THE FISHERIES 175 



stitches of eels (a stitch was a quarter of a hundred). Other 

 fish are mentioned in Domesday Book besides eels. The 

 fishery at Petersham yielded 1000 eels and 1000 lampreys 

 to Chertsey Abbey ; x the Eaton fishery yielded 1000 salmon ; 2 

 and the burgesses of the Abbey of Gloucester provided 16 

 salmon for the church. 3 The borough of Dunwich provided 

 60,000 herrings for Robert Malet; 4 and Sandwich rendered 

 40,000 herrings for the victuals of the monks of Christ 

 Church, Canterbury. 5 Southease (Sussex) paid 4. to the 

 Abbey of St. Peter at Winchester in lieu of marsuins, or 

 porpoises. 6 



But the chief fisheries were in the fen countries. That of 

 Doddington (Cambs.) yielded 27, 5 50 eels to the Abbot of Ely ; 7 

 and every page in the Cambridgeshire Domesday shows the 

 importance of the fisheries in that county. Wisbech be- 

 longed to the Abbot of Ely, who received 1500 eels from 

 the fishery and 14,000 eels from two fishermen. 8 But other 

 lords had fisheries in Wisbech. The Abbot of St. Edmund's 

 had one fisherman who provided him with 5 ee l s J 9 the 

 Abbot of Ramsey had 5260 eels from eight fishers; 10 the 

 Abbot of Crowland had three fishers rendering 4000 eels ; n 

 and William of Warenne had six fishers who rendered 3500 

 eels and 5 j. 12 



In thinking of the Domesday fisheries, we should be 

 wrong if we had in our mind Dr. Johnson's ideal of a line 

 with a fool at one end and a worm at the other. The fishery 

 was then an important business, and there are constant 

 references to the machinery by which the fish were caught. 

 At Swaffham the Abbot of Ely had 6s. " from the toll of 

 the net." 13 At Saham the fisher had a " sagena," a fish-trap, in 

 the lake ; 14 and there were many weirs, called " gurgites," in 



1 D. B., I. 32 a 2. 2 Id., I. 263 b 2. s Id., I. 165 b 2. 

 * Id., II. 311 b. /</., I. 3 a i. /</., I. 17 b I. 

 7 Id., I. 191 b 2. 8 Id., I. 192 a i. 9 Id., I. 192 a 2. 

 10 Id., I. 192 b 2. ll Id., I. 193 a i. 12 Id., I. 196 b i. 

 13 Id., I. 190 b 2. " Id., I. 192 a 2. 



