VERWOOD COTTAGES 287 



moorland enclosures, the tenants paying a rent of 

 10s., and getting the land into cultivation with the 

 understanding that the rent will not be raised. 

 The average rent per acre of good land is l. A 

 seventy years' lease is granted to anyone wishing to 

 build, under the following conditions : 



No cottage to have less than three bedrooms. If 

 built of * mud,' there must be a brick or stone 

 foundation not less than 12 inches above the 

 ground. The rooms on the ground-floor to be not 

 less than 8 feet high, and on the bedroom-floor not 

 less than 7 feet. 



The houses put up by the people themselves are 

 nearly all ' mud ' i.e., a stone and clay mixture 

 commonly used for building in the district. A 

 house with the accommodation mentioned in the 

 conditions of the lease would cost about 70 to 80, 

 if the materials can be dug on the spot and the 

 man contributes his own labour and carting. In 

 nearly every case the smaller men have put up 

 their own cottages. 



Character of Holdings. 



The holdings are all much of the same kind, 

 situated round the edge of the commons, where 

 the animals are turned out to graze. This enables 

 the few acres of pasture to be all shut up for hay. 

 As a rule, two or three cows are kept, and a large 

 number of pigs and poultry. Sufficient corn and 

 roots are grown for food and litter for the stock, 

 and the rest of the ground will be given up to 



