ENGLISH MARKETS AND FAIRS. 51 



during the whole of the transaction from the making of 

 the contract to the delivery. 



In close connection with these customs and regulations 

 may be mentioned the Court of Pie Poudre, which is 

 described in Blackstone's " Commentaries " as being 



a court of record, incident to every fair and market of which 

 the steward of him who owns or has the toll of the market is 

 the judge, and its jurisdiction extends to administer justice 

 for all commercial injuries done in that very fair or market and 

 not in any preceding one, so that the injury must be done, 

 complained of, heard, and determined within the compass of 

 one and the same day, unless the fair continues longer. 



The officer of this court was above all judges and 

 justices, and could settle all disputes in a summary way, 

 " like an oriental cadi." 



It does not appear that the Pie Poudre Court now 

 survives in any place, though in Bristol it existed in form 

 up to a comparatively recent date. In the " Dictionary 

 of Bristol " it is stated that, until about the year 1874, 

 under the porch of the ancient hostelry known as the 

 " Stag and Hounds," Old Market Street, a solemn farce 

 was performed annually on September 30th, by the formal 

 opening of this court. It is said to have originated in 

 the reign of Alfred, and was established for the settlement 

 of disputes which arose during the Bristol fair. The 

 opening ceremony was as follows : A procession walked 

 from the Council House to Old Market Street, consisting 

 of the sheriffs, a seneschal, sergeant-at-mace, and other 

 officers ; on arrival at the " Stag and Hounds," toasted 

 cheese, cider, and metheglin — a Saxon wine peculiar to 

 the western counties — were distributed amongst the 

 parties doing business at the court. This latter custom 

 was abolished some years before the extinction of the 

 court, because the people used to tilt the bowl, and upset 

 the liquor over one another ; consequently, fees were 

 substituted for refreshments. The court having been 

 duly opened, the business was conducted at the " Tolzey 

 Court Office," from September 30th to October 15th 



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