Whickham, Haliwerestem Fishery

HER Number:
12255

District:
Gateshead

Site Name:
Whickham, Haliwerestem Fishery

Place:
Whickham

Map Sheet:
NZ16SE

Class:
Agriculture and Subsistence

Site Type: Broad:
Fish Trap

Site Type: Specific:
Fish Weir

General Period:
Medieval

Specific Period:
C12-C14

Form of Evidence:
Documentary Evidence

Description:
Haliwerestem in 1128, Heli werestem. Stem may be a mistake for 'stream'. 'Halig-wer' is old English for saint. It would then be Halig-weres stream - St. Cuthbert's fishery. 'Stefn or stem' is old English for 'dam' and 'stemma' means to stem, stop or dam up, especially a stream. Owned by the bishop of Durham. The main catch would have been salmon, but in fact a wider range of fish would have been taken (eg. Eels, pike, minnow, burbot, trout and lamprey' {G.N. Garmondsway (ed), 1939, 'Aelfric's Colloquy', pp 101-2}.

Easting:
193

Northing:
640

Grid Reference:
NZ193640

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
Victor Watts, 1986, Some Northumbrian Fishery Names II in Durham Archaeological Journal, 2, 1986, pp 55-61