The Open Fields of Northamptonshire
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GAZETEER OF HELD-SYSTEM TYPES 215 3 Some sheep are att the pleasure of the owners driven to the sayd wasts in the day and brought at night to fold theyr land in the fields of Brigstock and driven again the next morning. 4 Some sheep are continually kept upon the sayd wasts and are there nightly layed. 5 The sheepe are folded there in winter to which purpose they of Brigstock in summer make stacks of hey alonge the forest side adioyninge upon stokewood and some hath in winter been caryed on mens backs and in a cart. If a glut ofrayne come they cary all the sheep from of theyre fallows to the sayd wast 100 at a tyme. The document goes on to explain that the sheoep were kept by several shepherds, and refers to them being 'whistled or whooped' from a part called Brakyshill by the shepherds of Benefield so that they ran to the forest side. The cattle ofDenethorpe and Weldon also had rights in Benefield. The survey of 1440 noted that the crown land was 240 acres of demesne called Hall lands, and that it was in king's hands because frequent pestilence caused many tenants to withdraw through hardship (f.53). Anyone gathering wood from the forest paid 1 hen and 5 eggs to the forest steward; 6d was paid for a dog (f.54). The customs of 1391 were recited; among them were that suitors of the court did not have to pay for haws or pannage. At the lord's bederip the Omen came with their wives and family bringing a table cloth with other utensils. The lord found 'all proper necessaries for breakfast and after wards for dinner and ifanything be left on the table cloth the wife may carry it away with her for her own proper use' (f.93). Brigstock was enclosed in 17959• 1 NRO Buccleuch, 13-1 in X356. 2 Pettit, Forests, NRS 22, 1968, p. 1.64 from NRO Map 1380. For the parks see Steane NPP 5 (1975) p. 220 and NRO Map 3111. 3 NRO ML 141 £:53, f.62; a transcript and translation made c. 1726. 4 Thorn and Thorn 1-13a. 5 NRO Buccleuch 13-2 in X359. 6 NRO Brigstock glebe terriers. 7 NRO Buccleuch 13-1 in X359. 8 NRO ML 141 f.4O. 9 Act NRO BSL 45; Map 2859 (1805); Award, Enclosure Enrolment Vol. Lp. 316. Brington M 1980 Brington parish contains the three existing settlements of Great Brington, Little Brington and Nobottle, with Althorpe House on the site of Althorpe vill making a 1 fourth. Baker says that Little Brington was formed in the 13th century • There appear to have been three townships. The West Field ofBrington ~ambecotehul furlong) is mentioned in 1298 and in 1450. There were 2 fields in 131 7, West and East with two lands in each. The same fields had 6.625 acres unequally distributed in 1352; three neighbours held 73 percent of the positions indicating a regular tenurial order. One of the furlongs (hungeribaneland) is described as being in Church Brington West Field in 1367, and in 1539, 3 yardlands are said to lie in the fields of Little and Church Brington2• It seems that there was one field sys~em for both Bringtons. Glebe terriers3 refer to the fields of Great and Little Brington, of which there were three from c. 1680; Moor Field (touching Whilton), Middle Field (next to Althorpe) and 216 THE OPEN FIEIDS OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE Wood Field (next to Nobottle). The lands offouryardlands were distributed as 72.5, 72, and 83 half acres respectively, from which the yardland was 28.5 acres. There was 33 percent ley in c. 1680. Great,Brington was enclosed in 17434 • Althorpe There were two fields at Althorpe in 1313, 4 acres being dispersed as 2 acres in each part of the fields, lying in several furlongs5• In 1481 the two fields are named, 4.5 yardlands being dispersed as 50 acres in the North Field and 58 acres in the South Field, from which' a yardland was 24 acres6• Furlongs but not fields are named in c. 1350 for 13 acres. There were 9 neighbours, 3 occupying 53 percent of the positions, implying a decayed order7• Furlongs were listed in a 1454 terrier of 1 yardland with 30 entries totalling 23.75 acres8. The township was still open in 1510, when 2 yardlands were sold9. In 1512 the park was fonned by enclosure of440 acres 1o • Some ofthe township seems to have remained outside of the park, since in 1586 there was an exchange of common rights on land that had been enclosed into Oldthorpe (Althorpe) Park 1 I. Nobottle Nobottle was enclosed before c. 1680 12 • 1 Baker i p. 100. 2 NRO Brington Charity Charters, Calendar in Box file. 3 NRO Brington glebe terriers. 4 Id. 1767; Baker i p. 89. 5 BL Cott. Tib. E V f.49b. 6 NRO Spencer 870. 7 Id.886. 8 Id. 836-7. 9 Id. 896. 10 Bakeri p.1l0. 11 NRO Spencer 937. 12 NRO Brington glebe terriers Brixworth M 1972 P (furlongs) 1688 In c. 1250 there were three fields, Shotten, Demswell, and Whaddon or Field next to Kingesmilll, as are found until enclosure in 1780. They are plotted on Figure 1. Land was dispersed among them in 13: 13:9 and 12: 11: 12 parcels. Two demesne yardlands were distributed, in 1422, as 20: 26: 31 roods and 22: 29: 26 roods amongst the same fields2• An earlier terrier exists for Brixworth, of c. 1240; it gives no field names, but the" furlong sequence runs smoothly in order north to south3. The terrier shows that the whole township had been opened up by this date. There were 89.75 yardlands listed in a rectorial glebe terrier of 1671; the rector had 5 yardlands, making a total of94.754. This total equates with the 1086 assessment of9.5 hides, at 10 to the hide. Each yardland had 4 cows, 30 sheep and 2 horses. The size ofthe yardland in 1422 was 19.25 acres (for John Scotte and Roger Page). GAZETEER OF FIElD-SYSTEM TYPES 217 Demesne. The demesne lay in a central block with a few other dipersed acres. It was itemized in a survey of c. 1700 and most of the furlongs can be identified from names written on a map of 16885. There were 70 acres enclosed and 376 acres of open-field land, most of which were leys by 1688; the demesne is plotted on Figure 1. Analysis of ten terriers, made in 1422, ofland ofwhich the tithe had been given to St Andrew's priory, Northampton, in c. 1260 shows that they were the demesne6• All but one of the yardl~ds of 19.25 acres had rather large parcels, often being 1 or 1.5 acres. There were only about 20 parcels in each yardland with an irregular number of neighbours. The number of furlongs in each yardland was variable, sometimes few names were in common with the next. It seems that the demesne had been distributed in a less regular form than the villein yardlands; the named tenants had lands next to each other or next to other demesne tenants whose land was not concerned with St Andrew's Priory. In so far as it can be identified, most of the demesne land was near the village, and is the same ground as surveyed in 1700. Tenurial order. The compact demesne yardlands of 1422 show no evidence of a regular order, for instance that ofJohn Chycolot in Shotton Field had 16 neighbours, 8 ofthem metioned once, 5 twice, 1 three times and 1 four times. By contrast the yardland of Roger Page with its non-seignurial neighbours and single-rood, widely distributed parcels, shows a most remarkable regular order. There were 19 parcels for Shotton Field of which Henry Geest was always on the west and William Stevens' land laid on the west 16 times with the remaining 3 taken by William Lak. Thus the main part of the fields was likely to be of a regular order, supporting the evidence from the more decayed arrangement of 1671. The 1671 terrier describes 5 yardlands, listed mosdy as single small parcels (not blocks of 5 adjacent lands). The neighbour distribution indicates there was once a regular order, partly decayed. A full list offield orders is given for 15777• There were 30 sheep and 4 beast to the yardland. There was a neat's pasture called the Heye. The furlongs have been located from the combined evidence of the 1688 map, a terrier of 18468, a field-name map of 190 I, and a plan published showing the extent of leys9. The parish was enclosed by Parliamentary Act in 17801°. 1 Ancient Deeds 4, (1902) A5019, A5025. 2 The yardlands ofJohn Scotte and Roger Page; BL Cott. Vesp. E xvii, ff.183-4; ff.188-9. 3 Salisbury Dean and Chapter; NRO Acc. 1978/326; see also BL Cott. Calba E iii f.127. 4 NRO; 1671 copy ofrectorial glebe terrier (Salisbury); the enclosure Award (p. 94, see f.n.lO) makes the total 102.75 yardlands. 5 NRO IL 3702; NRO Map 1555. 6 BL Cott. Vesp E xvii ff.182-94. 7 Th 802; discussed in Hall Wol/aston 1977, pp. 144-151 . 8 NRO map 3588. 9 Hall Medinxd F~lds 1982, p. 36. 10 Act NRO YZ 7780; Award, Enclosure Enrolment Vol. I p. 93 (1781). Brockh~l M 1981 H F 1606 Brockhall parish included the two townships ofBrockhall and Muscott until the 19th century, when Muscott was transferred to Norton parish 1.