THE LOWER THAMES BASIN 2>77 



village situated in the midland plain appears to have had three 

 fields. In 1297 the demesne lands at Norton were so grouped 

 for a three-course husbandry that the totals by " seasons " 

 amounted to 64, 68, and 66 acres; ^ and the assignment of this 

 demesne to such areas as Westfeld, Neitherwestfeld, and Stoke- 

 feld renders it likely that open field is referred to. 



At Kensworth, however, which lies on the crest of the hills, the 

 existence of a similar situation at an early time is less credible. 

 A lease from there, dated 1152, provides, to be sure, that on its 

 expiration the lessee '' reddit eis [canonicis Sancti Pauli] totum 

 bladum Ixx acrarum de hiemali blado seminatorum et similiter 

 totum bladum Ixx acrarum de vernaH blado seminatorum et 

 quatuor xx acras warectetas." ^ There is, however, nothing to 

 show that these acres, which were probably demesne,^ lay in 

 three common fields. Indeed, certain later evidence tells against 

 the existence of such fields at Kensworth; for terriers of several 

 freeholds and copyholds of the time of Henry VII, one of 

 which describes a half-virgate, show no three-field grouping of 

 parcels.^ 



1 " Ad seysinam unam pertinent in campo qui vocatur Neitherwestfeld xxiv 



acre terre arabilis et in bokefeld continentur xl acre 



ad secundam seysinam pertinent in stokefeld xxxvii acre, in Cellenelond 



XV acre, in Sondishot xiv acre, in Lepescroft ii acre 



ad tertiam seysinam pertinent in Westfeld xxiii acre, xxxiv acre, i acra, et 



viii acre " (MSS. of the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's, Lib. I, f. 150). 



2 Ibid., Lib. L, W. D. 4, f. 35. 



' At so early a date only demesne acres would be leased. 



^ Of the six larger copyholds three are summarized in the following table (from 



MSS. of St. Paul's, Press A, Box 62). The fourth description shows that the 



freeholds were not dissimilar to the copyholds: — 



" Thomas Albright senior tenet unum mesuagium et xii acras unam rodam terre 



ac libertatem bosci pertinentem ad dimidiam virgatam terre, 



iii acras, scilicet, iacentes eidem mesuagio iuxta Basse Croft 

 iii acras abuttantes in dictum Wodgrove 

 iii acras iacentes super Stokkyng hille 



i acram iacentem apud longemere 

 iii rodas iacentes super le lynches super Stokynghill 



i acram extendentem ad Croucheway 

 dimidiam acram in eadem cultura abuttantem super eandem viam. 



" John Ellam tenet unum toftum et xxiii acras terre arabilis, [scilicet], 



X acre iacentes inter terram Thomam Albright et terram . . . 

 vii acras super Blakehill . . . 

 vi acras iuxta le Kensworth down. 



