1a 
ment records a petition presented to Parliament in the year 
1376-1377, in the reign of Edward III., and the petition 
reads thus—“ That whereas, in several places within your 
said realm, in creeks and havens of the sea, where was 
accustomed before these times to be a good and plenteous 
fishery, to the great profit of the realm, which is in part 
destroyed and rendered valueless for a long time to come 
by some fishermen who have for some time during seven 
years past, by a subtlety, contrived a new instrument, 
which is amongst themselves called a Wondyrchoum, made 
after the fashion of a dag for oysters, which is unusually 
long, to which instrument is attached a net of so small a 
mesh, no manner of fish, however small, entering within it 
can pass out, and is compelled to remain therein and be 
taken: and besides this, the hard and long iron of the said 
wondyrchoum destroys the spawn and brood of fish be- 
neath the said waters, and also destroys the spat of oysters 
and mussels and other fish, by which large fish are accus- 
tomed to live and be supported: by means of which 
instrument called wondyrchoum, in many places aforesaid, 
the fishermen aforesaid take so great abundance of small 
fish aforesaid, that they know not what to do with them 
but feed and fatten their pigs with them, to the great 
damage of the whole commons of the Kingdom, and the 
destruction of the fisheries in like places, for which they 
pray remedy.” 
“ Responsia—Let Commission be made by qualified 
persons to inquire and certify on the truth of this allega- 
tion, and thereon let right be done in the Court of 
Chancery.” 
In the seventh year of the reign of Henry VII., 1491, 
of the fishermen working upon the Norfolk and Suffolk 
coasts and about Orford, now called Orfordness, many 
