320 



On Hedges and Hedge Rows. 



among his chiefs; and this agrees with what Bede and other old 

 writers state was the case when the Saxons (including cognate 

 tribes) took possession of Britain. The so-called Saxon armies 

 may be described as a large body of armed emigrants led by an 

 elected chief, formed of many smaller groups, each having a leader, 

 who was, however, subordinate to the King-lord or principal chief, 

 and when sharing among themselves a foreign possession each 

 district was divided into Hides (a somewhat indefinite term as at 

 present understood), the head chief taking as a matter of course a 

 large share, and dividing the remainder between his lieutenants, and 

 as each of these had a number of followers, they in like manner 

 after supplying themselves allotted to each of their followers a 

 share ; by this plan the land would quickly become parcelled out 

 and occupied, and as each individual took possession of his plot or 

 share, it is very probable that both for the sake of protection and 

 identity, he would set about enclosing it with some sort of fence 

 or hedge. 



It would occupy too much time were I to enter upon the different 

 kinds of tenure by which land was held in these early times, or of 

 the political rights which attached to them : it will be sufficient for 

 my subject, if I state briefly my opinion that the first parcelling 

 out of the acquired lands by the Saxon tribes would be followed by 

 enclosing them with some description of fence, which in many 

 instances would doubtless be a living hedge, and that there is strong 

 evidence to connect many of the existing enclosures round our oldest 

 villages with these early Saxon times. 



In the first instance of enclosing land some kind of clearing 

 would frequently be necessary, and as this might reach further in 

 some directions than others an irregular boundary would follow, 

 which we find very frequently occurs in old fields — or the first 

 enclosures of the Saxons might follow some previous division of 

 land made by the Britons — be this as it may — the small size of the 

 enclosed fields round our oldest villages would seem to indicate that 

 a considerable number of allottees were included in these early 

 appropriations. 



That the earliest hedges would be made with such plants as grew 



