TheStatute of Rhuddlan^{[n 1]} (Welsh:Statud Rhuddlan), also known as theStatutes of Wales (Latin:Statuta Walliae^[2] orValliae) or as theStatute of Wales (Latin:Statutum Walliae^[3] orValliae), was a royal ordinance byEdward I of England, which gave the constitutional basis for the government of thePrincipality of Wales from 1284 until 1536.

The statute followed theConquest of Wales by Edward I and the killing of the last Welsh prince to rule the whole Principality,Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in 1282. The statute introducedEnglish common law to Wales, but also permitted the continuance of Welsh legal practices within the Principality. The statute also introduced the English shire system to the Principality of Wales. Prior to the statute, the Welsh principalities were ruled byWelsh law and the nativePrinces of Wales.

ThePrince of Gwynedd had been recognised by the English Crown asPrince of Wales in 1267, holding his lands with the king ofEngland as hisfeudal overlord. It was thus that the English interpreted the title ofLlywelyn ap Gruffudd,Lord of Aberffraw, which was briefly held after his death by his successorDafydd ap Gruffudd. This meant that when Llywelyn rebelled, the English interpreted it as an act of treason. Accordingly, his landsescheated to the king of England, and Edward I took possession of thePrincipality of Wales bymilitary conquest from 1282 to 1283. By this means the principality became "united and annexed" to theCrown of England.^{[4][page needed]}

Following his conquest Edward I erected four newmarcher lordships in northeast Wales:Chirk (Chirkland), Bromfield and Yale (Powys Fadog), Ruthin (Dyffryn Clwyd) and Denbigh (Lordship of Denbigh); and one in South Wales,Cantref Bychan.^[5] He restored the principality ofPowys Wenwynwyn toGruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn who had suffered at the hands of Llewelyn, and he and his successorOwen de la Pole held it as a marcher lordship. Rhys ap Maredudd of Dryslwyn would have been in a similar position inCantref Mawr, having adhered to the king during Llewelyn's rebellion, but he forfeited his lands by rebelling in 1287. A few other minor Welsh nobles submitted in time to retain their lands, but became little more thangentry.^[6]

TheEnglish Crown already had a means of governing South Wales in thehonours ofCarmarthen andCardigan, which went back to 1240. These became counties under the government of theJusticiar of South Wales (or of West Wales), who was based in Carmarthen. The changes of the period made little difference in the substantial swathe of land fromPembrokeshire through South Wales to theWelsh Borders which was already in the hands of themarcher lords.^[7] Nor did they alter the administration of the royal lordships ofMontgomery andBuilth, which retained their existing institutions.^[8]

The statute also divided Wales into administrations of government via shires which were essentially provinces of the English crown.^[9] Prior to the statute, the Welsh principalities were ruled byWelsh law and the nativePrinces of Wales, the last prince to rule the whole Principality beingLlywelyn ap Gruffudd, killed in an ambush by the English in 1282.^[9]

The statute was not anact of Parliament, but rather a royalordinance made after careful consideration byEdward I on 3 March 1284.^[10] It takes its name fromRhuddlan Castle inDenbighshire where it was firstpromulgated on 19 March 1284.^[11] The Statute was superseded by theLaws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 whenHenry VIII made Wales unequivocally part of the "realm of England".^[12] The statute was formally repealed by theStatute Law Revision Act 1887 (50 & 51 Vict. c. 59).^[13]

The Statute of Rhuddlan was issued fromRhuddlan Castle in North Wales, one of the "iron ring" of fortresses built by Edward I to control his newly conquered lands.^[14] It provided the constitutional basis for the government of what was called "The Land of Wales" or "the king's lands of Snowdon and his other lands in Wales", but subsequently called the "Principality of North Wales".^[15] The Statute divided the principality into thecounties ofAnglesey,Merionethshire,Caernarfonshire, andFlintshire, which were created out of the remnants of theKingdom of Gwynedd inNorth Wales.^[16] Flintshire was created out of the lordships ofTegeingl, Hopedale, andMaelor Saesneg. It was administered with thePalatinate ofCheshire by theJusticiar of Chester.^[17]

The other three counties were overseen by aJusticiar of North Wales and a provincial exchequer atCaernarfon, run by theChamberlain of North Wales, who accounted to theExchequer atWestminster for the revenues he collected. Under them were royal officials such assheriffs,coroners, andbailiffs to collect taxes and administer justice.^[18][19] The king had ordered an inquiry into the rents and other dues to which the princes had been entitled, and these were enforced by the new officials. At the local level,commotes becamehundreds, but their customs, boundaries and offices remained largely unchanged.^{[citation needed]}

The Statute introduced theEnglish common law system to Wales,^[20] but the law administered was not precisely the same as in England. The criminal law was much the same, with felonies such asmurder,larceny androbbery prosecuted before the justiciar, as in England. The English writs and forms of action, such asnovel disseisin,debt anddower, operated, but with oversight from Caernarfon, rather than the distant Westminster. However, the Welsh practice of settling disputes by arbitration was retained. The procedure for debt was in advance of that in England, in that a default judgment could be obtained. In land law, the Welsh practice ofpartible inheritance continued, but in accordance with English practice:

• Daughters could inherit their father's lands if there was no son.
• Widows were entitled to dower in a third of their late husband's lands.
• Bastards were excluded from inheriting.^[21]

The Parliament House ofEdward III inRhuddlan where it was thought that the Statute of Rhuddlan was promulgated. Thomas Pennant remarks in 1778, "A piece of antient building called the Parlement is still to be seen in Rhuddlan: probably where the king sat in council."^[22] Pennant was to getJohn Ingleby to provide a watercolour of the building.^[23] Today the building still partially stands in Parliament Street, with a late 13th-century doorway and a 14th-century cuspedogee door head.^[24]

Primary

• Bowen, Ivor (1908).The statutes of Wales. London: T. Fisher Unwin. pp. 2–27
• Ruffhead, Owen, ed. (1765)."Statutum Wallie".The Statutes at Large (in Latin). Vol. 9. London: Mark Basket; Henry Woodfall & William Stratham. Appendix pp. 3–12.

Secondary

• Bowen 1908, pp. xxviii–xl
• Davies, R. R. (2000)."14: Settlement".The Age of Conquest: Wales 1063–1415. Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN 0-19-820878-2.

• Legal history of Wales
• 1284 in Wales
• 1280s in law
• 1284 in England
• Constitutional laws of Wales
• Rhuddlan
• The Lordship of Bromfield and Yale

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