Crisis and Development: An Ecological Case Study of the Forest of Arden 1570-1674

144 Pages·1978·4.17 MB·English

by  Victor Skipp

CRISIS AND DEVELOPMENT

CRISIS AND
DEVELOPMENT
AN ECOLOGICAL CASE STUDY OF
THE FOREST OF ARDEN
1570-1674
VICTOR SKIPP
Principal Lecturer in Environmental Studies,
Bordesley Department, Birmingham Polytechnic
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge
London New York Melbourne
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
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Cambridge University Press 1978
©
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions ofrelevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction ofa ny part may take place without the written
permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 1978
This digitally printed version 2008
catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library
A
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data
Skipp, Victor Henry Thomas.
Crisis and development.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Warwickshire, Eng. -Population -History.
2. Warwickshire, Eng. -Economic conditions. 3. War­
wickshire, Eng. -Social conditions. 4. England -
Population -History -Case studies. I. Title.
HB3586.W37S57 301.32'9'4 248 77-71426
ISBN 978-0-521-21660-9 hardback
ISBN 978-0-521-08850-3 paperback
To W. G. Hoskins
in gratitude for his writings

CONTENTS
List of figures page viii
List of tables x
Acknowledgements
xi
PART ONE: THE CONTEXT
1 The national background 3
2 The local setting 5
3 The ecological approach 9
PART TWO: THE CASE STUDY
4 The demographic crisis of 1613-19 13
5 Negative responses 39
6 The ecological problem 40
7 Positive responses: agrarian change 42
8 Positive responses: new employment openings 54
9 Model of demographic, economic and social
developments, 1575-1649 64
10 The new ecological regime, 1625-74 75
11 The social cost 78
PART THREE: IMPLICATIONS
12 General propositions 93
13 The 'General European Crisis' 99
14 The Civil War alignment 101
Appendix I The practice of birth control 111
Appendix II Estimates of population size 115
Notes 118
Index 128
FIGURES
l British Isles, long-term population trends page 3
2 Map: The five parishes -some of the main topographical
features, c. 1600 6
3 Selected demographic rates, 1575-1674 -Sheldon, Solihull
and Yardley 15
4 Number of reproducing surnames, 1560-1649 -Bickenhill,
Solihull and Yardley 16
5 Decadal totals of baptisms, marriages, burials and repro-
ducing surnames, l 540s to 167 0s - Solihull and Yardley 16
6 Map: Place of origin of 'foreigners' as recorded in the Solihull
parish register, 1599-1615 17
7 Balance between burials and live conceptions by harvest
year, 1590-1640 -combined figures for Bickenhill. Sheldon,
Solihull and Yardley 18
8 Balance between burials and live conceptions by harvest
year, 1590-162 5 -individual parishes 19
9 Burials by harvest year, 1600-20-Solihull, Yardley,
Sheldon and Bickenhill 21
10 Live conceptions by harvest year, 1600-20 -Solihull,
Yardley, Sheldon and Bickenhill 22
Age-specific marital fertility, 1525-1674 -Sheldon,
ll
Solihull and Yardley 24
12 Age-specific marital fertility in landed and landless
families, 1600-49 -Sheldon, Solihull and Yardley 27
13 The 1613-19 crisis: live conceptions in landed and landless
families whose childbearing span ran through the crisis period,
by harvest year -Solihull 29
14 The 1613-19 crisis: seasonal pattern of live conceptions by
harvest-year quarters -Solihull 30
15 The 1613-19 crisis: seasonal pattern of marriages by harvest-
year quarters -Solihull 31
16 The 1613-19 crisis: recorded deliveries and burials -
Solihull 32
17 Number of pauper burials related to harvest quality,
1596-1623 - Solihull 33
18 The 1613-19 crisis: seasonal pattern of pauper burials by
harvest-year quarters -Solihull 34
FIGURES
ix
19 The 1590s and the 1610s crises: pattern of 'sensitive'
burials - Solihull 36
20 Burials and live conceptions by haIVest year, 1590-1639
Bickenhill, Sheldon, Solihull and Yardley 38
21 Proportion of land used as arable, 1530-1689 45
22 Local and national price indices, 1530-1649 47
23 Land use, 1530-1729 48
24 Changes in the proportion of arable crops, 15 30 -1689 49
25 Changes in the composition of cattle herds, l 5 3 0-1689 50
26 Percentage of inventoried households with cheese and/or
cheese-making equipment, 55 0-16 74 51
l
27 Changes in secondary and primary land use, l 5 30 -1689 53
28 Named craftsmen, 1530-1719 56
29 Evidence relating to textile manufacture, 5 50-1649 58
l
30 Spread of metal crafts, 15 50-1649 60
31 Incidence of coal and grates, 1600-49 61
32 Distribution of house sizes, 1530-1649 62
33 Average house size -number of romso per house, 1550-1649 63
34 Model of demographic, economic and social developments
in five north Arden parishes, 1575-1649 66
35 Local price indices, 1530-1649 -and their relationship
to house size, the introduction of convertible husbandry
and the investment of risk capital 71
36 Burials and live.conceptions by haIVest year, 1640-89 -
Sheldon, Solihull and Yardley 76
37 The 'social pyramid' as indicated by the hearth tax returns
- Bickenhill, Sheldon, Solihull and Longdon 78
38 Number of months elapsing between the ultimate and pen-
ultimate births among women who married under 30 -
Colyton compared with Sheldon, Solihull and Yardley 114
TABLES
Demographic rates, 15 7 5-16 74 -Sheldon, Solihull and
Yardley page 14
II Age-specific marital fertility, 1575-1674 -Sheldon,
Solihull and Yardley 24
III Age-specific marital fertility in landed and landless
families, 1600-49 -Sheldon, Solihull and Yardley 26
IV Demographic rates in landed and landless families,
1560-1674 -Sheldon, Solihull and Yardley 28
Model farm economy, 1530-1689 44
v
VI Demographic rates of hearth tax categories -persons
marrying at Solihull and Yardley, 1650-74 85
VII Age-specific marital fetility related to age at marriage
-Colyton compared with Sheldon, Solihull and Yardley 112
VIII Mean age at the birth of the last child of women marrying
under and over the age of 30 -Colyton compared with
Sheldon, Solihull and Yardley 113
IX Mean last birth intervals (in months) -Colyton compared with
Sheldon, Solihull and Yardley 113
Population estimates from taxation lists and religious
x
surveys, with selected Cox estimates -Bickenhill,
Elmdon, Sheldon, Solihull and Yardley 116