Statute of the Staple

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The Statute of the Staple was a statute passed in 1353 by the parliament of England. It aimed to regularise the status of staple ports in England, Wales, and Ireland. In particular, it designated particular ports where specific goods could be exported or imported. These were the 'staple ports'.

It also established dedicated courts, known as the 'courts of staple', where disputes relating to commercial matters could be heard, in preference to the courts of common law.

The staple towns named in the statute were at Newcastle upon Tyne, York, Lincoln, Norwich, Westminster, Canterbury, Chichester, Winchester, Exeter, and Bristol, in England, as well as Dublin, Waterford, Cork, and Drogheda in Ireland. In Wales, the designated staple town was Carmarthen. From 1368, the wool staple was transferred away from Canterbury to Queenborough, in Kent.