In 1289 Edward I. issued his Royal Mandate to Peter Corbet for the extermination of wolves in the several counties of Gloucester, Worcester, Hereford, Salop, and Stafford; and in the adjacent county of Derby.
Camden at page 900 informs us certain persons at Wormhill held their lands by the duty of hunting and taking the wolves that infested the country, whence they were styled Wolf Hunt.
In Saxon times and during Athelstan's reign wolves abounded so in Yorkshire that a retreat was built at Flixton in that county "to defend passengers from the wolves that they should not be devoured by them." On account of the desperate ravages these animals made during winter the Saxons distinguished January by the name of the Wolf month. An outlaw was called a wolf's head as being out of the protection of law and liable to be killed as that destructive beast.
The Accipenser, in ichthyology, a genus of fishes belonging to the Amphibia Nantes of Linnæus. The Accipenser has a single linear nostril; the cirri are below the snout, and before the mouth. There are three species of this genus. The ruthenus has four cirri, and fifteen squamous protuberances; it is a native of Russia. The huso has four cirri; the body is naked, has no prickles or protuberances. The ichthyocollo, or isinglass of the shops, famous as an agglutinant, and used also for the fining of wines, is made from its sound or scales. The Sturio, or Sturgeon with four cirri and eleven squamous protuberances on the back. This fish annually ascends our rivers (it has occasionally been seen in years gone by as high up the river Thames as Wandsworth) but in no great numbers, and is taken by accident in the salmon nets. It seems a spiritless fish making no manner of resistance when entangled, but is drawn out of the water like a lifeless lump. This cartilaginous fish is highly prized for food, not unlike in taste to veal. About thirty-six years ago a Royal Sturgeon was caught in the wheel of the mill at Mill-Pond Bridge then in the occupation of Mr. Hutton the Miller (who was noted as a breeder of game fowls), now the property of the London Gas-Light Company. It appears that a local tradesman named Henry Appleton was going to town and saw a great crowd, some with guns shooting at a great fish, but the Sturgeon's natural armour resisted the force of their small shot such as they were then using. Mr. Appleton upon seeing the state of affairs hastened to procure a bullet or two as a more effectual means of capturing the prize and the first shot or bullet fired was fatal to the poor sturgeon which was then landed and conveyed into the garden of Mr. Hutton's private house upon the exact spot of which at the present time stands the house (since erected) on the banks of the Creek in the occupation of Mr. Methven. It then became after the usual ceremony of asking the Lord Mayor, the property of Mr. Appleton, and was exhibited by him in York Street (now Savona Street), on premises now in the occupation of Mr. Dulley, Butcher. After being exhibited several weeks great crowds coming from all parts of London to see it, the Sturgeon was sold to a Fishmonger residing in Bond Street, who publicly exhibited it in his shop for some years with a description stating particulars, where it was captured and by whom and its length, being upwards of 9-ft. It is said to have been equal in weight to a sack of flour viz., 280 lbs.
The Sturgeon is more abundant in the Northern Coasts of Europe. It is also found in the more Southern parts. It was esteemed by the ancients as a very great luxury and it was held in high repute for the table by the Greeks and Romans and at their banquets it was introduced with particular ceremonies.
In England when caught in the Thames within the jurisdiction of the Lord Mayor of London it is a Royal Fish reserved for the Sovereign. The flesh is white, delicate, firm and nutritious. It is used both fresh, generally stewed. The largest species of Sturgeon is the Bielaga, or Huso. Huso (A. Huso) of the Black and Caspian seas and their rivers. It attains the length of 20 or 25 feet and has been known to weigh nearly 3000 lbs.
Near the site where now stands the Park Tavern at the corner of the New Road, opposite Mr. Featherstonhaugh's Brewery and not far from "The Plough & Harrow," were the flower gardens and beautiful residence of John Patient, Esq., afterwards occupied by Mr. Carne the Barge Builder. The house where Mr. Bennett, Lath-render, resides, and the house adjoining were used as a Private Asylum for the insane and was called "Sleaford House."
The picturesque and retired Country Parsonage, the residence of the Rev. J. G. Weddell, stood a considerable distance from the main road—"The Prince Alfred" tavern situate in Haine Street occupies the site. In this locality was a tenter-ground the entrance to which from the road was through a white gate.
A gateway at the commencement of "Hugman's Lane" which had "no thoroughfare" led to the works belonging to Peter Pariss and Son, Oil of Vitriol Manufacturers and Manufacturing Chemists. Mr. Wallace, who subsequently held these premises had them considerably enlarged to facilitate his project in working up gas liquor for making Sulphate of Ammonia, which is extensively used for agricultural purposes. The sewers in the neighbourhood became impregnated with a deleterious gas and the stench from the drains was intolerable. After considerable litigation with the Board of Works Mr. Wallace became a bankrupt.
By order of the Mortgagees on Wednesday and Thursday, March 3rd and 4th, 1880, Mr. Douglas Young sold by auction the plant and machinery of the above extensive works, including 5 large Cornish steam boilers, tubular boiler, 3 egg boilers, a bottle boiler, a 4000 gallon wrought iron tank, 12 smaller ditto, 4 large circular tanks, 5 steam barrel of various sizes, flange pipes, 3 large iron coils, about 70 tons old metal, several copper and iron boilers of various sizes, furnace fittings, weighing bridge by Hodgson and Stead, self-feeding boiler and engine, about 150,000 sound bricks, a large quantity of sound timber including balk timber, yellow deals, planks, battens, die-square, floor and lining boards, and 50 tons of breeze, several stacks of firewood, pantiles, drain pipes and other plant materials.