VCH Cumbria Meeting for volunteers, 14 Feb 2013 Getting to grips with Landownership.

VCH Cumbria Meeting for volunteers, 14 Feb 2013

Getting to grips with Landownership

Overlordship

Landownership within baronies

Inquisitions post mortem [IPMs]: Robert Clifford, 1314

IPM Robert Clifford (2)

IPM Margaret Dacre, 1362

IPM Peter Tillioll, 1246Manor of Scaleby

Demesne (233 acres arable land; 20 acres meadow; mill; capital messuage; pasture with vaccary)

Bondagium (31 bovates of land, held by 20 bondi)

Cottagers (6 cottagers holding 6 cottages & 14 acres land)

Free tenants (including: Udard de Etardebi holds Etardeby by service of 16s annually)

Structure of a Manor

Demesnes (often leased from 14th cent)

Tenant landFreeholdCustomary (enfranchised 17th cent to 1925)

Leasehold

Cumberland: demesnes

1688 1816

‘Customary tenantright’

‘at the will of the lord subject to the customs of the manor’‘ancient yearly rent’tantamount to freeholdorigins: probably originated in life leases

granted for the life of lord or tenantfine (or ‘gressum’) - not only on change

of tenant but also on a change of lordlords exploit fines to raise income

Landed estates, 17th-20th cents

ProcessesDemesnes/leasehold – limited base in

CumbriaPurchase of freehold/customary landImpact of Parliamentary enclosure of

commons

Motives:High farmingAfforestation (private; Forestry Commission)Institutional control (Manchester Corp.;

National Trust; Ministry of Defence)

1910 Valuation Office Records – ‘Lloyd George Domesday’

Provide a snapshot of landownership in early 20th century.Landholdings marked on Ordnance Survey

1:2500 plans, working copies of which are in Cumbria Archive Centres

Key to landholding unit: ‘Domesday Books’ – again held by CAS

Detailed ‘field books’, with very full details of each property in The National Archives, Kew, IR58.