252 ON THE PRICE OF GRAIN. 



Hall is 2s. 9! </., that of King's College 2s. 8f</., against the general 

 average, 3^. ; and throughout the whole year prices are exceedingly 

 low, the average being slightly raised by some seed wheat bought at 

 Sutton-at-Hone. Barley and malt are also cheap. Oats are low 

 priced. Beans, of which again a full account comes from King's 

 College, are very cheap, but peas are dearer, the price at Sutton being 

 high. There are no entries of rye and oatmeal. 



These two years are characterised by remarkable plenty. The 

 price of wheat during the year 1509-10 is the cheapest recorded in 

 these volumes, and that of 1508-9 has only been paralleled two or 

 three times in the period since 1401. It will be remembered that 

 1509 was the year in which Henry the Eighth succeeded his father; 

 and we can well understand how in the midst of general plenty the 

 new reign was hailed, and how satisfied the people were with the 

 fact that concurrently with these prosperous times, the young king 

 began his reign with a thorough change from the mean and covetous 

 administration of his father. 



1510-11. The price of wheat is still very low, though it is higher 

 than in the two preceding years. The three Cambridge Colleges 

 supply information ; the price at each, King's Hall, Peterhouse, and 

 King's College, is remarkably uniform, the average being 4.$-. o\d., 

 4S. id., and 4s. id., respectively, the entries of the last-named College 

 being dated from Nov. 30 to Sept. 29. From this record it will be 

 seen that the price, which began at %s. in November, rose to 4S. &d. 

 in the following September. There is only one price of barley, that 

 of 22 chaldrons at Finchale, the rate of which is very high. Malt, 

 which is priced at Cambridge, Norfolk, and Oxford, is very cheap. 

 Oats are a little dearer, and the price of beans and peas is heightened 

 by the Finchale entry. Rye is closely related to wheat, and oatmeal 

 is at a fairly high price. 



1511-2. Wheat is considerably dearer, rising to a full average. 

 The price is higher in Cambridge than elsewhere, the average being 

 6s. 4d. against 5^. S^d., the general average. Barley and malt are not 

 so dear, except as before in Durham. Oats are cheaper, and oat- 

 meal, 6s. 4</., is lower both in Cambridge and Oxford. The price of 

 rye is high, the only entry coming from Finchale. Beans and peas 

 are scantily represented, and the price is rather high. 



1512-3. The evidence is scanty. The price of wheat is very 

 high, especially in Cambridge, where at one time in the year 12^. Sd. 

 is paid, the average from King's Hall being 9-$-. l^d., as against 

 <)s. t \d. Barley for the first time has not been found, and malt at 



