A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



one work. Each man who has a horse must harrow without food twice. Each man must hedge [sefiire] 

 3 virgates. Each virgate must carry two loads of wood . . . and gives two hens. At Michaelmas and 

 Advent each man must [?give] 24 sheaves. Each virgate owes sixteen eggs. Each man must hoe twice 

 without food, and reap once, and send from each house one man for the hay. Each virgate carries two loads 

 of hay, and at the reaping they have of the lord [food and 6a'.]. Each virgate owes eight men at two boon- 

 days without food, and at the dry boonday four men, and at the great boonday one servant. If the lord 

 wants men at reaping, the virgate must find a man to reap at the lord's food. Each man finds one man to 

 bind. Each virgate carries eight loads of grain .... and six men work once a week. Each virgate owes 

 6j. ^. at four terms.'* 



At Aldenham, except in the case of the six odd men, the week work is 

 conspicuous by its absence. It is represented probably by the 6s. \d. 

 Possibly this early command of money by the men of Aldenham is due to 

 their proximity to London. Even then their corn may have found markets 

 at Watford or at Barnet. 



The commutation of services was beginning throughout Hertfordshire 

 in the 13th century ; so much is certain, but generalizations are difficult and 

 dangerous. The following statement may perhaps approximately cover the 

 facts. By the end of the 13th century commutation of the week work had 

 taken place in the southern part of the county ; the case in point at Aldenham 

 has been cited. In i 276 the villeins of Shenley did no week work (except ' 

 in harvest), but paid a rent.'"^ By 1291 neither the villeins nor the coterelles" 

 of Langley did week work.^ In 1297 ^ "^w- stage had been reached ; while 

 the ploughing custom was still performed, the harvest works were sold to thr 

 custumaries.'' Beyond the southern area commutation of week work is found 

 distributed rather fantastically. 



In some cases it seems to have taken place in centres of population. All 

 services were apparently commuted at Hemel Hempstead as early as 1222.' 

 At Sawbridgeworth about 1263 'the homage' paid ^6 lbs. in money, 

 besides their uncommuted hens, capons, fodder corn and other services." By 

 1 27 1 the villeins and two cotmen paid ^5 \^s., and apparently nothing 

 further.' The men of King's Walden had attained the same position in 

 1276.' 



At Hitchin in 1268 the serfs paid £j 5/, and did ploughing works ^ ; 

 this looks like commutation of the week work and some of the other dues. 

 But there was another group of villeins there who still did week work, and 

 the boondays and carryings were still performed.' In 1290 the one class of 

 serfs seems to have commuted their services entirely, while the others, now 

 twenty-four in number, still did carrying service and two works a week.* 

 But the commutation of the week work was taking place even on small and 

 rural manors. At (Little) Gaddesden in 1284 the custumaries paid 3 u. \od. in 

 rent, and did heterogeneous works, ploughing 22i acres, harrowing one day 

 each in Lent, tossing and carrying hay, hoeing for one day, doing two boondays, 

 and giving fowls, eggs, loaves and carrying service.^" 



At Wigginton the villeins paid 30J. jd. and performed various services." 

 The men of Munden Furnival (Great Munden) were apparently free from 

 week work in 1290, but were probably still ploughing and carrying and 

 giving autumn boondays." 



39 Add. Chart. 3739. 1<» Rentals and Surv. R. 296 ; cf. R. 279. 1 Ibid. 



2 Mins. Accts. bdle. 40, no. 740. ^ chan. Inq. p.m. Hen. Ill, file 42, no. i. 



^ Ibid, file 29, no. 2, m. 9. » Ibid, file 42, no. 6, « Ibid. 5 Edw. I, file 17, no 16 



' Ibid. 53 Hen. Ill, no. 43. » Ibid. » Exch. Proc. bdle. 144., no i\\ 



10 Chan. Inq. p.m. Edw. I, file 38, no. 8. U Ibid. u Ibid, file 57, no. 9. 



182 



