A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



St. Albans, too, the common fields were being cut up,** In this direction 

 round Bushey and Watford the inclosure of the common lands was probably 

 fairly complete by the end of the 17th century. Defoe looked from Bushey 

 Heath across a great parterre of inclosed cornfields." Higher up the Colne 

 Valley, at Berkhampstead, much of the arable had been lately sold as separate 

 parcels to the tenants." In the middle belt of the county, at Welwyn and 

 at Sacombe, the arable was in closes.** Even in the north, in the manor of 

 Hoddenhoo (in Therfield), the demesne included closes of 28 acres, 16 acres 

 and 10 acres.*^ At Ardley the arable was partly inclosed, partly in the 

 common field." Some inclosures had been made at Puttenham." The 

 inclosure was sometimes made without the concurrence of the other open- 

 field farmers. Complaints of this are specially common in the last quarter of 

 the 17th century. A yeoman of Benington had inclosed land in the 

 common field, so too in Aston, Welwyn and Hoddesdon,^" and a little 

 later in Weston." The slowness of the process, long after the advan- 

 tages were realized, proves how limited was the economic freedom of the 

 farmer. 



The inclosure of meadow and pasture was usually made by parishes instead 

 of plot by plot, as in the case of the arable. The stint on common pastures 

 was constantly being regulated by manorial by-laws, for, as the commons 

 were broken into, the feeding became more valuable.''' Lords, even 

 corporations, desired to have the commons apportioned, as being the gainers. 

 In no case has it been noticed that the other commoners were the petitioners, 

 and in very many cases they resisted with violence. In 1637 the Dean and 

 Chapter of St. Paul's inclosed part of Caddington Wood ; the commoners 

 destroyed the palings and turned cattle into the sown parts." Some of them, 

 however, had accepted the parts allotted. The difficulty may have been 

 that the chapter claimed common in the rest of the wood after the inclosure, 

 which the adjudicators only granted until the expiry of existing leases.'* At 

 Aldenham, about 1640, Lord Falkland tried to inclose, and twenty-seven of 

 the tenants bound themselves together to maintain their rights." Part of 

 the common woods of Tring were inclosed before i 642, but during the Civil 

 War the inclosure was destroyed." At Great Berkhampstead the demesne 

 was to be farmed for profit. The park of 1,132 acres was leased as two 

 estates and the lord agreed with the commoners that he should inclose 300 

 acres of the common heath and leave the rest to them." At Great 

 Berkhampstead and Little Gaddesden the Earl of Bridgewater was continually 

 disputing with the parishioners. In 1654 his plan to sell his wood on 

 common land was opposed by the commoners. '* Some common lands at 

 Harpenden were inclosed before 1667"; the process was going on in 

 1728,'" and there are still some open fields there. 



*' Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), cccxvii, loi ; cccxvi, 35 ; ccxcviii, 63 ; dccxliv, 27 ; ccclxiii, 189. 



" Defoe, Tour through Gt. Britain, i (Letter iii). ** Aug. Off. Misc. Bks. ccclxv, fol. i. 



*^ Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), cccclxxvii, 1 3 ; Ct. of Wards. Feod. Surv. 1 7. 



*'' Add. MS. 36233, fol. 171 et seq., 195. ^* Close, 1649, pt. 1, no. 15. 



*' Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), cccxl, 8. 



50 Sess. R. (Herts. Co. Rec), i, 309. " Ibid. 395. 



52 e.g. Ct. R. (Gen. Ser.), portf. 189, no. 30. " q^j j p j^^^ id^-j, p. 4+8. 



" Ibid. 1639, p. 309. 55 j5oc. in possKsion of Lord Aldenham. 



56 Pari. Surv. Herts, no. 29. 57 n,id. no. 7. 58 s^j^_ ^ (Hcrt;. Co. Rec), i, 109. 



» D. and C. of Westm. Ct. R. of Wheathampstead. ^ Sas. R. (Herts. Co. Rec ), ii, 66. 



222 



