D.P.
BAD ALE.
In the time of the Saxons, it was a custom in the city of Chester, that any person who brewed bad ale should either be placed in a ducking-chair, and plunged into a pool of muddy water, or, in lieu of that punishment, should forfeit four shillings.
D.P.
ANCIENT TRADESMEN.
In Domesday Book we find frequent mention of goldsmiths; and we know the Anglo-Saxons had their goldsmiths, silversmiths, and coppersmiths. Bowyers, or makers of cross-bows, are frequently mentioned—as are carpenters, potters, bakers, and brewers, the last of which were chiefly women. Both war and agriculture want the smith: hence his importance among the Saxons. They were free from all other services, on payment of a penny yearly for their forge. We also meet with butchers, barbers, embroiderers, saddlers, parchment-makers, and salt-makers.
D.P.