Field Systems and Demesne Farming on the Wiltshire Estates of Saint Swithun's Priory, Winchester, I248-134O* by BAN KY HAR KISON
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Field Systems and Demesne Farming on the Wiltshire Estates of Saint Swithun's Priory, Winchester, I248-134o* By BAN_KY HAR_KISON Abstract Manorial compoti are used to describe the demesne agriculture of Winchester Cathedral Priory on its chalkland manors in Wihshire between I248 and I34o. The demesnes are found to have been operated largely within the two-field systems of the viUs even where, at first sight, the use of independent furlongs seems to be suggested. The disadvantages of this system were partly offset by the priory's near monopoly of pasture, hay and timber resources, as well as by the absence of sub-manors and freeholds. Nevertheless, productivity is found to be low - although no lower than on other demesnes in the same district - but some evidence of intensification through the use of legumes and relatively high stocking ratios has been found for certain cereals on a few manors where market sale rather than monastic supply was the main object of arable farming. EDIEWL farming practices in local level has indeed been undertaken Wiltshire are better known than with impressive results for the later medie- M those of other Wessex counties val and early modem periods but compari- thanks largely to a long tradition of local sons with the earlier period, before the journal and record publications, and to the Black Death, tend to be based either upon thoroughly researched parish surveys in the much older work or upon the parish sur- on-going Victoria County History. The veys in the Victoria County History. ~ The emphasis has admittedly been on demesne editors of the latter have certainly consulted rather than on peasant agriculture, but that the full range of primary sources but they is perhaps inevitable given that the main have not been able to do more than dip sources are the surveys, custumals, account into them at particular points in time. rolls and court rolls of great estates, particu- Thus, manorial account rolls, to take one larly those of bishops and large monastic example, have not been examined for sev- houses. The details of Wiltshire demesne eral successive years to establish the actual farming are not, however, particularly well patterns of cropping on the demesne fields known since there has been a tendency in and furlongs. recent years for historians to use Wiltshire In this article we shall examine the material for studies primarily concerned demesne agriculture of a group of manors with broad questions relating to the per- for which numerous account rolls have fonnance of the national economy: agri- survived for the period I248 to 134o. Since cultural productivity, investment policy, most of the demesne land lay in common technological change and marketing.' fields on all of these manors, this study Detailed work on farming practices at the :E Kerridge, 'Agriculture, c ISOO-C I793', and R.iehenda Scott 'Medieval agriculture' in Victoria County History of Wiltshire, IV, * I am indebted to the Dean and Chapter of Winchester Cathedral I959; J N Hare, 'Change and continuity in Wihshire agriculture for permissionto work on their munimentsin the cathedral library. in the later Middle Ages', in W Michinton, ed, Agricultural 'J Z Titow, Winchester Yields: A Study in Medieval dgricuhural hnprovement: Medieval and Modern, Exeter Papers in Economic Productivity, x97~.; D L Farmer, 'Grain yields on the Winchester History 14, Exeter, I991, pp I-~8; idem, 'Durrington: a chalkland manors in the later Middle Ages', Econ Hist Rev, znd series, XXX, village in the late Middle Ages', Wilts Archaeol & Nat Hist Mag, I977, pp 555-6; idem, 'Two Wiltshire manors and their markets', 74/75, I98I, pp 137-47; Victoria County History of Wiltshire, IX, Ag Hist Rev, 37, I989, pp I-iZ. I97O; X, ~975; XI, I98o; XII, ~983; XIII, I987. Ag Hist Rev, 43, I, pp I-I8 I 2 THE AGRICULTURAL HISTORY REVIEW should be relevant to the agricultural prac- years between 13o8/9 and I338/39. s In ticesof the peasantry as well to those of addition to the account rolls, there is a the lord. fine custumal covering most of the estates Winchester Cathedral Priory, dedicated of the receiver and obedientaries. It is a to Saint Swithun, held eleven manors in fourteenth-century compilation based on Wiltshire most of which had been acquired thirteenth-century originals for individual in the late Saxon period. By the thirteenth manors only a few of which are dated. 6 century seven of these estates were under For our eight manors only Woolstone the control of the priory's central financial (1221) is dated, but a comparison of rent officer, the receiver, and it is for these totals in the custumal and the account rolls alone that account rolls survive in any suggested that the Wroughton entry was numbers. Wroughton and Little Hinton he drawn up a htfle before 1248 and the others just under the north-facing escarpment of between 1248 and 1279. There are also the downs, overlooking the Vale of White many court rolls for the Wiltshire manors Horse; Overton hes further south in the but they provide httle information about upper Kennet valley; Alton Priors hes on agricultural practices. Two of the manors the north side of the Vale of Pewsey while were not accounted for after 13oo: Little the nearby manor of Patney lies entirely Hinton was transferred to the hordarian at within the vale; Enford is situated in the some time between 1299 and 13o% while upper Avon valley, and Stockton in the arable demesnes of Patney were leased the Wylye valley (Fig 1). Except for to the tenants shortly before 1299. Patney, all these manors he wholly or partly The high quality of information pro- on the chalk. The remaining manors vided in the St Swithun's accounts has long belonged to priory obedientaries, the anni- been appreciated. 7 The 1247/48 account versanan and the chamberlain. Few roll is clearly a fair copy drawn up with account rolls survive for these although a view to preservation, but all the other there are surveys in the priory's custumal, s rolls are written in a variety of hands The manor of Woolstone in Berkshire and covered with cancellations, inter- belonged to the hordarian, but there is a polations, calculations and injunctions to good collection of account rolls for the manorial officers. For our purposes their early fourteenth century and its geographi- chief value hes in the detailed recording of cal situation is similar to that of a couple year-by-year sowings in the demesne fields of the receiver's manors.* Woolstone will and furlongs of each manor, along with a therefore be studied along with the seven good deal of information about the extent Wiltshire manors. and utilization of pasture, meadow and Thirteen sets of accounts covering all woodland, which can be supplemented by the receiver's manors have survived for information from the custumal and, to a the following years: 1247/48, I266/6% lesser extent, the court rolls. 1279/8o, 1281/82, 1282/83, 1298/99, 13o6/7, 13o8/9, 131o/11, 1311/12, Dean and Chapter of Winchester, Muniments: Account Rolls for the estates of the receiver I247/48-1323/24. These rolls include 1314/15, 1315/16 and 1317/18. Accounts all the Wiltshire manors. They are kept in boxes numbered I to for single manors survive for some other IX except for the I247/48 roll which is kept separately. References will be abbreviated to box number, date and manor - Acc Ikoll II years but there is never a sequence of I282/83 Enford. A number of accounts for individual manors are them except in the case of Woolstone for kept in a series of boxes numbered I to 59. References to these will be abbreviated to box number, manor and date - Acc 23 Little which seven accounts survive for the Hinton I3O4/5. 6 See note 3. References will be abbreviated to Custumal followed 3 Dean and Chapter of Winchester, Muniments: Custumal of the by folio number. Church of Winchester, x84 £s. vJ S Drew, 'Manorial accounts of St Swithun's Priory, Winchester', 4 PR.O, SC6/756/9/3-9. Eng Hist Rev, 62, I947, pp 2o-4.1. FARMING ON THE ESTATES OF ST SWITHUN'S PRIORY, WINCHESTER ,/\ t ~, {." • --._ ot .... ., ~ WOOLSTONE 'x.-,J ",.I Berks ,- ,.' %.,.,.-" • ,, k ''";7 ............... ,~'"" i ti:,..l L... :'..i~ t"::. ' "' ': WROUGHTON ...... ~.~ .,., OVERTON ,," ~Q'. I' ,:' .:'1 .; ':" i!....... '..'. sY " .? ~ i ~ ALTON "-. #.... Q ~ p~=o~s ".~, • PATNEY -- ".............. X t".," ~ ~ - ) " '!"'. i ...... "" "~,,~ ; ,.:. .......... .......................,....... j %,,,.,, ~ i ":(~ ..,, :: ~ . 2/""l ,' ":../~ ::. i" /' "',: ./ t ;.:' ':,..,, ./ ~.~ ": "~' ~.~" / :~ '" ; ...,, ,..~ i .: .:. .~ ..,.,; :.... ~: ~ :~. ~. ~S k.}) _J " "" ,,-' • ""• . ......" ......... ~,\"~':" % .............'.... "~ .Sah."¢ bur#,V • -. ("• .. ~'.' :, .,,,.' ~÷ .~.>~ ~,,t ,,..~.~.... ,! ~,:¢' Y' ~i,. ,.""v~". "" J" °% t._.I "~. .~'" " 0t miles 10 ............... 400' contour FIGURE I The Wiltshire estates of St Swithun's Priory I arable fields and pastures were exploited The eight manors which are the subject of exclusively by the prior and his tenants. this study all coincided with vills, although The tenants were either villeins holding three of them included a dependent one or two virgates of land, the virgate hamlet. Within these vills there were no varying between sixteen and twenty acres, other lords and hardly any freeholders: the or cottars holding halfLvirgates. On several 4 THE AGRICULTURAL HISTORY REVIEW TABLE I land everywhere except at Patney. Indeed, Area of tenant land and demesne in the late the predominance of demesne may have thirteenth century been even greater since the figures given Manor Tenant lands Approximate size above take no account of areas which were in custumal of demesne in occasionally cropped but not part of the (acres) 1¢8os (acres) regular rotation fields. To judge by the Wroughton 704 600 custumal the tenants seem to have had few Little Hinton 608 930 opportunities to farm areas of land outside Woolstone 658 62o (x33os) the fields, their holdings usually being Overton 360 720 Alton Priors 528 62o restricted to virgates or half-virgates in the Patney 464 ~3 o two rid&.