Friday 22nd February, 2008
Copyhold Tenants
Tenants in Medieval Standish were copyholders. This means they held their lands according to manorial customs. The tenure was so called because tenants held a copy of an agreement which was written in the rolls of the manorial court baron - an assembly of the tenants under the presidency of the lord.
Under the agreement, tenants performed services or "boons" for the lord of the manor in return for their holdings. These services included tasks such as harrowing and shearing. Any milling of grain must be done at the manorial mill and disputes must be settled in the manorial court (suit of mill and court).
Tenants, however, had grazing rights on common land. Also common woodland could be used for pannage (right to pasture pigs in the woodland) and for housebote and haybote (rights to take wood for the building and repair of houses and fences respectively).
By the 16th century, services had usually been commuted to monetary payments and leasehold agreements began to replace copyhold.
An intriguing document entitled "Register of all Leasehold Estate of Ralph Standish 1776", despite its later date, gives an interesting insight into copyhold agreements of an earlier time. It has entries from as early as 1690 which still list the services medieval tenants were obliged to perform but which had long since been commuted to monetary payments.
Seth Jolley of the Jolly Mill
For example on 13th May 1690, Seth Jolley leased the Jolly Mill, a kiln for drying grain and a messuage from William Standish esquire. A messuage is a dwelling house, outhouses and a portion of land surrounding them, together with the customary rights associated with the property.
As this was no longer copyhold but leasehold, the property was held for 99 years or three lives. The lives listed were the lessee, Mary his wife and James their son. The obligatory boons or services were "leading dung", "harrowing" and "shearing". These had been commuted to payments of 2s 6d (12.5p) per service. The obligation of the provision of six capons was replaced by a payment of 6s (30p). The tenant was obliged to perform "suit of mill and court".
A payment of 2s 6d instead of leading dung for a day seems a good investment to me.
More about the Jolly Mill here .