Reading historical records can be challenging – many of the terms used are forgotten today, or have changed their meanings. This glossary offers plain-English explanations of the key terms you’ll encounter in the Stalbridge Weston Manor documents.
a
- AdmissionAdmission was the legal process granting a new tenant rights to copyhold property. The court 'admitted' someone following a previous... In full.
- AffeererAn affeerer was a manor court official who assessed and adjusted amercement amounts. Selected from among the manor's tenants, affeerers... In full.
- AgistmentAgistment was an arrangement whereby landowners or tenants permitted others to pasture their livestock on lands for a specified fee.... In full.
- AmercementAn amercement was a monetary penalty imposed by the court for breaching custom. The origin of the word reflects the... In full.
- AppurtenancesThe legally recognised rights, privileges, and physical elements inseparably attached to a property within a manor. These included both beneficial... In full.
- AssignmentManorial custom might require agreement (assignment) to use common resources, such as wood for building or repairing houses (houseboot). In full.
b
- BacksideRefers to the small area of land at the rear of a property. There is one example where the size... In full.
- BailiffThe manor officer responsible for day-to-day estate management. The bailiff collected rents, supervised labour on the demesne, maintained buildings and... In full.
- BootBoot (or Bote) was a customary right allowing tenants to take timber for designated purposes. Categories included: Fireboot (deadwood for... In full.
- By MarriageJure uxoris ('by right of wife') was how a husband gained rights over his wife's property. In the English property... In full.
c
- Chilver SheepA female lamb. In full.
- CommonLand over which manorial tenants held shared rights. These typically included common of pasture (grazing), turbary (cutting turf for fuel),... In full.
- CoppiceA coppice was a managed woodland where trees were periodically cut back to encourage new growth. Coppicing produced a renewable... In full.
- CopyThe copy of an entry of a court roll recording the admission of a tenant to copyhold property. The copy... In full.
- CopyholdA form of land tenure where the tenant held land 'by copy of court roll'. The manorial court roll recorded... In full.
- Court BaronThe manorial court that dealt with land and property matters. It handled admissions of new tenants, recorded surrenders and transfers... In full.
- Court LeetThe manorial court concerned with law, order and local regulation. It appointed officers such as the hayward and affeerer, punished... In full.
- CowlA large tub, possibly with ears for carrying, or a cooling tub. It was used in butter making, brewing and... In full.
- CustomThe rules, rights and obligations by which a particular manor was governed/administered. These customs acquired legal force through long usage... In full.
d
e
f
- Farthing, farthing-deal /dale /dal /gale /gate /hamA historical unit of measurement for an area of land that is equivalent to one-quarter of a larger area. Sources... In full.
- FealtyAn oath of loyalty sworn to the lord of the manor. Every new copyholder was required to perform fealty upon... In full.
- FineA fine was a customary payment made to the lord of the manor upon changes to tenancy arrangements. It acknowledged... In full.
- FurlongA furlong was both a unit of length and a term for an open-field subdivision. In manorial records, furlong most... In full.
- FurzesGorse grew on common lands and the waste, and was a valuable tenant resource. It served multiple purposes: fuel for... In full.
h
- HalberdA halberd is a versatile thirteenth- to sixteenth-century, two-handed polearm, typically 1.5 to 1.8 metres (5–6 ft) long. The head is... In full.
- HaywardThe hayward was a manorial official appointed to protect the fields during growing and harvest seasons. Duties included maintaining hedges,... In full.
- HeriotHeriot was a duty the lord of the manor collected at the end of a tenancy. It traditionally consisted of... In full.
- HomageHomage referred to the sworn body of tenants who served as the jury of a manor court. Selection for the... In full.
- HusbandmanA small-scale tenant farmer, ranking below a yeoman in social standing. Husbandmen typically worked modest holdings and relied mainly on... In full.
k
l
- LeazeA dialect term for a pasture or grazing right, common in the south-west of England. It could refer either to... In full.
- Lodge or couchIn manorial usage, 'to lodge or couch' on the common means that animals grazing there remain resting or lying, typically... In full.
- Lord of the ManorThe Lord of the Manor was the landowner with legal and economic control over a manor. They collected rents, administered... In full.
m
n
o
- On Pain Of'On pain of' was a phrase in presentments specifying the penalty for non-compliance with a court directive. When the court... In full.
- OverseerMany wills of the period appointed one or more Overseers. An Overseer is distinct from an Executor and acts as... In full.
- OxstallA stall or shelter for housing oxen, typically forming part of the outbuildings attached to a messuage or farmstead. In full.
p
- PosnetA small pot used for boiling. It had a long handle and three short legs. In full.
- PresentmentsPresentments constituted the formal declarations and findings submitted by the Homage at each sitting of the manor court. The Homage... In full.
- PulletA young hen, typically in its first year of laying. Pullets occasionally appear in manorial records as a form of... In full.
- PurrA male lamb. In full.
r
- RelictThe surviving spouse of a deceased person, almost always the widow. The word appears frequently in probate documents, where a... In full.
- ReversionThe automatic transfer of a tenancy upon the termination of the current tenant's interest. In manorial practice, reversions were commonly... In full.
- Rick BartonA rick-barton is an enclosed yard where hayricks or corn stacks are stored. In full.
- RodA measure of length equivalent to one perch (sixteen and a half feet); also called a goad. In full.
- Rother BeastsHorned cattle, specifically oxen and cows, as distinguished from other livestock within the manor. The term derives from the Old... In full.
s
- SeneschalThe seneschal was the principal legal and administrative officer of a manor, representing the lord's authority. By the seventeenth century,... In full.
- SparsSpars were thin, straight wooden poles cut from coppiced woodland for construction and agricultural purposes. In manorial records, spars appear... In full.
- SuitIn the manorial system, a tenant's obligation to attend the manor court was called 'suit of court'. Suit of court... In full.
- SurrenderSurrender was the formal procedure of returning a copyhold tenancy to the lord of the manor. It served several purposes:... In full.
t
- Tenant by IndentureA tenant by indenture held land through a written contract or lease, rather than by customary tenure or copyhold. In full.
- TenementA tenement was any holding of land with at least one building. A customary tenement was held according to the... In full.
- Tithing / TythingA tything was a grouping of ten hides. It functioned as a local self-policing unit, where the heads of each... In full.
- TrendleA large oval tub or a trough used in brewing or in the dairy. In full.
v
w
- WardWhen an animal came into ward, it had been captured after straying onto manor lands. It was placed in an... In full.
- WasteThe lord's waste referred to uncultivated land within a manor not held by tenants. These were typically open, unimproved lands... In full.
- WattlingWattling was the craft of weaving flexible wooden stems to create panels for construction and agriculture. In manorial contexts, wattling... In full.
- WetherA castrated male sheep. In full.