Magna Carta of Chester

Magna Carta of Chester, or Cheshire, was a charter of rights issued in 1215 in the style of the Magna Carta. The charter is primarily concerned with the relationship between the Earl of Chester and his barons, though the final clause states that the barons must allow similar concessions to their own tenants.

The Runnymede Charter of Liberties did not apply to the shire of Chester, which at the time was a separate feudal domain. At the petitions of his barons, the Earl of Chester, Ranulf III set out his own charter. The similarities between many of the clauses in the Magna Carta of Chester and those in the Magna Carta indicates that it was written after King John issued the latter on 19 June 1215.

In the early 1200s, the Earldom of Chester was the only county palatine on the Welsh Marches;Ranulf III ruled Chester as a separate feudal domain. His barons living outside of Cheshire are referred to as his 'knights from England'. In the late 12th century manuscript De laude Cestrie, Lucian of Chester describes the county as obedient, 'more to the sword of its prince than to the crown of the king.'

Ranulf III had been loyal to the king during the First Barons' War and had supported the Magna Carta. Ranulf III, William Marshal, the Earl of Derby and Earl of Warwick were the only members of the nobility to support the king. In 1215, Ranulf was one of the few magnates to serve as a witness for the Magna Carta.

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