Muragh or murage was a medieval tax levied in Britain and Ireland for the construction or maintenance of town walls.
Muragh, also referred to as murage, was generally a term used for the tax meant for the repairs of the defensive walls that enclosed towns in historical England, Wales, Ireland.
Beginning as a defence against Viking raids, the tax continued through the Middle Ages before declining in the 17th century, as many town walls ceased to be regarded as important militarily after the English Civil War.
Construction of the walls with the use of the muragh tax was a way for a market town to generate the revenue needed to pay for its own defense.
for a boatload of goods coming into the town, and then smaller derivatives for horse-loads, cows, pigs, goats, and sheep.
Under King Henry III of England it is recorded the exact prices of all goods coming into Bristol in the Patent Roll for his 16th year of reign.
The addition of decorative doors and gates to the wall did not add to their defensive abilities, but effected the trade within the city.
The royal government was often inclined to support the construction of walls because it emphasized state defense, even in cases when the tax hurt the economy.
The use of mural houses in Oxford allowed citizens to live rent-free or tax-free under the condition that they would repair the town wall.
)[5] Other towns receiving early grants included Bridgnorth, Stafford, Worcester, Oxford, Gloucester, and Bristol.
Other towns in Wales or the Welsh Marches having such grants included Oswestry, Radnor, Abergavenny, Carmarthen, Monmouth, Knighton, Montgomery, and Clun.
In the Lordship of Ireland, murage was used to build walls around Dublin (1221), Galway (1270), Trim (1289–90), Fethard (1292), Castledermot (1275), Kilkenny, Drogheda, Youghal, Dundalk, Naas and many other places; as much of Ireland was not under royal control, cities loyal to the King needed walls to protect them from Gaelic Irish raiders.