The Assize

In medieval London, and Assize was a local Court at which infringements of local law were tried by magistrates i.e. the Mayor, Sheriffs, or Aldermen; the cases often concerned the unlawful selling of beer and bread. The Assize of Nuisance dealt with petty civil matters or, as here, construction and building regulations. The laws governing the Assizes were gathered by clerks and written down for future reference. The Assize of Buildings contained in the Liber de Antiquis Legibus would have presumably been held centrally, at the Guildhall, for consultation by the magistrates when deciding cases.