A HISTORY OF BEDFORDSHIRE 



made of the water-power, almost every considerable manor having its mill, or 

 in some cases more than one mill ; and it may be here remarked that the 

 much larger number of mills — all of which would presumably be water-mills 

 — immediately after the Conquest, than exist in the county at present, can be 

 accounted for on several grounds. In the feudal times the manorial mill 

 was a source of income to the lord of the manor, as all the peasants were 

 under obligation to take their corn thither to be ground, and transport was 

 also a serious question. Hence there was a mill wherever there was water 

 enough to work one ; and mills existed in localities in which at present 

 there is never, or very rarely, water enough for such a purpose. The 

 diminution of the woodland and the modern system of draining have both 

 contributed to effect this change. There is no reason to suppose that the 

 definitely ordered methods of agriculture disclosed by the Domesday Survey 

 were superior to those which had been handed down by the previous Saxon 

 owners. In many cases, in fact, there is evidence that a deterioration had 

 taken place immediately after the Conquest, consequent partly upon the 

 disturbance to industry caused by the change of tenancy, and locally also by 

 the ravages of the Conqueror's troops. 



In the first volume of this History will be found a detailed analysis of 

 many of the features of Domesday Book, from which can be gathered much 

 that illustrates the economic condition of Bedfordshire in 1086 — twenty years 

 after the Conquest. But certain classes of facts disclosed by Domesday Book 

 more particularly belong to our present section, and may be read as 

 supplementary to those given by Mr. Round. 



It would be hazardous to attempt to arrive at an estimate of the actual 

 population of the county at the date of the Domesday Survey calculated 

 from the number of villeins, bordars, and serfs. But we can, from the 

 statistics afforded by that Survey, arrive at a tolerably correct knowledge of 

 the condition of agriculture then as compared with its condition under 

 King Edward, and also of the relative proportions of the several classes of 

 villeins, bordars, and serfs, as well as of the relative proportions of land in 

 actual cultivation to that which was then reckoned cultivable. These 

 statistics, if they do not disclose the actual population, are sufficient to give 

 us a picture of a comparatively prosperous community. 



If we first take the valuation for the purposes of the Survey, we can see 

 what was the value of each portion of land at the time of King Edward 

 (T.R.E.) ; next at the time when it was received, after the Conquest, by the 

 grantee ; and thirdly, at the date of the Survey ; the whole covering a period 

 of over twenty years. The change of tenancy, the interruption of industry 

 by the wars of Harold and William, and the actual ravages of some parts of 

 the county by William, prepare us for a considerable reduction in value 

 between the first two dates ; while the time between the fresh granting of 

 the land — which might not in all cases be the same — and the taking of the 

 Survey is too short to justify an expectation of a complete recovery of the 

 value T.R.E. The figures, when added up, give us about ^^1,348 T.R.E. ; 

 ,^903 when received by the holder ; and £1,0^4. the value of the surveyors' 

 assessment. But it must not be inferred from these totals that there was in 

 every case first a heavy depreciation and then a partial recovery. This 

 happened in the majority of cases, but there were many cases in which the 



74 



