204 Some Account of the Parish of Monhton Farleigh. 



besides these the only houses, that can properly be so called, of in- 

 terest are, that occupied by Mr. James Cottle, and that at present 

 used as an inn — the " Fox and Hounds " — at Farley- Wick. The 

 first, according* to Mr. Powell, dates back to the time of James I., 

 and the other has a curious courtyard and entrance-pillars. 



But some of the cottages in the parish have a history which 

 should not, I think, be overlooked. 



There is one with the initials T.H., and the date 1689; another, 

 W.S., 1737; and a third, J.B., 1737. These initials represent 

 respectively Thomas Hooper, William Symes, and John Bigges, the 

 latter two being certainly, and the former probably, masons by trade. 



These persons were undoubtedly the builders of the several cot- 

 tages, and the dates represent the building, and these facts point to 

 a class of persons and to a system, both of which have passed away 

 from us, viz., to the class of customary tenants and to the system 

 of letting lands for lives and on building leases. 



The class of customary tenants is as old at least as Domesday, and 

 no doubt they always built their own cottages, such as they were, 

 but these cottages would come to an end from time to time, and the 

 population would and did, as we know, increase, and so more cottages 

 had to be built, and these too of a better description, and the question 

 arose who was to find the labor and the capital to build them. 



The wood for building and repairs, as, indeed the leases stipulate, 

 was freely given from the manor; the stone, in our parish, at least, 

 was to be had almost for the hauling, and still came off the manor ; 

 and there were masons and carpenters to be found in the parish in 

 abundance ; so the land and the materials were the landlord's, the 

 labor was the tenant's, and hence, the bargain of leases for lives or 

 for long* tenure at small quit rents, the copyhold system, in short, in 

 that particular form of it. 



The customary tenant of Domesday became thus merged into the 

 tenant for life or long tenure, and this tenant has now in his turn 

 succumbed altogether. 



The causes are obvious. The builder, though usually skilful 

 enough to be his own architect, was not a wealthy man, and he 

 was building for a limited period. His heart was not, therefore, 



