The documents edited in
this volume principally relate to the estate of Southwick Priory at Stubbington
in the late middle ages. The first
section, consequently, consists of manorial accounts for Stubbington for the
Priory from c.1247 to 1467, but including also some accounts for the
property after the Dissolution, from 1542 to 1551. The documents in the second section are miscellaneous, comprising
mainly rentals and surveys and a few court rolls, and although the earlier ones
concern the Priory’s estate, documents are also included which relate to
Portsea Island more generally.
Moreover, some documents in the second section are also
post-Dissolution. The material in the
second section thus consists of: a rental of the Priory’s lands in Portsea,
1333; a memorandum of harvest costs in the fourteenth century; a rental of the
lordship of Portsea, 1379-80; rentals of the Priory’s demesne land, 1391 and
n.d. [but 1374x1380]; court rolls of Stubbington, 1525-45; a survey of the
commonfields of Portsmouth, n.d. [but 1509x1539]; a terrier of the lands of
Thomas Carpenter in Beeston and Stubbington, n.d. [but 1536x1539, relating to
the former lands of the Priory]; and an assignment of a lease of the rectory,
formerly held by the Priory, in 1548.
1 THE PROPERTY
Principally acquired by the benefaction of Baldwin de Portes(e)ia, possibly in 1164x1166,
the Priory’s property at Stubbington was managed as a grange. Baldwin conferred the advowson of the church
of (St Mary) Portsea, ½ hide in Stubbington and ½ virgate in Buckland.[1] In a further charter which provided for his
burial at the Priory, Baldwin attorned the land and service of John de Broceherst (1164x1177).[2] In the nature of the endowment, the property
could draw on minimal services from its tenantry, which numbered only 7 in c.1248, none of whom held more than 3½a.[3] Although the property was valuable, both
because of its proximity to the house and important places and its own
productivity, income from tithes within Portsea Island and particularly
Eastney, enhanced its importance to the canons. Tithe income featured largely in the accounts for the manor. Conversely, the expense contain dispersed references to work on the parish church,
mainly the chancel and the roof.
Because of its location in Portsea, the manor was visited by the Prior
and canons en route to other places,
not least to Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight, and, in the Prior’s case,
frequently to Winchester Fair.[4]
The later accounts allow some view of the
disposition of the demesne, from the expense
in the grange account, for sowing.
Grain was sown in furlongs called La
Brodecrofte or Bradecrofte, La Methe,
Brochurst (see above), Westwode, la NorÞere Hamme, la
marlcrofte, margeriecrofte, la groscrofte, la puricrofte, putcrofte,
la lange crofte, raggiescrofte, the field before the gate of Gilbert Odo, Jordanescrofte,
Cristinecrofte, olawei helve, Byesteton’,
la yldecourt or la Oldecourt or Eldecourt
(on the former site of the manorial curia
or courtyard), Hulle, Estfeld, Selyrcroft, Solorcroft,
latterly after c.1400, Bencrofte (in which, indeed, only beans
seem to have been sown) and la
laddercroft, some of which were discrete units of cropping although not of
considerable size.
A
more precise indication of the size of the property derives from inquisitions
at vacancies in the later fourteenth century.
In 1381, the property was described as comprising £4 in annual rents,
60a. of arable, valued at 3d. per acre, and 56a. of pasture, at 2d. per acre. Later, in 1398, the property was attributed
105a. arable, but now including Fifhide,
valued at 2½d. per acre, of which two-thirds were sown and one third fallow, as
well as 60a. of pasture and £4 in annual rents. By this time, the dovecote, although valued at 6d., was
delapidated.[5]
By
the late fourteenth century, at least some of the demesne was being leased
(farmed) out, as is indicated by two rentals of demesne land. That of 1391 records rent income of £9 5s.
10d. from demesne lands at lease.[6] The most comprehensive representation of the
lands of the Priory in Stubbington is contained in the survey of the
commonfields of Portsmouth which can be assigned to 1509x1539. In this survey, the Priory’s lands are
dispersed throughout the commonfields of Portsea Island, in small amounts of a
few stitches up to a few acres, without any consolidation.[7]
Beeston field:
Stubbington furlong 8½
a
High
furlong 3a
Pease
furlong 1a
Copner
furlong 3½a
Old
Meade furlong 2a
Bramble
furlong 3½a
Grove
furlong 1½a
Water
furlong 3½a
North
streat furlong 2½a
South
streat furlong 2½a
Abrahame
furlong 3a
Wythebed
furlong ½a
Burton
gate furlong ½a
Dedman lane furlong 3 stitches
Meatelands:
Meateland stile 1a
Close
furlong 1a
1 stitch
Red
diche furlong 3a
Blackland
furlong 2a
Guslerswere
furlong 3 stitches
West
side of same 2½a
Lake
furlong 4a
3 stitches
Burdes
close 2½a
Shovill
furlong 1½a
Bearecrofte
furlong 1a 3 stitches
Lake
furlong 1a
1 stitch
Kingwell
furlong 1a
East Dockfield
God’s House furlong 1a 3 stitches
Fullsea
furlong 3½a
The
four acre close ½a
West
furlong 3a
Water
furlong ½a
1 stitch
Unnamed
close ½a
Kingwell
Cross furlong 1a
Newgate
furlong 1a
Total
in East Dockfield: 12a
Catclyf furlong 1a
Chilmer
furlong 2a 1 stitch
Sea
myll furlong 1½a
Next
sea myll furlong 1a
Blackthornebushe
furlong 2 stitches
Furlong
between Upham and Banisters furlong 1 stitch
Total
in West Dockfield: 5½a
[check again West Dockfield]
Pitcrofte 3½a
3 stitches
Kingston
close 1a
Curries
close 1a
Total
in Kingston: 6a 1 stitch
The survey calculated the whole of the Priory’s lands as 90½ acres.
At
an earlier time, the size of the demesne can be assessed from sowing in the
grange accounts in some of the manorial accounts. Figures are to the nearest acre (halves are rounded up to the next
whole)..
1268-1269 59 15
29 11 1 27
1269-1270 46 15
36 13 3 32
1281? 51 32 25 10 10 19
1319-1320 53 42 25 9 6 18
1330-1331 48 41 23 5 12 24
1344-1345 51 35 11 5
9 14
1351-1352 46 27 18 6 9 16
Note:
in 1351-1352, seven acres of dredge (a mixture of barley and oats) were sown.
The apparent variability of the acreage over time
almost certainly results from the imprecise measurement of the acre. A stitch was probably the equivalent of a
rood, that is, a quarter of an acre.
2 MANAGEMENT
The
property was managed by a serjeant, of free status, who was not one of the
small group of tenants of Stubbington.
The serjeant appears not to have been resident, but to have visited the
manor at critical junctures, especially at the beginning of harvest, which may
be one reason for the tendency of the accounts to run from July and August (see
below). The first known serjeant to
account, Simon, managed the property at least intermittently over twenty years,
for he rendered all the extant accounts between at least 1249 and 1268-9. He was followed by Adam Dun during that last year, who accounted again in the following
year and was possibly the lay brother, Adam conuersus,
who accounted in 1280-1. The longevity
in administration is further reflected, perhaps, in Thomas le Gray, the serjeant who accounted in 1319-20 and 1330-1. It is, however, possible that the serjeants
were rotated around the Priory’s manors and that the accounts which survive
only intermittently reflect on their careers.
The serjeant received considerable payments in kind on his visits as
well as a cash wage. It was the
serjeant who rendered account, was the sole accounting official, and who was
responsible for the accounting obligations with the lord. There is no suggestion of any permanent
local official of reeval status, probably because the property had only a small
tenantry none of which was servile.
Perhaps the reapreeve (messor)
and hayward (claviger) acted in
resident capacity.
The
serjeant was supervised by the bailiff, who visited the manor frequently,
principally to collect surplus cash, especially from sales of grain, but also
to authorise sales of grain and stock and gifts. The bailiffs were exclusively drawn from amongst the canons or conversi
and, unlike the serjeants, were not continuously attached to any property. In some years, different canons acted as the
bailiff for the property, as in 1268-9 and 1269-70 when the accounts refer to
at least two different brethren as bailiffs who visited the property during the
course of the year.
About
two serjeants considerably more is known from charters as well as their
accounts. The status of Simon is
reflected in his attestation of a charter of Hugh Raggi, burgess of Portsmouth, in 1260x1280.[9] Furthermore, he acquired rents from Raggy c.1270 for a consideration of four marks.[10] When the priory purchased lands, Simon, as
serjeant of Stubbington, paid the considerations of 50s., two marks, two marks
and four marks.[11] Yet more is known of Adam Wysman alias de Exton’ alias de Stobinton’,
serjeant of the priory at Stubbington.
Between 1276 and 1281, he made nine purchases of lands, for which he
cumulatively paid a consideration of £22 10s. 0d.; he subsequently conferred
most, but not all, of these acquisitions on the priory, but not before he had
leased some of them.[12] These purchases appear to have been genuine
acquisitions on his own behalf rather than the priory’s, although it is
possible that he availed himself of the priory’s cash. At the very least, he is revealed as of free
status and extremely enterprising.
By
1380, however, the priory had renounced serjeants as managers of its
properties, to be replaced by bailiffs who managed and accounted. The account of 1380-1 was rendered by John
Taborer, bailiff. Since the previous
extant account, rendered by a serjeant, antedated this account by thirty years,
the precise time and reason for the change cannot be detected.[13] It might have been associated with the
working through of changes resulting from the Black Death but equally the
change from serjeant to bailiff might have been no more than a change of title
of the office rather than any fundamental alteration of management and
personnel. Although in 1351-2 husbandry
was maintained, by 1380-1 signs were evident of an experimentation in withdrawing
from direct management. No grain was
sown in that year except for 4 bs. of beans in le Suthfeld and 1 qtr of beans and hares. Leases (firme)
infiltrated. In the account of c.1400, the cows and heiffers had been
leased out, the first at 2s.8d. each, the last at 16d. each. The harvest costs of this account related
only to tithe grain and no ploughmen were retained. No grain was sown apart from beans.[14] The ploughmen were again absent from the famuli in 1408-9.[15]
In
1411-12, the bailiff was John Couk, who received a wage of 20s., and he was
succeeded in the same office by Thomas Reynold, at the same wage.[16] By the middle of the fifteenth century,
however, so much demesne land had been leased that the accounting official was
the rent collector, Robert Foghle.[17] In 1461-7, however, the rent collector and
bailiff accounted, over this period in the persons of Richard Bokele alias
Byckley (rent collector) and John Bovyer alias Bover (bailiff).[18]
Like
other small properties of Austin Canon houses, Stubbington was administered as
a grange.[19] Since the property had few tenants to
perform labour services, it was heavily dependent on wage and contractual
labour, although there was a small nucleus of famuli (permanent estate
labourers).[20]
The
numbers of the famuli declined over the late middle ages, reflecting the
management of the estate, from direct exploitation to leasing out of the
demesne, at first piecemeal and then completely. In c.1247, the famuli comprised four ploughmen, a
carter, dairy assistant, swineherd and cowherd. By 1267-8, these permanent staff were supplemented by a
reapreeve, carter, shepherd, and two grooms harrowing in winter. In 1344-5, a granger was added, although
only at a wage of 2s.[21] By 1380-1, the number of famuli had
declined as some labour was shed, so that only a bailiff, carter, swineherd and
part-year cowherd remained, accounting for 36s. in wages.[22] By c.1400, the swineherd and cowherd
were combined within the same office, but a dairy assistant was employed again.[23] That continued to be the situation until
1414-15. When the accounts are again
extant, from 1453-1463, no famuli were retained.[24] The numbers of famuli chronicle the
fortunes of demesne exploitation.
Wage
labour at Stubbington constituted a very large cost to the house, perhaps best
illustrated through the costs of arable husbandry. At the height of productivity, four to five stackers, several
carters and carts, and numerous tithe collectors were hired during harvest, and
the vast proportion of reaping and threshing was performed by contractual labour
(although the famuli assisted with some of the threshing in some
years).
The accounts for 1281? and
1287-8 provide some detailed description of the labour employed in reaping.[25] In 1281?, 72 reapers were employed for one
day at a cost of 9s., 30 for half a day
for 2s. 6d., 57 for one day for 9s. 6d. (although this entry is cancelled), 254
for one day for 49s. 11½d., and nine for half a day for 1s 1½d., some of whom
were also fed at the lord’s table. In
1287-8, 162a. 1r. of grain were reaped at a total cost of £4 10s., at 6½d. and
7d. per acre.
Changes in the accounting
procedure for harvest costs make it difficult to tabulate these
expenditures. In many years, wages and
other outlays were consolidated under the heading of harvest costs, but in
other years a more precise accounting was attempted, no doubt because of the
levels of expenditure. In 1319-20, for
example, three different paragraphs were registered in the account: for
reaping; for expenses; and for wages.[26] In 1330-1, wages and expenses were separated
into different paragraphs, but in 1344-5, there was a reversion to segregated
paragraphs for reaping, expenses and wages.
Some idea of the progression
of global harvest costs can, however, be suggested. In 1252-3, the total costs approximated to £8, rising to over £9
in 1267-8, and to more than £10 by 1269-70 and exceeding £12 in 1280-1. In most years of extant accounts down to
1408-9, harvest costs fluctuated between £10 and £12, but were exceptionally
high in 1319-20. In 1411-12, the costs
fell below £10 for the first time since 1269-70, whilst in 1414-15 only just
over £7 was so expended. In the late
fifteenth century (1453-1467), these costs had diminished to between £2 16s.
and £4 11s., much of which was disbursed in the hiring of carts for carting the
lord’s grain (probably tithe grain).
Again, changes in the employment of contractual labour reflect the
fortunes of demesne exploitation.
Threshing costs repeated
that pattern of dependence on wage labour: high expenditure during the period
of demesne productivity and later relinquishment. From 1267-8 to 1344-5, costs of threshing exceeded £4 and often
£5, with a couple of exceptional years of low expenditure. In 1351-2 and 1380-1, the amount required
for threshing fell below £3, but increased again in c.1400 to 1415,
exceeding £4 in c.1400 and costing over £3 10s. to over £3 18s. in the
early years of the fifteenth century.
By 1453-67, no cash payments were made for threshing.
Despite the detail of the
extant accounts, it remains difficult to describe capital accumulation on the
property. Not least is this so for the
buildings. The following description
derives from the first references in the accounts to particular buildings, but
it should not be inferred that these are the earliest dates of these
structures. Indeed, caution is
counselled because the very earliest accounts refer only to buildings in
general. What is clear is that a new
grange was constructed in 1269-70 at a cost of £6 2s. 4d.[27] Prior to that, the account of 1267-8 mentioned
a granary, grange and bakehouse.[28] In 1281?, the roof of the tithe grange was
repaired, reflecting the prior existence of a separate grange for tithes and
the importance of that source of income.
In that year also, a new wooden henhouse was built and there are
references to the kitchen, pigsties and, significantly, a separate grange for
legumes.[29] The account for 1287-8 adds knowledge of an
oxhouse and a horsepond, the latter walled round and paled.[30] By 1319-20, a stable had been erected for
carthorses and there was a sheepcote.[31] Although the dovecote was first mentioned
(for repair) in c.1247, no reference was made again.[32] By c.1400, the old and the new
(1268-9) grange were differentiated as the east and west granges, but there was
also a wheat grange in the same account.
The kitchen contained an oven, kiln, and spit, and had wattle
walls. The dairy as a physical building
is also mentioned then.[33] It therefore seems likely that the curia
at Stubbington comprised a quite elaborate set of buildings, perhaps largely
directed to arable produce, consisting of several different granges with
different purposes.
One striking feature of the
earliest accounts is how the property was managed as a ‘home farm’ and also
centre for purchases for the provisioning of the prior and the convent because
of its location. In 1249-52,
substantial quantities of many varieties of fish were purchased through the
property for the prior and the household: conger; herring; mackerel; lampreys;
salmon; hake; merling; plaice; porpoise; and goat-fish; as well as wine,
saffron, garlic, and blanket cloth. The
property thus served in the early years of the accounts as a place of
provisioning. Apart from 1280-1 when
figs, conger, wine and mustard were bought through Stubbington, however, the
rôle did not persist. It is,
nevertheless, a very interesting feature of the use of the property in the mid thirteenth century.[34]
A similar aspect of those
early rolls is the inclusion of details of the movement of the Prior, as well
as other dignitaries and canons. These
early rolls record the provisioning of the Prior’s movements in southern
Hampshire, but the later rolls merely record the costs of the Prior’s visits to
Stubbington, which were usually twice or three times each year. In 1249-50, consequently, foreign expenses
involved provisions for the Prior at Portsmouth, at Winchester before the
justices itinerant, and at London at Easter.
In the following year, the Prior again journeyed to London in early
January and was later again at Portsmouth.
In the next year, the property supplied provisions for the Prior at
Winchester fair and on his three visits to Portsmouth. The subprior, bailiff and cellarer were also
supported at Portsmouth, whilst Br Alan received provisioning on his route to
Gosport. In 1252-3, the Prior was again
at Winchester fair, at Salisbury, at Portsmouth in early August and again
later, and at Winchester again. In
1268-9, the Prior journeyed to the Isle and to Chichester, as well as making
three visits to Stubbington. In
1269-70, he dined with the Bishop at Portsmouth, made another visit to that
borough, and went to the Isle. His
visits to the Isle and Portsmouth were also sustained by provisions from
Stubbington in 1280-1, when the Prior attended before the justices at the
borough. The property was thus used for
some time as a centre of provisions for the Prior’s frequent journeys to the
borough of Portsmouth and other places in the south of the county, often on
legal business.
Maintenance of the parish
churches of Portsmouth and Portsea, like the tithe income, was included within
the general management of the property.
In the manorial account for
1268-9, a roofer was hired to roof the church of Portsmouth for wages of 7s.
8d.[35] In the following year’s account, 2000 stone
slates were purchased for roofing the same church at a cost of 1s. 8d. and 2s.
4d. paid in wages of the roofer.[36] In the cost of the manorial buildings in
1280-1, 3s. 7d. was assigned to repairs to St Thomas, Portsmouth.[37] Intriguingly, in the account for 1281?, 2s.
2d. was accounted for in the paragraph for repairs of buildings for the binding
and repairing of books for Portsea church.[38] In 1319-20, the roofing of the chancel of
Portsea church was included in the repair of manorial buildings, at a cost of
1s. 3d.[39] The paragraph for ‘necessities’ in 1344-5
including roofing the chancel of Portsmouth church at a cost of 2s. 1d.[40] The lack of differentiation of these
manorial and spiritual expenditures was fully reflected in the account for 1351-2,
for in the paragraph for ‘necessaries’ a roofer received 2s. 3d. for 18 days
for roofing the grange, the dovecote and the chancel of Portsmouth church.[41] In c. 1400, the foreign expenses
included payment of 6s. 8d. for a man hired to repair the windows of the
chancel of Portsmouth church.[42] The same expenses in 1408-9 included a gift
of 2s. to the churchwardens of Portsea towards the church.[43] The expenditure of the house on its
spiritual responsibility for its churches was thus not clearly differentiated
from manorial expenditure.
An interesting aspect of the
earliest accounts is the endeavour of the Priory, through gift-exchange, to
attempt to consolidate social relationships with the burgesses of Portsmouth
and other local dignitaries. The most
visible relationship is that with the Raggy family, burgesses of
Portsmouth. In c.1247, 5 qtrs of
barley were delivered to Hugh Raggy in liquidation of an old debt owed
to him by the Priory. In c.
1240, Raggy had sold a croft in Kingston to the Priory for 30 marks. Raggy later became bailiff and reeve
of the borough. In 1249-50, he bought
30 qtrs of beans and 31 qtrs of peas from the Priory at Stubbington. For many years from 1249-50, the Prior made
gifts of wheat to the Raggy family, a full quarter to Hugh, and ½ qtr
each to Thomas and Nicholas Raggy.
A year later, 31s. 6d. were acquitted of the old debt owed to Hugh Raggy
In 1252-3, 15s. were also paid
to Hugh to redeem the old debt owed to him and 10d. was expended for wine on
the visit of Hugh to the Prior about the Feast of St James. In 1280-1, a quarter of barley was sent to
Hugh’s widow for her dower. Hugh’s
brother, Thomas, also a burgess of the Portsmouth, had also made a benefaction
to the house, c.1270.[44]
In c.1247, 4s. 4d. was spent on fish on the death
of Sir Geoffrey de Roches and his widow subsequently alienated 1a. to the
Priory.[45] Two years later, three conger were provided
for William tregot, a burgess of Portsmouth, who was a benefactor to the
house.[46] Another interesting example is the
relationship with Luke de Tauntone, for it might illustrate the process
of benefaction. In 1267-8, a half a
sester of wine was bought for 8d. for Luke on the day when he made his
feast. Now about this time, Luke had
assigned some small rents to the house and it is possible that the benefaction
was made through commensality.[47] Finally, some of the benefactions produced
enduring social relationships between donor and beneficiary, sometimes in
anniversaries which are reflected in the purchase of pittances in the accounts,
but sometimes through continuing gifts from the Prior to the donor or
successors of the donor. Ralph I de
Lighe, for example, had given land to the Priory in 1265x1268; his son was
accorded 1 qtr of barley in 1267-8, perhaps as a countergift for his father’s
benefaction. In the following year, the
Prior’s gift of the quarter of wheat was made to Ralph himself. In 1269-70, a reduced amount – 2 bs. of
wheat – was provided for William’s widow.[48] Relationships around acquisitions were thus forged
before the benefaction and continued afterwards.
3 THE
ACCOUNTS
The accounts printed here comprise all the extant
ones during the period when the priory was exploiting its property in its own
hands rather than leasing out, the latter process developing in the late
fourteenth century. It was also decided
to edit here, however, the accounts of the lessees of the property in the
fifteenth and sixteenth century, as explained above. Amongst the most significant features of the accounts are their
relatively early genesis, the inchoateness of the earlier forms, the
experimentation with the period of the accounting year, and the relatively
early introduction and persistence of the calculation of ‘profit’. Unfortunately, many of the accounts have
damage to one or more membranes, frequently at the head, which compromises
certainty about some important aspects of accountancy.
It
is now widely acknowledged, from the research of Professor P.D.A. Harvey, that
only some fourteen estates produced written accounts before 1250, of which half
proceed after 1240.[49] It has also been presumed that a nexus of
early written estate accountancy developed in the area around Winchester.[50] The earliest extant account for Stubbington
survives for c.1247, with a number of
subsequent rolls from 1249 through into the late 1260s, before the
proliferation of manorial accounts.
Although these accounts thus chronologically occur during the period of
Harvey’s Phase I of accountancy, when centralised accounts predominated, the
rolls for Stubbington are locally-produced rolls more characteristic of Phase
II.[51]
Although
further research into the Southwick estates may elucidate the development of
its accountancy further, it seems that the roll for c.1247 represents the inception of accountancy for the manor and
that, consequently, the introduction of written local manorial accounts may be
attributed to Prior Matthew (1235-1266).[52]
For the account for c.1247 is, even by the standards of the Stubbington accounts, quite
inchoate. Like many of the earliest
manorial accounts, it has an unusual memorandum instead of a heading, recording
that Br Herbert came to collect surplus cash.[53] Furthermore there are no paragraph headings,
the grouped items or paragraphs being distinguished only by spacing. The costs of harvest are divided into
periodic sections and items recounted in great detail. Finally, there is no stock account unless it
consisted of a schedule and has become detached.[54]
The
following account, for 1249-50, again has a memorandum rather than a standard
heading, but does contain paragraph headings in the margin on the cash side of
the account, although not on the grange side.
The memorandum at the head of the roll contained both regnal year and
year of Prior Matthew’s prelacy, but in addition the year of grace which was
cancelled. The paragraph for expense at
Southwick (that is liveries in kind to the convent) is minutely detailed,
resembling a ‘diet’ household account.[55] Again, there is no extant stock
account. That deficiency is rectified
in the next account -- 1250-1 -- by a schedule of stock which has no marginal
paragraph headings. In this account
something of a cursory heading occurs for the first time, specifying it as the
account of Simon (the serjeant) at Stubbington with a regnal year. Paragraph headings occur throughout the
margins of the cash and grange accounts.
The deliveries to Southwick continue in the ‘diet’ form.[56] In 1251-2, the heading maintains the cursory
format as the account of Simon at Stubbington, but with both a regnal year and
year of the prelacy of Prior Matthew.
No stock account survives in the current form of the account.[57] The stock account recurs in the roll for
1252-3, in which account the paragraph headings continue in the margin only on
the cash side but not the grange and stock, and the memorandum at the head of
the account is construed in terms of the account of Simon at Stubbington with a
regnal year and a year of Matthew’s prelacy.[58]
By
1267-8, the account had settled into the general pattern of manorial
accountancy, although the heading of the Stubbington rolls continued to provide
both internal variety and differences from the norm of manorial accounts. It seems fairly evident then that written
manorial accountancy was in its infancy in about 1247, although houses of
Austin Canons had been required to maintain household accounting procedures
from the early thirteenth century.[59]
Variation
in the headings of the Stubbington accounts persisted. In c.1247,
a memorandum at the head simply stated that Br Herbert came to collect surplus
cash at a specific time.[60] In 1249-50, the memorandum recorded that
Simon (the serjeant) came to Stubbington at a specified date.[61] In 1251-3, the incipient heading consisted
of the form: the account of Simon at Stubbington with an opening regnal year,
but not a closing year or description of the full year of account.[62] In 1268-9, that form still persisted,
reflecting only the opening year of the account (expressed as a regnal year).[63] From 1269, the more standard form of heading
was adopted beginning with the word Compotus
and the name of the manor, accounting officials, and opening and closing feast
days and regnal years.[64] By 1330, however, there was a reversion to a
more cursory heading in the form: Stubbington, account there, year of grace at
the opening of the account, and the feast at which the account began (the Gule
of August).[65] This format was retained in 1344-5 and
1351-2, but in 1380-1 the standard form of heading was reintroduced.[66]
That
variability was matched in the flexibility in the accounting year, varying from
before harvest to during and after harvest.[67] From 1249-53, the accounting year was mid or
late July to mid or late July -- commencing before the harvest. By 1268-9 -- perhaps a transitional year
with a changeover of accounting officials -- the accounts ran from Michaelmas
to Michaelmas, as also in 1269-70. In
the 1280s, and certainly by the account for 1280-1, however, the period of
account reverted to before the completion of the harvest, running from the Gule
(1st) of August to the same date. In
1319-20, Michaelmas-Michaelmas was reinstituted, but by 1330-1 1 August to 1
August preferred again, which persisted in 1344-5 and 1351-2. Whilst the year was pulled back even further
to the Nativity of St John the Baptist (24 June) in 1380-1, Michaelmas was
substituted again in 1408-9.[68]
What
may be reflected here is the degree to which some lords were prepared to
experiment with accounting procedures, which is represented further in the case
of Southwick and the Stubbington accounts by the varied use of calculations of
‘profit’ and targets (responsiones).[69] The note of the calculation of ‘profit’
appeared first in the extant accounts in 1268-9 and it might indeed have been
the first introduction of the memorandum, for it is explained by a more
detailed note than later that the calculation was made on the morrow of St
Edmund the Archbishop (perhaps 17 November 1268). Its first occurrence on a locally-produced roll is thus some
twenty years after the first extant manorial account with several intervening
accounts not containing a note of ‘profit’.
There is, however, no certainty that ‘profit’ was not being calculated
at an earlier time. The memorandum of
‘profit’, a rather terse statement which really doesn’t allow deeper analysis,
thereafter occurred consistently on most of the extant accounts up to c.1400 (and certainly after 1398).[70]
1268 £84 7s 1¼d
1268-9 £100 5s 8½d
1269-70 £107 2s 3½d
1281? £94 0s 9½d
1287-8 £68 18s 9½d
1319-20 £79 5s 1d
1330-1 £119 5s 0d
1344-5 £72 8s 0d
1351-2
20 marks
c.1400 £79 13s 7d
The precise method of calculating ‘profit’ is not
revealed, as the statements were added by the auditors in summary form after
the balance, without description of the process. Some additional memoranda expose something of the basis of the
calculation. The first notation of
‘profit’ explains that it comprised all issues less necessary expenses, with
all tithes this side of the bridge [Portsbridge]. This brief explanation was repeated in the second memorandum of
‘profit’: with all tithes within Portsbridge less necessary expenses. The memorandum of 1344-5 attributed the
deficiency of the ‘profit’ to the failure of grain in that year, so liveries of
grain were included towards ‘profit’.
In 1351-2, the ‘profit’ decreased drastically ‘by reason of the
pestilence’. Finally, the importance of
tithes in the ‘profit’ was emphasised in c.1400 when the memorandum
concluded: with tithes of the rectory.
It can thus be inferred that the ‘profit’ was calculated like the
‘profit of the manor’ on some other estates, comprising essentially the value
of issues, including grain and stock delivered to the house and the cash
liveries, less necessary expenses. In
essence, therefore, the calculation of ‘profit’ was a reworking of selected
items within the account to assess how well the property was paying, whilst the
purpose of the account (and its balance) was to assess the obligation between
accounting official and lord.[71]
The
vital importance of tithes to the income from the property is reflected in its
labour requirements: the employment of tithe collectors. In the earliest account, c.1247, Simon came
with six tithe collectors on the Tuesday before St Peter in Chains, but as many
as fifteen tithe collectors were hired in the subsequent weeks of harvest,
declining to eleven in the later weeks, and finally three in the final
week. In 1249-50, relish was provided
at 1d. per tithe collector per week for five in one week, fifteen for three
weeks, fifteen in another week, and six in another week. Wages were incurred in that year for four
tithe collectors for a total cost of 5s. 8d., 15s. for another ten, and 3s. 4d.
for a further two. In the following
year, relish for fifteen tithe collectors cost 5s. 8d. and the wages of tithe
collectors a further 23s. 11d. In c.1251-2,
harvest costs included 6s. 3d. for relish for fifteen tithe collectors and 22s.
10d. for their wages. In 1252-3, 6s.
8d. was expended on relish for seventeen tithe collectors, whilst the wages
included 5s. for three tithe collectors in the fields of Eastney, 18s. for
twelve other tithe collectors and 2s. 4d. for another two. In 1267-8, twenty tithe collectors
received relish at 1d. each per week at a total cost of 8s. 4d. for the five
weeks of their work in harvest; the wages of three amounted to 5s. and of
another seventeen to 25s. 6d. Carts for
carrying tithe grain were hired for 21s. 11d.
Harvest costs in 1268-9 were incurred for twenty tithe collectors for
five weeks for relish at 1d. each, a total of 8s. 4d., but sixteen were
required in the sixth week at a further cost of 16d. for relish. Wages for tithe collectors in this year
amounted to 5s. for three collectors and 25s. 6d. for seventeen others. The cost of hiring carts for carrying tithe
grain extended to 28s. 6d. By 1268-9,
almost as many tithe collectors were needed, relish being acquired for twenty tithe
collectors for four weeks at a cost of 6s. 8d., wages for three amounting to
5s. and for seventeen others to 25s. 6d.
Carts were hired in this year and 1269-70 for transporting tithe
grain. The recruitment of this labour
reflects the importance of tithe income from Stubbington for the Priory. From 1280-1, it appears that the tithe
collectors were described as ‘foot workers’ (pedones), twenty being
employed requiring relish for 7s. 6d. and wages of 30s. – the standard rates of
relish at 1d. per worker per week and 1s. 6d. in wages per week.
Memoranda
of targets were introduced into the rolls from about the same time, as a
memorandum in the margin of the paragraph for cheeses noted that 30 ewes and 1
cow produced 1 wey of cheese and 4 cows 1 wey.
In 1280-1, the auditors added the seed-yield ratio for wheat and barley[72]
and in the roll of ?c.1281 the same
ratio for barley and oats -- particularly low-yielding in this year -- was
noted and under cheeses the product of a cow was established as 17d and of a
ewe as 1d. In the paragraph for wool,
it was noted that the fleeces produced 3d. each less 7d. overall.[73] In 1287-8, the auditors’ annotations were
restricted to the seed-yield of wheat, barley and oats, but not peas, beans and
vetches. In 1319-20, the auditors
calculated that fleeces were worth 6¼d. less 2½d. overall, but lambs’ fleeces
only 3d. each plus 3d. overall, and that the produce, under cheeses, of a ewe
was 3½d. less 3/4d. overall. In 1330-1, yield output was noted for wheat, barley and oats,
wool (fleeces worth 4d. each, but tithe lambs’ fleeces only 1½d. each) and dairy
produce (a cow’s product valued at 4s. and a ewe’s at 2d.). Similar calculations were made in 1344-5
(barley and oats certainly, and possibly also wheat, a cow’s output valued at
3s.6d. and a ewe’s at 2d. and a fleece at 3d.). So also in 1351-2, the seed-yield ratio of wheat, dredge and
oats was noted, whilst the memoranda recorded that each fleece was valued at
only 1½d. or five marks per sack of wool, and the accounting official was
surcharged 10s. so that the yield of a cow amounted to 3s.6d. and a ewe for 2d.
, the first indication that the memoranda were effectively related to sales
after the account for holding the accounting official to targets. It should be remarked, however, that it is
exactly the edges of the membranes at the head which are damaged, so that
information about ‘targets’ is not complete.[74]
One
final point about the accounts is the predominance of the excessus balance (elsewhere superplusagium).[75] Eleven of the fifteen rolls on which the
balance has not been lost, contained an excessus
balance, in which the expense had
exceeded the recepta and in which
case the lord was obliged to the accounting official. The amount of obligation from lord to official varied quite
widely, but attained over £8 in 1269-70.
Although the balance is usually simply struck with no explanation, in
that year the nature of the balance and how the accountant managed to get by
was elucidated by a note that £6 13s. 4d. was owed to William Brian.
It is known from the accounts that William was a canon of the house and
acted intermittently as Cellarer during 1268-70 and also as bailiff visiting
Stubbington during the current year; it is thus possible that he provided cash
additional to the manorial recepta
for the running of the manor. Further
detail about the nature of the superplusagium or excessus is
revealed in one of the earliest accounts, for 1249-50, in which the balance
records: and thus the expenses overshoot by 21d. which is owed to Simon and are
paid.[76] Thus Simon received the outstanding amount
theoretically owed to him after the account had been balanced. How the excessus accrued is perhaps
illustrated in 1319-20, in which the account lists as a separate paragraph the
debts of last year paid in this account, consisting of £11 19s 8½d., mainly comprising
deferred wages and costs of purchases.[77] The excessus thus seems to be
associated with a shortage of cash on a small manor with little rental income,
high costs in contractual labour, and a shortage of cash in the accounting
official’s hands. One solution was to
defer cash costs such as wages and to purchase on credit.
The
production of the accounts is largely an elusive process and the most that can
be discovered is the cost of their production in the fourteenth century. In 1319-20, the clerk was remunerated with
3s. p.a. for writing and ‘ordering’ the account, with 3d. expended on
parchment.[78] That amount – 3s. – remained the normal rate
for the clerk’s wages for writing the account through until at least 1351-2,
although usually the cost of parchment was lower, at 2d.[79]
An
unusual aspect, but one which might be associated with the early nature of some
of the accounts, is some of the language and terminology. The account for 1249-50 in the paragraph for
the wages of the famuli thus refers to the ploughdriver as caciator
(a term repeated in some of the other accounts as well).[80] The men on horseback at harvest are
described consistently as equitatores.[81] On the other hand, those workers described
in the earlier accounts as decimatores (hired tithe collectors) became consistently pedones (workers
on foot) in and after the account of 1281?.[82] The use of such terminology might reflect on
the background of the clerici who drafted or composed the accounts.
Throughout, but particularly
in the earlier ones, the accounts refer to brethren, either canons or conversi,
who visited the manor and to obedientiaries at the Priory. It was thought useful to list these.
Br William de Oxonia bailiff,
subprior 1268-9
Br R de Bertona 1268-9
Br R bataille 1268-9
Br W Wateuille 1268-9
Br W Brian (a)
cellarer; (b) bailiff (a) 1268-9; (b) 1283
Br R de Gainesburgh [pittancer] 1268-9
Br R of
the bakery 1268-9
Br R de swanemere 1268-9
Br J Colewine (b)
bailiff (a) 1280-1; (b) 1283?
Br R de Insula 1280-1
Br John de Oxonia cellarer 1280-1
Br N le faukenir serjeant 1281?
Br William de Wynton’ 1280-1
Br John de Heyling’ 1280-1
Br Isaac subprior 1280-1
Br J de Leuynton’ (b) bailiff;
(c) sacrist (a) 1280-1; (b) 1319-20; (c) 1319-20
Br Henry de staunton’ 1280-1
Br Henry de Guldeford 1280-1
Br John de
Chalfonte 1280-1
Br Robert de sancta Cruce (b) cellarer (a)
1280-1; (b) 1283?
Br Thomas de Ichen’ 1280-1
Br Nicholas de Cheriton’ cellarer 1280-1
J. de la manewode cellarer 1280-1
Br H de Elsefeld 1283?
Br John Ymbold bailiff 1319-20
Br Henry de Dene 1319-20
Br Nicholas de Clare 1319-20
Br Thomas de Rad’ granarer and
cellarer 1319-20
Br John de
Gloucestr’ bailiff 1330-1
Sir J stake cellarer 1344-5
W Peuesey cellarer 1351-2
Adam Cannon cellarer 1351-2
William Alfold cellarer 1380-1
Thomas York cellarer c.1400
Nicholas Rigge cellarer 1408-9
William Blakeman granarer 1453-4
4 EXPLOITATION
It
is not intended to explain here the productivity of the manor, but some
comments should be made. The size of
the demesne acreage sown and its disposition have been described above. It is rather difficult to make any firm
statements about the productivity of the demesne arable because of changes in
the accounting techniques. From c.1247
to 1269-70 inclusive, receipts of both demesne and tithe grain were collected
together without differentiation. From
1280-1 to 1351-2, demesne and tithe issues of grain were separated off, so that
it is possible to see the different contributions. From 1380 to 1467, a single, consolidated receipt of the issues
was returned, although it must be suspected that this receipt consisted almost
entirely of tithe issue. The receipts in
the thirteenth century were volatile, although only a small number of accounts
survives. For example, between c.1247
and 1269-70, wheat returned minimum and maximum issues of 154 qtrs and 356 qtrs
respectively and the issue of other grains reproduced this wide pattern. At that time, the principal grains consisted
of wheat, barley, oats, and, to a lesser extent, beans, peas and vetches. Although the issues of legumes, and especially
vetches were lower, they were a regionally important crop. The issue of beans ranged from 16 to 72
qtrs, peas 16 to 48, and vetches 25 to 79; it must be remembered that these
issues between c.1247 and 1269-70 comprised both demesne and tithe
receipts.
What
is more significant about the legumes – and in particular the vetches – is the
acreage over which they were sown, as illustrated by Table 1 above. Although the issues were not enormous, the
acreage sown was significant and it seems quite clear that legumes were sown as
a green fallow. In fact, the sowing
rates from the grange accounts confirm that productivity was not the primary
purpose of the legumes.
Barley 1268-1269: 8 1281?-1351/1352:
5
Oats 1268-1269: 10 1269-1270:
8 1281?-1351/1352: 6
Beans 1268-1270: 8 1281?-1351/1352:
6
Peas 1268-1269: 6 1269-1351/1352:
3