SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY 



In many of the pasture lands the tenants had rights of entry for a certain 

 number of cattle according to the size of their tenements, or for a certain 

 period of the year only. At Ilmer 93 there was a pasture which was separate 

 from i May to St. John the Baptist's day, and common for the rest of the 

 year. At Beachampton 9 * there were three kinds of pasture in the manor 

 first, the separate pasture of the lord ; secondly, pasture that was inclosed from 

 the Annunciation to St. John the Baptist's Day or the feast of St. Peter ad 

 Vincula ; and, lastly, pasture that was separate for two years and was then 

 thrown open to the commoners for the third year. At Newport Pagnel, 

 in the Bury Field the burgesses enjoyed rights of common for a certain 

 number of cattle, in later records, but the right must have been of ancient 

 origin. 



In the woods belonging to some manors the tenants had also rights of 

 gathering firewood or wood for repairing their tenements. Such a system of 

 agriculture, carried on in common, and the work on the demesne lands, 

 performed by the tenants, entailed a considerable amount of organization. 

 As a rule, the lord put a bailiff or steward in charge of the manor, not only 

 to hold the court, but to farm the demesne land and watch over the lord's 

 interests. The labour services were supervised by one of the tenants, who 

 was yearly elected for the purpose. He was called the reeve, and in the 

 fourteenth century was chosen from among the bondsmen of the lord, among 

 whom his duties lay for the most part. The obligation of serving in this 

 office was specially mentioned at Ilmer 94 amongst the customs of the tenants 

 in villeinage, and the reeve" was elected in full court by the customary 

 tenants only. The office was naturally an unpopular one, for its duties were 

 laborious, and constantly a fine was paid to the lord for exemption from the 

 service. One of the numerous instances in the court rolls occurs at Westcott, 

 when Thomas Benhul in order to be quit of the office paid a fine of 6s. 8</. 

 to his lord, a considerable sum of money at the time, especially when the 

 privileges attached to the office, the remission of rent and services during the 

 year, are taken into consideration. Unpopular though it was, the other 

 tenants certainly seemed to have supported the reeve in seeing that no one 

 escaped doing the work due from their land. At Kingsey the reeve and the 

 whole homage at the court** presented that a certain man had gone to work 

 for strangers throughout the autumn, and would not serve the lord when he 

 was required to do so by the reeve. 



In spite of the commutation of services the election of the reeve con- 

 tinued to form part of the business of the manor courts, but his work must 

 have gradually diminished. 



How far the tenants settled the arrangements for the common cultiva- 

 tion of the fields for themselves, or how far they were compelled to follow 

 the convenience of the lord's bailiff, is difficult to determine. The only place 

 where the tenants could meet was the manor court, and there the presence of 

 the freeholders who held land in the common fields was some protection for 

 the customary tenants against possible aggression by the lord. In different 

 manors by-laws were made, but no evidence appears in the rolls as to their 

 origin. At Kingsey there are various references to the 'statute of the 



* P.R.O. Rentals and Surv. R. 79. * Ibid. 800. " Ibid. 79. 



" P.R.O. Ct. R. ptfo. 155, No. z8. " Ibid. No. 17. 



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