208 THE WATCHMAN AT RAME. 



was probably the oldest, and dated back to tlie thirteenth century; 

 those on the Hoe and at Rame were of the fourteenth century, 

 the Hoe Chapel finding the earlier mention of the two. It does 

 not appear to be quite clear whether the Island Chapel was 

 originally dedicated to St. Nicholas or St. Michael, and upon that 

 point would very much depend its origin — whether at the first it 

 was purely of a general religious character, or whether it always 

 had a maritime connection. The dedication of the Eame Chapel 

 to St. Michael is the most usual one for religious edifices erected 

 on high places. 



From some scores of entries concerning the watchman at Eame 

 scattered up and down the municipal accounts of the borough of 

 Pljonouth, I make a few illustrative extracts. The earliest that 

 can now be traced occurs in the records of the first year which 

 have been preserved — 1486 — just four centuries ago. 



Itm. payd vnto the whaycheman att Eame ffor kepying off ye bekyn 

 ther & brinyng iiij tymys iiij^i 



The charge therefore was not a heavy one.; a penny a time for 

 coming from Hame to Plymouth and going home again is no ex- 

 travagant sum, even if we reckon the money at eight times its 

 present value. Penlee was also used as a look-out place, as in 

 the course of centuries it has come to be again, by the men now 

 stationed there to descry the approach of the homeward-bound 

 mail steamers, and signal them to the agents at Plymouth. We 

 have in 1511-12 (the accounts are made up for the respective 

 mayoralties) — 



Itm. pd to the pson of Rame for the waccheman at penlee xviij*^ 

 This must have been in the nature of salary, for in the follow- 

 ing year the watchman at Eame had 2s. for his year's wages, and 

 4d. extra "for a rewarde to come & give warnyng for shyps at 

 see." No man in his senses would have accepted such a post 

 independently, at such a salary — say 15d. a month — and this fact, 

 together with the association of the "parson" in the transaction, 

 suggests that the office of watchman may at this time at least have 

 been undertaken by some one concerned in the service of the 

 Chapel, and therefore customarily on the spot. I do not gather 

 that the watch was permanent, but rather infer that it was only 

 set when danger seemed impending. Thus in 1537-8, when 

 letters had been received from Henry VIII to restrain iJii'acy, 4d. 



