See also: Godmanchester Borough; Huntingdon and Godmanchester Borough; Local Government
Huntingdon was an ancient borough. Its rights and privileges were confirmed by King John in his charter of 7 August 1205 (the oldest surviving document at Huntingdonshire Archives). In 1484 the borough was 'incorporated,' which meant that the town now had its own legal identity, giving it the right to sue or be sued in legal cases, and granting the use of a Common Seal for attesting official documents. Charles I granted an entirely new charter on 15 July 1630, which remained in force until 1835, when the old town corporation was replaced by an elected council. This council was itself abolished in 1961, and was replaced by Huntingdon and Godmanchester Borough Council.
Huntingdonshire Archives has a very large collection of borough records, including many of the original charters, the court order and minute books, burgess rolls and charity accounts. The original charters are not normally available for public inspection: however, we have photographs of them, with translations, so please ask a member of staff if you wish to see these. The texts of some of the charters were reprinted in Edward Griffiths A Collection of Ancient Records relating to the Borough of Huntingdon (London 1827). Philip Dickinson wrote a brief leaflet on the charters in 1955, The Royal Charters of Huntingdon.
The collection was completely relisted from scratch during 2005. For more details, please follow the link in the right hand column to the Huntingdon Borough Archive Project.