Kentish Weald
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LITTLE CHART PLUCKLEY BRENCHLEY 1639 1626 240 ACRES (ADDITIONS OF /763,1767 680 ACRES 8 /798 OMITTED) APPLEDORE 1628 556 ACRES FIELD PATTERNS IN THE KENTISH WEALD UI LC u nmappad HORSMONDEN. NORTH LAMBERHURST AND WEST GOUDHURST 1675 1175 ACRES SUTTON VALENCE 119 ACRES c1650 WEST PECKHAM &HADLOW 1621 c400 ACRES • F. II. 'educed from orivinals on va-i us scalP5( 7 k0. U 1I IP 3;17 1('r 2; U I2r/P 42*U T 1C/P I;U 27VP 1; 1 /7p T ) . mhe form-1 re re cc&— t'on of woodl and blockc ha c been sta dardised;the trees alotw the field marr'ns hie been exactly conieda-3 on the 7o-cc..onen mar ar mar1n'ts;(1) on Vh c. c'utton vPlence map is a divided fi cld cP11 (-1 in thP ace unt 'five pieces of 1Pnii. THE WALDEN LANDSCAPE IN THE EARLY SEVENTEENTH CENTERS AND ITS ANTECELENTS Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of London by John Louis Mnkk Gulley 1960 ABSTRACT This study attempts to describe the historical geography of a confined region, the Weald, before 1650 on the basis of factual research; it is also a methodological experiment, since the results are organised in a consistently retrospective sequence. After defining the region and surveying its regional geography at the beginning of the seventeenth century, the antecedents and origins of various elements in the landscape-woodlands, parks, settlement and field patterns, industry and towns - are sought by retrospective enquiry. At two stages in this sequence the regional geography at a particular period (the early fourteenth century, 1086) is , outlined, so that the interconnections between the different elements in the region should not be forgotten. The earliest source material used for original investigation is Anglo-Saxon charters but, to complete the methodological structure, the inquiry is pursued (by summarising the research of others) to the first agricultural settlement of the area, ending with a description of the natural landscape which these first colonists saw. CONTENTS EMI!. Prolegomena on method. 8-15 I The 1171. 16-22 Early references 16, the boundary 18. II The Wealden landscape in the early seventeenth century 23-228 (i) The Natural setting 23-47 RAMA!. Law Weald 23, High Weald 24. b Climate and water supply. Climate 26, water supply 28. (c) Geology and soils. GI:elegy Low Weald 31; moils- High Weald 42. (ii) Timber and its exploitation. 48-60 Woodlands and planting 48, industrial demand 51, export 57, marketing 48. (iii)Parks. 61-79 Size and number 61, deer and conies 63, timber 65, agriculture 68, disparking 70, imparking 72, forests 75. (iv) Enclosed arable and pasture. 80-89 Field size 80, field boundaries 82, sub- division 85, amalgamation 87, encroachments 88. (v) Meadows. 90-95 Marsh pastures 90, meadow 92, irrigated meadow 93. (vi) Common pasture 96-104 Extent and distribution 96, regulation of common grazing 99, Ashdown 102. (vii) The assault en the commons. 105-14 Occurence 105, by individual tenants 108, by tenant groups or landlords 109 9 Ashdown III, reversion 113. (viii)Walden farming, crops and animals 115-28 Cattle 115, sheep 118 9 grains 120, ley husbandry 122, tillage and rotations in Lew Weald 123 9 in High Weald 125 9 grain sales 126, grain shortages 127. (ix) Orchards and hopgardens. 129-33 Orchards 129 9 eider 131 9 hops 132. (x) Improvement and reclamation. 134-52 Organic manure 134, Gervase Markham on marl 135, other writings on marl 138, nature of marl 140, ladhurst clay 143, ether formations 146, chalk and liming 149, denshiring 151. 153-61 )< (xi) Farm units. (a) Size. Manorial units 153, four major farm sizes 155. (b) Compactness. 159. (xii)RMral settlement. 162-83 Settlement pattern. 162 b Houses and the Great Rebuilding Plan of new buildings 163, alteration of existing houses 165, changes of ground-plan 167, cottages 169, building materials 170, cause of rebuilding 181* (xiii)Population. 184-88 Growth 184, plague 185, immigration 186, mobility 187. (xiv) Industry. 189.211 Iron 189, glass 201, cloth 204. (xv) Markets, towns and communications. 212-25 . Markets 212, fairs 213, urban crafts 215, types of road 217, deterioration 218, water transport 222, ports 223, fishing and trade 224. (xvi) Conclusion 226-8 III Late Medieval Changes 229-293 (i) Timber utilization 229-40 Early C 16 legislation 229, industrial demand 230, export early C 16 232, conservation 233, monastic wood and small sales 234; C 15 demands of industry and building 235, extent and variations of selling 236, export 239* (ii) Changing area and functions of parkland. 240-47 Disparking late C 16 240, early C 16 conditions 242, parka C 15 and late C 14 244. (iii) Commonlands 247-51 Encroachment 247, types of grazing 248, regulation of grazing 249. (10 Animal husbandry 252-59 Stable role of cattle and sheep 252, changes of swine 254, sale of animal products 258. (v) Arable. 259-67 gisatilli ;;WAYS/II&Ar of arab" (vi) Orchards and vineyards 267-68 Cider and orchards 267, vines and hops 268. (vii) The precedents of the Great Rebuilding and the 269-71 lealden hallhouse. Beginnings of new plans 269, the hall house 272, variations in building materials 274. (viii) Technical changes and industrial expansion. 275-84 Expansion of ironworking early C 16 275, tw• original centres 277; early C 16 decline of cloth output 279, C 15 heyday of cloth pro- duction 280; glass 283. (ix) Towns and communications. 284-92 Markets 284, ;astern ports 286, roads 290. (x) Conclusion. 293 TV The Wealden landscape in the early fourteenth century 294-387 (1 ) The Black Death: the arrest of early medieval expansion. 294-98 (ii) Woodland. 298-307 Extent 298, demands of royal works 300, ether demands 301, export 302, customary regulation of felling 304. (iii) Parklands. 307-19 'Forest' and chace 307, park and warren 310, expansion of parks and warrens 312, deer and conies 314, pasture 315, timber 318, tillage 318, industry 319. (iv) Pasturelands. 319-27 Commonlands 319. b Enclosed pastures 322. e Meadowland and marsh pasture 324. (v) Animal husbandry. 327-36 Sheep 327, wool 329, cattle 330, swine 331. (vi) Arable husbandry 337-48 Grains 337, legumes 339, fallowing and rotations 340, variations of land quality 342, manure and marl 343, asserting 344, reversion 345. (vii) Orchards and vineyards. 348-51 (viii) Field pattern and farm units 351-58 Field boundaries 351, size of fields 332, ' internal division 313 size of holdings 355, compactness or subdivision of farm and estate 356. (ix) Transport services. 358-64 Existence in Kant 358, Sussex 360, goods carried 361, two major types of transport 363. (x) Rural settlement. 364-74 (a) Settlement pattern. Dispersion and its causes. 364. House types. Ball house 367, smaller houses 369. (c) Building materials. Timber, wattle and daub 369, local stone 371, imported stone 372, roofing materials 373. (xi) Industrial activity. 37549 Iron 375, glass 376. cloth 377, tanning and pottery 378, salt 379. (xii) Towns and markets. 379.432 Spread of markets and fairs 379, urban beginnings 381, ports 381. (xiii) Communications. 383-86 Roads 383, rivers 386. (xiv) Conclusion. 387 ir Early Medieval changes. 388-422 (i) Timber and parkland. 388-96 Commercial sales 388, customary felling. 390, C 12 timber castles 391; parkland and free warren C 13 392, hunting in C 12 394. (ii) Colonisation and arable farming 396-403 C 13 assarting 396, beginnings of permanent agri- culture 399, marling 400, ordhards and vineyards 400; *C 12 assarting 401. Influence of population growth and gavelkild 402. (iii) Pasturelands and arable husbandry. 403-12 General: pastures and stock 403. b Swine and swine pastures. 405-C 13 separation of parent manor and amine pasture 405, Weaver and danger as indices of former swine crazing 406, summer- houses and drove-deans 409, swine numbers 410. (iv) Industry. 413-15 Iron 413, glass 414, cloth and salt 415. (v) Transport and urban centres. 416-21 Traffic 416, import of building materials 417, population mobility 417, markets 418, urban growth 419, eastern ports 419. (vi) Conclusion. 44-11 VI The Walden landscape in 1086 423-36 Settlement 423, woodland and swine grazing 427, arable and pasture 432, parks 434, mills saltpans and fisheries 435, post-Conquest devastation 436. VII Pre-Conquest colonisation and settlement in the Weald 437-487 (i) Anglo -Saxon. 437-469 (a) Spread of cultivation and permanent settlement. Charter evidence 437, place-name evidence 442. (b) Swine pastures. Nemler of swine 446, nature of pastures 449, location of pastures 450, swine-pastures of estates according to charters 452, according to place names and parish boundaries 457, droving 458, common grazing as the earliest form 461. (c) The beginnings of Dark Age settlement. Initial penetration 465, origin of invaders 467, denns imported or indigenous? 468. (ii) Raman and prehistoric occupation 469-487 (a) Roman. End of Roman occupation 469, Roman roads 470, bloameries 475, forts and building 476, villas and agriculture 478 1 the ingum 480. (b) Prehistoric. Iron Age trackways 481, bloomeries 482, agriculture and camps 483; course of Iron AAA colonisation 484; Bronze Age 485; Neolithic 487. VIII The Wealden Uklandschaft. 488-92 (1) Vegetation 488-92 Tree vegetation 488, heathland and moor 490. (ii) The Land. 492-500 Postglacial alluviun 492, periglacial forms 495, erosion surfaces 494, drainage 498. p..ex 1. Early county maps including parts of the Weald. 501-03 11. (a) Problems in analysing the Inauisitiones Nonarum. 504-07 (b) Calculations of decline and growth 1291-1341 597-10 111.Construction of churches. 511-17 IV.