MU. T. SOUTHWELL ON THE ST. HELEN’S SWAN-PIT. 
387 
VII. 
THE ST. HELEN’S SWAN-PIT. 
By Thomas Southwell, F.Z.S., V.-P. 
Read 30tli November, 1397. 
At our meeting on the 20th September, 1891, I contributed a 
short paper on tho above ancient and unique institution, in which 
I stated, that, although doubtless of considerable antiquity, the 
only direct evidence of such being the case, which I could obtain, 
was “ an entry discovered by Mr. Simpson, the late Governor, in the 
books of the Hospital [to which it is attached], of a minute to the 
effect that about May, 1793, the late Mr. Thomas Ivory constructed 
a new Swan-yard, and made other improvements on the premises 
. . . this entry, therefore, not only marks the date of the present 
Swan-pit, but establishes tho existence of a previous one, near the 
same spot, probably of monastic origin.” The ancient account rolls 
of tho St. Helen’s Hospital having been recently transferred to the 
Muniment Room of the Corporation, where Mr. ,T. C. Tingey has 
undertaken their arrangement, 1 asked him should he discover 
any early entries with regard to the Swan-pit to be so good as 
to extract them for me; the result has been that he has most 
kindly furnished me with the interesting entries from the Hospital 
Accounts here appended, which carry back the history of the 
“ Cignorum ” another three hundred years. 
The entries, save the last two, are in Latin ; I therefore give 
the original, and have appended Mr. Tingey’s translation. 
It will be observed that the customary allowance to the custodian 
was 3s. 4d. per annum, a sum equal to about eight times that 
amount in the present money ; whether the “ delivery ” of five 
Cygnets in the year 1500 was to the cook, as is now generally the 
case, or to augment the breeding stock at home, or elsewhere, is 
uncertain ; but in 1506 the Hospital, undoubtedly, introduced some 
