Page:VCH Suffolk 1.djvu/721

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY harrowed as well as ploughed, the other acre, called ' benearth,' was supposed to be thrown in out of the tenant's goodwill. The tenant also owed seven days work between Michaelmas and Pentecost, in which seven days the lord might expect him to thresh 2 quarters of corn or 4 of barley. During the busy summer months he must provide five days' labour a week. The villein ten- ants amongst them must reap 175 acres. They must spread, lift, and toss the dung on the lord's meadow when cut, and each must do four days' carting. For the harvesters food was found. Two men had 2 loaves (32 loaves to the quarter of wheat), 6 herrings, a quantity of ' morterell,' ' potage,' and cheese. On the first day they had water to drink, and beer or cider on the second.*' The size of these holdings is not given in the Survey. The ordinary virgate of 30 acres is found in Suffolk, but a virgate of 24 would seem to have also been common. In many places some of these full holdings were split up by the lord into half or quarter holdings. This, as we shall see later, was the case at Hadleigh. At Hawstead there were customary holdings of 30, 15, and 7 J acres ; '* at Elmswell of 24, 12, and 6 ; and at Soham of 24, 1 2, 6, and 3, each with a proportionate set of customs." There were also full yardlands of 16 acres each at Lidgate." An extent taken of twelve Suffolk manors of the Abbot of Bury " about the year 1 300 shows that the customary services differed very widely from one manor to another even under the same lord. The amount directly assessed in money varied from nothing to a quarter of the yearly value. The number of acres to be ploughed by the holder of 24 acres varied from 2 to 10, and the ploughing of an acre was generally valued at 4^. Reaping also was valued at 4^., but it was more generally merged in the sum of works demanded. If each of these works represented a day, the tenant would have had no time to till his own acres. At Melford, for example, each tenant of a virgate owed 312 works a year, but as these were only valued at 3 a penny, they cannot have represented more than a few hours' labour apiece. The more usual price of a work was a halfpenny, and of a full autumn day's work a penny. Reducing the works to full days at a penny, we find the number of days required from the holder of 24 acres in four different manors was 104, 69, 38, and 30. Sometimes the work is specified in quantity, as the threshing of so many quarters of oats or barley. A couple of hens at Christmas and a dozen eggs at Easter are almost invariably demanded. It seems likely that a great part of these services were being commuted. Their estimated value added to the money payment generally brings up the total rent of the land to something between 4^. and 6d. an acre, and this was the value set on the demesne land. The services so far mentioned were villein services. Freemen seem as a rule to have rendered an exclusively money rent. But 48 free tenants at Red- grave rendered amongst them in addition to £c^ %s. in money, 8 J quarters of oats (8/. 6d'.), 8 hens (8^.), i duck (2§^.), 2 capons (3^2'.), 53 eggs (ij^.), 6 ploughings (ij. 6d.), 20 works {lod.), 6 weedings (3^.), reapings (12^.), and 5 plough-shares {is. T^d.). At Rickinghall 14 molmen owed besides a money " An extent of the manor of Hadleigh in Suff. Arch. Inst, xi, pt. i . " Copy of an extent of Hawstead in 1358, kindly lent me by Mr. E. Powell. " Add. MSS. 13849. " See post, p. 663. " Reg. Thomas Aljbatis, Harl. MSS. 230. The manors are Melford, Chevington, Hargrave, Saxham, Fornham, Elmswell, Brockford, Worlingworth, Redgrave, Soham, Rickinghall, and Culford. I 641 81