38 ENGLISH FIELD SYSTEMS 



the holdings, two of which are said to have been virgates, lay 

 equally divided among three fields. Other Shropshire evidence, 

 not less convincing, is of a different nature. It appears inciden- 

 tally in a specification of boundaries that forms part of an 

 elaborate survey of Morffe forest made in the early seventeenth 

 century.' Morfle forest, which contained 3600 acres and was 

 divided into two manors known as Worfield Holme and Claverley 

 Holme, lay near the Severn, between that river and the Stafford- 

 shire boundary. Common rights within the forest resided in the 

 townships that bordered it. In assessing these rights the sur- 

 vey states the areas within each township that had valid claims, 

 noting which fields were arable. In several cases these fields 

 were three in number, and their comparatively large size and rela- 

 tively equal areas make it highly probable that they were in 

 each instance the three common fields of the hamlet in question. 

 The list is as follows: — 



Hamlet Areas in Acres of the Fields " common to " each Hamlet 



Bromley 104, 74, 106 



Swancote 34, 3°. 34 



Hoccum Lopp 25, 27, 41, with 15 other acres in two parcels 



Barnsley 31 (Windsor field), 5, 28, 2>3 



Roughton 119 (Anesdale field), 134, 103 



Wyken 49, 59, 49 



Dallicott 58, 32, 38 



Hopstone 20, 30, 58 (Ley field) 



34 (Snedwell), 50 (Middle field), 53 (Poole field) 



Aston 69, 48, 77 



A smaller number of the abutting townships possessed arable 

 fields less regular than those noted above. They belong to a 

 class, numerous in this region, which will be discussed later.^ If 

 we disregard this class, the foregoing list of fields seems confirma- 

 tory of the surveys, and taken in conjunction with them gives 



^ Land Rev., M. B. 203, ff. 305-327. 



^ Cf. pp. 93 sq., below. The hamlets bordering upon Morffe forest which had 

 irregular fields were as follows : — 



Hamlet Areas of the Fields in Acres 



Burcott 44 (Mill field), 24 (Woodcroft field), 23 (common to Burcott) 



70 (belonging to Burcott), 35 (belonging to Burcott) 



Mose 21 (Bass field), 103 (with 67 acres more) 



Sitchhouse 36, 44, 46, 13, 16 (" lately inclosed out of Clarely common field") 



Sutton 48 (Home field), 102 



Ludstone 43, 6, 48 



