INDUSTRIES 



FISHERIES 



The fisheries of the Trent were of early im- 

 portance, and a nameless writer 1 of the reign of 

 Charles I, in discussing the fishery of the Trent, 

 quaintly remarks : 



... I rather incline to believe that this River 

 took its Name of Trent from the sorts of Fishes it 

 affordes according to the old verse Triginta dat mihi 

 Piscem, not meaning thirty fishes of all sorts in a 

 promiscuous Number for I suppose it containes many 

 times thirty thousand, but thirty specifical sorts of 

 Fish, for the word Trent signifyes in the french 

 Tongue as much as triginta in latin, in english thirty. 

 Trent so denoting both the Name of y e River and 

 the sorts of Fishes it harboures. Now if any Man 

 shall not believe y' that this River affords so many 

 kind of Fishes I have for his satisfaction here set 

 down what I long since, when there was no thought 

 of makeing this use of it, collected touching the sorts 

 of Fishes in the Trent partly by my own Experience 

 and partly by Conference with many ancient Fisher- 

 men, who have spent most of their Days upon that 

 River, but principally by Discourse with a most 

 expert Angler who I suppose admits of no equal 

 either for the knowledge of the kinds of Fish, or 

 Skill to take them, the Names of which are these 

 following : viz. 



Of these 1 8 are properly y e Produce of Trent, 

 Sturgeon, Salmon and Smelts are accidental from 

 y c sea. Carp Trout Tenches are drove by floods out 

 of y e smaller brooks and ponds into y c Trent. 



If any Man shall doubt whether Sturgeon be taken 

 in this River, he knows little, if whether Salmon he 

 knows less of Trent. The former being taken yearly, 

 the latter weekly in the Spring and Sum'er. Shads 

 are not so frequent indeed, yet have I known divers 

 in this River and have eaten my parte of some of 

 them, with no more Delight I confesse than those at 

 London, this Fish in my Opinion being one of the 

 basest, that either Trent or the whole sea affords. 



References to fisheries abound in the early re- 

 cords of Nottinghamshire, and a few only can be 

 cited here. In Domesday Book 2 several fisheries 

 are mentioned, two of them in connexion with 

 the land of the king, since in Dunham and its 

 berewicks lay one worth 101. 8d., and in Broxtow 

 Wapentake another rendering 2s. Amongst 



1 This tract is printed in Thoroton Soc. Trans, ii, 29. 

 ' V.C.H. Notts, i, 2490, 250^, 2550, 255^ 



other holders of fishery rights was the Archbishop 

 of York, who had a fish-pond at Southwell, two 

 fisheries at Laneham, and another at Norwell 

 St. Mary. In the account of Newark on the 

 lands of the Bishop of Lincoln we also read of 

 a fishery. 3 It is probable that this was after- 

 wards developed and improved, for nearly two 

 centuries later a presentment occurs on the 

 Hundred Rolls 4 that the course of the River 

 Trent was barred (astoppatus) at the castle of 

 Newark by a weir there belonging to the Bishop 

 of Lincoln. Many other Domesday fisheries 

 might be mentioned, but these must suffice. At 

 a slightly later period we hear of valuable rights 

 of fishery or tithes of fish being granted to 

 various houses of religion. For example, in the 

 reign of Henry I, William Peverel, 8 the founder 

 of the Cluniac monastery of Len ton, granted the 

 monks among other noble gifts the whole tithe 

 of his fishery of Nottingham. In course of time 

 the Nottingham fishery passed into the king's 

 hands, and the Prior of Lenton, in spite of royal 

 confirmations and writs in his favour, at times 

 had difficulty 6 in extorting his due from the con- 

 stable of Nottingham Castle, the local represen- 

 tative of the Crown. The fishery of Chilwell 

 was apparently one of the most important in the 

 county, next to that of Nottingham and Newark. 

 It was bestowed by John, Constable of Chester, 

 upon the church and monks of Lenton, to whom 

 the benefactor gave ' the first draught of sper- 

 lings next after the draught of his steward in the 

 said fishery, as also salmon and lamprey or any 

 other fish in the said draught.' He also gave 

 i acre in his demesne to make a dwelling thereon 

 for servants to look after the fishery. 7 The same 

 fishery, together with certain lands in Chilwell, 

 was bestowed in 1547 upon Robert and Hugh 

 Thornehill. 8 In the following reign it was given 

 to Hercules Witham and Francis Thekeston," 

 and again to Francis, Dorothy, and Bridget 

 Willoughby. 10 At a later date a Mr. Charlton 

 claimed the right to draw nets over a close in 

 Chilwell called the Borras, which was part of 

 the possessions of Darley Abbey in Derby- 

 shire. 11 



The priory of Newstead again was granted 

 by King John a fishery in the Bykersdyke worth 

 half a mark a year, in pure almoign, but during 

 the troubles of the long reign of his son right 

 often went down before the strong hand, and 

 'Adam de Stavele Steward of the King of 



3 Ibid. 257*. * Hund. R. ii, 311/5. 



6 Dugdale, Man. v, 1 1 1 . 



"Close, 4 Edw. Ill, m. 21. 



' Reg. Lenton, 46^ (Add. MSS. 24816, fol. 50). 



"Ibid. fol. 52. 9 Ibid. fol. ee. 



10 Ibid. fol. 67 Ibid. 



335 



