| 'de Birmingham' |
of Birmingham; only the Norman lords of a manor called themselves
of' that place, before the surnames they used |
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| tanyards |
the shallow, stinking ponds by the Rea, where leather was
soaked with oak bark to soften it |
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| smiths |
workers in iron & other metals |
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| merchants |
sellers of goods in other towns |
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| commerce |
trade, buying and selling |
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| mason |
stone-carver and builder |
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| master-mason |
designer and builder of stone churches |
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| tolls |
money paid for the right to sell goods at Birmingham market |
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| plague |
deadly disease for which no cause or cure was known |
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| crops |
wheat, barley, vegetables |
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| closes |
small pieces of land enclosed by fences or hedges |
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| pasture |
grassed closes for animal feeding |
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| sea-coal |
name then given to coal, because 'coal' then meant charcoal,
made from charred wood, used to heat furnaces |
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| poaching |
stealing fish, birds, and game animals |
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| parish |
district that has its own church and priest. As Edgbaston
was only a chapelry, its people still had to go to Harborne
for some services |
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| graziers |
farmers who kept sheep for wool and fattened cattle for slaughter |
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