A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



eight between 20 and 49 acres. In 1738 twenty-nine men held land at Ridge, 

 the largest estate being 68j acres ; of these six farmed on a four-course 

 rotation including clover. The new farmers preferred to have about 

 100 to 200 acres.™ Round Redbourn in 1797 farms ranged from 

 15 acres to about 300." But in general less than 100 acres was hardly 

 profitable. 



Another change was taking place. This is apparent in a list of 

 freeholders and copyholders with estates worth /^lo a year in 1699.'" This 

 list shows what a large number of the landowners did not belong to the 

 parishes. At Datchworth there were seventeen estates, only four of which 

 belonged to Datchworth men. At Yardley only six out of fourteen were 

 local men ; at St. John's, Hertford, four out of five, the fifth being a 

 Londoner. Indeed, the number of Londoners is a further illustration of the 

 investment of London capital in Herts. The extreme cases are at Buckland, 

 where none of the seven owners belonged to the parish ; Ashwell, where six of 

 the twenty-one landholders were the tenants of one man ; and Radwell, where 

 ' Mr. Bell owns the whole parish.' The farmer was often a tenant. The 

 landlord let instead of farming. Hence capital in agriculture was partly in 

 the hands of the landlords, who advanced to their tenants, and partly in the 

 hands of the farmers themselves. The need for capital became specially 

 acute after 1795, when poor land was taken into use. At Tyttenhanger in 

 1800 a large amount of pasture was improved at great expense by the 

 tenant on capital borrowed from the owner. Lord Hardwicke. Round 

 Hatfield improvements were overdone ; land was tilled which could only 

 give a profit at famine prices. 



Copyhold tenure in Hertfordshire was losing its old incidents, such as 

 heriot and the fine on alienation or letting," and many farms were probably 

 held in this way. The tenants at will were held to be dangerous, as they 

 racked the land.'^ In 1795 one expert advised landlords to grant their 

 inclosed lands on twenty-one years' leases.'^ 



Rents were not high even at the end of the prosperous i8th century. In 

 rural districts arable was about 12s. an acre. At Redbourn it was 15^'., and 

 near St. Albans, where the situation was an advantage, as much as 501."* 

 Meadow fell in value before 1732 in consequence of the use of artificial 

 grasses.''' It was worth £2 ^^ Redbourn in 1797.*" Even in the year 

 1 8 ID— 1 1, when agricultural rents in general reached their highest point, they 

 were untouched in North Hertfordshire, and the farmers in this district 

 were solvent, though not rich, after fifteen years of peace. Possibly farming 

 in Hertfordshire was less speculative than in other parts, even after the 

 Corn Law of i 8 i 5, as the soil was naturally tillage ground. But speculative 

 farmers were probably more plentiful near London in South Hertfordshire. 

 This is the district where in 1795 many farms were insufficiently stocked 

 with plough teams.*' 



The council and the justices watched over the corn market in the 

 17th century as carefully as in the 1 6th. The chief markets were 



'* D. Walker, op. cit. '' Eden, op. cit. ii, 275. ^ Sesi. R. (Herts. Co. Rec), ii, 4 et seq. 



^* e.g. Hitchin Pari. Surv. Herts, no. 22, and Notebook of the manors of the Dean and Chapter of 



Westminster. *^ D. Walker, op. cit. *= Ibid. *^ Eden, op. cit. ii, 271, 275. 



■"^ Ellis, Practical Farmer . '"' Eden, op. cit. ii, 275. " D. Walker, op. cit. 



224 



