Durham E-Theses Territorial Structure and Agrarian Organisation in Mediaeval and Sixteenth Century Copeland, Cumberland. Winchester, Angus J. L. How to cite: Winchester, Angus J. L. (1978) Territorial Structure and Agrarian Organisation in Mediaeval and Sixteenth Century Copeland, Cumberland., Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1886/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 ABSTRACT This study considers the documentary evidence concerning the character and development of mediaeval and 16th century settlement in the ancient territory of Copeland, Cumberland. Two principal aspects of rural settlement are examined: i) patterns of agrarian organisation as expressed by the distribution of settlement sites and by the areal differentiation of the land surface by the head- dyke, separating enclosed and improved land from tracts of unenclosed, but by no means unused, waste; and ii) territorial patterns created by the cellular network of administrative boundaries defining parishes, townships and wards, within which settlement evolved. The first section of the study concentrates on patterns of territorial organisation. It begins with a general review of published studies to provide a conceptual framework and proceeds to examine the feudal structure of Copeland in the light of G. R. J. Jones' model of the "multiple estate" or "shire". A third chapter focusses onto the lower levels of the territorial hierarchy and scrutinizes in some detail the mediaeval antecedents of 19th century townships in order to evaluate the antiquity of the administrative units shown on 19th century Ordnance Survey maps. The second section of the thesis turns to the organisation of space for agrarian purposes. The rural economy of Copeland is shown to have possessed a strong pastoral bias and published sources are reviewed to introduce concepts applicable to the study of agrarian organisation in stock-rearing areas. The settlement pattern and improved organisation of land within the head-dyke can be reconstruc- from detailed, ted a late-16th century survey and this provides the basis for tracing the mediaeval antecedents of the later arrangements, thus defining a model of settlement evolution during the period under study. A third chapter examines the organisation of grazing practices on the unenclosed waste and, finally, returns again to the question of the evolution of territorial boundaries by discussing the chronology of their definition across the open pastures of the waste. 4 TERRITORIAL STRUCTURE AND AGRARIAN ORGANISATION IN MEDIAEVAL AND SIXTEENTH CENTURY COPELAND, CUMBERLAND A thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Durham by Angus James Logie Winchester (In two volumes) VOL. I Hett Mill Co. 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Maitland (1960; 420) ii TABLE OF CONTENTS VOLUME I Page Table of Contents ii List of Figures v Acknowledgements vii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1 a) Framework of Study 2 b) Sources and Content 7 c) The Study Area: an introduction to Copeland 11 1) The Landscape of Copeland 2) Cultural Patterns: the Landscape mapped 1760-1860 SECTION A: TERRITORIAL STRUCTURE CHAPTER II: TERRITORIAL STRUCTURE IN MEDIAEVAL 19 BRITAIN a) Territoriality in Britain: an introduction 21 b) Problems of Territorial Reconstruction 27 1) Territorial Names 2) Boundaries C) Township and Vill in Northern England 32 d) Manor and Shire: Tenurial Models of Territorial Structure in Mediaeval Britain 43 1) The Manor 2) Northern Britain: the Shire or Multiple, Estate CHAPTER III: THE STRUCTURE OF MEDIAEVAL COPELAND 53 a) The Early History of Copeland 56 b) The Feudal Structure of Mediaeval Copeland 62 1) Jurisdictional Structure 2) Tenurial Characteristics of the Liberties c) Patterns of Parochial Structure and Feudal Jurisdiction Compared 76 d) Conclusions 85 iii Page CHAPTER IV: TOWNSHIP AND VILL IN COPELAND 89 a) The Poor Law Township 92 b) The Mediaeval Administrative Vill 98 c) Reconstruction of Early-Mediaeval (pre-1350) loci 106 1) Relationship between locus and township 2) Use of term villa in Copeland 3) Relationship between locus and manor d) Conclusions '115 SECTION B: AGRARIAN ORGANISATION CHAPTER V: FARMING IN COPELAND AND MODELS OF AGRARIAN ORGANISATION IN UPLAND 118 NORTHERN ENGLAND 120 a) Rural Economy and Husbandry Practice 1) Rural Economy in 16th Century Copeland 2) Mediaeval Evidence 3) Husbandry Practice in Copeland: the farming year 138 b) Models of Agrarian Organisation in Stock- rearing areas of Britain 1) The Head-dyke 2) Organisation of land within the head- dyke in upland Northern England 3) Organisation of the Waste in Upland Britain CHAPTER VI: SETTLEMENT IN COPELAND: 1200-1600 163 a) Settlement and Land Tenure, 1578 167 1) The 1578 Survey and Associated Documents.: an introduction 2) Settlement and Land Tenure, 1578 b) The Evolution of Tenurial Patterns, 1437-1578 184 1) Regular Farm Group Territories 2) Parcels for which separate rents are paid 3) The 15th and 16th century evidence; a summary c) Early Mediaeval Settlement and Land Tenure 200 1) Peasant Colonisation, c1150-1310 2) Large-scale Seignorial Enclosure d) The Fourteenth Century: Continuity or 211 Unconformity? - iv Page CHAPTER VII: MANAGEMENT OF THE WASTE AND THE DEFINITION OF TOWNSHIP BOUNDARIES 221 a) Pasture Rights and Management of the Waste 224 1) The Manorial framework of pasture rights 2) Management of the waste in the 16th century 3) Mediaeval waste management b) The Definition of Boundaries across the Waste 242 1) The Free Chases 2) Lowland Wastes retained by an overlord 3) Lowland wastes divided between adjacent manors CHAPTER VIII: CONCLUSIONS 253 a) Summary and Conclusions 254 b) Implications for further research 261 Notes 264 VOLUME II Figures 307 Appendix A: Township and Viii in Copeland 349 i) Relationship between Poor Law Township and other post-mediaeval administrative units ii) Early-14th century Administrative Vills iii) Early-mediaeval loci Appendix B: 1578 Survey: Settlement and Land Tenure 363 i) Method of Reconstruction ii) Maps and Abstracts iii) Tables Sources 397 Bibliography 403 V LIST OF FIGURES (Volume II, PP 307-34+8) Figure: 1.1 Copeland: Relief and Drainage 1.2 Geological Background 1.3 Copeland: Settlement and the Head-dyke from sources 1770-1860 1.4 Copeland: Enclosure of the Waste after 1600 1.5 Copeland: Poor Law Townships 1.6 Copeland: Relief. Enclosed Land and Township Boundaries 1.7 Contrasts between Townships in Copeland 2.1 19th Century English Townships: Acreage 2.2 Relationship between 19th century Townships and Mediaeval Vills: Pennine Foothills, Yorkshire West Riding 2.3 Inverarity Parish, Angus: Constituent Territories 3.1 Cumbria: Wards and Deanaries 3.2 Copeland: Feudal Jurisdiction 3.3 Copeland: Feudal Tenure c1300 3.4 Copeland: Free chase and Vills paying Cornage and Seawake, 3.5 Copeland: Parochial Structure 3.6 Copeland: Relationship between Feudal and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction, l3th century 4.1 Copeland: Poor Law Townships 4.2 Copeland: Analysis of Township Boundaries 4.3 Gosforth Parish: 18th century Constituent Territories 4.4 Above Derwent Township: 16th century Graveships 4.5 Copeland: Early 14th century Administrative Vills 4.6 Copeland: Early Mediaeval (pre-1350) Loci 4.7 Copeland: Relationship between Locus and Manor 4.8 Wythop Mill: Township and Manorial Boundaries 4.9 Copeland: Analysis of Territorial Names 5.1 Copeland Probate Inventories: 1570-1600: I 5.2 Copeland Probate Inventories: 1570-1600: II 5.3 Copeland Probate Inventories: 1570-1600: Stock Numbers 5.4 Sixteenth Century Husbandry Practice 5.5 The Head-Dyke: I 5.6 The Head-Dyke: II 6.1 Derwentfells: Land Tenure, 1578 6.2 Copeland: Large-scale Seignorial Enclosure 6.3 Calder Abbey Granges 6.4 Loweswater Park 6.5 Embleton and Wythop: Enclosure History vi 7.1 North-East Copeland: Presentments against "Foreign Cattle": 1472-1517 7.2 Manor of Eskdale, Miterdale and Wasdalehead: 16th century Waste Management 7.3 Shieling Practices in Copeland: the Place-name Evidence 7.4 Whillimoor 7.5 Mosser 7.6 Brisco Maps in Ap pendix B (pp 367-39-3-) 1.