Wear, Or Weir

Wear, or Weir, a great dam or fence made across a river, or against water, formed of stakes interlaced by twigs of osier, and accommodated for the taking of fish, or to convey a stream to a mill. Prohibited by Magna Charta and other early statutes in navigable rivers, Lord Leconfield v. Earl of Lonsdale, (1870) LR 5 CP 657. Prohibited for the purpose of catching salmon by the Salmon Fishery Act, 1861, unless 'lawfully in use' at the time of the passing of that Act by virtue of a grant or charter or immemorial usage. Weirs and mill dams for taking or obstructing salmon and trout not in use before 1861 are prohibited: see Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Acts, 1923-35.