Chapter XVI: Monastic Economics
The mills belonging to the Abbey were very valuable property. They had one connected with each portion of their lands—at Muncton, Dalmuling, Duntocher, Drumgrane, Glen, and Paisley. At these mills all their tenants were bound to grind. These tenants were called “sukeners,” and were spoken of as “thirled” to the mill. Most readers of Sir Walter Scott will remember Hob, the miller of “The Monastery,” and the sharp outlook he kept for his dues—the dry multures, the lock and the gowpen, the knaveship, and the sequels—which were the constant subject of his talk. [12] All these dues were received at the Abbot's mills, to his great profit. Most of the mills were let with all their perquisites, and the amount received for them is given in the rental-book. The Mill of Paisley the Convent kept in its own hand until the later years of its history, when the Abbot let it, “with all sukoms, profits, casualties, and pertinents pertaining thereto,” on a lease of nine years; though he specially bargained that our “corns for us and our successors to be ground at our said myll free from in ulture and casualties, free as use and wont as before.” [13] The Abbey Mill stood in the Seedhill, near the Falls on the River Cart. It was an object of great care on the part of the monks, and many charters regarding it are to be found in the Register. When the town of Paisley was feued by Abbot Shaw the burgesses were still held bound to grind their corn at the Abbey Mill. The whole growing oats, seed, and horse-corn excepted, were thirled to it. Any one grinding corn elsewhere was fined in 100s. The rate of multure was each twenty first peck, besides the dues of the miller and his servants, namely:—“three fills of meal of a dish called the angerem, containing six pounds of Dutch weight, for fifteen bolls, two fills for ten bolls, and one fill for five bolls ; and one streaked dish full of meal of the said dish for every boll of sheling.” These dues were very formidable, and it is supposed that the wrath of the tenants at seeing the miller appropriate the large dishful of their meal led to that vessel getting the curious but suggestive name of the “angerem.” [14]
The last source of revenue which we shall notice as belonging to the Abbey were the fishings. A large portion of the food of the monks was fish, and they needed a constant supply. In many Scotch monasteries they possessed fish-ponds in the neighbourhood of their convents, [15] which were plentifully stocked with perch. We find no trace of such preserves having belonged to the Abbey of Paisley. Probably they were not needed, as the brethren must have been amply supplied with the best of salmon and trout from the many fishings that belonged to them. Many notices of fishings abound in the Chartulary. The chief of these was upon the river Leven, in Dunbartonshire, called Lynbren. [16] It was bestowed on the Monastery in 1225 by a priest named Robert Hertford when on the point of death, [17] and continued in the possession of the Monastery during the rest of its history. It was fished by means of a yare or cruive. The Lords of Lennox gave them liberty to take stone and wood from their land for its repair. [18] One of them forbade the erection of any other yare between that of the monks and Loch Lomond, and another added to these privileges the right of fishing on the lake and of drying their nets, and of erecting houses for their fishermen on any of the islands. An Earl of Lennox also gave them liberty to draw nets along the whole Gareloch on the Clyde for the capture of salmon or other fish. [19] After the fishing on the river Leven, that on the Clyde was most important.
[12] The dry multures were money payments for not grinding at the mill. The multures were the grain paid the miller ; the knaveship the portion claimed by his servant. The lock—a small quantity and the yourpen (a handful) were additional perquisites demanded by the miller. All these and other petty dues were called sequels. See Notes to “Monastery,” by Sir W. Scott.
[13] See charter of Abbot Hamilton in Appendix.
[14] These dues were shown in an action of declarator raised in the Court of Session by the Earl of Abercorn in 1796. See Semple's “Lairds of Glen.”
[15] The fish-pond of New Abbey is still to be seen.
[16] Reg. de Pas., p. 211.
[17] Reg. de Pas., p. 212, “Dum laboraret in extremis.”
[18] Reg. de Pas., p. 215, et seq.
[19] Reg. de Pas., p. 211.