Page:Wiltshire, Extracted from Domesday Book.djvu/25

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at leaſt, trebled, ſince the commencement of the laſt century, in this kingdom, even though we ſhould ſuppoſe no variation in the value of money; and that the tenants, though their rents have increaſed in the ſame proportion, have, notwithſtanding, much better bargains at this time; live more comfortably; acquire more profits, and even pay their rents better, than they did at any prior period.

I ſhall endeavour to illuſtrate this aſſertion, by extracting a particular manor from Domeſday; and, as I ſhall eſtimate the meaſures and the preſent value of it, by the rules above adopted, they will, if they ſhould be well founded, not only aſcertain the modern wrorth of the manor, but will alſo prove the preciſion, with which the ſurveyors, employed by William the Conqueror, executed their commiſſions.

I ſhall extract for this purpoſe, the manor of Odſtock, near Saliſbury, now the property of the Earl of Radnor; becauſe, till within theſe four years (ſince which time a bill for incloſing the manor has paſſed) it probably exhibited the ſame appearances, as it did at the original ſurvey, and could not, from it's local ſituation be otherwiſe benefited, except by the advantages it has received from an improved huſbandry, and from the

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