GENUKI: Barnstaple Port Book

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Customs Port Books 1584

Port of: Barnstaple

Books for: Coastal trade

Type of books: Customer and Controller

Language: Latin

Taken from Port Books in National Archives ref: E 190/935/4.

Transcribed by David Carter 2023

Spelling transcribed verbatim. Anything in square brackets added by transcriber.

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Surname index:

Abeven
Borough
Bustyan
Chaldon
Chote
Colliber, Collibre
Collyskott
Davy
Donnynge
Dowle
Evans
French, Frenche
Gibbon
Harrys
Heale
Hunt
Lange
Leniham
Parker
Phillips
Rowe
Shurte
Thomas
Tocker
Vaghan
Webber
Willett

Import or Export	Date	From / To	Vessel	Tons	Belonging	Master	Merchant	Goods

E 190/935/4
Import	31 Apr 1584	Bristol	Michaell	12	Northam	Christopher Rowe	William Colliber of Barnstaple	2 tons lead containing 40 pieces, 1 pipe of pitch, 4 cwt black soap, 4 bags Spanish wool, 9 stones of wire
Import	28 May 1584	Mylforde	Trenite	10	Fremington	John Chaldon	Gilbert Harrys of Barnstaple	150 stones of wool
Import	18 Jun 1584	Mylford	Marie	14	Barnstaple	William Davy	Nicholas Collyskott of Barnstaple	150 stones of wool
Import	23 Jun 1584	Caernarvan	Michaell	12	Northam	Christopher Rowe	Gabrielo Shurte of Bideford	100 stones of wool, 25 dicar salted hides not tanned, 200 virgas linen cloths, 40 lbs wax
Import	14 July 1584	Mynhed	Litle Flowre	8	Mynhed	Griffith Abeven	John Chote of Barnstaple	240 bushels malted oats
Import	14 July 1584	Mylforde	Marie George	12	Bideford	John Heale	Galfrido Gibbon of Tenbigh	7 dicar tanned hides
Import	01 Aug 1584	Bristoll	Salomon	18	Northam	Richard Willett	John Lange of Barnstaple	20 dozen calf skins, 1 dicar tanned hides
Import	04 Aug 1584	Bristoll	Prymerose	12	Northam	Andrew Donnynge	William Collibre of Barnstaple	4 tons lead containing 80 pieces, 2 tons black soap, 10 pieces Barnstaple baise
Import	06 Aug 1584	Swansie	Marie	10	Barnstaple	William Frenche	John Harrys of Barnstaple	150 stones of wool
Import	06 Aug 1584	Bristoll	Mathew	6	Fremington	John Borough	Richard French of Barnstaple	2 tons lead, 3 tons black soap, 1 pipe iron, 3 cwt frying pans, 2 hogsheads Gascony wine, 60 lbs wax, 2 packs widmolls, 2 packs & 2 coffers various merchandise, 1 kische[?] pitch
Import	10 Aug 1584	Bristoll	John	10	Bideford	John Borough	William Hunt of Barnstaple	8 bags wool containing 170 toads, 1 pack & 1 ballot frieze, 2 tons black soap, 1 firkin gunpowder, 2 bags hops
Import	10 Aug 1584	Bristoll	Salomon	16	Northam	Richard Willett	Richard Willett	14 bags wool & floxe, 5 barrels 10 kinterkins 12 firkins & 2 hogsheads black soap, 7 cwt hops, 5 barrels various merchandise, 6 chests 3 bags feathers, 1 case glass
Import	10 Aug 1584	Bristoll	Salomon	18	Northam	Richard Willett	Christopher Dowle of Newland	70 dozen calf skins
Import	14 Aug 1584	Gloucestre	Trenite	8	Elmore	John Leniham	John Vaghan of Gloucester	8 weys malted barley
Import	29 Aug 1584	Beumaris	Anne	16	Bideford	William Webber	Joseph Baptist Tocker	30 stones wool, 2 barrels butter
Import	29 Aug 1584	Chester	Anne	16	Bideford	William Webber	William Webber	80 stones wool
Import	02 Sep 1584	Swansie	John	20	Swansie	Philip Thomas	Owine Phillips of Swansie	16 dicar tanned hides, 40 dozen calf skins, 10 bags & 1 bag annyssede
Import	10 Sep 1584	Neath	Gra[cia] Dei	16	Barnstaple	Mathew Bustyan	Jenkyn Evans of Neath	11 dicar tanned hides, 3 dicar kyps[?], 1 sack wool
Import	30 Sep 1584	Mylforde	Mary	8	Barnstaple	Robert Parker	Richard Gibbon of Harford West	22 dicar tanned hides
Export	13 Sep 1584	Pulhellye & Caernarvan	Michaell	12	Bideford	Christopher Rowe	John Shurte of Bideford	6 tons iron, 2 hogsheads vinegar, 20 barrels bay salt, 1 cwt black soap, 1 barrel traine oil, 30 stones cheese, 20 lbs ginger, 20 lbs marmalade, 3 cwt shumack

Transcriber’s notes:

Port Books for the combined ports of Appledore, Bideford and Barnstaple are housed in the National Archives from 1565 to 1745. There are some gaps due to non-survival of records, and other gaps due to damaged documents.

Typically these books record:
•    Date of entry
•    Name of ship
•    Tonnage of vessel
•    Port where vessel is registered
•    Port where vessel is going to, or coming from
•    Name of the Captain or Master of the vessel
•    Name of the merchant responsible for the goods
•    Whether the merchant is English or foreign
•    Description of the cargo, including the method of storage (barrels, casks, bags), the weight (hundredweights, pounds) and the value for the purposes of assessing tax to be paid.

The following officials were responsible for checking the cargoes and recording the tax due:
•    Collector or ‘Customer’ – made a return of all goods exported or imported and all moneys received, for which he issued a cocket (receipt).
•    Controller – made a similar return but did not receive the payments.
•    Searcher – appointed to prevent fraud, who had to make examine the goods and return a warrant to show he had done so.
•    Surveyor – appointed to check the work of the Searcher.

The books for 1584 contain just 3 pages, mostly written in Latin.

Some commodities and measurements are unknown but have been transcribed as closely as possible. Others may not be so well-known to us today, so here are some definitions:
•    Baise (Baize) - Coarse woollen cloth, often made in Barnstaple.
•    Bay salt - Salt derived by evaporating seawater in the sun.
•    Dicker / Dicars - A quantity or package of 10 hides.
•    Firkin - 18 gallons (¼ barrel).
•    Kilderkin - 18 gallons (½ barrel), or a cask for wine, fish, butter, etc, formerly 16 to 18 gallons.
•    Shumacke (Sumac) - The dried berries of the Sumac plant, used in dying and tanning.
•    Traine oil - Drained fish oil, usually from cod.
•    Virga / Virgas - An obsolete unit of length, about 2.0m.
•    Wey - Unit of weight for dry goods. Size depends on commodity, but could be around 175 lbs.

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