English Markets and Fairs. 
107 
dent to every fair and market of wkicli the steward of him who 
owns or has the toll of the market is the judge, and its jurisdic- 
tion extends to administer justice for all commercial injuries 
done in that very fair or market and not in any preceding one, 
so that the inquiry must be done, complained of, heard, and 
determined within the compass of one and the same day, unless 
the fair continues longer.” The officer of this court was above all 
judges and justices, and could settle all disputes in a summary 
way, “like an oriental cadi,” to quote an illustration used by 
Mr. Elton. 
It does not appear that the Pie Poudre Court now survives 
in any place, though in Bristol it existed in form up to a 
comparatively recent date. In the Dictionary of Bristol it is 
stated that, until about the year 1874, under the porch of the 
ancient hostelry known as the “ Stag and Hounds,” Old 
Market Street, a solemn farce was performed annually on 
September 30, by the formal opening of this court. It is said 
to have originated in the reign of Alfred, and was established 
for the settlement of disputes which arose during the Bristol 
fair. The opening ceremony was as follows : — A procession 
walked from the Council House to Old Market Street, consisting 
of the sheriffs, a seneschal, sergeant-at-mace, and other officers ; 
on arrival at the “ Stag and Hounds,” toasted cheese, cider, and 
metheglin — a Saxon wine peculiar to the western counties — were 
distributed amongst the parties doing business at the court. 
This latter custom was abolished some years before the extinc- 
tion of the court, because the people used to tilt the bowl, and 
upset the liquor over one another ; consequently, fees were sub- 
stituted for refreshments. The court having been duly opened, 
the business was conducted at the “ Tolzey Court Office,” from 
September 30 to October 15 inclusive. The Pie Poudre Court 
is now incorporated with the “ Tolzey Court,” which is a tri- 
bunal of equal antiquity, being the “ most ancient Court of 
Record by prescription.” When the Castle of Bristol became a 
royal residence, the old Court of the Hundred became united to 
the Palace Court, in which the King’s seneschal was assisted by 
the bailiff. The court was held at the “ Tolzey,” a place where 
the King’s tolls and duties were collected, and it was called the 
Court of Tolzey — the word being said to be derived from “ toll.” 
In this court all actions of debt, covenant, trespass, and other 
civil actions arising within the city could be prosecuted by 
action or by foreign attachment, and its jurisdiction extended 
to the whole of the county of the city on land, and by water to 
the Flat and Steep Holmes.* 
’ Two islands in the Bristol Channel. 
