English Economic History: Select Documents

by Unknown

15. An Act Concerning Farms and Sheep [25 Hen. VIII, c. 13. Statutes of the Realm, Vol. III, p. 451], 1533-4.

Forasmuch as divers and sundry [persons] of the king's subjects of this realm, to whom God of his goodness hath disposed great plenty and abundance of moveable substance, now of late within few years have daily studied, practised and invented ways and means how they might accumulate and gather together into few hands as well great multitude of farms as great plenty of cattle and in especial sheep, putting such lands as they can get to pasture and not to tillage, whereby they have not only pulled down churches and towns and enhanced the old rates of their rents of the possessions of this realm, or else brought it to such excessive fines that no poor man is able to meddle with it, but also have raised and enhanced the prices of all manner of corn, cattle, wool, pigs, geese, hens, chickens, eggs and such other almost double above the prices which hath been accustomed, by reason whereof a marvellous multitude and number of people of this realm be not able to provide meat, drink and clothes necessary for themselves, their wives and children, but be so discouraged with misery and poverty that they fall daily to theft, robbery and other inconvenience, or pitifully die for hunger and cold; and as it is thought by the King's most humble and loving subjects that one of the greatest occasions that moveth and provoketh those greedy and covetous people so to accumulate and keep in their hands such great portions and parties of the grounds and lands of this realm from the occupying of the poor husbandmen, and so to use it in pasture and not in tillage, is only the great profit that cometh of sheep, which now be coming to a few persons' hands of this realm in respect of the whole number of the King's subjects, that some have 24 thousand, some 20 thousand, and some more and some less, by which a good sheep for victual that was accustomed to be sold for 2s. 4d. or 3s. at the most, is now sold for 6s. 5s. or 4s. at the least; and a stone of clothing wool that in some shires of this realm was accustomed to be sold for 18d. or 20d. is now sold for 4s. or 3s. 4d. at the least, and in some countries where it hath been sold for 2s. 4d. or 2s., or 3s. at the most, it is now sold for 5s. or 4s. 8d. at the least, and so raised in every part of this realm; which things thus used be principally to the high displeasure of Almighty God, to the decay of the hospitality of this realm, to the diminishing of the King's people, and to the hindrance of the clothmaking, whereby many poor people hath been accustomed to be set on work, and in conclusion if remedy be not found it may turn to the utter destruction and dislocation of this realm, which God defend; it may therefore please the King's Highness of his most gracious and godly disposition, and the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of their goodness and charity, with the assent of the Commons in this present parliament assembled, to ordain and enact by authority of the same, that no person or persons from the feast of St. Michael the Archangel which shall be in the year of Our Lord God 1535 shall keep occupy or have in his possession in his own proper lands, nor in the possession, lands or grounds of any other which he shall have or occupy in farm, nor otherwise have of his own proper cattle in use, possession or property, by any manner of means, fraud, craft or covyn, above the number of 2,000 sheep at one time within any part of this realm of all sorts and kinds, upon pain to lose and forfeit for every sheep that any person or persons shall have or keep above the number limited by this act, 3s. 4d., the one half to the King our Sovereign Lord, and the other half to such person as will sue for the same.... It is also further enacted by authority aforesaid that no manner person after the said feast of the nativity of Our Lord shall receive or take for term of life, years or at will, by indenture, copy of court roll or otherwise, any more houses, tenements of husbandry, whereunto any lands are belonging in town, village, hamlet or tithing within this realm above the number of two such holds or tenements; and that no manner person shall have or occupy any such holds so newly taken to the number of two as is before expressed, except he or they be dwelling within the same parishes where such holds be, upon the pain of forfeiture for every week that he or they shall have, occupy, or take any profits of such holds contrary to this act 3s. 4d., the moiety of which forfeiture to be to the King our Sovereign Lord and the other moiety to the party that will sue for the same.....

16. Intervention of Privy Council under Somerset to Protect Tenants[263] [Acts of Privy Council, p. 540], 1549.

28 June, 1549.

An Order taken upon complaint made to the Lord Protector and other of the King's Majesty's Privy Council for the town of Godmanchester.

First, all and every person within the said town having any more houses of habitation than one in his possession, or any site of a house whereupon a house of habitation hath been with [in] [blank] years standing, shall at and before the Feast of St. Michael in the year of our Lord God 1549 let or demise every the said house with the land thereto accustomed, besides one, to a convenient person, if any that shall require, upon the usual rent, and upon every site now having no house of habitation shall before the said Feast of St. Michael in the same year build a house for habitation and thereto allot so much as thereto was heretofore belonging, and the same shall let and demise, if any that will hire, upon the accustomed rent.

Item, every person having converted any house or habitation unto any other use shall before Michaelmas next coming revert to the use of habitation as it was before, and the same shall let to any which that require upon the accustomed rent, and every person forthwith shall for every house of habitation, decayed site of habitation, and for every house of habitation converted to other use during the time of his possession, maintain and keep the King's watch and other common charges of the town in like manner as hath been heretofore of them used.

Item, whereas there is a great number of acres, lately belonging to certain gilds there, it is ordered that the same shall be divided to the inhabitants thereof in this manner; that is to say, to every ploughland 5 acres, and to every cottage or artificer there dwelling, or which hereafter upon the houses to be new builded shall dwell, one acre; and if the number do not extend, then every ploughland 4, and so for lack of that rate every ploughland 3; and the residue of the said acres falling after that rate to be divided amongst the cottages, paying for every of the said acres 3s. 4d. and above.

Item, also whereas there be certain groves of wood destroyed and turned to pasture in the same town, every such grove being so altered shall be by the owner thereof again (having been so altered within this 20 years before Michaelmas next coming) enclosed and preserved for wood, saving so much of the same to be reserved for a high way for the owner as in those cases the like is there used, the same high way to be severed by hedge from the rest of the grove; and where the groves be so destroyed that there remaineth no hope of growth, the owner thereof shall before the next season following meet for the same set it with wood or sow it with acorns or otherwise as the same may best be for growth of wood.

Provided nevertheless if any manner person have converted any house of habitation or any site of habitation to his necessary use about his own house, so that the same should be great inconvenience to be reverted to the first and old use, then in that case the owner shall be discharged if he for every such habitation so altered do build a like house in some other convenient like place, and the same to use to all purposes as before is said of the like.