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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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