BRIDPORT HARBOUR. 171 



formal termination, and ultimately expired from inanition or 

 old age, leaving Edward I. in possession of the kernel of the 

 nut. In any event the priors of Frampton did not subse- 

 quently harass the borough and its haven for any long space 

 of time, as grave changes were impending which must have 

 warned those who could interpret the writing on the wall. 

 The year 1324 saw an order given to Richard de Wotton to 

 survey this alien priory (together with others in the county 

 which owed similar allegiance to French prelates) and to take 

 charge of the temporalities on behalf of the King, and I have 

 no reason to suppose that the new owners of the manor of 

 Brideton kept alive the old feud. 



Before leaving the Edwardian period I would emphasise 

 the point that it was the Norman abbot of Cadomum who 

 alone demanded the shipping toll, in his capacity as owner 

 of the eastern end of the opening between the cliffs. That 

 being so, if the portus had then occupied its present central 

 position we should expect to find the monks of Cerne collect- 

 ing the pennies from vessels, seeing that the existing river 

 mouth, the piers, and half of the basin all lie within the ancient 

 manor and parish of Symondsbury, and therefore within the 

 jurisdiction of the Dorset monastery.* In a later part of the 

 article I shall contend that this acquiescence of the abbot of 

 Cerne in the matter of the toll is one unit in a body of evidence 

 which supports my belief that the original and natural mouth 

 of the river was close to the east cliff, where it remained until 

 the eighteenth century ; then, as I hope to prove, a new 

 channel was cut and a new harbour constructed on the site 

 now occupied by the existing piers and tidal basin. 



The fact that Bridport was not called upon by Edward III. 

 to provide a quota for the fleet which was sent to Calais in 



(1) In 1260 (44 and 45 Henry III.) the abbot of Cerne entered a plea 

 against Gilbert earl of Gloucester and others in support of his rights 

 over half the water of Melcombe Regis harbour, and claimed dues from 

 ships which came to his land there (Curia Regis roll, 169). This 

 indicates that the abbot collected such tolls when he could. 



