56 THE PORTLAND REEVE STAFF AND COURT LEET. 



The Reeve Courts are held half-yearly in May and 

 November, and at Michaelmas the rating may be readjusted. 

 A cottage is rated at Jd., a cottage and garden at id., and 

 land at 3d. per acre. There is a tradition that the last- 

 named rent was first imposed by King William Rufus in 

 order to complete his castle, now known as " Bow and 

 Arrow " Castle. The Reeve Court was formerly held at 

 the Portland Arms Hotel, the choice of place resting with 

 the Steward of the Manor ; it is now held at " The George " 

 Inn, and here the staff is produced by the Reeve and laid on 

 the table. At " The George " is kept the oldest perfect 

 Reeve Staff, marked W.P. and the date 1720. There is a 

 fragment of an earlier staff at Southwell ; it bears the initials 

 " W.W." and date 1700. Mr. Beer, of Easton, possesses 

 another 18th Century staff, marked " R.L. 1742 " (Richard 

 Lano), and Mr. W. Lano Pearee, of Wakeham, has the staff 

 of his great-grandfather dated 1768. 



The two staffs, the property of the County Museum, and 

 now exhibited, were given, one by Mr. J. S. Udal, October, 

 1887, length 8ft. 7in., If in. square, without any date or name 

 to show when it was used ; the other staff was presented by 

 Messrs. Williams, Thornton, and Sykes, Bankers, February, 

 1897. It is 10ft. long, 1 inch square, and bears the name 

 " Philip Dodson, Reeve, 1852." It was made apparently 

 rather longer than necessary, as about 4 feet are left blank 

 on two sides. 



The office is still maintained, and in conclusion I give the 

 names of those who have filled this honourable position 

 during the last hundred years ; the list is complete since 

 1821, and there are four names belonging to the XVIIIth 

 Century. The names of women occur 14 times in this 

 list, who must, therefore, according to the laws of the C urt 

 Leet, have been the tenants paying the highest rent. Mr. 

 Pearce's family have held office more frequently than any 

 other, and he informs me that the further back we trace its 

 history the more often does the name occur. He has records 

 of this for more than 600 years. 



