68 ENGLISH FIELD SYSTEMS 



Item de mcdictatc unius virgate tcrre quam idem Willielmus 

 tenet in Tonstalltield et de quodam furlongo in Horsecroft 



Et de una landa terre vocata Longelane in Horsecroft tertiam 

 garbam. ..." 



This description is not entirely lucid. It seems, however, to refer 

 to a single half- virgate, since '' dicte medietatis " joins the lands 

 in Middle field with those in MuUe field. If so, the half-virgate 

 lay in the same three fields as the demesne lands from which 

 tithes were due, with apparently something in addition in Marie- 

 brook furlong. Such duplication of three fields in the two 

 descriptions goes far to stamp the township as one in which a 

 three-field system prevailed. 



The Shropshire feet of fines occasionally transfer virgates or 

 parts of them. At Darliston the third part of a virgate and four 

 acres were described as " vi acras versus He the, vi acras versus 

 Pres, vi acras versus Sanford, et vi acras de essarto sub North- 

 wude." * This enumeration wears the aspect of four fields rather 

 than three. Yet it is noteworthy that the three names used to 

 indicate directions are those of townships near by, and this makes 

 it probable that the first three groups of acres may have been 

 situated one in each of three open arable fields. Inasmuch as the 

 fourth group of six acres formed part of an assart, it perhaps 

 represents an early addition to the three original fields. Less 

 irregular was the fourth part of a virgate at Romsley. It com- 

 prised " in campo qui vocatur Sandstiele vi acras et in campo 

 qui vocatur Eastfeld viii acras . . . et in campo qui vocatur 

 Coldray viii acras et mesuagium quod fuit Roberti Clerenbald." ^ 

 This is the normal virgate terrier of a three-field township, with 

 nothing unusual except perhaps the names of the fields. In 

 neither of these western counties, however, were the field names 

 so direct and simple as in the midlands. They were particularly 

 awkward at The Last. Here a half-virgate disposed its acres so 

 that there were " undecim in campo versus gravam de Lastes, 

 septem in campo versus crucem de Lastes, et novem in campo 

 versus Chetone." ^ Such a relatively equal division of acres 



• Ped. Fin., 193-2-10, i John. ' Ibid., 193-3-79, 21 Hen. III. 



* Ibid., 193-2-38, I John. 



