THE UNIVERSITY OF HULL A Century of Change on the Lindsey Marshland Marshchapel 1540 – 1640 being submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Hull by Teresa Maybury BA Hons February 2011 Abstract This is a study of how a marshland community on the north-east Lindsey coast interacted with external forces of change in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Marshchapel was chosen to be the particular focus of the study because of the wealth of available sources. The most remarkable of these is the survey of Marshchapel and its ‘parent’ village of Fulstow, which was drawn up in 1595. The survey includes an accurately drawn, detailed map of the two parishes, showing the churches and houses, the open fields with their furlongs divided into strips and the marshland where salt was still being made. There are two field books, one for each of the parishes. The owner of each furlong is named and its position described and numbered, so that it can be located by matching its number on the map. The measurement of each strip is given in acres, roods and perches and, in most cases, the tenant is named. The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries saw England change from a medieval to a modern society. The pressures of demographic expansion, the growth of towns, soaring inflation and religious changes had far reaching effects on the nature of English society. Change did not begin in 1540 or end in 1640; the choice of dates was influenced, to some extent, by the availability of the documents but, also, by the fact that the century neatly encompassed the period between the Reformation and the Civil War, two significant events in the history of early modern England. The thesis begins with an overview of the early development of Marshchapel and its origin as a salt making settlement and hamlet of Fulstow, knowledge which is essential if the role of Marshchapel’s marshland environment on its version of social life is to be understood. A range of sources, including probate documents and parish registers, is used to examine the underlying economic and social structures of sixteenth and seventeenth century Marshchapel and to investigate the processes of change in this marshland community. i Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the debt of gratitude I owe to the late Dr Jim Johnson for his contribution, over many years, to my interest in and enjoyment of local history, through his infectious enthusiasm and his inspirational teaching. I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience of being a student at the University of Hull. I am grateful for the professionalism and helpfulness of the staff in the Graduate School, the Brynmor Jones Library and the History Department. Most of all, I thank my supervisors, Professor Glenn Burgess, Doctor Rod Ambler, and Doctor Helen Fenwick, who stepped in on Doctor Ambler’s retirement. They have been unfailing in giving their time, in their rigorous attention to detail in reading the text as it developed, and in their kindly and patient encouragement. I count myself fortunate to have benefited from their professional knowledge and experience. The staff at the Lincoln Archives Office also deserve my gratitude for the excellent service they have provided over the years. I am hugely grateful to Maria Vincent of Marie Claret Marketing for her technical support. She has rescued me in times of crisis, whenever my IT skills have not been equal to the task. I thank her, especially, for help with maps and illustrations and the finer points of Endnote, the fruits of which are visible in the final product. There are many individuals who have assisted me over the years in various ways to whom I am indebted. Among them are the present owners of the 1595 survey map of Fulstow and Marshchapel, who kindly allowed me to see the original, Ian Burgess of Marshchapel, who helped me gain access to a copy, and Ian Rowson of North Somercotes, who made available to me his transcriptions of the inventories of North Somercotes, Louth and Grimsby. I have had moral support from many friends over the years, whilst I have been engaged in this project. In particular, I would like to thank fellow local history enthusiasts, Mick Booth, Brenda Webster and Mike Casterton. Most of all, I thank my family, Jane and Calum Thomson and Ruth, Roger and Cath Maybury, for their practical support and their encouragement throughout. ii Contents Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Forces of change 3 1.2 Sources and methods 12 1.3 Main research aims of the thesis 17 1.4 The structure of the thesis 18 1.5 Summary 19 Chapter 2 A Tale of Two Parishes 20 2.1 Early development of Marshchapel 21 2.2 Haiwarde’s survey of Fulstow and Marshchapel in 1595 22 2.3 Lords of the manor 27 2.4 The field books 29 2.5 Land use in Fulstow and Marshchapel in 1595 30 2.6 Summary 45 Chapter 3 Life and Death on the Margin 46 3.1 Demographic trends 46 3.2 Contours of death? 55 3.3 Dearth, disease or migration? 60 3.4 Summary 82 Chapter 4 Freeholders and Tenants 84 4.1 The social hierarchy 84 4.2 The freeholders 89 4.3 The tenants 111 4.4 Landless labourers? 127 4.5 Summary 128 Chapter 5 Farmers and Fishermen 131 5.1 Agriculture 133 5.2 Coastal activities 147 5.3 Other crafts and trades 154 5.4 Labourers 162 5.5 Going up and down in the world 165 5.6 Religious changes and community cohesion 178 5.7 Summary 187 Chapter 6 A Seasoning of Salt 190 6.1 Introduction 190 6.2 Background to the salt industry 192 6.3 The literature relating to the salt industry on the Lindsey marshland 199 6.4 Salt making in Marshchapel in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries 207 6.5 The salt makers 209 iii Contents 6.6 Equipment and resources 221 6.7 Seasonality 231 6.8 Output and distribution 233 6.9 The end of the salt making industry 236 6.10 Summary 241 Chapter 7 Conclusion 244 Appendices 250 Glossary 253 Monetary Values 256 Bibliography 257 List of Figures 1.1 Marshchapel and neighbouring settlements on the Lincolnshire coast 1 1.2 Numbers of surviving inventories compared to numbers of burials in Marshchapel between 1590 and 1649 16 2.1 Early colonisation of the north-east coast Lindsey showing the relationship between the ‘parent’ and ‘daughter’ settlements 20 2.2 Comparison of land use in Fulstow and Marshchapel in 1595 31 2.3 Haiwarde's map of the parish of Fulstow adapted to show land use in 1595 32 2.4 Haiwarde's map of the parish of Marshchapel adapted to show land use in 1595 36 2.5 The third precinct of Marshchapel showing the five ‘parts’ and land belonging to Lord Willoughby, Sir Christopher Hilyard, Mr Allington and other freeholders 39 2.6 Extract from Haiwarde’s map showing the salt marsh and the cockle sands 40 2.7 Extract from Haiwarde’s map showing the centre of Fulstow 41 iv Contents 2.8 Extract from Haiwarde’s map showing the centre of Marshchapel 42 3.1 Entry for Fulstow and Marshchapel in the Diocesan Returns of 1563 48 3.2 Projected population figures for Marshchapel and Fulstow 54 3.3 Baptisms and burials in Marshchapel in five yearly intervals 1591-1650 61 3.4 Burials and baptisms in Fulstow in five yearly intervals 1591-1640 62 3.5 Monthly baptisms and burials in Marshchapel in 1591 63 3.6 Monthly baptisms and burials in Marshchapel in 1600 65 3.7 Baptisms and burials in Marshchapel in 1616 66 3.8 Monthly burials in Fulstow in 1630 67 3.9 Numbers of marriages in Marshchapel and Fulstow between 1591 and 1640 68 3.10 Seasonality of marriages in Marshchapel and Fulstow between 1591 and 1640 70 3.11 The Atkin family 77 4.1 Owners of freehold land in Marshchapel in 1595 90 4.2 Marshchapel freeholders in 1595 93 4.3 Walter Harpham’s ‘capital messuage’ as depicted in Haiwarde’s map and here outlined in red 94 4.4 The Harpham family 95 4.5 North Hall, the Hilyard manor house and home of Thomas and Alice Phillips, here outlined in red 97 4.6 The Harpham memorial in Marshchapel church 98 4.7 Thomas Dawson’s messuage and garth at Eastham, now Escombe, in Marshchapel outlined in red 101 4.8 The Grant family 104 4.9 Percentage of land in Marshchapel held of the two lords of the manor by residents compared to that held by outsiders in 1595 112 v Contents 4.10 West Hall, the Wiloughby manor house and home of Thomas Ayscough as depicted in Haiwarde’s map, here outlined in red 122 5.1 Comparison of Marshchapel inventory values before and after 1600 132 5.2 Average valuation of livestock in Marshchapel inventories before 1650 by decade 140 5.3 Sixteenth century trading vessels as depicted in Haiwarde’s map of 1595 148 5.4 Inshore fishing vessels as depicted in Haiwarde’s map of 1595 149 5.5 The changing pattern of legacies to church and charity in Marshchapel by decade between 1530 and 1650 171 6.1 Plan of filtration unit excavated at Wainfleet 197 6.2 Diagram of the fourteenth century salt making site at Bicker Haven showing the positions of the hearths and the remains of a building 198 6.3 Drawings of the eighteenth century filtration unit and hearth at Avranchin in Normandy 202 6.4 Conjectural reconstruction of Anglo-Saxon salt making site in Marshchapel 204 6.5 Part of Haiwarde’s map showing the position of the Anglo-Saxon salt making site in relation to Sea Dyke Way 205 6.6 An aerial photograph showing the landscape to the east of Sea Dyke Way 208 6.7 Conjectural reconstruction of a medieval salt making site at Marshchapel 222 6.8 Reconstruction of a salt pan found at Shavington in Cheshire 226 6.9 Extract from the inventory of Edmund Cowper August 1559 229 List of Tables 3.1 Transcript of 1563 diocesan returns for Fulstow and Marshchapel 48 3.2a Raw population data for