Home1823 Edition

KIDDERS

Volume 11 · 163 words · 1823 Edition

those that badge or carry corn, dead victuals, or other merchandise, up and down to sell: every person being a common badger, kudder, lader, or carrier, &c. says the stat. 5 Eliz. cap. 12. And they are called kiddiers, 13 Eliz. cap. 25.

KIDDLE, or KIDEL (Kidellus), a dam or weir in a river with a narrow cut in it, for the laying of pots or other engines to catch fish.

The word is ancient; for in Magna Charta, cap. 24, we read, "Omnes kidelli deponantur per Thamesiam et Medwayam, et per totam Angliam, nisi per costeram maris." And by King John's charter, power was granted to the city of London, "de kidellis amovendis per Thamesiam et Medwayam." A survey was ordered to be made of the wears, mills, stanks, and kiddles, in the great rivers of England, 1 Hen. IV. Fishermen of late corruptly call these dams kettles; and they are much used in Wales and on the sea coasts of Kent.