no RECORDS OF OLD TIMES 



which I have heard old people say was the room 

 where the principal business transactions of the 

 town were discussed and carried out, and in my 

 day was ' the commercial room.' On the other 

 side was the ' Crown,' where the customs, excise, and 

 other duties were periodically collected. Another 

 room was the ' Mitre,' where the Bishop of the 

 Diocese had for three hundred years collected his 

 ecclesiastical fees and dues by his chancellor, as also 

 the archdeacon did the same by his apparitor. 

 There was also the ' Fountain,' a name often apper- 

 taininq- to old inns ; this sometimes gave the name 

 to the inn itself There has always been much 

 speculation and doubt as to the origin of this term, 

 but we know it often existed with inns of this 

 importance. It might have meant and represented 

 the modern bar, the place, or fount where the beer, 

 wine, and liquors were kept and served to customers. 

 It has often puzzled me to know what steps were 

 taken at that time to protect the open galleries, 

 forming the approach to the bedrooms, when heavy 

 rain and snow fell. There was a sort of dado fixed 

 about three feet high on the outside, and probably 

 heavy curtains could be let down, especially in cold 

 wintry weather. Often these inns had their own 

 brewery, as almost everyone at that time brewed 

 his own beer, even in private houses, where the 

 establishment was large enouQh. The cellaraoe 

 was ample and convenient, generally well stocked 

 with generous old port and rich brown sherry. 

 French wines were only kept in small quantities, 



