496 president's address. 



enquire into certain eneroaclunents by the then prior of Tyne- 

 month. They found that he had encroached upon the soil of 

 the river Tyne ; and that he had nevvly made and erected there 

 certain fish garths, called Sahnonyares, -within the flo^R" of the 

 tide opposite to a certain cell of the abbot of Durham •' called 

 Yarrow, in the straitness and narrowness of the port of the 

 Tyne and the ships and boats there who ought to pass through 

 often incur danger and shipwreck to the great injury of the said 

 port and town of Newcastle and the whole people of the king 

 passing through, and had usurped all wreck of the sea and deo- 

 dands found within the said waters of the Tyne."' 



In 1464 it would seem that the words and terms used in the 

 earlier charters had become obsolete, and that advantage had 

 been taken of the fact to make encroachments on the privileges 

 of the prior. The monks accordingly besought the king to 

 interpret afresh and give effect to the words of their ancient 

 charters. 



This the king (Edward IT.) agreed to do, and at the same 

 time gave them the fullest liberty to trade and ji-sA as they might 

 require. These privileges were again confirmed by Henry Mil. 

 in 1511. Twenty-eight years afterwards the monastery was dis- 

 solved, and the possessions, estates, and rights belonging to the 

 prior of Tynemouth became and were vested in the crown. 



The lands, possessions, and hereditaments of the said monas- 

 tery were valued at £'200 yearly at the time of the dissolution. 



Henry Mil. on the 27th March, 1-539, granted by letters 

 patent the site of the monastery, with all lands, coal mines, 

 certain tithes, including the tithes of fish of all the vessels and 

 boats fishing at the shelths in Tynemouth to Sir Thomas Hilton 

 at certain yearly rents. The rent reserved for the tithe of fish 

 was £1. 



In the lollowing year one Thomas Johns is found accounting 

 to the king for the rents, &c., of the property at Shields, and 

 amongst the entries in his accounts is the following: — " Of the 

 ferm of the salmon fishery in the salt waters within the bounds 

 of the township of Sheeles and Tinemouth he (the accountant) 

 answers not here, because the fishermen there are bound to 



