12 Tattersall & Coward, Fauna of Rostheme Mere. 



Remains of Red Deer, Cervus elaphus^ almost certainly 

 from the Drift, have been recovered on at least three 

 different occasions from the bed of the mere. Particulars 

 of these were supplied by the late Earl Egerton,* and one 

 of the antlers, which we have seen, is very massive in the 

 beam. The earliest find consisted of part of a skull with 

 both antlers attached, About the year 1880 a vertebra 

 was found, and in 1883 a second broken skull with a 

 single horn. All were brought up on fishing lines, the 

 captured fish having entangled the lines round them. 



When trolling for pike on February 28th, 1914, 

 Coward's hook caught on an obstacle in about 20 feet of 

 water ; when the line was reeled in, the rib of a Red Deer 

 came up attached to the hook. 



References to Rostherne Mere in older 

 Literature, literature have very little bearing upon the 

 study of its fauna, and most of them are un- 

 important. Indeed, in the Domesday Book account of 

 "Rodesthorne" the lake is not even mentioned. Beamont'' 

 translates it as below : — 



" The same Gilbert holds Rodesthorne. Ulviet held 

 it. There is i virgate of land rateable to the gelt. The 

 land is i carucate. It was waste. There are ii acres of 

 wood. In King Edward's time it was worth iv shillings." 



Daniel King^ gives some information, but of a very 

 general character. 



" Of Waters, there is also a great store, in manner of 

 Lakes, which they call Meres ; as Combermere, Bagmere, 

 Comberbach, Pickmer, Ranstorn Mere, OkeJiajiger-Mere... 



* Proc. Lane, and Cheshire Antiquarian Soc, II,, 1 16. 



'■ Beamont, William. "A Literal Extension and Translation of the 

 portion of Domesday Book relating to Cheshire and Lancashire," 

 p. 53. Chester, 1863. 



* "The Vale-Royall of England, or The County Palatine of Chester, 

 illustrated." London, 1656. 



