The manorial history of England would carry us back very far did we attempt to trace it to its earliest beginnings. Perhaps the very first step towards it was the settlement of the Saxon tribes, who, in appropriating and distributing the land, laid the foundation of hereditary ownership. There is no rule or limit as to how many manors there might be in each parish. Clearly the parish was the older division of the two; nor can the creation of a manor be dated in any way, for many of the old manors were subsequently split up into two or more lesser ones. The affixes or manorial names are known to have, in some instances, varied with the family who held the land. Almost without exception these manorial names were directly derived from the possessors. Few are older than the Norman period, perhaps having supplanted those in existence previously. Where double parochial names are used, the first is usually Saxon, the affix being a Norman addition, showing the fusion of the two races, which, though living in close proximity, were yet totally distinct from each other.
During the Middle Ages manors were further subdivided, easily to be accounted for in this way: The owner of a manor was at first start the tenant of some wealthy and powerful nobleman, who, owning vast tracts of land, sublet it out in manors, which were after some generations bought outright, or looked upon almost as freehold. The tenant was the resident squire of the place, living on the land, and farming it with the assistance of his children and dependents. After a time the family grew up, the sons married and needed homes of their own. In those days no one moved far away from the birthplace. What was more natural than that the squire should provide homes for his children close around the old manor-house, and, dividing off the property by the manorial boundaries, give to each a portion for self-maintenance? This accounts for the large, old-fashioned farmhouses to be found in most country parishes. The history of each farm, if investigated, will furnish a curious proof of the conservatism with which certain boundaries were preserved, and the manors regarded as sections seldom subdivided except into recognised lesser manors.
Society was very primitive two or three hundred years ago. It was then possible to live comfortably and make a living out of the land. No foreign grain was imported to affect the prices of corn in country places. Competition was unknown, and the people led a quiet, uneventful existence, following in the footsteps of their forefathers. Gradually changes have come about. The old race of yeomen has died out; the few that are left make us forcibly regret that this should be the case.
The yeoman was a man of good education and long pedigree; he belonged to the largest section of English society, called ‘middle class.’ Agriculture was his profession; he seldom left home, consequently had few opportunities of spending money; the character and personal history of every human being on the place was intimately known to him, for the villagers lived and died in their native villages. The roads were bad, therefore traffic from place to place was restricted to what was absolutely necessary. Posts and passenger coaches were rarities, and when first started met with little patronage from the majority of the people.
To return to the manorial courts. These were held but once during the year. It was the annual audit of the freemen on the estate, the ‘Visus franciplegii,’ as the opening words of the court roll states.
Quarter sessions were held four times in the year, while the sheriff’s tourn took place half-yearly. These inquired into matters of public interest and public expense, whereas the manor court dealt with trivial matters pertaining to the manor itself. The sheriff’s tourn and the manorial court were almost identical in object; the first was the representative of the Crown dispensing justice to the King’s subjects; in a lesser radius and degree the lord of the manor had a similar office to fulfil.
COURT ROLL.
(See page [75].)
Manors were ruled by custom, and customs varied in different places. The general aspect of a court roll will always be found to be identical. The older rolls are in Latin, but, like the deeds, the later ones are written in English. The earliest ones are literally ‘rolls’ closely written on parchment in the handwriting called by the French ‘minuscule.’