A HISTORY OF DURHAM 



do 3 boon-days in the autumn with the entire house- 

 hold except the housewife and a fourth boon-day 

 with 2 men and in their work they used to mow 

 the meadows and to lift and cart the hay and to 

 reap all the corn and cart it in like manner in 

 their work, and outside their work to plough for 

 every plough 2 acres of oats and to harrow it 

 and then once to have a dole. And in their 

 work they used to make a house 40 feet in length 

 and 15 feet in breadth and carry loads by horse 

 and cart like the villeins of Boldon, and when- 

 ever they reaped the corn and mowed the 

 meadows and did boon-days they used to have a 

 dole. Further they used to render 9 shillings 

 of cornage and i milch cow l and for every 

 bovate i hen and 10 eggs. And in their work 

 they used to make 3 fisheries on the Tyne. The 

 prior of Guisboro' * holds 2 bovates and I fishery 

 there of the bishop's alms. Gerard the reeve 

 holds 24 acres for his service and those 24 acres 

 used to render 21 shillings. The mill used to 

 render 4 marks, the fishery 3 pounds, 8 and the 

 demesne of 4* ploughs was then in the hand of 

 the bishop. But now the aforesaid manor of 

 Whickham is at farm with the demesne and 

 the villeins and the mill and with the stock of 

 2 ploughs and 2 harrows and 20 chalders of oats 

 by the bishop's measure and with the fishery, and 

 it renders 26 pounds and it does carting from 

 Gatesheued [Gateshead] to Durham and from 

 Gateshead to Bedlyngton [Bedlington], and in 

 the farm 2 pence are reckoned for every horse, 

 and they cart one tun of wine. The pinder of 

 Whickham holds 6 acres and he has thraves like 

 the others and renders 60 hens and 300 eggs. 

 And the 35 villeins render 35 hens and 350 

 eggs. 



The land of SUALWELS [Swallwells] renders 

 1 6 shillings. 



William son of Arnold renders i mark for a 

 certain assart of 16 acres. 



Eudo of Lucelles holds in FARNACRES [Farn- 

 acres] i carucate of 120 acres for the tenth part 

 of the fee of one knight. Robert de Yolton 

 holds the land which used to belong to the 

 hermit on the Derwent and renders i besant or 

 2 shillings.' 



1 Stowe MS. : ' marcam ' for ' vaccam.' 

 * A : Brinkburn. 



I A : 3 marks. 

 *A: 2. 



II Land of this sort was generally granted from the 

 bishop's demesne, but the nature of the hermit's 

 tenure seems doubtful. The case came up early in 

 the thirteenth century in connexion with the aliena- 

 tion to the prior of Durham of land which a hermit 

 had held by the charter of bishop Pudsey. A monk 

 testified that the right to alien was in the terms of 

 the gift. The sub-prior, who said that he had seen 

 a papal confirmation of Pudsey's charter, declared that 

 the tenement contained about fifty acres, cut out of 

 the bishop's forest. Attestaciones Testium, etc. in 

 FeoJarium, pp. 240, 244, 277, 279, 280, 301. 



The men of Ryton hold the vill of RITONA 

 [Ryton] at farm with the demesne and the 

 assize rents and the mill and the services with 

 the stock of i plough and i harrow and 20 chalders 

 of oats at the bishop's measure and with the 

 fishery, and they render 14 pounds and they 

 carry loads as they of Whickham, and with 

 Craucrok [Craucrook] they carry one tun of 

 wine. The pinder holds 5 acres and has thraves 

 as the others and renders 30 hens and 300 eggs. 

 And the villeins of the same vill 24 hens and 

 200 eggs. 



CRAUCROK [Craucrook] is at farm with the 

 villeins and the demesne 6 with a stock of i plough 

 and i harrow and renders beyond the assize rents 

 1 6 J marks, and renders of assize rents 4^ marks, 

 and i milch cow and 14 chalders of malt and 

 the same of flour and the same of oats and 

 I castleman, and carts with Ryton one tun of 

 wine. 



The son of William the moneyer holds 

 STELYNGLEYE [Stella] according to (per) the just 

 bounds which the bishop caused to be peram- 

 bulated for him, and renders i mark for the land 

 which used to belong to Meldred son of Dolfin. 

 WYNLAKTONA [Winlaton] and BERLEIA [Bar- 

 low] are at farm with the demesne and the villeins 

 without stock and they render 1 5 pounds. They 

 mow the meadows for 2 days, every one with 

 one man and then they have a dole, and they 

 lift the hay and cart it for i day. The marsh, 

 meadow, and woodland (nemus) are in the hand 

 of the bishop. The mill renders 5J marks.7 



SUNDERLAND [Sunderland] is at farm and 

 renders 100 shillings. Roger de Audry renders 

 for the millpond established on the land of Sun- 

 derland i mark. 



WIVESTONA [Weston] is at farm with the 

 demesne and the mill and the villeins and the 

 services with a stock of 2 ploughs and 2 harrows 

 and renders 12 marks. 



NEUSOM [Newsham] renders 10 pounds. 

 BEREFORD [Barford] renders 3 marks. Luke 

 of Barford renders 3 shillings. Aldred Boner of 

 the same vill renders 2 shillings of rent and 

 7 pence of cornage. 



MAGNA USEWORTH [Great Usworth] renders 

 30 shillings of cornage and i milch cow and 

 I castleman and 8 scotchalders of malt and the 

 same of meal and the same of oats ; and every 

 plough-land, except the demesne, ploughs and 



Tenure of this sort would seem to have been a 

 mode of alms. The tenant had the obligation ' pro 

 se et universis Christi fidelibus preces effundere.' In 

 France many towns maintained a sort of professional 

 hermit, and the position seems to have been much 

 sought after. See Ch. Boudet, Documents inlJits sur 

 let Recluseries au Moyen 2ge ; Aurillac, 1902 (Ex- 

 trait de la Revue de la Haute Auvergne) and Biblio- 

 theque de 1'ficole des Chartes, Ixiv. 384-386. (May- 

 Aug. 1903). 



' A. adds and the mill. 7 Stowe MS. omits. 



336 



