| This essay is a study of the operation of Merdon Manor, an example of late English manorialism. It demonstrates beyond doubt that a full manorial system was still in existence in England in the middle of the seventeenth century, although the old medieval system had been considerably modified by that time. At Merdon it was not till the 1640's that customary labor services were entirely commuted, and the old terms bond land and purpresture land continued in meaningful use. Inheritance of customary land was by Borough English--that is, land passed at a father's death to his youngest son. The manorial commons remained a vital part of the economy of the manor until 1812, although the small holdings of the individual tenants had been enclosed more than two centuries earlier. Customary law was still of the greatest importance in manorial life, but one flagrant breach of it--the surrender of lands to someone other than the customary heir--occurred frequently. The practice of another type of surrender, the mortgage, is also discussed. These legal practices took up most of the attention of the still-active manor court, the importance of which in criminal actions had practically disappeared. The personnel of the yeoman and husbandman families on the manor was largely stable throughout the seventeenth century, but the share these people had in the administration of the manor through the court and manorial officers was slight. The economic element in manorial life and the role of the Church are also discussed.; Basic sources used include a notebook kept by Richard Mayer (or Maijor), who was lord of the manor from 1639 to 1658; the manorial court rolls; the decision in a Chancery suit which defined the customs of the manor; a 1588 manorial survey; and a 1650 agreement on the commutation of customary services. An appendix of 125 pages presents a somewhat abridged transcript of the Mayor Notebook. (Mayor was an M.P. and a member of the Council of State; his daughter Dorothy married Richard Cromwell, son of and successor to Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell.)... |
