THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF A 

 NORFOLK MANOR, 1086-1565. 



CHAPTER I. 



AN ELIZABETHAN SURVEY AND DOMESDAY BOOK. 



The parishes of Forncett St Mary and Forncett St Peter lie in 

 the county of Norfolk, hundred of Depwade, some twelve miles 

 south-west of Norwich. 



It is the purpose of this book to give such information regarding 

 economic conditions in the vill and manor of Forncett to about 1565 

 as can be gathered from the extant records relating to the manors 



The first chapter is based on an examination of two records — 

 a Survey of Forncett^, drawn up in 1565, and Domesday Book, in so 

 far as it directly relates to Forncett. Five subjects are considered : 



1. The topography of Forncett vill (p. 2). 



2. The territorial development of Forncett manor (p. 8). 



3. The distribution of homesteads considered in relation to the 

 tenures by which they were held (p. 13). 



4. The extent of land in Forncett vill held of Forncett manor by 

 each kind of tenure (p. 15). 



5. The bond tenements (p. 17). 



^ A list of the more important of these documents, up to 1565, is given in 

 Appendix I. 



2 For purposes of description, the Surveyor divided each of the Forncett parishes into a 

 number of precincts ; that is, tracts of land generally clearly defined by natural boundaries 

 or roads. He first described the bounds of a precinct, next the bounds of a furlong within 

 that precinct, and then each strip within the furlong, giving the name of the holder, the 

 tenure, and acreage of the strip. Besides the survey of the vill of Forncett, the book 

 contains a partial survey of the vill of Aslacton, much of which was included in Forncett 

 manor. These surveys proper are followed by a list of the tenants of Forncett manor and 

 by a full description of the lands held of that manor by each tenant ; last comes a list of the 

 ' tenements ' of the manor. In the case of some of these the Surveyor named the tenants 

 who, in 1565, held the strips of which the tenement was composed; other tenements he was 

 unable to identify. 



From the Survey, the map of Forncett vill has been constructed. Precincts are indicated 

 on the map by Roman numerals, furlongs by Arabic numerals. The separate strips are 



D. I 



