OMESDAY records have it that, in 1086, more than half a million eels were offered as annual rent in various places around England. The villagers of Harmston in Lincolnshire paid their landlord 75,000 eels per annum. The inhabitants of Stratford-upon-Avon sent 1,000 to the Bishop of Worcester in return for allowing them use of his mill in order to grind their corn. A century later, the monks of Ramsey Abbey in Huntingdonshire gave their neighbouring landowner a similar rent
You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.
Start your free 30 days