History of corn milling .. - Centrostudirpinia.it

98 HISTORY OF CORN MILLING VOL. IV.
III. answered him it wold doe noe good, for they wanted water to serve
•^^^^pI^^' theym withall. And then the saide Richard asked him howe they
'__ wold doe upon the like occason of want, yf Chester milles went
18. A Severe downe : he answered he cold not tell howe they shold doe. But
Winter, 1607. how longe after the saide milles stood still by the meanes above
Harl. MSS.,
2083. 6oo\
Ibid., 2084. 176.
19. Destruction
of Causeway
ordered,
1608.
Text, II. 186.
saied they cannot declare. All which they wilbe readie to depose as
occason shall require.
Ric. Primatt.
John Wildinge.
Mem. Willfn Hunt of Chester having occason to travell into
the countrie within vij or tenne miles of the citie did take vewe of
all the water milles within that compasse, all of which stoode and
were not able to grynde, by reason of the froste, and so had stoode
by the space of a fortnighte at the least, not havinge water sufficient
to serve them withall.
WiLLM Hunt.
Decimo quarto die Jany. 1607.
Richard Bridge, millwright, and farmer and keeper of a certain
mill at Stamford within the county of Chester^ being late the inheritance
of Thomas Venables, esq., deceased,^ saith that he [Venables]
did new build about six years since the said mills at Stamford. And
that seven weeks since the frost that now remaineth did begin :
and that the said mills would not go, by reason of the said frost,
since the nativity of our Lord God [last past]. And that other mills
also have stood for want of water : one at Hockenhall, two at
Stapleford, one at Duddon, two at Barrow, two at Tervyn which
;
all stood for this month last past. He had taken corn to be ground
to divers of the said mills, but could not get it ground, and therefore
came to the said city the day and year above written and procured
his said corn to be ground. And he saieth also that Mawde, the
wife of John Dale of Stamford aforesaid, came within these four
days last past to grind wheat here upon the like extremitie.
Others also came to these mills this morning — Mr. Smethwick
of Duddon, Wm. Pulford of Cotton.
All standing idle :
[a Hst of a score local mills].
Rob. Holkey's wife, of Grefford, came to Dee milnes on Fridaye
y^ xvij of Jan., and did paye for corne and malte, viz. 7 b} of malte
and 3 b3 of corne.
19. More powerful Influences than the foregoing,
however, were directed to the ruin of the mills. The
ancient jurisdiction of the Lord High Admiral over
navigable
of Sewers ;
rivers was now vested in Commissioners
the local boards of which having authority
over the Dee being those of Chester, Denbigh, and
Wrexham. These declared their opposition to the
* The words here italicised are struck out in the original.