A HISTORY OF SUFFOLK 



Before him these parcels were in the hands of four different owners ; 

 two only, judging by the evidence of names, came to him in the ordinary 

 course of inheritance. 



Another owner, William Aimer, holds twelve separate parcels, of which 

 five are full yard-lands of i6 acres ; evidently in his case the accumulation of 

 property had begun in the preceding generation, for of his parcels five had 

 been taken over by his father from other men and passed on to him ; the 

 other seven he has himself acquired. 



The survey does not describe the constituent parts of the full yard-lands ; 

 of the remaining holdings two are small closes of 3 acres, rented one at jd. 

 and the other at \7.d. and a capon, the inclosure dating from 1547 at latest ; 

 another is described as ' 3 acres of the demesne, lying in the field in two 

 pieces.' Rents in kind are frequently mentioned ; a yard-land of the usual 

 extent pays 3J. \d., I lb. of pepper, and an arrow tipped with iron. By a survey 

 of the demesne of the same manor taken seven years later,'*^ it is clear that the 

 larger copyhold tenants of the earlier survey are in many cases also leasehold 

 tenants of the demesne on six-year leases ; their total holdings must thus 

 often have been of considerable size ; e.g. one George Taylor holds by copy 

 four full yards of 16 acres each, and also leases 37 acres of the demesne. 

 These last are made up of three closes of pasture, containing 10, 7, and 

 3 acres respectively, rented at \s. the acre ; a piece of meadow also rented at 

 4J-. the acre, and various pieces of arable in the field, i.e. a piece of 3 acres in 

 Bishopshall field at \s. 8^. the acre, and another piece of 5 acres in the same 

 field ; this description suggests that while the accumulation of J-acre strips 

 had in course of years resulted in pieces of 3 and 5 acres, these two pieces were 

 not contiguous, and would in time no doubt become two separate inclosures. 

 A comparison of land-rents at the close of the century between east and west 

 shows the rent of pasture uniformly 4;-., arable in the open field \s. %d. 

 in Lidgate, is. /\J. in Mettingham, meadow in Mettingham 6/. and 6/. Bd'., 

 in Lidgate 4J. an acre. 



Cullum's account of land values in the manor of Hawstead, near Bury 

 and in the corn-growing district, is valuable, as covering a larger number of 

 years than the surveys already quoted. In 1500," when the lands of the 

 manor were measured, none were let for more than is. td. an acre, pasture 

 and arable not distinguished in value. In 1536 arable was is. an acre, 

 meadow-land is. ^d. Fifty years later 40 acres of meadow and pasture were 

 worth 5J-. an acre, wheat was at 8j. a comb, barley at 6j-. 8^., rye 5J. The 

 increase still continued to be rapid. In 1603 ^°" Hawstead Hall, with 1 26 acres 

 of land, was let for ^^40 and 10 combs of wheat ; whereas in i 589 it had been 

 let for >C20 and 20 combs of wheat, 10 of oats, and 3 loads of wheat-straw. 

 In 1615,^°^ the houses, barns, and lands called Hawstead Park were let for 

 twelve years at the following rents : every acre of pasture not ploughed 9J., 

 every acre of meadow ijs., every acre of arable half the corn that should grow 

 on the same (after the first two years, 70 acres). In 1633 ^'" the rent of 

 pasture had risen to 13J. 8^/. an acre on a twenty-one years' lease. Various 

 clauses in the leases on this manor, cited by CuUum, throw an interesting 

 light on economic development.^*" 



"^ B.M. Add. MSS. 22058, fol. 42. " Cullum, Hut. o/Hawsted, 197. >* Ibid. 207. 



"' Ibid. 209. '" Ibid. 214. "» Ibid. 198. 



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