A HISTORY OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE 



may be accounted for by a paucity of such workers. The unskilled labour, 

 it is true, is not much above the average ; during the repairs to Nottingham 

 Castle (13078) the lowest wages paid were those to the masons' servers, who 

 had \\d. a day, when men, and \d., when women. The quarrymen who 

 hewed the local stone at Basford, Gedling, and elsewhere, received zd. a day, 

 which seems to have been the general average for unskilled labour. Stone- 

 cutters had 4</. ; the wages of master craftsmen, such as carpenters, sawyers, 

 and masons, averaged $d. a day. The plumbers, who were the most highly 

 paid, received 6</., and their assistants from z\d. to 3^." The wages 

 of the master craftsmen seem to be about id. a day above those recorded in 

 Agriculture and Prices. 



Except for such artificers as the above, there are but few traces of any 

 employment besides agriculture in Nottinghamshire. The great cloth- 

 weaving industry is rarely mentioned, and the infrequency of the name 

 ' textor ' or ' wabster ' may be due to the early privilege obtained by the 

 citizens of Nottingham town of being the sole cloth-makers within a radius 

 of ten leagues. 55 Outside the town there are a few signs of the work, the 

 existence of which was thus threatened. In one or two cases the name 

 ' textor ' or ' wabster ' occurred, notably at Warsop, where there was also a 

 fulling-mill worth 40^. ; 56 but these instances are rare. 



The development of the natural resources may have preceded the growth 

 of any special industry. The use of local wood and local stone was common: 

 the wood-cutters are noted as receiving \d. a day " in contrast with the 

 quarrymen's zd. The local coal-mines were also worked: about 1306 a 

 trace of the system of royalties appears in a contract by which the coal-mines 

 of Selston were leased to Walter de Cantilupe for ninety-nine years, or as long 

 as the coals lasted, in return for a payment of thirty-two horseloads of coal 

 a year. 58 At Cossall also coal-mines formed a valuable part of the property, 

 being rented at zos. a year. 59 The coal here was termed ' sea-coal.' 



In addition to these minor activities there was a certain growth of 

 commerce in Nottinghamshire during the I3th century. The numerous 

 grants of fairs and markets at this time indicate an increasing trade, encouraged 

 probably by the central position of the county and its command of the great 

 waterway of the Trent. About fifteen markets and fairs were granted to 

 different Nottinghamshire towns during the I3th century, 60 and of these, one 

 at least, the fair at Lenton, rose into considerable importance. In 1300 it 

 was the subject of a lengthy contract between the prior of Lenton and the 

 citizens of Nottingham, from which it appears that cloth-merchants, apothe- 

 caries, and mercers to mention only a few of the various trades were in 

 the habit of attending the fair : and it was necessary to assign stations to 

 these people and to regulate the prices which they paid for their booths. 61 

 Despite the importance of Lenton Fair, however, but few persons living 

 otherwise than by agriculture are mentioned in the Inquisitiones nonarum. 

 There were none in the wapentakes of Thurgarton and Rushcliffe ; at Blyth 

 there were about fifteen merchants, owning on the average about five pounds 



" Accts. Exch. K.R. bdle. 471, no. 19, 1-2 Edw. II. 



** Rec. of Borough of Note, i, 3. M Inq. p.m". 52 Hen. Ill, C, file 35, no. 16. 



" Accts. Exch. K.R. bdle. 471, no. 19, 1-2 Edw. II. " Anct. D. B. 3216. 



** Inq. p.m. 1 1 Edw. I, C, file 37, no. 7. M See Cal. of Chart. R. passim. 



" Rec. of Borough cfNott. i, 61-7. 



2 7 2 





