AUGUST 



Aug. T AM MAS DAY rouses in me all the anta- 

 ! 1 ^ gonism to our modern land tenure of 

 which my disposition is capable. A feature which 

 was once so prominent in village life and is now 

 non-existent was the possession by the people of 

 large tracts of land held in common. From Lam- 

 mas or from Michaelmas to Lady Day these tracts 

 practically belonged to the villager. We have in 

 this parish various large portions of waste and 

 marsh lands which at one time formed part of 

 a great public property. Even so recently as the 

 year 1550 a Survey of the parish recites the 

 boundaries of extensive heaths and commons on 

 which parishioners were entitled to pasture their 

 cattle ; but it is probable that these rights of 

 "free communication" had in some degree lapsed 

 before the lands were enclosed and appropriated 

 by the lord of the manor in 1820. In Saxon days, 

 however, they must have formed a considerable 

 portion of the whole parish. 



Though the point has never been clearly set at 

 rest, it is justifiable to believe that at the periods 

 of the early settlements of our country a large 

 proportion of the land belonged to the people. 



137 



