A HISTORY OF DORSET 



The Scotch war was renewed in 1322 ; the ports were asked for naval 

 aid to serve at their own expense as long as they could, and afterwards at that 

 of the king. A thirteen years' truce with Scotland was arranged in 1323, 

 but war with France then threatened, and in May, 1324, the preparation of 

 a large fleet was ordered ; Weymouth was put down for ten ships, Poole, 

 with its members, for four, and Lyme for two.*^ Apparently this levy v/as 

 considered a nuisance by those immediately concerned in satisfying it, for we 

 find by a writ of June that some of the masters and mariners of Lyme, Poole, 

 Weymouth, and Wareham had ' eloigned ' themselves and their ships when 

 the order was received, for which the king expressed his intention of punish- 

 ing them.*' From the account of wages paid to those who obeyed we glean 

 remarkable information concerning the size of ships of this period. From 

 Weymouth came two of 200 tons each, one of 140, and one of 120 tons ; 

 from Melcombe one of 120 and one of iio tons; from Poole two 

 of 160 tons; and from Lyme one of 160, and one of 140 tons. For 

 the moment there was a possibility that the Dorset ports would move 

 into the first rank.** Isabella proceeded to France in 1325 to nego- 

 tiate a peace between her husband and her brother, but it soon became 

 evident that she was going to sacrifice the former in favour of her son. 

 In 1326 invasion was seen to be imminent, and in August officials were 

 nominated to survey and take up all ships of 50 tons and upwards.** For 

 the southern fleet the place of concentration was Portsmouth. Early in 

 September it was decided to strengthen the royal fleets still further by calling 

 upon those who had not been affected by the first levy to contribute to the 

 equipment of more ships. Melcombe was charged with three ships and 76 

 men, Weymouth two ships and 82 men, Poole six ships and 163 men, 

 and Lyme five ships and 164 men.*' It will be noticed that Bridport is 

 absent from all these lists, and the fact that it does not appear in the minute 

 survey of 1326 shows that it was known not to possess any sea-going craft.** 

 There was no harbour,*' but some sort of shallow river exit, unfit for ship- 

 ping of any size, must have existed and this had gradually deteriorated since 

 the Saxon era. Such aid as it could give probably went to assist Lyme. 



A short war with Scotland marked the accession of Edward III, but 

 there were no naval operations on a large scale. The Cobb of Lyme, which 

 probably dates from the reign of Edward I, when the town was making such 

 progress,*' is the subject of a writ in 1328 ; it was then much decayed, and a 

 toll for five years on all merchandise was granted for its repair.*' It was said 

 to be built of timber and stone, no doubt in the same way as is shown plainly 

 in a map of the reign of Henry VIII. '" Another Scotch war commenced 

 in 1332, and for some years general arrests of shipping followed each 

 other in quick succession. At last the towns were becoming impatient 

 of the injury to commerce, due rather to the embargoes which preceded 

 the actual taking up of ships than to the levies themselves ; moreover the 

 Scots had the unofficial assistance of France and Flanders, and for the 

 first time carried on an effective maritime war. There were signs of 



♦' Close, 17 Edw. II, m. 1 1 </., 9 </. " Ibid. m. b d. " Add. MSS. 26891, fol. 50. 



" Close, 20 Edw. II, m. I I rf'. *Mbid. m. 8. " Pat. 20 Edw. II, m. 21. "Po/Ap. 189. 



*' Ante; p. 181. Lyme \v.is incorporated in 1284, but the prosperity of the town must have followed the 

 construction of the Cobb, which must, therefore, be early Edward I, if not of the reign of Henry III. 

 " Pat. 2 Edw. Ill, pt. ii, m 15. '» Post, p. 197. 



184 



