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supposed that the cloth-mills at Twerton dated from the earliest 

 mediaeval times, were in fact the successors of the mills of the 

 monks, and that this privilege of exemption from toll was obtained 

 from the king with the view of sending their cloth about for sale 

 in diifei-ent parts of the country, without the exaction of vexatious 

 imposts. It was curious that a document of this sort should be 

 found at Axbridge. He did not know what particular cause might 

 be supposed to have landed the document there, but it was very 

 plain to any one looking at Axbridge and at its church that the 

 town owed its existence to the wool trade, which culminated 

 towards the end of the 15th century; that was indicated by the 

 architecture of the church, and by the wealthy merchants whose 

 tombs were found there, as well as by the cessation of the growth 

 of the place since. After this period, from a change of circum- 

 stances, especially from the great impulse given to the manufacture 

 of cloth at home, the wool-stapling trade declined, and the manu- 

 facturing trade began, after the 15th century, to rise in importance. 

 He did not know whether it would have been to the interest of the 

 Corporation of Axbridge to secure a copy of this charter simply to 

 obtain the means of proving their right to carry their goods hither 

 and thither without paying a toll. At any rate it was an interesting 

 little passage added to the history of Bath. 



The Chairman, on behalf of the Club, thanked Mr. Earle for 

 bringing the charter before them, remarking that it was of great 

 interest in the early history of Bath. 



The Rev. H. H. Winwood briefly directed the attention of 

 Members to a remarkable Section of the Bhoetic beds in the 

 Newbridge Hill cutting of the Bath and Mangotsfield branch of 

 the Midland Railway, stating that he had lately been at work upon 

 this Section, and that it should form the subject of a short com- 

 munication at some future time if the Club thought fit. 



The exhibition of a specimen of the Limnoea peregra by the 

 President next followed. This fresh water shell obtained by Dr. 

 Bird in the neighbourhood of Bath had the peculiarity of being 

 what is called a sinistral shell, the normal turn of the whorl being 

 in that species, as in by far the greater number of shells, dextral. 



A vote of thanks proposed by Mr. Rodwell to the President for 



