22 A HISTORY OF GARDENING IN ENGLAND. 



another proof of the extent to which vines were cultivated. 

 The pruning of the vine took place in February. The picture 

 of vine pruners taken from an Anglo-Saxon MS. in the British 

 Museum, illustrates that month in the calendar. 



Necham devotes a chapter of his De Naturis Reriun, to the 

 vine, but he chiefly moralizes^ and does not treat his subject in 

 its practical sense. He tells us that in gathering grapes, having 

 reached the final row, the workers in the vineyard break into a 

 song of rejoicing, but, unfortunately, he does not satisfy our 

 curiosity by handing down the words of their chant. 



In Domesday Book, the " vinitor," or vine-dresser, is only 

 once mentioned, but some idea of the size of the vineyards 

 may be gathered from the survey, as about thirty-eight in many 

 different counties are described."^ They are usually measured 

 by " arpendi," the arpends being equal to about an acre, or 

 less. The largest was at Bitesham, in Berkshire, on the land 

 of Henry de Ferrieres, and covered twelve arpends. Some 

 vineyards were old, others but newly-planted, as at Westminster 

 four arpends are described as " vinese noviter plantatae," and at 

 Ware another vineyard as "nuperrime plantatse." Some of the 

 vineyards bore grapes, while others did not, and these are 

 distinguished as "vinese portantes," or " vine as non portantes."" 

 The quantity of wine yielded by a vineyard of six arpends in 

 Essex was as much as twenty " modii," or about forty gallons, 

 if the season was favourable. 



If England could boast of so many vineyards before the 

 Norman Conquest, it was only natural that the influx of 

 foreigners from a grape-growing countr}^ should infuse fresh 

 ardour into vine-culture, and monasteries, with Abbots or Priors 

 from the Continent, lost no time in improving the old and making 

 new vineyards on their lands. The name "vineyard " was often 

 retained long after the monks who planted it had passed away. 

 Thus " Vineyard," near Gloucester, described in Camdai's. 

 Britannia as the seat of the Bridgemans, " on a billet " to the 



* In Kent, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Gloucester, Berkshire, Hertford,. 

 Essex, Norfoli<, Suffolk, &c. 



A General Infrodiiction to Domesday Book, by Sir Henry Ellis, 1816, p. 37. 



