NOTES ON THE MANOR OF FORDINGTON. 157 



mapping of a farm looked most extraordinary, spots of land in all 

 parts of that great expense. And all the corn had to be carried to 

 the homesteads in Fordington except a little to the one outlying 

 homestead, Darner's Barn ; for none was stacked on the land. It 

 may have been partly owing to the great carrying distance, 

 not less than 1J mile in some instances, that a custom arose 

 in Dorchester with a view to give a hand to the Fordington 

 farmers. It died out generations ago, but it must have had a 

 wonderful charm of neighbours in it. When two thirds of 

 Dorchester were burnt, in 1613, at first there was scarcely a man 

 in the town to do anything against the fire. Why ? Because they 

 were one and all in Fordington Field helping with the harvest. 

 This homely, neighbourly custom did not survive within the 

 memory of man, I think ; certainly not within my own. Besides 

 the long carriage of much of the corn and clover-hay home, and of 

 manure outwards, there was another peculiarity in great field farm- 

 ing. Owing to the absence of fences there was also an absence of 

 root crops. One usual rotation was wheat, barley, clover. It was 

 usually, or always, arranged among the farmers to have an infinity 

 of neighbouring lawns under one class of crop. There would be 

 the Lower Field, perhaps, mostly in wheat one year, and Pound- 

 bury Field in clover, tares, and pease. Poundbury Field would 

 then be the " Garden Field " of that season. Owing (I suppose) to 

 want of root crops the Duchy tenants kept no sheep ; but they took 

 on sheep belonging to neighbouring farmers, who paid at the rate 

 of Is. per sheep for the autumn grazing from Sept. 21st on the 

 stubble, clover, and downs. Each whole place gave the right to 

 take on 120 sheep. Another branch of this right will be spoken 

 of immediately. Dairies the tenants had, and this leads me to 

 say something of the pasture and meadow hay arrangements. In 

 and adjoining the village of Fordington are a good many enclosed 

 grass fields. These are the "closes" which appertained to the 

 various copyholders. In some cases the closes were adjoining to 

 the respective homesteads, sometimes not so. Each copyholder 

 had the exclusive use of his closes all the year round. Such, 



