CHARTER OF GREAT YARMOUTH 73 



herring might claim sufficient for his own use 

 and consumption at the original cost. 



In Blount's " History of Strange Tenure of 

 Lands" is a quotation of a clause from the 

 Charter of the town of Great Yarmouth (1286) 

 requiring the corporation to send 100 herrings 

 baked in twenty-four pasties to the Sheriffs of 

 j Norwich who were to deliver them to the Lord 

 of the Manor of Carlton. The Sheriffs of Nor- 

 wich held thirty acres of land by the service 

 of carrying to the King of England, wherever 

 he might be, twenty-four pasties of the fish 

 as soon as they were in season, the herring then, 

 and long after, being regarded as a Royal dish. 

 An illustration of this occurs in a chronicle 

 history of Norwich under the date 1629 : — 



" The mayor and sheriffs received a letter from 

 his majesty's secretaries of state, complaining of the 

 quality of the herring pies, which, according to 

 established usage, are annually sent to the king by 

 the corporation, as the ancient fee farm of the city, 

 and continued to this day. This was a fishing town ; 

 the lord of the manor of East Carlton is bound to 

 receive the pies, and carry them to the king, wherever 

 he may then be ; this manor being anciently held 

 of the Crown under that service. The corporation 

 of Norwich to make and provide the pies, twenty-four 

 in number, containing a hundred herrings, by the 

 great hundred, in good standing pastry, and well 

 seasoned ; and they are to be made of the first 

 herrings which come to the city. The complaint set 

 forth, that they were not the first herrings that were 

 , ^ taken, according to the tenure — the pies were not 

 H ^^^^ baked — the herrings were deficient in number — 



