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Appleby History > In Focus > 8 - The Land of Burton Abbey

Chapter 8

The Land of Burton Abbey at Appleby Magna

by Richard Dunmore

The Livelihood of Appleby Peasants in the Early Twelfth Century

At the time of its endowment in AD 1004, Burton Abbey had acquired land at Appleby Magna from the will of its founder Wulfric Spot (see In Focus 4).

Domesday Book (AD 1086) recorded five carucates (120-acre ploughlands) held by the Abbot of Burton at Appleby Magna (Derbyshire), although one of these was leased to the Countess Godiva, widow of Leofric Earl of Mercia. The Countess had also held three carucates of land at Appleby Magna (Leicestershire) on her own account. So Burton Abbey was effectively farming half of Appleby Magna’s land at that time. Although the two estates at Appleby were physically interlocked in the village (see In Focus 5) the bulk of the farmland was clearly separated with Burton Abbey’s ‘half’ lying to the north and west of the settlement in Derbyshire.

Burton Abbey Land
Click to view larger image

The Abbot’s five carucate holding at the time of Domesday, was for geld. This is clearly a tax assessment, rather like a rateable value. There was ‘land for 5 ploughs’ indicating that the workable land area was also 5 ploughlands or ‘carucates’ in the Latinised language employed. This amounts to roughly 600 acres (one carucate was nominally 120 acres). The darker blue area on the map represents the approximate size of the Abbey’s estate, but the precise boundaries are not known. We are also told that there were two ploughs in the demesne, contrasting with the single plough the men had.

The demesne of a normal manor was the land reserved for the lord of the manor’s own use. The produce would be his for consumption or sale and the land would be worked according to customary service by the villeins and other feudal serfs under his control. They had much smaller plots to work for their own produce, when they were not working for the lord. The Domesday entry records that there were 8 villeins and one bordar (lesser serf) with one plough for their own use.

Burton Abbey’s land differed from a normal manor in that there was no resident ‘lord’, although there is likely to have been a central group of farm buildings, or grange, with domestic accommodation for the Abbot's farm manager, the reeve. The notional demesne land would be taxed because the Abbey was effectively an absentee landlord working the estate for profit.

Post-Domesday Surveys

The monks of Burton Abbey were meticulous in keeping records of their affairs and John Nichols, in the section on Appleby Magna of his History and Antiquities of Leicestershire, reproduced information about the Abbot's Appleby estate from the Abbey Cartulary (register-book). There are two surveys in medieval Latin printed consecutively by Nichols under a single heading, which appear to be close to each other in date. The heading 'Extenta Terrarum Monasterii de Burtona super Trent tempore Regis Henrici primi et Nigelli Abbatis' translates as: ‘A Survey of the Lands of Burton Abbey at the Time of King Henry I and Abbot Nigel’, which narrows the date to the years AD 1100 - 1114, i.e. within 14 to 28 years of the Domesday survey (1). Apparently made within a generation or two of Domesday (1086), these Abbey surveys have the potential to help us to understand the Appleby Domesday returns as well as revealing details of the peasants' lives in the early 12th century.

Unfortunately, Nichols' transcription of the Burton surveys of Appleby, which I used for the first version of this article published here in 2001, contains some serious errors. This is perhaps not surprising, as the original manuscript (hand-written at this early date) from which the transcription was derived, is in heavily abbreviated medieval Latin. Also, there is some doubt about the accuracy of the heading, which was added later to the original folios. These textual problems are discussed in Appendix 8.1.

I have recently acquired a copy of the transcription of the Appleby surveys made by C G O Bridgeman (1916), together with a somewhat earlier commentary on the surveys by J H Round (1905) (2) (3) (4). Round, without a complete verbatim copy of the surveys, was using another, selective, transcription by G Wrottesley (1884) (5). Although hampered by Wrottesley's omission of details which he considered unimportant, Round made a detailed study of the text. Later, to rectify the lack of a complete authentic version, Bridgeman, assisted by his brother the Rev. Ernest Bridgeman and by courtesy of the Marquess of Anglesey, made a fresh transcription of the whole of the Burton Abbey surveys directly from the original Burton Cartulary, which then resided in the muniment room at Beaudesert Hall.

The Sequence and Dates of the Two Surveys

Round in his detailed study of the two surveys came to the conclusions that:
1. Neither A nor B is so early as the days of Abbot Nigel, who died in 1114 (6),
2. survey A is later than survey B and
3. survey A contains portions of a still later survey.
The first conclusion is based on the fact that both surveys refer to tenants whose land title derived from Nigel's successor Geoffrey (abbot 1114-1150). The second conclusion was deduced from several instances where survey A gives the landholder as the son of the landholder in survey B. The third point comes from the fact that survey A contains information on the later history of the Abbey's holdings. From other specific references to known dated events, Round's final dating for survey B is not later than the year 1118. The shorter survey A, which followed a few years later, may have been meant to compliment survey B providing necessary additions and corrections.

My revised translation of the Appleby surveys which follows is based on the Bridgeman transcription. This translation is also presented phrase-by-phrase, alongside Bridgeman's expanded Latin original, in Appendix 8.2. The appellations 'Survey A' and 'Survey B', given by Round, were accepted by Bridgeman. The sequence used by Bridgeman (and used here) follows Round's deduction that survey B pre-dates survey A.

"A SURVEY OF THE LANDS OF THE MONASTERY OF BURTON UPON TRENT AT THE TIME OF KING HENRY I AND ABBOT NIGEL
(This title, from Folio 5, is 'in the hand of the fifteenth century')

'Survey B' (Folio 13)

In Appleby nothing is tax-free demesne i.e. which is without the king’s tax. Land in the demesne is 34 virgates where there can be 3 ploughlands. At present there are three (ploughlands) used for 24 bullocks; a mare and foal; (and) about 300 sheep. The land of the men is assessed for 24 virgates.
¶ Those who are simply villeins are these: Alwin, Almar, Lewin, Almar, Raura, Godric, Fladald, Ordric, Toki, Rau’ (?). Each one of these holds one virgate and works two days in the week, and performs all customary services which the villeins of Austrey perform* except that they fallow set aside and harrow one acre; These do half an acre. Likewise Aluric and Sewin hold one virgate and each of them works one day and performs the aforesaid customary service. Leveric has one bovate for service. Blancard similarly.
¶ Those who are simply rent-payers are these, Ranulf holds one virgate for 32 pence and lends his plough twice a year and he harvests three times in August with everything (equipment and labour) of his own, on two occasions taking his own food the third time with food provided by the Abbot, and he must do 2 perches of fencing at Burton, and 2 at the wood, and he is obliged to go to the courts both to the hundred court and to the shire court and carry messages when it is commanded. Franus holds just so much (land), and is bound to perform just so much (service). The sons of Aluric, Godric, Ailwin & Edric, have 8 virgates, which their father held for 12 shillings, and for their bodily service (at the courts). Avelin has 2 virgates for 5 shillings; Horbern 2 virgates for 3 shillings and for their bodily service.
¶ Those who are both villeins and rent-payers at the same time are these. Godwin the reeve holds 2½ virgates for customary service (and) another one (virgate) with a half, for rent for 4 shillings. Algar (holds) 2 virgates for customary service, and one (virgate) for rent for 16 pence. Those who hold land, both as villeins and as rent-payers, are obliged to make all customary services of both villeins and rent-payers.
These are the cottagers Walter holds 4 acres, and does one day’s service in the week. Gerard similarly. Aluric similarly. (There are) two oxmen each of whom has 5 acres, and of these 4 have been sown, and (each also has) 5 sheep for his position; and their wives work one day service. However they surrender the acres and the sheep when they give up the position.

'Survey A' (Folio 7)

In Appleby nothing is tax-free demesne. The land is assessed for 4 carucates. In this (estate) there are in all 40 plus 9 virgates (xl & ix virgate). Of these 24 are in the demesne and this is sufficient for 3 ploughlands. The remainder that is 25 the men hold in this way. 12 virgates are for customary service and 13 are for rent. Of those which are for customary service 11 villeins hold fully 11 virgates, that is every single one 2 bovates. Of the twelfth virgate which remains two villeins hold halves, each one of course half a virgate, i.e. each one (has) one bovate. Besides these there are three cottagers, each one holds one acre, and works one day service.
¶ Next, of those which are for rent, Godwin who is also a villein holds one virgate & a half for 4 shillings. Algar, who himself is also a villein, (holds) half a virgate for 16 pence. Franus has one virgate for 32 pence. Richard 4 virgates for 6 shillings. The other Richard 2 virgates for 3 shillings. Roger the priest 2 virgates for 3 shillings. Norbert 2 virgates for 3 shillings. That is all.

*The customary services of the villeins of Austrey
[Each villein] ... holds one virgate & performs service two days in the week & he is obliged to go for salt and for fish or give 2 pence for each at seed-time, & again he owes either a horse or 3 pence for the Abbot's journey to the court, & for the fold he fallows one acre in summer [i.e. puts sheep in], & at the right time for sowing he withdraws [the sheep] & harrows, & for this [fallow] he ploughs half an acre in Lent, & he pays pannage, & he gives 2 hens at Christmas & one penny or one wagon load of wood & 20 eggs at Easter. [Extracted from the Austrey entry in Folio 13]"

Customary Service

The Domesday survey records only the number of villeins (serfs) and bordars (lesser serfs) bound to work the Abbey's estate. There is no detail of their workload, nor is their any direct statement of the size of their land plots. The two Burton surveys not only give these details but show that other types of tenancy had developed. Under the feudal system all serfs were bound to work the land of the lord of the manor (in this case the Abbot of Burton) and were allowed a small allotment of land for their own subsistence. This compulsory work was known as customary service, and was determined by local custom as the name implies. Survey B relates that the customary services of Appleby were modelled on those operating at the neighbouring manor of Austrey, which was also held by Burton Abbey, and they were listed together in survey B under Warwickshire.

The villein held his land 'ad opus', i.e. for customary labour service, whose meaning is explained in the Austrey extract above. The villein did two days service per week and the size of his holding was generally one virgate, although in each survey two men share a virgate. Survey A says that 24 virgates are sufficient for 3 ploughlands (the figure of 34 quoted in survey B appears to be a mistake and to have been corrected in survey A). In the Danelaw areas, land areas were expressed using the ploughland and the bovate its one-eighth part. By contrast in the old Saxon shires, the units were the hide and the virgate its quarter part. As the hide and the ploughland were essentially equal in area, the virgate was equal to two bovates. Throughout Burton Abbey manorial holdings, each villein generally held 'two bovates' of land for his two days' work per week. This was described as 'one virgate' at Appleby where, as at Austrey, there seems to have been a preference for a hybrid system of ploughland and virgate, with the bovate (half virgate) used only to describe the smaller holdings. The term 'carucate' was reserved for fiscal purposes in the assessment of the land for geld. The ploughland, 'aratrum', was used for land area, here equivalent to eight virgates rather than the expected four. The villein holding of one eighth of a ploughland was thus 15 acres. The equivalent size of the bovate, at 7½ acres, was relatively small. Walmsley notes that, across Burton Abbey's estates, the bovate varied considerably in size 'from eight to sixteen acres', according to soil fertility. On that basis the land at Appleby must have been regarded as very fertile (7) (8).

The customary practice of 'folding' i.e. enclosing animals, especially sheep, on the fallow land in the summer resulted in the land being naturally manured. The half acre left fallow had previously been ploughed by the villein in Lent and after the summer fold he had to remove the sheep and harrow it in preparation for autumn sowing. Folding sheep on the fallow appears to have survived while open field agriculture continued to be practised. John Clare writing in the 1820s, some 700 years later, described the 'fold-stained coats' of sheep which had to be washed before shearing, after being driven from the 'fallow fold' (9).

Rent-paying Tenants

By the early 12th century other men held their tenancy 'ad malam', i.e. for money rent. They are also denoted by the term censarii, rent-paying tenants. Compared with the villeins, this form of tenure represents an easing of the burdens of serfdom, with weekly customary service commuted to money payment. Even if the rent-paying tenants enjoyed a little more freedom than the villeins, there were seasonal obligations to be performed for the Abbot, as detailed for Ranulf in survey B. These entailed hands-on work at seed-time and harvest using his own equipment. Is the Abbot's customary concession of providing food on the third day of harvesting an early harvest-home feast? There were also occasional duties of the year to be carried out, such as doing prescribed lengths of hedging (2 perches - about 10m), at both the Abbot's wood and the Abbey grounds at Burton. There were also the responsible duties of acting as messenger for the Abbot, or his reeve, and attendance on (or for) the Abbot at the courts, which may be seen as higher status activities. The three sons of Aluric, were also specifically detailed for similar so-called 'bodily' service.

The Abbot's Reeve

Two of the men, Godwin and Algar were named in both surveys as holding land as both villeins and rent-payers. Their naming in both surveys shows, incidentally, that survey A must have been completed within a generation of survey B, agreeing with Bridgeman's deduction that they were only 12 years apart (7). Godwin was named as reeve and would have had the responsibility of managing the farm work, seeing that the men performed all their services properly and generally overseeing the operation of the farm. Algar may have been his deputy or assistant. Although they were expected to do all the services that the other villeins and tenants performed, much of this must have entailed their supervisory role.

Other lesser serfs appearing here were the named cotseti (cottagers) with just a few acres who were obliged to work one day in the week on the Abbot's land. The cottagers may be equivalent to the bordars of Domesday. There were also the lowly bovarii (oxmen) whose duties were concerned with ploughing and looking after the ox teams. Unnamed here, as befitted their humble status, there is a suggestion that oxmen were sometimes recruited from slaves captured in war, or descendants of such men (10).

The Grange

Burton Abbey's estate at Appleby would have had a 'grange' or home farm, managed by the reeve, with all related farm buildings, as there were at Branston, another of Burton Abbey's estates. The grange at Branston comprised a great barn, a dairy and cowhouse. Sheep were prominent in the farm economy and folding was practised from the beginning of May to the end of August (11).
Where could the Appleby grange have been? Evidently it would have been on the Abbey's land which lay north-west of the village. The most obvious site would be that occupied by Dormer’s Hall in the 17th and 18th century. This lay a short distance west of the church and mirrored the Leicestershire manor building (Moat House site) to the east. The existence of Dormer’s Hall itself is obscure and this is the subject of a later article, but pottery fragments from the 12th and 13th century, which I found on the site, strongly suggest occupation in the medieval period, at the time of ownership by Burton Abbey (12).

Grange site Pottery from the site of Dormer Hall
Click images for larger views

The Priest

Survey A says that one of the tenants, Roger, was a priest. Roger is is clearly a 'worker-priest' as he held two virgates of land for a rental of 3 shillings and was subject to the seasonal obligations of the rent-payers described above. Worker-priests like Roger were a feature of the rural community before endowed rectories were established in the 12th /13th centuries (13). There is no record in the Domesday survey of a priest or church in Appleby, so Roger is the first known priest associated with the village. However with the pious Countess Godiva as a fellow land-holder with the Abbot of Burton at Domesday, it would be surprising if there were not already a simple Saxon church in the village (14) Indeed the early dedication name of the former chapel of St Helen (now the vestries and organ chamber) suggests the site of a Saxon building (15). The first known rector of the parish was 'Thomas rector of Appleby' whose quitclaim of tithes to the 'Abbot and convent of Burton' was recorded in the Derbyshire charters of 1230-32 (16). Sir Thomas Dandeville (possibly the same Thomas) was 'rector of Appleby church' in 1262 (17). These two references support the thesis that a church existed well before the present 14th century building. 'Sir' was the conventional courtesy title of a priest at the time.

The Size and Rental of Land Holdings

Whereas the villeins were strictly limited to 1 virgate of land, it appears that the rent-payers, like Roger the priest, usually had 2 virgates, but some had only one virgate and a few had more (one individual Richard had four). In the first survey (B) the usual rent was 30 - 32 pence per virgate, but those doing bodily service paid only 18 pence per virgate. In the later survey A, Franus paid 32 pence for his virgate, whereas all of the others paid only 18 pence. As with survey B, the difference in rate may be a reflection of the different services rendered, although these are not detailed. The near-identical figures (18d. and 30 to 32d.) for the two rental levels quoted in the two surveys again points to their being very close in date.

Value of the Estate

At the time of the Domesday survey, the value of the 5 ploughland estate held by Burton Abbey at Appleby, at the time of King Edward (ie before 1066), was put at 20 shillings, whereas in 1086 it was 60 shillings. The meaning of the term ‘value’ is open to debate, but a reasonable hypothesis would be the rental which the holding could command. With 8 virgates to the ploughland, the Appleby 1086 value amounts to 18 pence per virgate. About 30 years later, according to survey B, the rental required from those tenants who performed bodily service for the Abbot still amounted to only 18d, perhaps as a concession for their service. All the other rent-payers paid 30 to 32d. These latter figures perhaps reflect a real increase in the value of the Abbey's land since Domesday of around 75%.

Size of the Workforce

There is a large increase shown in the size of the Abbey workforce at Appleby between Domesday and the Burton surveys, from 9 men at Domesday to 28 at survey B, or 23 at survey A; see Appendix 8.3. Survey A appears to be less detailed than survey B so it may be that not all the lesser serfs were included and that the numbers were in reality very close. However the Domesday workforce of 9 men is of a lower order of magnitude altogether. How could the numbers of men have more than doubled in a generation?

The answer may lie in the local situation, where the Abbey's estate lay alongside the Leicestershire Domesday estate of the Countess Godiva. Although the details of her estate were included in the survey, as a Saxon noblewoman, her land was confiscated, along with with the ploughland which the Abbot had leased to her - 'which the King now has'. The Leicestershire survey of 1129/30 lists Robert de Ferrers with 1 carucate and 1 bovate of land at Appleby Parva, which it associates with the Domesday holding of 1 carucate of his father Henry. Robert also had another half carucate which the writer attributed 'no doubt' to the escheated land of the Countess. There is no mention of the remainder of her 3 Domesday ploughlands (carucates) which we must conclude lay waste (18).

That leaves the question: what happened to her workforce of 14 men - 8 villeins and 6 bordars? The neat answer is that they were taken on by the Abbot's reeve, boosting the number of men on the Abbot's Appleby estate to 23 (using the Domesday figures). The transferred men would have held on to their subsistence lands allocated by Godiva, the 8 villeins with the usual allotment of 1 virgate each and the bordars perhaps sharing a ninth.

In the third line of text of survey A, there is a clue that this might be the case. Describing the Abbey's land, it records: 'In hac sunt inter totum ·xl· & ·ix· virgate.' (In this there are in total 40 plus 9 virgates.) Note the curious construction '40 plus 9'. Why does it not simply say 'xlix virgate' (49 virgates)? The phrase seems deliberately to indicate two physically separate blocks of land. My suggestion is that an area of 9 virgates had been added to the Domesday holding of 5 ploughlands (40 virgates). These nine virgates would represent the subsistence land of Godiva's 8 villeins, at the going rate of one virgate each, plus 6 bordars each with 2½ acres.

In survey B, Appleby had been listed under Warwickshire, along with Austrey whose service customs it followed. Significantly, survey A for Appleby, like the Domesday record, was recorded under Derbyshire. In writing '40 plus 9 virgates', the author was consciously inviting a comparison with the Domesday information.

Dissolution of the Abbey

Burton Abbey continued to own and run the estate at Appleby Magna until its dissolution in 1539. Nichols, quoting the earlier historian William Burton, reports that the lands then ‘came to one Brereton of Cheshire, from whom the tenants not many years since (this was written in 1622) became purchasers’ (19). William Brereton also acquired Appleby Magna manor itself. Subsequently, the reunited manor land was purchased by the Dixies of Market Bosworth as endowment for their Grammar School. How the Dormers later came to acquire part of it is described in In Focus 11.

© revised text Richard Dunmore August 2009

Notes and References

1. Nichols, History & Antiquities of Leicestershire, IV, pt 2, 1811, 427

2. Acknowledgement to Mr John L. Marlow who kindly sent me copies of the Bridgeman transcription and the paper by Round.

3. C G O Bridgeman, The Burton Abbey Twelfth Century Surveys, Collections for a History of Staffordshire, William Salt Arch. Soc., 1916

4. J H Round, The Burton Abbey Surveys, English Historical Review XX, 275, 1905

5. G Wrottesley, The Burton Cartulary: Folios 5-18, Staffordshire Historical Colllections, 5 pt1, 1884, 18-34:
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=52359

6. Anglo Saxon Chronicles, trans. & ed. M Swanton, 2000, 245; Abbot Nigel died 3 May 1114

7. J F R Walmesley, The Estate of Burton Abbey from the 11th to the 14th Centuries, Birmingham Univ, PhD dissertation, 1972, 47-49 dating of surveys: Walmesley says that Bridgeman succeeded in narrowing down the dating to the beginning of Abbot Geoffrey's rule, 1114-15, for survey B and twelve years later, 1126-27, for survey A; 50-52 and n.11, evolution of the surveys including errors; 56 and n.16, size and fertility of villeins holdings

8. R Welldon Finn, Domesday Book Guide, 25 decribes the units used for land tax, the hide and carucate. Confusingly 'carucate' rather than 'ploughland' is often used for land area; they can then only be distinguished by context. In survey A there seems to be a deliberate attempt to clarify the units of land area used locally: "... In this (estate) there are in total 40 plus 9 virgates. Of these 24 are in the demesne and this is sufficient for 3 ploughlands. The remainder, ie 25, the men hold in this way. 12 virgates are for customary service and 13 for rent. Of those which are for customary service eleven villeins hold fully 11 virgates, Of the twelfth virgate which remains, two villeins hold halves, each one of course [has] half a virgate, i.e. each one 1 bovate..." The scribe thus sets out here the relationship between the ploughland, the virgate and the bovate, viz: 8 virgates to the ploughland and two bovates to the virgate. Also each villein at Appleby had typically one virgate or 15 acres.

9. John Clare, The Shepherd's Calendar, 'June', lines 59-64

10. Welldon Finn, op cit, 36; Walmesley op cit 63

11. VCH Staffs 9, 2003, 171-2, Branston: "Medieval Grange There was presumably a grange (or home farm) in the late 13th century, when the abbot made a grant of corn from the barn there. The reeve chosen by the vill of Branston at the manor court in 1324 was styled a granger in 1327 and 'barn reeve' in 1330. What was described as 'the site of the manor' of Branston was let by the abbey in 1431 to John Blount, a butcher, and Ralph Stokton for 11 years; it comprised a 'great barn', dairy (le deyhous), and cowhouse (le schepon). The lease also included 200 ewes, which the abbey allowed to be pastured in Sinai park between Holy Cross day (3 May) and Martinmas (11 November) and which were not tithable, although their lambs were, as was any corn grown on the land. In the last year of the lease the sheep were to be folded continuously from 3 May to 1 August on land called Conyngre flat and Penkholm flat. The abbey reserved two sheepfolds from the lease, as well as two meadows. (fn. 5) The farm was apparently still run directly by the abbey in 1537."

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=12349

12. P Liddle, Archaeological Report to the Author, 7 Sept 1989, on pottery finds in Dormer's Hall Close, SK 314 099, from C12/13 (Burton Abbey period) and C17/18 (Dormer's Hall period)

13. D Parsons, 'Churches and Churchgoing in 1086', in C Phythian-Adams (ed) The Norman Conquest of Leicestershire and Rutland, 1986, 42

14. J Hunt, 'Piety, Prestige or Politics?' in G Demidowicz (ed) Coventry's First Cathedral, 1993, 98

15. The Will of Edmund Appleby, 1506, PROB 11/15; he requests: 'Corpore[m] que meu[m] ad sepeliend[um] in Capella mea S[anc]te Helene in Appulby predict[a] cum ancestoribus mei[us]': 'and my body to be buried in my chapel of St Helen in Appleby aforesaid with my ancestors' - see In Focus 30

16. G F Farnham, Medieval Village Notes, Leicester, 1933

17. Hastings MSS, 1928, 47: "29 September 1262 - Lease by James, son of Sir Geoffrey de Appilby, to Roger the smith, of half an acre of land in Appleby Parva, lying at the head of the ville and abutting upon West Wellegrene; to hold for twenty years from Michaelmas 1626 paying 6d. and two horseshoes per annum. Witnesses - Sir Thomas Dandeville, rector of the church of Appleby ...and others."

18. VCH 1, Leicestershire, 1907, 339, 'Leicestershire Survey'

19. Nichols, op cit, 430


Appendix 8.1

Manuscript Problems

The recorded material of the surveys has had to go through several distinct stages of processing from an original abbreviated medieval Latin manuscript before being transformed into an English translation. The Burton material, consisting of the two surveys, is written in the Burton Abbey Cartulary (record book) interposed with the original charters. This abbreviated Latin manuscript is the oldest surviving version of the results of the 11th century surveys. For many years it was in the care of the Marquess of Anglesey at Beaudesert, from whom the various researchers obtained permission to make their transcriptions. This surviving record was itself copied from an earlier roll, fragments of which survived with material from the Domesday survey (Walmsley, 50). Any errors made at this stage may be difficult to detect.

The process of transcription and translation may be summarised as follows:

1. testing the material for authenticity, eg for alterations or additions,

2. transcribing the abbreviated medieval Latin surviving from the record book,

3. expanding the established script to full medieval Latin words in printed form, and

4. finally translating into English.

1. "The surveys are written up in the same thirteenth century hand as the main cartulary" (Walmsley, 1, n1). Tests by J H Round show that the title, given in Folio 5, is in the handwriting of the 15th century and has therefore been added at a later stage. The surveys were dubbed 'survey A' and 'survey B' by Round on the basis of their folio order. Survey B, from Folio 13, is in fact older than survey A, from Folio7. Round demonstrated this conclusively in a detailed study of the material for individual manors, for example the sequence of possession of an identifiable land holding from a father in Folio 13 (survey B) to his son in Folio 7 (survey A).

2. Nichols (1811) appears (from note 5 p 426) to have consulted Shaw's History and Antiquities of Staffordshire (1798-1801) which may have been his source. He gives no indication of derivation from an abbreviated script. He accepted the title and sequence of surveys as found and some serious errors were introduced in the process of expansion. There are also one or two serious typographical errors.

3. The carefully expanded transcription by Bridgeman enables a reasonably accurate English translation to be made.

4. In the absence of a complete translation into English, I have attempted this for Appleby myself. This final stage of translation is of course also subject to errors, although now working with the Bridgeman transcription, I hope that they are minimal.

Particular Errors in or arising from the Nichols' Version

1. Error of transcription.

Godwin/ p/p/ [from survey B] is given by Nichols as Godwinus presbyter (Godwin the priest). Bridgeman's correct version is Godwinus prepositus (Godwin the reeve). This particular error is seriously misleading when trying to compare the dates of the two surveys from the identity of individuals. Without the help of Round at that stage, I accepted survey A as older than survey B on the basis that Godwin, who is in both surveys, appeared to have been priested between them. However, it is gratifying to find that my deduction that Godwin must have been a reeve was indeed correct.

2. Printing Error

An unfortunated typographic error in Nichols was in printing the erroneous daubus for duabus (two). Daubus means daubing or whitewashing and contains the idea of deceit, which led my translation astray into maligning poor Ranulf. In fact his annual services to the Abbot at seed-time and harvest are given as an example of the duties of a typical rent-paying tenant.

3. Omissions

In survey B, two villeins, Leveric and Blancard are missed out completely as are the rent-payers Avelin and Horbern

4. Change of Units

Both surveys use the virgate for most of the smaller land area measurements, but not entirely so. The bovate is used occasionally instead of half a virgate. Nichols uses virgates for all these smaller areas. By doing so, he misses the opportunity to explain the bovate/ virgate relationship particular to this area, on the border of the Danelaw where the virgate was one eighth of a carucate.

5. Roman Numerals

The use of Roman numerals clearly provides scope for error, where multiples of 'i' or 'x' are used. In the case of multiples of 'i' there is the added complication that the last one was always written 'j'. Nichols ignored this completely using 'i' throughout. Of course, the hand written numeral 'j' is also open to misreading as a flourish and ignored. Bridgeman expressed the hope that mistakes remaining in his transcription would be few. He seems to have succeeded. I have found only one instance where I detect an error and that may well originate in survey B itself, rather than in Bridgeman's transcription. It concerns a Roman numeral: 'Terra in dominio est ·xxxiiij· uirgate '. Land in the demesne is 34 virgates. Survey A has 'xxiiij in domino' - 24 virgates - which appears to be the correct figure in its context.


Appendix 8.2

A phrase-by-phrase translation of Bridgeman's expanded transcription

[The letters underlined are Bridgeman's expansions.]

Survey B

Survey B

In Appelby nichil inlande est

In Appleby nothing is tax-free demesne

id est que sit sine gildo regis.

that is which is without the king’s tax.

Terra in dominio est ·xxxiiij· uirgate

Land in the demesne is 34 virgates

ubi possunt esse aratra ·iija·.

where there can be 3 ploughlands.

Nunc sunt ·iij·

At present there are three [ploughlands]

de ·xxiiij· bobus.

used for 24 bullocks;

Equa & pullus.

a mare and foal;

Oues circiter ·ccc·.

[and] about 300 sheep.

Terra hominum se defendit

The land of the men is assessed

pro ·xxiiij· virgatis.

for 24 virgates.

¶ Puri villani sunt isti,

¶ Those who are simply villeins are these:

Alwinus, Almarus, Lewinus, Almarus, Raura,

Alwin, Almar, Lewin, Almar, Raura,

Godricus, Fladaldus, Ordricus, Toki, Rau' (?).

Godric, Fladald, Ordric, Toki, Rau’ (?).

Quisque horum tenet ·i· uirgatam

Each one of these holds one virgate

& operatur ·ij· diebus in ebdomada,

and works two days in the week,

& facit omnes consuetudines

and performs all customary services

quas faciunt villani de Alduluestreo

which the villeins of Austrey perform*

nisi quod illi waractant & remouent

except that they fallow, set aside

& herzant ·i· acram,

and harrow one acre;

Isti dimidiam.

These do half an acre.

Item Aluricus & Sewinus tenent ·i· uirgatam

Likewise Aluric and Sewin hold one virgate

& operatur quisque eorum ·i· die

and each of them works one day

& facit predictas consuetudines.

and performs the aforesaid customary service.

Leuericus ·i· bouatam ad opus.

Leveric [has] one bovate for service.

Blancardus similiter.

Blancard similarly.


¶ Puri censarii sunt isti,

¶ Those who are simply rent-payers are these;

Ranulfus tenet ·i· uirgatam pro ·xxxij· denariis

Ranulf holds one virgate for 32 pence,

& prestat aratrum suum bis in anno

and lends his plough twice a year,

& ter secat in Augusto

and he harvests three times in August

cum omnibus suis,

with everything [equipment, labour] of his own,

duabus vicibus ad cibum proprium

on two occasions taking his own food

tercio ad cibum Abbatis,

the third time with food provided by the Abbot,

& debet ·ij· perticas ad Burtonam

and he must do 2 perches [of fencing] at Burton,

& ·ij· ad lucum,

and 2 at the wood,

& debet ire ad placita

and he is obliged to go to the courts

& ad hundredos & ad siras

both to the hundred court and to the shire court

& portare missatica ubi precipitur.

and carry messages when it is commanded.

Franus tantumdem tenet

Franus holds just so much [land]

& tantumdem debet facere.

and is bound to perform just so much [service].

Filii Alurici, Godricus, Ailwinus, Edricus,

The sons of Aluric, Godric, Ailwin and Edric,

habent ·viij· uirgatas

have 8 virgates,

quas pater eorum tenuit pro ·xij· solidis

which their father held for 12 shillings,

& pro seruicio corporum suorum.

and for their bodily service [at the courts].

Auelina habet ·ij· uirgitas pro ·v· solidis.

Avelin has 2 virgates for 5 shillings,

Horbernus ·ij· uirgatas pro ·iij· solidis

Horbern 2 virgates for 3 shillings

& pro seruicio corporis sui.

and for his bodily service.


¶ Villani & censarii utrumque

¶ Those who are both villeins and rent-payers

simul sunt isti.

at the same time are these.

Godwinus prepositus tenet

Godwin the reeve holds

·ij· uirgatas & dimidiam ad opus

2½ virgates for customary service,

alteram cum dimidia ad censum

[and] another one with a half, for rent

pro ·iiij· solidis.

for 4 shillings.

Algar ·ij· bouatas ad opus

Algar [holds] 2 bovates for customary service,

& ·i· bouatam ad censum pro ·xvi· denariis.

and 1 bovate for rent for 16 pence.

Isti quia tenent terram

Those who hold land,

& sicut villani & sicut censarii

both as villeins and as rent-payers,

debent facere omnes consuetudines

are obliged to make all customary services

& villanorum & censariorum.

of both villeins and rent-payers.

Cotseti sunt isti,

These are the cottagers

Walter tenet ·iiij· acras

Walter holds 4 acres

& operatur ·i· die in ebdomada.

and does 1 day’s service in the week.

Gerardus similiter.

Gerard similarly.

Aluricus similiter.

Aluric similarly.

Duo bouarii quisque habet ·v· acras

[There are] two oxmen each of whom has 5 acres,

& ex ipsis ·iiij· seminatas

and of these 4 have been sown,

& ·v· oues pro officio suo

and [each also has] 5 sheep for his position;

& uxores eorum operantur ·i· die.

and their wives work one day service.

Reddent autem acras & oues

However they surrender the acres and the sheep

cum reddent officium.

when they give up the position.

Survey A

Survey A

In Appelbi nichil inlande est.

In Appleby nothing is held as tax-free demesne

Terra se defendit pro ·iiij· carrucatis.

The land is assessed for four carucates.

In hac sunt inter totum ·xl· & ·ix· virgate.

In this there are in total 40 plus 9 virgates

Ex hiis sunt ·xxiiij· in dominio

Of these 24 are in the demesne

& satis est ad ·iij· aratra.

and this is sufficient for 3 ploughlands.

Ceteras id est ·xxv· tenent homines hoc modo.

The remainder, i.e. 25, the men hold in this way.

Virgate ·xij· sunt ad opus

12 virgates are for customary service

& ·xiij· ad malam.

and 13 for rent.

De hiis que sunt ad opus

Of those which are for customary service

tenent vndecim villani plenarii ·xi· virgatas,

eleven villeins hold fully 11 virgates,

id est vnusquisque ·ij· bouatas.

that is every single one 2 bovates.

Duodecimam virgatam que restat

Of the twelfth virgate which remains,

tenent ·ij· villani dimidii

two villeins hold halves,

quisque scilicet virgatam dimidiam,

each one of course [has] half a virgate,

id est vnusquisque ·i· bouatam.

ie each one 1 bovate.

Preter hos cotseti ·iij· sunt,

Besides these there are three cottagers

quisque tenet ·i· acram & operatur ·i· die.

each one holds 1 acre, and works one day service.

¶ Porro de hiis que sunt ad malam

¶ Next, of those which are for rent,

tenet Godwinus qui & villanus est ·

Godwin, who is also a villein,holds

i· virgatam & dimidiam pro ·iiij· solidis.

1½ virgates for 4 shillings.

Algar qui & ipse villanus est

Algar, who is also himself a villein,

dimidiam virgatam pro ·xvi· denariis.

[has] half a virgate for 16 pence.

Franus ·i· virgatam pro ·xxxij· denariis.

Franus 1 virgate for 32 pence.

Ricardus ·iiij· virgatas pro ·vi· solidis.

Richard 4 virgates for 6 shillings.

Alter Ricardus ·ij· virgatas pro ·iij· solidis.

The other Richard 2 virgates for 3 shillings.

Rogerius presbyter ·ij· virgatas pro ·iij· solidis.

Roger the priest 2 virgates for 3 shillings.

Norbertus ·ij· virgatas pro ·iij· solidis.

Norbert 2 virgates for 3 shillings.

Summa est

That is all.

* The Customary Services of the Villeins of Austrey in Warwickshire
[from Bridgeman p 246]
....

Villani sunt Ordricus prepositus,

The villeins are Ordric the reeve,

Godwinus, Elricus, Ansgotus.

Godwin, Elric [and] Ansgot.

Quisque horum trium tenet 'i' uirgatam

Each one of these three holds one virgate

& operatur 'ij' diebus in ebdomada,

& performs service two days in the week

& debet ire pro sale et pro piscibus

& he is obliged to go for salt and for fish

aut dare 'ij' denarios pro utroque summagio,

or give 2 pence for each at seed-time,

& iterum debet aut equum aut 'iij' denarios

& again he owes either a horse or 3 pence

propter iter Abbatis ad curiam,

for the Abbot's journey to the court,

& propter faldam warectat in estate 'i' acram,

& for the fold he fallows one acre in summer,

& tempore seminandi

& for the sowing season

remouet & herzat,

he withdraws & harrows,

& propter hoc arat

& for this he ploughs

in quadragesima dimidiam acram

half an acre in Lent

& reddit pasnagium,

& he pays pannage,

& dat 'ij' gallinas ad Natale

& he gives 2 hens at Christmas

& 'i' denarium aut 'i' quadrigatam lignorum

& one penny or one wagon load of wood

& 'xx' oua ad pascha.

& 20 eggs at Easter.

....

....


Appendix 8.3

Size of the Workforce


Men

Domesday

 

 

Survey A

Survey B

 

Burton Abbey

Countess Godiva

Total

Burton Abbey

Burton Abbey


reeves (rent & service)

 

 

 

2

2

censarii (money rental)

 

 

 

7

5

villeins (customary service)

8

8

16

14

13


Sub-totals

8

8

16

23

20

lesser serfs:

 

 

 

 

 

bordars & cottagers

1

6

7

3

3

oxmen

 

 

 

2

 


totals

9

14

23

28

23


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