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.