In the Regis Rolls I discovered a long court case involving Carpenter
women, an unusual find. All were the daughters of a Wybert le Charpenter,
and all were involved in a dispute with the Prior of Ware versus Ingram the
Dyer. The four Charpenter ladies were:
Ellen le Charpenter wife of Ingram the Dyer
Felicia le Charpenter sister-in-law of Ingram
Juetta le Charpenter sister-in-law of Ingram
Margaret le Charpenter sister-in-law of Ingram
Ingram the Dyer or Ingelramum le Teynturer was surely a specialist in cloth
production. The Dyers and the brokers of cloth are the controlling
personages in the production of cloth. Ware is located in the Lea Valley in
Hertfordshire, a waterway that lead directly to the Thames and the markets
of London. In the Middle Ages the Lea Valley was the location of numerous
wool fulling- mills. An excellent description and discussion of the area
fulling-mills is found in McDonnells MEDIEVAL LONDON SUBURBS. The author
relates that true references to the Lea Valley mills (p. 84) begin only in
1293. The indirect evidence in the Regis Rolls document under discussion
must mean that Carpenter involvement in the local industry might have been
very early indeed. Again I wonder if the Flemish Carpenters helped brought
wool-fulling technology to England and this explains the meaning of their
name( Regis Rolls, Henry III, 1240-41, pp. 244-5).
BC