36 BEWDLEY, RIBBESFORD, AND WRIBBENHALL.

Bewdley in the middle ages. In the days when everything a man should do, say, or wear, was regulated hy Act of Parliament, the Bewdley caps were forced upon the people under a penalty of 13s. 4d. The Bewdley caps were worn till the present abomination for the head - the French hat - was brought here by the refugees from that country. The men of Bewdley had the power of taxing all vessels coming up the Severn, and carried out their privilege so rigidly that the traders from "Bristowe" and Gloucester petitioned Parliament against the system, but without success. Vessels were then drawn up by men instead of horses; when engaged they accepted a mug of drink as an earnest, and the "Mug-house" on the quay was the scene of these interesting potations. These watermen and porters were a stout race of fellows, and many queer tales are still told of the feuds and fights between them and the men of Kidderminster whenever they met, which was so frequently that Prince Arthur himself was at last compelled to interfere. Land carriage in those days, when the highways were sometimes impassable, was a most expensive affair, and wherever water was available it was eagerly chosen. Thus, when Worcester Cathedral was restored after the civil wars, I find that lead was sent from Derby to Bewdley at a cost of £43. 6s. 8d. for carriage, while from Bewdley to Worcester it was but £2. 10s. The comb trade still exists here, but not to one-quarter the extent it once did, there being several small masters instead of one or two large ones, and the consequence has been a keen competition tending to depress the trade. Tanning is carried on largely by Messrs. Price, and there is a small tannery of Mr. Wilesmith. Messrs. Low, ropemakers, of Wribbenhall, employ more hands than any other business in the town. Malting is likewise carried on, but not so extensively as formerly. A great injury was done to the trade of the town by the Worcestershire and Staffordshire Canal being made to join the Severn at Stourport; and it was very late in the railway era before the "steam horse" was allowed to approach this ancient and somewhat