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U r b a n a g ricu ltu re, c o m m o n s a n d c o m m o n e r s in th eseventeenth and e ighteenth centur ie s : the case o fSudbury , Suf fo lk

b y H . R . F r e n c hA b s t r a c tUrban agriculture and town commons have been largely overlooked in the exist ing l i terature, and havenever been systematically surveyed. This stu dy lays ou t a typology of ur ban com mo ns, c i t ing examplesf i'om across the coun t ry . It focuses on the uses and use rs of one urban com mo n, in the c lo th-produ c ingtow n o f Sudbu ry, Suffolk, betw een 17m-28. It details the occupational profi le of com mo ners , dist inguishesdiffe rences in the i r use of the comm ons , and com pares them wi th those f reemen who did not co mm onanimals. The stud y explores corporate m anag eme nt of this resource, in response to econ om ic uncertainty,and in the context of wider urban agriculture . I t conc ludes tha t the im portan ce of urban agr iculture andagrarian resources has been under-est imated, as has their survival and significance into the 'modern'period.I t h a s b e c o m e a t r u i s m a m o n g h i s t o r i a n s t h a t t h e d i v i d i n g l i n e s b e t w e e n t h e ' u r b a n ' a n d t h e' r u r a l ' w e r e b l u r r e d i n e a r ly m o d e r n E n g la n d. ~ M o s t t o w n s i n t h e s e v e n t e e n t h a n d e a r l ye i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r i e s h a d s m a l l p o p u l a t i o n s , e x t e n d e d o v e r l im i t e d g e o g r a p h i c a l ar e as , a n d w e r ei m m e r s e d i n t h e a g r a r ia n l if e - i n t h e se a so n a li ty , e c o n o m y , e m p l o y m e n t a n d e n v i r o n m e n t -o f t h e i r r u r a l s u r r o un d in g s .. '- H o w e v e r , a s J o h n C h a r t r e s o b s e r v e d a l m o s t a d e c a d e a g o , t h eh i s t o r i o g r a p h i e s o f u r b a n a n d r u r a l E n g l a n d h a v e d i v e r g e d as e a c h h a s b e e n s t u d i e d i n m o r ed e t a i l ? W h i l e u r b a n h i s t o r i a n s h a v e h a d t o a d m i t t h a t , i n e c o n o m i c a n d s o c i a l t e r m s , m o s tsma l l t owns we re l i t t l e more t ha n b i g v i l l a ge s , ne i t he r t he y , no r ru ra l h i s t o r i a ns , ha ve i nve s t i -g a t e d t h e a g r i c u l tu r a l e c o n o m y o f to w n s . T h e h i s t m T h a s y e t t o b e w r i t t e n o f t h e m a n y

i A. Everitt (ed.), Perspectives in English urban histoly(1972); P. Clark (ed.), The early modern town: a reader(1976); P. Clark an d P. Slack (eds), English towns in tran-sition, 15oo-17oo (1976); P. Clark (ed .), C ounty owns inpre-industrial England (1981); P. C lark (ed.), Small townsin ear ly modern Europe (1995).2 See K. D. M. Snell,Am mls o f the labouring poor. So-c ia l change and agrarian Eng land , 166o-19oo ( 1985 ) ;A. Everitt, 'The Banburys of England', Urba, HistoryYearbook i (1974), pp. 28-38; id., 'The mark eting of agri-cultural pr od uc e, 15oo-164o', in J. Thirsk (ed .), T heAgrarian History o f Eng land and W ales , IV, ( 1967 ) ,PP. 466-592; J. A. C hartres, T he mark eting of agriculturalA g H R 48, II, pp. 171-199

pro duc e, 164o-175o', in J. Th irsk (ed .), Agrarian History,V (ii), pp. 4o6-5o2.3 j.A. Chartres, 'City and towns, farmers and econ-omic change ' , H is to r i c A l R e s . 64 (1991), pp. 138-9.Chartres attem pts to brid ge this gap by examiningthe ma rket fun ction of tow ns and their relationshipto rur al hinterlands. The connection betw een urbandemographic grow th and agrarian productivi ty hasbeen best explored by E. A. Wrigley, Urb an growth andagricultural chan ge. En glan d and the continent inthe ear ly modern p eriod' in id ., People , c i t ie s andwealth. The transformation o f traditional society (1987),pp. 157-93.

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t o w n - d w e l l in g ( b u t p r a ct is in g ) y e o m e n a n d h u s b a n d m e n f o u n d i n a n y s a m p l e o f u r b a n p r o b a tei n v e n t o r i e s . U r b a n a g r i c u l tu r a l i st s r e m a i n a n a n o m a l y , a c a s e o f t e r m i n o l o g i c a l c o n f u s i o n ,r a t h e r t h a n a p h e n o m e n o n t o b e s t u d i e d i n t h e i r o w n r i g h t .

S i m i l a rl y , t h e r e h a s b e e n l i t tl e s y s t e m a t i c r e s e a r c h o n t h e u s e , m i s u s e a n d e v e n t u a l d e m i s e o ft h e f o r u m f o r m u c h o f t h is u r b a n a g r i c u l tu r e - t h e t o w n c o m m o n . W h i l e t h e fa te s o f t h e s m a lll a n d o w n e r , o f o p e n f ie ld a g r ic u l tu r e , a n d o f t h e e n c l o s u re o f t h e r u r a l c o m m o n s h a v e i n s p ir e de a c h s u c c e e d i n g g e n e r a t i o n o f a g ra r i a n h i s to r i a n s i n c e 19 oo , th e t o w n c o m m o n s h a v e b e e n l a r g el yo v e r l o o k e d . 4 C o m m o n l a n d , a n d t h e p r o c e s s o f e n c lo s u r e , h a s b e e n r e g a r d e d a s a p h e n o m e n o no f r u r a l s o c i e ty . I n s o m e s e n s e s, t h i s p e r s p e c t i v e is u n d e r s t a n d a b l e . W h a t e v e r t h e d e b a t e a b o u tt h e e c o n o m i c si g n if ic a n c e , a n d c o n s e q u e n c e s o f t h e e n c lo s u r e o f c o m m o n l a n d a n d o p e n f ie ld s,t h e s e m u s t h a v e b e e n g r e a t e r in s m a l l r u ra l s e t t l e m e n t s w h e r e o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r b y - e m p l o y m e n t sw e r e l es s t h a n i n t o w n s . M o r e o v e r , e n c l o s u r e e n c o m p a s s e d a m u c h g r e a te r a c r ea g e a n d h a d ad e e p e r ' g l o b a l ' e f f e c t i n t h e c o u n t l2 " si d e. A s s u m p t i o n s s u c h a s t h e s e a r e t h e c a u s e o f t h e n e g l e c to f u r b a n c o m m o n s .H o w e v e r , u r b a n c o m m o n s a n d c o m m o n r ig h ts b e lo n g i n g t o t o w n s w e re n o t i n f re q u e n t,a r c a n e m e d i e v a l su r v iv a l s. A t t h e e n d o f t h e p a r l i a m e n t a r y e n c l o s u r e p r o c e s s , i n 18 7o , t h e H o u s eo f C o m m o n s s e n t a q u e s t i o n n a i r e t o a ll c o r p o r a t e a n d b o r o u g h t o w n s ( i n c l u d in g th o s e d i s e n -f r a n c h i s e d in 1 8 35 ). I n E n g l a n d , 4 8 r e s p o n d e d e i t h e r th a t t h e y p o s s es s e d c o m m o n s o r c o m m o nr i g h ts , o r t h a t t h e s e h a d b e e n e x t i n g u i s h e d ' r e c e n t l y ' .s T h e y i n c l u d e d s u c h w e l l - k n o w n e x a m p l e so f t o w n s w i t h c o m m o n s a s C a m b r i d g e , C o v e n t r y , O x f o rd , N e w c a s t l e - u p o n - T y n e , L ei ce s te r,L i n c o l n , N o r w i c h a n d Y o r k , b u t a l s o l e s s f a m i l i a r l o c a t i o n s , s u c h a s B a t h , B e d f o r d , B e v e r l e y ,C o l c h e s te r , D e r b y , D u r h a m , E y e , G l o u c e s te r , H e r t f o r d , M a r l b o r o u g h , N e w b u r y , N o r t h a m p t o n ,P r e s t o n , S o u t h a m p t o n , T a m w o r t h a n d W a r w i c k . O n c l o s e r i n s p e c t i o n , i t a p p e a r s t h a t m a n y o ft h e s e ' t o w n l a n d s ' w e r e a c t u a ll y t h e s u r v iv i n g r e m n a n t s o f m u c h l a rg e r c o m m o n s a f te r e x te n s iv ee n c l o s u r e o r s a le , a s in C a m b r i d g e , C o v e n t r y , N e w c a s t l e - u p o n - T y n e , L e ic e s te r , Y o r k , C o l c h e s -t er , D e r b y , D u r h a m . N o r t h a m p t o n , N o r w i c h , P r e st o n a n d S o u t h a m p t o n . " M a n y w e r e ab o u t t oe n t e r a m u n i c i p a l a f t e r- l if e , a s p u b l i c p a r k s a n d p l e a s u r e g a r d e n s . 7

4 T o w ncommons receiveonly passing referenc eevenin L. Du dley Stam p and W. G. Hoskins, The commonlands o f England and Wales (1963), pp. 63-4, and forLondon comm ons, pp. 65-78.s British Parliamentary Papers (BPP), 187o, LV,pp. 95-123; Ho use o f Co mm ons' R eport, 24 M arch 187o,'Return o f all boroughs and cities in the United Kingdompossessing common or other lands, in respect of whichthe freemen or other privileged inhabitants claim anyexclusive right of property or use . . . ' .6 C.P. Hall and 1. R. Ravensdale, The W est Fields ofCambridge', CambridgeAntiquarian RecordsSociety3 (1976);R. B. Rose, Th e city of Coventry: he com mons', VictoriaCounty History (hereafter VCH ), Warwickshire, VIII,pp. 199-2o7; E. Halcrow , Th e To wn M oor o f Newcastle-upon-Tyne',ArchaeologiaAeliana, 4th ser.31 (1953),pp. 149-164; E.W.J. Kerridge, 'Social and eco nom ic history',VC H Leicestershire, IV, pp. 99-1oo; VCH City q f York,

p. 505; C .C . Th ornton, 'The Conlmo,1 Lands', VCHEssex, IX, p. 259; 'Re turn o f all boroughs aM cities ... ',Derby and Durh am returns, pp. lo2-3, lo3-4; H. M. Cann,'Northampton Borough', VCH Northamptonshire, III,pp. 22-3; M ousehold H eat h, N orwich, N. MacMaste,' ,'The battle for M ouseh old He ath, ~857-1884. "Pop ularpolitics" and the V ictorian public park', Past and Present127 (199o), pp. 117-154; A. Hewitso n, HistorX of Preston(1883), pp. 326-9; A. Tem ple Patterson , A HistorX o fSouthampton 17oo-1914:(3 vols, 1966-75), II, pp. 57-8.7 How ever, York, Beverley, Ox ford, Marlborough,Sudbury and Cam bridge survived as working commo nsinto the first half of the twentieth century. VCH Ci t y o fYork, p. 505; VCH East Riding, VI, p. 215; VCH Oxford-shire, IV, pp. 279-8o; VCH Wi hsh i re , XI I, p. 2o7;Cambridge's com mo ns we re used (in 187o) by a fewfreemen and butchers, 'Retu rn of all boro ughs andcities ... ', p. 99.

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T h e se w e r e o n l y th e l as t re m a i n s o f a m u c h m o r e e x te n s iv e sy s te m o f u r b a n c o m m o n s w h i c hpe r i s he d p r i m a r i l y i n t he a ge o f pa r l i a m e n t a r y e nc l o s u re . A s u r ve y o f t he l i st o f pa r l i a m e n t a r yenc losure ac t s pub l i shed in 1914 revea ls tha t 16o town s so ugh t e nc losu re ac ts b e twe en c . 172oand c . 187o: Th is can only be a pre l im ina ry e s t ima te . M1 'me t rop ol i t an ' en c losure ac t s forL on don s ubu r bs i n M i dd l e se x a nd S u r r e y ha ve be e n e xc l ude d , t o a l l ow e as i er i de n ti f i ca t i on o fd i s ti nc t, a u t on om ous , ' tow ns ' . T he r e a r e a ls o obv i ous de f i n i ti ona l p rob l e m s . M a ny o f t he r a p i d l ye xpa nd i ng , i ndus t r ia l i si ng 't ow ns ' o f t he e a rl y n i ne t e e n t h - c e n t u r y ha d b e e n no m o r e t ha nv il la ge s a c e n t u r y e a r li e r a nd t he i r c o m m on s m a y m o r e p r ope r l y be de f i ne d as ' r u r a l' . M a ny o ft he e nc l o s u r e a c t s f o r t he s e up l a nd t ow ns i n t he N or t h a nd w e s t w e r e f o r s ub - t ow ns h i p swi th in the i r t i tu la r pa r i shes and have been ex c luded . ) In ad di t ion , w i tho ut s tudy ing the ind i -v idua l ac ts , i t i s impo ss ib le to e s tab l ish the s ize and s igni f i cance of the e nc losu re ac t, o r w he th e ri t dea lt w i th r ec lam a t ion o f roads ide w as te land , the en c losu re of op en f ie lds , o r the ex t inc t iono f c om m on r i gh t s o f he r ba ge . T he r e i s a l s o t he un r e s o l ve d a nd u l t i m a t e l y i n s o l ub l e p r ob l e mof e s t im a t i ng how m uc h u r ba n e nc l o s u r e ha ppe ne d by p ri va t e a g re e m e n t . A f u r t he r 2o t ow nsl is te d i n t he 187o r e t u r n a ppe a r ne ve r t o ha ve s ough t a n e nc l o s u r e a c t fo r t he i r c om m on s ? 0m a k i n g a m i n i m u m o f 18o t o w n s t h a t h a d b e e n p o ss e ss e d o f c o m m o n s o r c o m m o n r ig h ts i nthe l a te e ighteen th an d ea r ly n in e tee nth centur ie s . W hi le th i s is f igure is l i tt le m ore than ane duc a t e d gue ss , it b e g i n s t o i ll u s tr a te t he w i de s p r e a d p r es e nc e o f t ow n c om m o ns , a nd t he de g r e et o w h i c h e nc l o s u r e w as a ls o a n u r ba n ph e no m e no n . I t a ls o sugge sts h ow c o m m on s a nd c o m m onr igh t s w e r e pa r t o f t he f a b r ic o f E ng l i sh t ow ns , a n d i n t e g r a t ed w i t h i n t he i r e c o nom i c s y st e m .At pre sent , the o ut l ines o f th i s sys tem have to be d i sce rne d f rom to wn h i s tor ie s and the pageso f t he Victoria C oun ty History.

I t is pos si b le t o c ons t r uc t a p r e l i m i na r y t ypo l ogy o f fi ve t ypes o f u r ba n c o m m on l a nd . T hef ir st type cons i s ted o f righ t s of he rbage exe rc ised by the f r e em en ove r l ands w i th in o r ad jo in ingt he bo r ou gh o r t ow ns h i p . T he s e c om m on r igh t s w e r e u s ua l ly r e st r ic t e d to c e r t a in t i m e s o f theye ar , a nd w e r e o f te n d i s t i nct f r om ow n e r s h i p o f the l a nd , w h i c h c ou l d be ve st e d i n ne i ghb ou r i n gm a nor i a l l o r d s o r l a ndow n e r s . A t o t h e r t i m e s o f t he ye a r t he s e he r ba ge r i gh ts m i gh t be he l dp r iva t el y by t he i nd i v i dua l ow ne r s . I n S t a m f o r d i n 187o i t w a s r e po r t e d t ha t t he f r e e m e n h a dpastu re r ights o ver 25 acres ca l led 'The Lings ' for par t of the year . Similar ly in W alsa l l, f ree-holde r s and ( ra te -paying) inh abi tan t s had r igh t s ove r 21 ac re s of m ead ow be tw een Lam inas andCan dlem as ." Such r igh t s of access to 'ha l f -yea r ' con-m- ions of ten ex i s ted in a ddi t ion to a co re

BPP, 1914, LXV II, pp.325-412, , 'e turn ' in ch ro no -logical orde ," of all acts passed fo r t ile inclosu re o fcomlnons or waste lands, separa te ly , in England andWales . . . ' , 13 Au g. 1913. I am grateful to Prof. MichaelTu rne r fo," this reference.

') T he que stion of identification of 'tow n.~' is a difficultone , and depends o n t ile adopt ion ofa su itabie def in i t ion .In this preliminary survey, I have selected all those placestha t could be c lassi fed as ' tow ns ' in 18m whethe r becausethey possessed a d is t inc t corpo ra te ident i ty and sy stem o fgove rnm ent (even i f in decay) or we , 'e acquir ing theserapidly as par t o f the industrialising process, lhe latterp a r ti c u la r ly m a n u fa c tu r in g t o wn s i n t h e W e s t R id in g a n dthe Potteries. I concede that inore rigorous d,:finit ions

are required in any fu ture s tudy , toge ther wi th moreinvestigation of the scope and intent o f each of these acts.I am gra te ful to D r . A. 1 . Gri t t for h is comm ents on th ispoin t .

u) These were Abingdon, Al t r incham, Arunde l , Ba th ,Berwick-upon-Tweed, Durham, Glouceste r , Hunt ingdon,King 's Lynn, Lewes, Marlborough, Morpe th , Newcast le -upon-Tyne , Norwich , Pevensey , Preston , St . Clear ,W a r w i c k , W i g a n a n d W o o d s t o c k . H o w e v e r , D u r h a mwas subjec t to an enc losure ac t in 18Ol , and Prestonin 1833, bu t these are no t l isted ill the 1914 retu rn.See 'Re turn of a ll borough s and c i ties . . . ' , pp . lo3-4 ;He wi t so n , Preston, p. 327.

1 , 'Re tu rn o f al l boro ugh s an d c i t ies . .2 , pp . 119, 121 .

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1 7 4 T H E A G R I C U L T U R A L H I S T O R Y R E V I E W

h o l d i n g o f t o w n l a n d s , to w h i c h a c c es s w a s g r a n t e d to f r e e m e n f o r m o s t o r a l l o f t h e ye ar . T h i sw a s t h e c a s e a t N e w b m T , w h e r e t h e to w n c o m m o n s c o n s is t e d o f 'T h e M a r s h ', o n w h i c h e ve r yh o u s e h o l d e r c o u l d d e p a s t u r e o n e h o r s e a n d t w o c o w s a t a n y t im e o f t h e y e ar , s u p p l e m e n t e db y h e r b a g e r i g h t s o n ' N o r t h c r o ft ' b e t w e e n 12 A u g u s t a n d 6 A p r i D 2 A s w i l l b e s h o w n b e l o w , t h es a m e m i x t u r e o f r i g h ts e x is t e d i n t h e to w n o f S u d b u r y .

T h e s e c o n d t y p e o f u r b a n c o m m o n c o n s is t e d o f l o w l a n d a r ab le l a n d o w n e d b y t h e m a n o r ia ll o r d o r lo r d s o f t h e t o w n s h i p , o r b y t h e c o r p o r a t i o n - t h e l at te r s o m e t i m e s b u y i n g f r o m t h ef o r m e r a s t h e s e t t l e m e n t a n d i ts g o v e r n m e n t e x p a n d e d J3 A c c e s s t o s u c h l a n d w a s , i rl t h e o r y,r e s tr i c te d t o m a n o r i a l t e n a n t s o r b o r o u g h f r e e m e n ; i n p r a c t i ce , b y t h e s e v e n t e e n t h c e n t u r y t h e ser i gh t s w e r e s o m e t i m e s e x t e n d e d t o a l l r a t e p a y in g i n h a b i t a n t s w i t h o u t d i st in c ti on .2 ~ S u c h c o m m o na r a b l e l a n d t e n d e d t o b e h e l d i n t h e c l a s s i c f o r m a t o f u n e n c l o s e d s t r i p s . O f t e n , a l t h o u g h n o te x c lu s i v el y , t h e p r e s e n c e o f s u c h f i e ld s d e n o t e d a t o w n s h i p t h a t h a d g r o w n o u t o f a m e d i e v a lv i l la g e , p r e s e r v i n g i t s o p e n f i e ld s a s i t g r e w . T h e b e s t e x a m p l e o f t h is w a s L e i c es t er , w h i c hJ. E . M a r t i n h a s d e s c r i b e d a s ' m o r e a n o v e r g r o w n v i l la g e t h a n a n a u t o n o m o u s u r b a n c e n t r e ' J -~T h e t o w n ' s t h r e e o p e n f ie l d s a m o u n t e d t o a p p r o x i m a t e l y 2, 6 0 0 a cr e s o f a r ab l e, m e a d o w a n dp a s t u r e i n t h e s i x t e e n t h c e n t u r y , w i th b u r g e s s e s h o l d i n g s t r ip s , a n d t h e p a s t u r e c o m i n g i n c re a s -i n g l y u n d e r t h e i n f l u e n c e o f c o w - k e e p i n g b u t c h e r s a n d g r a z i e r s J " S i m i l a r o p e n f i e l d s e x i s t e d i nN o t t i n g h a m , '7 C a m b r i d g e , N e w c a s t l e - u n d e r - L y m e / ~ T e w k e s b u r y , , a n d N o r t h a m p t o n . Y et , t h e yc o u l d a l s o e x i s t i n a r e a s o f a n c i e n t e n c l o s u r e . C o l c h e s t e r p o s s e s s e d t h r e e a r a b l e f ie l d s , s o u t h - w e s t ,s o u t h - e a s t a n d n o r t h - e a s t o f th e b o r o u g h , w i t h a p p r o x i m a t e l y 2 ,0 o 0 a c r e s o f w o o d l a n d n o r t ho f t h e t o w n . B y t h e e a r ly m o d e r n p e r i o d , th e s e f i e ld s h a d b e e n e n c l o s e d , b u t t h e y r e m a i n e ds u b j e c t t o t h e b u r g e s s e s ' ' h a l f -y e a r ' g r a z i n g r i g h ts , a0 E n g r o s s m e n t a n d e n f f a n c l f i s e m e n t s e e m s t oh a v e u n d e r m i n e d o p e n f i e ld a g r i c u l t u r e i n B a n b u r y , s p e e d i n g e n c l o s u r e i n 1 7 60 . 21 S i m i l a rp r o c e s s e s o c c u r r e d t o t h e o p e n f ie l d s in a n d a r o u n d T e t b u r y i n t h e s e v e n t e e n t h c e n t u ry . 22

B y c o n t r a s t , h o w e v e r , M a r l b o r o u g h ' s t w o o p e n f i e l d s c o n t i n u e d t o f u n c t i o n a s a l l o t m e n t se x c l u s i v e t o t h e f r e e m e n , t h e 8 0 a c r e s b e i n g d i v i d e d i n t o o n e o r t w o a c r e s t r i p s , w i t l l o n e o n l y

12 Id em , p . 113.13 F o r e x a m p l e , t h i s h a p p e n e d i n N e w c a s t le - u n d e r -

L y m e w i t h o u t f o r m a l a g r e e m e n t i n t h e l a t e r m e d i e v a lp e r i o d , V C H Staf fordshire , V l l I , p . 1 5 ; i n T e t b u r y i n 1 6 3 3 ,V C H Gloucestershire , X I , p . 2 7 o ; P r e s t o , l i n 1 6 5 o ,D . H u n t , A h i s to ry o f Pres ton (1992) , p. 75 ; a n d c a u s e dc o n s i d e r a b l e d i s p u t e i n W i g a n b e t w e e n 1 5 83 a n d 1 6 24 ,V C H Lancashire , I V , p p . 7 2 - 3 .

~,z T h e e x t e n s i o n o f c o m m o n r ig h ts t o n o n - f re e m e n int h e e a r l y m o d e r n p e r i o d o c c u r r e d i n N o t t i n g h a m ,/ . D . C h a m b e r s , ' P o p u l a t i o n c h a n g e i n N o t t in g h a m ,1 7 o o - 1 8 o o ' i n L . S . P r e s n e l l ( e d . ) , Studies in t i le Ind ustr ia lRe| ,ohaion (196o) , pp . m 1-2 ; B ever ley , VC H East Riding,VI , p . 214 a n d T e w k e s b u r y , V C H Gloucestershire , VI I I ,p . 138 ; r ight s were re laxed in Marlborough , but on ly in1 8 3 6, V C H Wiltshire , X I I , p . 2 o 7 ; r e s t r i c t i o n s t o f r e e m e no r b u r g e s s e s o n l y r e m a i n e d i n fo r ce , o r w e r e t i g h t e n e di n N o r t h a m p t o n , V C H No r t h a m p t o n s h i r e , I I I , p p . 2 2 - 3 ;C o l c h e s t e r , V C H Essex , I X , p . 2 5 8 ; O x f o r d , V C H

Oxfordshire , I V , p . 2 8 0; C o v e n t r y , V C H l ,~hmvickshire ,V I I I , p . 1 99 a n d B e r w i c k - u p o n - T w e e d , S . a n d B . W e b b ,English Iocalgovermnen t : the m ano r and the borough , (5 vols ,19o6-2 2) I I , p . 517 .

~ J . E . M a r t i n , Feudalism to capital is ,: : peasant amtland lord in Eng l i sh agrar ian deve lopmen t (1983) , p. 193.

i, W . G . H o s k i n s , Prov inc ia l Eng land . Essays in econ-omic and soc ia l h i s to r ) , (1963) , pp . 89 , 96-7 .

~7 N o t t i n g h a m w a s s u , 'r o u n d e d b y c o m m o n f ie ld s a n dp a s t u , ' e . A s l o n g a s i t , ' e m a i n e d u n e n c l o s e d t h e t o w nc o u l d n o t e x p a n d , c a u s i n g i n s a n i t a r y c o n d i t i o , l s a n ds e v e r e o v e r c r o w d i n g i n t h e e a r l ), m n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y . S e eC h a n l b e r s , ' P o p u l a t i o n c h a n g e ' , p . 9 9 .

~s VC H Staf fordshire , V I I I , p p . 4 9 - 5 0 .~') VCH Gloucestershire , V I I I , p . ~ 38 .20 VC H Es s e x , IX, p . 256 .21 VC H Oxfordshire , X , p p . 4 9 - 5 4 .22 VC H Gloucestershire , X I , p . 2 6 9 .

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b e i n g a l l o t t e d t o e a c h f r e e m a n f o r l i f e . T h i s a r r a n g e m e n t e n d u r e d i n t o t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y .I n 1 8 o8 13 f r e e m e n h e l d t h e 3 6 a cr e s i n S o u t h f i e l d , w h i l e t h e 5 4 a cr e s i n N o r t h f i e l d w e r e i nt h e h a n d s o f 3 8 f r e e m e n . 23 I n t h e s e v e n t e e n t h a n d e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r i e s t h e c o r p o r a t i o n o fB e r w i c k - o n - T w e e d p r a c t i s e d a s i m i l a r a r r a n g e m e n t o f li fe l e as e s to f i ' e e m e n o f 1 t o 4 a c r e p a r ce l so f l a n d , s u p p o s e d l y w o r t h b e t w e e n 5 t o 15 p e r a n n u m t o t h e i r p o ss e s s o rs . T h e s y s t e m w a sc o n ve r~ t ed t o 2 1 -y e a r l e a s e h o l d a f te r 1 7 59 , w i t h z 6 o f r e e m e n r e c e i v i n g s u c h g r a n t s , i n a d d i t i o n t og r a z i n g r i g h t s . 2 '/

T h e t h i rd t y p e o f u r b a n c o m m o n w a s p a st u re l a n d l o ca t ed w i t h i n t h e b o u n d a r i e s o f t h et o w n s h i p o r b o r o u g h , a n d o w n e d b y th e l o r d o f t h e m a n o r , o r t h e c o r p o r a t io n . A s i n m o s to p en ~ -f ie ld v i ll a ge s , s u c h p a s t u r e l a n d w a s c o m p r i s e d b o t h o f p o s t - h a r v e s t a n d f a l l o w g r a z in gr ig h t s o n t h e a r ab l e f ie ld s , a n d d e d i c a t e d p a s t u r e, m e a d o w l a n d , o r w a s t e. S o m e t o w n s h i p sp o s s e s s ed o n l y p a s t u r e c o m m o n s . T h i s w a s t r u e i n O x f o r d , w h e r e P o r t M e a d o w w a s la rg e lyu n s t i n t e d , a n d e x i s t e d w i t h i n t e r c o l n m o n i n g r i g h t s w i t h n e i g h b o u r i n g v i ll ag e s . 2-~ I t w a s a l so t h ec as e i n C o v e n t r y , w h o s e c o m m o n s a d o p t e d t h e c h a r a c t e r o f t h e e n c l o s e d f i e l d e n - p a s t u r e c o m -m u n i t i e s o f it s i m m e d i a t e h i n t e r l a n d , r a t h e r t h a n t h e o p e n f ie ld s o f o t h e r M i d l a n d s b o r o u g h s . 26C o v e n t r y ' s t o w n f i e l d s c o n t a i n e d a p p r o x i m a t e l y 3 o o a c r es o f w a s te l a n d , w i t h 1 ,t o o a cr es o fh a l f- y e a r g r az in g . S u c h p a s t u r e r ig h t s w e r e o f t e n s u p p l e m e n t e d b y m e a d o w g r a z i n g i n to w n st h a t a d j o i n e d r i v e r s , a s i n B e r w i c k - o n - T w e e d , O x f o r d , C a m b r i d g e , C o l c h e s t e r , G l o u c e s t e r ,W i l t o n , 27 S u d b u r y , N o r t h a m p t o n , N o t t i n g h a m , H e r t f o r d , a n d P r e s to n .

T h e f o u r t h t y p e o f c o m m o n w a s a su b - v a ri a n t o f T y p e 3 , t h e ' in l a n d ' c o m m o n s o f u p l a n d t o w n -s h i p s - l y i n g w i t h i n t h e i m m e d i a t e t o w n s h i p b o u n d a r i e s o f t h e s e tt l em e n t . I n t o t h e l at e e i g h te e n t hc e n t u r y , t h e s e ' t o w n f i e l d s ' c o u l d b e a r a b l e a s w e l l a s p a s t u r e . -'~ P a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e P e n n i n e s ,W e s t m o r l a n d a n d C u m b e r l a n d , a ra b le s t r ip s p e r s is t e d i n s m a l l t o w n s a n d v i ll ag e s a li ke .

S m a l l t o w n s r e t a i n e d t h e i r c o m m o n f ie ld s l it tl e d i s t u r b e d b y e n g r o s s i n g a n d e n c l o s u r e u n t i lt h e ei g h t ee n t h ce n t u ry . P e n r it h , W o r k i n g t o n , W h i t e h a v e n a n d W i g t o n i n C u m b e r l a n d ;K e n d a l a n d K i r k b y S t e p h e n i n W e s t m o r l a n d ; D a l t o n , U l v e r s t o n , C l i t h e r o e a n d P r e s c o t i nL a n c a sh i re ; S t o c k p o r t , W i l m s l o w , M a c c l e sf ie l d a n d S a n d b a c h i n C h e s h i r e a l l . . , r e t a i n e d t h e i rf u n c t i o n s a s a g r i cu l t u r al c o m m u n i t i e s f a r m i n g c o m m o n a r ab l e f i el ds . -'9

A s in t h e M i d l a n d s , m a n y o f th e s e s m a l l t o w n s h a d g r o w n o u t o f v il la g e s e t t l e m e n t s , a n d h a dp r e s e r v e d t h e i r o p e n f ie ld s a n d c o m m o n p a s t u re s . T h e p a r l i a m e n t a r y e n c l o s u r e p r o c e s s w a sp a r t i c u l a r l y m a r k e d i n a l l t h o s e a r e a s , 3'' a n d i n t h e W e s t R i d i n g , P e a k D i s t ri c t , a n d C a n n o c k

23 VCH ICltshire , XII, p. zo7 .24 S. and B. W ebb , Eng l i sh loca l govermnen t , II, p . 519.2~ VCH O.xfordshire , IV, pp. z8o-t.2~, VCH Warwicksh i re , VIII , p. D9.27 VCH Wiltshire , VI, p p. a8-~9.28 T his persistence is explained because sttch arableland rem ained m o, 'e valuable than pastu re in these set-t lements in the eighteenth century. H.R. F, 'ench andR.W . Hoyle, 'The land market o f a Pennine m anor:S l a i d b u r n , 1 6 5 o - 1 7 8 o ', C o n t i m l i t y a n d C h a n g e 1~: ( 1 9 9 9 ) ,Pp. 376-9.

29 G . Elliott, 'Fie ld system s of northw est En gland' in

A. R. H. Bake r and R. A. Butlin, S tud ie s o f f i e ld sy s t ems inthe Bri t ish Is les (197z), p. 54. In fac t, Clitheroe seem snever to have possessed com m on arable f ields, but i t didhave 531 statute acres of 'in-land' pasture commons onenclosu re in 1786. Lan cashire RO, DP 44o (Acc. 4o26),Clitheroe Cm mn ons Allotment Book, 1786.3o H ow ever, not all enclost, e occurred through legis-lation. For exam ple, Liverp ool o st its tow n fields duringthe eighteenth century w ithout all enclosure act. SirI. A. Picton , Ci ty o f L iverpoo l mun ic ipa l a rch ives and rec -ords , f i 'om A . D. 700 to the pass ing o f the mu n ic ipa l r e fo rmact , 1835 ( 1 8 8 6 ) , p. 13z.

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Chase am ong s t rap id ly g rowing , and indus t r ia l iz ing tow ns be tw een 1780 and 1810.31 Th e proc essw as c o m p l i ca t e d b y th e a m o u n t o f i n t e r c o m m o n i n g th a t o c c u r r e d b e tw e e n n e i g h b o u r i n gtow nship s wi th in these la rge par ishes . Th e par ishes o f Hal ifax , Sheff ie ld , Bradford and Leedsin the West R id ing , and Glossop and Bakewel l in the Peak Dis t r ic t con ta ined l inked ne tworkso f c o m m o n s d i s t r ib u t e d a m o n g m u l t i p l e t o w n s h ip s , a n d r e q u i r e d s h e a v es o f e n c lo s u re l eg is la -t ion . 3-' Th is type o f i n te rco m m on ing was a lso a fea tu re o f York in to th e e igh tee n th cen tury .Here , i ron ica l ly , the enc losure p rocess c rea ted the type of conso l ida ted , exclusive , in t ra -m ura lp a s tu r e c o m m o n s fo u n d in o th e r u n e n c lo s e d b o ro u g h s , b y e x t in g u is h in g a n d e x c h a n g in g w id e rr ig h ts o f c o m m o n w i th n e ig h b o u r in g to w n s h ip s. P r e vio u sly , Y o rk 's r i g h ts h a d e x t e n d e d in toth e s u r ro u n d in g to w n s h ip s o f C l i f to n , H u n t in g to n , R a w cl if fe , W ig g in to n a n d S to c k to n m o o r s ,T i lm i r e a n d K n a v e s m i re , a n d H o b m o o r . 33

T h e s e ' i n l a n d ' c o m m o n f ie ld s a n d p a s tu r e s w e re l in k e d to t h e f if th t y p e o f c o m m o n , u p la n dgraz ing r igh ts exerc ised by the res iden ts o f town s over sur ro und ing m oor lan d . Such r igh ts usua llye x i s te d in a re as o f m e d ie v a l t r a n s h u m a n c e in t h e P e n n in e s , C u m b r i a a n d N o r th u m b e r l a n d , a n din the Malverns , M endips , o n Ex mo or a nd in the Chi lterns .-~4 The massive, d ispersed par ish o fS h e f fi e ld il lu s tr a te s t h e r e l a t io n s h ip b e tw e e n th e s e e x p a n se s a n d th e ' i n l a n d ' t o w n s h ip c o m m o n sin the sev ent een th century . -~.~ n 1637 the parishes of Sheffield, Ecclesfield an d Brad field con tain ed2 1 , 3 6 3 a c r e s o f c o m m o n l a n d , l o , 7 6 7 a c r e s ly ing a t an a l t i tude o f m ore than 1 ,1oo fee t. There m a in in g l a n d w a s d e s ig n a t e d a s 'm o o re ' , ' c o m m o n ' a n d ' g r e e n e '. T h e re w e re m o re t h a n fo r tyof the la t ter , a t tache d to s e t t lemen ts a t lower a l t i tudes , fo rm ing ' a so r t o f in te rce l lu la r cem entb e tw e e n th e b lo c k s o f fi elds . . . t h e s o c ia l r e n d e z v o u s o f t h e p e o p le w h o l i v ed o n a n d a ro u n dth e m . . . m a n u re d a n d o v e rg ra z e d b y t e th e r e d an im a l s , a n d b y g e es e '.3 ' A ll t h e s e u p la n d c o m m o n swere ' f re ' , ava i lab le fo r summer graz ing , and as a resource fo r fue l (hea ther ) and game, fo rin h a b i t a n t s o f t h e t o w n s h ip s w i th in t h e a r ea . Ma n y e n c lo s u re s o f ' u rb a n ' p a r is h e s i n t h e s o u th w e s ta n d n o r th w e s t i n t h e l a t e r e ig h te e n th c e n tu ry a p p e a r t o h a v e in c lu d e d th e e n c lo s u re s o f m o o r l a n do v e r w h ic h c o m m o n r igh t s w e re e x e rci s ed .37 In fact, in these instances, the extin ction of intra-m u ra l r i g h ts t o r e la t iv e ly s m a l l c o m m o n s o r g r e e n s m a y h a v e o c c u r r e d a h n o s t a s a n a f t e r- th o u g h t.

I t c a n b e s h o w n th a t a s u b st a n t ia l n u m b e r o f t o w n s p o s s e ss e d o n e o r m o re o f se ve ra l ty p e s o fc o m m o n . H o w e v e r , w e k n o w a lm o s t n o th in g o f t h e i r u se , t h e ty p e s o f c ro p s c u l ti v a te d o n th e m ,

3~ See for example, De ws bury in the W est Riding,wh ic h h a d o n ly 2 89 a c re s o f c o m m o n l a n d , b u t wh o sepopu la t ion rose f ro m 1 ,o5o in 1793, to m ore than 4 ,5ooin 18Ol. Enclo sure o ccu rred between 18o3-6. J. E. Bro ad-bent , 'D ew sbur y Inc losure , 1796-18o6 ', Y o r k s h i r eArchaeolog ica l ] . , 69 (1997), pp. 2o9-1o.

32 'Re tu rn in chronolog ica l or de r . . . ' , pp . 385-87, 4o7 -12. The par ish o f Glossop required f ive enc losure ac tsbetw een 181o and 1829, Bakewell neede d s even between1771 and 1823. Hal i fax 's townsh ips were enc losed in n ineacts, Sheffield 's in four, Bradford's in four and Leeds' insix acts, in the period 178o-184o.

33 VCH C i t y o f Y o r k , pp. 499 , 5oo-5 .

34 VCH Wihsh ire , IV, pp. 43-64.35 G. Scurfield, 'Seventeenth-centre y S heffield and its en-virons', Yorksh ire Ardlaeological J ., 58 0986), pp. 147-171.

3c, I bid , p . 163.37 'Re turn in chronologica l order . . . ' . For example ,

after the 18ol Act stipulating the in clusion of acreages,enc losures in Bake wel l pa r ish to ta l led 8 ,7 0o acres ,pp. 386-7; Rugeley included 4,790 acres o f C ann ockChas e in 1864 , p. 387; Kirkby Stephe u included 5,149acres, pp. 395-6; while Pen rith was e nclosed in 18o3, withthe rest o f the Forest o f Ing lewood, am oun t ing to 28 ,000acres, p. 337. See also P . Riden, T u d o r a n d S t u a r t C h e s -telfield (1984), pp. 29-3o.

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t he k i nds o f r egu l at ions gov e r n i ng t hem , t he i r ec ono m i c s i gn if icance t o u r ban m ar ke t s , o r t oi nd i v idua l hous eho l d budge t s . W e r em a i n l a r gel y i gno r an t o f w ho us ed t hes e com m ons , ho wthey were used , a nd to wh at eff ec t, e con om ical ly and social ly .

Th i s s tudy r ep r es en ts an i n t r odu c t o r y i nves ti ga ti on o f a s ing le u r ban com m on , and t he s oc i alprof i l e and economic ac t iv i t i es of those posses s ing and exerc i s ing r ight s over i t i n the f i r s tquar t er of the e ighteen th century . I ts a im is to es t abl ish ho w far the co m m on s ac ted as as ign i fi cant econ om i c r e sou r ce i n a m anu f ac t u r i ng t ow n , an d t he m ann er i n w h i ch t hey d i d so .I t w i ll rev i ew acces s t o t he co m m ons , t he s oc ia l d is t inc t ions be t w een c om m o ner s a nd t he w i de rbody o f i nhab i tan t s , t he occupa t i ona l p r o fi le and m a t e r i a l w ea l t h o f com m one r s and non -com m o ner s , and t he w ays i n w h i ch t h is co r po r a t e r e s ou r ce w as m a nage d i n a ti m e o f econ om i cunce r t a in t y . The s t udy al so s eeks to l oca te t he ec ono m y o f t he t ow n co m m on w i t h i n a w i de rsys tem of urban agr i cul ture . These analyses i l l us t r a t e the r e l a t ionship be tween agrar i an andm an uf ac t u r i ng econo m i es i n an u r ban s e tt ing , and t o exp l o r e i n de t ai l one o f t he s ys t em s o fcom m on ou t l i ned above . In s ho r t , i t s eeks t o cons i de r how r u r a l a s m a ll t ow n m i gh t be .

The com m ons s t ud ied a r e t hos e o f Sudbur y , Suff olk . I n t he t yp o l o~ o f com m o ns , Sudbur y ' sw a t e r m eado w s a nd pas t u r e g r az ing l ands fa ll i n to t ypes one and t h ree ; pas t u r e l and u nd e r t hecont ro l of the c orpora t ion , but a lso wi th l imi ted hal f -year graz ing r ight s ex tendin g onto l a ndno t ow ned by t he t ow n . Sud bur y ha d pos s es sed i ts co m m on s s i nce 1262 , w h en R i cha r d de C l a re ,Ear l of Glouces ter , granted three f i e lds to the burgesses in perpetu i ty . These were s i tua ted tot he s ou t h o f t he t ow n s t r add l i ng t he R i ve r S t ou t. 3s K i ng 's M er e o r M ar s h m e ado w co m p r i s ed18 acres on the southern (Essex) s ide of the River S tout ; Por tman ' s Crof t , 4 .5 acres , andFreem an ' s Li t tl e Co m m on , 19 .2 acres, lay on the op pos i t e no r the rn (Suf fo lk) ban k. In 1731,i m m ed i a t e l y a f te r t he end o f t he p r e s en t s t udy , t he co r po r a t i on boug h t L i t tl e Fu ll ing P i tme adow , 8 acres , wi th an a ddi t ional c rof t of 2 .45 acres , next to the exi s t ing co m m on m ea do won t he Es sex s i de o f t he S t ou r . They m ay have r en t ed t hes e in t he pe r i od i m m ed i a t e l y p r eced i ngthe sa le . Thi s gave the burgesses of the b oro ug h access to be twee n 41 .7 and 52.15 acres of l andimm edia te ly adjacent to the tow n. T he hal f -year ly graz ing r ight s tha t au gm en ted these pas tureswere a l so long s t anding . The f r eemen had access to 14 acres of pas ture in Bulmer , Essex , twom i le s s ou th o f Sudbury , un de r r igh t s g r an t ed t o t he co r po r a t i on by Thom as W es t i n themid- f i f t eenth century . I t i s unclear how th i s out ly ing l and was used , s ince the borough r ecordsdeal only wi th Richard de Clare ' s grant . However , i t appear s tha t the burgesses only enjoyedr igh ts t o s um m er g r az ing on b o t h t hese com m o ns . B ur ges ses had t he r i gh t t o depas t u r e cow s ,ho r ses o r m ar es , u s ua ll y fr om t he en d o f t he f ir st o r s e cond w eek o f M ay , p r e s u m ab l y un t i lMichaelm as , a l thou gh th i s i s never s t a t ed expl i c i tly in the corp ora t io n r ecords , a '

The c o r po r a t i on ' s r eco r ds a ll ow a de ta i led s t udy o f t he s t ock i ng o f t he co m m ons , a nd o f t hes oc ia l a n d e c o n o m i c p r o fi le o f th e c o m m o n e r s , a n d o t h e r n o n - c o m m o n i n g f re e m e n . B e tw e e n

3~ j. W ardm an, Sttdbm'y comm on land s. The meadows,freemen a rid the borough, (1996), pp. 18-19. Wardma nspeculates tha t since the acreage granted to the tow n byRichard de Clare matched he acreage isted n Dom esdayas belonging to the bu rgesses and St. Gregory's chu rch,the freem en's use o f the c om mo ns may have 1)re-datedthe gift.

3,) PRO, E 134/11 and 12 An ne /Hil. lo Bu xton Under-woo d v. LawrenceGibbon, Ro bert Sparrow, RogerVoiceand Ro ger Scarling, 15 Jan. 1713. In thi s ca se Thom asWinn, a yeom an of G reat Cornard, gave evidence hatthe freemenwe re allowed o depasture their animals onthe com mo n after the first hay crop had been cut.

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1 71 o a n d 1 72 8 a n n u a l l is ts w e r e p r e p a r e d o f th e n a m e s o f t h o s e f r e e m e n w h o p a i d t o t u r n o u tt h e i r a n i m a l s o n t h e c o m m o n s . I n a d d i t i o n , t h e n a m e s w e r e a ls o li s te d o f f r e e m e n ( o r w i d o w so f f r e e m e n ) w h o w e r e e n t i t l e d t o a s h a r e o f t h e m o n e y r a is e d f r o m c o m m o n s ' c h a rg e s . ' S u d b u r ya l s o h a s a r a n g e o f o t h e r b o r o u g h r e c o r d s . I n p a r t i c u l a r , i t p o s s e s s e s a g o o d s e ri e s o f a p p r e n t i c e s h i pi n d e n t u r e s b e t w e e n 1 65 6 a n d 1 6 88 , a n d r e c o r d s o f m e n a d m i t t e d t o t h e f r e e d o m o f t h e t o w n ,a l l o w i n g a p p r o x i m a t e a g e s to b e e s t a b l i s h e d . " A l a r g e n u m b e r o f w i l ls a r e al so a v a il a b le w h i c hp r o ; 4i d e o c c u p a t i o n a l d a t a f o r t h e p o st -1 7 1 o f r e e m e n g r o u p . T h e c o r p o r a t i o n r e c o r d s l is t f r e e m e n ,c h i e f b u r g e s s e s a n d a l d e r m e n b e t w e e n 1 71 7 a n d 1 73 3, a n d t h e s e s e r v e to i d e n t i f y t h e h i g h e r s t a t u si n h a b i t a n t s o f t h e t o w n . 42 T h e r e a re a l so p o l l b o o k s f o r 1 7 1o a n d 1 7 2 7 , a l l o w i n g b a s ic d i s t i n c t i o n st o b e m a d e b e t w e e n e n f r a n c h i s e d a n d n o n - e n f r a n c h i s e d f r e e m e n . ~3 T h e s e s o u r c e s m a k e S u d b u r y ' sc o m m o n s b e t t er d o c u m e n t e d , a n d m o r e v i si bl e h is to r ic al ly , t h a n t h e c o m m o n s o f s o m e o t h e rt o w n s , a n d ( p e r h a p s ) t h e m a j o r i t y o f v i ll a ge s in t h e p e r i o d . C o n v e r s e l y , t h e r e c o r d s o f l a n do w n e r s h i p , t h a t m i g h t b e w e l l r e c o r d e d i n a r u r a l m a n o r i a l c o u r t , a re f r a g m e n t a r y f o r S u d b u r y ,w h i c h l i ke s o m e o t h e r t o w n s c o n t a i n e d m o r e t h a n o n e m a n o r .* ' G i v e n th i s im b a l a n c e , it w i ll b ee m p h a s i s e d b e lo w t h a t w h i l e th e c o m m o n s w e r e t h e m o s t p r o m i n e n t a g r a ri an r e so u r c e i n t h et o w n , t h e y m a y n o t h a v e b e e n t h e m o s t s i g n if ic a n t f o r p r o d u c t i o n o r e m p l o y m e n t .

T h e o t h e r w e ak aa es se s o f t h e b o r o u g h ' s r e c o r d s a r e t h a t t h e re a r e n o c o m p r e h e n s i v e n a t i o n a lo r l o c a l t a x a t i o n l i s t i n g s s o th a t n o d e f i n i t iv e e s t i m a t e o f p e r s o n a l w e a l t h c a n b e m a d e . T h e r ea r e a ls o n o r e c o rd s o f p o o r l a w d i s b u r s e m e n t s f o r t h e w h o l e t o w n i n th i s p e r io d , m a k i n g i ti m p o s s i b l e t o e s t ab l is h w h e t h e r s o m e o f t h o s e r e c e iv i n g c o m m o n s ' m o n e y w e r e al so r e c ei v i n gp o o r r e li e f. D e s p i t e t h e s e d e f i c i e n c ie s , h o w e v e r , a d a ta b a s e h a s b e e n c o n s t r u c t e d c o n t a i n i n g 9 7 2i n d i v i d u a l s , 2 3 8 9 e n t r ie s o f a n i m a l s & p a s t u r e d b y f re e m e n , a n d 4 o 79 i n s ta n c e s o f c o m m o n s 'm o n e y b e i n g r e c e iv e d b y n o n - p a s t u r i n g f r e e m e n , 1 71 o-2 8. A l l t h e a n a l ys e s u n d e r t a k e n b e l o wa r e b a s e d o n i n t e r r o g a t i o n s o f th i s d a ta s e t .

I IC u s t o m g o v e r n e d t h e u s e a n d r e g u l a t i o n o f t h e c o m m o n s , b u t ( a s s o o f te n i n t h is p e ri o d ) c u s t o mw a s n o t i m m u t a b l e . T h e r u l e s w e r e l i st e d i n M a y 1 6 44 . '.~ P r i o r t o t h a t t i m e , t h e m a y o r a n d t h es ix a l d e r m e n h a d b e e n a l l o w e d t o d e p a s t u r e f o u r h e a d o f ca tt le ; t h e 24 c h i e f b u r g e s s e s t h r e e

40 S uffolk RO (hereafter SR O) (Bury) , EE 5ol/2/7,Sudbury Borough T own Boo k, 1639-72: contains annuallistings of cattle depastured b y freem en betw een 171oan d1728 (1717 missing) . Those receiving com mo ns' collectionmo ney are als o l isted annually in th is volume in thisperiod.4, SRO (Bury ) , EE 5ml411, Sudbury C ocket Book,1656-88 (760 apprenticeship indentures, 175 freemen'sadmissions), 1695-17z3 (18 apprenticeship indentures, 51freemen's adm issions); EE 5 o l / 4 / 2 , Sudbury CocketBook , 1724-7o (60 apprenticeship inde ntures, 1717-34, 36freemen's indentures) ; Archdeaconry of Sudbury willregister (microfilm) ]. 543/51-56, Sudbury wills a71o-51(lZ4 w ills).42 SRO (Bu ry), EE 5 o l / 2 / 9 , Sudbury Borough Book of

Orders and Decrees, a717-33. Thc town was g overned bya m ay or, six aldermen, and 24 chief burgesses (fromwhon a the aldermen were co-opted). In addition, in O ct-ober each ye ar 48 fi'ee burgesses selected the new may orfi 'om among the aldernaen. These free burgesses weredrawn from the 5oo-6oo resident free burgesses in thetown . This system continued unaltered, despite the lossof the borou gh charter in 1685. 3 Su f fo lk Po l l Book , 171o (1994); Suf fo lk Po l l Book , 1727(1727).44 Sudbury encompassed three manors, Neales als.Nayles, Places and Wo odhall . Places and Wo odhall havecourt rolls for the early eighteenth century, bu t few othermaterials. W oodh all was part o f the Duchy o f Lancaster.4s S RO (Bu ry), EE 5 0 1 ] 2 ] 7 , order d ated 6 M ay 1644.

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hea d each , whi le ' every f reeho lder and o the r su f f ic ien t inhab i tan ts ' ( tha t i s the f ree burgesses ) ,h a d d e p a s tu r e d two e a c h . No w , i t wa s a c k n o wle d g e d th a t p r e s s u r e o n t h e c o m m o n s wa s s o g r e a tt h a t i n f u tu r e o n ly s e n io r me m b e r s o f t h e c o r p o r a t i o n ( i n c lu d in g c h i e f b u rg e ss e s) w o u ld b ea l l owe d two h e a d , wh i l e o r d in a r y f re e b u rg e s se s wo u ld h a v e t o ma k e d o w i th o n e a n ima l e a c h . 46B y th e e a r ly e ig h t e e n th c e n tu r y , d i s t in c t i o n s b e twe e n s e n io r a n d o th e r c o r p o r a t i o n m e m b e r s h a dd i s a p p ea r e d , w i th n o n e a l l o we d mo r e t h a n two a n im a l s e a c h. S imi la r s ti n ts w e r e i n t r o d u c e d i nth e s e v e n t e e n th c e n tu r y i n Ox f o r d , M a r lb o r o u g h , Y o r k , C o lc h es t e r, C a ln e a n d T e wk e s b u r y . 7

Oth e r f e a tu r e s e n d u r e d i n to t h e e ig h t e e n th c e n tu r y . A l l a n ima l s e n t e r e d o n to t h e c o mmo n shad to be b ra nde d b y the to wn c r ier , which cos t 2d . pe r head in 1644 . By 1725, b ra nd i ng hadb e e n r e p la c e d w i th a s y s t em o f wo o d e n b o b b in s o r ' T o tt l es o r Gr u g g s ' t h r e a d e d o n to t h e h o r n sof a l l cows &pas tu red , fo r which ld . pe r head was to be pa id to the Bead le ." " Each horse cos tis . for a season 's grazing a nd each co w rod. in 1644. Betw een 171o an d 1728 the agis tm ent fo r as ing le an im al was never less than 3s ., r i s ing in the harsh eco nom ic cond i t ions o f 1713 to 6s. 6 d . ,with two cos t ing be tween 13s . and 1 (aga in in 1713) as ma y be seen in Ta b le 3 . The ru les o f1644 a lso la id dow n a se r ies o f fines fo r overs tock ing , & pas tu r ing wi tho u t r igh ts , and fo r tu r n in go u t u n g e ld e d h o r s es o r m a n g y c a tt le .

T h e c o r p o r a t io n a t t e m p t e d t o p r o t e c t th e c o m m o n s f r o m o t h e r i n f ri n g e m e n t s t h r o u g h t h ec e n tu r y . I n No v e m b e r 1 64 7, t h e m in u te s r e c o r d e d t h a t n o o n e s h o u ld b e a l l o we d to p l a n t w i l l o wtrees on th e ( idea l ) m ead ow lands o f the c om m on s . '~ In 1663, the co unc i l o r dered tha t a wr i tbe taken ou t in King ' s Bench aga ins t F rancis King and John Barker fo r le t t ing the i r hogs t respasso n t h e c o m m o n s , t h e d i s p r o p o r t i o n a t e p u n i s h m e n t p r e s u m a b l y b e i n g a t t e m p t e d i n o r d e r t oes tabl i sh a p rece den t . In 1721, W il l iam W hi te w as f ined los. fo r sow ing tu rn ips on a sec t ion o fth e c o mmo n s , s i g n i f y in g r n o v e s b o th t o wa r d s a g r i c u l t u r a l imp r o v e me n t , a n d t o b o l s t e r t h ef o d d e r c r o p o f t h e c o m m o n s l a t e r i n t h e y e a r. s''

B y t h e 1 7 2o s, t h e c o m m o n s o p e r a t e d u n d e r a s e t tl e d r e g ime , u n d e r t h e c o n t r o l o f a k e e p e ro r b e a d l e . Du r in g t h e p a s tu r e s e a s o n , h e wa s t o e n s u r e t h a t t h e g a t e i n to t h e c o mmo n s wa slocked a t lopm, and no t opened aga in un t i l 4am. Any la tecomers o r ea r ly r i se rs were to payh im a p e n n y f o r r el e a sin g th e i r a n ima l s o u t o f h o u r s . I n e f fe ct, t h e c o m mo n s a c t e d a s amu n ic ip a l p o u n d , i n wh ic h c o ws c o u ld g r a z e s e c u r e ly , a n d i n wh ic h h o r s e s a n d r n a r e s c o u ldb e r e s t e d o v e r n ig h t , a n d wh e n n o t e mp lo y e d d u r in g t h e d a y .

Th is resou rce was su f f ic ien t ly use fu l fo r mor e tha n 15o peop le to pay a sum equ iva len t toone weeks ' day labourer ' s wages in o rder to depas tu re a s ing le an imal , and as much as s ix o rten weeks ' wages fo r g raz ing r igh ts fo r two an imals , s~ Even a t th i s cos t, i t m ay have been a go od

m I n 1653 , t he s t i n t w as r educed t o on e head o f ca t tl eper burg ess , of whateve r rank. S RO (Bury) EE 5o11217,o r de r d a t ed 5 A pr . 1653 .

47 VCH Oxfordshire , I V , p . 280 - t h i s s ti n t b r oke do w naf ter c . 168o; VC H lgiltshire, XII , p . 287; VCH C i ty o fYork, p. 499; VC H Essex, IX, pp. 257-8; R . C . Rich ardso nand T . B . l ames ( eds ) , The urban experience: a soi trce book(1983), pp. 54-5; VCH Gloucestershire , VIII , p. 138.

,I s A.W . Berry, Suffolk co untry town: a Sudb ut 7 miscel-la n y (1997), pp. 195-6, quo t i ng SR O ( B ur y ) , E E 5ol/2/9,Su dbu r y B or oug h B ook o f O r de r s and D ec r ees , 1717- 33 ,

5-6 May 1725.m SRO (Bury) , EE 5011217, ord er d ated 20 N ov. 1647.s0 SRO (Bury) , EE 5o11217, l i s t of f reemen & pa stu r in g

c a t t l e , 2 2 M ay 1 7 2 1 .sJ See Table 2 . Between 171o an d 1728, betw een 146 and

1 9 5 f r e e m e n & p a s t u r e d t h e i r a n i m a l s o n t h e c o m m o neach yea r , t he ave r age f i gu r e be i ng 173 . C o n t em por a r i e sm ade s imi la r es t imates . PRO , E 134/1 Geo. 1/Eas t . 7 , Bu x-t o n U n d e r w o o d v . L a w r e n c e G i b b o n , R o b e r t S p a r r o wand R oge r V o i ce . L uke L eake t e s t if i ed t ha t t he co m m on ss u p p o r t e d b e t w e e n 1 4o a n d 1 6o a n i m a ls p e r a n n u m .

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bargain. In 1715, on e c om m on er , James Lee, a weaver, es t im ated tha t the 18 acres o f King'sM arsh wo uld have h ad a co mm ercia l r en t of 2 lOS. od . per acre, exclus ive of al l t axes (whichad de d ns . od. in th e p ou nd ) . 52 So, the f re em an gaine d access to la nd s w or th perha ps 157 lOS.od. per an nu m (42 acres a t 3 17s. 6d. per acre) , for a total cos t o f 31 that year. In oth er years ,the total cos t to the f reem en was as high as 69 lOS. od., but i t averaged 5o betw een 171o-28,un de r on e- th i rd of the rnarket va lue o f the l ands . 5-~

,

IIIThe o t he r cons t an t f eat u re o f c o m m o n s ' m ana gem en t i n t he s even t een t h and ea r ly e i gh teen t hcen t u ri e s w as t he d i s t ri bu t ion o f t he m one y co l lec t ed f r om co m m one r s t o t he u s e o f o t he r f leei nhab i tan t s and hous eh o l de r s i n t he bo r ough . T h i s fea tu r e w as m e n t i on ed i n t he o r de r s o f 1644.After 171o, longe r li st s of the n ame s of those w ho received the c om m on s ' co l l ec t ion mo neyaccompany the l i s t s of f r eemen depas tur ing animal s . Thi s d i s t inc t ion , be tween those able todepas ture an imal s a nd those w ho received col lec t ion money , is of cons iderable s ignif icance inund er s t an ding the na ture of the town ' s social order and i ts econom y. The corpora t ion appearst o have en f o r ced t h i s d i s t inc t i on by a l low i ng ri ght s o f com m on on l y t o t hos e w h o pa i d t hehighes t l evel of f ine for the i r f l 'eedom. In 1654, i t was r ecorded tha t hen cefor th no per son payinga f ine of l es s tha t 5 would be admi t t ed to fu l l r ight s of f r eedom of the borough, inc ludingco m m on r ight s . Res ident s of mo re than thre e year s s tanding could gain the f r eedom ( to tr ade?)f o r a f ine o f 2 , bu t w i t hou t e n t i t lem e n t to t he com m o ns .5.~ Fr ee m en 's son s a pp ear to haveenjoyed her i t ab le r ight s of co m m on . Thi s d i f f erent i a l caused som e di spu te in the ear ly e ight-een t h cen t ur y .

The econ om y o f Sudbur y dep ende d abs o lu t e ly on t he p r oduc t i on o f w oo l l en w or s t ed c lo th .Af ter the in t rod uct io n o f the ' new draper i es ' by Flemish r efugees in the l a ter s ix t eenth century ,Sudb ury ha d specia l i s ed in the prod uct ion of 's ays ', t he l ightes t and cheapes t of these wors tedcloths .5s Inv olve m ent in the t r ade was to ta l . In the per iod b etween 1656-88, 59 per cent o fapprent i ceship in den tures (257 out of 436) r ecord ed in the bo roug h were in t ex t il e t rades , t henex t larges t sector being (unsu rpr is ingly) the foo d an d d r ink t rades . -~' Cloth pro du ct io n createda pecul i ar and pro le t ar i an i sed socia l order . The c lo th-pro ducin g r egion of Essex and Suffolkrout ine ly had m uc h h igh er l evels of pove r ty than sur round ing , no n- indu s t r i a l s e t t lement s .K. H. Bur ley fou nd tha t acros s the tw enty hun dred s of the co unty of Essex , exe mp t ion f romthe hea r th t ax averaged 35 per c ent o f all t hose as ses sed , but in the two c lo th prod ucing h und reds

52 PRO , E 134/1 Geo. 1/East. 7. Evidence of James L ee,ofS udb ury , sayweaver . Lee rece ived com m on s ' contr ib u-t ion mo ney in 15 years be tween ~71o-28.

55 This valuation w as a subject of dispu te between th eparties c ontes ting PRO , E 134/1 Geo . a/East 7. See below ,n. 72.

54 SRO (Bury) EE 5o1/2/5 Sud bury B oroug h book o forde rs a nd decrees, 1628-85, 30 Oct. 1654. Between 1657and 1723 216 ind iv idua ls p urchased the f reedom of thetown. Of these , 75 pa id m ore than 5; 58 pa id less than

5; with 93 for wllom no fine was recorded. SRO (Btu'y),EE 5ol/4/1.

55 j .E . Pilgrim, ' Th e rise of the new draperies in Essex',UniversiO, of Birm ingham Historical ]. 7 (1959-60) , p. 41.'Says ' weighed between 3-131bs. finished; 'B ays', new dra-peries ma de largely in Essex weighed 2o-5olbs.; Englishbroad c lo th could weigh 80-molbs.

5, SRO (Bury), EE 5 0 1 / 4 / 1 . A 'cocke t ' was the loca lname for the exc ise s tamp put on the docke ts he ld bynew ly enfl'anchised fl'eemen.

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1 8 1

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o f H i n c k f o r d a n d L e x d e n , e x e m p t i o n r a te s w e r e 5 9 a n d 5 0 p e r c e n t r e s p e ct iv e l y. 57 I n t h e S u d b u r yp a r i s h o f St . P e t e r 's i n 1 6 74 , 4 3 p e r c e n t o f t h o s e a s s e s s e d f o r t h e t a x w e r e e x e m p t . T h e c l o t ht r a d e c r e a t e d t o w n s f u l l o f f a m i l i e s w h o s e p r i r n a r y s o u r c e o f i n c o m e w a s t h e p r o d u c t i o n o fc l o t h , a n d w h o p o s s e s s e d f e w o t h e r r e so u r c e s .

D e f o e , w h o k n e w t h e a r e a w e l l in t h i s p e r i o d , d e s c r i b e d S u d b u r y a n d d a m n e d i t a c cu r a t e l y i na f e w w o r d s. 'I k n o w n o t h i n g f or w h i c h t h is t o w n i s r e m a r k a b le , ex c e p t f or b e i n g v e r y p o p u l o u sa n d v e r y p o o r . T h e y h a v e a g r ea t m a n u f a c t u r e o f S a ys a n d P e r p e t u a n a s ; a n d m u l t i t u d e s o f p o o rp e o p l e a re e m p l o y ' d i n w o r k i n g t h e r n ; b u t t h e n u m b e r o f t h e p o o r i s a l m o s t r e a d y t o e a t u p t h er ic h'.5 8 A s a c o n s e q u e n c e o f t h i s d e p e n d e n c e , t h e e x t r e m e c y c l i ca l f l u c t u a t i o n s i n t h e d e m a n d( a n d p r i c es p a i d ) f o r c l o t h c r e a t ed b o o m a n d b u s t c o n d i t i o n s f o r c lo t h i e rs a n d t h e i r w e a v e r s ,t h e l a tt e r a h n o s t e n t i r e l y d e p e n d e n t o n h i g h l y v a r i a b le a n d e r r a t ic w a g e o r p i e c e r a te s . T h e y e a r sf r o m 1 66 o t o 1 6 8 5 w e r e o n e s o f s u s t a i n e d g r o w t h i n t h e tr a d e , w h i c h e x t e n d e d i t s gr ip o n t h ee c o n o r n y o f t h e t o w n a n d i t s h i n t e r l a n d , s ' T h e r e a f t e r , g r o w t h c e a s e d . S e r i o u s a n d s u s t a i n e dd e c l i n e b e g a n a f t e r t h e o u t b r e a k o f t h e W a r o f t h e S p a n i s h S u c c e s s i o n i n 17o7, w h e n t he m a i ne x p o r t r n a r k e t s f o r E a s t A n g l i a n c l o t h w e r e c u t o f f . ~' U n t i l t h e e n d o f t h e w a r , t h e r e g i o n w a s i nd e e p r e c e s s i o n , w i t h a n u m b e r o f c l o t h i e r s a n d o t h e r t r a d e s m e n g o i n g b a n k r u p t . ~ ' A s a r e s u l t ,p o o r r a t e s i n t h e c l o t h i n g d i s t r i c t r o c k e t e d u p w a r d s b y 1 5 o p e r c e n t o r m o r e . " :

A d v e r se e c o n o r n i c c o n d i t io n s p l a c ed a n i n c r e a s ed s tr a in o n t h e S u d b u r y c o m m o n s , a n d d r e wa t t e n t i o n t o w h a t S t e v e H i n d l e h a s d e s c r i b e d r e c e n t l y as t h e ' p o l it i c s o f e n t i t l e m e n t ' . 63 I n J u n e

37 K . H . B ur le y , 'E c o n o m ic d e v e lo p m e n t i n E sse x inth e l at e sev e n te e n th a n d e a r ly e ig h te e n th c e n tu r i e s ' (U n -p u b l i sh e d U n iv e r s i ty o f L o n d o n P h . D . t h es is , 1 9 5 7) ,P . 335 . The e ffec t iveness o f the hea r th tax a s a me asu reo f r e l a t iv e w e a l th a n d p o v e r ty h a s b e e n th e su b je c t o fc o n s id e ra b le h i s to r i c a l d e b a te . H o w e v e r , t h e re h a s b e e nm o re a g , -e e m e, lt a b o u t i t s u t i l i ty a s a m e a su re o f p o v e r ty( th ro t , g h e x e m p t io n r a t e s ) t h a n o f r el a t iv e w e a lth . S eeT . A rk el l, ' T h e in c id e n c e o f p o v e r ty in E n g la n d in th el a t e r se v e n te e n th c e n tu ry ' , Social Hist. 12 (1987), pp. 23-4 8 ; C . H u sb a n d s , ' H e a r th s , w e a l th a n d o c c u p a t io n s : a ne x p lo , ' at i o n o f t h e H e a r th T a x in th e l a t e r s e v e n te e n thcen tu ry ' in K. Sch ure r and T . Arke l l (eds .) , Surveying thepeople: the interpretation an d use of docu me ut sources fo rthe stud), of population ia the later sevem eenth centttrX(199z), pp. 65-77.

a D. Defo e, A tour thro ' the who le is land o f Grea t Bri -taitt (1968 edn), p . 48.

-~'J T h e b e s t su r ro g a te fo r t h e d y n a m ic s o f t h e t r a d e inth i s p e r io d a re th e f ig u re s fo r ' r a w b o te ' f i n e s in th e C o l -c h e s t e r D u tc h B a y H a l l . ' R a w b o te s ' w e re th e f in e s l e v ie do n ' n e w d ra p e r i e s ' p ro d u c e d b y E n g l i sh p ro d u c e r s i n t h eto w n , p a ss in g th ro u g h th e ' D u tc h ' - c o n t ro l l e d B a y H a l l .Tak ing the f ines fo r the qu inq uenn ium 165o-54 as the basef igure o f lOO, the f igure fo r 167o-74 w as 25o ; fo r 168o -84i t was just ove r 4oo ; f o r 1695-99 , i t was 34o . Essex RecordO f f i c e (C o lc h e s t e r ) , A c c . C 1 , B o ro u g h o f C c lc h e s t e rTh urs day Co urt Books, 25 Oct. 1646-19 Jun. 17Ol (17 vols.).

~ ' " A . F . J . B ro w n , ' C o lc h e s t e r i n t h e e ig h te e n th c e n tu -ry ' i n L . M . M u n b y ( e d . ), East AngIian S tud ies (1968),p p . 1 4 6 -7 3 ; P. S h a rp e , ' D e in d u s t r i a l i s a t io n a n d r e - in d u s -t r i a l i s a t io n : w o m e n ' s e n lp lo y m e n t a n d th e c h a n g in gcharacter of Colcheste r , 17oo-185o ' , Urban History Z l(1994), pp . 77-96 .

~,t The Loltdon GAzette l i s t s t h e fo l lo w in g S u d b u ryb a n k ru p tc y c o m m iss io n s : Jo h n P a r i sh , f a c to r , 12 Ju n e1711; W il l iam Shea rn lan , cha pm an , 14 Feb . 1712; W il l iamDu rw ood , v ic tua l le r , 21 Feb . 1712; Pe te r New ton , 28 Feb .1713; P leasan t Spr ing , saym aker , 26 Ju ly 1715 . Pa r ish , N ew -t o n a n d S p r i n g a l l d e p a s t u r e d a n i m a l s o n t h e c o m m o n sin the pe r iod .

~ ,2 Although f igures a re Ui lob ta inab le fo r Sudbury , inth e c lo th -p ro d u c in g to w n s o f B ra in t r e e , F in c h in g f ie ld(E sse x ) a n d S to k e -b y -N a y la n d a n d E a s t B e rg h o l t (S u f -fo lk ) p o o r r e l i e f d i s b u r s e m e n t s p e a k e d b e t w e e n 171o-14.In B ra in t r e e in th e 1 6 9 o s th e a v e ra g e d i sb u r s e m e n t w a s32o , be tween 171o-14 i t was 499 ; in F inch ingf ie ld thef igure fo r 1699 was 184 , in 171o i t reac hed 33o ; in E astB e r g h ol t d i s b u r s e m e n t s increased f i 'om 116 in 17o5-6 to 1 88 in 1 71 3-14 ; i n S to k e -b y -N a y la n d d i sb u r se m e n t s ro sef i -om 80 in 17o7 to 157 in 1711. ER O (Ch e lm sfor d) D / P Ia64 /8/5a ; D IP 14 /811a ; SRO (Ipsw ich) FB 1911A1/2 ; SRO(B u ry S t . E d m u n d s ) F B 8 o /A 1 /2 .

6-~ S . H in d le , ' H ie r a rc h y a n d c o m n m n i t y in th e E l i-zabe th an pa r ish : the Swal lowfie ld a r t ic le s o f 1596 ',Historical ]., 42 (1999), pp. 835-52.

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1 71 3, i n t h e t r o u g h o f th e r e c e s s i o n , a c a se w a s b r o u g h t i n C h a n c e l T t o s e c u r e w i d e r a c c e s s t ot h e t o w n ' s c o m m o n s . 6 ' T w o f re e b u rg e s se s , L u k e L e ak e, a g o l d s m i t h , a n d W i l li a m M a i n w a r i n g ,a tu r n e r , w e r e t h e c h i e f p r o s e c u t i o n w i t n e s s e s i n a n a c t io n i n C h a n c e r y b r o u g h t b y t h e A t t o r -n e y - G e n e r a l a g a i n s t t h e m a y o r o f S u d b u r y , L a w r e n c e G i b b o n , a n d t h e c o r p o r a t i o n . L e ak e a n dM a i n w a r i n g d i s p u t e d t h e p o w e r o f t h e c o r p o r a t i o n t o e x c l u d e s o m e f l 'e e m e n f r o m d e p a s t u r i n ga n i m a l s o n t h e c o m m o n s b y d i ff e re n t ia l s in t h e f r e e d o m f in e s. T h e y s u g g e s t ed t h a t t h e o r i g in a lg r a n t f i ' o m R i c h a r d d e C l a r e h a d v e s t e d c o n t r o l i n a l l t h e f r e e b u r g e s s e s a n d t h e i r s u c c e s s o r s ,n o t m e r e l y i n t h e m a y o r a n d c o r p o r a t i o n . T h e y a l so a ll eg e d , f o r g o o d m e a s u r e , t h a t t h ec o m m o n s ' c o n t r i b u t i o n m o n e y , w h i c h w a s s u p p o s e d t o b e p a i d t o th e u s e o f ' t h e p o o r es t so r t 'i n th e t o w n , h a d b e e n s p e n t a m o n g t h e c o r p o r a t i o n f o r t h em s e I v e s , o r u p o n t h o s e w h o t h e yt h o u g h t f it , w i t h o u t p r o p e r a c c o u n ts b e i n g r e n d e re d . T h e y q u e s t io n e d w h e t h e r a n y s u c h m o n e ys h o u l d b e l e v i e d f o r t h e e x e r ci s e o f th i s r i g h t .

I n .f ac t, w h i l e t h e a m o u n t s o f c o m m o n s m o n e y d i s t r i b u t e d p e r c a p it a t o t h o s e q u a l if ie d t or e ce iv e it w e r e u s e f u l a d d i t i o n s t o th e h o u s e h o l d i n c o m e , t h e y w e r e n o t ( i n t h e m s e l v e s )p a r t i c u l a r l y s i g n i f ic a n t . B e t w e e n 1 71 o a n d ~ 7 28 , t h e a m o u n t s d i s t r i b u t e d v a r i e d f r o m is . 3 d. p e rh e a d i n 1 7 11 , t o a m a x i m u m o f 2 s . 6 d . i n 1 72 4 , f a l l i n g b a c k t o 2 s. in 1 7 z8 . T h e s e w e r e t h e e q u i v a l e n to f a p p r o x i m a t e l y a w e e k ' s w a g es i n t hi s p e r i o d , n o m o r e t h a n a u se f u l o n e - o f f s u p p l e m e n t , a n da s y m b o l i c re c o g n i t i o n b o t h o f n e e d a n d e n t i t l e m e n t a m o n g t h e r e c ip i e n ts a s m e m b e r s o f t h eb o r o u g h ' s ' b o d y p o l i t i c ' . I n d e e d , t h e d e s i r e t o b e a s i n c l u s i v e a s p o s s i b l e m a y h a v e d i c t a t e d l o wl ev e ls o f p e r c a p i t a d i s t r i b u t i o n . I n t h e p e r i o d u n d e r o b s e r v a t i o n , t h e m o n e y w a s p a i d t o b e t w e e n2 14 ( i n 1 71 1) a n d 2 6 2 ( i n 1 7 18 ) r e c i p i e n t s , t h e a v e r a g e b e i n g 2 4 o i n d i v i d u a l s ( T a b l e 4 ) . '-~ W h i l et h e d e s i re m i g h t h a v e b e e n t o h e l p t h e ' p o o r e s t s o r t ' o f fr e e i n h a b i t a n t i n t h e t o w n , r e s o u r c e sw e r e s p r e a d v e r y w i d e , a n d v e r y t h i n .

T h e c e n t ra l i s s ue in t h e C h a n c e r y c a s e c o n c e r n e d t h e p o w e r o f th e c o r p o r a t i o n t o l im i t t h er i g h t s o f f r e e b u r g e s s e s t o d e p a s t u r e c a t t le , a n d t o d e c i d e t h e n u m b e r s , a n d s u m s l e v ie d p e rh e a d . T h e m a y o r a n d h i s c o - d e f e n d a n t s a r g u e d t h a t t h e l a n d s w e r e n o t a p u b l i c c h a ri ty , n o rh e l d b y t h e c o r p o r a t i o n a s a b o d y p o l i ti c , n o r d e s t i n e d s p e c if ic a l ly fo r t h e u s e o r r e l i ef o f t h ep o o r . I n s t e a d , t h e y a s s er t ed t h a t t h e fr e e b u rg e s s es m e r e l y h e l d t h e la n d s i n c o m m o n , f o rd e p a s t u r i n g a n i m a l s . A ll s u b s e q u e n t a r r a n g e m e n t s a b o u t e n t i t l e m e n t s , st in t s a n d c o n t r i b u t i o nm o n e y h a d b e e n d e c i d e d p u r e l y a t t h e d i s c r e t io n o f t h e f r e e b u r g e ss e s ( o r t h e i r c o r p o r a t er e p r e s e n t a t i v e s ) , n o t i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h a n e q u a l r i g h t o f a cc e s s fo r all f r e e l n e n t o t h is ' p u b l i c 'r e so u r c e. T h e o u t c o m e o f t h e c a s e is u n k n o w n . H o w e v e r , t h e f ac t t h a t t h e e x is t in g a r r a n g e m e n t sa b o u t p a s t u r e r i g h ts a n d c o n t r i b u t i o n m o n e y c o n t i n u e d u n a l t e r e d i n t o th e ~ 7 3o s s u g ge s ts t h a tL e a k e a n d M a i n w a r i n g l o s t. T h e i r a c t i o n m a y j u s t h a v e b e e n o n e s k i r m i s h i n a l a rg e r b a t t leo v e r t h e q u e s t i o n o f w h e t h e r t i th e s w e re d u e o n t h e c o m m o n s , i n w h i c h L a w r e n c e G i b b o n a n dh i s c o - d e f e n d a n t s w e r e s u e d f o u r t i m e s i n t h e E x c h e q u e r . ~'C'

6,1 PRO Clo/4o6 /lO Attorney Gen eral v. LawrenceGib-bon and others, 6 lune 1713as It is difficult to establish wha t proportion of all freeburgesses were h elped in this way . SRO (Bury), EE 5m/4/3 , list of freemen entitled to v ote in 17o3, records 727free burgesses,14 6 of whom resided outside the borough.Ifa further c. 13o were entitled to d epasture animals, withanother c . 240 receiving com mo ns' m oney, this leaves a

further c. 200 w ho neither dep astured cattle, no," receivedcollection money. Sin ce only approxim ately 15o bur-gesses actually vo ted, and the 17o3 list was the result ofa pa diamen tary enq uiry into voting irregularities in theboroug h, the overall numb e,"of burgesses may be grosslyinflated.6~, PRO, E 134/11 Ann e/Mich. 5;/11 and 12 An ne, Hil.1; /n and 12 Ann e, Hil. lo; h G eo . 1, East. 7.

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TABLE 1. Occupa tions of Sudb ury fl'eemen depasturing cattle or receiving mon ey, 1 7 1 o - 2 8 .

1 8 3

Occupational groups:Dep asturing catt le Receiving mo ne y Those in both groups

n % n % n %A g r i c u l t u r a l 1 1W o o d w o r k e r s 1 1

c lo th ie rs 28weave , ' s 31a l l i ed tex t i l e t rades I0

A l l c l o t h w o r k e r s 6 9L e a t h e r w o r k e r s 1 4F o o d p r o d u c e r s 2 4M e t a l w o , ' k e r s 8M e d i c a l 1 0S e r v i c e s 7C l o t h i n g 9Misc . c ra f t s 7Gents . 11C l e r i c s 2

6 4 4 2 46 6 6 3 6

15 8 7 4 817 56 52 19 39

4 5 5 3 638 69 64 26 53

8 8 7 5 1013 7 6 6 12

4 2 2 1 65 3 3 3 64 2 2 2 45 5 5 0 04 1 1 0 06 1 1 1 21 0 0 0 0

T O T A LT O T A L G R O U P% w i t h k n o w n o c c u p a t i o n sM e d i a n d a t e o f b i r t hn =

183 I00 108 100 49 100383 589 138

48 18 361671 1664 1664

I l l 5 9 2 4Source: S u f f o l k R O ( Bu ,- y) , E E 5 0 1 / 2 / 7 c o l l a t e d w i t h o c c u p a t i o n a l d e s i g n a t i o n s d r a w n m o s t l y f r o mE E 5 0 1 / 4 /1 a n d o t h e r s o u r c e s .Note: d a t e o f b i r t h e s t i m a t e d a s a p p r e n t i c e s h i p d a t e - 1 7 y e a r s o r f r e e d o m d a t e - 2 4 y e a r s .

IVW h a te v e r it s o u t c o m e , t h e C h a n c e ry s u i t h ig h l ig h te d th e d i f f e r en c e s i n a cc e ss t o t h e c o m m o n s .A c lo s e r e x a m in a t io n o f th e tw o g ro u p s , t h o s e w i th a n d th o s e w i th o u t c a t t le o n th e c o m m o n s ,i l lus t ra tes the e ffec ts o f town ' s po la r i sed soc ia l o rder . Tab le 1 i l lus t ra tes the occu pa t io na l p rof i leso f th e tw o g ro up s . I n b o th c as es , t h e d o m i n a n c e o f t h e c lo th t r a d e is a p p a re n t im m e d ia t e ly .T h i r ty - e ig h t p e r c e n t o f c o m m o n e r s w h o s e o c c u p a t io n s a r e k n o w n w e re i n v o lv e d in t h e t r a d e ,w h i l e 64 p e r c e n t o f t h o s e r e c e iv in g th e c o m m o n s ' m o n e y w e re i n c lo th in g t r ad e s . T w o o th e rfea tures a re ev iden t , and bo th sugges t a d i f fe rence in wea l th be tween the two groups . The f i r s ti s t h a t a m u c h h ig h e r p ro p o r t i o n o f t h e o c c u p a t io n s o f c o m m o n e r s c a n b e d e t e c t e d th a n o fn o n -c o m m o n e r s . T h e tw o m a in s o u rc e s u s e d to d i s t i n g u i s h o c c u p a t io n s , t h e S u d b u ry b o ro u g h'Cocke t books ' , and wi l l s , bo th favoured f l ' eemen, and the more p rosperous inhab i tan ts . Thesecon d ind ica t ion of the soc ia l d is tance be twe en the two g roups i s the fac t tha t on ly 17 per ce n t

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o f th e c o m m o n e r g r o u p w e r e w e av e rs , w h i le m o r e t h a n h a l f t h e n o n - c o m m o n e r g r o u p w e r em e m b e r s o f th i s t ra d e . B y co n t r as t , t h e p r o p o r t i o n o f c l o th i e rs i n t h e c o m m o n e r s a m p l e w a sm o r e t h a n t w i c e a s h i g h a s a m o n g t h e n o n - c o m m o n e r s . T h e r e w e r e a l s o h i g h e r p r o p o r t i o n so f food p roduce rs o r supp l ie r s (bake rs , bu tche rs , ma l t s te r s , mi l le r s and g roce rs ) among thec o m m o n e r g r o u p , a s w e l l a s a h ig h e r p r o p o r t i o n o f th o s e w h o s ty l ed t h e m s el v e s g e n t l em e n .

As the tab le shows , however , the two g roups were no t mu tua l ly exc lus ive . Of the 972ind iv idua ls in the s tudy , 138 depas tu red an ima ls an d rece ived com m ons m on ey a t som e po in tbe twe en 171o and 1728. Th is g rou p exh ib it s the same occupa t iona l p ro f i le a s the o the r two ,e m p h a s i s i n g t h e d o m i n a n c e o f t h e c l o t h tr a d e . T h e f ac t th a t t h i s g r o u p c o n t a i n e d n l a n y m o r eweavers than c lo th ie rs may i l lu st ra te the fac t tha t those w i th mo re m arg ina l incom e level s werem ore l ike ly to m ove be tw een the two g roups , acco rd in g to the i r f inanc ia l c i rcums tances . Morethan ha l f the weave rs wh o possessed an ima ls a l so rece ived co l lec t ion mo ney a t som e po in t , ah ighe r p ropor t ion than fo r any o the r occupa t iona l g roup in the sample . Th is i s an ind ica t iono f the . p reca r ious na tu re o f the i r incon le .An o th e r t r end n lay a lso be ev iden t , bu t pe rhaps les s conc lus ively . W hi le a sma l le r p rop or t iono f t h e n o n - c o r n m o n e r g r o u p c a n b e f o u n d a m o n g t h e a p p r e n t ic e s h i p r e c o rd s o f t h e b o r o u g h ,t h e s e p e o p l e a p p e a r t o h a v e b e e n o l d e r t h a n f r e e m e n w h o h a d c a t t l e o n t h e c o m m o n s . B yca lcu la t ing the a pp rox im a te da te o f b i r th o f a f reem an as e i the r h i s da te o f app ren t icesh ip m inusseven teen yea rs , o r h i s da te o f f reed om m inus twen ty - fou r yea rs , it is poss ib le to e s tab l i sh no t iona lages. ,,7 By th i s roug h-an d- rea dy me thod , the me d ian da te o f b i r th fo r com m one rs be tw een1 7 1 o - 2 8 w a s 1 67 1, f o r n o n - c o m m o n e r s i t w a s 1 6 6 4. W h i l e th e g r o u p a b o u t w h o m w e k n o w n o t h i n gis m uc h la rge r than e i the r o f these age samples , it may be tha t those rece iv ing com m on s m one yw e r e o l d e r a n d p o o r e r t h a n t h o s e w h o d e p a s t u r e d a n i n la l s o n t h e c o m m o n s . s T h e s i m i l ar i ty inthe age p ro f il e o f those in bo th ca tego r ie s wi th th e co m m on s m on ey g roup a s a who le suggest st h a t a g e m a y h a v e b e e n a f a c t o r in t h e m o v e f r o m c o m m o n i n g t o r e c ei v in g m o n e y .

How ever , the ev idence does no t sugges t tha t th is was the on ly dynam ic a t work am ong theg r o u p o f i n d iv i d u a ls w h o c o m m o n e d a n i m a l s a n d r e c ei v e d m o n e y i n t h e p e r i o d . O f t h es e 138peop le , 64 exh ib i ted no c lea r t r a jec to ry , mov ing back and fo r th be tween possess ing an ima lsa n d r e c e iv i n g m o n e y t h r o u g h t h e p e r i o d . A f u r t h e r 4 0 m o v e d , c h r o n o lo g i c al ly , f r o m d e p a s t u r in ga n i m a l s t o r e c e i v i n g c o m m o n s ' m o n e y , b u t t h e r e m a i n i n g 3 4 m o v e d t h e o t h e r w a y , f i ' o mrece iv ing m on ey to exe rc i sing co m m on r ights . The re a re too few appren t icesh ip o r f reedomda tes fo r these peop le to e s tabl i sh w he the r these m oves we re pa r t o f the i r li f e -cyc le expe r ience."~'In s tead , i t is impo r tan t to em phas ize how m ob i l i ty be twe en the g roups was ac tua l ly ve ry

67 For ex amp le, in PRO, E 134/I. Ge o. 1/East. 7, lamesLee, a sayweaver, was recorded as aged 6o years in 1715.James Lee , son of Wil l iam Lee , was apprent iced to JosephPentlow, sayweaver, 29 Sept. 1 . 672 , SRO (Bury), EE5off4/1. In PRO , E 134/n and 12 An ne/H il. 12, his broth erJon atha n was g iven as aged 50 years in 1713, he wasapprent iced to h is fa ther W ill iam, 2 June 168o, SRO(Bury) , EE 5o l / 4 / 1 .

68 This fin ding m ay, howev er, be influenced bychronologica l b iases in the source mate r ia l . The'Co cke t ' bo ok of enro l led apprent icesh ips (c onta in ing

occupa t ion s both of apprent ice and m aste r) con ta insmu ch mo re mate r ia l for the per iod 166o-9 than forlater decades, increasing ti le chance s of locatingoccupa t ions among o lder f reemen. 96 apprent icesh ipsw e r e enrolled between 1657 and 1659; 2o2 betw een 166oand 1669; 226 between 167o and 1679; 236 between 168oand 1689; bu t on ly 18 be tween 1693 and 1695, wi th afurther 60 between 1717 and 1734.

69 T here w ere only f ive da tes o f apprent icesh ip ando n e o f f r e e d o m fo r t h e g ro u p wh o m o v e d f ro m c o m -m onin g to rece iv ing mon ey; for the grou p m oving in the

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i n f r e q u e n t, a n d h o w d i ff e r en c e s e n g e n d e r e d b y f r e e d o m f in e s r e ma in e d e n t r e n c h e d t h e r e a f te r .I n g e n e r a l i n t h e t o wn , f r e e me n a n d t h e i r w id o ws e i t h e r exerc ised pas tu re r igh ts o r rece ivedc o m m o n s mo n e y . O n ly 14 p e r c e n t o f t h e 9 7 2 i n d iv id u a l s i n t h e s e two c a t eg o r i es d id b o th , a n do n ly lO p e r c e n t ( 98 ) d e p a s tu r e d a n ima l s a n d r e c e iv e d mo n e y , o r m o v e d f r o m r e c e iv in g m o n e yto p o s s e s s in g a n ima l s . A lo n g e r p e r io d o f o b s e r v a t i o n mig h t h a v e d i s c lo s e d mo r e mo v e me n t ,bu t i t appears tha t the d iv ide be tween the two g roups was subs tan t ia l , and d i f f icu l t to t raverse .

M uch o f the d i f f icu l ty in es tab li sh ing the n a tu r e a nd dep th o f th is d iv ide is c rea ted by th ea b s e n c e o f lo c a l o r n a t i o n a l t a x at i o n r e c o r d s f o r t h e t o wn in t h is p e r io d . On e c r u d e m e a s u r eof wea l th i s an ana lysis the ex ten t to whic h the two g rou ps par t ic ipa te d in par l ia me nta rye lec t ions in the town. TM W he n the po l l books fo r 171o and 1727 a r e ma tc h e d t o t h e p e r s o n n e l o fthe two g roup s th ro ugh the per iod , a c lea r pa t te rn emerges . In th e 171o e lec t ion , 79 o f the383 c o m m o n e r s v o t e d ( 20 .6 p e r c e n t ), c o m p a r e d t o o n ly 38 o f t h e 5 89 wh o r e c e iv e d m o n e y(6.5 per cen t ) . Ho w ever o f these 38 , 19 a lso depa s tu red an imals a t som e po in t be tw een 171o-28 .Th is m ean t tha t 53 per c en t o f vo te rs in 171o (79 ou t o f 149) had & pa s tu red an imals on thecon ln lons , o r would do so , whereas 13 per cen t (19 ou t o f 149) had on ly rece ived money , o rwo u ld o n ly d o s o. T h e t r e n d wa s m o r e p r o n o u n c e d i n 1727. I n t h a t y e a r , 75 o f t h e c o m m o n e r sv o te d c o m p a r e d t o 3 3 wh o h a d r e c e iv e d c o m m o n s mo n e y . Of t h e l a t te r , 25 h a d a ls o d e p a s tu r e dan imals a t so me po in t in the pe r iod . In th is ins tance , 57 per cen t o f the vo te rs (75 ou t o f 13o)h a d d e p a s tu r e d a n im a l s o n t h e c o mla mn s , w i th a f u r th e r f i f te e n v o te r s n o n - r e s id e n t , a n d o n ly6 p e r c e n t ( 8 o u t o f 1 3 o) o f t h e c o m m o n s m o n e y g r o u p v o t in g . I n t o ta l , twe n ty p e r c e n t o fth o se w h o u s e d t h e c o m n a o n s i n t h e p e r io d v o t e d , wh i l e o n ly 5 - 6 p e r c e n t o f th o s e wh o r e c e iv e dm on ey d id so . 7'

VI f p o s se s s io n a n d e x e rc i se o f r ig h ts t o u s e t h e c o m m o n s wa s i n f lu e n c e d h e a v i ly b y we a l th a n do c c u p a ti o n , b u t n o t e n t ir e ly d e p e n d e n t u p o n t h e m , h o w w e r e t h e c o m m o n s u s e d b y t h o se a b l eto do so? In the f i rs t p lace , they were used m ore in tens ive ly over t ime . S tock ing ra tes a re sho w nin Tab le 2 . There w ere two d is t inc t pe r iods in the use o f the com m ons , 1 7 1 0 - 1 8 and 1719-28. Inthe f ir st p e r iod an average o f 129 f reem en depa s tu red an average o f 158 an imals . The tab lei ll u st ra t es t h a t t h e p r o p o r t i o n s o f c o ws , h o rs e s a n d r n ar e s o n t h e c o m m o n s i n t h e p e r io d wa sn o t s u b j e ct to m u c h v a r i a ti o n , a l th o u g h th e p r o p o r t i o n o f c o ws o n t h e c o m m o n s wa s h ig h e r a tthe beg in n ing o f the per iod than a t the end . In the se cond p er iod , a f te r 1719, 136 f reem en , onaverage , were a l low ed pas tu re r ights , b r ing ing w i th th em an average o f 185 an imals each year .T h e i n c re a s e i n t h e n u mb e r s o f f r e e me n m a y s imp ly h av e f o l lo we d a d e m o g r a p h ic t r e n d . I tmay , pe rhaps , have been the resu l t o f a sl igh t ope n ing o f access in the wak e o f the case b ro ug h to n b e h a l f o f L e a ke a n d M a in wa r in g . I t m ig h t a l so r e fl e ct t h e p r io r i n t e g r a t io n i n to t h e c o m m o n s 'rnana gem ent reg i rne o f the lands bou gh t in 1731. In 1715, Joshua Oake ley o f M elfo rd sa id th a tother di l'ec t ion, there w ere three dates o f apprent iceship,and f i fteen for the gro up exhibi ting no c lear ?a t tern.

7o Sud bury los t i ts bor oug h franchise o n the surrende rof i ts charter in 1685. Therea fter the town w as includedin county e lec t ions for Suffolk, and the usual 2 county

freehold franchise applied.71 Tha t is , 79 and 75 out o f 383 com mo ner s (2~ and 20

per cent) , and 38 and 33 out of 589 who received money(6 per cent) ; 19 and 25 out of ~38 in both groups voted(14 and 18 per cent).

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TABLE 2. Nu mb er and propo rtio n of animal types, Su dbur y com mon , 171o-28t o t a l

n u m b e r o fP e o p l e a n i m a l s c o w s h o r s es m a r e s

n n n % n % n %1710 131 165 58 35 63 38 44 271711 126 151 58 38 52 34 41 271712 135 158 77 49 45 28 36 231713 123 146 55 38 60 41 31 411 7 1 4 129 155 48 31 71 46 36 231715 127 153 54 35 54 35 45 291716 132 169 52 31 69 4l 48 2817171718 126 169 52 31 71 42 46 271719 135 188 62 33 78 41 48 261720 132 187 58 31 80 43 49 261721 124 165 58 35 70 42 37 221722 137 192 61 32 74 38 57 301723 136 186 73 39 65 35 48 261724 138 188 61 32 70 37 57 301725 135 183 52 28 63 34 68 371726 146 195 54 28 79 40 62 321727 135 182 59 32 72 40 51 281728 144 188 59 31 69 37 60 32AVERAGE !26 164 55 32 63 36 46 26

i ~

S o u rce : Suffolk RO (Bury), EE501/2/7 (no list survives for 1717).N o t e . the categories of cows, horses and mares are those employed in the original source.

s i nc e a b o u t 1 711 h e h a d n o t i c e d t h e s e l a n d s b e i n g u s e d a s c o m m o n p a s t u r e a f t e r t h e f i r st h a yc r o p . 72 T h e a d d i t i o n o f lO a cr e s to t h e c o m m o n s m i g h t h a v e a c c o m m o d a t e d t h e e x t r a 3 o h e a do f l i v e s to c k w i t h o u t c h a n g i n g s t o c k i n g r a t e s. 73 T h e s e w o u l d h a v e r e r n a i n e d a t a r o u n d 3 .5 a n i m a l sp e r a c r e , a v e r y h i g h f i g u r e ? , I n 17 15 , C o r n e l i u s B r e w e r , a 'g e n t l e m a n ' f r o m t h e n e i g h b o u r i n g

72 PRO, E 134/Geo. 1/East. 7, Joshua Oakeley, Melford,woolcomber, aged 47 years.

73 If the size of the common was increased from 41.7acres to 52.15 acres, while the average number of animalsincreased from 158 to 185, stocking rates would have fallenslightly, from 3.8 animals per acre to 3.5. In PRO, E 134/1Geo. a/East. 7, Luke Leake testified that the commonscontained only about 4 o - 5 o acres. In E 134/11 and 12

Anne/Hil. ao, Thomas Hall of Great Cornard, stated thatthe additional area over which the fi'eemen had grazingrights (Friars, Fulling Pit Meadow, and arable lands calledWents, Ingrains and Wells) added only a further 11 acres.

74 Other towns had stocking rates that were lower, buthardly more sustainable if the anim