A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX 



zerdus ' put in an appearance, rendering with the cottars fifteen works at 

 the ale-bedrippe and fifty-two at the water-bedrippe. They seem to have 

 done no other works, and whether they paid rents or not, or what was 

 the size of their holdings, does not appear. 1 ' An unexplained custom 

 called a ' mismene ' is mentioned in one compotus roll as yielding 6s. 8*/. so 



In the Teddington manor rolls tenants called 'hesebonds ' or ' house- 

 bonds' appear who are mentioned neither in the Westminster custumal, 

 nor in a rental of the time of Richard II. Nothing is said as to their 

 status, and it is not easy to account for the land they held. At one time 

 there are nine of them, at another fifteen. They do boon works only, 

 it being expressly provided that they do not reap, but only follow tht 

 reapers, rod in hand, to superintend the work." Certain tenants here 

 rendered two unexplained customs called ' cherne ' and ' russic.' 



At Stepney, in the time of Edward I, 2U there were loj virgates 

 of 'Shirlond,' 15 virgates of * Cotlond,' and also * Mollond ' and 

 ' Hydlond,' the virgate, for all four tenures, containing 20 acres." 

 One holding of a virgate containing 25 acres is noted as rendering the 

 same services as the ' Mollond ' virgates. The shirmen and cotmen 

 owed weekly works for eleven weeks and three days in each year ; six 

 works a week being exacted from 8j virgates, and three a week from 

 the other 2 virgates of the Shirlond; while of the cotlond, 12 vir- 

 gates owed five, and 3 virgates four days weekly. Instead of a 

 corresponding number of these weekly works, the shirmen had to do 

 ' redeherth ' ploughing. The 'Hydmen' and * Molmen,' on the other 

 hand, rendered no weekly works, their services being confined to a 

 certain tale of ploughing works and ' wodelods,' and to stacking corn, the 

 amounts due differing for the two tenures. 



In the accounts for 1392 22a and later, the redditus assist is entered in 

 three sums, as accruing from free tenants (17 l ^- l i^-) custumary 

 tenants (i 6s. 5^.), and from 'Molelond' (13 15*. zd.}. But 

 ' Molelond' was held by freemen and custumers, i6j acres being let on 

 lease to custumers in I362, 23 while in 1392 12 virgates were in the 

 hands of free tenants. There were ' Molmen ' at Enfield as well as at 

 Stepney, but they are explicitly specified as custumers. Like the mol- 

 men at Stepney, the twenty-two ' molmen and cottars ' at Enfield, SSa who 

 differed from one another only in the amount, not in the nature of their 

 holdings, did no weekly works, but sent twenty-six men, among them, to 

 weed the lord's corn for one day (one man apiece from eighteen holdings, 

 and two among the remaining four, probably the cottars', holdings) and 



P.R.O. Mins. Accts. 17 Edw. Ill, bdle. 916, No. 17. 



"Ibid. bdle. 1126, No. 5. 



" Ibid. bdle. 918, Nos. 1-25 ; bdle. 919, Nos. i-n. 

 11 Mins. Accts. of the manor of Stepney in the Library of St. Paul's Cathedral. 



" In an account of 1362-3 five half-virgate holdings of ' Shirlond' are estimated at 12 acres to 

 the half-virgate, but the amount of the rent is corrected to that corresponding to a half-virgate of 

 I o acres, as if this were an error. There are several allowances for overcharges in the account. 



m P.R.O. Mins. Accts. bdle. 1139, No. 20, 15-16 Ric. II. 



n Ibid. bdle. 1139, No. 18, 36 Edw. III. 



* Ibid. 7 Hen. V, bdle. 915, No. 26 ; 17 Hen. VI (Duchy of Lane.), bdle. 42, No. 825. 



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