1 68 THE RED DEER OF EXMOOR. 



and serfs, and also an estimate of the cultivated 

 land and the number of plough teams. 



It might be supposed that from this it would be 

 possible easily to arrive at an actual acreage, and 

 also at the number of inhabitants, but that is not so. 

 The survey was made for the purposes of taxation 

 only, and the estimate of area in hides and carucates, 

 &c., is merely an assessment, a basis of taxation, 

 while all non-taxable lands, such as royal demesnes 

 and other holdings, are omitted. 



What we can arrive at safely is the conclusion that 

 every portion of the country round Exmoor was the 

 subject of ownership, and was in more or less effective 

 occupation. The list of manors shows the existence 

 of every modern village and also of a great number 

 of the small hamlets and outlying farms. 



The Pleas of the Forest contain lists of verderers, 

 jurors, and other persons with their residences, and 

 from them we can identify a great proportion of the 

 names. There are about 140 different place names, 

 mostly villages and farms; of these 105 are well 

 known to-day, and probably most of the others could 

 be identified with a little research. 



Although one cannot expect to make anything 

 like an accurate estimate of the total number of 

 inhabitants of the district, we can gain some insight 

 from Doomsday into the distribution of population. 

 At Doverhay, for instance, there were, according to 

 the Exeter copy of the Doomsday Survey, a manor- 

 house — now restored by Mr. Chadwyck Healey, K.C., 



