458 APPENDIX VI. TITHES 



Middlesex. Tithe taken in kind, or annually compounded for ; some 

 parishes pay a modus. 



Northants. Enclosed land generally tithe free. Average of tithes reckoned 

 at from 3s. to 3s. 6d. per acre over the whole open-field farm, including the 

 portion which is annually fallowed. The loss to the occupier, if tithe taken 

 in kind, estimated at 5s. to 6s. per acre. 



Notts. Tithes taken in kind, or compounded for : in new enclosures, land 

 generally allotted in lieu of tithe : moduses charged on particular products ; 

 lands originally belonging to religious houses generally tithe-free. 



Oxford. Tithe averages Jth of rent : on enclosures |th of arable and th of 

 pasture allotted in lieu. 



Rutland. One- third of the land subject to tii|ies : on enclosures th of 

 arable and ^th of greensward allotted in lieu. Clergy more reasonable in 

 collection than lay impropriators. 



Surrey. Common opinion is that land tithe-free and worth 20s. an acre 

 is worth 13s. if subject to tithe. Tithes mean more than loss to a farmer ; 

 they cramp his energies. 



Sussex. Compositions average 4s. 6d. an acre for wheat ; 2s. 6d. for 

 barley, oats, beans, or pease ; pasture and meadow 2s. These compositions 

 are "generally allowed to be moderate and very fair." 



Warwick. Lay impropriators more rigorous in exactions than clergy. 

 Tithes generally compounded for at the rate of 6s. to 12s. per acre of tillage, 

 and from Is. 6d. to 5s. 6d. for meadow and pasture. 



3. WEST MIDLAND AND SOUTH- WESTERN COUNTIES. 



Cornwall. Great or sheaf tithes generally in the hands of laymen who 

 farmed them out to proctors. In the hands of the clergy, small tithes were 

 generally compounded at Is. to Is. 3d. in the pound rent, and the great tithes 

 at from 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. in the pound rent. Lay tithes were either taken 

 in kind, or valued and agreed in the field at harvest. 



Dorset. Tithes averaged on pasture and arable land 3s. 6d. an acre ; on 

 commons 8d., on downs 4d. A very low modus was common. Great tithes 

 were often in lay hands, and compositions were frequently 5s. or 6s. in the 

 pound rent. 



Gloucester. Tithes were generally compounded, but on yearly valuations. 

 The average on arable land was 6s. an acre, and on grass 2s. 6d. to 3s. When 

 land was allotted in lieu of tithes, commissioners generally allotted th of 

 the arable and th of the pasture, the land, so allotted to the titheowner, to 

 be fenced, and the fences repaired for 7 years, at the cost of the proprietors. 

 Very little tithe was taken in kind " at least among the clergy." 



Hereford. Very little tithe taken in kind. Compositions averaged from 

 3s. 6d. to 4s. in the pound rent. 



Shropshire. Very little tithe taken in kind. Compositions generally fair 

 and equitable, either by annual valuations, or an agreed sum for a term of 

 years : averaged not more than 2s. in the pound rent. 



4. NORTH AND NORTH-WESTERN COUNTIES. 



Cheshire. Lay tithes generally let on lease for 21 years. Some lay owners 

 collect a portion in kind and let the remainder, or have the tithes valued in 

 the field, and give farmers the option of taking or leaving the tithable produce 

 at the valuation. Hay was either tithed in kind or valued as above. Some- 

 times a trifling modus was paid. 



