Wednesday 6 February 2008
The Evolution of the English Manorial System
by Lieutenant-Colonel J W Molyneux-Child T.D., B.Sc(Eng), M.C.I.M
Lord of Dedswell and Papworth
Lieutenant-Colonel J W Molyneux-Child (below) has had a varied career as a professional Army REME Officer, mechanical engineer and chairman of eleven electronics companies of the Surrey Group based at Staines (see) also in historical research, he inherited the Lordships in Surrey of the Manors of Dedswell and Papworth, near Guildford, and lives at Croxteth Hall, Ripley in Surrey. He now spends the summer six months on his estate in South West France, more details are here.......click.
His presentation was supported by very well produced slides illustrating a series of sections covered in “The Evolution the English Manorial System.
First he clarified the word “manor” (more below...here) which may be defined as a landed estate run as a single administrative unit containing sections of land held by various tenants, primarily in the Middle Ages; the term was also used at a later date to describe the residence of someone in the middle ranks of the landowning classes, a property of, say, the size of a large farmhouse today.
From the Norman Conquest, the manor developed as an economic unit supplying its owner, usually a knight rewarded with land by the crown, with sufficient income to live on. By the early 12th century, this was commonly divided into two parts: the lord’s lands, under his immediate control, and tenanted land, whose residents provided the services needed to cultivate the tenanted land and his lands as well. These tenants usually held their land freely, or owing the lord a mixture of services and money rent. In the 13th century the practice of the payment of money in lieu of services, had become widespread.
By the 15th century, the lord of the manor commonly exercised rights of jurisdiction over his tenants in his private court, the ‘court baron’, this type of farming continued in some places until the early 20th century with continuing strong ties between lord and tenant, the growth of the influence of the parish in local government under the Tudors and the break-up of many manors eroded the system throughout the post-medieval period.
Important elements in the running of a manor were its officials. These might include a steward, the lord’s chief administrator and bailiffs both responsible for farm management. Another major element was manorial custom: particular rights and practices which became part of the law of a local manor after a certain period of existence, often 20 years. These customs included widespread practices such as the payment of a ‘heriot’ or ‘best beast’, claimed by the lord on the death of a tenant, or ‘tallage’, a fine on a tenant’s goods and chattels, and local rights such as the right to draw water from a certain well or to use a piece of land for common pasturage.
The essence of the feudal system, which originated in the military policy of the tribes of northern Europe, was that the ultimate title to all land in a kingdom vested in the King but that it could be held by sub-proprietors (vassals) in exchange for a commitment to the provision of arms and men in times of war. It was introduced by William soon after the Conquest after a threat of invasion from the Danes.
The Doomsday Book (left) or rather books, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk were recorded in a smaller supplementary volume is housed in the Public Record Office and has recently been re-bound undoing poor work carried out in Victorian times. It is an inventory created to form a basis for taxation. It was completed in a year and its purpose was clearly well understood because local jurors were active in disputing values attributed. Its second but very important use was as a record of the extent and ownership of land. As such it was a definitive authority which could not be disputed. It was also the best indication we now have of the population of the country (of England: Scotland, most of Wales and parts of the far north were excluded). Only men were counted – excluding clergy, monks and nuns, women and children. Modern estimates are constructed by applying a multiplier of 5.4 to the count. By this method the population covered by Doomsday was 1,687,500
Almost all of the legal functions of the Manorial System are now defunct but they were once considerable. Most important were the Courts Baron. These were supposed to be held every three weeks although the frequency was variable from the 15th Century onwards. The judgements were made by the assembled body of the tenants; later by juries drawn from the same group. The business was minor cases of debt, contract, trespass and assault, breaches of custom, enforcing the rules of open field husbandry and offences of nuisance. Major theft and violence were the prerogative of the Crown. Punishments were by fines, the stocks or enforced work. The courts were customarily presided over by the Steward or sometimes the Lord of the Manor.
There was a hierarchy of officials in a manor the most important of which was the Steward. Farm management was the responsibility of the Bailiff who was accountable for the collection of rents and dues, the exaction of fine and the seizing of ‘heriot’ or ‘best beast’, on the death of a sub- tenant. In many manors there was an ale taster whose job was to assess the quality and price of bread and alcoholic drink produced for sale. He had the power to exact fines on behalf of the Lord but the mechanism acted more as a licensing fee system than as a way of maintaining quality standards.
In his own manors Molyneux-Child likes to “revive” customs for purely entertainment purposes, the Ale taster being a popular character as the centre of jollifications, much of this is in aid of Charities especially Macmillan Cancer Research.
After question time, which raised some interesting questions and very detailed explanations, Frank Rae on behalf of the membership thanked Lieutenant-Colonel J W Molyneux-Child for a most informative and very interesting presentation with which the membership concurred in our normal manner.
Report with thanks to Brian Jackson
Suggested Further Reading:-
The Evolution of the English Manorial System, J W Molyneux-Child, 1987
EMC Shielding Materials. A Designer's Guide, Molyneux-Child, J W
A manor may be defined as a landed estate run as a single administrative unit containing sections of land held by various tenants, primarily in the Middle Ages; the term was also used at a later date to describe the residence of someone in the middle ranks of the landowning classes, a property of, say, the size of a large farmhouse today.
From the Norman Conquest, the manor developed as an economic unit supplying its owner, usually a knight rewarded with land by the crown, with sufficient income to live on. By the early 12th century, this was commonly divided into two parts: the lord’s ‘demesne’, under his immediate control, and tenanted land, whose residents provided the services needed to cultivate the ‘demesne’. These tenants usually held their land freely, or as villeins owing the lord a mixture of services and money rent. In the 13th century the practice of ‘commutation’, the payment of money in lieu of services, had become widespread. By the 15th century, the lord of the manor commonly exercised rights of jurisdiction over his tenants in his private court, the ‘court baron’. However, although demesne farming continued in some places until the early 20th century with continuing strong ties between lord and tenant, the growth of the influence of the parish in local government under the Tudors and the break-up of many manors eroded the system throughout the post-medieval period.
Important elements in the running of a manor were its officials. These might include a steward, the lord’s chief administrator, and reeves and bailiffs, both responsible for farm management. Another major element was manorial custom: particular rights and practices which became part of the law of a local manor after a certain period of existence, often 20 years. These customs included widespread practices such as the payment of a ‘heriot’ or ‘best beast’, claimed by the lord on the death of a tenant, or ‘tallage’, a fine on a tenant’s goods and chattels, and local rights such as the right to draw water from a certain well or to use a piece of land for common pasturage.
More about Colonel J W Molyneux-Child's ventures.
Many British people are tempted to buy property in France to build a gite complex. Lt-Colonel J.W. Molyneux-Child, the Lord of Dedswell and Papworth found his ideal estate near Duras in South West France ‘by total accident’ four years ago. While contemplating buying a holiday complex in the Canary Islands, Colonel Molyneux-Child spent a fortnight on holiday at his sister’s French barn conversion and came across the derelict Tachau estate, east of Bordeaux, during a country walk. Three days later, the Manoir de Tachau (main gate after conversion shown below) was his!
The eldest son of the French family that owned the 37-room manoir sold the property for £56,000 – and was relieved to find a buyer! A year later, the colonel bought the neighbouring farm, for £42,000, as a second renovation project.
The Manor House Project
Renovating Le Manoir de Tachau was not an easy business. The roof had fallen in and vital works were required for the vast building. Finding a motivated and reliable workforce was a key point to the project. The initial plan was to bring two English builders across to run the project. But they were hampered by the foreign language and lack of knowledge of local regulations. Eventually, Molyneux-Child hired a team of high quality French builders, who kept the project within the strict standards set by the French building control authorities. The key, he says, to getting good quality work completed on time is to pay workers promptly! It sounds logical, but owners forget it too often, he warns. ‘Too many people just forget their cheque books or find other reasons to postpone the payment, and then, not surprisingly, the workers don’t stay on the job’.
Splitting the estate
The colonel chose to keep the Great Hall and 19 rooms of the manoir, plus a garden for his own use, and in a separate wing converted the rest into three luxury gites with seventeen rooms in total. Each gite has its own garden, and two swimming pools were built on the estate for gite visitors. During this part of the renovation a total of 53 builders and tradesmen were employed, including an expert in stained glass.
Conversion of The Barn
A year later, La Ferme de Tachau was renovated, again using a team of around 50 French builders, almost all having worked at Le Manoir. This resulted in a superb farmhouse and a farm cottage available for all-year-round letting, together with a gite constructed from a converted barn, with wheelchair access for visitors. This left a huge stone barn, which has been split into two separate two-storey houses, which have now been partially renovated and are now for sale.
Major works required
The renovation work required was extensive. The walls were good quality but the roof had fallen in. Some huge timbers had moved away in one direction, and due to settlement had pulled almost out of the wall. With the help of a large crane, the workers managed to return them back into their ancient sockets in the masonry. Most of the smaller timbers elements were rotten and had to be replaced.
Undertiles on the roof
Underneath the roof tiles, a corrugated composite undertile material was laid to strengthen and waterproof the roof. The building being at least 200 years old, some tiles were fragile, but there were enough good quality ones to lay a tiled roof that retainied its ancient weathered look. A concrete terrace base slab has been laid for each barn conversion, so that purchasers can lay their own choice of exterior tiling.
New colombage (timber frame) for the doors
An expert installed a new timber frame around the large barn door. Ancient oak from other buildings on the estate was used for that purpose, and glass panes will be placed between the timbers to bring more light inside the barn. The French planning authorities limit the number of window openings in the walls, so Velux roof lights have been added, in addition to some new windows in the stone work.
Lime-based jointing
The masonry was cleaned by sandblasting, and then the walls were repointed in a lime mortar. The masonry is a pale whitish grey limestone that looks luminescent in the sunlight. To emphasize this feature, a slightly yellow pointing was applied to the wall. The finishing technique here is to coat the entire stone surface with lime mortar, and then, once the mortar has partially hardened, you brush away the surplus with a wire brush to expose the beautiful stone blocks.
Shutter colours
All buildings on the estate, whether for sale or letting, have their shutters painted in Tachau blue, which is made up of three pigments: blue, silver and black, which are added in precise amounts to a neutral paint base
Why use galvanised zinc instead of plastic?
Galvanised zinc gutters and down pipes were installed on the barns. ‘The region is very hot and plastic gutters deteriorate very quickly, whereas zinc gutters last a lifetime!’ the Colonel reckons. British DIY renovators tend to use plastic gutters too often without realising they need to be replaced regularly.
Electricity, telephone, a water supply, and a brand-new sceptic tank has been installed, and each barn is now selling for around £60,000.
The barns are being sold as ‘shells’ with interiors that still need to be converted – which could cost £40,000 to £60,000 depending on the level of interior finish required. Both houses have wonderful views across the valley, the vineyards, a plum orchard and sunflowers fields stretch as far as the eye can see.
The Farmhouse Renovation
The new floor inside the three-century-old stone farmhouse was covered with the same quarry tiles throughout all rooms. A concrete floor was already there but a damp proof membrane was laid on top and then another layer of concrete was applied to make the floor completely waterproof and level for the tiling.
The stonework on the walls was sand blasted inside and out, and all the age-old grime removed. The Colonel opened up more windows and replaced some shutters. The ground floor is composed of two bedrooms, a shower-room, a large living room with a huge open fireplace and a substantial farmhouse kitchen, which also serves as a dining room.
Upstairs, the ancient dilapidated lathe and plaster partition walls were replaced by plasterboard partitions in a metal frame, creating two large bedrooms, a shower-room and WC, all accessible through a beautiful hand-crafted sweeping staircase, which replaces the original ladder!
The Colonel believes building labour is expensive in the South West of France but hiring French builders is well worth it. His advice to Brits who are ready to take the plunge is to get several quotations for each piece of work before choosing a company.
Location: 4 miles north of Duras, in Lot-et-Garonne, Aquitaine
Show map............CLICK here
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