Court of piepowders

A court of piepowders was a special tribunal in England organised by a borough on the occasion of a fair or market. Such a court had unlimited jurisdiction over personal actions or events taking place at the market, including disputes between merchants, theft, and acts of violence. Many hundreds of such courts operated in the Middle Ages, and a small number continued to exist even into modern times. Sir William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England in 1768 described this court as "the lowest, and at the same time the most expeditious, court of justice known to the law of England".

Courts of piepowders had declined in use by the 17th century.