenellate a plot in his own ground at Shirefhoton co. York,and make a castle thereof. "
Granted at Westminster, by privy seal.
Here the licence is most probably connected with Neville's need to re-establish good relations with the king
Original source is
(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;
John Neville, fifth baron Neville (c. 1330-1388) Had long service with the crown as soldier and courtier. In his later years his service was mainly in the North particularly as warden of the eastern march and keeper of Bamburgh Castle. As an ally of John of Gaunt he maintained the balance of power in the north against the Percy family. He was made a knight of the Garter in 1369, and had attained the rank of banneret by 1370. He held office as admiral of the north from 30 May 1370 until 6 October 1371. He was impeached in 1376 and, although the fines were later set aside, Neville lost his role as steward of the royal household. He continued to serve in numerous post in the north of England. Income from these posts and his own lands funded building at Raby (granted a Durham licence in 1378) and Sheriff Hutton.
Biographical source include;
More details about licences to crenellate can be found here.
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