22 THE ADVENTURES 



in his office of Serjeant of the Dee for every boat 

 which passed his weir. 



John de Eton, the son and heir of this Eobert 

 de Eton, is commanded by a warrant from Prince 

 Henry IV. to clear all obstructions from the Dee, 

 and bring the forfeited nets to the Castle of Chester, 

 as " Custos Ripariae de Dee." Frequent mention 

 is made up to this date, among other rights of 

 fishing possessed by different parties, of " Stalls 

 in the Dee." Sometimes they are called stall 

 nets, sometimes nets ; and some doubt has arisen 

 as to what these rights of " Stalls in the Dee" 

 were meant to express. Robert de Eton, in right 

 of his serjeancy, claimed "two stalls and two 

 free boats on the Dee." Among the temporalities 

 of the Abbey of St, Werburgh at the dissolution 

 are mentioned " vn fyshynge stalls w* in the water 

 of Dee, in the P'ysshe of Saynt Marie's in Chester;" 

 and it appears from Robert de Eton's title as Ser- 

 jeant that these nets were set, or drawn, from Dee 

 Bridge to Blacon; for he claims "a moiety of all 

 nets forfeited and of the fish therein as far as stall 

 nets are placed, viz. from Dee Bridge to Blaken." 

 It appears most likely that these were fixed, or 

 stake nets, of certain dimensions, within certain 

 boundaries, which no one had a right to set unless 

 they could show some grant from one of the Earls 

 of Chester. The fishery of the King's part, stated 



