Historic%20Yorkshire

28
LEEDS UNDER THE NORMANS.
accompanied by the priests in the vestures of their
respective orders, marched south under the captaingeneralship
of Robert Aske, of Aughton. Among the
leaders were the bailiffs of Leeds, and as the vast
procession passed through the district on its wayto the
destruction which awaitedit, wemay suppose that many
of the devout Romanists of Leeds wouldhelp to swell the
fanatic ranks.
From that time to that of the Stuarts there is little
callingfor notice. In 1612, the ninth year of the reign of
James I., a survey of the Manor of Leeds was prepared,
inwhich three " Waugh Milns" arementioned. In 1620,
in the same reign, an inquisition into the administration
of the chief charities of Leeds was instituted under a
commission to inquire into "Charitable Uses." From
the accounts of the inquisition we learn that a toll or tax,
called the " Toll Dish," which had been anciently levied
by the holders of the Duchy of Lancaster, was still in
force. This was a tax upon all corn brought into the
Leeds market, and the sums raised by this means were
divided into three parts — one-third beingpayable to the
chief officer ofthe town, the bailiff; one-thirdto be given
to the poor,and one-thirdto be expended on the repair of
the highways. In orderto secure the fair divisionof the
toll under the existing arrangements,two persons were
appointed by the bailiff and the commissioners respectively,
and these fulfilled their duties every market day
by accordinglycollectingand dividing the tax. This tax,
possibly well fitted for the rude days in which it was
instituted, but utterly out of characterwith the advanced
state of trade at the later periods of which we speak,
continued to be demandeduntil the end of the eighteenth
century,when it was finally abolished.
The visit of the plague next requires attention.
According to Thoresby, Yorkshire had, during the
hundred years previous to 1644, been often visited by
the epidemic, and Leeds had suffered much, in 1596
and 1597 " the death roll increasing from 120 to 311."