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Sandwich Magna Carta

Edward I of England · 1300

An official 1300 copy of Magna Carta issued by Edward I and kept by the town of Sandwich, rediscovered in 2014 with a Charter of the Forest.

This official 1300 copy of Magna Carta, kept by Sandwich, shows local communities preserving the charter for centuries.

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Photograph of a damaged, aged parchment document with handwritten Latin text in columns, displayed on a pink mat in an exhibition panel. Caption below reads Sandwich Magna Carta, 1300.
Sandwich Magna Carta, issued by Edward I, 1300. Kent History and Library Centre / Sandwich Guildhall.

About this source

What it is

This is a 1300 exemplification of Magna Carta issued by King Edward I, kept by the town of Sandwich and today held at the Kent History and Library Centre. It was rediscovered in 2014 together with a copy of the Charter of the Forest, and has since been shown in exhibitions, including alongside the Faversham copy at Rochester Cathedral.

Why it matters

Like the Faversham copy, this document shows that official versions of Magna Carta were distributed to towns across England long after 1215, and that some communities kept and preserved their copies for centuries without them being widely known about. Its rediscovery in 2014 reminded historians how much material relating to Magna Carta may still survive uncatalogued in local archives.

Look closer

  • What might explain why this document went unnoticed for so long before its rediscovery?
  • Why do you think towns like Sandwich kept official copies of royal charters?
  • How does the document's damaged, aged condition affect how we can read and use it today?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Magna Carta on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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