Amhle and Hauxley. By J. C. Hodgson. 285 



APPENDIX I. 

 Mr. Band's Affidavit on Ancient Farms. 

 I, Middleton Henry Band of Hauxley Cottage, in the parish of 

 Warkworth, in the county of Northumberland, esquire, make oath and 

 say that I am now 35 years of age. I was born and have always 

 lived in the said parish. I have filled the office of churchwarden of 

 the said parish, and am one of a select vestry of twenty-four by 

 whom the affairs of the said parish are administered. I am well 

 acquainted with the customs of the said parish, and have frequently 

 heard of the same from my father, who lived the greatest part of 

 his life in the said parish, and died therein in the year 1844, at the 

 age of 82 years. The said parish consists of 14 distinct townships 

 (that is to say) Acklington, Acklington Park, Amble, Birling, Brotherwick, 

 High Buston, Low Buston, Gloster Hill, Hauxley, Morwick, Sturton- 

 grange, Togston, Walk Mill, and Warkworth, each township maintaining 

 its own poor, repairing the roads within it, and having a constable 

 appointed for it : each of the said townships consists of or comprises 

 a certain number of antient reputed farms, and as I have been informed, 

 and verily believe, that division into antient farms has existed from 

 time immemorial, no person living, with whom I have conversed on 

 the subject, being able to tell me of its origin, nor have I seen any 

 document which gives an account of the origin. Each of these 

 antient reputed farms having, as I verily believe, been originally of 

 the same value, that is, one of such farms was an aliquot part of 

 the township within which it was situated, and had been so regarded 

 by the inhabitants of the said parish. And most of the local taxes 

 and payments, to which the owners or occupiers of land within the 

 parish were subject and liable, were, as I have been informed, and 

 verily believe, assessed upon and paid by such owners and occupiers, 

 according to the number of such antient reputed farms belonging to 

 each owner and held by each occupier. And in my own recollection 

 and knowledge the church rates throughout the said parish were 

 made at so much per farm; and are so entered in the vestry book 

 of the said parish, which is signed by the vicar and select vestry 

 thereof; and so continued until the year 1835, when the said church 

 rates were assessed to the value of the several lands, the antient 

 immemorial custom of rating by farms having become unequal in 

 consequence of the changes by cultivation and other circnmstanceB. 

 And there was also a well known immemorial custom in the said 

 parish for the parish clerk thereof to receive one shilling and six 

 pence for each of the said antient reputed farms. And for the sexton 

 of the said parish to receive six pence for each of such farms, which 

 was continued until the year 1842, when the select vestry of the 

 said parish resolved that the said clerk and sexton respectively should 

 receive out of the church rates, levied in the said parish, a certain 

 fixed stipend on their consenting not to collect or claim the sums 

 to which they were customarily entitled as aforesaid. And I have 



