jan 1, 1545 - steep-fat

Description:

Originally a wooden vessel in which brewers steeped malt. 1377 <i>2 stepyngfattes</i>, Hackness (YRS76/129); 1438 <i>ij plumbaria, j Stepefatt, ij Relyngfattes</i>, Sherburn in Elmet (Th33/45); 1522 <i>I wytt that John Derluff, my son, have ... a stepefatt with the kylnehayres</i>, Knaresborough (SS104/16). A leaden vessel with the same function was usually called a steep-lead, but not always: 1376 <i>do et lego j stepeled Alicie</i>, Ripon (SS115/34); 1419 <i>Item j stepeled 24s</i>, Ripon (SS81/142); 1542 <i>Item a steyp fat of leed</i>, Bedale (SS26/30); 1545 <i>on seystern of leyd for stepyng of maulte</i>, Brettanby (SS26/56). In a York indenture of 1338 is a reference to ‘<i>le Malthous</i> with a piece of ground on which the the <i>stepeleder </i>is usually placed’. The editor speculated whether this was for ‘stepladder’, otherwise first recorded in 1751 (OED), but the lessee was a skinner, so it is possibly where leather was ‘steeped’ (YRS111/183).

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