ASPECTS OF AGRARIAN SOCIETY IN BREWS MARSH, SOMERSET, 1500 - 1700 by Patricia EC ...

516 Pages·2008·22.25 MB·English

ASPECTS OF AGRARIAN SOCIETY
IN
1n1•110
BREWS MARSH, SOMERSET,
1500 - 1700
by
Patricia E.C. Croot
---z,
Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements
for the degree of Ph.D.
The University of Leeds
School of History
December 1981
Abstract
This study examines 16 adjacent parishes in the
Somerset Levels which illustrate important aspects of
agrarian history in the early modern period. Land
use in the Levels allowed a type of farming whereby
small farmers could produce a surplus and participate
in progressive, commercial farming, while the manorial
structure and the secure copyhold tenure aided the
tenants and supported the development of a group of
landholders living on rents and other unearned income.
Economic and tenurial independence, plus an absence
of resident gentry, produced a parallel independence
in religious and political thought and action.
The Introduction describes the settlements,
topography, markets, population, the distribution of
wealth, and non-agricultural occupations.
Chapter 2 considers the manorial structure and
landholders, the formation of sub-manors, customary
tenure, the level of fines, forfeiture, manor courts
and the position of manorial lords, and the increasing
use of copyholds as investments.
Land use and husbandry are then described,
including field systems, different types of husbandry
and the farming systems followed.
The incomes of small farmers are calculated;
commercial leasing, sub-letting, and incomes from rent
are considered, together with the role of small farmers
in the economy and in agricultural change.
Chapter 5 discusses the transmission of land and
goods through pre-mortem transfer, disposal of free
and copyhold land, and disposal of personal property
by will. The payment and economic effects of
legacies are also considered.
The position of women under both common law and
manorial custom is then treated, showing the
responsibility given to women as their husbands'
successors, financial advantages of marriage, women
In economic and social life, and the economic effects
of widow's right.
Chapter 7 describes the involvement of countrymen
in events of the 17th century, the growth of political
divisions in local society, the end of religious
uniformity, and the generation of deep commitments
which led to armed rebellion under Monmouth.
iv.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Maps and Tables V.

Acknowledgements vi.

List of Abbreviations vii.

Chapter 1 Introduction: Settlement,
Population and Wealth in Brent

1
Marsh
Chapter 2 Landownership, the Manorial
Structure and Copyholders 43
Chapter 3 Land Use and Husbandry in Brent
Marsh 117
Chapter 4 The Income of Small Farmers and
Landholders and their Involvement
in Commercial Farming 204
Chapter 5 The Transmission of Land and Goods
in Brent Marsh 256
Chapter 6 The Position of Women in Rural
Society 349
Chapter 7 The Political Outlook of Village
Society 395
Chapter 8 Conclusion 462
Appendix: Note on Probate Sources 494
Sources and Bibliography 497
V.
LIST OF MAPS AND TABLES
MAPS Page,
Map 1. Somerset with the Parishes of Brent Marsh viii
Map 2. Brent Marsh: Settlements and Moors ix
TABLES
1. Population Figures 479
2. Distribution of Taxable Wealth, 1524 480
3. Comparison of Wealth in Different Counties,
taken from the 1524 Subsidy 481
4. Breakdown of Poll Tax Payers, 1660 482
5. Occupational Structure 32
6. Ownership of Manors 46
7. Summary of Court Business 483
8. Acreage of Holdings of Each Tenant, E. Brent 106
9. Breakdown of Chancery Cases 484
10. Breakdown of Chancery Suits in Series
1558 to 1660 114
11. Land Quality in Brent Marsh Manors 485
12. John Westover's Farm Income, 1695/96 1+86
13. Tenements Let in 1645 234
14. Percentage of Wills to Adult Burials in
Wedmore 302
15. Occupations of Testators 487
16. Family Circumstances of Testators 488
17. Number and Percentage of Portions in Cash,
Goods and Land 489
18. Disposition of Residue and Executorship 490
19. Value of Cash Legacies in Leics. and Brent
Marsh 335
20. Legacies Specified for Investment 491
21. Number of Wives not Appointed Executor 356
22. Disposition of Residue in Leics. and
Somerset 357
23. Number of Male and Female Taxpayers 370
24. Remarriage of Widows 372
25. Number of Wills Used 492
26. Wedmore: Baptisms, Marriages, Burials 493
vi.
Acknowledgements
In addition to thanking my supervisor, Mr. G.C.F.
Forster, for his help and guidance, I would like to
thank the following for their kind assistance in
various ways: Dr. J. Broad, Dr. C.E. Challis, Dr.
R.W. Dunning, Editor of the Victoria History of
Somerset, Dr. P. Earle, Dr. P. Edwards, Professor
F.J. Fisher, Mr. D.D. Hebb, Canon P.M. Martin,
Chancellor of Wells, Dr. K.S.H. Wyndham.
vii.
LIST OF ABBRhVIATIONS
Add. Additional
AHEW, The Agrarian History of England
and Wales, vol. IV, 1500-1640
B.L. British Library
C.C.C. Oxford Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Cal. Corn. Comp. Calendar of Proceedings of the
Committee for Compounding
Cal. S.P.Dom. Calendar of State Papers Domestic
Cal. Treas. Calendar of Treasury Books
p • N B• Dic..tjo_naLy_RLyananalsj.2h_z
O
Eg. Egerton
Harl. Harleian
H.M.C. Historical Manuscripts Commission
0.E.D. Oxford English Dictionary
P.C.C. Prerogative Court of Canterbury
P.R.O. Public Record Office
psAs Proceedings of the Somerset
Archaeological Society
SDNQ Notes and Queries for Somerset
and Dorset
S.R.O. Somerset Record Office
S.R.S. Somerset Record Society
V.C.h. Som. History of the County
of Somerset
Dates,
Dates in the text are as given in the source, with the
addition of the modern year for dates between January 1st.
and March 24th. inclusive.
Note on Names
Names with an alias (e.g. Thomas Smith alias, Martin) are
almost solely found in Wedmore, and both surnames were
passed down several generations in this form until usually
one of the names was eventually dropped. There were
several family names of this type in Wedmore, spreading
into neighbouring parishes, but this peculiarity has not
been noted elsewhere in England as far as I know.
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MAP 2 BRENT MARSH: SETTLEMENTS and MOORS
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