[163]As we have said, the muniment chest of the Christchurch Corporation, like that of all similar towns, is full of interest. It contains absolutions from Archbishops to all those who assist in the good work of making bridges;—letters from absolute patrons directing their clients which way to vote;—bonds from others that they will not require any payment from the burgesses, or put the borough to any expense;—old privileges of catching eels and lampreys with “lyer,” and “hurdells de virgis,” by all of which the past is brought before us. So, too, the Chamberlain’s Books are most interesting. From them we can learn, year by year, the prices of wheat and cattle, the fluctuation of wages, the average condition of the day, and both the minutest outward events as also the innermost life of the town. The true social history of England is written for us in our Chamberlain’s Books. They have unfortunately never been made use of as they deserve. Thus let me give a few general quotations from those of Christchurch. In 1578 lime was 6_d._ a bushel, from which price it fell within two years to 2_d._ Stone for building we find about 1_s._ a ton. Wages then averaged, for a skilled mechanic, from 7_d._ to 1_s._ a day, and for a labourer, 4_d._; whilst night-watchmen, in 1597, were only paid 2_d._ Timber, contrary to what we should have expected, was comparatively dear. Thus in 1588 we find 9_d._ paid for two posts, and 20_d._ for a plank and two posts, whilst a few years afterwards a shilling is paid for making a new gate. Of course in all these calculations we must bear in mind that money was then three times its present value. Turning to other matters, we learn that in 1595, “a pottle of claret wine and sugar” cost 2_s._, whilst a quart of sack is only 12_d._ In 1582, a quart of “whyte wine” is 5_d._, and twenty years before this a barrel and a half of beer cost 4_d._ Again, in 1562, the fourth year of Elizabeth, large salmon, whose weights are not specified, appear to have averaged 7_d._ a piece. A load of straw for thatching came to 2_s._ 6_d._, and in some cases 3_s._, which in 1550 had been as low as 8_d._, and never above 20_d._ Drawing it, or passing it through a machine, cost 4_d._; whilst a thatcher received 1_s._ 4_d._ for his labour of putting it on the roof. At the same time a load of clay, either for making mortar or for the actual material of the walls, the “cob,” or “pug” of the provincial dialect, was 5_d._, a price at which it had stood with some slight variations for many years.