215 



THE COMMON FIELDS 



AT UPTON SAINT LEONARD'S 



AND THE RECENT INCLOSURE (1897), 



BY 



REV. CANON E. C. SCOBELL. 



(Read November 14, 1899) 



In the parish of Upton St. Leonard's, near Gloucester, 

 an event has occurred of considerable moment, not only 

 on account of its effect on the present and the future, but 

 because a system of remote antiquity has locally ceased 

 to exist. AH connection with the land customs of early 

 times has come to an end. The future is severed from 

 the past. One of the last instances of the ancient system 

 of land tenure, as shown in the " Common Fields," is no 

 more. 



In treating this intricate subject it must at the outset 

 be confessed that it is not easy, perhaps not possible, to 

 satisfactorily describe the origin of this system, for those 

 who have made a special study of the subject hold different 

 views. 



One theory, which may be described as " legal," supposes 

 that rights in the Common Fields grew out of grants made 

 subsequent to the Norman Conquest. "As the Lord of 

 the Manor is the absolute lord of the soil in his manor, 



