THE EAST ANGLIAN SYSTEM 325 



fields of Norfolk was not necessarily indicative of a three-field 

 system. On the contrary, it proved feasible to till parcels con- 

 centrated in one part of the open field in such a manner as to 

 allot one-third of them to winter corn, one-third to spring corn, 

 and to leave one-third fallow. Under these circumstances each 

 third naturally consisted, as far as possible, of neighboring 

 parcels. It may seem, however, that the introduction in the 

 same year of two crops and a fallow within a limited portion of 

 the township's arable was a retrogression from the principles of 

 the midland system; that the obvious convenience of the large and 

 simple divisions of that arrangement was sacrificed, inasmuch as 

 a compact fallow field for the pasturage of sheep and cattle 

 thus became impossible in East Anglia. Such questionings are 

 pertinent and bring us to a new aspect of the subject, namely, 

 the provision made for the pasture of cattle and sheep in East 

 Anglian fields. 



Certain items regarding Weasenham may serve as introduc- 

 tion. The map of 1600, and still better that of 1726-28, show 

 two large " sheep's courses " distinct from the open fields, one 

 appertaining to the manors of Kipton and Northall, the other 

 to the manor of Easthall.^ Relative to the open strips them- 

 selves the schedule accompanying the later map gives informa- 

 tion. Apart from 717 acres of "break" (the former sheep's 

 course of Northall and Kipton), the largest of Sir Thomas Coke's 

 farms comprised arable land described as follows : — 



" Subject to its own flock and including whole year grounds, 

 265 acres, 

 Subject to the flock of Easthall, 56 acres, 

 and to Lord Townshends [flock] in Little Raynham and 

 Martin Raynham, 42 acres." 

 From this it appears that the sheep within a township fell into 

 flocks, each manor having its own flock. Any particular parcel 

 of open-field arable was " subject " to a certain flock, perhaps 

 not to that of the proprietor of the land in question. Pasturage 

 arrangements were not devised with a view to the township as a 

 whole, as in a midland village, where rights of pasturage over 



1 Cf. above, p. 322. 



