 |
 |
Hi All The Dunn Mill in the village of Whitchurch in Buckinghamshire was on the Chatel Stream. The stream still flows through the village but the mill is long gone. I know that the legal definition of Chattel (with two t’s) is ‘Moveable items of property which are neither land nor permanently attached to land or a building, either directly or vicariously ...’ So it seams unlikely that Chatel is an older spelling of Chattel. Or could it be from Catel (or Cattel) which in medieval times was used in the sense 'principle sum of money, capital, wealth, property; cf. mod. Eng. CAPITAL = stock in trade.' (ref OED). Later the OED adds: ‘[Cattell] 'A collective name for live animals, held as property, or reared to serve as food, or for the sake of their milk, skin or wool etc.' So was it the name of the stream that flowed through lush fields where livestock grazed? Any ideas? Cheers Doug