T02 Population. [ch. 



after 1400 the site of the former dwelling was conveyed as a ' croft' 

 or * pightle ' or in some cases was not distinguished from arable land. 

 The history of tenement Warde may probably be regarded as 

 typical of the history of these 34 tenements. By 1376 this tenement 

 had reverted to the lord, had been let by him at a money rent, 

 and the tenemental services were no longer rendered. The tene- 

 mental name appears in the rolls from time to time in the lists of 

 tenements annually chosen to fill the manorial offices ^ It appears 

 also in the surveyor's list of 122 tenements, but the lands of the 

 tenement have not been identified by the surveyor, nor is the 

 tenemental name mentioned in any conveyance in connection either 

 with land or with messuage. The land of which the tenement was 

 composed was doubtless conveyed merely as ' bond land^.' The 

 messuage, it seems probable, had already fallen into decay, and in 

 the later conveyances it was either not distinguished from arable 

 or was conveyed simply as a pightle or croft. 



From all the obtainable evidence relative to dwellings held of 

 Forncett manor by bond tenure, we conclude that some 57 were 

 standing in 1565, while at the same date the vacant dwelling sites 

 of this tenure numbered J%. 



For information regarding messuages held by free tenure, the 

 Survey of 1565 is practically the only source. According to the 

 Survey, 36 rnessiiagia and messuagia aedificata and eight messuagia 

 vacua were held of Forncett manor freely in 1 565 ; of soiled messuages, 

 the surveyor described 12 as messuagia or messuagia aedificata, and 

 only one as vacuum. But it is probable that these figures are not at 

 all trustworthy as showing the actual proportion between ' built ' 

 and ' vacant ' sites. The surveyor would certainly be much more 

 likely to omit the recording of vacant sites as such, than of dwellings, 

 and in the case of messuages held freely or by ' soiled ' tenure there 

 are not the means of checking his omissions that exist in the 

 case of bond messuages. Very little weight, therefore, should be 

 assigned to these numbers. 



It is well known that the literature of the sixteenth century and 

 the Rolls of Parliament contain many complaints relative to the 



1 Whenever in the fifteenth or sixteenth centuries this tenement was elected to some 

 manorial office, it was said to be ' in the lord's hands, ' — a phrase which in this connection 

 appears to mean that the tenement, having reverted to the lord, and having been let by him 

 at a new tenure, was no longer subject to the old obligations to fill the manorial offices. 



2 In this connection it must be explained that in both conveyances and Survey, a 

 considerable total acreage is described simply as 'bond land' {terra nativa), i.e. it is not 

 distinguished as pertaining to any tenement. This land is doubtless to be identified with 

 the land of those tenements the names of which do not appear in the conveyances or in the 

 descriptive portion of the Survey, although they are given in the list of tenements. 



