of 



n 



By Mrs. KING WARRY. 



C Read ISth Feb., 1909.) 



CONSIDERABLE interest is attached to the old-time 

 Portland belief in the non-existence of peasantry 

 amongst the islanders, coupled with the claims of 

 superiority of descent as regards freedom, &c. 

 We are not here immediately concerned with the 

 accuracy or inaccuracy of this belief, but merely 

 enquiring into its origin, as being a subject which 

 may, perhaps, bear investigation, though a certain 

 amount of complication is inevitable in considering these early 

 periods. By studying Professor Vinogradoffs "Growth of the 

 Manor," we may, however, justify this statement in part, if not 

 wholly. 



We will first consider a few points with regard to Celtic 

 landholding, the manner of which seems well known, set forth 

 by the " comparative " method of enquiry, the Welsh surveys 

 also helping considerably to elucidate the past. It must be 

 remembered there is evidence to show that as late as the time of 

 Alfred the Great even Somerset, Dorset, and Wiltshire formed 

 part of West Wales, thus conclusively proving the strength of 



