By T. H. Baker. 



317 



Company, but no payment by them for the use of the poor of Mere 

 can be traced since 1636. 



Tradesmen's Tokens. 

 The following were issued by Mere tradesmen : — 



(1) Obverse, thomas gambling 1665 \d. 

 Reverse, in meere =t.g. 



(2) 0. Richard pitman = A man making candles \d. 



B. OF MEERE. 1669 = R.T.P. 



(3) 0. ROBERT : PITTMAN I OF = HIS HALFE PENNY. \d. 



B. meere : draper : 1668= The Drapers' Arms. 



(4) 0. william roggers= A horse ambling. \d. 

 B. in : meere : 1666 =w.r. conjoined. 



The Market House. 



The Market House, which stood in the middle of the town, was 

 demolished in 1863, and the present Clock Tower was erected on 

 its site in 1868. It was a mediaeval structure of two stories. The 

 ground-floor consisted of the Market House proper, and had 

 originally two arches on each side open to the street.. Above this 

 was an upper chamber, the Court House of the Duchy of Cornwall. 

 This room is often mentioned in the churchwardens' book ; some- 

 times it is called the " Cross House," or " Cross Loft," 1 sometimes 

 the " Gruildhall Chamber." In the early years of this century 

 it was used as a schoolroom ; here Charles Glover educated the boys 

 under Tatum's Charity, and Mr. W. Barnes in 1823 kept his 

 school when he first came to Mere, succeeding a Mr. Robertson. 



The Church House. 



This building stood in a dilapidated condition on what is now 

 the playground attached to the National Schools till 1890. From 



1 The cut of the "Cross Loft" is a reproduction of a woodcut in the Gentle- 

 man's Magazine, circa 1825. 



The illustration of the Market Place and Market House is a full-sizo re- 

 production of an old print, engraved by S. J. Lander after Josh. Lander, cirax 

 1830—40. 



VOL. XXIX. NO. LXXXVIU. /, 



