A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



Of pasture-land also there was no excess. Its value seems to have aver- 

 aged about I J. an acre, but at Sawbridgeworth in 1271 ' and at Wyddial in 

 1284 it was as low as bd? At Shenley in 1276 50 acres of several pasture 

 were worth only 3^. an acre,* By 1291 the extent was reduced to 18 acres, 

 and the value had risen to A^d. an acre.' 



The commutation of week work created, or at least increased, the 

 demand for ordinary farm labour ; the farm-houses began to be occupied by 

 a permanent staff of labourers, sufficient for the everyday work of the farm. 



At Langley in 1296-7 a carter, four ploughmen, a shepherd and two 

 farm servants, one of whom acted as cook, were kept. Ten years later we 

 find also a parker and two gardeners worked there for part of the year." 

 At Temple Dinsley in 1 3 1 2 there were a resident bailiff, a carter, four 

 ploughmen and four other labourers, besides a cook-gardener.^ 



Ploughing apparently remained steady in value throughout the county 

 during the period from 1260 to 1347. The price was bd. an acre at 

 Langley in 1291,* Watton in 1 324,' and Standon in 1347.^° Harrowing 

 likewise remained at the same value throughout the period. One day's work 

 was worth \d}^ The villeins, however, often performed this service, instead 

 of paying for it. The general field and farm work of the villeins grouped 

 as week work shows no deviation in price from the customary standard of 

 \d. a day.^' Compared with the wage of the agricultural labourer, this 

 was beneath the ordinary wage. Commutation was, however, often an 

 economy to the lord, because he received \d. from perhaps half a dozen 

 villeins, and in their place probably only needed to pay his hired labourer id. 

 for one day's work. 



Hedgers and thatchers had id. a day." Ploughmen and carters were 

 usually paid by the year, the value of board and lodging being considered in 

 the amount of the wages, A portion also was often paid in corn at the 

 harvest. 



The cowherd, more often called the ' Daye, ' or dairyman, received high 

 wages. He had 22^. in winter and corn in the fields in the autumn at 

 Hormead in 1261.^* This method of payment gave way before 1338, when 

 he took 5 J. a year." These high wages were given at Standon in 1347" ; 

 3J. a year seems to have been more usual.^^ Shepherds' wages were equal to 

 those of the cowherd." 



In the case of harvest work the contrast between the sum paid by the 

 villeins in redemption of their works and the labourer's wage becomes sharper, 

 because we have more and more detailed evidence. The usual value of a 



' Chan. Inq. p.m. 56 Hen. Ill, no. 37. ' Ibid. Edw. I, file 38, no. 4. 



* Rentals and Sorv. R. 296. * Ibid. R. 279. 

 ' Mins. Accts. bdle. 866, no. 17. 



' Ibid. bdle. 865, no. 13. This list is incomplete, as some of the wages are erased. 



* Rentals and Surv. R. 279 ; Mins. Accts. bdle. 866, no. 17, 21. 



' Chan. Inq. p.m. 17 Edw. II, no. 39. 10 Mins. Accts. bdle. 869, no. 8. 



" Ibid, bdles. 40, no. 740 ; 866, no. 17, 19 ; 869, no. 8 ; Chan. Inq. p.m. 20 Edw. Ill, no. 23. 



"^ Chan. Inq. p.m. Edw. I, file 38, no. 4 ; Mins. Accts. bdle. 870, no. 20 ; Chan. Inq. p.m. Edw. II, 

 file 47, no. 12 ; 16 Edw. II, no. 42 ; 17 Edw. II, no. 39 ; Mins. Accts. bdle. 867, no. 4 ; Ct. R. (Gen. 

 Ser.), portf. 177, no. 33 ; Chan. Inq. p.m. 20 Edw. II, no. 23 ; Stowe MS. 849, fol. 50 et seq. ; Chan. 

 Inq. p.m. Edw. Ill, file 64, no. 20. 



1' Mins. Accts. bdle. 866, no. 17, 21. " Ibid. no. I. i^ jbjjj ^^ ^ 



15 Ibid. bdle. 869, no. 8. " Ibid, bdles. 867, no. 4 ; 862, no. 6 ; Add. Chart. 28737. 



1' Add. Chart. 28737 ; Mins. Accts. bdles. 869, no. 8 ; 40, no. 74 ; 866, no. 21, 29. 



188 



