Anglo-Saxon Landscapes of the West Midlands: the Charter Evidence 9780860541493, 9781407323718
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Table of contents :
Front Cover
Copyright
SYNOPSIS
PREFACE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES INCLUDED IN THE TEXT
LIST OF TABLES INCLUDED IN THE TEXT
ABBREVIATIONS AND METHODS OF NOTATION
PART I: INTRODUCTION
(i) Area of Research
(ii) Sources of evidence for the landscape in the Anglo-Saxon period
(iii) The Literature
(iv) Related problems
(v) Purpose of the study
PART II: PRE-CONQUEST CHARTERS
Chapter 1: THE USE OF PRE-CONQUEST CHARTERS
Chapter 2: THE WEST MIDLAND BOUNDARY CLAUSES
Chapter 3: TERRITORIAL ORGANISATION
Chapter 4: THE ANTIQUITY OF THE BOUNDS
PART III: THE BOUNDARY LANDMARKS
INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1: BOUNDARIES AND BOUNDARY MARKERS
Chapter 2: NATURAL FEATURES AS BOUNDARY LANDMARKS
Chapter 3: NATURAL VEGETATION
Chapter 4: FEATURES OF LAND USE
Chapter 5: ENCLOSURES AND METHODS OF ENCLOSURE
Chapter 6: MINOR FEATURES OF LAND USE
Chapter 7: THE PATTERN OF SETTLEMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS
PART IV: THE ANGLO-SAXON LANDSCAPE: CONCLUSIONS
Chapter 1: REGIONAL VARIATION IN THE WEST MIDLANDS
Chapter 2: CONCLUSIONS
APPENDICES
Citation preview
Anglo-Saxon Landscapes of the West Midlands: the Charter Evidence
Della Hooke
B A R British Series 95 1981
B.A.R.,
B.A.R.
122
Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7BP, England
GENERAL EDITORS A. R. Hands, B.Sc., M.A., D.Phil. D. R. Walker, M.A.
B. A.R. 95: "Anglo-Saxon· �apdscapes of the West Midlands: Charter Evidence" © Della Hooke, 1981
the
The author’s moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9780860541493 paperback ISBN 9781407323718 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860541493 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com
S YNOPSIS
There a re numerous s ources o f e vidence f or the n ature o f t he l andscape i n t he Anglo-Saxon period. P art I o f this s tudy,
H owever,
a s outlined i n
t he p rimary s ources r emain t he e vidence
c ontained i n p lace-names and p re-Conquest charters, a nd,
e specially,
i n t he boundary c lauses which may a ccompany the l atter. The West M idland c harters a nd their c lauses a re e xamined i n P art I I, t ogether w ith the l ight t hey s hed upon t erritorial o rganisation within the k ingdom o f the Hwicce. I n P art I II t he l inguistic t erms u sed i n t he c harters t o d escribe l andscape f eatures a re e xamined, and s uggestions made a s t o h ow these s hould b e i nterpreted. s uggested,
The n ature o f t he f eatures i s
w ith t heir f unction i n t he l andscape,
a nd an e valuation
i s made o f their r ole i n t he Anglo-Saxon e conomy. F rom t his e vidence t he Anglo-Saxon l andscape o f t he a rea i s r econstructed i n so me d etail, a re r evealed.
a nd patterns o f r egional v ariation
This a spect o f t he s tudy i s s ummarised i n P art I V.
The territorial o rganisation o f t he a rea c an then b e s et a gainst t he g eographical b ackground t hus p resented, and c onsiderable i nsight g ained i nto the n ature a nd d egree o f d evelopment a chieved i n the W est Midlands i n t he Anglo-Saxon period.
P REFACE
I n r ecent y ears a n i nter-disciplinary a pproach h as r evolutionised o ur u nderstanding o f A nglo-Saxon E ngland. A rchaeologists have c eased t o b e c onfined b y t he
l imits o f t heir
e xcavations, h istorians b y t he m inutae o f t heir d ocuments, b oth n ow u tilising t he t echniques o f t he g eographer t o r eview their d ata w ithin a w ider s patial e nvironment. t herefore, f ield.
I t r equires n o a pology,
f or a n h istorical g eographer t o c ontinue w ork i n t his
I a m i ndebted t o t he l ate P rofessor H .
Thcrpe f or e nvisaging
t he potential w orth of e state a nd b oundary s tudies l ong b efore t hese a ttained t heir c urrent p opularity a nd t o M r.
T .R.
S later w ho
u ndertook t he s upervision o f t his s tudy when i t was presented a s a P h.D. thesis. T hanks a re due, t oo, t o D r. D . H ill o f the U niversity of Manchester D epartment o f E xtramural S tudies f or t he s timulus p roduced b y h is i nfectious e nthusiasm where c harter studies a re
c oncerned.
o ut,
h owever,
B efore w ork on c harter e vidence c ould be c arried
i t b ecame o bvious t hat f urther i nvestigation h ad t o b e
made o f t he meaning o f O ld E nglish t erms u sed t o d escribe l andscape f eatures, D r. M .
a nd h ere I particularly w ish t o e xpress my gratitude t o
G elling,
w ithout whose patient a ssistance t his s tudy c ould
n ever have b een c ompleted.
I s hould a lso l ike t o t hank P rofessor
K enneth Cameron o f t he D epartment of E nglish o f t he University of N ottingham f or h is s ubsequent e ncouragement. F inally, I w ish t o t hank t he D epartment o f G eography o f t he U niversity of B irmingham f or t he f acilities p rovided a nd M rs.
C .
t he preparation o f t he f inal t ypescript.
T aylor f or h er help w ith T he i llustrations a re
b ased upon a n Anglo-Saxon C alendar P icture,
C otton M s.
r eproduced by c ourtesy o f t he B ritish L ibrary.
T iberius B .V .,
TABLE OF CONTENTS P age S ynopsis P reface C ontents L ist of f igures i ncluded i n the t ext L ist of t ables i ncluded i n the t ext A bbreviations and N otation P art ( i) ( ii)
I :
INTRODUCTION
Area o f research
.
1
S ources of e vidence f or the l andscape i n the Anglo-Saxon period
( iii) ( iv) ( v)
The l iterature Related problems
( ii) ( iii)
( ii) ( iii)
•
••
•
9
.•
1 1 1 3
The u se o f P re-Conquest charters
Topographical d etail 2 .
B
e
0
0
e
e
s
e
0
0
e
e
1 9 2 1
The W est Midland boundary c lauses
The c omplexity of the c lauses
2 6
The nature o f the l and units
3 1
The date of o rigin o f boundary c lauses
3 8
C hapter 3 . ( i)
•
The nature o f pre-Conquest c harters
C hapter ( i)
•
PRE-CONQUEST CHARTERS
C hapter 1 .
( ii)
•
Purpose o f t he s tudy
P art I I:
( i)
•
2
-T he
Territorial O rganisation Kingdom o f the Hwicce
••
••
••
4 8
Folk-Areas and t ranshumance
.
. .
.
4 8
Celtic parallels
•
•
•
5 1
•
•
•
P age ( iv)
Territorial o rganisation i n the pre-Anglo-Saxon period
( v ) ( vi) ( vii)
4
4
0
0
4
0
0
0
The o rigins o f the Anglo-Saxon k ingdom E arly administrative f oci Anglo-Saxon e states
Chapter 4 . ( i)
. .
. .
0
0
0
0
.
.
e
s
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
. .
••
M inor administrative boundaries
.
.
.
( iii)
The West Midland e vidence
.
. .
0
0
( iv)
Sub-units w ithin parishes
. .
.
.
. .
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
0
0
0
( v) ( vi)
Major e states
.
••
Appendages o f l and Conclusions
P art I II:
0
.
0
. .
0
.•
Chapter 1 .
B oundaries and boundary markers
Chapter 2 .
Natural f eatures a s boundary l andmarks
Topographical f eatures:
( iii)
( ii)
Conclusions 3 .
0
Woodland
.
( iv )
Types of t rees
( vii)
0
. .
.
.
8 2 8 7 9 2 1 00 106 1 08
0
0
0
0
0
0
1 19 1 22
h ills and 0
0
0
0
1 29 1 43
0
0
0
0
C leared l and: Heathland: Conclusions
iá
0
.
.
.
0
0
0
0
_ t he u se o f the l eah t erm
Woodland f eatures: Woodland t erms
( vi)
6 8
1 43
N atural vegetation
( iii)
( v )
0
The i nfluence of t opography upon boundaries
Chapter ( i)
.
watercourses,
valleys as b oundary l andmarks ( ii)
5 7
THE BOUNDARY LANDMARKS
I ntroduction
( i)
5 5
The Antiquity o f t he Bounds .
( ii)
5 3
0
.
1 47 1 52
0
*
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
•
•
1 60 1 67
feld, s tyfecing, rod .
0
0
0
0
••
1 77 1 80
Page C hapter 4 .
F eatures o f l and u se
( i)
Terms associated w ith a griculture
( ii)
Terms a ssociated with meadowland:
Chapter ( i) ( ii) ( iii)
5 .
Enclosures Terms:
.•
h aga,
.•
( ii)
Dic:
h ecg,
a dyke,
6 .
( ii)
•
•
•
1 86 2 11
2 27
hedges and f ences.
6
4
2 48 0
0
0
4
O
.
myln, mylen, w aru, war, wer pytt, sga ( 5,
O
U
•
2 54
•
c rundel,
.
( ge)delf
2 67 2 72
The pattern o f s ettlement and c ommunications
The s ettlement pattern
0
0
0
O
Routeways i n t he Anglo-Saxon l andscape THE ANGLO-SAXON LANDSCAPE: 1 .
2 .
0
0
4
0
0
0
6
0
Regional variation in t he Anglo-Saxon West
Conclusions
6
0
0
0
2 80 3 00
CONCLUSIONS
Midlands Chapter
.
the meaning of the term and function
Pits and quarries:
Chapter
0
•
hecge, hege, geard
Mills and weirs:
Part IV:
hamm
0
Minor f eatures of l and use
Chapter 7 . ( i)
9
2 34
of the f eature
( i)
m; .d,
0
( ge)h a eg
Methods o f e nclosure:
C hapter
0
Enclosures and methods o f enclosure
Terms: ( iv)
4
0
4
0
O
0
0
0
0
0
0
3 19
3 42
A PPENDICES Appendix A . Appendix B .
West M idland charters with boundary c lauses
3 48
Solutions t o s elected Worcestershire boundary 3 54 c lauses
••
0
0
L IST O F F IGURES I NCLUDED I N T HE TEXT
P art I 1 .1
P re-Conquest e states i n t he v alleys o f t he Avon and i ts t ributaries
7
1 .2
T he K ingdom o f t he H wicce
8
2 .1
P re-Conquest c harters w ith b oundary c lauses
2 7
2 .2
P re-Conquest c harters:
c omposite e states
3 2
2 .3
P re-Conquest c harters:
parish-estates and s maller
3 5
P art I I
l and-units 2 .4
E arly t ownships
3 7
2 .5
C harter e vidence o f l inked e states
5 0
2 .6
E arly e states w ith n odal c entres: ( i) ( ii) ( iii)
( iv)
B redon
6 1
H anbury
6 2
Hanbury e arthworks
6 3
Fladbury
6 4
2 .7
P re-Conquest e state l inks
7 0
2 .8
A nglo-Saxon e states:
7 1
2 .9
M anorial c entres a nd dependencies
W ican
7 4
2 .10 E cclesiastical dependencies
7 5
2 .11 The W est M idlands:
8 6
e cclesiastical d ivisions a nd
a dministrative and r eligious c entres 2 .12 P arish b oundary patterns:
t he C entral Avon V alley
2 .13 R oman r oads u sed a s b oundaries
9 1 9 4
2 .14
Boundaries and R oman r oads: ( i) ( ii )
N orth-east Warwickshire
9 5
t he C otswold s carp
9 6 9 8
2 .15
P rimary s ettlement a reas
2 .16
Townships w ithin parishes:
2 .17
C onverging b oundaries
1 02
2 .18
S econdary s ettlement a reas
1 10
2 .19
P arish b oundary patterns and w aste l and: ( i) ( ii)
charter e vidence 1 01
D unsmore H eath
1 13
W olford H eath and P oulton
1 14
P art I II 3 .1
Boundary markers
1 24
3 .2
R ivers a s b oundaries
1 31
3 .3
West Worcestershire:
3 .4
Woodland a nimals
1 50
3 .5
The l eah t erm i n p lace-names
1 58
3 .6
The l eah t erm i n c harters
3 .7
W oodland t erms i n p lace-names
1 68
3 .8
Woodland t erms i n c harters
1 69
3 .9
Types o f t rees
1 70
3 .10
Open l and a nd h eathland i n place-names
1 78
3 .11
Open l and a nd h eathland i n c harters
1 79
3 .12
A gricultural f eatures i n c harters
1 92
3 .13
The furh t erm i n c harters
1 93
3 .14
B roadway, W orcestershire
1 96
3 .15
The h eafod t erm i n c harters
3 .16
T he E vesham a rea
3 .17
R omano-British d evelopment i n W orcestershire a nd Warwickshire 2 09
natural f eatures
1 34
1 59
2 05
3 .18
l i fd a nd h amm t erms i n p lace-names
2 12
3 .19
Md a nd h a m t erms i n c harters
2 13
3 .20
D etail:
2 16
3 .21
Enclosure t erms i n c harters
2 33
3 .22
The h aga t erm i n p lace-names
2 40
3 .23
T he h aga t erm i n c harters
2 41
3 .24
( i)
3 .24
( ii)
m;o 1 a nd hamm
D etail:
2 42
h aga f eatures
H aga f eatures,
D eerhurst,
G loucestershire
2 43
3 .25
Hedges i n c harters
2 53
3 .26
Dykes i n c harters
2 58
3 .27
D etail:
2 59
3 .28
M ills and f isheries i n c harters
2 69
3 .29
P its a nd quarries i n c harters
2 75
3 .30
Beorg a nd c ruc t erms i n c harters
2 82
3 .31
B eorg a nd c ruc t erms i n p lace-names
2 83
3 .32
The 1 21ä w t erm i n c harters
2 84
3 .33
The h /äw t erm i n p lace-names
2 85
3 .34
The b urh t erm i n p lace-names
2 86
3 .35
The b urh t erm i n charters
2 87
3 .36
K nown f ortifications
2 88
3 .37
R iver n a mes a s p lace-names
2 91
3 .38
T un i n p lace-names and c harters
2 92
3 .39
C ot a nd w lc i n p lace-names and charters
2 93
3 .40
W or6 i n p lace-names a nd c harters
2 96
3 .41
M ajor r outeways r ecorded i n charters
3 03
3 .42
R outeways n ear W orcester
3 04
3 .43
R outeways n ear S tratford-upon-Avon
3 05
3 .44
T rackways i n H olt a nd G rimley, W orcestershire
dykes
3 09
P art I V 4 .1
T he n orth-east G loucestershire C otswolds
3 23,
4 .2
M id-Worcestershire e states
3 33
4 .3
W ican:
3 37
4 .4
T he Vale o f E vesham i n t he Anglo-Saxon period
a w est W orcestershire e state
3 45
Appendix B
( i) ( ii)
E t P idwellan, S 4 04 N orth P iddle, N aunton Beauchamp, Abberton and F lyford F lavell,
( iii) ( iv) ( v ) ( vi) ( vii ) ( viii )
3 55
P endock, S mite,
S 7 86
3 57
S 1 314
H indlip,
3 59 S 1 339
3 61
B entley, H olt a nd L ittle W itley, S 1 384
3 63
Evesham h oldings w ith P oden,
3 65
P ensax,
S 1 591a
S 1 595
E vesham h oldings w ith W illersey, G loucs.,
3 69 S 1 599
3 71
L IST OF TABLES I NCLUDED IN THE TEXT
T able
1 .
Appendages o f l and attached to e states
Table
2 .
The i ncidence o f d ifferent t ypes of boundary l andmarks
Table
3 .
T able 4 .
3 74
i n West Midland charters
3 77
T ree s pecies i n West Midland c harters
3 78
Estate appurtenances l isted i n charters
3 79
ABBREVIATIONS AND METHODS O F NOTATION
L ist o f c ertain abbreviations f requently u sed i n the
S .
s tudy:
Charter numbers a re t hose given in P .H.
Sawyer,
Anglo-Saxon Charters, An Annotated L ist and B ibliography
( London 1 968),
which l ists
manuscripts and published s ources. Reference i s t o
A .J.
published
2 nd edn.
Robertson, Anglo-Saxon Charters
( Cambridge,
1 956).
charters f rom the f ollowing
J .
s ources:
other Saxonic Documents
Earle, A H and-book t o t he L and-Charters,
H .P.R.
Finberg,
M idlands W .
The E arly Charters of t he West
( Leicester,
d e G ray B irch,
and i ndex J .M.
2 nd edn.
1 972).
C artularium S axonicum,
3 vols.
( London 1 885-1899).
Kemble,
6 vols.
and
( Oxford 1 888).
Codex D iplomaticus Aevi S axonici,
( London 1 839-1848).
Heming
Hemingi Chartularium Ecclesiae W igorniensis,
Ed.
Hearne,
T .
2 vols.
( Oxford 1 723).
W .
Dugdale, Monasticon Anglicanum,
J .
Caley and H .
A .S.
E llis, vol.
Napier and W .H.
Ed.
V I
( 1846).
S tevenson
( Eds.),
B .
Bandinel,
T he Crawford
Collection of Early Charters and Documents ( Oxford 1 895) E .P.N.S.
NS.
English P lace-Name S ociety volumes.
T he primary
ones referred to a re: A .
Mawer and F .M.
F .T.S.
Houghton,
E .P.N.S. J .E.B.
I V
S tenton in c ollaboration with The P lace-Names of W orcestershire
( Cambridge 1 927);
Cover,
A .
Mawer and F .M.
Stenton,
P lace-Names of W arwickshire, E .P. N.S.
The
X III
( Cambridge 1 936); A .H.
Smith,
P art I , E .P.N.S. XL
The P lace-Names of G loucestershire,
E .P.N.S. XXXIX
XXXVIII
( Cambridge
( Cambridge 1 964);
( Cambridge 1 964);
P art IV,
1 964);
Part I I,
Part I II,
E .P.N.S.
E .P. N.S.
X LI
( Cambridge 1 965). A .H.
Smith,
E .P.N.S. XXVI
XXV
English P lace-Name E lements, Part I ( Cambridge 1 970 );
( Cambridge 1 970 ).
Part I I, E .P.N.S.
I n the t ext O ld E nglish i s f requently abbreviated t o O .E. F igures:
E fforts h ave b een made t o s tandardise t he methods a nd s ymbols u sed i n t he d istribution maps N os. t o 3 .44.
3 .1
I n g eneral c losed s ymbols on maps o f
f eatures r ecorded i n charters r efer t o t hose l ocated w ith precision, o pen s ymbols t o t hose l ess a ccurately l ocated. Underlined s ymbols i ndicate f eatures which o ccur on more t han one o ccasion i n t he c lauses.
O n maps of f eatures r ecorded i n
p lace-names c losed s ymbols r efer t o t hose r ecorded b y 1 086, c ontext.
o pen s ymbols t o t hose r ecorded i n a l ater D eviations f rom t he a bove a re n oted.
C harter
A s i t h as n ot b een practical t o c onsult t he
l andmarks:
o riginal m anuscripts a ttempts have been m ade t o f ollow t he published t ranscripts o f charter l andmarks, w ith a p referance s hown f or t he more r eliable s ources. After B irch, Kemble i s r eferred t o l argely due t o a ccessibility of published s ources, a lthough i t i s r ealised t hat many o f the t ranscript d etails a re o f q uestionable a ccuracy. T his r arely,
i f e ver, a ffects t he meaning o f the
w ords u sed.
Owing t o p rinting d ifficulties the
O ld English wynn s ymbol h as b een r eproduced t hroughout by t he l etter
r wi.
P ART I : ( i )
I NTRODUCTION
A rea o f R esearch B y the A nglo-Saxon period man h ad b een c hanging h is
e nvironment f or many thousands o f y ears a nd t he l andscape b ore w itness t o many of h is a ctivities.
I n a period p rior t o the more
c omplex r elationships o f the modern t echnological a ge h e w as s till p rofoundly a ffected by t he physical e nvironment and a cutely a ware of t he n ature o f h is s urroundings and t heir i nfluence u pon h is e conomic w ell-being.
A knowledge o f the n ature o f t his e nvironment i s
f undamental t o an u nderstanding o f t he c ultural a nd e conomic h istory o f t he Anglo-Saxon p eriod. Vestiges o f t he A nglo-Saxon l andscape c an s till b e f ound t oday but o ther s ources o f e vidence must b e e xplored i f t he p icture i s t o be more f ully r evealed.
These i nclude c ontemporary l iterature
a nd h istorical d ocuments, parish b oundary patterns,
a rchaeological
d ata and s urviving f ield e vidence, p lace-names a nd p re-Conquest c harters.
An a ttempt w ill be made, u sing t hese s ources of e vidence,
t o r econstruct t he A nglo-Saxon l andscape o f t he West M idlands. A wealth o f e arly a rchaeological data,
c ulminating i n the
a bundant and s ubstantial r emains o f t he R oman period,
h as l ed t o
many d etailed s tudies o f t he l andscape o f B ritain before the f ifth c entury AD.
Correspondingly,
the quantity o f documentary material
s urviving f or t he medieval period h as e nsured d etailed s tudies by h istorians o f England i n t he p ost-Conquest period. l ies a period i n which,
until r ecently,
o f a t opographical n ature h ad b een c arried o ut. h owever,
B etween these
v ery f ew c o-ordinated s tudies R ecent y ears have,
w itnessed a g rowth o f i nterest i n t his d ifficult period and
i t i s l argely a n i nter-disciplinary a pproach which h as r evolutionised i deas of A nglo-Saxon England. I mproved methods o f a rchaeological e xcavation h ave e nabled the i nvestigation o f l ess s ubstantial remains, s uch a s those l eft b y t imber b uildings,
a nd this data has b een v iewed
i n a w ider perspective than that o nce f elt s atisfactory b y many a rchaeologists.
T here have a lso b een a ttempts t o r elate the
a rchaeological e vidence t o t hat k nown f rom h istorical documentation a nd o ther s ources o f e vidence, p lace-names.
s uch a s t hat c ontained i n e arly
M ost r ecently G elling h as e xtended t he s tudy t o a n
e xamination o f t he p re-Conquest c harters,(1)
p icking u p a gain a nd
d eveloping i deas t entatively p roposed by other writers i n the p ast. While numerous s ources o f e vidence a re u sed i n t he p resent s tudy, a d etailed e xamination has b een made o f pre-Conquest c harters t hese a re particularly r ich i n topographical d etail.
s ince
Through t he
medium of a ssociated b oundary c lauses a f uller picture o f t he l andscape i n the Anglo-Saxon period i s p resented t han i s a vailable f or a ny e arlier period a nd,
i ndeed,
f or l ong a fterwards.
The a rea c hosen e xtends o ver t he f ormer c ounties o f W orcestershire,
W arwickshire a nd G loucestershire,
u sing t he
a dministrative b oundaries i n u se i n t he mid-1960s, before t he r ecent
1
r eorganisation o f t he c ounty b oundaries.
T he modern counties,
l inking Worcestershire t o H erefordshire a nd s ubstituting a n a dministrative r egion known a s W est M idlands f or parts of n orth W orcestershire a nd n orth Warwickshire,
b ear n o r elationship t o
s urviving h istorical r ecords a nd h ave,
t herefore,
b een i gnored.
W hile much u se has b een made o f t he c ounty d ivisions a s t hey a re r ecorded i n 1 086, a t t he t ime o f t he D omesday a ssessment, i t w as f elt t hat t hese, w ith t heir many d etached p arishes, w ere t oo unwieldy f or t he presentation o f material i ntended t o b e e xamined i n r elation t o t he modern map.
M oreover,
t hese d ivisions w ere t hemselves o f a n
a rbitrary n ature, f ormed i n t he e arly e leventh c entury t he f ormation o f t he M idland s hire s ystem.
( 2)
a s part o f
The s tudy a rea i ncludes a ll o f the f ormer k ingdom o f t he Hwicce a s i t e xisted i n t he e ighth c entury A D,
a s ub-unit o f M ercia
r ecognisable a s a n i ndependent k ingdom i n t he e arly years o f t he Anglo-Saxon H eptarchy.
The a rea o f t his e arly k ingdom appears t o
h ave b een s imilar t o t hat o f t he d iocese o f W orcester, t he t hirteenth c entury
( see P art I I,
C hapter 2 ),
a s r ecorded i n
and t o h ave c overed
most o f t he c ounties o f W orcestershire a nd G loucestershire, w ith the w estern part o f W arwickshire. c onvenience,
t ogether
The s tudy a rea e xtends,
f or
beyond t he e astern b oundary o f t he k ingdom t o t ake i n
t he r emaining part o f W arwickshire, part o f g reater Mercia.
T he
s election o f s uch a n e xtensive a rea i s n ecessary i f d istribution patterns a re t o be t ested f or general validity,
e nabling t hem to b e
e xamined over a s ufficiently w ide a rea a gainst varying backgrounds o f n atural t errain.
I n p ractice,
t he c harter c overage f or
W orcestershire i s more c omprehensive t han f or e ither G loucestershire o r W arwickshire a nd a s t his p rovides t he g reater part of t he e vidence u sed, t he majority o f detailed s tudies h ave b een made in t he f ormer c ounty. This s tudy i s c oncerned w ith t he l andscape of Anglo-Saxon E ngland r ather t han with t he s equence o f h istorical e vents o r types o f s ocial i nstitutions.
I t i s n ot primarily c oncerned with
t erritorial o rganisation,
a lthough,
a s one o f t he p rincipal f actors
i nfluencing b oth s ettlement a nd a dministrative d ivisions, t his c annot b e i gnored. t he e nvironment,
The e mphasis w ill b e,
h owever, upon t he n ature o f
t he s etting i n which a ll s ocial a nd political
a ctivities t ake p lace.
T he Anglo-Saxons d id n ot e nter an u nformed
o r d eserted l andscape and t he e vidence of this period represents o nly a c ross-section i n t ime,
a t a s tage w hen t he a ctivities o f the
p eriod w ere modifying a l andscape a lready b eginning t o a ssume many o f t he c haracteristics r ecognisable t oday.
Y et i t w ould b e
p resumptuous t o i nterpret t he e vidence i n t erms i nfluenced b y present l andscapes a nd much o f t his s tudy w ill be c oncerned with a c ritical a nd c areful analysis o f t he e vidence i tself, particularly t he e vidence c ontained i n the p re-Conquest c harters.
( ii)
S ources o f e vidence f or the l andsce2e i n t he Anglo-Saxon period I f,
i n t he W est M idlands,
o ne h ad t o r ely u pon
a rchaeological e vidence a lone f or a k nowledge o f t he Anglo-Saxon l andscape t he p icture w ould b e a v ery e mpty one i ndeed.
I n s pite o f
the i ncreasing n umber o f a rchaeological f inds made i n r ecent years
2
a nd t he t remendous a dvances made i n knowledge o f t he period,
t he
a rchaeological d ata a vailable f or t his a rea i s s parse i n the e xtreme. The number o f s ites i n r ural a reas s howing physical r emains o f A nglo-Saxon o ccupation a re e xceedingly f ew,
a nd t he e vidence i s only
a l ittle f uller i n a s mall n umber o f urban c entres. N o s ite i s a ble t o o ffer a c omplete r ecord o f a ll periods a nd t here a re e xtensive a reas of Worcestershire,
W arwickshire a nd G loucestershire with n o
k nown physical r emains a t a ll. M odern e xcavation t echniques have g iven a b etter i dea o f t he n ature of Anglo-Saxon b uildings i n the a rea a nd h ave r evealed s unken-featured b uildings a t Baginton, f ramed buildings a t F ladbury, t imber,
Warwickshire,
W orcestershire,
wattle a nd d aub i n G loucester.
( 3)
s ubstantial
and t own-houses o f
H ints of t he e conomic
d evelopment o f r ural a reas a re g iven by t he d iscovery o f a weavings hed with l oom a nd l oom-weights at B ourton-on-the-Water, s hire,
and a possible c attle-pen a t I psley,
G loucester-
W orcestershire,
b ut t he
l imited number o f s uch s ites g ives a t otally unrepresentative i dea o f t he Anglo-Saxon c ountryside. o ther s ettlement,
O ccasional pottery s catters i ndicate
c hiefly i n G loucestershire,
p lentiful s upply i n this period.
photography s hould a lso b e mentioned, S tratford,
f or a t H atton R ock,
n ear
t here a re s igns o f a r ange o f t imbered buildings which may
h ave been a r oyal o r e cclesiastical palace. s ites,
b ut pottery was n ot i n
C rop-mark s ites r evealed by a erial
h owever,
B eyond t he o ccupation
t here i s a bsolutely n o i nformation f rom a rchaeological
s ources o f t he s urrounding f ield s ystems o r a ny o ther type o f l and u se. There a re r ather more burial
s ites t han o ccupation s ites,
w ith pagan burial s ites c oncentrated l argely i n t he M iddle Avon Valley,
where A nglo-Saxon c ontrol s eems t o have been d ominant i n the
s ixth century,
a nd a s econdary g roup over t he C otswolds e manating
f rom the Thames V alley.
( 4)
This i s obviously a s ignificant
d istribution but by n o means e nough t o understand t he a ctivity i n the r est of the a rea,
e specially t hat a round t he Hwiccan administrative
a nd e cclesiastical c entre o f Worcester.
O ne h as a lso t o remember
t hat much o f this e vidence c omes f rom c hance g ravel w orking a nd t hat t his c ould i nfluence t he d istribution o f the e vidence. Remains o f s culpture a nd e cclesiastical building s hould b e a dded t o t he a bove l ist. C hurches may a t f irst h ave b een built o f t imber, wattle a nd d aub b ut o ften t he only ones t hat h ave b een l ocated a re t hose which h ad been r ebuilt i n s tone, o f t his h as
s urvived t oday,
u sually where s ome
i ncorporated i nto a l ater building.
Thus,
r emains of t he S axon t ower a re c learly v isible w ithin the p resent c hurch of W ootton W awen i n Warwickshire but t he majority o f e xamples c ome f rom G loucestershire,
particularly i n t he v icinity o f
C irencester w ith s uch c hurches a s D untisbourne R ous a nd W instone. The r ecord i s particularly c omplete a t D eerhurst b eside t he S evern , ( 5) where Odda's c hapel, built i n the e leventh c entury, d escribed a s s tanding'.
h as b een
' perhaps the most complete s mall A nglo-Saxon c hurch n ow
( 6)
A n umber o f e arly c rosses a lso s urvive,
s uch a s the
s plendid n inth-century c ross a t C ropthorne i n W orcestershire. When e xamining a ny k nown s ite,
h owever,
( 7)
i t b ecomes obvious
t hat a great d eal o f knowledge o f t he Anglo-Saxon period c omes f rom
3
d ocumentary e vidence and w ritten s ources. f or e xample,
F or t he t own o f W orcester,
a rchaeology t ells o f two e arly p re-English b urials under
t he c athedral,
s everal S axon c oins, p ossible i ndications o f the S axon
d efences i n the f orm o f c lay b anks a t S idbury a nd a nother b ank and d itch f urther n orth, p its c ontaining l ate S axon ware i n t he most r ecent e xcavations a t S idbury,
a nd p ossibly a f ew t enth-century
c apitals o f Oswald's c athedral r e-used i n a l ater c ontext.
( 8)
B ut
i t i s t he d ocumentary e vidence that r eveals that W orcester w as the metropolitan c ity o f t he Hwicce and t he c entre o f t he Anglo-Saxon b ishopric, c entury,
t hat i t possessed three c hurches b y t he e arly e ighth
a nd t hat i ts b ishops were a ctive i n t rade a nd c ommerce.
D ocumentary e vidence a gain t ells o f the building o f the f ortifications o f W orcester i n the l ate n inth c entury by E thelred a nd Ethelfled a nd o f c ontinued D anish a ttacks.
There a re details o f p roperties w ithin
t he t own and o f the s ack o f Worcester a fter t he i nhabitants had murdered the tax-collectors i n 1 041. Apart f rom i ndicating the l ocation o f s ites,
h owever, much
of the documentary e vidence i s o f a n h istorical n ature which g ives v ery l ittle i nsight i nto t he character o f t he c ountryside i tself.
I n
t he works o f G ildas, N ennius, The Anglo-Saxon C hronicle e tc., mention o f the l andscape i s merely i ncidental t o t he t heme, a lthough there a re s ome pleasant l ittle a sides, H istory,
f or i nstance.
a s i n B ede's E cclesiastical
I n a g eneral w ay h e t ells t hat
r ich i n g rain and timber;
' Britain i s
i t has g ood pasturage f or cattle a nd d raught
a nimals, a nd v ines a re cultivated i n v arious l ocalities. T here a re many l and and s ea b irds o f various s pecies, a nd i t i s well k nown f or i ts plentiful s prings a nd r ivers a bounding i n f ish...' t he g reat t imbered hall o f the k ing c omforting f ire t o warm t he h all; o r s now a re r aging',
H e d escribes
' In the m idst t here i s a
o utside, t he s torms of w inter r ain
a nd p rovides g limpses o f the l esser h ouses o f t he
v illagers when h e t ells o f a t raveller a rriving a t a village f east: ' They h ad s at e ating and d rinking f or a l ong while a round a b lazing f ire i n the c entre o f the r oom,
when s parks f lew u p into t he roof o f
t he h ouse, which w as made of wattles t hatched w ith h ay, burst i nto f lame.'
a nd q uickly
Only f leeting g limpses o f t he c ountryside a ppear,
a s o f L indsey d uring the r eign o f K ing E dwin,
when i t was s o
' peaceful t hat a w oman c ould c arry h er n ew-born babe a cross t he i sland f rom s ea t o s ea w ithout a ny f ear o f h arm.
S uch was t he k ing's
c oncern f or t he welfare o f h is people that i n a n umber of p laces where h e h ad n oticed c lear s prings a djacent t o the h ighway h e o rdered posts t o b e e rected with b rass b owls h anging f rom t hem, that t ravellers c ould d rink a nd r efresh t hemselves.' The L aws, d escriptive,
( 10 )
t oo,
s o
( 9)
t end t o be h istorical r ather t han
a lthough they begin t o t ell more a bout l ife o n t he
i ndividual manor.
One h ears o f peasants f encing t heir a rable l and
a nd d ealing w ith s traying a nimals, o f the i mportance of w oodland a nd the n eed f or i ts p rotection.
Two e state memoranda o f the t enth o r
e leventh c entury a lso c onjure u p a p icture o f t he rural s how the r eeve s upervising the s easonal a ctivities. t old that
' In M ay a nd J une a nd July i n s ummer one may:
c arry out manure, procure s heep-hurdles, c onstruct i n t imber, w eir a nd mill; O ctober:
mow,
c ut wood,
a t h arvest t ime r eap, c ut wood,
s hear s heep,
w eed, make f olds,
a nd
h arrow, build,
r epair,
c onstruct a f ish-
i n A ugust a nd S eptember and
g ather i n many c rops,
4
s cene,
The r eeve i s
thatch,
c over over a nd
c lean o ut f olds, make r eady c ow-sheds and a lso pig-sties before t oo s evere a winter c ome t o t he manor, t he well-being o f the s oil; c leave t imber, t hresh,
a nd i n a ddition d iligently promote
i n w inter, p lough,
e stablish a n o rchard,
a nd i n hard f rosts:
a nd perform many i ndoor j obs,
chop w ood, make c attle s talls a nd pig-sties,
t he t hreshing-floor-for a n oven and k iln, t o the manor - a nd a hen-roost a lso; s ow beans,
p lant o ut a v ineyard,
s oon a fter that,
build a s tove a t
a nd many things r equisite
i n s pring, p lough and g raft,
d ig ditches,
c ut a d eer-fence,
i f the weather be f ine, p lant madder,
w oad-seed a s w ell, p lant o ut herbs,
a nd many things;
a ll that a good r eeve must s ee t o.'
a nd
s ow f lax,
a nd
I c annot r ecount
( 11)
This p lunges one i nto the heart o f the Anglo-Saxon c ountrys ide and into t he b ustling a grarian l ife o f the rural manor.
The
A nglo-Saxons were a cutely aware o f the d etails o f the c ountryside a nd o ne f inds c harms a nd r iddles f ull o f the n ames o f p lants a nd birds. M any h erbs w ere u sed f or medicinal purposes - b etony,
f or i nstance,
' is produced i n meadows a nd i n c lean d ownlands, a nd i n s hady p laces', a nd protected man a gainst ' monstrous n octurnal v isitors, a gainst d readful v isions a nd dreams'.
( 12)
There a re r ural i mages o f herbs
b eing burnt i n t he c attle f old t o protect t he b easts a nd o f beggars w andering t hrough t he c ountryside c arrying g rain.
Rural l ife c entres
a round t he prosperity o f the c rops and the h ealth o f t he d omestic s tock:
descriptions o f the countryside a re i ncidental b ut r eal. Yet t here i s f rustratingly l ittle i nformation a bout the
W est Midlands.
T o the e ast,
t he Fens o f S outh L incolnshire a re
d escribed in the L ife o f S t.
Guthlac,
t he Mercian hermit:
' there i s
i n Britain a f en o f i mmense s ize, which b egins f rom t he R iver G ranta n ot f ar f rom the c ity o f the s ame name, a re
immense s wamps,
r ivulets r unning; t hickets.
a nd a lso many i slands a nd r eeds a nd hummocks and
r uins o f R oman B ath,
( 13)
The poem
' The Ruin'
s eems t o d escribe the
j ust over the s outhern borders o f t he a rea;
' Wondrous i s this wall-stone;
broken by f ate,
the w ork o f g iants i s c rumbling.
the c astles have
Roofs a re f allen,
a re the t owers, d espoiled a re the t owers w ith their g ates; o n their c ement, b y a ge.'
There
s ometimes f oul
And i t e xtends t o the North S ea w ith numerous w ide a nd
l engthy meanderings.'
d ecayed;
c alled G rantchester.
s ometimes dark s tagnant water,
( 14)
b roken a re the r oofs,
I nterestingly,
c ut a way,
f allen,
r uinous
f rost i s
undermined
this p oem s eems t o point t o n atural
d ecay o f Roman b uildings rather than t o their deliberate d escruction a nd one might w ish f or t he s urvival o f more works o f this n ature. A lthough great l iterature does appear t o h ave s temmed f rom the K ingdom o f Mercia, which was to i ncorporate t he s maller s ub-kingdom o f the Hwicce, I ndeed,
l ittle o f i t deals with the M idland a rea o f England.
the a uthor of the most notable e pic p oem Beowulf, probably
c omposing h is poem i n Mercia, l and,
writes descriptively, b ut the
w olf-cliffs, w indy c rags,
mountain s tream f alls d own under the darkness o f the r ocks, u nder the e arth'
o r the
a bove t he grey r ock',
' mountain t rees,
( 15)
l iterature,
t herefore,
' Nennius',
E nglish b order,
a f lood
t he d reary w ood h anging
these b elong t o S candinavia a nd t ell one
l ittle about t he l andscape of c ontemporary B ritain. a nd it i s
' unknown
a dangerous f en path, where t he
t he West Midlands i s,
s adly,
I n Anglo-Saxon r arely r epresented,
a B ritish writer n ot f ar removed f rom the
w ho r ecords the s alt works o f D roitwich a s one o f the
' marvels of B ritain'.
( 16)
5
I t i s t o p lace-names t hat o ne must u sually t urn f or g limpses i nto the l ocal l andscapes o f Anglo-Saxon England. A ngloS axon n ames were d escriptive i n a way that m any W elsh o r Gaelic n ames a re d escriptive t oday - they s ound i maginative a nd romantic i n t heir own t ongue b ut when t ranslated a re - i f s lightly l ess r omantic q uite r ealistic a nd r evealing. M any o f these e arly n ames s eem t o d escribe t he n ature o f t he c ountryside a s i t w as when t hese n ames w ere g iven a nd provide a r eliable g uide t o t he v isual c haracter o f a n a rea o r t o i ts e conomic a ctivities. I f,
f or i nstance,
a round S tratford-upon-Avon
o ne t akes t he s mall s ection o f c ountryside ( Fig.
1 .1),
( 17)
o ne f inds t he major
s ettleme l .t o f t he a rea a t t he s trj -t-f ord o r t he f ord where t he R oman r oad f rom A lcester t o t he Cherwell v alley c rosses t he Avon, a round, on t he f ertile g ravels o f t he Middle A von Valley, f arming s ettlements c haracterised b y t un n ames. L uddington
' the e state o f L udd',
a nd H ampton L ucy, o riginally r iver',
C lopton
a nd,
a n umber o f
Among these,
' the f armstead by t he s tump',
' the f armstead w ithin t he bend o f t he
l ie on t he n orth bank o f t he Avon a nd t o the s outh l ie W eston
' the w estern e state',
a nd Atherstone, A lveston and T iddington,
' the
e states o f E thelread, E anwulf and T ida', r espectively. Further north, h owever, on t he L ias c lays, p lace-names w ith l eah i nclude B illesley, ' the w ood o r c learing o f B ill', B earley, a nd L angley,
' the f ortified c learing',
' the l ong c learing o r w ood',
a nd i ndicate s ettlements o n
t he f ringes o f t he A rden woodland which s tretched a way to the n orthw est a nd s urvived h ere o n t he watershed a rea b etween t he Avon a nd the A lne.
D rayton,
i n t he parish o f O ld S tratford a nd D rayton, m ay d erive
i ts n ame f rom d reg a nd t un, often meaning a n e state n ear ' a t rack on which t imber w as d ragged f rom w oodland'. ( 18) The f eld names i ndicate a reas o f c learing n ear w oodland a nd i nclude S nitterfield, ' the open l and h aunted b y s nipe'. Many names i n o ther a reas a re more d escriptive,
c ontaining a llusions t o v egetation a nd a nimals.
F rom
p lace-names a lone one may c onjure u p a r ealistic i dea of the n ature o f t he Anglo-Saxon c ountryside. There i s,
h owever,
a f urther s ource o f e vidence which
p rovides much more d etailed i nformation - t he c harters and a llied d ocuments which h ave s urvived f rom t he p re-Conquest period. M ost o f t hese d ocuments r elate t o t he donation o f l and and g ranting o f p rivileges. s ubject,
( 19)
They a lienate the r ight o f a k ing f or t he b enefit o f a granting i n d ocumentary f orm s ecurity o f possession.
S uperficially l ittle more t han i tems d ealing w ith t he c onveyance of l and, t he f reedom g ranted f rom public b urdens i s o ften l ess c onspicuous b ut i s a primary motive i n t he c ompilation of many o f the e arlier c harters.
The i nterest i n l anded e states c ontinues t o
d ominate s ubsequent d ocuments a nd many l ater c harters a re i n f act l eases o f l and t o t enants f or a s pecified p eriod.
R elated d ocuments
i nclude w ills, marriage s ettlements a nd r ecords o f l egal disputes i n which t he l and f actor r emains p redominant. These d ocuments c ontain a g ood d eal o f i nformation which h as b een i nvaluable t o h istorians r ecreating t he a dministrative s ystems o f Anglo-Saxon England.
I n the W est M idlands, W ilson
a ble t o s how t he s phere o f i nfluence of t he Hwicce.
( 20)
h as b een
O ccasionally
t here i s mention o f where a c harter w as s igned, i ndicating c entres o f a dministrative i mportance ( Fig. 1 .2). O ne c an s ee t he Hwiccan r oyal
6
) 4
> 4
0 4 ( 1 )
0 > I a ) r d
a )
4 . ) r d
t )1 0 a ) ) 1
a . r I •
7
c oun c i l m ee t ing p l a ce o r s i gn ing-p lace o fc h a r ter p a la ce s i te H w icce
p l a ce-name
b ounda ry m ee t ing-p la ce S1 2 72
Fig.
1 .2
The K ingdom of the Hwicce
8
f amily s igning e arly charters, o ften w ith t he M ercian r oyal f amily; l ater the e aldormen r epresent t he l ine.
The k ingdom o f t he Hwicce
i s finally r epresented b y the a rea of t he e cclesiastical d iocese o f t he Bishops o f W orcester. The c harters s how, h owever, that t he H wiccan t erritory w as s till d istinct i n the n inth c entury when B lockley monastery was f reed o f the s ervice o f f eeding a nd m aintaining t he M ercian h awks a nd f alcons a nd o f maintaining t he h untsmen o f the k ing o r e aldormen, t he Hwicce
( S 2 07, B 4 88).
( 21 )
e xcept t hose o f t he p rovince o f
E ventually t he i ndividual k ingdoms
c oalesce a nd c harters a re g ranted or s igned b y t he k ings o f E ngland. O ne may a lso e xamine t he f oundation o f monastic c entres, t he g rowth o f e cclesiastical e states, and w itness t he r ivalry b etween various a bbeys a nd churches. S ome o f these a spects w ill b e e xamined f urther i n Part I I a nd h ave a lready b een well-studied b y h istorians. There i s, h owever,
o ne i tem o f i nformation which h as n ot y et
b een f ully i nvestigated - that i s the i nformation c ontained b oth w ithin t he b ody o f t he charters a nd i n their boundary c lauses c oncerning the t opography o f the Anglo-Saxon l andscape. t he dearth o f i nformation about t his i n o ther s ources.
One recalls The
i nformation o ccurs i n various f orms - s ometimes d etails a re g iven c oncerning the s ituation o f a n e state: f or instance,
f luvii q ui n ominatur BLADEN B laden'
E venlode i n G loucestershire,
i s d escribed a s being s ituated i n o rientali p arte
( S 1 09, B 2 09 ),
S uch information m ight, b oundary d escription, n orth Worcestershire
' upon the e ast s ide o f the r iver c alled
t he e arly name o f t he p resent R iver E venlode. i n e arly c harters,
t ake t he f orm o f a s imple
a s when l and i n t he province o f t he H usmerm i n ( S 8 9,
B 1 54)
i s d escribed a s i n c ircuitu e x
u traque p arte s upranominati f luminis h abens e x aquilone p laga s ilvam q uam nominant c ynibre e x occidentale v ero a liam c ul nomen e st. . m oerheb ' on e ither s ide o f t he a bove-named r iver ( the S tour ), a nd h aving o n i ts n orthern s ide t he w ood which t hey c all K inver, but on the west a nother o f which t he n ame i s M orfe'. d etail,
h owever,
( 22)
The g reatest a mount o f
l ies i n t he more d etailed perambulations which
a ccompany s ome l ater c harters.
E states a re d elineated b y a s eries o f
l andmarks l ying a long their b oundaries i n a s ystem c opied f rom l ater R oman l and d ocuments, ( 23) l andmarks which would p ermit a ny e nquirer t o i dentify the e xact l ocation o f the e state b oundary.
These
l andmarks provide a d etailed picture o f the t opography which i s r arely met w ith i n s uch d etail a gain until the e ighteenth o r n inet eenth c enturies.
They c ontain t he n ames a nd l ocations o f s treams
a nd r ivers, hills a nd v alleys i n the most m inute d etail, t o t he n atural l andscape,
a nd, a dded
e vidence o f man's a ctivity a nd h is e ffect
u pon the l andscape i n t he Anglo-Saxon period.
An e xamination o f
t his landscape f orms the s ubject o f t his r eport.
( iii)
The L iterature This
s tudy
i s l ess c oncerned w ith t hose a spects o f t he
c harters which h ave r ightly b een o f c onsiderable i nterest t o h istorians f or many y ears.
The date a nd a uthenticity o f t he charters,
t he t ype o f l and u nits t hey d escribe and the c onditions o f s ervice a nd tenure t hey i mply h ave b een the s ubject o f much r esearch. l ist of charters, w ith c omments u pon their d ate o f o rigin, A nglo-Saxon charters, an annotated l ist and b ibliography
9
A s a
S awyer's
( 24)
has
p roved a n i nvaluable w ork, of t he W est M idlands.
s upplementing F inberg's T he e arly c harters
( 25)
F or the c ontents o f t he c harters
t hemselves r ecourse h as o f n ecessity h ad t o be c onfined to t he published v ersions, many o f which a re t o b e f ound i n B irch's C artularium S axonicum S axonici.
( 27)
( 26)
a nd Kemble's Codex D iplomaticus A evi
R eference has a lso b een made o n numerous o ccasions t o
t he t ranscripts a nd t ranslations by R obertson.
( 28)
S everal
a dditional c harters a re t ranscribed b y F inberg a nd o ther writers, d etails a re a vailable i n S awyer.
a nd
For t he p resent s tudy the l andmarks
h ave n ot been c hecked i n t he o riginal manuscripts,
a lthough a
r epresentative n umber h ave b een e xamined i n B ond's F acsimiles of ancient c harters in t he British Museum
( 29)
a nd t he c harters o f
G loucestershire w ere c hecked b y M ills when r ecorded i n Smith's v olumes o f G loucestershire f or the E nglish P lace-Name S ociety. I t i s perhaps
( 30)
s urprising t hat s o l ittle headway h as b een
made in t he r econstruction o f t he Anglo-Saxon l andscape.
T he charters
h ave a ttracted many s cholars a nd the t ype o f l iterature r epresented by t he b oundary c lauses h as t o many.
E arle c omments:
i n i tself b een a s ource o f fascination ' ...there i s t rue o riginality i n t he
phraseology o f t he t opographical description; i n themselves v ery g enuine,
t he e xpressions a re
a nd t hey p rove t his quality by g rowing i n
d epth and a ttractiveness t o t he p atient s tudent'.
( 31)
B irch,
Kemble
a nd E arle patiently t ranscribed many dozens o f t hese documents, making them more r eadily a vailable f or f urther i nvestigation.
t hus Y et i t
i s t he v ery n ature o f t he l iterature t hat h as perhaps c aused i t t o b e overlooked f or s o l ong a nd s ome s cholars d ismissed t his a spect o f t he d ocuments a s ' belonging t o t he p rovince o f t opography' and, b y i mplication,
l ess w orthy o f d etailed s tudy.
( 32)
The boundary
c lauses r epresent a t ype o f l egal j argon a nd,appearing as l ocal l andmarks o ften s eemingly o f l ittle s ignificance, w helming i n a ny i nitial perusal o f the d ocuments. p roblems a re t wo-fold: l andscape,
s trings o f
are a lmost o ver-
The most o bvious
t he c lauses must b e r elated t o the p resent
t he e states t hey describe l ocated a nd the b oundaries
r esolved a fresh ;
t he t erms u sed t o d escribe t he l andscape f eatures
must b e e xamined a nd understood.
While K emble and E arle a ddressed
themselves t o t he l atter problem i t was l eft t o G rundy in t he 1 920s a nd 1 930s t o u ndertake t he mammoth pioneer t ask o f a ttempting t o l ocate t he b oundaries d escribed in the c lauses. I n a s eries o f papers G rundy
( 33)
e xamined the boundary
c lauses f or many o f t he c harters o f s outhern E ngland, o f G loucestershire a nd Worcestershire.
i ncluding t hose
L iterally h undreds o f c lauses
w ere e xamined u sing b oth maps and f ield w ork a nd l ater attempts w ould h ave b een b arely possible w ithout this g roundwork. G rundy s atisfied w ith mere l ists o f s olutions.
N either w as
I nitially i nterested
i n l ocating R oman r emains f rom t he s craps o f e vidence c ontained in the c lauses,
h e e xtended h is s tudy b y u sing t he
' evidence o f t he
c harters a s a basis f or the s ocial a nd e conomic h istory of E ngland i n S axon t imes charters
..
Thus t he e lucidation o f t he t opography of t he
i s a means t o a n e nd,
n ot a n e nd i n i tself.'
( 34)
H is
c onclusions a bout t he A nglo-Saxon e conomy a re published with t he W orcestershire s olutions a nd h ave b een o f g reat value i n t he p resent s tudy.
N evertheless,
i n t he l ight o f p resent knowledge,
i t h as p roved
possible t o e xtend G rundy's w ork a nd t o g lean e ven more knowledge o f t he p eriod f rom t his s ource.
M any o f G rundy's t ranslations a re
1 0
s uspect
a nd many o f h is s olutions o f t he c lauses e rroneous,
w hile t echniques
o nly tentatively u sed i n h is papers h ave proved c apable o f f urther d evelopment.
E ven g iven the c orrect t ranslations a nd s olutions o f
t he c lauses i t i s o bvious t hat s ome s ort o f t echnique must b e a pplied b efore t he material c an be used i n a ny s ystematic w ay f or a nything other t han l ocal i nterest. H ere the d ebt i s t o p lace-name s cholars, m ade use o f s imple d istribution maps,
f or a lthough G rundy
i t i s t he p lace-name s cholars
w ho have u sed t his g eographical t echnique t o e xamine t he v ery s imilar t ype of d ata a vailable i n p lace-names.
Types o f n ames h ave b een
p lotted on d istribution maps a nd t he r esultant patterns h ave g iven r ise to n ew f ields o f e nquiry.
A r ecent e xample which may b e quoted
i s t he s tudy o f t he r elationship of h am n ames t o Roman r oads b y Cox. ( 35) Shortly a fter t he p resent s tudy h ad b egun the p resent w riter w as delighted t o d iscover t hat t his type o f e nquiry h ad a lready b een e xtended t o c harter b oundary c lauses b y G elling w orking i n B erkshire. ( 36)
The r esults o f h er e nquiry g o f urther than any o ther i n
e xcusing the t ime a nd e ffort r equired t o r e-examine t he c harters i n t his way.
S pecialised s tudies b y o ther place-name s cholars w ill b e
r eferred t o i n t he b ody of the t ext,
t ogether w ith more d etailed
l iterature u pon s pecific a spects. There w as,
h owever,
a f urther r equirement b efore t he present
t ype of s tudy c ould h ave t aken place - a r enewed i nterest i n l ooking a t l andscapes,
n ot only w ith s cientific i nterest b ut w ith a n
a ppreciation o f t he f orces a t work t o c reate t he l andscape a nd an a wareness o f t he l andscape a s a n e xpression o f man a nd h is e nvironment, e ven perhaps a ' love o f l andscape'. r est most s urely w ith H oskins.
F or t his t he i nspiration must
Certainly h e w as n ot t he f irst t o
d isplay t his f eeling f or l andscape,
a nd I owe much t o t he l ate
P rofessor H . Thorpe f or s timulating a n i nterest both i n the d evelopment o f t he W est M idland l andscape a nd i n t he c harters which d escribe i t.
I t w as,
h owever, P rofessor H oskins
( 37)
w ho d eveloped t his
a ppreciation o f l andscape h istory more f ully than a ny p revious w riter on the s ubject, m atters,
b y t he
t o b e f ollowed,
e specially i n Anglo-Saxon
l ate P rofessor F inberg.
Other w riters h ave f ollowed
t heir l ead b ut w ithout t his i nitial s timulation i t would h ave b een i mpossible t o d evelop t o the f ull t he potential o f s tudies l ike t he p resent o ne.
( iv )
Related problems The problems f acing s uch a s tudy t oday h ave c hanged l ittle
s ince the i nitial w ork on t he s ubject. The q uestion o f t he d ating o f t he d ocuments a nd a n a ssessment o f t heir a uthenticity i s d iscussed b elow,
b ut t he t ranscripts f rom the o riginal d ocuments s till r equire
t o b e perfected.
W hile the p resent w riter h opes t o c ontinue w ith
s uch work a s f uture c ircumstances a llow,
i t i s t he problems c oncerned
w ith interpretation that must t ake p recedence i n this s tudy.
D etailed
t ranscripts a re n ow being prepared o f particular g roups o f c harters, w hich will e nsure t he g reater a ccuracy o f s ubsequent w ork on the s ubject.
( 38)
A n i nterpretation of the documents d oes n ot,
r est with a n a ccurate t ranslation. r ealised,
( 39 )
A s Kemble,
h owever,
E arle a nd G rundy
t he e xact i nterpretation o f many o f the t erms r emains
1 1
i n d oubt.
While t he more r ecent w ork on i ndividual t erms w ill b e
s ummarised during t he c ourse o f this s tudy, a n i mportant a spect r emains t he c ontinued i nvestigation o f t he m eaning o f e ach t erm a s a dditional i nformation becomes a vailable f rom e ither l iterary, d ocumentary o r a rchaeological s ources. H ere a gain, p lace-name s cholars h ave a lready a chieved a g reat d eal, a nd S mith ( 40 ) r e-interprets t he meanings g iven i n s uch w orks a s t he d ictionary o f B osworth a nd T oller p lace-names.
i nclude t hose o f O E J ohansson.
( 41)
i n t he s pecial c ircumstances o ffered by
S tudies o f i ndividual t erms w hich may b e noted h ere
( 43)
( ge)1 2 b y F orsberg
( 42 )
a nd o f O E leah b y
I t w ill b e s een f rom t he p resent s tudy that much w ork
r emains t o b e d one and, i n particular, c ertain t erms m ight b ecome c learer ! , 7 1 meaning i f t hey w ere t o be e xamined o ver a s wide a n a rea a s possible.
H ere i t h as o nly b een possible t o c onsult a w ide number
o f l iterary s ources,
t he documentary e vidence a vailable i n t he
charters t hemselves,
t he meanings c onveyed i n l ocal p lace-names o f
t he a rea a nd t he most r ecent e vidence provided by a rchaeological data a nd t he w riter's own f ield work. A gain i t i s h oped t hat t he c onclusions put f orward may s pur on s imilar w ork o ver a w ider a rea. A ssuming that t he documents h ave b een a ccurately t ranslated, i t b ecomes n ecessary t o r elate t he d ocumentary e vidence t o t he r eal l andscape. This n eed i s e xpressed by Grundy: ( 44) ' if the b asis i s t o b e s ound,
t he t opography o f these d ocuments must b e determined w ith
a s much e xactness a s i s p ossible a t t he p resent day'. The i dentificat ion o f charter l andmarks i s e ssential b oth t o understand t he meaning of t he t erms and t he i mplications o f t heir u se. i ndividual b oundary c lauses i s n ot, A s G elling i llustrates,
h owever,
The s olution o f
a lways s traightforward.
i t i s o ften i mpossible t o e stablish t he l ine
o f a c harter b oundary w ith unquestionable p recision,
e specially
where n o present boundary s urvives t o s uggest t he l ine,
and e ven s ome
o f F inberg's a ttempts t o d o j ust t his f or s everal G loucestershire e xamples must r emain o pen t o question. ( 45) G elling questions the i mportance o f f ield work i n this r espect: ' perambulation o f c harter b oundaries i s a lways i lluminating t o the person who u ndertakes i t, b ut i t i s n ot c ertain that i t c ontributes t o t he s olution of p roblems p roportionately t o t he t ime a nd e nergy, e xpense, which i t i nvolves'.
( 46)
a nd i n r ecent years t he
A lthough t here i s much t ruth i n t hese
c omments a great deal o f f ield work underlies t he s olutions u sed in this s tudy, a s mall n umber of which a re o ffered i n Appendix B . A lthough many d etails o f t he b oundaries r emain obscure,
an
e xamination o f t he r elationship o f the c lauses t o t he a ctual c ountryside i nevitably h elps i n a n understanding o f t he f eatures d escribed a nd t he present writer would a gree w ith Hoskins t hat many c lauses
' contain s ubstantial mileages which c an o nly b e worked at
l aboriously i n t he f ield, t rial a nd e rror.'
( 47)
a nd,
e ven t here,
I ndeed,
o ften only by a p rocess o f
a n e xamination o f t he relationship
o f minor administrative b oundaries t o t he l ocal t opography c ould yet f orm t he b asis o f a f urther d etailed s tudy.
E ven w ithin t he m ore
l imited s tudy o f b oundary c lauses i t must b e l eft t o l ocal h istorians, a ble t o s tudy a l imited a rea i n depth, s olutions f or many o f t he c lauses. n ature,
o f v arying a ccuracy,
t o s uggest more a ccurate
There a re many s tudies o f this
b ut mention may b e made o f s uch l ocal
s tudies a s t hat o f Ayshford a nd B oehill b y F inberg, C lystwicon c harter o f C lyst S t. Mary b y Alcock,
( 49 )
( 48)
c ontain maps e ssential t o p ortray t his t ype o f e vidence.
1 2
o r o f the
b oth o f which
The f easibility of s olving a ny i ndividual b oundary c lause r ests upon t he f ortuitous s urvival o f h elpful i nformation.
While
m any administrative b oundaries h ave c hanged b ut l ittle s ince the A nglo-Saxon period,
i t i s n ot s afe t o a ssume t hat t hey n ecessarily
f ollow t he a ncient l ine,
a nd i t i s only i f particular l andmarks c an
b e l ocated t oday t hat the boundary c an b e v erified. O bvious physical l andmarks may o ften be l ocated w ithout d ifficulty, b ut t hese r arely f orm the b ulk o f t he f eatures d escribed. o f a boundary o ften g ives
E ven s o,
' a f eel f or c ountry'
o f the b oundary c lause e asier.
t he perambulation
w hich r enders t he s olution
L andmarks s urviving a s f ield n ames a re
p erhaps t he most u seful a ids t o s olution,
a nd a s urprising n umber o f
t hese a re t o b e f ound i n e ighteenth and n ineteenth c entury c artographic s ources, where t heir l ocation c an be p in-pointed. o ften c ontain a r ecognisable n ame, w ith e ase.
E arlier documents
b ut one that c an r arely b e l ocated
P lace-names a re a lso o f u se,
b ut have o ften s hifted
c onsiderably f rom t heir o riginal l ocation.
O nly r arely d oes a l ater
r ecorded perambulation b ear a ny r elationship t o t hat o f t he e arlier p eriod.
I t i s o bvious t hat d etailed l ocal knowledge,
b oth o f
d ocuments a nd t opography, h as much t o c ontribute i n t his f ield and i t i s hoped that t he p resent s tudy w ill s timulate f urther i nterest i n t his type o f work. C harters d o n ot s urvive f or t he e ntire s tudy a rea a nd may, i ndeed,
n ever h ave e xisted f or many e states.
b een noted i n t his a rea b etween t he h eld at s ome time b y the Church.
A c lose c orrelation h as
s urvival o f c harters a nd l and
A lthough a ll c harters a nd r elated
d ocuments r eferring t o t he West M idland a rea h ave b een e xamined f or t he purpose o f t he present s tudy,
i t i s t hose w ith a ssociated
b oundary c lauses w hich h ave b een f ound t o b e e specially u seful ( Fig.
2 .1).
Many s ets of b ounds s urviving u nattached t o charter
g rants h ave a lso b een u tilised. i n s uch d ata, i s more
Worcestershire i s p articularly r ich
d etailed c lauses s urviving f or many e states.
s poradic i n G loucestershire,
C overage
w ith c lauses s urviving i n
a ppreciable n umbers only f or t he n orth-east o f t he c ounty, while i n W arwickshire t his s ource o f i nformation i s u nfortunately v ery l imited i ndeed.
( v )
( Appendix A .)
Purpose o f t he s tudy There r emains t he question of t he u se o f this material.
The
b oundary c lauses r eveal t he i mmediate world of the e arly medieval p easant a nd h is d aily c oncern w ith t he f ields which s upplied b oth h is f ood and h is c ontribution t o l ord a nd c hurch and w ith t he w oodlands i n w hich he p astured h is s wine a nd gathered h is f uel.
I n r eference t o
s tream and h ill t hey r eveal t he c lose r elationship t hen s till e xisting b etween man and h is e nvironment a nd s how t he r elationship o f t ownship c ommunities t o t he s urrounding t opography.
M oreover, d etails o f l ocal
t opography a re o ffered f or a p eriod f or which f ew o ther s ources o f s uch i nformation e xist. H owever,
i nformation c an b e g leaned f rom t he c harters a nd
c lauses which i s o f much w ider s ignificance. i nstance,
They c ontain,
f or
s ome o f t he e arliest d ocumentary e vidence o f f ield s ystems
a nd farming p ractices.
M uch o f t his e vidence l ies w ithin c lauses
w hich appear t o b e b oth s tilted a nd s tereotyped i n their l iterary
1 3
p resentation a nd s ome method must b e f ound o f e xtracting t his m aterial f rom data which a t f irst s ight a ppears t o b e o f a f ragmentary a nd p redominantly parochial c haracter.
While t he a pplication o f n ew
t echniques may c ontinually f acilitate the e valuation o f the d ata,
t he
p resent s tudy makes u se o f d istributional m apping t o e xamine t he l ocation o f l andscape f eatures,
and a ttempts t o i nterpret t he r elevance
o f t hese d istribution patterns i n understanding the A nglo-Saxon l andscape.
I n particular,
the f eatures s eem t o b e r epresentative o f
d ifferent k inds o f l andscape.
Many o f t he l andmarks d escribe
vegetation-type o r man-made f eatures a nd the varying r egional patterns may i ndicate d ifferent r esponses t o man's n atural e nvironment a nd d iffering s tages i n t he d evelopment a pparent o ver t he a rea.
I t i s
only when charters a nd a ssociated c lauses e xist i n s ufficient n umbers o ver a w ide a rea that s uch r egional variations i n l andscape p atterns s hown b y t he d istribution patterns o f O E t erms c an b e s een t o b e valid o nes.
Any b ias a ttributable t o the i nfluence o f l and ownership or t he
d ate o f the d ocuments may then b e t aken i nto a ccount.
I n t he W est
M idlands t he Church o f Worcester h eld e states w idely s cattered t hroughout t he a rea and p reserved many d ocuments c oncerned w ith the l easing o f i ndividual e states,
yet the d istribution p atterns t o be
d iscussed r emain c lear w ithin these l ands a lone. T he present s tudy i s n ot c onfined t o p re-Conquest c harters a nd t heir a ssociated c lauses f or t he i nformation f rom the c harters
i s
c onsidered i n r elation t o t hat a vailable f rom a rchaeological d ata and f ield e vidence,
c ontemporary a nd l ater d ocuments, parish b oundary
patterns a nd place-names.
W ithin t he a rea i t i s the charters a nd
p lace-names i n particular,
h owever,
which r eveal r egions o f v arying
c haracter w ithin t he H wiccan k ingdom. e xample,
These r egions may vary,
f rom a reas o f r elatively dense woodland,
c olonisation o f woodland,
f or
a reas with a ctive
t o a reas of i ntensive a griculture.
G iven this i nformation t he t erritorial e vidence f or t he area t akes o n a f uller meaning.
I t b ecomes possible by means o f t he
c harter a nd place-name e vidence t o e xamine t he d egree and n ature of l andscape d evelopment i n c onjunction w ith k nown administrative and e cclesiastical r elationships, g eographical f ramework,
and e states m ay b e s et w ithin t heir
s hedding a dditional l ight upon the p roblems
o f c ontinuity a nd change.
Once t his h as b een e stablished i t i s more
p rofitable t o e xamine i n d etail the t erritorial o rganisation o f the a rea.
Above a ll,
h owever,
the picture o f t he l andscape emerges with
a c larity only s eldom a chieved a t l ater p eriods.
A w eb of f ine
d etail r eplaces t he b lank p laces on the map a nd Anglo-Saxon E ngland e merges a s a place f ull o f a ctivity,
a l andscape a lready l argely
m an-made a nd r eflecting t he e fforts o f man t o l ive i n harmony w ith h is n atural s urroundings.
1 4
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M .
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The P lace-Names of B erkshire
Part I II English P lace-Name S ociety
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L I
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2 45
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P lace-Names of W arwickshire E .P.N .S. X III 1 8.
A .H.
S mith,
S ir F .M.
2 0.
M . W ilson,
2 1.
S .
2 07,
S tenton, o p.
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c it.
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2 0-25.
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d e G ray B irch, W hitelock
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i n P .H.
a nnotated l ist and b ibliography W .
Stenton, T he
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Wade-Evans
1 16-17.
S awyer, Anglo-Saxon C harters, an ( London 1 968),
C artularium Saxonicum
B .
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in
( London 1 885-99). 500-1C42
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T he R oman L and S urveyors
( Newton Abbot 1 971)
9 8-105. 2 4.
P .H.
S awyer,
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2 5.
H .P.R. F inberg,
c it. The E arly C harters o f t he W est Midlands
( Leicester 1 961). 2 6.
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2 7.
J .M.
Kemble,
2 8.
A .J.
R obertson, Anglo-Saxon C harters
E .A.
Bond,
2 9.
M useum 3 0.
A .H.
Codex D iplomaticus Aevi S axonici
F acsimilles of Ancient Charters i n t he B ritish
S mith,
The P lace-Names of G loucestershire,
X XXVIII,
c hecked b y D .
3 3.
X XXIX,
XL,
XLI
( 1964,
1 965);
I ,
I I,
I II,
I V,
c harters
M ills.
J . E arle, A . H andbook t o t he L and-Charters and o ther S axonic Documents
3 2.
( Cambridge 1 939).
( 1873-78).
E .P.N.S.
3 1.
( London 1 839-48)
( Oxford 1 888)
B . T horpe,
xxvi.
D iplomatarium Anglicum Aevi S axonici(London 1 865)
1 95,
8 46.
G .B.
G rundy, B erkshire C harters B erkshire, B uckinghamshire a nd
O xfordshire A rchaeological J ournal X XVII 1 37-71,
1 93-247,
1 96-220, X XXII
X XX
( 1928)
XXVIII
( 1924)
6 4-80,
( 1922-23)
X XIX
( 1925)
( 1927)
9 6-102, 8 7-128,
( 1926)
4 8-63,
1 02-20,
X XXI
1 6-30,
6 2-68,
i ndex;
D orset C harters Proceedings
of t he D orset N atural H istory Society L V ( 1934)
1 10-20,
L VII
( 1937)
9 5-118,
LX
( 1935)
( 1938)
1 14-29,
7 5-89,
L VIII
L XI
3 1-62,
( 1933)
2 39-68,
L VI
( 1936)
1 03-36,
L IX
( 1939)
6 0-78,
S axon Charters a nd F ield Names of G loucestershire G loucestershire A rchaeological S ociety,
1 11-45 ,
i ndex; ( Bristol and
G loucester 1 935-6 );
The S axon L and Charters o f H ampshire w ith n otes on P lace a nd F ield Names A rchaeological J ournal
2 nd s eries,
5 5-173,
( 1926)
X XXI
1 60-340,
( 1924)
X XXV
( 1928 )
Record Society 1 5 Somerset
3 1-126, 1 88-96;
( 1933);
( Taunton 1 935);
Archaeological J ournal ( 1920 )
8 -126;
X XXIII
X XVIII
9 1-253,
( 1921)
X XXIV
T he S axon C harters and F ield Names of The S axon L and C harters o f W iltshire
2 nd s eries,
XXVI
( 1919)
1 63-301,
3 4.
G .B.
L III
( 1928)
G rundy,
B .
C ox,
( 1927)
1 8-131.
S axon C harters o f Worcestershire B irmingham
Archaeological Society T ransactions a nd P roceedings L II 3 5.
X XVII
S axon Charters of Worcestershire B irmingham
Archaeological Society T ransactions a nd P roceedings L II 1 -183,
( 1927)
S axon O xfordshire O xfordshire
( 1927)
1 .
The s ignificance o f the d istribution o f E nglish p lace-
names i n -J am i n the M idlands a nd E ast Anglia English P laceN ame S ociety J ournal V ( 1973) 1 5-73. 3 6.
M .
G elling,
3 7.
W .G.
3 8.
A .
H oskins,
C ampbell
P .H.
S awyer
Academy, 3 9.
J .M.
o p.
c it.
The M aking of t he English L andscape
( Ed.),
C harters of Rochester
( Ed.),
T he Charters of B urton Abbey
( London 1 955).
( London 1 973); ( British
L ondon 1 978).
Kemble,
G .B. Grundy,
o p.
c it.,
I II i -xliii;
J .
E arle,
op.cit.,
4 53-478;
O n t he Meaning o f c ertain t erms i n t he Analo-Saxon
Charters Essays a nd S tudies 8 ( 1922)
1 7
3 7-69.
4 0.
4 1.
A .H.
S mith,
X XV ,
X XVI
J .
E nglish P lace-Name E lements I a nd I I,
E .P.N.S.
( Cambridge 1 970 )
B osworth and T .
N orthcote-Toller, An Anglo-Saxon D ictionary
b ased on t he manuscript c ollection of t he l ate J oseph B osworth. E dited a nd e nlarged b y T .
( Oxford 1 908-1921)
1 882-98),
A .
C ampbell. Enlarged A ddenda a nd C orrigenda b y Alistair
R .
S upplement
( Oxford
N orthcote-Toller,
Campbell 4 2.
N orthcote-Toller
T .
t o t he s upplement by T . Northcote-Toller
F orsberg,
w ith
a nd ( Oxford 1 972).
A C ontribution t o a D ictionary o f O ld E nglish
P lace-Names Nomina G ermanica 9 ( Uppsala 1 950). 4 3.
C .
J ohansson L O ld English P lace-names a nd F ield-names
c ontaining l eah 4 4.
G .B.
G rundy,
( Stockholm 1 975).
S axon Charters o f W orcestershire B irmingham
A rchaeological Society T ransactions a nd Proceedings L II 4 5.
H .P.R.
F inberg,
4 6.
M . Gelling,
4 7.
W .G.
op.
H oskins,
op.
c it.,
6 21.
I ntroduction t o e T.R. Thomson,
The Early B ounds
an E xercise i n topography
W iltshire Archaeological Magazine L VII N .
1 .
c it.
o f Wanborough a nd L ittle H inton, c omments b y
( 1927)
( 1958-60 ),
B rooks , Anglo-Saxon c harters:
l ast twenty years, p .
2 24 i n P .
C lemoes,
2 02;
s ee t oo
t he w ork of the
( Ed.), Anglo-Saxon
England 3 ( Cambridge 1 974). 4 8.
H .P.R.
F inberg,
A yshford and B oehill T he Devonshire Association,
Report a nd T ransactions 4 9.
N .W. A lcock, 1 03
( 1971)
( hereafter D .A.R.T.)
The C lystwicon C harter
2 5-33.
1 8
1 03
( 1971)
1 9-24.
( Clyst S t. Mary ) D .A.R.T.
P ART I I,
P art I I
( i)
Chapter 1 :
PRE-CONQUEST C HARTERS
T HE U SE O F P RE-CONQUEST CHARTERS
2 22.2 2 / 12_21_ af-co2 west -
c harters
The pre-Conquest c harters p rovide p erhaps t he r ichest s ource o f i nformation a bout t he Anglo-Saxon c ountryside a nd a lthough t hese d ocuments h ave b een e xamined i n d etail f or many years t hey have by n o m eans been d rained o f i nformation. T he n ature o f A nglo-Saxon c harters h as b een f ully d iscussed b y S tenton
( 1)
a nd o thers a nd h istorians h ave f ound t hem a p rimary
s ource o f i nformation f or e vidence of the A nglo-Saxon p eriod.
S mith
u ses place-names r ecorded i n c harters t o s uggest t he e xtent o f t he H wiccan k ingdom
( 2)
a nd W ilson u ses c harter e vidence a gain t o c heck
t he s phere of i nfluence o f t he Hwicce.
( 3)
T hese d ocuments
s how t he
a bsorption o f t his s ub-kingdom i nto t he l arger k ingdom o f M ercia and t he e xtent t o which i t r emained a r ecognisable unit a s l ate a s the n inth c entury.
A lso u sing c harter e vidence,
F ord
( 4)
h as e xplored
t he notion o f the e xistence o f f olk-groups w ithin a nd beyond the H wiccan k ingdom,
g roups e stablished i n r iverine l ocations p ractising
s easonal t ranshumance a nd l inked t o a reas o f w oodland s urviving a long major watersheds.
T his p attern i s m ost r eadily perceived i n the a rea
o f t he l ater c ounty o f Warwickshire. A lthough t he e arliest W est M idland c harters d ate only f rom t he mid-seventh c entury t hey a re n ot s ilent c oncerning s ubsequent e vents of h istorical i mportance.
A part f rom r ecording t he s uccession
o f k ings a nd e aldormen a nd naming s ome of t he c hief m inisters a nd e cclesiastical l eaders t hey r ecord t he e stablishment o f m onasteries a nd g ive s ome i nsight i nto t he t erritorial n ature o f Anglo-Saxon e cclesiastical f oundations.
( 5)
The a cquisition o f l and b y t he
c hurch appears t o b e c losely l inked w ith p olitical motivation. e cclesiastical o rganisation o f t he k ingdom, m oreover,
r eflect s ome of t he e arliest r ecorded t erritorial patterns, o f t he Hwiccan d iocese,
T he
s eems t o t he a rea
a s r ecorded i n t he t hirteenth c entury, perhaps
c losely r eflecting t he a dministrative t erritory o f t he e arly k ingdom. ( 6)
Within the k ingdom t he e arly minsters may h ave b een f ounded i n
f oci of a ctivity a nd t he c harters o f W ootton W awen i n Warwickshire a nd Ismere i n n orth W orcestershire b oth r efer t o m insters e stablished i n t he f olk a reas of t he S toppingas a nd H usmer& r espective ly
( see f urther P art I I,
C hapter 3 ).
This r elationship b etween
e cclesiastical a nd l ater a dministrative b oundaries i s o ne o f t he most promising l ines o f e nquiry f or understanding t he pattern o f e arlier t erritorial o rganisation. I t i s t he c harters which s how t he e xistence o f c omposite e states
i n t he A nglo-Saxon p eriod a nd r eveal t he pattern o f b oth the
f ragmentation a nd t he b uild-up o f h oldings which i s l ater b orne o ut by t he Domesday e vidence.
They provide t he e arliest d ocumentary
e vidence o f t he v ill o r minor e state w hich w as t o b ecome e ither
1 9
s ingly o r i n g roups t he basis o f t he modern p arish.
S ome i nsight i s
g ained i nto t he t ype a nd n ature o f s ervices r endered f or
l and,
W est M idland charter,
( S 5 9,
t hat o f A ston F ield i n S toke P rior
b eing the e arliest c harter t o mention t he t hree public dues: f rom e very t ribute,
s mall o r g reat,
o f public matters,
s ervices whether o f k ing o r e aldorman,
a n inth-century c harter o f H anbury
t he duties o f
( S 1 90,
' entertainment o f k ing a nd e aldorman,
t he r oyal r esidence a nd
B 2 03),
' free
and f rom a ll
e xcept t he b uilding o f b ridges
o r t he n ecessary d efences o f f ortresses a gainst e nemies'. a ddition,
w ith a
( 7)
B 4 16 ) ..
I n
l ists
building o f
.. t hat burden which w e c all in S axon
f mstingmen' ( possibly t he r ight by t hose o n t he k ing's business t o c laim f ood a nd l odging), f rom which t his m inster w as t o be f reed, l eaving i t due only t o t hose n oted a bove.
A lso i n t he n inth c entury,
t he monastery o f B lockley i s f reed f rom c ertain o bligations a nd i s s een t o b e r esponsible f or f eeding a nd maintaining t he hawks a nd f alcons o f the Hwiccan r ulers ( S 2 07, B 4 88). The D anish i nvasions a re r ecorded o n a n umber o f o ccasions i n the c harters.
A n e state a t B entley,
W orcestershire,
was g ranted i n
AD 8 55 q uando f uerunt p agani i n W teocensetun
' when t he heathen were i n
the province o f t he W rekin-dwellers'
B 4 87), while B ishop
( S 2 06,
Werferth i n AD 8 72 w as f orced t o l ease Nuthurst i n W arwickshire t o r aise money t o p ay t ribute t o t he D anes, ' this, h owever, t he a bovementioned b ishop a greed t o c hiefly b ecause o f t he v ery pressing a ffliction a nd i mmense t ribute t o t he b arbarian i n t hat s ame year when t he pagans s tayed i n L ondon' t oo,
( S 1 278,
B 5 33).
o f the f ortification o f W orcester when,
There i s d irect e vidence, i n t he l ater n inth c entury,
r ights i n t he t own a re b estowed upon t he C hurch o f S t. Peter by t he e aldorman Ethelred a nd h is w ife Ethelfled, w ho hehtan bewyrcean p a b urh m t WEOGERNA CEASTRE e allum b am f olc t o g ebeorge
' ordered the
b urh a t W orcester t o b e built f or t he protection o f a ll t he p eople' ( S 2 23,
B 5 79 ).
This r epresents part o f t he g eneral policy o f
f ortifying b oroughs i n t he l ate n inth a nd e arly t enth c enturies a d efensive s ystem a gainst t he D anish i nvaders'.
' as
( 8)
A spects o f t he A nglo-Saxon e conomy a re r ecorded, t he a llotment o f l and a nd t he d istribution o f holdings.
a part f rom
The s alt
i ndustry o f D roitwich i s p rominent i n W est M idland c harters w ith i ndications of i ts e xpansion a nd o rganisation. ( 9) There i s mention o f mineral e xtraction and i ron-working. D etails o f t he r ural e conomy a ppear i n c harters d ealing w ith r ights o f pannage a nd timber e xtraction i n woodland, w ith f isheries i n m ajor r ivers and e stuaries, a nd i n f requent r eferences t o l and u se on t he Anglo-Saxon e state. S ome i ndication o f t he d emense f arming a rrangements may be g leaned f rom s ome c harters f or l eases o f L uddington i n Warwickshire and N orton i n Worcestershire e state.
( S 1 423)
( S 1 421)
l ist t he s tock held o n the
I nterests i n c ommerce a re n ot a bsent a nd t he Bishops o f
Worcester a re s een t o be a cquiring l and a nd p roperty f or c ommercial purposes i n L ondon, f or i nstance,
a c harter o f A D 8 57
c onsiliatorum meorum, g aziferi agelluli u bi n ominatur Ceolmundingchaga, q ui positis
( S 2 08,
B 4 92)
granting t hem,
a liquam p arvam portionem l ibertatis, c um consensu i n V ICO LUNDONIE;
' a c ertain s mall p ortion o f a l iberty,
l ittle e state i n t he t own o f L ondon,
h oc e st
e st n on l onge f rom U uestgetum i .e.
o f a profitable
a t a p lace called
Ceolmundingchaga, w hich i s s ituated n ot f ar f rom t he west g ate'. A s econd g rant o f l and i n L ondon & t HWETMUNDES STANE o f Hwmtmund'
( S 3 46,
B 5 61), perhaps a market s ite,
2 0
( 10 )
' at t he s tone ( 11)
i s a cquired
b y the s ame Church i n A D 8 89,
while a t an e arlier date t he Church h ad
b een f reed f rom t he payment of t oll on t wo s hips a t L ondon b y E thelbald o f M ercia
( S 9 8,
B 1 71).
The c harters c over a l ong period o f t ime over which e state a nd manorial d evelopment c an be a ssessed. o f an e state i s r ecorded, a t hief,
f or t heft o r,
l ater d ocuments,
O ccasionally t he f orfeiture
f or r easons s uch a s f ighting i n d efence o f
e ven i n one i nstance,
f or w itchcraft.
n ot i n t hemselves l and g rants,
S ome
p rovide more i ntimate
d etails o f particular e states and a mong t hese w ills a re most r evealing, g iving i nsight i nto d omestic a rrangements r arely f ound e lsewhere b efore t he post-Conquest p eriod. An e xamination o f t he l and units g ranted by c harter, t heir
s ize,
n ature a nd d istribution,
a nd o f
y ields i nvaluable i nformation
a bout t erritorial o rganisation i n t he Anglo-Saxon period.
T his
a spect o f the s tudy w ill b e d iscussed further i n Chapters 3 a nd 4 o f t his section.
M ore s atisfyingly,
a g limpse i s obtained t hrough t he
c harters o f t he l andscape i tself,
o f t he f ields,
woods a nd h edgerows
w hich f ormed t he b ackcloth o f peasant l ife a nd provided the e conomic w ealth u pon which a ll g reater a ffairs o f Church a nd S tate w ere f orced t o depend. d etail
The e vidence i s c ontained within t he t opographical
t o b e f ound i n t he c harters,
t he i nvestigation o f which f orms
t he greater part o f t his s tudy and i s discussed i n Part I II.
I n
p articular t he a pplication o f g eographical t echniques t o a s ource o f d ata previously m ost i ntensively s tudied by h istorians b y more t raditional methods o f e nquiry c ontinues to produce r esults.
( ii)
Topographical d etail O ften t he g eographical i nformation c ontained i n t he b ody o f
t he charter s ets t he s cene b y d escribing p rominent l ocal n atural l andmarks.
Major r ivers a re n oted, usually bearing t he n ames b y
w hich they a re known t oday, ( S 1 02,
B 1 37)
a nd t he S tur
i nto the S abrine o r S;fgrne
s uch a s t he S aleuuerpe ' the S tour'
( S 8 9,
' the S evern '
( S 1 72,
B 3 50,
i n t he western part o f present-day W orcestershire, t he C arent I sbourne'
' the C arrant B rook' ( S 1 13,
t he ELUUINNE
B 2 23),
' the A lne'
( S 5 7,
t he s ture
( S 9 4,
B 1 57),
' Coln '
d icitur Temis B 7 0 ), ( S 8 4,
1 254,
B 1 66)
S 1 594,
( S 6 4,
K 1 355)
f urther e ast, ' the
B 1 23)
and
a ll t ributaries o f t he I n G loucestershire t he
f lowed i nto t he famosum amnem q ui
' the r enowned r iver which i s c alled the T hames',
( S 2 34,
but t he present R iver Evenlode was t hen k nown a s t he B LADAEN B 1 39)
r ight bank, n ame of
a nd E venlode w as the n ame o f an e state l ying o n i ts
while t he h eadwaters o f the C oln n ear W ithington b ore t he
t ilnop
S almonsbury, c alled
( S
a nd,
b oth f lowing
t he ESEGBURNA
' the Stour'
W arwickshire a nd Worcestershire Avon. C UNUGLAE o r
B 2 32),
' the S alwarpe'
B 1 54),
( S 1 556,
n earby,
B 2 99).
An e ighth c entury charter o f
s hows t hat the h eadwaters o f t he W indrush,
' the D ikler', were t hen r eferred t o a s the u uenrisc,
n ow
o r
' Windrush'
i tself,
a nd t he u pper W indrush a pparently k nown a s t he
T heodningc
( S 1 14,
B 2 30).
M ajor t opographical f eatures f ind mention a nd a p rominent l andmark
i n s outh W orcestershire montis q ui
m ountain which i s c alled B redon',
n ominatur BREODUN
' the
i s n oted s oaring a bove t he e state
2 1
o f K emerton
( S 5 7,
B 2 32).
I n G loucestershire an e state which
i ncluded B ishop's C leeve l ay s ub montis r upe q ui antiquo vocabulo v ocitatur U UENDLESCLIF i n aquilonell p arte r ivull
q ui d icitur T YRL
' beneath t he r ock o f the h ill which i n a ncient s peech w as c alled U UENDLESCLIF on the n orth s ide o f the r iver w hich i s c alled t he Tyrl' ( S 1 41,
B 2 46).
O ccasionally t he e xtensive w oodlands o f Anglo-Saxon
E ngland a re named i n d escribing the l ocation o f a n e state. c ujus v ocabulum e st CEMELE ( S 2 34,
B 7 0 ),
l ay n ear t he s outhern b oundary o f t he Hwiccan k ingdom
o n t he b orders o f G loucestershire, w ooded p laces' B 6 67),
S ilve
' the wood o f which t he name i s Kemble' a nd v .
l ocis s iluaticis
l ay a t F leferht/Fleferth/Flefer6
a name d erived f rom f yrh 4 5, meaning
( S 9 01,
' woodland',
' five
K 1 295; ( 12)
S 404,
i n t he
h eart o f W orcestershire. The s imple b oundary c lauses o f t he e arly c harters a re o nly s lightly more i nformative a nd often e cho t he a bove d escriptions i n t heir mode o f c onstruction and c hoice o f l andmarks. t he e state a t B redon a re d escribed
( S 5 7,
B 2 32):
The bounds of protendens a
f lumine i llo C arent a scendens u sque a d s ummitatem montis s upradicti Breodun
Ibi
e st t erminus agri
i llius s ursum in monte e t a
meridie d iscendens per planitiem f luvius C arent
' stretching f rom that
R iver C arent a scending t o t he s ummit o f the a foresaid hill B reodun... t here t he b oundary o f t his l and i s h igh u p o n t he h ill, s outh d escending t hrough t he f lat l and C arent'.
( 13)
and o n t he
( the b oundary i s)
t he R iver
O ther l esser l andmarks h ave f requently t o b e s ought,
h owever, more a kin to those u sed i n t he l ater l onger c lauses, a lthough t he t endency t o utilise n atural f eatures r emains pre-eminent.
R ivers
a nd w oodland t racts s eem t o r emain t he most o bvious f eatures o f the l andscape,
but s imple c lauses a lso r efer t o t he deeply incised
c oombs a nd valleys of G loucestershire a nd t o a reas o f marshland. A rchaeological f eatures s uch a s h illforts o ccasionally f ind mention a s l ocational
l andmarks i n t he b odies o f t he charters,
a s B aenintesburg o n the s ummit o f B redon H ill S almonsbury b eside t he D ikler
( S 1 14).
( S 5 7)
s uch
a nd perhaps,
t oo,
S ome o f the beorg n ames
mentioned i n t he s impler c lauses may r efer t o burial s ites a nd mules h lawe/ mules h lew i n Evenlode ( S 1 325, B 1 238; S 5 50, B 8 82) s eems t o b e a t umulus. The K emble e state l ocated n ear woodland mentioned above o r
( S 2 34,
' streets',
B 7 0 )
i s a lso d escribed a s b eing bounded by s tratarum
h ere the R oman Fosse W ay and E rmin S treet,
c ontinue t o be n oted i n t he s impler c lauses, ' the k ing's h ighway', o f I comb
( S
1 21,
o f B atsford
B 2 40 ).
( S 1 01, B 1 63),
a nd U uynhenes s tig
A lthough a c ettan t reo o r
i s n oted upon t he E venlode b oundary
a nd r oads
a mong t hem the v ia regia
( S 1 09, B 2 09 )
' tree o f C etta', s uch minor
l andmarks a re more f requently f ound i n t he more d etailed c lauses. L ittle d etail i s g iven a bout s ettlements,
a part f rom
r eferences t o major c entres s uch a s famosa u rbe q ue ab accolis d icitur UUIGORNA CEASTER i nhabitants Worcester'
' the f amous t own w hich i s c alled b y t he
( S 7 88,
B 1 284),
o r t o monasteries.
I ndividual
e states may b e d escribed i n the c harters b y t he t erm v icus, regalem v icum.Croppontorn
' the r oyal v icus o f C ropthorne'
l ike
( S 1 18,
and i n i llo regali v ico e t c oncilio q uod h abebatur m t Welesburnan t hat r oyal v icus a nd a ssembly which w as h eld a t Wellesbournes B 5 03).
O ther t erms i nclude v iii,
a s i n a c harter
( S
1 42)
( S
B 2 35 ) ' in 2 09,
d escribing
the l ands b elonging ad v illam q ue v ocatur W ICAN s itam in o ccidentali
2 2
p arte SEFERNE ' to t he v iii w hich i s c alled W ican l ying on t he w est s ide o f S evern', a nd i ts diminutive f orm v illula, u sed t o d escribe t wo s ettlements a t Conderton and P endock, d ependent u pon an e state a t O verbury
( S 2 16, B 2 19).
a re common, w ith r us n ature o f t he g rant. ' land'.
Ager'estate s , a gellus
' little e state',
' country, f arm ' perhaps s tressing t he r ural O ften t he r eference i s merely t o t erra o r
O nly s tudies c arried o ut o ver a w ide a rea w ould s how i f
t here was a ny r eal s ignificance i n the c hoice o f t erms u sed o r whether t hese were mere s cribal c onvention.
C ertainly t he t erm v icus a ppears
t o describe a s ettlement o f a dm inistrative i mportance,
a s might b e
e xpected i n t he l ight o f r ecent work u pon t he possible s urvival o f t his term i n w ich2m p lace-names. ( 14) A s s ettlements u sually l ay w ithin e states, t hey r arely a ppear i n t he b oundary c lauses, a lthough o ccasional r eferences h ave been n oted. I t i s, h owever,
t he b oundary c lauses which a re r ich i n l ocal
i nformation a nd which e nable t he map o f A nglo-Saxon E ngland t o b e r eproduced i n f ine d etail. T opographical f eatures a re n oted i n a bundance, h ills a nd valleys m eeting t he b oundary s urveyors a s t hey p erambulated t he e states.
T he s treams a nd r ivulets which h ad b een
c hosen t o a ct a s b oundary l ines b etween a djoining t ownships,
a nd
w hich n o d oubt s erved a s s ome o f t he most s atisfactory a nd s table b oundary l andmarks, w ould a ttract a ttention a nd s ometimes, p erhaps, a cquire n ames f or t he f irst t ime. s prings,
a nd,
m ud and m ire,
P atches o f marshland, pools a nd
o n t he h eavy W orcestershire c lays,
n umerous a reas o f
f ind mention a nd, w ith i nsistent f requency,
w oodland a nd f orest a ppear i n t he c lauses.
t racts of
When a ll goods had t o b e
c arried b y man, p annier o r c artload a nd a ll j ourneys made on f oot o r w ith h orses a nd o xen,
t he n atural l andscape w as u ndoubtedly more
i nfluential t han i t i s t oday a nd i ts i rregularities more k eenly f elt b y t he peasant i n t he c ourse o f h is d aily l ife. A lthough, a ll t oo o ften,
t he c haracter o f t he s ettlements
t hemselves c an o nly b e g uessed a t, t he c lauses s how i n l iberal a bundance t he i nter-connecting t rackways a nd major r outeways. T hey h int at t he f ields a nd e nclosures which h ad a lready a dvanced i nto t he m ost r emote c ountryside a reas.
The l ocation o f t hese f eatures d oes
m uch t o i lluminate t he d evelopment o f l ocal l andscapes.
T he
e vidence i s, h owever, o f wider s ignificance, f or i t c an be e xamined t o r eveal s omething a bout e arly f arming p ractices a nd t he i nfluence o f e conomic d evelopment u pon t he l andscape.
I n particular,
r egional
v ariations i n t he d egree a nd t ype o f d evelopment o ver t he a rea w ill b ecome a pparent. A lthough w ith i ts woodlands a nd undrained marshes t he l andscape was a l ong w ay f rom t he t amed c ountryside o f t oday i t w as obviously e ven t hen a man-made l andscape. o f t he h istorian R .V. L ennard,
i t w as
o rder t o e xamine t he s ignificance o f this, must be e xamined i n the utmost d etail.
2 3
A lready,
' an o ld c ountry',
i n t he w ords ( 15)
a nd,
i n
t he Anglo-Saxon l andscape
R EFERENCES 1 .
F .M.
S tenton,
T he L atin charters of t he Anglo-Saxon period
( Oxford 1 955);
W .
e ighth century 2 .
A .H.
S mith, S mith,
R .P.
C reed
1 74-233.
T he P lace-names of G loucestershire
Name S ociety A .H.
L evison, E ngland a nd t he c ontinent i n the
( Oxford 1 946 )
( hereafter E .P.N.S.) The Hwicce, pps.
( Eds.).
XLI
M . W ilson,
F ranciplegius:
The Hwicce, p .
3 2;
5 6-64 i n J .B. B essinger a nd medieval a nd l inguistic
s tudies of F rancis Peabody Magoun Jr. 3 .
I V English P lace-
( Cambridge 1 965 )
2 1 o f P .
( New Y ork 1 965).
B arker
( Ed.),
The o rigins o f
Worcester T ransactions of t he W orcestershire Archaeological S ociety 4 .
W .J.
3 rd s eries I I
F ord,
( 1968-69).
S ome s ettlement patterns i n t he c entral region of t he
Warwickshire Avon, pps.
2 80-82 o f P .H.
S awyer
( Ed.), M edieval
settlement ( London 1 976). 5 .
P . Wormald,
B ede, Beowulf and t he c onversion o f the A nglo-Saxon
a ristocracy, pps. S axon England 6 .
H .P.R.
F inberg,
( Leicester 7 .
1 961,
D . Whitelock
5 3-54 o f R .T. F arrell
B .A.R.
4 6
( Ed.), Bede a nd Anglo-
( Oxford 1 978)
The e arly charters of t he W est M idlands 2 nd e dn.
1 972)
1 80
( Ed.), English h istorical d ocuments I ,
( London 1 955)
c . 5 00-1042
4 62, d iscusses a number o f a spects of h istorical
i mportance t o be f ound i n O E charters.
T ranslations a fter
Whitelock. 8 .
H .B.
C larke a nd C .C.
W orcester: op. 9 .
D .
D yer, Anglo-Saxon a nd E arly Norman
the d ocumentary e vidence, p .
2 8 o f P .
Barker
( Ed.),
c it. Hooke,
T he D roitwich S alt I ndustry:
a n e xamination o f t he W est
M idland c harter e vidence, Anglo-Saxon S tudies in Archaeology a nd H istory 2 B .A.R. 10. 1 1.
D . Whitelock J .
E .
cp.
Ekwall,
( Oxford 1 888)
c it.,
1 23-169
4 87.
G .B.
n .
3 18-19.
The c oncise O xford d ictionary of English p lace-names
( Oxford 1 936) 1 3.
( Ed.),
( Oxford 1 981)
E arle, A H and-book t o t he l and c harters, and other S axonic
d ocuments 1 2.
9 2
G rundy,
1 74. S axon Charters of W orcestershire,
B irmingham
Archaeological Society T ransactions a nd Proceedings L II 1 61-62.
2 4
( 1927)
1 4.
M .
G elling,
E nglish p lace-names d erived f rom t he c ompound
w icham Medieval Archaeology X I 1 5.
R .V.
( 1967)
L ennard, R ural England 1086-1135
2 5
9 3-98. ( Oxford 1 959)
3 .
P art I I, ( i)
Chapter 2
THE WEST M IDLAND BOUNDARY CLAUSES
The c omplexi ty o f t he c lauses The West M idlands i s f ortunate i n p ossessing a l arge
n umber o f charters with boundary c lauses
( Fig.
2 .1).
The C hurch of
W orcester was particularly anxious t o d emarcate i ts e states i n t his way a nd Worcestershire i s s econd only t o K ent i n t he number o f s uch d ocuments which have s urvived.
( 1)
S eventy-eight o f the Worcester-
s hire charters a re a ccompanied by 9 7 s eparate c lauses,
5 3 o f t he
G loucestershire charters w ith 5 8 c lauses a nd 2 0 o f t he Warwickshire c harters w ith 2 3 c lauses.
( Appendix A .)
M any o ther c harters w ithout
c lauses r efer t o g rants o f l and i n t his a rea. p resent s tudy, c losely, w ork.
A s t he basis o f t he
a ll o f t he W est Midland c lauses h ave b een e xamined
both w ith t he a id o f e arly a nd present-day maps
and f ield-
S olutions c an n ow b e offered f or s ome c lauses which w ere
previously u nsolved and t he majority h ave b een s olved with g reater p recision t han h as h itherto been possible.
The r esultant s olutions
a re o ffered i n map f orm b ut s pace precludes t he i nclusion o f t hese i n t he p resent work.
A number o f s ample c lauses, primarily t hose
i n which a n ew o r s ignificantly a ltered s olution i s p roposed, a re i ncluded i n Appendix B .
The r emaining s olutions,
which will i nclude
t he f irst c omprehensive c over o f Warwickshire c lauses, published i n the n ear f uture.
Boundary c lauses vary i n c omplexity.
S ome a re very s imple,
naming o nly a f ew l andmarks a t c ardinal points. S edgeberrow i n Worcestershire, e ighth-century g rant gemmre f ord
f or i nstance,
B 2 23),
' the boundary f ord',
thorns g row', t o r uanberg
( S 1 13,
will b e
( la).
t o the s tanbergas
I n t hat o f
which a ccompanies an
t he b oundary r uns f rom t he
t o t hornhyrst
' the h illock w here
' the s tony h ills o r b arrows'
' the r ough h ill o r b arrow'.
a nd on
W hile i t i s s eldom p ossible
t o b e p recise about t he e xact a rea o f l and d escribed i n s uch a way 3 of t he 6 Worcestershire c lauses o f t his t ype, t he 7 G loucestershire c lauses, with the modern parish. e ighth-century o rigin.
and 4 , possibly 5 ,
of
a ppear t o r efer t o a n a rea c oincident
The majority o f s imple c lauses a re o f A s S tenton
( 2)
b ecome i ncreasingly c omplex i n time, i ncreasingly s ophisticated,
e xplains,
c lauses a ppear to
a s c harters t hemselves b ecome
and t he t enth a nd e leventh-century
l eases o f the Church o f Worcester a re a ccompanied b y p articularly detailed p erambulations.
On o ccasions,
c ould b e a dded t o e arlier c harters. W ican n ear Worcester
( S 1 42,
t wo v ery detailed c lauses,
B 2 19)
Warwickshire
G loucestershire ( S 7 9,
B 1 24;
d etailed c lauses
i s,
f or i nstance,
one i n O E a nd o ne i n L atin,
h ave b een a dded a t a l ater d ate, Donnington,
h owever,
An e ighth-century grant o f a ccompanied b y which must
and e ighth-century c harters o f
( S 1 15, S 5 5,
B 2 29), O ldberrow and T redington,
B 1 83),
d etailed s urveys i n a s imilar way.
a re a ccompanied b y v ery
L ater b oundary p erambulations
a lso a ppear t o h ave b een a dded t o n inth-century c harters o f D unhampstead
( S 1 74,
Worcestershire,
t he
B 3 49)
( 3)
and H allow
( S 1 79,
l atter i n the t welfth c entury.
2 6
B 3 56), ( 4)
i n
I t w ould be
Fig.
2 .1
P re-Conquest c harters w ith b oundary c lauses
2 7
u nwise t o a ssume that the b oundary c lauses a re a lways n ecessarily c ontemporary w ith the c harters t hemselves a nd a ppended boundary c lauses must a lways b e s uspect i n t his r espect. I t i s a lso possible f or t he n umber o f l andmarks describing a g iven l ength o f b oundary t o vary w ithin a s ingle c lause.
T his may
b e h ighly s ignificant i n i llustrating t he d egree o f d evelopment w ithin a region f or i t s eems t hat a l arge n umber o f l andmarks may b e n eeded when a boundary makes i ts w ay t hrough a n i ntensively d eveloped a rea,
while only a f ew l andmarks m ay b e u sed to d escribe a
b oundary r unning t hrough undeveloped l and.
T he t ype o f f eatures u sed
i n t his r espect may provide c lues t o t he n ature a nd d egree o f d evelopment. r easons.
This t ype o f s urvey,
however, m ay a rise f or d ifferent
There may b e a p articularly c lear l inear f eature p resent
a long s ome portion o f t he b oundary which makes t he u se of i ntermittant l andmarks u nnecessary.
R ivers o ften f ulfil s uch a f unction a nd t he
e astern b oundary o f W ican i s d escribed a s r unning a ndlang s eferne ' along the R iver S evern' l east n ine miles.
( S 1 42,
B 2 19 ),
f ollowing t hat river f or a t
Alternatively t he n eed t o demarcate a boundary may
b e l ess where t he l and u nit a buts o n t o a n e state under the s ame ownership a nd a c lause o f Leigh, l ands h eld b y P ershore Abbey,
W orcs.
( S 7 86,
B 1 282)
describing
o mits e ntirely t he e astern portion of
t he b oundary which l ies a djacent t o a n e state of P owick held b y t he s ame Church. While charter g rants p rovide i nvaluable e vidence o f t he t ype o f t erritorial o rganisation p ractised i n t he W est Midlands i n t he Anglo-Saxon period,
t he a dditional i nformation a vailable i n
b oundary c lauses permits a more precise understanding of the n ature a nd l ocation o f the l and units t hemselves.
I t may b e observed that
the p lace-names g iven i n charter grants do n ot a lways r efer o nly t o t he v ill named,
a f act t hat may o ccasionally b e d educed f rom a n
e xamination o f t he h idage a ssessment. ( S 1 384,
K 1 313),
b oundary c lause H olt,
made i n AD 1 017,
( Appendix B y)
i n which Bentley l ies,
e state o f L ittle W itley, H 2 46 )
( Appendix Bvii)
A l ease o f B entley, W orcs.
c an b e s hown by t he a ccompanying
t o r efer n ot o nly t o the parish o f b ut t o a lso i nclude t he n eighbouring
while t he b ounds o f P ensax, Worcs.
( S 1 595,
r efer n ot o nly t o t hat parish but t o t he
e ntire e state of 1 5 c assati g ranted i n the e ighth c entury u nder t he names o f Knighton,
N ewnham a nd E ardiston
( S 1 185,
B 1 007).
A gain,
i t
i s o nly by r e-examining t he b oundary c lause o f the W orcestershire c harter o f W ican t hat i t c an b e s een that t he g rant i s that o f a l arge c omposite e state r ather than o f t he minor v iii k nown a s Wick E piscopi which l ies w ithin i t,
f or h ere n o h idage a ssessment i s mentioned.
S everal Gloucestershire c harters c laim t o g rant l and a t D aylesford a nd i t i s the h idage a ssessment a nd boundary c lause which s how t hat t he l and g ranted w as a ctually t hat o f the a djacent e state o f A dlestrop. I n t he s ame way g rants o f one h ide n oted u nder the name o f H imbleton, W orcs.,
a ppear t o b e o f t he a djacent e state o f Huddington.
T hus,
w hile
h idage a ssessments o ften g ive a n i ndication o f t he a mount o f l and g ranted i t i s o nly when b oundary c lauses s urvive t hat the l and c an b e i dentified w ithout question. The d ifficulty o f s olving b oundary c lauses precisely h as a lready b een d iscussed i n P art I . o f I smere,
Worcs.
( S 8 9,
S ome s imple c lauses,
s uch a s t hat
B 1 54), provide t oo f ew d etails f or a ccurate
2 8
i dentification o f t he l and units t hey d escribe b ut f ew others have f ailed t o y ield t o a d etermined i nvestigation.
While many l andmarks
d efy precise l ocation t he b oundary l ines f ollowed c an u sually b e s uggested w ith a f air d egree o f a ccuracy and o nly a s mall number o f e states r emain t o be i dentified.
E ven w ith t hese i t i s u sually
p ossible t o s uggest t he a rea i n which t hey must l ie W orcestershire t he l and unit o f F lefer6
( S 7 86,
( Appendix A ).
B 1 282)
p art of G rafton F lyford o r n orth K ington a nd D eofecan Hyl B 1 237)
s eems t o l ie w ithin t he parish o f H allow.
I n
a ppears t o b e ( S 1 319,
C aldinccotan o r
C aldecote has b een i dentified by F inberg a s K insham i n B redon ( S 1 347,
E 2 07-9).
( 5)
A r eference t o a s tream known a s t he h lf idan
m akes this s omewhat unlikely b ut i t c an b e e stablished that t he e state d id l ie b eside t he C arrant B rook w ithin B redon parish.
S ome
d ifficulty h as b een e xperienced i n f ollowing t he s outhern b oundary o f t he composite e state o f C oftune
( S 1 272, B 4 55(1)),
which i ncludes the
p arish o f C ofton H ackett a nd parts o f t he parish o f A lvechurch. H owever,
t he l andmarks a long t he r emainder o f t he b oundary c an n ow b e
p ositively l ocated.
I t i s a lso d ifficult t o b e c ertain a bout t he
a mount o f l and d efined b y a c lause o f M arlcliff
( S 9 11,
K 7 14),
b ut
t he s urvey probably r efers t o t he whole p arish o f C leeve P rior. b oundaries of a n umber o f l and-units l ikewise r emain u nsolved.
I n G loucestershire parts o f s everal
c lauses s till present d ifficulty, ( S 1 41,
B 2 46),
O lveston
a nd Pucklechurch
c lauses o f O ldberrow d efy s olution.
( S 6 64,
( S 5 53,
T he
s maller t han p resent-day parishes
B 8 87)
( S 7 9,
a mong t hem t he c lauses o f T imbinctun B 9 36),
H awkesbury
( S 7 86,
B 1 282)
a nd i n Warwickshire parts o f t he
B 1 24)
and A spley
( S 1 307,
B 1 111)
s till
Y et e very l and g rant d escribed i n this way c an b e a t
l east r oughly l ocated a nd i n t he c ase o f Teodeces l eage, Genenofre a nd Suthtune,
i dentification h as r esulted e ntirely f rom a n e xamination
o f t he b oundary c lauses. ( S 1 307,
B 1 111)
The b ounds o f T eodeces leage, W arks.,
a re c oterminous w ith t hose o f O ldberrow and i t c an
b e s hown t hat t his l and unit l ay w ithin t he p resent parish o f U llenhall, f ormerly part o f W ootton W awen.
( 6)
G enenofre
( S 1 374,
b e i dentified a s G reen H ill t o t he s outh of W orcester,
R ob 5 7)
c an
f or the l andmark
s todleage a ppears t o b e preserved i n the name o f S tudley H ouse i n the p arish of S t. S uthtune
P eter t he G reat.
( S 7 51,
B 1 201),
G rundy
( 7)
w as c orrect i n i dentifying
a s U llington, n ear B ickmarsh, on t he
W orcestershire-Gloucestershire b order,
f or the b ounds c an b e s hown t o
r un c oterminously w ith t hose o f the a djacent parish o f C leeve P rior. The majority o f c lauses c an b e s olved w ith g reater a ccuracy t han that a chieved b y G rundy, t o h is pioneer w ork. t o h is
a lthough most a ttempts owe a g reat d eal
I t would b e t edious t o n ote e very a lteration made
s olutions, b ut t he f ollowing may b e b riefly mentioned.
W orcestershire F orsberg ( S 7 86,
B 1 282)
( 8)
I n
s hows t hat t he boundary c lause o f L ongdon
i ncludes l and t o t he w est o f the p resent parish a nd
t hat the c lause o f C romman
( S 1 322,
B 1 235)
r efers t o t he l and u nit
o f C roome D 'Abitot r ather t han,
a s G rundy s uggests,
I n G loucestershire, F inberg
h as b een a ble t o a dd s olutions t o t he
( 9)
t o E arl's C roome.
b oundary c lauses o f a n umber o f e states n ot s tudied by G rundy, a s U pper S well M augersbury
( S 1 026,
F 1 71),
( S 9 35, K 7 23),
D eerhurst
( S 1 551,
F 1 87)
s uch
a nd
( some o f this s olution i s s till d ebatable ),
t o s uggest c hanges t o the s olution of t he c lause o f W ithington ( S 1 556,
B 2 99)
H allow,
Worcs.,
( S 1 79,
B 3 56).
a nd t o s how t hat t he b ounds a ttached t o a c harter o f w ere i n p art t hose of a n e state o f B awling,
G loucs.
F urther w ork on t he c lauses o f S toke B ishop a nd
W otton-under-Edge h as b een c arried o ut b y Lindley.
2 9
( 10 )
C omments o n
t he b ounds o f a number o f Warwickshire c harters h ave b een made by Mawer a nd S tenton.
( 11)
T horpe
( 12)
s uggests a s olution f or o ne o f
t he c lauses r eferring t o Wormleighton
( S 5 88, B 9 46)
a nd Ford
o ffers a dditional i nformation on t he b oundary o f T redington B 1 83).
H owever,
( 13)
( S 5 5,
n o s ystematic a ttempt h as h itherto b een m ade t o
s olve W arwickshire c harters i n t he way a ttempted by G rundy f or W orcestershire a nd G loucestershire,
a lthough h e e xamines those
Warwickshire e states w hich f ormerly l ay i n t hose c ounties.
( 14 )
A number o f s olutions o ffered i n t he p resent s tudy A ppendix B )
( see
d iffer g reatly f rom t hose s uggested b y p revious w riters.
G rundy's s olution o f t he b oundary c lause o f P endock ( S 1 314, B 5 42) ( 15) c an b e s hown t o b e quite w rong, f or t here c an b e l ittle d oubt t hat t he s tan b eorgan i s r epresented by t he f ield name
' Crookberrow '
a nd f ield e xamination h as r evealed t he r emains o f a t umulus a t t his s pot
( Appendix B iii).
S imilarly,
t here c an b e l ittle d oubt a bout t he
i dentification o f t he e states o f W ihtlafes t un, E adbrihtincg t un, N iwan t un a nd E lflwde t un
( S 7 86,
B 1 282),
t he s ingle parish o f N orth P iddle. t he f our e states o f N orth P iddle, F lyford F lavell,
a s i t c laims
w t P idwellan/Pidwyllan
( 16 )
i dentified by G rundy a s
T he c lause i n fact r efers t o
Abberton, N aunton B eauchamp and
( Appendix B ii).
( S 4 04, B 6 67;
C lauses of l and
S 9 01,
K 1 295)
appear t o r efer
t o K ingston ( Appendix B i). The c lause o f B eoley ( S 7 86, B 1 282), unsolved by G rundy, s eems t o r efer t o t he s outhern part of B eoley parish and t he c lause o f S mite
( S 1 339,
K 6 18 )
may b e shown t o define
t he f ormerly d etached portion of W arndon w ith, probably, t he d etached portion o f N orth C laines, b oth n ow i n t he p arish o f H indlip ( Appendix B iv ). ( 17)
The c harters r elating t o H imbleton h ave b een t aken b y Grundy t o r efer t o the a djacent parish o f H uddington,
b ut the p resent
w riter s ees n o r eason f or s uch a n i dentification e xcept f or t hose which r efer s pecifically t o a s ingle h ide o f l and o r describe unattached b ounds
( S 1 373,
R ob 5 6;
S 1 593,
H 3 56).
The i dentification
o f t he multi-hide e states w ith parts o f H imbleton p arish i s s uggested by t he f ield name
' Nutts C lose'
on t he e astern b oundary o f H imbleton
which may b e n ear t he h nutfen/ nut f en o f t he c harters S 6 33,
B 9 37).
( S 2 19,
B 5 52;
A more d etailed s olution i s o ffered f or the b ounds o f
e states l ying n orth o f the Avon i ncluded i n t he Evesham h oldings ( S 1 591a,
K iii 3 95-96)
( Appendix B vi).
I n G loucestershire a n a lternative s olution may b e o ffered o f the c lause o f B ibury Warwickshire e state
( S 1 254,
B 1 66).
o f A spley,
( 18)
Apart f rom the
the w riter i s able t o offer s olutions
f or a ll o f the W arwickshire c lauses a nd w ill present t hem a s a s econd s tudy i ndependent o f t his r eport .
I n p articular,
i t has p roved
possible t o s olve t he d ifficult c lauses o f B lackwell and L ongdon i n T redington S tratford
( S 1 337, ( S 1 388,
K 6 20 ; K 7 24),
S 1 321,
B 1 243),
B ishopton i n O ld
and Teodecesleage i n U llenhall
( S 1 307,
B 1 111). S everal d ifficult c lauses may b e s hown t o b e c lumsy f orgeries. T he c onfused l andmarks o f a c lause a ccompanying a n a llegedly e ighthc entury g rant o f Childs W ickham, d iscussed b y G rundy
( 19)
W orcs.
( S 1 174,
B 1 17), h ave been
who h as b een a ble t o s how that t hey i nclude
f eatures which l ay on t he boundary o f t he a djacent e state o f B roadway. S imilar problems a re p resented by a c lause o f Evesham l ands K 1 368).
( S 1 599,
B oth t his a nd t he g rant o f C hilds W ickham c oncern c laims
made by S t. Mary's o f Evesham.
A c lose e xamination o f t he E vesham 3 0
c lause r eveals t hat i t i ncorporates portions o f two i ndependent c lauses r elating t o the e state o f B engeworth, one
( S 1 664,
K 1 299)
a ccompanying a n e arly e leventh c entury g rant a nd the o ther an undated b oundary c lause
( S 1 590,
K 1 358).
The Evesham c lause r epeats
marks d escribing t he s ame s tretch o f b oundary, u ndated c lause f irst.
l and-
n aming t hose f rom the
I n a ctual f act this s tretch o f t he B engeworth
b oundary i s untouched b y the e xternal b oundary o f the c omposite E vesham holding a nd must b e a c lumsy f orgery.
( ii)
( Appendix B viii).
The n ature o f t he l and units I n s pite o f d ifficulties the b oundary c lauses p rovide
v aluable e vidence o f the t ype o f l and units r ecognised i n t he AngloS axon period.
While g roups o f a djacent parishes a re c ommon i n a ll
t hree c ounties a n umber o f c lauses r efer t o c omposite e states o f s ome
s ize,
i ncorporating a number o f modern parishes
( Fig.
2 .2).
I n
C hapter 3 i t w ill b e s hown t hat t hese portray a r emarkable degree o f a dministrative c ohesion,
that t hey s urvive f or many hundreds o f years
a nd may b e s uspected o f a n e qually a ncient o rigin.
The c harters
t hey a ccompany o ften p rovide t he e arliest e vidence i n t his period o f t erritorial o rganisation o n a n e xtensive s cale.
I n Worcestershire
t here a re a t l east t hirteen e states l arger t han a modern p arish a nd t he clauses o f W ican,
S winford,
P ensax,
Evesham l ands and C ofton
H ackett d efine g roupings d isplaying s ocial and a dministrative c ohesion,
t o which must b e a dded the e state g roupings r ecorded under
t he holdings o f t he Church o f P ershore which i nclude n ot o nly the h ome e states b ut e states c entred upon L ongdon, The h olding e ntitled W ican
C haceley,
( S 1 42,
B 2 19 )
a nd N orth P iddle. w as g ranted by
O ffa of M ercia t o t he Church o f Worcester b etween A D 7 57 a nd 7 75 a nd c overed a l arge a rea t o the n orth-west o f t he t own o f W orcester and w est of t he R iver S evern.
I t c overed t he a rea n ow r epresented by t he
m odern parishes o f L ittle W itley, S t.
H olt,
G rimley,
H allow,
K enswick,
C otheridge,
B roadheath,
W ichenford,
an a rea b ounded on three s ides by r ivers - the T eme,
S evern and S hrawley B rook,
J ohn's i n Bedwardine a nd part o f a nd,
m arked r idge o f h igh l and. i n a charter of AD 8 16
o n part o f t he w estern s ide,
by a
P art o f this e state w as t o b e i ncluded
( S 1 80,
B 3 57)
g ranting privileges f or l and
a t Weogorena leage t o t he B ishop a nd c lergy of W orcester.
A s imilar
e state l ying t o t he n orth o f t he Teme i n n orth-west W orcestershire i s r epresented i n a g rant
( S 1 185,
B 1 007)
made by W iferd a nd h is
w ife A lta between A D 7 81 a nd 7 96 t o the Church o f S t.
P eter,
a nd included t he modern parishes o f Knighton-on-Teme,
L indridge,
P ensax and S tockton-on-Teme.
This h olding r eappears i n t he e leventh
c entury i n t he c ollections o f the monk, H 2 46).
Worcester,
H emming,
a s
' Pensax'
( S 1 595,
N o boundary c lause f or the C ofton H ackett e state i s r ecorded
b efore AD 8 49
( S 1 272,
B 4 55(1))
b ut h idage f igures s how t hat the
a rea defined a t t hat d ate a s c overing i n a ll p robability part of the p arish o f A lvechurch a nd t hat o f C ofton H ackett,
w as s ubstantially
t he s ame a s t hat g ranted i n AD 7 80 by O ffa o f M ercia t o t he C hurch o f S t.
Peter,
B redon,(S 1 17,
A lfgydecyrce
' Alvechurch'.
B 2 34), ( 20 )
an e state i dentified l ater a s A s imilar e state g ranted b etween
A D 9 51 and 9 55 by K ing E adred t o B urhelm,
h is m inister,
( S 5 79,
B 1 023)
a pparently c overed t he l and within t he p resent parishes o f U pper S winford,
S tourbridge,
L ye a nd W ollescote a nd h ere t he western
b oundary f ollowed a R oman r oad a nd the n orthern b oundary f ollowed t he 3 1
O H
F ig.
2 .2
Pre-Conquest c harters:
3 2
c omposite e states
R iver S tour. S urveys w hich d elimit e xtensive Church l ands may n ot mark s uch early parish g roupings f or t hey may merely define t he l ands o f t he Church a ccumulated over a p eriod o f t ime, o f Evesham l ands
( S 8 0,
B 1 25;
S 1 599,
a s i n t he t hree s urveys
K 1 368;
B ishop Ecgwine's s tatement o f A D 7 14, however, E vesham c harter
( S 1 251,
B 1 31),
S 1 591a,
a ttempts t o e xplain the o rder i n
w hich these l ands w ere o btained a nd r eveals i nternal T hus Offenham, A ldington,
t he t hree L ittletons,
B adsey,
Bretforton
K iii 3 95-96).
r eiterating a d oubtful
P oden,
l and g roupings.
C hurch H oneybourne,
a nd W ickhamford a re grouped t ogether
a s a gift a llegedly obtained f rom O ffa i n AD 7 03,
a ll
o f which f ell
w ithin the b oundary s urvey, while F ladbury a nd Chadbury f ormed p art o f a s eparate g ift obtained f rom Ethelred o f Mercia.
( 21)
The
h oldings o f the C hurch o f P ershore d escribed i n a r eputedly t enth c entury c harter
( S 7 86,
o f various e states, a c onvincing manner. o f Chaceley,
B 1 282)
c over a n e xtensive a rea made u p
b ut o utlying h oldings o f P ershore a re g rouped i n They i nclude a n e state made up o f t he p arishes
S taunton a nd E ldersfield i n the s outh-west o f t he c ounty
a nd lying partly i n G loucestershire,
L ongdon,
B ushley a nd B irtsmorton
i n t he s ame a rea b ut l ying wholly w ithin Worcestershire, c entred on P owick,
a nd a n e state
a lso l ying t o t he w est o f t he S evern a nd e xtending
o ver the modern parishes o f P owick,
B ransford a nd Madresfield.
t hese may b e a dded an e state b eside t he P iddle B rook,
T o
f or a
r einterpretation o f t he b oundary c lause s uggests t hat t he p arishes o f N orth Piddle,
N aunton B eauchamp,
a lso grouped t ogether a s one unit
F lyford F lavell and Abberton were ( Appendix B ii).
I n G loucestershire t welve c lauses s eem t o d efine a reas l arger t han those o f a modern parish a nd t hose o f W ithington,
T imbinctun,
D eerhurst a nd H awkesbury r efer t o l arge c omposite e states. T imbinctun
( S 1 41, B 2 46)
t o t he minster o f S t.
That o f
a ccompanies a g rant made b y O ffa o f M ercia
M ichael a t B ishop's C leeve and t he 1 4 m ansiones
a re a lso defined i n a l ater undated boundary c lause
( S 1 549,
H 2 45-46).
T he c lause i s a d etailed one a nd may b e s uspected o f a n o rigin l ater t han the a ctual g rant. G otherington,
I t i ncludes l and n ow within the parishes o f
B ishop's C leeve,
p art of S toke O rchard,
W oodmancote,
S outham,
B rockhampton a nd
a n a rea t o j udge f rom t he D omesday h idage
a ssessments perhaps more e xtensive t han t hat i ntended by t he o riginal g rant.
The e states a t Deerhurst and W ithington a re r ecorded i n
u ndated b oundary c lauses
( S 1 551,
F 1 87;
S 1 556, B 2 99 )
but t he
W ithington e state a lso a ppears i n a n umber o f c harter g rants w ithout b ounds,
t he f irst a l ease o f
2 1 m anentia made b y the B ishop o f
W orcester t o Abbess Ethelburh i n AD 7 74
( S 1 255,
B 2 17).
The
D eerhurst l ands r epresent c ollected Church l ands b elonging t o W estminster Abbey a nd the e state a t S u6 S toce i ncluded a t l east t he parishes o f H awkesbury, p ossibly,
( S 7 86,
B 1 282),
D idmarton,
which
G reat a nd,
L ittle B adminton, a ll h oldings o f t he Church o f P ershore. S ix e states l arger t han modern parishes have b een n oted i n
W arwickshire.
O f t hese,
T redington,
f ormerly i n W orcestershire,
r epresents a 3 0-hide e state g ranted a s t wo units o f 2 4 and 6 c assatos b y E anberht,
Uhtred a nd E aldred,
t o B ishop M ilred o f Worcester b oundary c lause s eems c overs
t he l arge,
under-kings o f t he Hwicce,
( S 5 5,
B 1 83).
A gain,
i n A D 7 57
t he d etailed
s uspiciously f ull f or s uch a date o f o rigin b ut
m odern parish o f T redington,
t he adjacent parish o f S tretton-on-Fosse. 3 3
t ogether w ith p art o f
An e state g ranted b y O ffa
o f M ercia between AD 6 99 a nd 7 09 t o t he C hurch o f Worcester ( S 6 4, B 1 23), c onsisting o f 3 3 c assatorum a t S hottery a nd i ncluding l and t o t he n orth and s outh o f t he R iver A von,
i s a ccompanied by a m uch
s impler and probably c ontemporary b oundary c lause.
An e xamination o f
t his c lause s uggests that i t r efers t o l and i n t he p resent p arishes o f L uddington, part o f O ld S tratford,
B inton a nd A lveston.
O ther
c omposite l and g roupings i n W arwickshire a re s uggested by a t enthc entury charter o f L adbroke a nd Radbourne S outham w ith a s eparate c lause,
( S 8 92,
t ributariorum made b y K ing Ethelred t o L eofwine, m anses g ranted by K ing E adwig t o E lfhere, i n AD 9 56 S toneton.
( S
5 88,
B 9 46 )
N S 8 ),
i ncluding
which r ecords a g rant of 71 2 / d ux,
i n A D 9 98.
T en
h is c omes, a t Wormleighton
a lso a ppear t o i nclude t he a djacent p arish o f
The t endency f or t hese e arly c omposite e states t o b e r ecorded a s t he s ubjects o f r oyal grants w ill b e f urther d iscussed i n Chapter 3 .
L and units c oterminous w ith modern parishes a lso m ake
t heir a ppearance a t a n e arly d ate. O mbersley i n W orcestershire a ssessed a t 1 5 h ides,
While s ome o f t hese,
( S 5 4,
B 1 16),
a re o f s ufficient s ize t o b e r egarded o n a par
w ith t he c omposite e states a lready mentioned, r egular s ize.
I nterestingly,
( S 1 01,
B 1 63)
o thers a re o f a more
s ome o f the e arly b oundaries s eem
d ifferent t o t hose which h ave s urvived t oday, B atsford
l ike
a n e state o riginally
a nd O ldberrow
( S 7 9,
f or t hose r ecorded f or B 1 24)
s eem t o r efer t o
e states l arger t han t he modern parishes o f t he s ame name. majority,
h owever,
d isplay a c onsistency w hich a rgues
a ntiquity o f t he parish l and unit. S edgeberrow
( S 1 13,
s urvive unchanged, c lauses.
B 2 23)
T he
s trongly f or t he
The e ighth-century bounds of
a nd Daylesford
( S 8 4,
B 1 39)
appear to
i n s pite o f t he l ack o f p recision i n their e arly
B y t he t enth c entury c lauses c oterminous w ith t he p arish
a re c ommon-place
( Fig.
2 .3).
A gain the majority o f s uch c lauses
a ccompanying charters b elieved t o b e a uthentic a re r oyal g rants. N early one-third of W orcestershire e states a nd over half o f b oth G loucestershire a nd Warwickshire e states a re l and units a kin t o the l ater e cclesiastical parish.
There a re s everal r easons f or b elieving
t hat t hese e states w ere a lready units o f t erritorial o rganisation b efore t heir d onation i n t he g rants a nd t hese w ill b e further d iscussed i n Chapter 4 . o f B entley,
H olt,
c entury l ease,
W orcs.
I n a s mall number o f c ases, ( S 1 301,
B 1 087)
and one o f O lveston,
i ng a t enth-century g rant,
s uch a s a c lause
a ccompanying a t enth-
G loucs.,
( S 6 64,
B 9 36 )
a ccompany-
t here a re minor b oundary c hanges t o include
o r omit l and o f a particular n ature i but s uch c lauses a re i n t he m inority. There a re,
h owever,
a l arge number o f c lauses which d escribe
l and units much s maller than t hat o f t he m odern parish The d ivision i s a gain a n a rbitrary one, h ave s urvived a s parishes t hemselves, ( S 1 369,
R ob 6 1)
a m ile a cross.
f or i nstance,
( Fig.
2 .3).
f or s ome s uch units s eem t o
B redicot n ear W orcester,
b eing a t iny t hree-hide parish barely
The majority h ave b een a ssimilated i nto t he l ater
parishes and r arely s urvive t oday a s i ndependent units.
L and units
o f t his type a re most i n e vidence i n t he t enth-century l eases o f t he C hurch o f Worcester b ut t hey a re b y n o means c onfined to l and under s uch ownership o r t o l and b eing l eased.
T he 3 c assatos o f w oodland
a t Hellerelege a ttached t o a n e ighth-century S hottery grant B 1 23),
( S 6 4,
r epresents p erhaps t he e arliest W est M idland e xample o f such
a l and-unit i n t hat t he b oundary c lause s hows that t he land g ranted
3 4
e ,E s ta te o
F ig.
2 .3
Pre-Conquest c harters:
c o t erm inous w i th l a te r p ar ish
E s ta te w i th in l a te r p a r ish
parish-estates a nd s maller l and-units
3 5
f ormed t he w estern part o f K ing's N orton p arish.
O ccasionally such
g rants s eem t o a pply t o l and o f a d efinite t ype a nd this t ype of l and unit i s r ecorded t hroughout t he Anglo-Saxon p eriod. woodland a t H awling i n G loucestershire N orton
( S 1 405,
( S 1 373,
R ob 5 6 )
E 2 47-48),
Genenofre
i n W orcestershire,
a nd meadowland a t C lopton,
Worcs.
a reas o f s pecialised l and u se,
( S 1 79,
( S 1 374,
C lopton,
Deofecan H yl,
W orcestershire,
R ob 5 7)
B redon's and H imbleton
feld-land a t B awling
( S 1 352, K 6 49).
( S 1 79,
B 3 56)
These m ay be
but t he majority of s uch u nits are
d istinguished b y i ndividual place-names, o f a habitative n ature.
Examples include
B 3 56),
w hich a re, moreover, often
E xamples i nclude t he s ingle-hide e states o f B attenhall,
S mite, C udley a nd Huddington i n
e states a t Maugersbury a nd H arford i n Gloucestershire
a nd Bishopton i n W arwickshire.
O thers h ave h igher h idage a ssessments
b ut remain merely d ivisions w ithin l arger parishes a t a l ater date. While s uch units a re most o bvious i n the W orcestershire c harters t hey a re t o b e f ound t hroughout t he a rea. s eparately i n c harter g rants o r l eases,
E ven when not r ecorded
p lace-name s urvival c onfirms
t heir presence a nd a lthough many o f t hese m inor e states f ailed to f ind mention i n t he D omesday a ssessment t hey may b e r ecorded i n e arlier charters r ecognised,
' multi-township' e arly d ate.
( Fig.
2 .4).
A lthough t his h as n ot a lways b een f ully
t he t ypical W est M idland parish a ppears to have b een a ( 22)
o ne w ith i nternal d ivisions i n e xistence a t a very The s ignificance o f s uch a n administrative pattern
w ill b e i nvestigated i n Chapter 4 .
I n Worcestershire half o f the
c lauses noted c oncern t his t ype o f l and u nit and i n G loucestershire a nd W arwickshire a lmost a quarter f all i nto t his c ategory. While s ome a reas of s pecific l and u se w ere l arge e nough t o possess t heir o wn i ndividual b oundary c lauses a very l arge n umber appear only a s a ppendages o f l and a ttached t o l arger land g rants. O ccasionally t hey a re mentioned w ithin the b oundary c lauses a t a point n ear their l ocation but more o ften t hey a re t acked o n t o the end o f t he c harters w ithout any a ttempt t o d elimit t hem, f airly s uperficial d escriptions o f their l ocation.
a part f rom
Where t ownships
h eld s hares i n patches o f woodland o r meadowland i t i s possible that t hese r eflect t he d ivision of l and previously h eld i n common and s uggest a n e arly l inkage b etween e states
s haring s uch rights.
It m ay
b e s ignificant i n t his r espect t hat s uch h oldings a re rarely f ar d istant f rom t he t ownship c oncerned.
S ometimes,
t oo,
r ights i n s uch
l and a ppear t o b e p roportional t o the s ize o f the a rable h olding, a n a rrangement c ommon i n t he C eltic W est a t a n e arly date. T he majority o f c harters r ecording s uch l and a ppendages a re,
however,
l ate in
o rigin a nd i t i s o bvious t hat s uch a rrangements c ould be m ade at a ny d ate i n t he Anglo-Saxon period
( Chapter 4 ).
M oreover,
they w ere
r arely t o a ffect t he more permanent pattern o f parish boundaries, when t hese r ecord d etached p arcels o f l and. t his t ype i nclude r ights i n meadowland, pastureland a nd o rchards,
a rable l and, woodland,
e nclosures o f various t ypes,
e ven r ights i n the D roitwich s alt i ndustry. a dditional
e ven
A ppendages o f l and of f isheries a nd
Most a ppear t o b e
s ources o f r evenue t o t he h older o f t he main e state or o f
b enefit t o t he v illage c ommunity a s a whole.
S uch a rrangements were
particularly c ommon upon e states h eld b y t he C hurch o f Worcester. F ew o f t he parcels o f l and c an b e p recisely l ocated t oday. The 1 3 a cres o f l and o n t he e ast s ide o f t he R iver S evern l eased w ith U pton-on-Severn may perhaps b e r epresented b y t he e astward e xtension o f t hat parish a cross t he r iver t oday,
3 6
b ut f ew,
i f a ny,
o f t he other
•
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i ns u rvey o f1 0 86
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i p s • •• n E C j e • C i e0 • 0 1 •0 . .o
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e s ta te r e fer red t oi np r e-Conquest s our ce n o t r e corded i n1 0 86
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F ig.
2 .4
Early t ownships
1 0k ms
H
a ppendages o f l and c an b e t raced w ith a ny c ertainty.
Nevertheless,
t he o rigin o f d etached p ortions o f parishes w ould s eem t o b e founded i n s uch a s ystem and a re probably o f s imilar a ntiquity.
O nly detailed
l ocal s tudies e xamining a ll t he s urviving medieval data c ould t hrow a ny f urther l ight u pon t his p roblem.
I t c annot b e merely f ortuitous
t hat d etached portions o f parishes a re particularly f requent in t he W orcester a rea i n v iew o f t he c harter e vidence a nd t his w ould
s eem t o
b e a s uitable a rea f or the detailed i nvestigation which i s b eyond t he s cope o f this present s tudy. i nstance,
W ithin t he p arish o f W hittington,
were n umerous d etached portions o f t he parish o f S t.
t he G reat,
f or Peter
a parish which i ncorporated the Anglo-Saxon e state of
B attenhall.
The l atter has b een n oted a s p ossessing,
t he main l and unit, o r perhaps
a f arm,
a h aga,
in a ddition t o
c hurch a nd church e nclosure,
a n enclosure
a nd a c roft b eside a s tream and s ix a cres of e xtra
meadowland on t he r eeve's meadow.
( iii)
112 2 . 12I2-21-2 . 11211 . 21 .2 222EIIEY
c lauses
S everal s cholars h ave d ebated whether the b oundary c lause r epresents a n a ncient t radition o f r ecording b oundaries a nd whether t he w ritten c lause s uperseded a p ractice o f o ral t ransmission. Kemble n otes t hat w ith gemmro,
' the o nly Anglo-Saxon w ord which a ppears c ognate
i s t he a djective mere, f amosus, insignis:
and t he
n otion t hat s ome c onnection s ubsists between t hem i s rendered the more plausible by e xpressions which f requently o ccur i n t he c harters t hemselves,
v iz.
t ermini n otissimi, omnibus n oti, prisca o r v ulgare,
relatione c ogniti, e tc. e tc. I f this b e a dmitted, w e must t ake the word t o mean s omething f amous o r c elebrated, s omething pre-eminently, a nd a bove a ll o ther things,
well-known;
a nd t his t he boundaries,
which w ere under t he guardianship o f p opular t radition, e ither w ere o r w ere s upposed t o b e.'
( 23)
E arle
( 24)
n o d oubt
suggests that
t he w ritten c lause may h ave r eplaced s ome e arlier t raditional c eremony c onnected with t he t ransfer o f l and.
B oundaries a ppear t o
have a cquired more than a verage s ignificance a t a very early date. A s s ymbols o f man's t erritorial i nstincts t hey were t o attain a r eligious s ignificance bound u p w ith a ncient t radition i n e arly s ociety.
Charles-Edwards
burial i n I reland i n
( 25)
h as d iscussed t he role of a ncestor
p rotecting l and c laims a nd Earle d iscusses the
s ymbolic a ct o f c utting a s od b efore w itnesses t o c onfirm l and t ransfer.
H e n otes the r eference c ontained i n an a uthentic c harter
o f I slingham
( S 3 3,
B 1 94)
of AD 7 61-765:
ne h odiernam d onationem n ostram f uturi
S ane q uia c avendum est,
t emporis abnegare v aleat,
e t
i n ambiguum d evocare presumptio, p lacult m ichi h anc p aginam c ondere, e t u na c um c espite t erre predicte t radere t ibi, per q uam n on solum omnibus meis s uccessoribus regum s ive principum,
s ed e tiam m ichd
ipsi penitus i nterdico, ne a liter q uam n unc a me c onstitutum e st, t empore de e adem t erra q uippam agere a udeant:
' but b ecause t here
u llo i s
n eed o f c are l est our g rant o f t oday b e i n t he f uture d isowned and c alled i n q uestion, ( hanc p aginam ),
I h ave thought f it t o p repare t his document,
and t ogether w ith a turf o f t he a foresaid l and to
d eliver i t t o t hee:
whereby I p revent n ot o nly my s uccessors
whether k ings o r princes,
b ut a lso my o wn s elf,
f rom dealing otherwise
a t a ny t ime w ith t he s aid l and t han i t i s n ow s ettled by me.' A gain,
i n AD 6 87,
a n e arly charter o f K ing I ne of W essex
( 26)
( S 2 39,
B 1 00 ),
g ranting l and a t B radfield,
Bestles f ord,
S treatley a nd Earomundeslee
i n B erkshire t o Abbot B ean,
s tates t hat:
' the k ing,
3 8
f or t he better
s ecurity o f h is g ift',
p laces t urves f rom t he l and upon a b ook h eld
b y Archbishop B eorhtweald W inchester ). A D 7 89
( 27)
( of C anterbury )
a nd B ishop D aniel
( of
This t radition i s a lso d isclosed i n a c harter of
( S 1 258, B 2 91)
i n which a monastery a t C ookham,
r estored t o Christ Church,
B erks.,
i s
C anterbury q uod v idelicet monasterium c um
o mnibus a d i llud p ertinentibus t en s. rex i nclitus Merciorum A thelbaldus e cclesim s alvatoris. d edit.
q ue s ita e st i n c ivitate D orobernia
u tque i llius donacio perseverancior f ieret.
' ex e adem t erra
c espitem e t c unctos l ibellos pre memorati cenobil. per v enerabilem v irum C uthbertum a rchiepiscopum m isit. e t s uper a ltare s alvatoris p ro perpetua s ua s alute poni precepit:
' this m onastery,
a ll the l ands b elonging t o i t, Ethelbald, M ercians,
n amely w ith
the f amous k ing o f the
g ave t o t he c hurch o f the S aviour which i s s ituated i n
C anterbury, e nduring,
and i n o rder that h is donation m ight b e the more
h e s ent a s od f rom t he s ame l and a nd a ll t he d eeds o f t he
a forementioned m onastery b y the venerable man A rchbishop C uthbert, a nd ordered them t o b e l aid upon t he a ltar o f t he S aviour f or h is e verlasting s alvation.'
( 28)
S uch a c eremony may h ave b een a c ommon
o ccurrence i n e arly Anglo-Saxon England,
s o t raditional t hat i t
s eldom f ound a m ention i n d ocumentary s ources. I n an a tmosphere o f i ncreasing s cribal a ctivity t he n eed f or r ecording b oundaries was o bviously f elt b y the s eventh c entury. The c lauses t hemselves a re based u pon a R oman s ystem o f r ecording l and g rants a nd only a ppear t o become i ncreasingly s ophisticated a fter v ery s imple o rigins i n t he l ate s eventh c entury.
( 29)
The u se o f
b oundary c lauses i s i ndeed s een i n u se i n a d ispute over l and a t W oodchester i n A D 8 96 when B ishop W erfer 6 o f W orcester c laimed t hat h e had b een d ispossessed o f W oodchester'
' well-nigh a ll t he w oodland b elonging t o
by t he i nhabitants o f B isley,
a nd Thornbury
( S 1 441,
B 5 74).
Avening,
Scorranstane
H e o rdered h is y eoman,
r ide the b oundary o f t he e state w ith t he c itizens'
E calaf t o
chaplain, Wulfhun,
7 be h ine pa geledde e alle p a gemeru swa he h im of b ar n a ldan b ocum r mdde h u h it e r E pelbald cyning gemmrude 7 .
g esealde.
' and h e s hewed
h im all t he b ounds a s h e r ead t o him o ut o f t he o ld b ooks, a s k ing e elbald h ad o riginally d efined a nd g ranted i t.'
a ccording
( 30 )
T he
l andmarks e xamined a re quite c learly s ome o f t hose l isted i n a c lause a ccompanying t he g rant o f t he l and b y Ethelbald t o t he Church o f S t.
P eter,
W orcester,
b etween AD 7 16 a nd 7 17
A gain i n t he e arly e leventh c entury
( S 1 03,
B 1 64).
( between 1 010 a nd 1 023)
t here i s a r ecord o f a d ispute b etween Athelstan,
B ishop o f H ereford,
a nd one Wulfstan a nd h is s on Wulfric c oncerning l and a t I nkberrow i n W orcestershire
( S 1 460,
R ob 8 3).
Wulfstan a nd Wulfric h ad c laimed
p art of a n e state b ought e arlier b y t he B ishop b ut b y p erambulating t he recorded b oundaries t he l atter w as a ble t o prove r ightful p ossession.
I n t his s uit a d ay w as
' appointed f or g oing t o the e state,
a nd the s ame people who h ad t raced t he b oundaries f or h im s o again ),
w hen they w ere f irst t raced, e state'. e r
( should do
and t hey s aid that i f t he b oundaries w ere t he s ame a s t he b ishop w as t he r ightful o wner o f t he
p a c or n s e b isceop pert° 7 s e b e h im l and s ealde 7 p a be h im
( to g ewit)nesse
g eferan w eron.
,
weron 7 c o r n W ulfstan 7 h is s unu 7 b a he h yra
7 h eo e alle p a p a l andgemere geridan e al
o n fruman p am b isceope l edde.
7 heo e alle cwedan be
p et se b isceop f ulriht pet l and ahte. l and sealde
swa h eo m an
( ber e t)
w eron
p a s e p er geanwyrde I v es be h im
' Then t he b ishop a nd t he man w ho s old him t he e state a nd
t hose who h ad b een h is w itnesses c ame t o t he a ppointed place,
3 9
a nd
Wulfstan a nd h is s on a nd t heir c ompanions c ame, r ound t he b oundaries,
a nd they a ll rode
a s t hey h ad b een f irst t raced f or t he b ishop,
a nd a ll who were t here s aid t hat the b ishop was t he r ightful owner o f t he e state, s o.' ( 31 )
a nd t he m an who s old h im t he l and a cknowledged
it t o b e
This d ocument g ives valuable i nsight i nto the w ay b oundaries w ere i nitially d rawn u p a nd s hows t hat t he p erambulation o f t he bounds w as a v ery r eal a ctivity.
I t a lso c onfirms t hat more boundary
c lauses w ere i n e xistence t han h ave s urvived t oday f or t his d ocument c oncerned a l and-unit i n I nkberrow a ssessed a t 5 h ides and a ppears t o b e d ifferent t o t he e states o f 4 , parish i n t he t enth c entury, a ssociated b oundary c lause K 6 44).
3 and 1 h ide r ecorded i n t his
only t he f irst o f which has a n
( S 1 305,
R ob 3 6;
S 1 331,
K 6 13;
S 1 349,
I t d oes n ot c ast a g reat deal o f l ight u pon the a ge of t he
b oundaries,
s omething which w ill b e e xamined f urther in C hapter
4 .
Whatever t he d ate o f t he o rigin o f these t here a re reasons f or s uspecting t hat t he c lauses w ere c omposed a t a s pecific p eriod in t ime.
They o ften r efer t o the h olders o f a djacent e states o r
i ndividual
to
l and holders w ithin a n e state i n s tatements that c ould
o nly h ave h eld t rue f or a l imited number o f years.
Most e xplicit
a re l andmarks s uch a s t hat r ecorded i n a b oundary o f C lopton in AD 9 85 ( S 1 352, K 6 49) a s Cyne6egnes g en iere ' the b oundary o f Cynethegn i , f or t he l atter w as t he g rantee o f a n earby e state o f L aughern b etween AD 9 43 and 9 63
( S 1 297,
B 1 108),
a nd i s k nown to h ave been a clerk
a nd member o f t he c ommunity o f Worcester b etween AD 9 57 a nd 9 63 and b etween AD 9 69 a nd 9 96. b oundary o f Wulfgar',
( 32)
S imilarly W ulfgares gemere
' the
r ecorded i n A D 9 75-978 i n a l ease o f G enenofre
( S 1 374, R ob 5 7) r efers t o an i ndividual w ho w as t he grantee of B attenhall e state i n AD 9 69 ( S 1 327, B 1 240 ) and who was a lso a c lerk a nd member o f the c ommunity b etween A D 9 62 a nd 9 96. s everal e xamples of t his n ature. Church o f Worcester l eases,
T here a re
A lthough c ommon i n connection with
r eferences t o i ndividual t enants o r
owners a ppear i n a l arge number o f c harters a nd i t s eems u nlikely t hat t heir n ames w ould b e r emembered f or m any generations.
T he
e phemeral n ature o f many o f t he l andmarks i s o ften s urprising,
f or
s uch f eatures a s t rees w ould hardly s eem t o p rovide l andmarks r ecognisable over many g enerations a nd t he c onfused E vesham c lause ( S 1 599,
K 1 368)
d iscussed a bove, makes u se o f t he v ery t ransitory
l andmarks o f a n e alda f oxhole
' old f oxhole',
c entury c lause o f t he s ame holding ' old d ung-hill',
and a n a llegedly e ighth-
( S 8 0, B 1 25)
o f an e aldenemyxan
s urely more i mpermanent f eatures t han the s cribes
s eemed t o i mply. There s eems
l ittle r eason t o doubt t hat t he majority of
c lauses were d rawn u p a t a particular point i n t ime,
a lthough the
e vidence s eems t o s uggest t hat o nce s uch c lauses h ad been c ommitted t o w riting t hey m ight b e r eused o r r eferred t o on s ubsequent o ccasions,
i f o nly t o f orm t he b asis o f a n umber o f very d ubious
r econstructions.
While h istorians h ave m ade very t horough s tudies o f
t he a uthenticity o f t he a ctual g rants t here i s a n eed f or a more d etailed e xamination o f t he b oundary c lauses.
Many a re l ater than
t he g rants w ith which t hey a re a ssociated a nd a n umber a re u nattached t o a ny s urviving g rant.
I n these c ircumstances many o f the f eatures
t hey r efer t o c an a t b est b e d ated only l oosely t o t he Anglo-Saxon p eriod when t he O ld E nglish l anguage w as i n u se a nd n ot t o a n arrower s pace i n t ime.
I t i s t o b e h oped t hat f uller details of
4 0
p ossible dates f or t he c lauses may b e f orthcoming i n the a ccurate t ranscriptions o f t he d ocuments a t p resent b eing c arried o ut. M any b oundary l andmarks s eem t o have passed i nto t raditional k nowledge and t here i s a mazing c orrelation between t he boundary s urveys o f r ival a bbeys a nd b etween s urveys s paced i n t ime, perhaps l ending c redence t o t he i dea t hat a k nowledge o f e state b oundaries r apidly b ecame a part of l ocal t radition.
While t his m ight b e
e xpected i n the c ase o f l andmarks which h ad a lready b ecome m inor p lace-names a nd e specially s o of s tream-names w hich might h e e xpected t o be w ell k nown l ocally,
i t i s l ess e asy t o e xplain i n t he c ase o f
v ery minor f eatures s uch a s t rees a nd p its, ' spindle-tree',
a nd t he f ulan pyt o r
b oundary o f S toulton, B 1 282)
l ike t he l usdorne o r
' dirty p it',
on the s outhern
s o described i n a c harter o f AD 9 72
d rawn u p b y the C hurch o f P ershore.
i n a charter o f A D 9 77
( S 1 601,
K iii 1 60 )
d rawn u p by t he C hurch o f
W orcester t o d elimit i ts h oldings i n U pper Wolverton, o f Stoulton,
( S 7 86,
Y et t hese l andmarks r ecur i n t he parish
t he o nly d ifference being t hat t he f ulan pyt i s
d escribed as f ulan mere o r
' dirty p ond'.
H ere t he l andmarks must
h ave been known l ocally a nd s imilar c orrelation o f l andmarks b etween c harters o f d ifferent c hurches a re t o b e f ound i n s urveys o f the h oldings o f t he C hurch o f P ershore P ershore c harter f or B roadway, r uns past the N orth H omm, b roc
' Sand B rook', ( S 8 0,
nord h am,
B 1 25)
( S 7 86,
' Cada's M inster',
s and
o n t he e astern
An E vesham c harter r eputedly d ating f rom
d escribes t he s ame l andmarks a s t hey o ccur o n t he
b ounds o f t he a djacent e state o f W illersey a s c ademunstre, a nd nordhomme.
The
B 1 282),
' the n orth w ater-meadow ',
a nd c adan mynster
b oundary o f t he p arish. A D 7 09
a nd t he C hurch o f E vesham.
r eputedly o f AD 9 72
s ordbroc
A s t here a re d oubts c oncerning t he a uthenticity o f
t hese c harters t he t ime e lement here may n ot b e s ignificant. L andmarks which r ecur i n d ifferent s ets o f b ounds r ecorded a t w idely s paced i ntervals o f t ime i nclude t he h easecan berh a nd d ic a nd t he h easecan beorh a nd d ic
' the barrow o f h assock-grass'
t wo Wolverley c harters o f SOEGES LEA i n AD 8 66 C ULNANCLIF i n A D 9 64 ' rushy n ook', ( S 1 314,
( S 7 26,
B 1 134),
a nd
( S 2 12,
' dyke',
B 5 13)
o f
and
a nd t he r isc h äle/risc h eale
r ecorded o n both the b ounds o f P endock i n A D 8 75
B 5 42)
a nd the bounds o f Chaceley i n A D 9 72
( S 7 86,
B 1 282).
Obviously c lauses h eld by o ne o wner c ould b e r eferred t o on s ubsequent o ccasions a nd t here a re many i nstances o f t his.
Many o f
t he boundary l andmarks o f t he g reat W ican c lause w ere t o b e r e-used i n l eases o f L ittle W itley i n the t enth c entury S 1 323,
B 1 242),
( S 1 372,
t he l atest o ne w ith minor d iscrepancies.
M oseley a nd G rimley a ccompanying a n inth-century grant a nd a t enth-century l ease
( S 1 370,
B 1 139)
R ob 5 8;
a nd
C lauses o f
( S 2 01,
B 4 62)
a re v irtually i dentical,
a s a re t hose a ccompanying t enth-century l eases o f C utsdean b y the C hurch o f Worcester
( S 1 335,
B 1 299 a nd S 1 353,
K 6 60 ).
I t i s e ven
p ossible that t he e xistence o f s imilar c lauses may t hrow s ome l ight o n the o rigin o f d ocuments o f d oubtful a uthenticity. c harter o f D umbleton, W orcestershire, ( S
404,
B 6 67),
A s purious
A ston S omerville a nd F lyford F lavell i n
a llegedly granting l and t o A bbot Cynath i n AD 9 30 i s a ccompanied b y a b oundary c lause o f
' Piddle'
i dentical t o t hat c ontained i n a n a uthentic l ease o f K ing E thelred i n AD 1 002
( S 9 01,
K 1 295),
A rchbishop o f C anterbury.
granting t he s ame e state t o E lfric, Ethelwig,
Abbot o f E vesham i n AD 1 061-1065,
w hen c laiming r estitution o f 7 h ides o f l and a t ' Daylesfords, G loucs. ( actually Adlestrop) ( S 1 238, K 9 63), a ppears t o h ave b een i n
4 1
possession o f a c lause o f A dlestrop which h ad a ccompanied a n a uthentic g rant o f t he e state b y K ing E adred t o W ulfric, m iles, A D 9 49
( S 5 50,
B 8 82.
O ther duplicated c lauses,
O mbersley n oted w ith a n e ighth-century c harter a n u ndated b oundary c lause n umber o f l andmarks.
( S 1 594,
K 1 355)
i n
l ike those o f
( S 5 4,
B 1 16)
and a s
d iffer i n only a small
S ometimes t he d iscrepancies s eem t o s tem f rom
s cribal e rror, w ith a b lmcan h rycge
' the b lack r idge',
r eplacing t he
b lacan b rygce ' the b lack b ridge' i n t he c lauses o f M oseley ( S 1 370, B 1 139; S 2 01, B 4 62) a nd T ecles b röc ' the b oundary brook', noted i n AD 9 69
( S 1 323,
B 1 242)
b eing r eplaced by eccles bröc
i n A D 9 75-978
W itley,
the l atter r epeating t he l andmark o f t he W ican charter of
A D 7 57-775
( S 1 42,
( S 1 372,
B 2 19)
R ob 5 8),
' church
b rook',
o n t he b oundary o f L ittle
t o which h ad b een a ppended a l ater
b oundary c lause r eferring t o g clesbroc. ' hill o f t he h arts', ( S 5 50,
B 8 82)
I n a s imilar way h eortdune
i n t he e arlier D aylesford
( Adlestrop )
c lause
became i n t he e leventh-century c opy h eornd i T zne
' the
h orn-shaped h ill' ( S 1 238, K 9 63). O ccasionally, h owever, l ater c lauses a ppear t o be d eliberately f uller t han e arlier and p erhaps i nadequate o nes,
a s i n t he c ase o f P erry W ood,
d escribed i n two
l eases ( S 1 327, B 1 240 ; S 1 385, E 2 34-35 ). T he e state o f C otheridge i s unusual i n t hat t wo c lauses a ccompany t he s ame l ease, o ne i ncorporating l andmarks t aken i n a c lockwise d irection and t he other i n a n a nti-clockwise d irection
( S 1 303,
R ob 3 5).
A lthough whole c lauses c ould o n o ccasions b e copied once t hey h ad b een c ommitted t o w riting o ften i t w as o nly a f ew o f the l andmarks w hich w ere r emembered a nd i ncorporated i nto l ater c lauses. N ew l andmarks w ere c onstantly a dded a nd e vidence h as a lready been p resented t o s how t hat n ew perambulations c ould b e made a t a ny date. B ecause o f t his i t i s n ot unusual t o f ind s everal e xamples o f d ifferent s ets o f b ounds d escribing t he s ame e state.
The l arge
e state made u p o f t he l ater parishes o f K nighton-on-Teme, L indridge, P ensax a nd S tockton,
o n t he l eft b ank o f t he R iver Teme i n n orth-west
W orcestershire, i s a n e xample, f or t wo q uite i ndependent b oundary c lauses s urvive, o ne a ttached t o a n e ighth-century g rant ( S 1 185, B 1 007),
t he o ther r ecorded b y Hemming i n t he e leventh c entury
( S 1 595, Worcs.,
H 2 46).
Two s ets o f b ounds a lso s urvive f or Bengeworth,
o ne a ccompanying a n e leventh-century g rant
a nd one a n u ndated c lause B 8 82;
S 1 553,
G loucs.,
K 1 365)
( S 1 590,
K 1 358),
a nd f or W illersey
a nd f or W ormleighton,
Warks.,
( S 1 664, K 1299)
f or Maugersbury
( S 80,
( S 5 88,
B 1 25;
B 9 46;
( S
5 50,
S 2 03, S 1 574,
B 4 82), 9 47).
B
H emming n otes an i ndependent b oundary c lause of L ower Wolverton i n S toulton,
W orcs.
( S 1 600, H 3 60 ),
of a pparently l ater origin than
t hat a ccompanying a t enth-century l ease t ime o f H emming, f ord b ridge', w ood'. h erpad
( S 1 348,
i n t he e leventh c entury,
K 6 45 ),
f or by t he
w udu ford b rycge
h ad b een c onstructed a t t he W uduforda
' wood
' ford b y the
I n t he l ater c lause t he r outeway e arlier k nown as t he s alt ' the s alt h ighway',
b ecomes t he s ealt s trete
' salt r oad'.
T he f act t hat i ndependent undated b oundary c lauses s urvive s o often m ay s uggest t hat t hey f ulfilled s ome i ndependent f unction.
I t i s
a lso n ot u ncommon f or t he wrong c lause t o b e a ppended to t he l and g rant o f a d ifferent e state.
The c lause o f T eddington,
a ppended t o a l ease o f T iddington i n W arwickshire t hat o f M ilcote, ( S 1 289, G loucs.,
R ob 2 1;
W arks., S 1 311,
G loucs.,
( S 1 334,
i s
K 6 17)
t o a l ease o f C lifford Chambers, W arks. B 1 181 ).
B oundary marks o f Cutsdean,
a ppear i ncorrectly a s t hose o f a n e state a t Washbourne
4 2
i n
a nd
a n e ighth-century g rant
( S 1 16,
B 2 36 ).
This s eems t o s uggest t hat
t he s cribes i n t he monasteries a nd s ometimes a lso t he l and-owners, w ere not a lways a s f amiliar w ith t he l and units a s l ocal i nhabitants p resumably were. E ven i n t he n ineteenth c entury c ompilers o f t he O rdnance S urvey m aps s howing b oundaries h ad t o r esort t o l ocal o pinion f or c onfirmation o f t he b ounds.
( iv )
The c onstruction o f t he c lauses
Apart f rom t he r ather m ore v ariable e arly c lauses, t he m ajority o f c lauses f ollow a s imilar pattern. I n most o f t hem t he b ounds r un i n a c lockwise d irection b ut a nomalies d o o ccur i n which t he bounds r un i n a n a nti-clockwise d irection. c harter o f AD 8 16
( S 1 80,
B 3 57),
I n W orcestershire a
i n which C oenwulf o f M ercia g rants
p rivileges f or l and t o t he B ishop a nd c lergy o f W orcester, mentions l andmarks t o t he w est o f t he S evern i n a n a nti-clockwise o rder b ut i s n ot a t rue b oundary c lause a nd a s econd c lause o f this t ype i s a dded t o a l ease o f C otheridge ( S 1 303, B 1 106). T he b ounds r un a ntic lockwise i n a l ate c lause o f B roadwas ( S 1 26, R ob 2 ) a ppended t o a n e ighth-century g rant a nd a ppear t o r un i n t his d irection i n c lauses o f Himbleton
( S 2 19,
B 5 52;
S 6 33,
B 9 37)
I n Warwickshire t he c lause o f T redington
a nd S mite
( S 5 5,
( S 1 339,
B 1 83)
K 6 18).
i s s imilar
a nd s eems t oo d etailed t o b e c ontemporary w ith t he e ighth-century g rant.
P art o f t he e arly c lause o f S hottery s eems t o run i n an
a nti-clockwise d irection. S toke B ishop
( S 2 18,
I n G loucestershire one o f t he c lauses o f
B 5 51 )
f alls i nto this c ategory a nd i t i s
t empting t o s ee t he c ommon ownership o f t hese e states b y t he Church o f Worcester a s a n i nfluential f actor. Most c lauses c ommence at a c ardinal point o f t he g rant, f avourite s tarting point t he s outh-east c orner, n oted by G elling i n B erkshire.
( 33)
t he
a t endency a lso
O f t hose c lauses s ufficiently
a ccurately s olved t o a llow j udgment 3 7% i n Worcestershire b egin a t t he
s outh-eastern c orner o f t he g rant and another 3 2% a t o ne o f t he
o ther three c orners. m iddle o f one s ide,
Twenty-seven percent,
h owever,
b egin i n the
the w estern s ide b eing b y f ar t he most p opular.
W here the c lause s tarts i n a n u nusual place ' it o ften s eems t o be i nfluenced b y e ase o f a ccess f rom the main s ettlement.
I n
G loucestershire a s tarting-point i n t he n orth-west i s s lightly more p opular t han the s outh-east, w ith 2 1% s tarting t here, 1 9% beginning at t he s outh-east c orner. a t the c orners o f a l and g rant,
A gain,
2 7% a ppear t o b egin o n o ne s ide,
w ith t he mid-south t he most popular.
I n Warwickshire t he s outh-
e ast c orner i s a gain t he c ommonest s tarting point, c lauses b eginning t here, b egin on a s ide b oundary, s ettlement.
a s o pposed t o
a lthough 7 1% b egin
w ith 5 2% o f the
a nd o nly t he c lause o f K ineton a ppears t o s ignificantly n ear t he main v illage
A gain the i nfluence of l and ownership might p rofitably
b e investigated. A lthough m any o f t he c lauses a re d ifficult t o s olve i n d etail t oday,
t he s urveyors o ften t ook g reat c are t o make t he
b oundary c lauses c lear a nd t o e nable t hem t o b e f ollowed o n the g round.
L andmarks may o ccasionally have been c hosen b ecause t hey
w ere intervisible f rom e ach o ther b ut i n t he w riter's e xperience t his would depend e ntirely u pon t he n ature o f the c ountryside.
4 3
I f
t he b oundary f ollowed a s tream,
f or i nstance,
t his m ight b e
c onsidered a dequate a s a b oundary mark f or t he l ength of i ts c ourse a long a particular boundary.
The c hoice a nd l ocation of b oundary
l andmarks i s a s ubject which c an b e most p rofitably s tudied b y l ocal h istorians w orking i ntensively o n a g iven b oundary.
I t h as a lready
b een s uggested t hat t he number o f l andmarks c hosen m ight a lso i ndicate a n eed f or p recision i n p articular c ircumstances. g eneral,
I n
s mall f eatures s uch a s t rees a nd t umuli w ere preferred to
l ess l ocalised t opographic f eatures b ut i n a reas o f s parse d evelopment t he b oundary l ine m ight b e d escribed w ith considerably l ess p recision.
The type o f l andmarks c hosen w ill b e e xamined
f urther i n P art I II. The u se o f c ompass d irection,
a dverbs a nd a dverbial c lauses
i s m ade i n o rder t o c larify t he l ine t o b e f ollowed,
s uggesting
t hat t he b ounds were i ntended t o b e w alked o n the g round. P aradoxically, i t i s o ften t he most d etailed c lauses which a re the most d ifficult t o s olve t oday. I n part t his i s b ecause many o f them a ccompany l ate l eases o f l and-units s maller t han a modern p arish, b ounds o f which have f ailed t o s urvive,
t he
a nd partly, perhaps, b ecause
t hese w ere i nitially c omplex b oundaries r equiring e xtra c are i n d emarcation.
S pecial n ote may b e made o f t he s kill of the m onks
w orking i n t he s criptorium o f W orcester i n c ompiling s ophisticated c lauses a t a r elatively e arly d ate.
I t w ould b e i nteresting t o note
t he e ffect o f i ndividual s chools o f s cribes u pon t he choice o f l andmarks utilised.
A c areful s tudy o f W est M idland c harters s uggests
t hat t he e ffect w ithin t his a rea w as m inimal b ut n umerous f eatures a re r ecorded i n charters o f o ther a reas which f ind n o mention in t hose o f t he W est M idlands.
Only c ontinued d etailed studies o f
c harters i n o ther a reas w ill t hrow l ight u pon t his i nteresting aspect o f c harter-study.
4 4
REFERENCES
1 .
Ex I nfm.
D r.
D avid H ill,
D epartment of Extramural S tudies,
University o f M anchester. l a.
Many o f the c lause s olutions,
t ogether with the l ists o f O ld
English t erms u sed f or b oundary l andmarks, Departmental O ccasional P aper of B irmingham, 2 .
F .M.
S tenton,
( Oxford 1 955) 3 .
D .
Whitelock,
( Dept.
a re available i n a
of Geography,
University
f orthcoming). T he L atin charters of t he Anglo-Saxon period 3 1-91, p .
e sp.
p .
1 15 in P .H.
5 6. S awyer,
Anglo-Saxon charters,
an
annotated l ist and b ibliography ( London 1 968). 4 .
H .P.R.
Finberg,
( Leicester 5 .
H .P.R.
6 .
D .
1 961,
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Hooke,
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1 972)
1 87
ibid.122.
The O ldberrow charter and boundary c lause and
Teodeces leage b oundary West Midlands Archaeological News Sheet 2 1
( Department of Extramural Studies,
1978) 7 .
G .B.
University of B irmingham
8 1-83. G rundy, S axon charters and f ield n ames of G loucestershire
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Forsberg,
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names Nomina G ermanica 9 . 1 0,
H .P.R. E .S.
( Gloucester
4 5.
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L indley,
op.
9 ( Uppsala 1 950)
c it.,
7 2-76,
8 0-85,
2 12-18. 6 7,
1 84-196.
T he Anglo-Saxon charters o f S toke Bishop
Transactions of the Bristol and G loucestershire Archaeological Society Wotton 1 1.
A .
( hereafter T .B.G.).S.) 7 7-78
T .B.G.A.S.
Mawer and F .M.
LXXVIII
( 1858-59)
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( 1959)
9 6-109;
S axon
4 2-7.
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X III
( Cambridge
1936). 1 2.
H .
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T he L ord and t he l andscape i llustrated through the
changing f ortunes of an English parish V olume J ubilaire M .A. Lefevre, 1 3.
W .J.
Acta G eographica L ovaniensia I II
F ord,
( Louvain 1 964)
7 5-77.
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the W arwickshire Avon thesis 1 973)
( unpubd.
University of Leicester M .A.
1 27.
4 5
1 4.
G .P.
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c it.;
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B irmingham Archaeological Society Transactions and Proceedings 5 2 _ 5.
( 1927),
G .B.
5 3
G rundy,
( 1928). Saxon charters o f Worcestershire B irmingham
Archaeological Society T ransactions a nd Proceedings
5 3
( 1928)
2 5-29. 1 6. 1 7.
G .B.
G rundy,
ibid.,
40-42.
G .B.
G rundy,
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Archaeological Society T ransactions a nd Proceedings
5 2
( 1927)
1 47. 1 8.
Ex I nfm.
Mr.
T .R.
S later,
D epartment o f Geography,
University
o f Birmingham. 1 9.
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G rundy,
P .G.A.S. 2 0.
N .R.
Saxon charters and f ield n ames of G loucestershire
( Gloucester 1 935-36)
K er,
Hemming's C artulary:
Worcestershire c artularies n .
6 4-71.
3 i n R .W.
Hunt,
W .A.
a d escription o f the t wo
i n C otton T iberius A X III p p.
P antin,
and R .W.
S outhern
70-71,
( Eds.),
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W .D. XXIX
2 2.
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( Ed.),
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( London 1 863)
Sylvester,
Rolls S eries
7 1-72.
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s tudy in h istorical
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geography
( London 1 969)
1 67,
a
Sylvester
f inds an average of 1 .5 t ownships t o b e typical in this a rea, a n umber f elt by t he present writer t o be gravely undere stimated. 2 3.
J .M.
Kemble,
Codex D iplomaticus Aevi S axonici
I II
( London
1 839-48) viii-ix. 2 4.
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d ocuments 2 5.
( Oxford 1 888) XVI.
T .M.
C harles-Edwards,
P .H.
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2 6.
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( Ed.),
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( Ed.),
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D .
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op.
( London 1 955) S 1 164, 2 9.
F .M.
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Boundaries i n I rish l aw p .83
Medieval Settlement 4 9-51.
E arly charters of t he Thames v alley 2 3
c it., xxvi; ( Ed.), 4 69;
F .M.
E arle,
op.
s ee,
t oo,
4 41-2,
ibid. c it.,
S tenton,
op.
c it.,
3 3;
English H istorical Documents I c .
B 1 07
S tenton,
in
( London 1 976).
1 55-56.
4 6
5 00-1042
c harter o f Fontmell,
Dorset
3 1.
A .J. 1 956 )
3 2.
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a rchive, pps. s tudies:
9 0-91 i n D .
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( Ed.),
T he Worcester
T enth-century
' Regularis C oncordia',
a n i ntroduction b y D avid P arsons M . G elling, P .
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e ssays i n commemoration of t he m illennium of t he
Council of W inchester and
3 3.
( 2nd e dn.
1 62-65.
e dited w ith
( London 1 975).
T he O ld English c harter b oundaries o f B erkshire
6 24 i n M . G elling
( Ed.),
T he P lace-Names of B erkshire
P art I II E nglish P lace-Name S ociety L I
4 7
( Cambridge 1 976).
P art I I
( i)
_ Chapter 3
TERRITORIAL ORGANISATION
T he K ingdom o f t he Hwicce
The e piscopal s ee e stablished a t W orcester i n t he s eventh c entury w as t o s erve t he k ingdom of t he H wicce, o wing f ealty t o t he l arger k ingdom of M ercia.
a n i ndependent unit The b ishops o f
W orcester b ore t he t itle Episcopd Hwicciorum'Bishops of t he Hwicce', ( 1) a nd t he a rea o f the d iocese s eems t o h ave b een c oterminous w ith t hat o f t he a dministrative k ingdom. ( 2) T he e vidence f or i ts e xtent i s f ound i n p lace-names and c harters, S mith a nd W ilson.
( 3)
H art
( 4)
e xamined most r ecently by
would e xtend t he a rea on t he basis o f
p lace-name e vidence t o i nclude t he e ntire r egion o f Wychwood Forest i n p resent-day O xfordshire.
Wychwood means
' the w ood of t he Hwicce'
a nd l ike s everal o ther Hwicce names may r efer t o a f eature n ear t he b order o f t he k ingdom. ( 5) I f this a rea d id h ave a ny e arly a ssociat ion w ith t he Hwiccan k ingdom i t a ppears t o h ave b een e xcluded a t a r elatively e arly d ate.
B riefly,
i ncluded a ll o f G loucestershire
the Hwiccan t erritory a ppears t o h ave ' except f or t hose p arts l ying to t he
w est o f t he R iver L eadon a nd w est o f t he R iver S evern below M insterworth', o f W arwickshire
( 6)
most o f Worcestershire a nd t he s outh-western part
( Fig.
1 .2).
The projecting p art o f n orth-west
W orcestershire l ay o utside the d iocese a nd b eyond t he l ine o f B ishop Ethelstan's b oundary d escribed i n the e leventh c entury.
( 7)
I n
p assing a cross W orcestershire t he l atter b oundary r uns f rom Mertleages-ecge ' Martley's e dge', the h igh l and n ow known a s Abberley H ill, ' along the e dge o f C arcdune', which F inberg i dentifies a s C arton i n the parish o f B ayton. This s ettlement l ies s ome miles b eyond t he l ater d iocesan b oundary a nd o ne w onders whether a nother h ill on t he m ore d irect l ine c ould n ot h ave o riginally b orne t his d un n ame.
T hrough W arwickshire t he l ine o f t he b oundary i s r evealed
by a number o f minor p lace-names, i n t he parish o f R adway, M ercians' B 1 234).
( ii)
a mong t hem
t he mercna mere o r
' a f ield-name M artimow ' boundary of t he
r ecorded i n a t enth c entury c harter o f K ineton
( S 7 73,
( 8)
F olk-Areas a nd T ranshumance
. ••-•«••• •• ••
C harter e vidence h as a lso b een u sed t o s uggest i nternal d ivisions w ithin t he k ingdom. e states r evealed b y c harter,
F ord s uggests that l inkages b etween e cclesiastical, manorial and p lace-name
e vidence d erive f rom e arlier c onnections o f a n e conomic n ature,
w ith
d eveloped r egions, u sually l ocated i n r iverine s ituations, l inked t o a reas o f o utlying woodland s urviving a long major w atersheds i n a p attern o f s easonal t ranshumance.
H e i dentifies f olk areas s uch a s
t hat o bserved i n m id-Warwickshire,
where h e s uggests
' that
s ettlements i n t he v alley o f the R iver A von f rom E vesham t o Warwick a nd i n t he b asins o f the D ene a nd S tour, c ountry,
i n t raditional F eldon
w ere i ntercommoning i n a b lock o f woodland s ituated n ear t he
4 8
h eadwaters o f t he r ivers A rrow a nd A lne.
..
O r t he e ast a nd s outh,
t he water d ivide o f t he S evern a nd Thames c atchment a reas marks t he l imit o f t he d istrict,
t he n orthern b oundary i s w ell d efined by the
w atershed b etween t he T rent a nd t he n orthern t ributary s treams o f t he Avon,
and t he h igh r idge w hich r uns f rom T ardebigge t o E vesham
m arks t he e xtent of t he w estern s ide'.
( 9)
S ome o f the l inkages
w ithin t his a rea a re d erived f rom c harter e vidence, a rea o f woodland i n Arden, a t Shottery ( S 6 4, f or Wootton W awen,
f or N uthurst,
a n
w as i n A D 7 05 a ssociated w ith a n e state
B 1 23). I t i s a lso ' an e ighth-century c harter a s ettlement c entrally placed i n the t erritory,
w hich s tates t hat W ootton Wawen was s ituated i n r egione q uw a ntiquitus n ominatur STOPPINGAS' ' in the r egion which f rom a ncient t imes i s c alled t he S toppingas' ( S 9 4, B 1 57). ( 10 ) A s imilar a rrangement i s r evealed i n a t enth-century c harter o f D umbleton ( S 9 01,
K 1 295), i n which a n e state i n t he F eldon a rea o f G loucester-
s hire i s l inked w ith v .
l ocis s iluaticis i n u traque p arte r iuull
q ui P iduuella a ppellatur,
h ulusque agnomen loci w t F leferht d icitur
' 5 wooded places o n b oth s ides o f the r ivulet which i s c alled P iddle, a nd the n ame o f t his p lace i s s aid t o b e et F leferht', - w oodland i n t he F leferth a rea of m id-Worcestershire
( Fig.
2 .5).
F ord h as s uggested t hat b y the n inth c entury t he b ounds o f s uch f olk g roups h ad b ecome f ixed political d ivisions, c iting i n e vidence a b oundary c lause o f C ofton H ackett
( S 1 272,
B 4 55(1))
w hich c ommences a t the T omsetna gem&re 7 pencer s e tt 'na b oundaries of t he T omsetna a nd Pence s etna',
' the
the f ormer i dentified
a s a f olk-group d welling i n the valley of the R iver Tame. p oint,
h owever,
This
l ies w ell w ithin t he d iocesan b oundary which e xtends
b eyond C ofton H ackett and A lvechurch t o i nclude t he parishes o f K ings N orton a nd Northfield.
I t i s n ot i mpossible that t he a pparent
v agueness of t he b oundary h ere might b e a r eflection of t he a ntiquity o f the f olk-areas,
r elics perhaps o f a t ime when b oundaries w ere n ot
p recisely f ixed i n a ll a reas, a s n orth-east W orcestershire. A ge,
T odd points o ut t hat
e specially i n a reas o f woodland s uch S peaking of t ribal a reas i n t he I ron
' it i s a g eneral but probably f alse
a ssumption t hat t he I ron A ge t ribes o f western E urope a lways h ad c learly d efined b oundaries.'
( 11)
I n d iscussing the b oundary
b etween the k ingdoms o f Mercia a nd the Hwicce i n t he Anglo-Saxon p eriod F ord c oncludes
'i n the e arly d ays o f t heir e xistence i t i s
e ven possible t hat a c learly d efined b oundary d id n ot e xist and a s eries o f prominent f eatures may h ave s erved t o mark t he b ounds, t he manner o f t he e arliest c harters.'
( 12)
i n
B elts o f w oodland and
u ndeveloped l and appear t o h ave characterised much o f the f rontier r egion o f the k ingdom i n t he Anglo-Saxon p eriod. I n t his region the d iocesan b oundary may i nclude l and which w as n ot i nitially w ithin t he t erritory o f the f olk-groups which w ere t o be a malgamated i nto the Hwiccan k ingdom.
The e states t o the n orth
o f the b oundary d escribed i n t he n inth-century charter a s t hat o f t he T omsetna and pencer s e't in a
i nclude N orthfield a nd
( King's )
N orton,
b oth e states t o t he north o f a p rimary n ucleus, ( probably t hat o f B romsgrove t o t he s outh-west)
e states which w ere c ertainly w ithin
t he d iocesan b oundary by t he t hirteenth c entury.
( 13)
T he place-
n ames i ndeed i ndicate a r egion o f w oodland and fe/d-land on t his n orthern f rontier.
C onsideration might a lternatively b e g iven t o
t he hypothesis t hat g roups f rom other a reas w ere c olonising - o r b eing a llowed t o c olonise - s uch marginal a reas o f l ittle-developed 4 9
F ig.
2 .5
Charter evidence of l inked e states
5 0
w oodland.
The T omsmtan a lso h eld l and which i ncluded the monastery
o f B reedon o n the H ill i n n orth L eicestershire
( S 1 97,
B 4 54)
and
o ther groups w ith a ffinities o utside t he Hwiccan a rea a re recorded i n s imilar r egions e lsewhere i n t he W est M idlands ( see Chapter 4 , a nd Part I II, C hapter 2 ).
( iii)
C eltic p arallels
The pattern o f r iverine e states l inked i n a s ystem o f s easonal t ranshumance w ith d istant w oodlands i s most r eadily p erceived i n Warwickshire,
but f igure
2 .5 s hows t hat t here i s s ome
e vidence t o s uggest t hat o ther d eveloped a reas w ere a lso l inked w ith watershed z ones.
I n addition t o t he l inks b etween D umbleton
a nd F leferth n oted above,
B ourton-on-the-Water a ppears t o b e l inked
w ith l and i n D aylesford parish
( S 5 50,
B 8 82),
a n a rea i n which a
c onsiderable a mount o f woodland s eems t o h ave b een p resent i n t he e arly Anglo-Saxon p eriod. ( 14) T eddington a nd B redons N orton i n t he valley o f t he C arrent B rook w ere l inked t o a n a rea o f h igh l and i n Cutsdean i n t he n orth Cotswolds
( S 1 16,
B 2 36)
a nd t he e states
o f Overbury and C onderton on t he f lanks o f B redon H ill w ith l and a t P endock i n s outh-west Worcestershire
( S 2 16,
B 5 41).
I n b oth cases
t he more d istant e states may h ave b een l ocated o riginally i n a reas o f woodland.
S uch an a rrangement i s a lso c learly e vident i n K ent
w here E veritt ( 15) has e xplored t he r elationship b etween r iverine e states a nd w ald a reas on t he d ownland a nd i nland W eald. While t he e vidence f or s uch t erritorial r elationships d ates f rom the A ngloS axon p eriod t he t ime o f o rigin o f t he s ystem r emains unknown.
Ford
n otes possible R oman a ntecedents i n the t erritorial a rrangements o f K ent and S ussex a nd o ther a reas o f Anglo-Saxon s ettlement. s imilar a rrangement,
h owever,
( 16)
A
a ppears t o h ave been i n e xistence
t hroughout the C eltic West a nd i t may, p erhaps,
b e c onsidered
w hether t his a rea d oes n ot a fford parallels f or t he e arly a dministrative a nd s ocial o rganisation o f t he W est M idlands. I n t he w est, a lthough e arly r ecords a re f ew, the e vidence s uggests t hat a s ystem o f c antrefs, s ubdivided i nto c ommotes, p revailed i nto t he h istorical p eriod.
A lthough b oundaries w ere o ften
c learly m arked by n atural physical b arriers,
e ntire f rontier z ones
c ould f all a lternately under t he j urisdiction o f n eighbouring ruling p owers.
There i s a lso a c onsiderable d egree o f u ncertainty o ver t he
e arliest d ividing l ine i n a number o f i nstances, a w atershed r uns p arallel t o t he l ine o f a r iver, s erving a s a s atisfactory b oundary marker,
e specially where e ither f eature
a nd this s uggests t he
e xistence o f n arrow f rontier z ones a t a n e arly d ate r ather t han s tabilised b oundaries.
I n Wales,
watersheds a nd f ast,
d ivisive
r ivers w ere c ommonly u sed a s b oundaries, much i n t he w ay o f t hose b ordering Ford's s uggested f olk-regions.
M ore s ignificantly,
t ranshumance s eems t o h ave been an e arly f eature o f t he t erritorial a rrangement,
r evealed often i n e arly medieval d ocuments d rawn u p
a fter t he c onquest.
I n t he c antref of D unoding,
t he c ommote o f
A rdudwy c overed m uch o f the a rea o f t he n orth-western part o f t he f ormer c ounty o f M erioneth a nd medieval e xtents r ecord the p asturing of t he k ing's c attle a nd s tallions i nland i n t he r emote a reas o f P rysor while t he s eat o f administration l ay u pon t he a ccessible w est c oast p lain.
( 17)
T he P rysor ffriddoedd r epresent
t he s ummer pastures o f t he c ommote. 5 1
I n t he n orthern c antref o f
A rfon,
t he r oyal h afodydd r epresent t he P rince's s ummer p astures
a nd l ay u pon t he n orthern f lanks o f S nowdon i n the v ill o f D olbadarn, w hile t he n eighbouring v ill o f D inorwic w as r esponsible f or t he p asture c f t he L ing's
s tallions.
( 18)
T hese l ay i n t he i nner
f astnesses o f A rfcn I s Gwyrfai while t he c entres o f government were e stablished n ear C aernarvon o n t he M enai S trait. w as t he i nland, possibly s till w ooded a reas,
H ere i n W ales
i t
which p rovided s ecure
s ummer p asturage, much a s A rden s eems t o h ave f ulfilled t his r ole f or t he dwellers a long t he middle Avon a nd i ts t ributaries i n
I t i s quite c lear i n the B ook o f I orwerth f or N orth Wales t hat t wc t ownships i n e ach c ommote were s et a side f or the u se o f t he k ing,
t he one t he m aerdref o r l ands c ultivated f or t he
o f the r oyal c ourt,
s ustenance
t he o ther t he k ing's w aste o r s ummer p asture.
' In t he I orwerth model t he k ing's s ingle v ill i n t he l owlands w as m atched by o ne c ontaining s ummer pasture i n t he u plands'.
( 19)
I n
W ales s ervice o n t he r oyal e states w as f requently e nsured b y a p articularly s ervile f orm o f t enure k nown a s t ref e yfrif t enure. I n A rdudwy,
( 20 )
C efn y C lawdd n ear Prysor represents a n e nclave o f bond
t enure n ear t he s ummer pastures,
w ith b ond l ands a t Y stumgwern i n
L lanenddwyn a round t he r oyal h all i n t he m aerdref b eside t he s ea. I n S nowdonia, t enure,
t oo,
t he t ownship o f D inorwic w as o f t ref g yfrif
s ituated o n s lightly b etter l and i n t he v alley o f t he Avon
R hythallt n ear t he s ummer pastures. N o s uch e vidence o f e arly f orms o f t enure s urvive i n the W est M idlands but F inberg
( 21)
h as
s uggested that K ington a nd
C harlton v ills may r eflect e arly t enurial r elationships o n A nglo-Saxon e states, many o f them l ocated upon r oyal h oldings. West
A s
i n t he Celtic
' the c yninges t un o r r egia v illa, which w as t he predecessor o f
t he r oyal manor,
h ad b een a f undamental u nit i n t he o rganisation o f
j ustice a nd f inance.
I t was a t the c yninges t un t hat the p easants
o f the s urrounding c ountry h ad paid t he f ood-rents b y which t hey maintained t he k ing, a nd i n many c ases t he p rofits o f justice i n a djacent h undred c ourts h ad b een r endered t here.' ( 22) T he r ole o f s uch a r oyal administrative c entre i s m ore l ikely to b e r evealed b y l and ownership t han by p lace-name e vidence but s uch manors r emained
' the h eadquarters o f a grarian units which m ay c omprise a ny
n umber o f a ppendant v illages and hamlets.' d ependent v ills a C harlton v ill
( 23)
Among these
' is n ot t he p rincipal unit, b eing
s ituated a m ile o r m ore away f rom t he s eat o f l ordship, s ubject t o t he s ame l ord,
b ut i t i s
a nd the d ues a nd s ervices r endered by i ts
h usbandmen a re v ital t o the e conomy o f the e state a s a whole.'
( 24)
While t his s ystem b ears n o d irect r elationship i n i ts r efinement w ith t hat n oted i n Wales l arge m anorial e states r etained i n r oyal h ands
s hould perhaps b e i nvestigated a s p ossible c ammote
f oci i n t his w ay.
I n Warwickshire i n 1 086 t he K ing s till r etained
a l arge e state i n t he middle Avon v alley w hich f ocussed u pon t he v ill o f W ellesbourne,
a l arge unit s ubdivided i nto t he
l ater
p arishes o f W ellesbourne Mountford a nd W ellesbourne H astings. c harter s igned h ere i n t he n inth c entury t he p resence o f a n Anglo-Saxon palace t race o f t his h as y et b een f ound,
( S 2 09,
( Fig.
1 .2)
B 5 03)
a nd although n o
c onstruction work on a b ridge
a cross t he r iver i n t he h eart o f t he e state b etween the t wo
5 2
A
m ay s uggest
W ellesbournes a ppears t o have d islodged Anglo-Saxon pottery s imilar t o that f ound at the other nearby s uspected palace s ite of Hatton R ock
i n Hampton L ucy,
f or sherds were washed d own the R iver Dene t o
b e redeposited u pon the g ravels d ownstream. a t Kineton
( 25)
i nside a meander curve a f ew miles
The main estate possessed i n 1 086 a dependent viii
' the k ing's t un',
three miles t o t he s outh-east.
H ere
K ineton d oes n ot s eem t o have been the o riginal c entre o f the manor, merely an e state r etained by the k ing. s eems t o be of l ate manorial o rigin, t he
The name of K ington,
f or charter bounds
e state was e arlier known a s an e state et p idwellan,
R iver P iddle o n w hich i t s tands.
This e state,
however,
Worcs.,
s uggest that a fter the l ay w ithin
t he wooded a rea o f F leferth a lready s een to b e dependent upon head manors i n the F eldon area of n orth Gloucestershire and perhaps r epresented one o f t he dependent vills o f the s ummer pastures. S uch names a re n ot uncommon i n Gloucestershire and may warrant f urther detailed s tudy.
Charlton vills appear a s d ependent hamlets
r elated t o t he c hief manors of Hartlebury i n Worcestershire, g iven t o t he s ee o f Worcester by AD 9 69
( S 1 320,
C ropthorne i n t he s outh-east of the c ounty, u ntil a bout AD 7 80,
and,
i n Gloucestershire,
o f Winchcombe, Cheltenham, e arly minster
s ites.
B 1 241),
a manor
t o
r etained i n royal hands r elated t o t he manors
Henbury and Tetbury,
two o f the l atter
I ndividual vills o f t his n ature s eem t o belong
t o the period o f Anglo-Saxon e states , but a gain detailed l ocal s tudies might t hrow more l ight upon s uch a relationship.
There s eems
i nsufficient s urviving evidence i n the West M idlands t o uncover the e arliest t erritorial a rrangements i n detail i n the present s tate o f k nowledge of t he s ubject. i t
H ints of an early pattern a re present but
s eems that i n t his a rea the e ffects of Romanisation and l ater
A nglo-Saxon domination may have been responsible f or d isguising any e arlier patterns o f s ocial and territorial o rganisation.
( iv)
T erritorial organisation i n th2 2/2 21 291.9 2 :f2 2 5on l ofEiod Apart f rom t he Celtic parallels f or administrative a reas
b etraying
l inks b ased u pon early t ranshumance patterns there a re
o ther r easons f or s uspecting t hat the Hwiccan k ingdom may h ave its r oots
i n , the pre-Anglo-Saxon o r e ven t he pre-Roman period.
Most of
t he West Midland a rea examined i n the p resent s tudy was t o f all under t he o f
sway of the B elgic D obunni
i n the L ate I ron Age.
The t erritories
Iron Age t ribes remain i n doubt and e vidence has been p resented
l inking the Worcestershire-Gloucestershire a rea with the t ribe o f t he Cornovii b efore Dobunnic rule was e stablished. W orcs.,
c yran l eage
t he Cornovii', C irencester
( 26)
( S 1 74,
B 3 49)
may have been
I n Himbleton,
' the w oodland of
a nd the names o f the R iver Churn a nd of
s ituated upon i ts banks i n G loucestershire a re a lso
a ssociated by E kwall with the C ornovii. may have meant o riginally
H e s uggests t hat the name
' the f ort of t he Cornovii'
i f P tolemy's
K orinium was a m istake f or Kornion, possibly a s hortened f orm o f ( Duro)cornovium.
( 27)
R ivet and S mith. ( 27a)
This a ssociation i s,
however,
repudiated by
Much o f t he material f rom the B elgic o ppidum
a t Bagendon h as n ow b een reclassified a s post-Conquest i n date
( 28)
a nd Dobunnic power may well have been s uperimposed on the West M idland region a t a relatively l ate date n ot greatly preceding the s ubsequent Roman c onquest of the area.
5 3
When t he Roman t hreat b ecame a r eality a s plit i s known t o have d eveloped w ithin t he D obunnic l eadership,
a s ection o f the t ribe
under the l eadership o f B odvoc a pparently c apitulating w ith the R omans.
Further w est,
i nvasion,
h owever,
a t a s afer d istance f rom t hreat o f
a f urther s ection of t he t ribe u nder t he l eadership o f
C orio a nd C atti r esisted c oercion, i ndicated by c oin e vidence.
t he a rea of t heir
l eadership
' If part o f t he t ribe under B odvoc
s urrendered t o Aulus P lautius i n AD 4 3 i t i s n ot i n the l east i mprobable t hat another a nd remoter part u nder C atti
a nd C orio
s ought t o r etain i ts i ndependence. The h oards m ay represent a t race o f t he d isturbances a t a time when t he t ribe w as d ivided a gainst i tself;
i t i s p ossible that t he w estern p art s ought t o m ove i nto
n ew l ands f urther s outh a nd w est'. o pposition l ay i n S omerset,
( 29 )
T he h eartland o f s uch
b ut a c oncentration o f coins n oted b y
A llen s uggests a s ubsidiary g roup i n w est W orcestershire w hich may n ot b e d ue e ntirely t o c ommercial i nterests.
S ince coins c ould b e
c arried a t a l ater p eriod f or a number o f reasons t he e vidence i s u ndoubtedly i nconclusive b ut s hould perhaps b e b orne i n m ind. T he c hoice o f Worcester a s t he e piscopal c entre of t he Hwiccan k ingdom h as l ong s urprised h istorians f or i t l ies v ery n ear t o t he western f rontier o f the k ingdom a nd w ell away f rom a reas k nown t o h ave b een c entres o f Anglo-Saxon i nterest. The e astern boundary o f t he H wiccan k ingdom, appears t o r epresent a n a ncient f rontier,
a t l east,
f or a lthough p oints on i ts
e astern b oundary c an only b e i dentified w ith r elative p recision,
i n
t he t enth c entury t he l ine a ppears t o f ollow a much older f rontier r egion,
o ne c ontaining
pre-Saxon d ate'.
( 30 )
' no l ess than t en e arthworks of p robable The w estern b oundary o f W orcestershire i s
s imilarly d ominated by the two massive h ill-forts of H erefordshire Beacon and M idsummer H ill and i t does n ot s eem unlikely t hat the M alvern r idge,
a s pine o f ancient pre-Cambrian a nd Cambrian r ocks
t hrusting up t hrough t he n ewer l ayers o f r ock w hich underlie the b ulk o f t he c ounty, may h ave s erved a s a t erritorial f rontier. E astwards l ay a reas l ong e mpty o f s ettlement and the massive r amparts o f H erefordshire B eacon a nd M idsummer H ill certainly s eem t o s tand a t vantage points on t he e astern f ringes of a n a rea n oted f or t he n umber and proximity o f h ill-forts i n g eneral,
a lthough t he
d ate a nd purpose o f t he most massive r ebuilding r emains i n q uestion. The l ine o f t he M alvern f orts i s c ontinued n orthwards b y t he s maller u nivallate f orts o f B errow H ill a nd Woodbury H ill,
while
K inver C amp a nd Wychbury H ill l ie n ear t o t he n orthern f rontier. S outhwards,
h owever,
t he pattern i s b roken,
f or t he
l ine o f h ill-
f orts s trung out a long t he c rest o f t he C otswolds l ay w ell within t he Hwiccan k ingdom,
d ominating b oth a ccess f rom the B ristol
Channel a nd t he d ip s lopes o f the e scarpment away t o t he s outh-east. H ill-forts a re a lso l ocated w ithin t he H wiccan k ingdom i n W orcestershire
a nd i t s eems p robable t hat f unctional d ifferences
s hould b e s uspected.
While numerous h ill-forts may have b een
c onstructed p rimarily f or d efensive p urposes o thers s eem t o have o ccupied more c entral positions, n odal administrative c entres.
e ven t o t he e xtent of b ecoming
The c haracter o f s ome o f t hese f orts
a ppears t o h ave been u nderstood by t he A nglo-Saxons and a n umber a re r eferred t o a s u rbs a ntiqua
' ancient c ity'.
5 4
The t erritorial o rganisation o f the West M idlands i s u nfortunately a s l ittle u nderstood i n t he Roman p eriod a s i n a ny p receding period. I t i s n ormally a ssumed t hat t he d istrict f ell w ithin t he D obunnic c anton. M ilitary r oads c ut a cross t he a rea, w ith t he Fosse Way making i ts w ay o ver t he s outh-eastern f lanks o f the C otswold e scarpment a s f ar a s M augersbury b efore d eflecting n orthe astwards a cross Warwickshire.
Another military r oad f ollowed the
S evern v alley a s f ar a s W orcester a nd t hen b ranched n orth-eastwards t hrough D roitwich t owards the B irmingham P lateau a nd b eyond, a nd o ther l inking r oads r an a cross t he a rea. A s ubstantial n umber o f f orts w ere r equired i n t he e arly d ays o f t he c onquest, l egionary b ase m aintained at G loucester, c ivil s ettlements.
I n the s outh , Cirencester
w as t o b ecome
e stablished a s a c ivitas o f the D obunnic c anton, a nd
i ncluding a
a nd many g ave r ise t o s urpassing i n s ize
s ophistication a ll o ther u rban c entres i n t he W est M idlands.
V illa d evelopment c haracterised t he G loucestershire C otswolds a nd i n this a rea w as a major e lement i n t he pattern o f r ural s ettlement. ( 31)
A lthough n ative f armsteads w ere t o p redominate i n t he n orth-
w est o f t he a rea a d egree o f s ophistication s eems t o h ave r eached t hose e stablished i n the A von v alley o f W orcestershire a nd W arwickshire. Romanisation i n t he a reas o f t he S evern v alley, e stablished,
o nce
w as t o b ecome f irmly e ntrenched and t here i s e very
i ndication o f a f lourishing e conomy i n t his a rea when o thers f urther e ast w ere s ubject t o d isruption i n t he e arly y ears o f t he AngloS axon t akeover. ( 32) The n ature o f e conomic d evelopment i n t he R oman W est M idlands i s n ot y et f ully c lear b ut a griculture w as u ndoubtedly w ell-established and t here a re s igns t hat t he woollen t rade w as beginning t o b ring w ealth t o t he C otswold a rea.
( 33)
L ess i s k nown a bout t he t ype o f e conomy p racticed i n the a reas o f t he n orth-west,
a reas w hich may h ave b een much more h eavily w ooded
t han t hose i n t he s outh-east.
( v)
The o rigins o f t he Anglo-Saxon k ingdom The k nown d istribution o f Anglo-Saxon pagan b urials s hows
t hat i t was t he middle Avon v alley i n w hich the Anglo-Saxon n ewc omers were a t f irst t o b ecome most s trongly e stablished , a nd e ven i f h law s ites m ay b e i ndicative o f Anglo-Saxon i nternment r emain s parse i n t he vicinity o f Worcester.
( 34)
t hese
Worcester w as i ndeed a
R oman c entre b ut i t appears t o h ave b een s urpassed by o thers i n s ize a nd prosperity,
s everal o f which w ould s eem t o have b een more
c entrally p laced f or administration o f t he k ingdom. b een t he s econd l argest t own i n R oman B ritain,
( 35)
C irencester h ad while G loucester
w as t o pass f rom a dominant r ole i n R omano-British t imes t o b ecoming t he s ite of a n A nglo-Saxon palace a nd t he administrative c entre o f a n e xtensive r egion.
I n n orth-east G loucestershire W inchcomb w as i n
a good p osition t o c ontrol t he n orth-east C otswolds and w as t o b ecome t he c entre o f a s hire i n t he e arly e leventh c entury.
( 36 )
R omano-British p rosperity appears t o h ave c ontinued l ongest i n the S evern valley r egion where P retty
( 37)
h as s hown a s uccessful
e conomic s ituation s urviving a t l east i nto t he s ixth c entury.
Y et
i t was n either t he Anglo-Saxon a rea o f t he A von valley n or t he Romano-British a rea o f t he S evern v alley which w as t o b e c hosen a s
5 5
t he Hwiccan e cclesiastical c entre - i t w as W orcester, w est.
i n t he far
Very l ittle i s k nown a bout e ither R oman o r Anglo-Saxon
W orcester.
A R oman f ort w as l ocated
o n t he s ite
s uburbs s pread t o t he n orth o f t he p resent t own, a ppears
a nd residential ( 38)
while i t
i n the A nglo-Saxon period a s a n u rban d efended c entre s et
a midst a number o f e arly e piscopal e states,
b ut t hese d evelopments
d o n ot a lone e xplain i ts e arly i mportance a s t he metropolitum H uicciorum
( S 1 254,
B 1 66).
A number o f r ecent s tudies h ave s tressed t hat t he H wiccan k ingdom w as o f mixed C eltic,
Anglian
a nd S axon o rigin.
M any e arly
w riters d rew u pon h istorical s ources t o s tress t he S axon s ettlement o f t he a rea a fter t he b attle o f D yrham i n A D 5 77, w ith W est S axon s ettlement i n t he l ower S evern v alley r emaining unchallenged by o ther i mmigrant g roups u ntil P enda annexed t he a rea i n A D 6 28, b asing t heir e vidence l argely upon e ntries i n t he Anglo-Saxon C hronicle.
( 39)
There were marriage l inks b etween the r oyal
f amilies o f t he Hwicce a nd S axon r oyalty i n t he mid-seventh c entury, ( 40 )
a nd s ome e vidence f or S axon f orms i n p lace-names
i n t he s outh
o f t he a rea. O thers h ave d iscovered s trong Anglian i nfluence, both i n the a rchaeological material a ssociated e specially w ith p agan b urial s ites a nd i n t he d ialect a s p reserved i n O ld English c harters a nd M iddle E nglish p lace-name s pellings o f t he n orth of t he r egion. ( 41)
G elling,
( 42)
t oo,
h as s hown A nglian f orms p redominating n ear
t he boundary o f t he H wiccan k ingdom i n O xfordshire.
Conquest by a
m ixed g roup o f Angles a nd S axons w as s uggested by L eeds, d iscussing t he t ypology o f b rooches i n pagan g raves, D unning
( 44)
s eeing t hem a s i nvited f oederati.
( 43)
Hawkes and
The v iew t hat rulers
a nd p eople n eed n ot n ecessarily b e o f t he s ame o rigin has n ow l argely s upplanted o lder i deas o f mass i nvasion a nd e xtinction of t he o riginal i nhabitants.
F inberg f ollows S tubbs
( 45)
i n believing that
members o f t he B ernician r uling f amily f ound refuge in the W est M idlands,
where e arly C hristianity a ppears t o d isplay c lose l inks
w ith t he N orthumbrian Church. The s urvival o f a s trong R omano-British e lement i n t he population i s n ow i ncreasingly s uspected a nd i t i s p ossible t hat s ome a spects of the Anglo-Saxon t erritorial o rganisation m ay a lso owe s omething t o e arlier patterns o f p olitical and s ocial o rganisation.
Outside t he r egion the c ontinuity b etween I ron Age,
R omano-British and A nglo-Saxon e states Ford
( 47)
i s b eing postulated
n otes c entres o f R omano-British s ettlement
A nglo-Saxon e states.
and
C eltic C hristianity m ay n ot h ave been e ntirely
a bandoned i n t he a rea f ollowing t he R oman w ithdrawal, d o a n umber o f
( 46)
on m any f or n ot only
* ecles p lace-names s urvive, s ome o f t hem n ear l ater
m onastic c entres,
( 48)
b ut c laims a re made f or C eltic antecedents
f or t he m insters o f D eerhurst and B redon.(49)
Moreover,
t wo
p robable Christian b urials f ound b eneath W orcester c athedral a lso a ppear t o b e o f l ate-fifth o r
s ixth-century d ate.
( 50 )
M aterial i n
pagan g raves m ay b e i nterpreted a s i llustrative o f a Romano-British/ A nglo-Saxon overlap,
w ith C eltic w orkmanship a pparent i n a n umber o f
A nglo-Saxon goods f ound i n pagan g raves.
( 51)
The p lace-names of
t he r egion c ontain a n umber o f w alh a nd c umbra names which m ay i ndicate t he p resence o f B ritons.
( 52)
H istorically,
the H wiccan
k ingdom w as t o a gree t o a n a lliance w ith C adwalla o f Gwynedd a gainst t he N orthumbrians.
S mith perhaps s ummarises this v iew:
5 6
' They c ould well h ave b een c omposed o f a g roup o f Angles t he original Hwicce), W elsh s urvivors, w ho,
( perhaps
W est S axons f rom t he i ntrusion o f 5 77,
b rought i nto
a nd
s ome k ind o f political unity b y P enda,
i n S ir F rank S tenton 's v iew, may h ave b een " a l andless n oble
o f the M ercian r oyal h ouse f ighting f or h is o wn h and".' ( 53) The r elationship b etween t he k ingdom o f t he Hwicce a nd that o f the M agonsetan might yet profit f rom f urther i nvestigation. l atter e xtended o ver most o f
present-day
The
H erefordshire, p art o f
G loucestershire w est o f t he R iver S evern a nd t he s outhern p art of S hropshire.
The k ingdom a ppears t o h ave c ome i nto b eing a s p art o f
P enda's d esign t o f orm ' a buffer s tate b etween Mercia a nd t he Welsh k ingdum o f Powys'. ( 54) T he name o f t he M agonsetan may b e d erived f rom a R omano-British M agnls,
meaning
' rocks',
( 55)
b ut t he p eople
o f this a rea a lso a ppear t o have b een k nown a s t he W estern H ecani. ( 56) T he author o f t he a ppendix t o F lorence o f Worcester, h is w ork preserved i n manuscripts o f t he t welfth c entury, W orcester w as s eeing t he p eople.
' Western H ecani'
( 57)
c laims t hat
' the r enowned metropolis o f a ll Hwicca o r M agesitania; a nd
' Hwicce'
a s b ranches o f t he s ame
T his may a rise f rom a b elated a ttempt t o e xplain t he
c hoice o f Worcester f or the e piscopal s ee b ut i f t here w ere a ny c lose a ssociation b etween t he t wo p eoples ( 58) i t w ould c ertainly g o a l ong w ay t owards e xplaining t he c hoice o f W orcester a s a n e arly a dministrative a nd e cclesiastical c entre o f t he Hwicce,
f or i t w ould
h ave s tood i n a c entral position w ithin t he l arger t ribal a rea. n ame o f W orcester i tself i s o f p re-Anglo-Saxon o rigin,
The
e arly
r ecorded f orms o f t he n ame i ncluding U uigorna c ivitate and W igranceastre, possibly i ndicating a t ribal name a lso e vident i n t he name o f the f orest o f Wyre. The c losest c orrelation o f t he n ame i s with a G aulish s tream-name V igora. ( 59 ) t he g reat f orest o f W yre probably e xtended a t l east f rom the v icinity o f W orcester n orthwards t o the n orth b oundary o f t he Hwiccan k ingdom,
a gain a n
a rea o f d ense w oodland a long t he margins o f t he e arly k ingdom.
( vi)
E arly Administrative f oci I t i s n ot e asy t o r econstruct t he b oundaries o f divisions
w ithin t he Hwiccan k ingdom, i f i ndeed s uch d id e xist. By t he A nglo-Saxon period c omposite e states made u p o f a n umber o f l esser e states a re much i n e vidence,
but these a ppear t o t he present
w riter t o be only parts o f l arger t erritories. S later
( 60 )
I n G loucestershire,
h as a ttempted t o r econstruct t he l and units which made
u p the S even H undreds o f C irencester and h as s uggested t hat t here a re hints o f c ontinuity o f t erritorial o rganisation f rom a n e arlier p eriod i n this a rea.
C onclusive e vidence h as yet t o b e p roduced
t o confirm t hat t his l and g rouping w as b ased upon more ancient d ivisions b ut n odal c entres o f l ongstanding i mportance a re r ecognisable w ithin the h undred d ivisions.
The W est M idland
c ounties appear t o have b een c reated i n t he e arly e leventh c entury a s part o f a d efensive s ystem b ased upon the n ewly f ortified b urh s ites,
a nd,
l ike t he h undred d ivisions which p receded them,
o ften
r eflect p atterns o f l and ownership i n t he i mmediate p re-Conquest p eriod.
( 61)
e xistence o f
I n B erkshire Gelling
( 62)
h as b een a ble t o s how t he
l arge e states which a ppear t o have b een b ased upon
s ites f ortified i n I ron A ge t imes.
5 7
Examples i nclude t he e state o f
Blewbury, originally an estate of one hundred hides (S 496, B 801), and Ashbury, an estate centred upon the hill-fort of Uffington Castle, already subdivided by the ninth century (S 317, B 491). Similar estates are not absent from the West Midla-nds. The relationship may not always have been a direct one, for although a number of West Midland hill-forts seem to have lain at the nuclei of estates the administrative focus often seems to have shifted to a nearby lowland settlement, nevertheless continuing to serve the function of a 'central place' at successive periods. Many such centres have already been recognised. The river crossing at Worcester was apparently defended by a promontory fort of unspecified date prior to the Roman occupation of the area (63) and a minor fort on Towbury Hill overlooks the Severn valley near Tewkesbury, which was to become an urban and ecclesiastical centre in the Anglo-Saxon period. In Bourton-on-the-Water an extensive Romano-British settlement developed around the outskirts of an Iron Age fortified settlement of hill-fort proportions known as Salmonsbury. (64) There does not always seem to have been direct continuity in site-occupation between Iron Age and Roman centres and the links may have been of a more nebulous territorial nature. Many early territorial patterns were undoubtedly changed to conform to Roman administrative requirements following the establishment of new settlements at more strategic points and earlier patterns can only be expected to survive on a limited number of occasions. Dominating the rounded mass of Bredon Hill at a thousand feet above sea level a multi-vallate fort enclosing 8.9 hectares overlooks the Avon valley near its junction with the Severn {Fig. 2.6i). The strategic position of the fort with distant views in most directions is undisputed1and excavation has shown that its defensive nature was indeed put to the test. (65) Today it stands in the parish of Kemerton, but an estate at Breden at the foot of the hill became the site of an early minster by AD 772 (S 109, B 209), both Breden and Kemerton becoming estates of the Church of Worcester. Moreover Bredon in 1 086 lay at the heart of a 35-hide estate with manorial jurisdiction over the surrounding vills of Teddington, Washbourne and Bredons Norton, and Mitton and Westmancot within Bredon parish. Manorial links had even been forged with Redmarley, Pendock and part of Bushley,beyond the Severn in the west of the Hwiccan kingdom,and with CUtsdean on the Cotswold escarpment to the south. It is not inconceivable that these distant estates may represent areas of summer grazing which remained attached to the riverine estate, as a reflection of the type of early territorial unity described above, although links to the westward may perhaps more properly represent territorial expansion in the Anglo-Saxon period into a little-developed frontier region. Movement down from the fortified hill top to lowland sites appears to be already an accomplished fact in the Iron Age, for a remarkable density of enclosures revealed as cropmarks by air photography suggests that farming settlements were established on the fertile lowland gravels before the end of the Iron Age. Breden fort may have continued to serve as a defensible site in times of stress. There are, however, indications that its function was of greater importance than the worn-down earthen ramparts surviving 58
t oday w ould s uggest. w hich Uhtred, C eolmund,
An e ighth-century charter
K ing o f the Hwicce,
h is m inister,
( S 5 7,
B 2 32)
i n
g rants a n e state a t Kemerton t o
r efers t o B redon a s a ' city',
t he b ounds o f
t he e state r unning protendens a f lumine i llo C arent a scendens u sque a d s ummitatem montis s upradicti Breodun i n c ujus c acumine u rbs e st a ntiquo n omine B aenintesburg
' continuously f rom t he R iver C arrent a s
f ar a s t he s ummit of t he a bove-named B redon o n t he t op o f which i s t he c ity a nciently c alled B aenintesburg', f ortification o f B e l ling'.
( 66)
the l atter n ame meaning
' the
F urther e vidence o f c ontinuity i n
t his a rea i s a r eference t o a g ap i n the r amparts o f t he f ort r eferred t o i n a t enth-century c harter o f P ershore h oldings a s t he w ealh g eate o r
' Welshman's gate'
( S 7 86,
B 1 282).
Another s ite o f c onsiderable i nterest w here I ron A ge f ortifications s eem t o h ave p receded a ' central-place' t ype o f o rganisation i s H anbury i n mid-Worcestershire ( Fig. 2 .6ii). The n ame Heanburg, m eaning
' the h igh o r c hief f ortification', was
a lready i n e xistence i n the mid-seventh c entury l and w as g ranted b y Wulfhere,
K ing o f M ercia,
( S 1 822),
w hen t he
t o Abbot C olman,
and
e arthen r amparts m ay s till b e t raced a round t he h ill which r ises t o o ver
3 00 f eet n ear t he c entre o f H anbury parish
( Fig.
2 .6iii ).
This
h ill a lso d ominates t he s urrounding c ountryside a nd l ooks o ut o ver w hat s eems t o h ave been a major prehistoric t rackway.
This r outeway
c an be t raced s outhwards a t l east a s f ar a s t he middle Avon valley n ear F ladbury a nd p robably l ed s outhwards t owards t he u pper Thames v alley f ollowing t he valleys o f the I sbourne a nd C oln. N orthwards i t ran o n t owards t he d ent H ills where i t w as i n t urn o verlooked by t he
I ron A ge f ort on Wychbury H ill.
l atter
( 67)
R oman c oins f ound n ear t he
s uggest r outeways u sed a t a l ater p eriod i n the vicinity
o f this h ill-fort ,
b ut t he n orth-south r oute t hrough H anbury a ppears
i n pre-Conquest c harters n ot a s a made-up s tr;t b ut a s a n e aldan w eg a n
' old way', p erhaps d enoting a r oute o f g reat a ntiquity.
At one
p oint a long i ts r oute i t may h ave b een c alled a h olan weg a ' hollow w ay',
a s i t a dapted t o t he l ocal t errain,
t he D omesday e state o f H olewei
p erhaps g iving i ts name t o
' hollow way',
t oday r epresented b y
H ollow C ourt a nd H ollowfields F arm i n H anbury. Although t he r amparts c an b e t raced a round t he e ntire s ummit t hey a re m ost o bvious on the n orthern s ide where t he t errain d rops
s teeply t o t he h eadwaters o f a t ributary o f t he S eeley B rook.
H ere a massive t errace s urvives.
( 68)
The c hurch o f H anbury,
a
b uilding w ith f abric d ating f rom t he e arly t hirteenth c entury, s tands f irmly w ithin t he r amparts a nd n ear i t a d eep w ell s eems t o h ave b een a v aluable s ource of w ater.
The c harter o f AD 6 57 x 6 74
t o Abbot C olman i s t he f irst h int o f any r eligious t he
s ignificance o f
s ite but b y A D 8 36 a m inster had c ertainly b een e stablished
h ere f or a c harter o f t his d ate p rivileges b y W iglaf,
r eturn f or a l ife l ease o f l and. i n possession o f f urnaces,
( S 1 90,
K ing o f Mercia,
' woodland,
B 4 16)
r ecords a g rant o f
t o t he minster a t H anbury i n
T he minster i s
s poken o f a s b eing
a rable f ields, meadows,
hamlets a nd o ther appurtenances',
u ndoubtedly l ocated n ear D roitwich.
s alt-pits,
l ead-
t he s alt-pits a nd f urnaces
L ike B redon minster,
H anbury
a nd its m inster p assed t o t he Church o f W orcester a nd a ppears i n 1 086 a s t he c entre o f a 1 4-hide e state, s till r eceiving 1 05 mitts o f s alt f rom D roitwich, p robably i n r eturn f or wood f or t he s alt f urnaces.
This i s b ut a t iny p ortion o f t he o riginal e state o f 5 0
5 9
Figure 2 .6:
Early Estates w ith N odal C entres
K ey e state c entre t opographical names
•
t un n ame / e -a h n ame w /c n ame c ot n ame other n ame f ord
0
f ortification minster parish b oundary administrative l ink e cclesiastical l ink l and o ver 2 00 f eet
F ig.
2 .6
E arly e states w ith n odal c entres:
6 1
( i)
B redon
H ANBURY t'
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l m t 0 F ig.
2 .6 ( ii)
Hanbury
6 2
l km
F ig.
2 .6
( iii)
Hanbury earthworks
6 3
F ig.
2 .6
( iv )
Fladbury
6 4
m anentes g ranted t o Abbot C olman a nd t his b reak-up o f t he o riginal e state a nd i ts s ituation on t he f ringes o f t he F orest o f F eckenham h ave helped t o d isguise a ny e arlier i mportance t he s ite may have p ossessed.
D obunnic a nd Roman c oins f ound at H anbury s uggest that
t he s ite c ontinued t o be i mportant a fter t he I ron A ge a nd the l apse i nto obscurity s eems t o occur o nly i n l ater A nglo-Saxon o r e arly m edieval t imes. A t hird e arly m inster s ite a t F ladbury w as a lso t o r emain a n e state n ucleus i nto the e arly medieval p eriod. t he place-name may b e u sed i n a manorial
H ere t he b urh o f
s ense o r b e d erived f rom
t he enclosure a round a n e arly minster s ite,
f or n o e arly
f ortification i s k nown i n F ladbury i tself.
On i ts e astern b oundary,
h owever,
Anglo-Saxon c harters s uggest t hat t he s teep-sided k noll
w hich marks t he s outhern e nd o f t he L ench r idge may h ave b een c rowned w ith a h ill-fort.
A c harter o f E vesham h oldings
( S 1 591a,
K iii 3 95-96) g ives t he p recise position o f the a pparently f ortified s ite, which i t r efers t o a s C eadweallan byrig ' the s tronghold o f C eadwealla', H ill,
a nd s hows t hat i t o ccupied the h ighest p oint o f T unnel
n ot only l ying a t t he s outhernmost e nd o f t he marked l inear
r idge r unning t hrough t he d istrict t o which i t gave name, b ut s tanding out a s a vantage point a bove t he g reat l oop o f t he A von n ear Charlton a nd F ladbury
( Fig.
2 .6iv ).
I t i s f urther d escribed a s
a c astellum ' a f ort o r s tronghold', i n a c harter a llegedly o f AD 7 14 d escribing Evesham l ands ( S 1 251), i n which E cgwine c laims t o h ave b een g iven the f ort o f C hadbury t ogether w ith the e state o f F ladbury b y K ing E thelred,
a nd
N orton a nd L enchwick.
i t gave i ts n ame t o the manor o f C hadbury i n T oday t he s ite i s h eavily o vergrown a nd
a lthough remnants o f a t errace o n t he s outhern a nd s teepest s lope o f t he hill r esemble t hat d iscovered a t H anbury t he f eature h ere a ppears t o b e e ntirely n atural a nd c aused b y a ncient l and-slipping. T here a re n o obvious s igns of man-made d efences b ut s hould t he s ite e ver be c leared of vegetation o r u ndergo f urther development i t m ight r epay c areful i nvestigation. I n t his i nstance,
a part f rom proximity,
t here a re n o
l ater medieval l inks b etween C hadbury a nd F ladbury,
a nd E vesham
c ontinued t o d ominate t he r egion a s a n e cclesiastical c entre o f s ome i mportance. a n e arly d ate.
F ladbury,
t oo,
w as o f c onsiderable i mportance a t
R oman o ccupation i s s uggested by c ropmarks o f
r ectangular e nclosures which h ave p roduced a number o f s urface f inds o f R oman c oins a nd by a l ate-Roman c emetery s ituated n orth o f the c hurch.
( 69)
Additional undated g raves h ave b een r ecorded,
the most
r ecent d iscovery b eing a b urial o f possible S axon d ate n ear t he c entre o f t he v illage.
A s ixth-century d ate h as b een s uggested f or
a b rooch d iscovered i n 1 969 a nd a ctual e vidence o f b uilding s tructure o f A nglo-Saxon d ate h as b een f ound n ear t he c entre o f t he v illage , i n t he f orm o f a f ramed building,
a s unken-featured b uilding a nd a
b read-oven, perhaps a ssociated w ith a monastic
s ettlement.
Anglo-
S axon burials a re a lso r ecorded a t Wyre P iddle n ear t he margins o f t he l arge F ladbury e state.
I t w as i n A D 6 91 x 6 99 t hat K ing
E thelred g ranted F ladbury t o B ishop O ftfor
( S 7 6,
t hat monastic l ife m ight b e r e-established t here,
B 7 6 )
i n o rder
a g rant which
s uggests t he prior e xistence o f s ome e cclesiastical s ite.
T he
i mportance o f this a rea i n t he A nglo-Saxon p eriod c an h ardly b e d isputed a nd i ts
s ituation a t t he s outhern e nd o f t he C lent-Hanbury
6 5
r outeway o utlined a bove p laces i t a t a n ot i nsignificant c rossing o f t he Avon.
T he c rossing may n ot h ave been a t t he p resent F ladbury
b ridge which l inks t he v illage o f F ladbury w ith t hat of C harlton t o t he s outh-east,
but a t p iriforda
' the f ord o f t he p ear-tree', which
a b oundary c lause o f P ershore h oldings l ocates a t the n orth-eastern c orner of t he parish o f B ricklehampton.
H ere a minor t rackway f rom
F ladbury a pproaches t he r iver b ut f ails t o r each i t over t he d ykes o f the f lood-meadows,
but c onfirmation o f t he i mportance o f t his
c rossing-point c omes f rom a s omewhat unusual s ource.
I n a t welfth-
c entury L ife o f S t. K enelm t he r oute f ollowed by t he bearers o f K enelm's b ody a fter h is murder i n t he C lent H ills t ook them t o a f ord c alled Pyriford where they w ere met b y t he men o f W orcester w ho w ished t o c arry t he b ody t o t he c ity o f W orcester. T he G loucester men w ere attempting t o t ake t he b ody t o W inchcomb a nd the w eg r oute t hrough H anbury t o p iriforda and s o on to W inchcomb w ould h ave p rovided t he most d irect r oute.
T he L ife r ecords occurrit a rmatus
populus W igorniensis prouincie, obstititque a d u adum pyriford
' the
p eople o f t he province o f W orcester met t hem a rmed a nd they s tood i n t he w ay a t Pyriford'. ( 70 ) When g ranted f or the s upport of a m inster t he F ladbury e state c onsisted o f s ome 4 4 c assati o f l and a nd i n t he D omesday a ssessment F ladbury was a 4 0-hide e state. T he n ame means ' the b urh o f F lwde',
b ut t here i s n o i ndication o f w ho t his l ady may h ave b een.
The e xtent of the e arly medieval e state c an b e d educed by t he e leventh-century manorial a ttachments a nd l ater e cclesiastical c hapelries which r eveal t he e xistence o f a b lock o f l and e xtending n orthwards f rom t he middle Avon valley i nto t he wooded a rea o f t he l ater F eckenham F orest
( Fig.
2 .6iv ).
Manorial d ependencies
i ncluded I nteberge, p robably L ittle I nkberrow , P idele
( probably W yre P iddle),
H ob L ench,
R ous L ench,
H ill a nd M oor, B radley and B ishampton ,
a nd c hapelries d ependent u pon F ladbury i ncluded Throckmorton, L ench,
B radley a nd Wyre P iddle.
The f ormer,
n ot mentioned b y name i n
1 086, was probably i ncluded a s a h ide o f F ladbury l and. b etween T hrockmorton a nd A bbots L ench, F inberg
( 71)
i n AD 9 70
Ab
B ishampton,
h as b een i dentified b y
a s t he e state o f Besantune a cquired by the A bbey of E ly
( S 1 844)
whereas B ishampton,
b ut the l atter w as an e state o f s even c assati, a cquired by t he Church o f Worcester i n c ommon
with t he r est o f F ladbury e state b y 1 086, w as i n t he Domesday s urvey a ssessed a t 1 0 h ides.
Whatever t he e xtent o f t he o riginal e state t he
woodland a reas i n B radley a nd I nkberrow h ad b een a dded t o t he manorial possessions b y 1 086, t he e arly e ighth c entury
B radley a cquired by charter g rant i n
( S 9 5, B 1 53).
T his w oodland l ay s ome
m iles t o t he n orth w ithin t he a rea l ater t o b e known a s t he Forest o f Feckenham.
F ladbury w as t o b e one o f t he r ichest e states h eld b y
t he C hurch o f W orcester b ut t he e vidence s uggests t hat i t w as a lready a n e state o f c onsiderable p rosperity i n t he Anglo-Saxon p eriod, l ocated i n a n a rea w ith s igns o f c onsiderable e ven e arlier d evelopment. B redon,
H anbury a nd F ladbury w ere,
s ignificantly,
a ll
s ites
o f e arly A nglo-Saxon minsters a nd i n r ecognising f oci o f a dministrative o r s ocial i mportance a s tudy o f t he l ocation o f t hese e arly e cclesiastical s ites s eems t o o ffer o ne o f t he most p romising l ines o f e nquiry.
A ddleshaw
( 72)
c omments upon t he c ontinual
a ssociation o f e arly m insters a nd t ribal a reas a nd i n s pite of t he
6 6
later p roliferation o f m insters a rising f rom a variety o f motives i t may b e worth c onsidering whether o r n ot
' the most a ncient
minsters a nd t heir t erritories w ere t ribal o r f olk d ivisions o f the l arger d iocesan a rea which c orrespond w ith an a ncient k ingdom o r s ome other major p olitical a rea',
a nd whether
' their e ventual b reakdown
into parishes c orresponded w ith t he v illage c ommunities a nd t heir ( township)
l ands'.
( 73)
E ven i f t hey d o n ot r elate d irectly t o
f olk d ivisions t he g rouping o f t heir e arly l ands a ppears t o r eflect the t erritorial a rrangements o f a n a ncient o rder. I t i s a n A nglo-Saxon m inster a t W estbury,
G loucs.,
which
i s f ound to b e p aying a particularly a ncient f orm o f r ender t o t he king i n the l ate e ighth c entury
( S 1 46,
B 2 73),
h aving t o pay t wa
t unnan f uL le h lutres a 1o6 7 cumb f u1ne 1 16es a 1o6 7 cumb f ulne welisces a lo6.7 v ii h ri6ru 7 s ix w e6eras.7 x 1. c ysa.7 v i aang bero 7 pritig ombra r ues c om es feower a mbru meo1wes. ad regalem v ic t im ' 2 t uns f ull o f pure a le a nd a c oomb f ull o f mild a le a nd a c oomb f ull o f W elsh a le a nd 7 oxen a nd 6 w ethers a nd 4 0 c heeses a nd s ix l ong
be n " ( ?)
a nd 3 0
' ambers'
o f unground c orn a nd f our
' ambers'
o f
meal, t o t he r oyal e state,' ( 74) a s a c ontribution t owards t he k ing's feorm,originally a f ood r ent s ufficient t o maintain t he k ing and h is r etinue f or twenty-four h ours.
( 75)
S uch r ents l evied i n
varying p roportions f rom a ll t he v ills o f a k ingdom, d istinctive f eature o f t he W elsh l aw b ooks
( 76)
a re a
and portray a f orm
o f s ocial o rganisation c ommon i n many e arly s ocieties, and Anglo-Saxon.
H anbury minster,
Worcs.,
b oth C eltic
i s n oted i n a n a uthentic
c harter o f A D 8 36 ( S 1 90, B 4 16) a s b eing g ranted e xemption f rom t he d uty o f e ntertaining t he k ing a nd e aldormen, a nd f rom the s upport o f
f estingmenn
( king's e missaries),
U pper S tratford i n AD 8 45
( S 1 98,
B 4 50 )
a nd the minster o f
i s e xempted f rom t he
d uties o f o ffering h ospitality t o t he k ing a nd p rince a nd t heir s ubordinates, h andlers,
a nd t he m aintenance o f their huntsmen a nd d og-
w ith t heir h orses,
m inster i n AD 8 55
( S
2 07,
h awks and f alcons.
B 4 88)
S imilarly B lockley
w as e xempted f rom t he d uty o f
f eeding a nd maintaining t he h awks a nd f alcons o f M ercia a nd the h untsmen o f t he k ing and e aldormen, t he Hwicce.
I t i s t he minsters,
c onservative e cclesiastical f ashion, k ind f rom d ependent v ills,
e xcept t hose o f the p rovince o f
t oo,
which, perhaps
i n a
a re f ound r equiring r enders i n
renders o f a particularly a rchaic n ature.
T he minster of B ath i n t his w ay d rew 6 porpoises a nd 3 0,000 h errings a nnually f rom t he r iver f isheries o f T idenham, ( S 1 426,
G loucs.,
R ob 1 17), and A 1dantune, p ossibly A ldington, W orcs.,
( 77)
i n the e arly n inth c entury p aid 4 o xen o r c ows a nd 4 vessels o f h oney t o the Abbey o f W inchcomb
( S 1 861,
o f f ood-rents F inberg c omments:
' Food-rents,
B 3 64).
O f t his s ystem
which t he English
c alled feorm, outlived b oth t he S axon a nd t he N orman c onquests, a nd,
a s V inogradoff s ays,
t here i s h ardly a ny r oom f or d oubt t hat
t his ancient f orm o f t ribute r an i n a n uninterrupted s equence f rom t he period o f B ritish r ule. a dministrative c ontinuity.'
There i s h ere more t han a h int o f ( 78)
E ven t he a ssessment o f s ome o f
t hese e arly e states i s g iven i n m anentes o r t ributaril,the l atter u nit o f a ssessment u sed i n G aul a nd i n t he l ater R oman e mpire, t he f ormer more p articularly t hat o f G aul until the s eventh c entury. M any o f t he e arly A nglo-Saxon m insters w ere n ot only
6 7
e stablished i n nodal
s ituations b ut w ere a llotted l arge blocks of
l and f or t heir i mmediate s upport,
l ike t hose d iscussed above.
Within
t he p ostulated t erritory o f t he S toppingas t wo m insters appear to h ave b een e stablished - t hat o f Ufera S tretford ' Upper Stratford', a llegedly f ounded by t he n inth c entury ( S 1 98, B 4 50 ), n ear t he p oint where major R oman r oads c rossed t he R iver Avon i n the h eart o f t he d eveloped F eldon a rea, a nd a t W ootton W awen o n t he f ringes of A rden t o t he n orth-west ( S 9 4, B 1 57). W ithin t he l arge b lock of l and a pparently b elonging t o t his particular f olk-group the r oyal e states o f W ellesbourne a nd K ineton w ere r etained i n r oyal h ands. S everal o f t he l arger minsters i n t ime c laimed c ertain rights over c onsiderable t erritories,
w ith G loucester A bbey c laiming t hat
Ethelred h ad g ranted O sric 3 00 t ributarii f or t he f oundation o f a m onastery, p robably a lluding t o t he t erritory which l ater c omposed t he t hree G loucestershire h undreds o f B lockley, K ing's B arton.
W hitstone a nd
T his d ocument w as a pparently c ompiled i n t he n inth
c entury b ut may b e b ased upon a n a uthentic o riginal. ( 79) A f urther 3 00 c assati w ere a pparently g ranted t o O swald h is b rother a t P ershore,
r eflected i n t he 3 00 h ides r ecorded i n 1 086,
by t hen
d ivided b etween the C hurch o f P ershore and t he C hurch of W estminster. T hey a re matched b y t he 3 00 h ides o f O swaldslow h eld by the C hurch o f W orcester a t t hat t ime, C udburgelawe,
f ormed f rom t he e arly h undreds o f
W inburgetrowe a nd W ulfereslaw
( S 7 31,
B 1 135 ).
( 80 )
C omposed of w idely s cattered h oldings a nd b ased upon c harters and d ocuments o f d oubtful a uthenticity t hese a re n ot c onsidered f urther a t t he p resent t ime b ut s ome c onsideration may b e g iven t o t he o riginal b locks o f l and where t hey c an b e i dentified and t o t he t erritorial
l inks their united d onation may r eveal.
I t i s e vident
t hat t he r ecognition o f e arly t erritorial s ubdivisions
i s n o easy
matter a nd must b e b ased upon t he more r eliable e vidence a vailable f or t he Anglo-Saxon p eriod.
( vii)
Anglo-Saxon e states By t he middle o f t he Anglo-Saxon p eriod t here a re c lear
i ndications o f t he e xistence of c omposite e states c omprising a n umber o f i ndividual t ownships. ' township'
T hroughout t his s tudy the t erm
i s u sed i n a n a ttempt t o f ind a n eutral g eographical t erm
f or a minor e state based upon s ome f orm o f c ommunity organisation. T his may n ot n ecessarily be t he s ame a s t he D omesday v illa o r manor,
a nd O E
t ii n i s t oo a mbiguous a t erm.
A ' composite' e state
may a lternatively b e c alled a ' multiple e state', e state made u p o f a n umber o f t ownship u nits.
i ndicating an
An a dministrative
f ocus i s u sually r ecognisable w ithin e ach l and b lock and m any of t hese r emain a s c hief manors a t t he t ime o f t he D omesday a ssessment. I t i s n ot a lways possible t o d efine t he p recise a rea of t he early e state but i t i s quite c lear t hat t he b ounds were o ften a lready e stablished a nd w ell-known a t t he t ime o f t he e arliest w ritten r ecords
( Chapter 4 ).
H idage a ssessments a re n ot a lways r eliable
a nd e ven when b oundary c lauses s urvive t hey c annot a lways b e a ssumed t o b e c ontemporary w ith t he o riginal g rant and n ecessarily t o d efine t he o riginal l and unit. f or i nstance,
T hose o f W ican a nd T redington,
a ppear t o b e l ater a dditions.
s urviving l and g rants a nd l eases i llustrate,
As t he numerous the r egouping of
e states was a c ontinuous process t hroughout t he Anglo-Saxon period,
6 8
with e states b oth diminishing o r g rowing i n s ize u nder t he i mpetus of the e conomic a nd t erritorial a dvantages o f l and a cquisition. Conflict over l and b etween r ival l ords, e cclesiastical,
whether l ay o r
i s f requently e vident, w ith many i nstances o f
charters being f orged o r a ltered t o s trengthen c laims t o l and o r privileges f or l and. T he t erritorial u rge underlying many o f t hese t ransactions h as r ecently b een d iscussed by W ormald,
( 81)
w ho t races
the c ontinuing i nfluence o f t he v alues o f t he b arbarian a ristocratic i deals o f ' Adel, K irche a nd K e 5nigsdienst' ( Nobility, C hurch and S ervice t o t he k ing),
i n t he e arly C hristian C hurch.
N evertheless, a ssessment,
e arly b locks o f l and o f h igh h idage
g ranted by H wiccan o r M ercian r oyalty, r epresent i n a ll
probability a reas o f l and a lready d isplaying s ome d egree o f e conomic o r administrative c ohesion ( Fig. 2 .7). There a re a n umber of t hese r ecorded i n t he c harters a nd a c omparison o f t heir s ubsequent f ragmentation o r s tability t hrough t he v icissitudes o f l and ownership i n t he A nglo-Saxon a nd i mmediate post-Conquest p eriod may r eveal t he e xtent t o which s imilar f orces w ere a ctive e lsewhere w here d ocumentation i s l ess w ell-preserved. W ithin t he a rea o f t he l ater c ounty of W orcestershire s everal s uch e states may b e r ecognised a s b locks o f l and g ranted by t he Hwiccan o r M ercian k ings t o monastic e stablishments f ounded i n t he Anglo-Saxon p eriod. R iver S evern, W orcester,
A l arge b lock o f l and t o t he w est o f t he
f or i nstance, w as t o b e d onated t o M ilred, B ishop o f
i n t he e ighth c entury
( S 1 42, B 2 19).
T he charter
r efers t o t hat t erra i n cum f inibus s uis q ua pertinet ad v illai n q tm v ocatur W ICAN
' the l and w ith i ts b oundaries which b elongs t o the
v iii c alled W ican',
and when the b ounds of t his e state a re t raced
i t may b e s een t o h ave included t he l ater parishes o f S t. B edwardine,
C otheridge,
H allow,
G rimley,
K enswick,
H olt,
J ohn i n L ittle
W itley, part of W ichenford a nd that part o f Worcester west o f the S evern ( Fig. 2 .8). By 1 086 1 5 h ides o f t his e state remained d ependent u pon t he v iii o f W iche but a n inth-century c harter ( S 1 80,
B 3 57)
r efers t o 3 0 m anentes o f Church l ands l ying t o the
w est of t he S evern.
This e state w ill b e d iscussed i n s ome d etail
i n Part I V. T o the s outh of W orcester a n e ighth-century c harter ( S 1 54,
B 2 95)
r efers t o 3 0 m anentes a t Kempsey, g ranted b y C enwulf
t o Abbot B althun i n e xchange f or l and a t H arvington a nd a gain s upporting a minster. h ides
i n 1 086.
Kempsey remained a manorial c entre o f 2 4
I n s outh Worcestershire 5 0 manentes b elonging t o
t he royal v iii o f C ropthorne w as a llegedly g ranted t o t he C hurch o f Worcester i n A D 7 80 p arishes o f N etherton,
( S 1 18, B 2 35), E lmley C astle
a nd Little Hampton a nd B engeworth, o f 5 0 hides i n 1 086.
a n a rea i ncluding t he l ater
( with K ersoe),
C harlton,
G reat
l and s till a ppearing a s a manor
This l and unit b ore t he name o f C u6burgelawe
i n the e ighth c entury and a ppears t o r epresent one o f t he most a ncient l and b locks o f the k ingdom.
Another e arly r oyal g rant to
t he Church o f Worcester was t hat o f E thelred between A D 6 91 a nd 6 99 of an e state o f 4 4 c assati c entred u pon F ladbury i n t he Vale o f E vesham,
a s n oted a bove,
a n e state which w as n ot only t o b e o ne o f
t he r ichest e states h eld by t he Church o f W orcester b ut one which s eems
t o h ave been o f c onsiderable prosperity i n t he Anglo-Saxon
6 9
/ / I/ 42 - _
S
E s ta te f o cus w i th h i dage a ssessmen t ( o ve r 1 5h i des , i fk nown ) 1 0m ls 0
F ig.
2 .7
P re-Conquest e state l inks
7 0
1 0 km
O H
Fig.
2 .8
A nglo-Saxon e states:
7 1
W ican
p eriod.
R ipple,
2 5-hide e state,
i n t he S evern v alley, w as i n 1 086 t he f ocus o f a the r emnant of an original 3 0 manentium a llegedly
g ranted to W orcester b y O shere i n the l ate s eventh c entury f or the f oundation o f a minster ( S 5 2, B 5 1). T redington, Warks., i n the S tour valley, i n 1 086 a 2 3-hide e state, s till c orresponded c losely t o the 3 0 c assatos, d ivided i nto two 2 4 and 6 c assati b locks, g ranted by E anberht, Uhtred a nd Ealdred, u nderkings o f the H wicce, S t.
P eter's, W orcester,
i n A D 7 57
c assatorum a t Shottery,
( S 5 5, B 1 83).
t o
A g rant o f 3 3
i n the middle Avon v alley o f Warwickshire,
w as made by O ff a o f E ssex t o the Church o f W orcester b etween AD 6 99 a nd 7 09 ( S 6 4, B 1 23). Other e arly minsters e ndowed with l arge b locks o f l and, many o f t hem u ltimately t o p ass t o the Church of W orcester,
i ncluded that of Ufera Stretford
a llegedly e ndowed w ith 3 0 c assati W ootton Wawen, ( S 9 4,
i n AD 7 81
' Upper S tratford', ( S 1 98, B 4 50 ), t hat of
endowed w ith 2 0 c assatorum b etween AD 7 16 and 7 37
B 1 57), C life, B ishop's C leeve i n G loucestershire,
w ith 1 5 mansum by O ff a o f Mercia and E aldred, H wicce,
b etween AD 7 68 and 7 79
I smere n ear K idderminster,
( S 1 41,
B 2 46 ),
e ndowed
s ubregulus o f the and a minster a t
e ndowed w ith 1 0 c assatorum by Ethelbald
i n AD 7 36 ( S 8 9, B 1 54). S t. P eter's, B redon, was a lso to a cquire f rom Offa o f Mercia 2 0 h ides of l and a t C ofton H ackett in A D 7 80 ( S 1 17, B 2 34, B 8 47), a l ater boundary c lause s howing that the l and e xtended beyond the parish of C ofton H ackett t o include at l east part o f A lvechurch
( S 1 272, B 4 55(1)).
The vast e state at
H anbury a ssessed a t 5 0 h ides was s aid t o h ave been g ranted b y W ulfhere o f M ercia t o Abbot C olman between A D 6 57 a nd 6 74 ( 82)
( S 1 822)
and a lthough n o boundary c lause i s a ttached t o the c harter the
o riginal e state may h ave e xtended over a g reater a rea than t he 1 4-hide manor r ecorded i n 1 086. I n A D 7 36 x 7 37 a minster a t W ithington,
G loucs., possessed 2 0 c assati o f l and by the R iver
T illath(Coln )
( S 1 429,
B 1 56 )
but many Gloucestershire minsters
a re l ess w ell e ndowed w ith c harter e vidence o f t heir related land h oldings.
( 83) The c artularies of t he l arger a bbeys f requently r efer to
b locks o f l and which s eem t o have b een a cquired a s c ompact b locks. W ithin the holdings o f t he Church of P ershore, t enth c entury
( S 7 86, B 1 282),
a s d escribed i n t he
s everal s uch e states may b e n oted
o utside t he main g roupings of the h ome e state. L ongdon and Bushley i n s outh-west Worcestershire w ere g rouped t ogether, a s were Chaceley,
E ldersfield a nd S taunton,
a nd b oth the e states o f Powick
a nd L eigh c overed a n a rea l ater s ubdivided i nto s everal parishes. W ithin t he w ooded a rea which l ay on the n orth-west of the main P ershore e state o ne l and grouping appears t o have b een c omposed o f t he parishes o f N orth P iddle, N aunton B eauchamp.
F lyford F lavell,
Abberton and part o f
The b ounds o f t his e state were i dentified by
G rundy w ith t hose o f the parish o f N aunton B eauchamp but c areful e xamination o f t he boundary c lause s hows t hat most of the f our parishes w as c ertainly i ncluded within i ts b ounds.
Evesham Abbey
w as f ounded in t he e arly e ighth c entury a nd began t o build up an e state b ased on b oth s ides o f the Avon. of E cgwine,
H owever s purious t he c laim
h is s tatements d o s eem t o r eveal s omething o f t he l and
g roupings w ithin t he f inal e state.
T he E vesham Chronicle
t hat t he h oldings on t he l eft bank o f t he r iver, w ere a s ingle l and unit i n AD 703,
c laims
t he h oldings o n the r ight bank
a cquired i n p iecemeal f ashion l ater,
7 2
( 84)
c overing 2 0 manses,
t ogether w ith additional
h oldings on the l eft bank.
( 85)
Many a dministrative c entres of t his n ature a re n ot r ecorded b efore t he D omesday a ssessment a nd this a lso r ecords d ependent v ills w hich e nable e state g roupings t o b e r econstructed ( Fig. 2 .9). T he l atter must be h andled w ith c are f or minor e states c ould b ecome u nited s imply t hrough s haring a c ommon ownership.
The l inks b etween
c hapelries and mother c hurches a lso reveal e arly r elationships b etween n eighbouring o r e ven d istant townships a nd manors.
F igure
2 .10 s hows s ome o f t he l inkages n oted i n this a rea a nd t he r esultant p attern s trongly s upports t he v iew t hat s uch i nter-dependencies may h ave a risen w ithin units o f l and d isplaying a t an e arly d ate s ome d egree o f t erritorial c ohesion.
Ford c arries t his a rgument f urther
i n s uggesting s ome c ommon e conomic i nter-dependency w ithin i ndividual e states,
s uggested b y t he place-names o f c ertain minor c ommunities.
S ome c ommunities a ppear t o have b een n otable f or t he production o f p articular c ommodities, i ncorporating O E c jse
t he numerous Cheswick hamlets,
' cheese',
f or the p roduction o f cheese, b arley f arm',
a nd w ic
f or i nstance,
' a d ependent f arm', n oted
t he numerous B artons,
n oted f or t he c ultivation o f b arley.
O E b eretun ( 86)
' a
A lthough t he
n ames t hemselves a re o f Anglo-Saxon o rigin,
R oman a ntecedents have
b een c laimed f or s ome o f t he e states.
The e xtent t o which t his
( 87)
a rgument c an b e c arried o r c onfirmed must r est u pon f urther d etailed l ocal s tudies.
7 3
e o
M anor ia lc e n tre w i th h i duge a s sessmen t ( o ver 1 5h i des ) 1 0m l s
0
6
F ig. 2 .9
Manorial c entres and d ependencies
7 4
1 0 km
O H
F ig.
2 .10
E cclesiastical d ependencies
7 5
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The r eliability o f this charter,
s urviving only i n a 1 7th-
century s ummation of i ts c ontents, Nicholas Brooks
' cannot be presumed g enuine':
( personal c ommunication ).
8 3.
T .R.
8 4.
W .D . Macray ( Ed.), Chronicon Abbatiae de Evesham Rolls S eries XXIX ( London 1 863) 7 1-72.
8 5.
S later, op.
Discussed by D .C. Evesham c . V ( 1975)
8 6.
A .H.
W .J.
Cox,
the Vale e states o f the Church o f
2 5-50.
Smith,
T he P lace-Name E lements I I,
Ford,
2 59,
I ,
E .P.N.S.
XXV
E .P.N.S.
XXVI
( Cambridge 1 970 )
3 1.
T he pattern of settlement in t he Central Region of
t he W arwickshire Avon thesis
8 8.
7 00-1086 V ale of Evesham H istorical Research P apers
( Cambridge 1 970) 8 7.
c it.,
1 973)
2 7-28,
( unpubd.
8 1-84.
8 1
University of Leicester M .A.
P art I I
( i )
C hapter 4 :
THE ANTIQUITY O F T HE BOUNDS
M ajor E states A lthough a rguments s till r age o ver the q uestion o f
c ontinuity i n t he English c ountryside i t i s rare f or any p olitical o r s ocial u pheaval t o d estroy e ntirely t he o rganisation u pon which d aily s ustenance d epends.
S ome t ype o f a dministrative f ramework
must c ontinue a nd v ery o ften i t i s s impler a nd more expedient to a dapt t hat a lready i n e xistence.
L and d ivision h as been a n
e ssential c omponent o f most modern s ocieties and
' boundaries are
o ne o f t he most p ermanent a nd a ncient f eatures i n t he English l andscape'. ( 1) A n umber o f w riters h ave s uggested that s ome major b oundaries may b e p rojected b ack i nto t he I ron A ge, l argely on the b asis o f c orrelations b etween p resent b oundaries a nd dated a rchaeological
f eatures.
The s ubject h as a ttracted s cholars f rom
a v ariety o f d isciplines a nd i t i s the c ombined a rchaeological/ h istorical/geographical a pproach which h as y ielded s ome o f t he most i nteresting i deas on t he s ubject s o f ar. Bonney
( 2)
s hows h ow t he s outhern b oundary o f a l and unit
c entred on t he Wylye v alley i n W iltshire f ollows a n I ron A ge dyke k nown a s G rim's D yke a long the G roveley R idge t o t he west o f Wilton i n p reference t o a n ear-by Roman r oad. e arthwork,
I n c ontrast,
t he e astern part o f W ansdyke,
a post-Roman
i s e ntirely i gnored.
Grim's
D yke f ollows a marked watershed r idge b etween the v alleys o f the R iver Wylye and R iver Nadder a nd i t would n ot be s urprising t o f ind s uch a marked t opographical f eature f orming a n atural divide between t he l and units o f d ifferent peoples.
H owever, more t enuous f orms
o f e vidence s uggest that l and u nits r eflecting I ron A ge s ystems of a dministration may h ave s urvived t o f orm t he b asis o f l ater d ivisions.
I n B erkshire G elling
( 3)
h as a rgued c onvincingly f or the
e xistence o f e states o f s ome s ize b ased u pon I ron A ge f ortified s ites a nd d iscusses the u se made o f t he p rehistoric e arthwork of G rim's D itch o n t he s outh-western b oundary o f t he l arge B lewbury e state.
H owever,
n ot a ll a reas a re f ortunate i n p ossessing t he
n umber o f marked a rchaeological f eatures
s urviving i n Wessex.
I n t he W est M idland a rea e ven t he major t ribal d ivisions o f t he I ron A ge r emain l argely u nknown a nd t here a re f ew prehistoric l inear e arthworks which c an b e u sed a s d ating e vidence.
A n umber o f
e arly d ykes a re f ollowed b y parish b oundaries f or s hort distances b ut t hese h ardly s uggest major d ivides. s ites,
C oncentrations o f f ortified
a s n oted by F ord, m ay b e t he b est i ndication o f possible
f rontier z ones.
( 4)
F ord h as a lso n oted t he t endency f or n atural
b oundaries t o d ivide r egions w hich s eem t o b e c haracterised b y d istinctive r ural
e conomies a t s ome unspecified d ate.
On t he
W orcestershire-Warwickshire b oundary t he c ounty b oundary a nd that o f a ssociated parishes s eems t o f ollow a major r idgeway r ather t han the n earby R oman R yknield S treet a nd t his may i mply the e xistence of a p re-Roman d ivide.
F or part o f i ts d istance,at l east,
8 2
this b oundary
c oincides w ith t he w estern b oundary o f t he f olk-region a ssigned b y F ord t o t he Stoppingas
.
L ittle m ore i s k nown a bout b oundary d ivisions e xisting w ithin the R oman p eriod.
R ecently P hythian-Adams h as s uggested t hat
m any Roman t owns w ere e stablished n ear political b oundaries:
' It i s
a remarkable f act t hat i n a number o f c ases, a t t he point where R oman r oads c ross a ncient a dministrative b oundaries, t here a re t o be f ound planted R oman s ettlements s ome o f w hich may w ell h ave c ontained m arkets
.. Where t he F osse Way c uts a cross t he p robable l ine o f t he
p rincipality o f t he Hwicce i n Warwickshire l ies a Roman s ettlement a t C hesterton.
W here a ll b ut o ne o f the probable R oman r oads r adiating
o utwards f rom L eicester c leave t hrough t he c ounty b oundary a re s imilar s ettlements;
a t M ancetter, H igh C ross, C aves I nn, M edbourne;
a nd t o t he n orth, W illoughby-on-the-Wolds - once a C eltic s hrine.' H ere P hythian-Adams i s s uggesting t hat
omans, p erhaps ' the R
s trategically, p lanted t hese s ettlements on pre-existing f rontiers rigins o f R utland, w hether major o r m inor', a nd, i n d iscussing the o hould be s ought, n ot c oncludes t hat ' the o rigins o f t he d istrict s i n t he a dministrative r eorganisations o f t he t enth c entury, but o ver a m illenium e arlier'.
( 5)
W ithin t he s tudy a rea, C hesterton i ndeed l ies u pon t he d iocesan b oundary o f t he Hwiccan b ishopric, D orn v ery n ear i t i n t he s outh-east, G reensforge j ust a cross i ts n orthern b oundary, White W alls j ust o ver t he boundary o n t he s outh a nd S ea M ills u pon the b oundary on t he B ristol Avon, b ut t he r elationship i s b y n o means a s c lear a s t hat n oted i n t he E ast M idlands.
A lthough t he F osse Way
i s f ollowed a cross t he C otswolds b y parish b oundaries f or a c onsiderable p art o f i ts l ength t hrough G loucestershire a nd again f or part o f i ts c ourse t hrough m id-Warwickshire, i t was n ot u ltimately t o b ecome a m ajor a dministrative boundary and the t owns a long i ts r oute, s uch a s B ourton-on-the-Water a nd C irencester, d o n ot l ie u pon a ny l ine which s urvived a s a m ajor b oundary i nto t he A nglo-Saxon p eriod.
T he t endency f or parish b oundaries t o f ollow
t he Fosse f or s uch c onsiderable d istances s uggests,
h owever,
that
i t may h ave s erved a s a n administrative b oundary a t s ome t ime d uring t he R omano-British period.
The v ery s ize o f t he a ssociated d itches
w hich g ave i t i ts name s uggests t he possibility of i t s erving a s a c ustoms b arrier. A n umber o f o ther R oman c entres l ie i n c lose p roximity t o l ater a dministrative b oundaries. A lcester l ies only a f ew miles t o t he e ast of t he W orcestershire/Warwickshire b oundary, a gain where t he p ostulated b oundary o f t he S toppingas f ollowed a r idge o f h igh l and, ( 5a) a nd t his l ine c hosen a s the b oundary o f t he e arly e leventh-century c ounties may n ot h ave b een a n entirely a rbitrary o ne. H owever, R oman s ettlements i n t he W est M idlands f ail t o s how a direct r elationship w ith a dministrative b oundaries e xcept i n the most h ighly R omanised a reas o f t he e ast and i t w ould b e i nteresting t o know i f s uch a r elationship e xists i n t he l ess h eavily Romanised a reas o f t he W elsh B orderland. B y n o means a ll R oman c entres l ay i n boundary s ituations a nd o ther w riters h ave a ttempted t o i dentify the t erritoria a ttached t o c ertain major R aman t owns. s uggested t erritorium o r
' town-zone'
n atural and a rchaeological f eatures
8 3
The
o f C olchester, u tilising b oth a s b oundaries,
i s p erhaps one
o f the most c onvincing.
( 6)
The b oundaries of p agi or
' country
d istricts' w ithin t he c ivitates r emain v irtually unknown.
I n the
W est M idlands S later ( 7) h as a rgued f or t he antiquity o f t he a rea l ater k nown a s t he S even H undreds o f C irencester, an a rea a gain b ounded by o bvious t opographical f eatures. I t i s a lso possible t o r ecognise e arly t opographical r egions i n t he a rea.
M any a re woodland a reas a nd a n inth-century c harter o f
c hurch o f W orcester l ands
( S 1 80, B 3 57)
l eage l ying t o t he w est o f t he S evern.
s peaks o f the w eorgorena T his s eems to h ave been t he
n ame o f a n e xtensive a rea o f w oodland which w as p robably b eing e roded b y s ettlement f rom the e ast ( Figs. 2 .5, 2 .8). I t m ay have p rovided v aluable pasture-land f or t he e states e stablished i n t he S evern v alley a nd w ill b e m ore c losely e xamined i n Part I V. a w oodland n ame w ould b e matched b y t hat o f c ynibre or
S uch
' Kinver'
t o
t he n orth i n S hropshire a nd S taffordshire, a nd moerheb, ' Morfe', i n S hropshire ( S 8 9, B 1 54). S imilarly F lefer6 a ppears to h ave been a w ooded a rea b eside t he P iddle B rook i n m id-Worcestershire, i ts n ame d erived f rom f yrhä ' woodland'. ( 8) O ther t opographical r egion n ames i nclude L ench, a n ame f rom O E
* hlenc ' a r idge',
( 9 )
perhaps to b e
i dentified w ith t he l ong s pine o f h ighland e xtending s outhwards t owards the R iver Avon o n the e ast Worcestershire border. ' Cotswold', t oo, may b e a n e arly n ame r eferring t o t he O olitic l imestone a rea o f n orth G loucestershire a nd may b e d erived f rom t he OE w eald ' woodland', i mplying the e xistence o f e xtensive w oodland i n this a rea a t a n e arly d ate. ( 10 ) The R iver A rrow may h ave g iven i ts name t o a f olk-group c alled t he Arosetna,
i dentified b y s ome s cholars w ith a g roup l iving
i n t he v alley o f t he R iver A rrow, a t ributary o f t he Warwickshire A von.
( 11)
Names o f topographical o rigin a re s ome of the o ldest
r egional names n oted,
c ontinuing a t radition o f s uch nomenclature
a lready f irmly e stablished i n t he B ritish p eriod. e states named a fter marked t opographical f eatures, c ontaining r iver-names,
a re p lotted,
( 12)
W hen
e specially those
c onsiderable i nsight m ay b e
gained i nto t erritorial e xpansion w ithin t he West M idlands.
I t
b ecomes e vident t hat t here i s a marked c oncentration o f r iver-names i n t he s outh-east o f G loucestershire a nd t hat a reas o f t opographic ally-named s ettlements g ive w ay n orth-westwards t owards t hose o f t un names a nd, f urther t o t he n orth-west, t o a reas where t he leah t erm predominates
( Part I II).
F ord's t heory o f f olk-regions b ased u pon s easonal p atterns o f t ranshumance i s a n attractive one a nd t his p attern o f organisation s eems t o f irmly u nderlie a ll s ubsequent a dministrative b oundaries n oted i n W arwickshire.
I t i s n ot s o r eadily a pplicable t o
Worcestershire a nd G loucestershire but h ere a gain t here a re hints o f s uch a s ystem.
I n t he w est woodland w as n ot s uch a r are c ommodity
a nd s ummer pastures were p erhaps more r eadily a vailable. l ess,
N everthe-
t he C otswold e scarpment a ppears t o h ave b een an a rea o f
s econdary d evelopment and t here a re many i nstances o f l inks b etween m ore i ntensively d eveloped r iverine e states a nd a reas o f l and known t o h ave b een d ensely wooded i n t he Anglo-Saxon period.
A reas t o t he
w est o f the S evern a nd s outh o f the Teme may h ave b een b rought i nto t he g eneral pattern o f e conomic o rganisation a t a r elatively l ate d ate.
8 4
O n F igure 2 .11 t he b oundaries o f rural d eaneries h ave t entatively b een a dded a nd a c omparison w ith F igure 2 .7 s hows h ow f ew early e states a ppear t o c ross t hem. t hirteenth c entury,
Unrecorded b efore t he
t hese minor e cclesiastical boundaries h ave n ot
h itherto r eceived a g reat d eal o f a ttention but i n v iew o f t he k nown c onservativism o f e cclesiastical b odies they may warrant f urther a ttention.
C ox h as s hown h ow the b oundary o f t he Evesham d eanery
a ppears t o have b een e stablished i n t he e leventh c entury, when E fic w as prior,
and t o r eflect l ands under church ownership a t t hat t ime.
These b oundaries m ay b e c ompared w ith hundred b oundaries i n i nvestigating t he p roblem o f i nternal divisions f or
' where t he b ound-
a ries o f a hundred a nd a d eanery c oincide i t i s e specially l ikely t hat t he outline of a n e arly g roup o f e states F urthermore,
i s t here preserved.'
( 13)
e cclesiastical l ands w ere p erhaps l ess l ikely t o b e
f ragmented by t he c omplexities a ccompanying f requent c hanges o f l and o wnership.
A lthough l arge a reas o f l and were a lienated t o
e cclesiastical ownership other e states were r etained b y t he k ing a nd a n i nvestigation o f the p atterns o f l and ownership a gainst a ll t he s urviving b oundary i nformation must f orm t he basis o f f urther s tudies i nto t erritorial o rganisation i n this a rea. A c lose a ssociation w ill b e n oted i n t he n orth-east o f W orcestershire b etween t he rural d eanery o f D roitwich a nd t he h undred d ivisions o f Came a nd t he s outhern part o f C lent h undred, w hich w ith minor a dditions f rom E sch and P ershore h undreds make up t he land w ithin t he r ural d eanery. b een a lienated t o t he Church,
( 14)
A lthough l arge a reas h ad
i ncluding t he i mportant e state a t
B anbury a nd e xtensive e states a t C ofton H ackett, p assed i nto s ecular h ands b efore 1 086,
a nd other a reas h ad
a l arge e state a t B romsgrove
w ith no f ewer t han e ighteen b erewicks s till r emained i n r oyal h ands i n 1 086.
T his h ad a pparently b elonged t o E arl E dwin who h ad
a lso shared r ights i n t he s alt w ells at D roitwich,
r ights which
p ossibly r epresented a n i nheritance f rom t he o riginal s ub-kings o f t he Hwicce.
( 15 )
D roitwich,
a R oman c entre e stablished i n the
v alley o f t he R iver S alwarpe, o f this a rea,
s eems t o h ave b een t he f ocal c entre
a lthough t here a re i ndications o f a possible p alace
s ite at Wychbold, a f ew miles t o t he n orth-east. c harter was s igned a t S altwic c harters
( S 1 88,
S 1 78)
( S 2 20 )
A n inth-century
but two o ther n inth-century
s uggest c ouncil meetings a t Wychbold,
d escribed a s a ' royal v iii'.
D evelopment s eems t o have b een most
i ntensive i n t he S alwarpe valley,
f acilitated perhaps by e ase o f
a ccess a long t he R oman r oad f rom W orcester n orth-eastwards.
The
d istribution o f . 1 ;ah p lace-names s uggests that w oodland w as p lentiful i n the n orth o f t he a rea a nd l inks b etween D roitwich a nd B romsgrove w ere perpetuated b y t he n eed f or s upplies o f timber f rom the l atter t o f eed t he s alt f urnaces.
N atural t opographical f eatures w ere
f ollowed b y e xtensive l engths o f t he rural d eanery b oundary,
f or i n
t he west this f ollowed t he l ine o f t he R iver S alwarpe a nd the D overdale, t he
and i n the n orth t he R ivers R ea a nd Cole,
s outhern b oundary f ollowed t he S eeley B rook,
while part o f
a t ributary o f t he
B ow Brook and the R iver A von. Further n orth,
t he r ural d eanery o f K idderminster c omprised
t he whole o f C resselau H undred a nd t he n orthern p art o f C lent H undred, e ncompassing i n the w est t he t wo 2 0-hide e states o f K idderminster a nd H artlebury.
A lthough a minster h ad b een f ounded
8 5
—
R oya l e s ta te 1 0 86 D i ocesan b ounda ry B ounda ry o fr u ra l d eanery
F ig. 2 .11
The West Midlands:
r i
P re-Conquest m i ns t er
o
C ha r te r s i gn ing-p la ce
e cclesiastical d ivisions and a dministrative
and r eligious c entres
86
i n t his a rea at I smere i n A D 7 36
( S 8 9,
B 1 54)
and H artlebury h ad by
t he t enth c entury p assed t o the Church o f Worcester,
K idderminster,
w ith i ts s ixteen b erewicks, and d ent r emained i n r oyal h ands i n 1 086. Around W orcester i tself t he W ican e state l ay a t t he w estern f ocus o f t he l ate H undred o f O swaldslow,
b ut the r ural d eanery
e xtended b eyond t his e state t o i nclude parishes o utside Church o wnership i n Doddingtree H undred.
E astwards t his h undred d ivision
i ncluded t he t wo m anorial c entres o f N orthwick and Kempsey,
b ut t he
r ural d eanery w as a gain a more e xtensive u nit i ncluding Ombersley t o t he north, part o f t he E vesham-held h undred o f F ishborough a nd a n umber o f e states o riginally i n P ershore hands a nd s till part o f the h oldings o f the A bbey o f P ershore i n 1 086.
The f ocal point o f t his
a rea was t he v alley o f t he S evern w ith t he most i ntensive d evelopment a round Worcester i tself,
t he l atter t he e arly e cclesiastical centre
o f t he H wiccan k ingdom. D evelopment t hinned o ut i n a ll d irections a nd woodland i ncreased t o t he n orth-west a nd s outh-east. ( 16 ) O nce a gain,
n atural t opographical f eatures may b e n oted a long t he b oundary
o f t he r ural d eanery which r an a long t he R iver Teme w est f rom W orcester and t hen a long t he h igh l and o f Abberley H ill, w ith the d iocesan b oundary. D ouerdale
( S
5 4, B 1 16)
i n c ommon
T he e astern b oundary f ollows t he
a nd t he R iver S alwarpe,
t akes i n a n a rea
o f woodland n ear C rowle a nd then f ollows t he B ow B rook f or a c onsiderable d istance b efore running back t o j oin t he S evern. l atter r iver
The
s eparates t he r ural d eanery f rom a reas t o t he s outh-west
w hich s eem t o h ave b een d eveloped a t a r elatively l ate date. E ach o f t hese t hree d ivisions h ave I ron A ge f orts u pon t heir b oundaries and w hile t his may b e mere c oincidence i t does g ive r ise t o i nteresting s peculation.
The a reas o f t he r ural d eaneries
c annot b e t aken a s e arly l and g roupings a t f ace value - t he t ranshumance l inks n oted b y Ford c ut r ight a cross them a nd i n t he A von valley, a t l east,
t hey a re i nfluenced b y e cclesiastical l and
o wnership i n e xactly t he s ame w ay a s the c ounty d ivisions,
b ut i n
t he majority o f c ases t heir b oundaries a re r espected b y the e arliest r ecorded i n t he c harters.
They r epresent yet another i nstance o f
t he s tability o f particular b oundary l ines a nd i t i s perhaps when t he boundaries o f h undreds,
r ural d eaneries a nd Anglo-Saxon e states
c oincide that t he antiquity o f t he boundary l ine may b e most r eadily s uspected. w hen h e
I t i s t he h undred d ivisions which S tubbs h ad i n mind
c ommented u pon
o ther c auses,
' the b oundaries of t hese ' b eing d etermined'by
a s t he c ourses o f r ivers,
the ranges o f the h ills,
d istribution o f e states t o t he c hieftains, B ritish i ndependence',
( 17)
t he
and t he remnants o f t he
b ut a ll t he e vidence a ppears t o s uggest
t hat many b oundaries f ollowed l ines e stablished a t a very e arly d ate a nd s urvived w ith very l ittle c hange f or many c enturies.
Although
t hey may h ave l acked physical s ubstance t hey a ppear t o h ave outl asted t he majority o f o ther man-made f eatures,
i ncluding e ven t he
s ettlement s ites and f ortifications o f the man-made l andscape o r the w oods a nd marshes o f t he n atural l andscape.
( ii)
M inor a dministrative b oundaries C laims o f antiquity h ave n ot b een c onfined t o major
b oundary d ivisions.
There s eems n o r eason t o dispute that many o f
t he boundaries d escribed i n t he c lauses o f p re-Conquest charters
8 7
w ere a lready i n e xistence when these were d rawn u p.
I ndeed,
a
number o f charters s tate quite c ategorically that they a re g ranting l and w ithin i ts a ncient b oundaries. A c harter o f Henbury, G loucs., ( S 7 7, B 7 5) i n which K ing E thelred g rants 3 0 c assati t o B ishop O ftfor a nd S t.
P eter's c hurch, W orcester, b etween A D 6 91 a nd 6 99
i s unaccompanied by a b oundary c lause b ut g rants t he l and c um a ntiquis c onfiniis F inberg,
( 18)
' with i ts ancient boundaries',
a s n oted by
a nd another o f W ootton Wawen, Warks.
( S
which K ing Ethelred g rants 2 0 c assatorum t o E thelric,
9 4, B 1 57), c omes,
i n
l ikewise
g rants t he e state i ntra t erminos ab a ntiquis pcssessoribus constitutos
' within t he b oundaries c onstituted by t he a ncient
possessors'.
The l arge e state o f W ican, W orcs.,
( S 1 42, B 2 19),
a lso
a ppears t o h ave h ad known b oundaries when i t was g ranted b etween A D 7 57 and 7 75 f or t he c harter r efers t o t erra i n cum f inibus s uis q u pertinet a d v illai n q uw . v ocatur W ICAN
' the l and w ith i ts b oundaries
which b elongs t o t he v iii which i s c alled W ican' e state a t T IMBINGCTUN, G loucs., t erminis c harters,
' with i ts b oundaries'. i n particular,
( S 1 41,
a nd the m onastic
B 2 46 )is g ranted c um s uis
T he H enbury a nd W ootton W awen
s eem t o p rovide c onvincing evidence f or t he
a ntiquity o f their b oundaries a nd t hese c an be paralleled b y others o utside the W est M idland a rea. when s he c omments:
G elling s ummarises t he s ituation
' If t hese u nits h ave k ept t heir identity f or a
t housand y ears, s urviving t he major u pheavals of t he industrial a nd a gricultural r evolutions i n t he e ighteenth c entury, i t i s r easonable t o s uppose t hat t hey were a lready o f s ome a ntiquity when t heir b oundaries w ere w ritten d own f or i ncorporation i n Anglo-Saxon land g rants.'
( 19) I t i s a lso obvious that t he boundaries h ad a lready r eached a
s tage o f d etailed c omplexity.
N ot only w ere t he g ära f eatures
t riangular-shaped p ieces o f l and, often w edge-shaped c orners l eft b etween a b oundary l ine a nd a r oad, but t he boundary o f S outham, Warks.,
a s i n O ldberrow and W illersey, ( S 8 92,
N S 8 )
runs a round a
projecting p iece o f l and r eferred t o i n t he t enth-century c lause a s t he c occebyle o r
' cock-bill',
p resumably b ecause o f its s hape.
S tepped boundaries i n l ocations where t he c harters r efer t o h eadlands may a lso i ndicate boundaries a lready i n t he Anglo-Saxon p eriod t hreading t heir w ay a round a rable l and. I n a ddition t o t he r ecorded e vidence,
a f amiliarity with
b oundary c lauses i nevitably g ives o ne t he i mpression that t he b oundaries b eing d escribed a re u sually i n p rior e xistence.
I n
particular t he b oundaries o f l and units s eem t o h ave been l aid down w ith a c areful eye on l ocal t opography w hich i s o ften c ompletely a bsent i n t he e yes o f t hose a ctually c ommitting t he boundaries t o w riting. B oundaries f requently pass a long a marked physical f eature with b arely a ny r ecognition o f t his i n t he c lause, t ravelling a long r idges v ia i solated t rees a nd b arrows.
W hile i n s ome c ases
t his may r eflect t he n eed t o p inpoint the l ine o f t he b oundary with g reater a ccuracy t han a d iscussion o f t he l ocal t opography w ould a llow,
i t i s t he w riter's opinion t hat t he s urveyors were c omposing
t heir b oundaries a t a t ime f ar r emoved f rom the a ctual d emarcation and t hat t he c lauses r ead i n a d isjointed w ay much a s a c hild's e ssay may a ttempt t o r ecord e vents a fter t hey h ave happened i n a s eries of parataxic c lauses.
8 8
O nce a gain,
a rchaeological e vidence may b e e xamined i n
r elation t o minor a dministrative b oundaries.
The c omplex which
s urrounds t he e arly S axon s unken-featured buildings o f C atholme, B arton-under-Needwood,
S taffs.,
( 20 )
r espects the b oundary o f t he
p arish a nd s uggests t hat t he l atter a s a b oundary was i n e xistence a t an e arly s tage o f t he Anglo-Saxon t ake-over.
Pagan burials o f
t he Anglo-Saxon p eriod a re a lso f requently f ound t o o ccupy b oundary s ituations.
The f act t hat a h igh p roportion o f s uch b urials
i n
W iltshire w as l ocated on o r v ery n ear t o t he p resent-day p arish b oundaries i s c onsidered b y B onney t o s uggest t hat t he b ounds r epresented a d eliberate c hoice: ' The a ppearance o f numerous p agan S axon burial s ites o n o r n ear parish b oundaries b ecomes i ntelligible. T hey s urely i ndicate t hat t hose b oundaries, a s b oundaries, w ere i n b eing a s e arly a s t he pagan S axon p eriod a nd they i mply t he e xistence o f a s ettled l andscape c learly d ivided among the s ettlem ents a t a t ime p rior t o a ny documentary e vidence f or s uch
..
H ow
e arly i n t he pagan S axon p eriod t he b oundaries o f s ettlements a nd e states w ere d efined i s h ard t o s ay, t hat ( 21)
b ut t here a re i ndications
s ome o f t he b oundaries w ere i n e xistence i n t he f ifth c entury.' W riting i n 1 966,
a nalysed,
B onney f ound t hat,
o f t he 6 9 W iltshire s ites
2 0 w ere l ocated a ctually u pon a boundary and a f urther 1 0
w ithin 5 00 f eet o f one,
a n i ncidence t oo h igh t o b e merely f ortuitous.
M any of t hese W iltshire b oundary burials a ppear t o b e i ndividual b urials o f males, o ccasionally d isplaying s igns o f b attle.
I n v iew
o f the f act that S axon mercenaries a re known t o have b een e mployed i n Britain i n t he f ifth c entury, ( 22) t he q uestion might b e a sked a s t o whether t hese b urials c ould b e o f w arriors who were n ot members o f the n ormal v illage c ommunity, s ited a s they were i n s pots r emote f rom t he a pparent c entres o f village a ctivity.
O ther r easons f or
b oundary burial, h owever, h ave b een s uggested, i ncluding a belief i n t he e ffectiveness o f a d ead a ncestor t o p rotect l and ownership. ( 23) A lternatively the b oundary may h ave b een t hat part o f a n e state l east l ikely t o b e d isturbed by s ubsequent f arming p ractices. I t i s, o f c ourse, possible t hat s ome o ther f actor o r s eries o f f actors i nfluenced b oth burial l ocation a nd t he demarcation o f b oundaries. H owever, i n a s tudy o f pagan burials i n the W est M idlands Whitaker
( 24)
e xamined the i nfluence o f proximity t o major
e arly l ines of c ommunication, t o s ettlement,
b oth b y r iver and R oman r oad, p roximity
a nd l ocation u pon uncultivated g round,
and s till f ound
4 1% of a ll r ecorded p agan burials on o r n ear parish b oundaries i n t hat a rea,
1 4 o f t he 6 1 s ites s tudied a ctually on the b ounds and a
f urther 1 0 w ithin one-tenth o f a mile.
Whitaker c oncluded t hat t he
i ncidence was f ar h igher t han w ould b e e xpected f rom mere chance a nd h er work a gain s trongly s upports t he t heory t hat t erritorial demarcation o f m inor e states w as a lready a n a ccomplished f act at a n e arly d ate i n t he Anglo-Saxon p eriod. c onclusions i n W iltshire, W ansdyke,
This w ork s upports B onney's
f or h e n otes t hat t he e astern part o f
c onstructed i n t he f ifth o r s ixth c entury,
c uts a cross
p arishes i n a w ay that s uggests t he b oundaries w ere a lready i n e xistence when i t w as b uilt a nd a rgues that had t hey b een f ormed l ater t han t he d yke t hey w ould probably h ave c hosen t o f ollow i t. ( 25) Taking t hese l ines o f demarcation b ack i nto a n e arlier p eriod t he f ield s ystem a ttached t o a v illa a t B arnsley P ark
8 9
o ccupied b etween t he s econd a nd f ifth c enturies A D a lso r espects t he n orthern b oundary o f B arnsley parish.
( 26)
F inberg indeed p uts
f orward t he possibility o f Roman v illa-estates f orming t he b asis o f l ater parishes.
I n W ithington h e postulates a n o riginal e state
b ased upon a W ithington v illa l ying i n t he s outh o f the p resent p arish,
t he l ands o f which w ere b ounded b y n atural t opographical
d ivisions, which i ncluded the R iver C oln a nd H ilcot e ast and w est a nd
B rook on the
' southward...by a r idge o f t hickly wooded g round,
t he l atter d ividing i ts l ands f rom those o f C hedworth v illa t o t he s outh'.
Other Romano-British s ettlements l ay t o t he n orth and e ast:
' with t he W ithington v illa-estate t hus s urrounded by a c onstellation of other R oman s ettlements,
—
t he t erritory o f t he villa a ppears t o
have c oincided c losely w ith t he o riginal e ndowment t o the A ngloS axon minster f ounded a t W ithington during t he r eign of O shere, u nder-king o f t he Hwicce.'
( 27)
There a re c ertain patterns o f b oundaries w hich s eem to o ccur i n a reas o f d ense Romano-British a nd e arlier s ettlement, i n a nd b eyond a reas o f e arly Anglo-Saxon d omination.
b oth
A c ommon
pattern i n s uch a reas i s the s ubdivision o f v alleys i nto r ectangular b locks s uch a s that i llustrated by Rodwell S tour v alleys of E ssex.
( 28)
f or the C olne and
A lthough t he l atter r emains an a rea s ubjected
t o pagan S axon p enetration a s imilar pattern h as b een o bserved by T aylor
( 29)
i n D orset,
a n a rea where Anglo-Saxon s ettlement was
l ate a nd l ess l ikely t o a lter e xisting p atterns o f land d ivision. The i nternal d ivisions o f B onney's Wyley v alley a rea a re o f a s imilar n ature, here abutting upon t he G roveley R idge postulated I ron A ge b oundary.
I n the West M idlands i t i s i n the c entral Avon
v alley o f W arwickshire t o t he s outh o f S tratford t hat charter b oundary c lauses a nd r ecords o f d eserted m edieval s ettlement s ites h elp t o r econstruct t his t ype o f t ownship p attern.
( Fig.
2 .12.)
I t i s quite obvious t hat many b oundaries c ould n ot h ave b een i n e xistence b efore t he Roman period f or t hey f ollow r oads k nown t o b e o f Roman o rigin. I t i s p ossible t o a rgue, h owever, t hat t hese a re n ot t he e arliest o f m inor b oundaries. I n W iltshire B onney f ound t hat
' Roman r oads a re u sed much more a s p arish, a nd by i mplication
e arly e state,
boundaries i n a reas where e vidence o f I ron A ge
s ettlement i s
s parse o r a bsent t han i n a reas where i t i s r elatively
a bundant.
I n t he f ormer a reas i t w ould s eem r easonable t o s uppose
t hat t he r oads c ame,
o r were a lready t here,
i n t he i nitial o r e arly
s tages o f t heir c olonization a nd d evelopment which, i n t he R oman period r ather t han l ater, t o s timulate.
O nce t here,
i f i t t ook place
t he r oads d oubtless d id much
the r oads p rovided,
i f n eeded, r eady-made
b oundaries o ff which o ther b oundaries c ould b e l aid and l and a llotted...'.
( 30)
T he W iltshire r oads u sed most f requently i n t his
w ay a re t hose i n t he n orth-west o f t he c ounty o n e ither t he c lay l owlands o f t he R iver Avon o r t he l imestone u plands on t he n orthw estern b order o f the c ounty.
G elling s uggests a n i nteresting
r eason f or t he l ocation o f t his t ype o f R oman-road b oundary i n B erkshire,
n oting
' the e xtremely l imited u se w hich t he modern
parish and p re-Conquest e state b oundaries m ake o f t he known R oman r oads o f t he c ounty'.
I t i s o nly i n the s outh-east o f t he c ounty
t hat a R oman r oad known a s t he Devil's H ighway f orms boundaries f or a n a ppreciable d istance o f i ts c ourse e ast o f S ilchester, a nd Gelling n otes h ow
' much o f t his a rea i s s till c ommon and h eath'.
9 0
( 31)
This
•
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M ean H i l l L A .f o r t
• ..•
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•
O d ese rted m ed ieva lv i l lage — p ar ish b ounda ry
•
•• c harte r b ounda ry
•
D .H .
F ig.
2 .12
P arish b oundary patterns:
9 1
l km
t he C entral Avon Valley
s uggests t hat R oman r oad b oundaries a re o ften l ater i n o rigin t han m any others, l and,
d rawn up over marginal a nd previously undemarcated
o r a s s ubdivisions w ithin e arlier e states.
The l ater
demarcation of b oundaries i n marginal a reas w as even m atched i n t he n ineteenth c entury i n t he Welsh B orderland, where S ylvester f ound ' that b oundaries might r emain unidentified f or c enturies on s ome o f t he h igh W elsh h ills, G arthbeibio, E dition
f or e xample t he b oundaries of t he t ownships o f
L lanerfyl a nd Cemmaes a re s hown o n the O ne-Inch T ithe
( 1836)
a s d iscontinued o n t he s lopes o f Mynydd L lyn C och-Lwyd
a nd Mynydd Cemmaes.' I ndeed,
( 32).
B onney's d eduction f or W iltshire that
' in a reas
where I ron A ge o ccupation w as r elatively d ense - e ssentially t he c halklands w ith their l ong h istory o f e arly s ettlement - a n e stablished pattern of l and a llotment, o f t erritories a nd e states, w as a lready i n e xistence when t he R oman r oads w ere l aid o ut', n ow b eing c orroborated by t he w ork o f o thers.
R odwell
( 34)
( 33)
i s
f inds
major parish d ivisions i n t he R oding v alley o f E ssex r elated t o t opography a nd t rackways b ut i gnored b y R oman r oads,
a s i f the
b oundaries w ere more c losely r elated t o t he prehistoric r oad p attern. G elling n otes t hat the a pparent I ron A ge e states s till i dentifiable i n t he Anglo-Saxon period h ad a pparently l ater i nternal s ubdivisions, ' but the process o f s plitting i nto s mall,
i ndependent u nits i s w ell
a dvanced b y t he t ime o f the e arliest r ecords.'
( 35)
W hile f ew w ould
d ispute t hat many l arge multiple e states may d erive f rom e arly l and u nits,
t he date o f o rigin o f i nternal b oundaries remains obscure.
B onney i n 1 976 c omments:
' in a r ecent p aper P eter S awyer has
s uggested t hat t he s ettlement o f Anglo-Saxon England i s b est u nders tood i n t he f ragmentation o f l arge multiple e states i mplying a d ivision o f s omething that w as once whole. c onstituent parts o f s uch e states? e states,
a t l east,
c omponent parts.'
But how e arly are t he
I t i s possible that s ome multiple
e merged t hrough the a malgamation o f t heir ( 36 )
P erhaps the k ey t o understanding this p roblem o f l and d emarcation o f minor e states w ill l ie i n a more thorough unders tanding o f e arly f ield s ystems.
D o p arish b oundaries c ut t hrough
R oman f ield s ystems or do t hey merely d ivide s eparate h oldings? What i s t he r elationship b etween R omano-British s ystems o f a griculture
a nd t hose c haracteristic o f Anglo -Saxon E ngland?
I t
i s n ot yet possible t o provide a nswers t o these questions and f urther i nformation w ill only b e g athered s lowly t hrough detailed s tudies i n many d ifferent a reas.
( iii)
The W est M idland e vidence I n c onsidering t he a ntiquity o f b oundaries
i n t he West
M idlands i t may b e r elevant t o n ote t he c lose a ssociation b etween parish b oundaries a nd c ertain weg r outes o bserved in t he v icinity o f W orcester.
( 37)
I t may b e a rgued t hat s uch r outes pre-dated t he
R oman r oad s ystem,
f or t he i nfluence o f t he l atter upon t he
b oundaries i s only s light i n t hat a rea a nd g ives the i mpression o f l ater, minor a djustments t o a pattern a lready l argely d ecided b y e arlier f eatures.
The n orthern b oundary o f C otheridge,
f ollows a r oute known a s t he & tincweg
9 2
( S 1 303,
R ob 3 5)
f or i nstance, w hich
a pproaches Worcester f rom t he w est a nd i s overlooked by a n I ron A ge u nivallate h ill-fort known a s B errow H ill a nd a s econd b urh s ite r ecorded i n place-names a s O ldbury o r a re,
' the o ld f ortification'.
T here
h owever, m inor a djustments t o t he e astern b oundary o f t he parish
w here,
f or a s hort d istance,
the l atter f ollows t wo s tr;t r outes
w hich l ink t o j oin a known Roman r oad. A number o f r outes f ollowed b y b oundaries i n t his w ay i n t he West M idlands s eem t o b e o f c onsiderable a ntiquity. T hey i nclude a major s altway f rom Martin H ussingtree which l eads s outhe astwards t o t he Avon valley a t W yre P iddle, b oundaries of S mite,
L ower Wolverton,
f ollowed by t he
W hite L adies A ston a nd P invin,
a nd a s econd s altway i n n orth G loucestershire f ollowed by t he b oundaries o f R oel,
H awling a nd S alperton,
t he l atter n ame s howing
t hat t his r oute w as r egarded a s a s alt h ere1 ;e6 r oute i n the AngloSaxon p eriod.
( 38)
Major r idgeways i nclude t he a ncient r oute which
f ollows t he s carp t op o f the C otswolds i n s outh G loucestershire a nd i s
f ollowed by t he boundaries o f C old A shton,
D oynton,
D yrham a nd
H inton a nd W est L ittleton,
a r oute a lso k nown a s t he s ealtherpope
i n AD 9 31
The A lcester r idgeway b etween Worcester-
( S 4 14,
B 6 70 ).
s hire a nd Warwickshire i s f ollowed by t he b oundaries o f A rrow, A lcester, W eethley, I nkberrow,
S ambourne,
I psley,
R edditch,
F eckenham and
b oundaries which i gnore t he R oman Ryknield S treet a s hort
d istance t o the e ast.
A nother C otswold r idgeway f orms t he s outhern
boundary o f Warwickshire i n t he e xtreme s outh o f the c ounty,
f orming
the e astern b oundaries o f Whichford a nd B railes i n W arwickshire a nd the b oundary o f Daylesford a nd A dlestrop i n G loucestershire. A ll of these r outes a ppear t o p redate t he R oman r oad s ystem. While c onclusions c oncerning the d ating o f b oundaries b y such methods must d epend upon t he p recision w ith which t he r outes c an themselves b e d ated,
c oincidence b etween b oundaries and known R oman
roads i s l ess i n e vidence i n t his a rea,
a part f rom t he t wo major
routeways o f t he F osse Way a nd Watling S treet here,
b isect e arlier e states. ( 39 )
( Fig.
2 .13).
E ven
c onsideration m ight b e g iven t o t he t heory t hat t hese r oads I n n orth-east W arwickshire P hythian-Adams
h as r ecently s hown t erritorial l inks b etween t ownships o n e ither
s ide o f the Watling S treet a nd i n m id-Warwickshire t he e states o f Wellesbourne a nd K ineton may have b een l inked i n a n e arly administrative g rouping a cross t he F osse Way.
T he H oneybournes on
the W orcestershire/Warwickshire b order a re united i n n ame but bisected by t he R oman R yknield S treet a nd i n n orth-east Warwickshire a gain, Fosse Way
e states dependent u pon M onks K irby l ay e ach s ide o f t he
( Fig.
2 .14i).
H ere t he r oad b oundary may h ave b een d rawn
up a t a r elatively l ate d ate a cross a n h itherto undeveloped a rea o f heavy b oulder c lay. G elling's
( 40 ) ( 41)
t heory t hat many minor b oundaries o f
Berkshire w ere a lready e stablished by t he l ate I ron A ge a nd that i t was o nly i n marginal a reas t hat l ater b oundaries w ere a ble t o f ollow Roman r oad f inds s ome s upport f rom t his W est M idland e vidence 2 .13).
( Fig.
B oundaries d o f ollow t he R oman Ryknield S treet on t he
Cotswold e scarpment i n S aintbury a nd B roadway
( Fig.
2 .14ii),
a lthough t here i s o ddly l ittle mention o f t he r oad i n t he a llegedly tenth-century B roadway c harter ( S 7 86, B 1 282). H ere t he b oundaries appear t o b e o f a s ymmetrical t ype o ften f ound i n marginal a reas o f
9 3
\ \ I
R oman r o ads u sed a s b ounda r ies o t her R oman r o ads
1 0m ls 0
F ig. 2 .13
R oman r oads u sed a s b oundaries
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0
% . . ,,'
a minor t ownship r epresented n ow b y o nly one f arm. e states o f parish-size, u nits,
A lready,
h owever,
o ften c ontaining a number o f t hese s maller
h ad c ome i nto b eing by t he t ime o f t he c harter g rants,
f or a
l arge p roportion o f the b oundary c lauses d elimit a reas c oincident w ith the modern p arish. That t hese parish o r s ub-parish d ivisions h ad c ome i nto e xistence by t he t ime o f t he e arliest c harter g rants r eferences t o t hem i n e arly b oundary c lauses.
i s s hown b y
S ome o f t he e arliest
e ighth-century c harters may s eem t o i mply t hat t he b oundaries w ere n ot e stablished a t t hat date,
f or t heir a ccompanying c lauses a re
s imple i n f orm, r eferring only t o a l imited n umber of l andmarks. T his may, h owever, merely r eflect a l ack of s ophistication i n t he e arliest d ocuments.
When the a reas o f t he g rants a re e xamined s ome,
l ike S edgeberrow a nd D aylesford,
c oincide w ith modern parishes.
A
number o f c omposite e states a lso c learly c ontain s everal i ndividual u nits,
t he e ighth-century c harter o f Knighton-on-Teme,
r eferring t o f ifteen c assati o f l and a t E ardiston'
( S 1 185,
B 1 007).
' Knighton,
f or i nstance,
N ewham a nd
P ensax a nd S tockton parishes w ere a lso
i ncluded i n t he a rea o f the g rant a nd t he e state i s l ater r eferred t o i n t he e leventh c entury under t he name of P ensax, one o f i ts c onstituent members
( S 1 595,
H 2 46 ).
M oreover t he b ounds o f
a djacent t ownships a re mentioned i n t he e arlier b oundary c lause. a dded b oundary c lause o f W ican
( S 1 42, B 2 19)
T he
s hows h ow t he o riginal
e state a ppears t o h ave been b uilt up o f p re-existing units, point on i ts b ounds r efers t o t he kreom gemeran o r
f or a
' three boundaries'
where t he parishes o f L ittle W itley, H olt and Wichenford meet a t t he western e nd of O ckeridge W ood. There a re f requent r eferences i n boundary c lauses t o t he bounds of n eighbouring parishes e ven when n o charters o r s urveys s urvive f or t hem, e xistence. N etherton, C astle
s howing that these b ounds w ere a lready i n
S ometimes t he r eference i s t o a n a djacent parish b y n ame. H inton a nd A shton a re a ll r eferred t o i n a charter o f E lmley
( S 1 396,
h a 7ma g emire,
K 7 64),
t heir b oundaries d escribed a s t he neGeere
t he h inhana gemX . :ru a nd t he a sch ma gem ru r espectively.
An Evesham c lause
( S 1 599,
K 1 368)
r efers t o e a m&rdIc F ledanbgrig
gem&re ' the b oundary dyke o f t he F ladbury b oundary', Lencgemeru ' the b oundary o f L enchwick', a nd Herefordtunes l andgemaru ' the l and b oundary o f H arvington'.
At other t imes t he r eference i s t o t he
number o f b oundaries a butting at a p articular point. gemaran
' the f our boundaries'
o f O ddingley,
point a t the j unction of the parishes o f D roitwich, and O ddingley i tself, ( S
1 297,
B 1 108 ).
T he f eower
f or i nstance, marks a S alwarpe,
H adzor
units a pparently i n e xistence by AD 9 63
The Oddingley c lause a lso r efers t o the c rohh ma
ge r rmra ' the b oundary o f t he i nhabitants o f C rowle', while t he C rowle l and u nit ( S 2 05, B 4 28) r uns w ith t he h udigtuna gemara ' the boundary o f H uddington'.
C lauses s uch a s t hese s how t hat there c an
be n o q uestion o f the b ounds o f t hese e states b eing d elimited o nly at t he time o f t he various g rants o r l eases. The i nterlocking pattern o f b oundaries w ould, i n a ny c ase, b e d ifficult t o produce i n s uch a p iece-meal f ashion. A f urther a rgument f or the e xistence o f c learly d efined township boundaries predating t he d onation o f l and by c harter i s t he f act t hat many s urveys h ave s urvived q uite i ndependent o f a ny c harter
9 9
g rant,
s uggesting t hat t he r ecording o f l and units could b e carried
o ut i ndependent o f l and g rants o r l eases.
I t m ust be a dmitted t hat
t he majority o f s uch c lauses s eem t o b e o f f airly l ate o rigin. h as b een n oted i n B erkshire,
I t
however, t hat c harter bounds o f adjacent
parishes f requently r eferred t o t he s ame l andmarks although the c lauses were t hemselves w idely s paced i n time - a n argument not o nly f or e xistence o f t ownship bounds b ut a lso f or s ome system of r ecording t hem w ithin the t ownship c ommunity
( iv)
( Part
I I,
C hapter 2 ).
S ub-units w ithin parishes R eferences t o t he b ounds o f n eighbouring c ommunities o ften
r eveal t he e xistence o f t he b oundaries o f s ub-units rather than parish-estates a nd c onfirm t hat the s maller t ownship h ad a recognised i dentity i n t he Anglo-Saxon p eriod ( Fig. 2 .16). The c lause a ccompanying t he e ighth-century K nighton-on-Teme c harter r efers t o t he b ounds n ot o nly o f the a djacent parish o f Mamble b ut a lso t o s uPintuna g emara,
, 6 am
h oligena ge r mra a nd w orfes leahges g emmra,
c ommunities which s urvive o nly a s S odington Hall i n Mamble,
Hollin
F arm a nd W orsley F arm i n R ock. A l ater c lause o f this e state ( S 1 595, H 2 46) a dds a s oln hama b roc o r ' brook o f the S olnhmma' r eferring t o t he i nhabitants o f a c ommunity n ot r ecorded i n any s ubsequent d ocument.
The b ounds o f s uch s mall units were n o
l ess
s ignificant t han t hose which were t o b e u sed a s t he bounds of e cclesiastical p arishes.
The g reat P ershore c harter
( S 7 86,
B 1 282)
f ollowed the b ounds o f t he l and unit o f L ibbery i n Grafton Flyford r ather t han t he b ounds
o f t he present parish a nd the b ounds of a n
E vesham c omposite e state
( S 1 591a,
K iii 3 95-96)
f ollow t he bounds
o f Chadbury which i s n o l onger a s eparate unit. i n the b ounds o f N aunton B eauchamp, N orth P iddle
( S 7 86,
B 1 282)
Abberton,
An apparent anomaly
F lyford F lavell and
o mitting t hat part o f Naunton Beauchamp
b eyond t he P iddle B rook, may n ow b e understood,
f or that a rea of t he
parish i s l ater r evealed a s a s eparate t ownship k nown a s S heriff's N aunton.
( Appendix 2 .) O n o ccasions t he n umber o f b oundaries meeting a t a certain
p oint was g reater i n the Anglo-Saxon p eriod t han t oday a nd i t is unlikely t hat these d escriptions w ere a ll g enuine mistakes The c lauses o f C udley,
O ddingley,
Huddington,
W ican,
( Fig.
2 .17).
Longdon and
p robably C ofton H ackett a ll d escribe b oundary meeting points where t he b ounds a re t hose o f k nown p arishes , b ut t he c lauses of Martin H ussingtree a nd S eckley i n W orcestershire
a nd o f Oldberrow in
W arwickshire d escribe p oints a t which a dditional b oundaries s eem t o h ave b een p resent.
That o f Martin H ussingtree
( S 7 86,
B 1 282)
may
s imply i mply a s light a djustment i n t he m odern b oundary p attern,
f or
t he c lause r uns t o a point a t t he s outh-eastern c orner o f t he parish where
f eower gemaia
t hree a re k nown, Warndon
' four b oundaries', a re r ecorded but t oday only
t he b oundaries o f M artin H ussingtree,
( detached),
u nit o f S mite i n A D 9 78 h owever,
S alwarpe a nd
the l atter the boundary o f t he Anglo-Saxon l and ( S 1 339,
K 6 18).
The boundary o f H indlip,
l ies o nly a very s hort d istance t o t he s outh and m ay
o riginally h ave r eached t his point. t he Anglo-Saxon e state o f S eckley
A t t he n orth-western c orner o f
( S 2 11, B 5 14)
w as a l andmark
d escribed a s t he f eower ge m-e ra a t a point where t he north-western b oundary o f W olverley parish j oined t he b oundaries of Upper Arley,
1 00
• t ownsh ips o r e sta te w i th in l a ter p ar ish 0
i d ent if ica t ion u ncer ta in
9 0
F ig.
2 .16
T ownships w ithin p arishes:
1 01
1 0m ls 1 0k m
c harter e vidence
DH
M ART IN H USS INGTREE S ALE W ERPkN / f s• . ._ ..... _ _ ___, , . . : . --. , ‘ ` ,r i USANTREO • , . ., , . . . ___ : Feower G emc era . ;s 1 , • 5 5 . z-S "- / , . !» , ./ H INDEHLEP
/ % ,
• 7T ,S M ITAN . % ,
A EPSLEAGE B EOLEAH
. ,
F i fG emc ere,-'` ,
W ERME D UN
•
• •
S TODLE I T EODECESLEAGE
O LDBERROW \ ULANBEORGE M OR T ONE U U IDUTUUN
W OLVERLEY C YN IBRE
. " ‘ i -_ I -, I
e• 1 . •s
• C ULNAN C L IF
E ARNLE IE
•
F eower G emc e r e ,, _
\s , S UEDES L A EA
• C ERCEHALLE
T R INPELE I
C H IDEM INSTRE
0
Fig.
2 .17
Converging boundaries
102
l km
D H
W olverley a nd K idderminster F oreign - t hree p resent b oundaries
- a nd
i t would s eem p ossible t hat e ither K idderminster F oreign o r Upper A rley may h ave b een f urther s ubdivided i n t he A nglo-Saxon p eriod. A t the n orth-west c orner of O ldberrow parish the l andmark f if gen i re ' five b oundaries' marks a point a t which only t hree a re k nown t oday. One of the a dditional ones may h ave b een t he w estern b oundary o f an e state a t E psleage, Aspley i n T anworth, which m ay h ave e xtended f urther west t han i t d oes t oday,
but t he f ifth b oundary h as s o f ar
n ot been i dentified. Townships s maller than the p resent parish a re particularly a bundant i n t he v icinity o f W orcester,
w here many o f t hem a re
r ecorded i n l eases o f l and b y the C hurch o f Worcester The present parishes o f S t. J ohn's i n B edwardine,
( Fig.
H allow,
2 .15).
B roadheath
a nd R ushwick c over a n a rea which i n t he Anglo-Saxon p eriod c ontained t he t ownships o r e states o f C lopton ( S
1 370,
B 1 237)
B 1 139),
L aughern
( S 1 297,
( S 1 352, K 6 49), B 1 108),
and probably s everal o thers.
t ownships o f G rimley a nd Moseley
W ick E piscopi
Deofecan H yl
( S 1 319,
G rimley w as d ivided i nto t he
( S 1 370,
B 1 139;
S 2 01,
B 4 62).
T o t he n orth-east o f t he t own l ay T apenhall i n t he p resent parish o f N orth C laines a nd t o t he s outh o f t he t own l ay B attenhall B 1 240 ),
C udley
( S 1 329,
Waresley i n H artlebury, now i n H indlip,
B 1 298 ),
a nd Genenofre
( S 1 327, R ob 5 7).
D unhampstead a nd Phepson i n Himbleton,
S hurnock i n F eckenham,
i n Church H oneybourne,
( S 1 374,
T horne i n I nkberrow,
S mite
P oden
U pper a nd L ower W olverton i n S toulton a re
a ll a dditional e xamples o f s uch l and units i n Worcestershire.
These
a re a ll t he s ubjects o f l and g rants o r l eases m ade d uring t he AngloSaxon period. E xpressions r eferring t o t he people o f a c ommunity, particularly c ommon i n Worcestershire, s hips,
however s mall,
a gain s how t hat t hese t own-
h ad a r ecognised e xistance a s s ocial units.
There a re i n W orcestershire t en n ames w hich r efer t o t he h ar ne o r ' inhabitants'
( 43)
o f a p lace,
o f a n eighbouring parish.
u sually r eferring t o t he i nhabitants
S ome o f t hese h ave b een mentioned a bove
and r efer t o parish c ommunities, ( S
1 26,
Rob 2 )
a s i n t he c ase o f the d odh a na p ull
u pon t he b oundary o f B roadwas, meaning
pool o f t he people o f Doddenham',
' the c reek o r
r eferring t o t he i nhabitants o f t he
adjacent parish of D oddenham. A t enth-century c harter o f B redicot ( S 1 369, R ob 6 1) r efers t o t he Spech a ne ge r n re o r ' boundary o f t he people o f S petchley', gem z era o r
The s oln ha r 7a b roc Pensax
a nd a c lause o f O ddingley t o t he c roh ha m
' boundary o f the p eople o f C rowle'
( S 1 595, H 2 46 ),
Monninghjma',
( S 1 297, B 1 108).
' the b rook o f t he Solnha na', a nd t he Monningh;ma d ice
i n t he b ounds o f ' the d yke o f t he
u pon t he b oundary o f L ower Wolverton
( S 1 348,
K 6 45),
show t hat a t l east s ome o f t he s maller e states w ere a lso r ecognised as
i ndependent c ommunities. The a lternative method o f r eferring t o the p eople o f a
land u nit w as a s t he s ate
( 44)
o r
' settlers'
o f an a rea.
Attention
has b een d rawn by s everal p lace-name s cholars t o t he T omsetna a nd pencer se't'na who a re r eferred t o i n a c lause o f C ofton H ackett i n AD 8 49
( S
1 272,
B 4 55(1)),
t he f ormer i nterpreted by S mith a s a
group o riginally f rom t he v alley o f t he Teme,
a nd F ord
( 45)
w ould
attach t hese t itles t o f olk g roups i dentifiable w ithin a s pecific region o f c onsiderable s ize a s n ames o f s ome o f t he e arliest f olk
1 03
regions f ormed w ithin W orcestershire a nd Warwickshire i n the AngloS axon p eriod. The C ofton H ackett c harter i s probably t he earliest a uthentic r eference t o s uch g roups o f s ate i n t his area,
although
e arlier f olk-names a re r ecorded. E xcluding the s purious c lause o f B roadwas, which i s probably a c opy o f an e arlier grant, t he majority o f d ated Worcestershire e xamples a re o f n inth-century o r later o rigin a nd r efer t o t he b oundaries o f the i nhabitants o f a mere township. E xamples i nclude t he Bradsetena gemere o r o f B roadway',
' boundary o f t he s ettlers
r eferred t o i n a n E vesham c lause
t he b eonet s etne gemere o r
r eferred t o i n a c lause o f G rimley t he G rim s etena gemere o r
( S
1 591a, Kiii 3 95-96),
' boundary o f the s ettlers o f B entley', ( S 1 370,
B 1 139)
' boundary o f t he s ettlers o f G rimley',
r eferred t o i n a c lause o f L ittle Witley i n AD 9 69 t he Ombersetena
gemeres o r
( S 1 597,
o f I nkberrow', R ob 3 6 )
B 1 242),
' boundary of the s ettlers o f Elmley
b oth r eferred t o i n a c lause o f Waresley, B 3 61).
( S 1 323,
' boundary o f t he s ettlers o f Ombersley'
a nd t he E lmesetena gemeres o r L ovett',
H olt,
i n A D 9 61-972,
The i nc s etena gemere o r
Hartlebury
' boundary o f t he
i s r ecorded i n a c lause o f Thorne i n AD 9 63
s ettlers ( S 1 305,
s howing t he i ndependence o f t hese t wo c ommunities within
I nkberrow parish,
a nd t he c lause a lso h as a ppended to i t l and o n
i nc s etena l ande,
l and
' on t he l ands o f t he s ettlers o f I nkberrow'.
Dwellers o f u nits s maller t han a modern parish a re again evident a nd i nclude t he mossetna o f M oseley, parish o f G rimley
( S 1 370,
a l and u nit w ithin the m odern
B 1 139)
c harter b ut n ot i n a c lause,
a nd t he Fepsete referred t o i n a
of AD 9 56
b e a lluded t o i n AD FFPSETNATUNE
( S 6 33,
B 9 37), w ho s eem t o
' the e state o f the Fepsete,
s urviving i n t he n ames o f P hepson a nd F epsinton i n Himbleton, W orcs. T he Fepsete have b een e quated w ith a g roup o f the Feppingas,
a n
Anglian t ribe n oted i n t he t ribal h idage a nd possibly o riginally l ocated i n O xfordshire.
( 46)
The boundary c lauses r eveal t herefore, t hat t he s mall t owns hip w as o ften a r ecognised unit i n i ts o wn r ight,
and i n the l ight
o f t his e vidence t hose c harters w ithout b oundary c lauses may a lso b e r e-examined.
I t becomes apparent t hat i n a ddition t o t he s maller
units l isted a bove n o f ewer than t hirty-four additional u nits s maller t han the modern p arish a ppear i n the c harters o f Anglo-Saxon W orcestershire. T he p resent-day parish w as n ot n ecessarily the l and u nit o f A nglo-Saxon Worcestershire f or b y t he t enth century and p erhaps e arlier t he l and unit o f t he t ownship w as o ften a s maller a rea o f l and. S ome o f t hese s eem t o h ave s urvived a s p resent-day p arishes - B redicot, n ear W orcester, w as a three-hide e state i n t he t enth c entury which i s s till a s eparate u nit.
C udley,
n ear
W orcester, a s maller u nit o f one m ansa i n AD 9 74 ( S 1 329, B 1 298), r emains d istinct i n l ocation but h as n ow b een t aken into t he parish o f S t. M artin's-Without-Worcester, a nd the one mansa o f S mite, w hich a pparently i ncluded a detached p ortion of W arndon i n AD 9 78 ( S 1 339, K 6 18),
r emained a d istinct l and unit u ntil
w as a malgamated i nto t he parish o f H indlip.
1 880 when i t
Those parishes o f
W orcestershire which a re u nusually l arge a re merely amalgamations o f ' township'
u nits r evealed i n t he c harters.
I nkberrow,
b ordering o n t he l ater F orest o f F eckenham,
s mall u nit o f T horne i n A D 9 63
Thus t he
( S 1 305, R ob 3 6 ),
l arge parish o f c ontained t he
while t he
n eighbouring parish o f F eckenham c ontained t he d istinct l and units o f S hurnock
( S 1 227,
B 1 006),
an e state o f one m ansa
i n A D 1046-1062,
a nd Felda b y W eoduman, a t en-hide e state t hat has been i dentified a s
1 04
B eanhall,
( 47)
i n AD 8 36
( S 1 90,
c ontained numerous t ownships, c harters i n A D 1 014-1016
B 4 16).
The l arge p arish o f R ock
o ne o f which, A lton,
( S 1 459, R ob 7 6),
a ppears i n t he
while C hevington a nd
W adborough a re r ecorded w ithin P ershore H oly C ross i n A D 9 72 ( S 7 86, B 1 282).
I n a ddition t o T apenhall,
r ecorded i n t he boundary
c lauses a s l ying w ithin t he p arish o f N orth C laines n ear W orcester, o ther c harters a dd B arbourne ( S 1 80,
B 3 57)
i n AD 8 16.
( S 1 280,
R ob 1 9 )
i n A D 9 04 a nd Tolladine
N ot a ll t ownships w ere n ecessarily s mall
a nd not a ll s mall charter e states n eed n ecessarily h ave b een t owns hips, b ut t his u nit o f a dministration, s ometimes t o b e e quated w ith t he l ater p arish, a ppears t o have b een a b asic unit i n the A nglo-Saxon c ountryside.
A s w ith t he l arger e states t here a re
o ccasional r eferences t o t he a ntiquity o f t he b ounds o f t hese s ubu nits.
I f E kwall i s c orrect i n h is i dentification o f AUSTRALIS
HEDFELD
( S 1 416, B 5 70 )
j uxta-Kempsey,
( 48)
a ntiquis t erminibus a t Worcester.
a s the s outhern part o f H atfield i n N orton-
t his m inor e state i s l eased i n AD 8 92 c um ' with t he a ncient b oundaries'
b y t he f amilla
A bove a ll, one s ees t hese units a s t he t erritories
o f c ommunities w ho w ere aware a t t hat t ime o f the b oundaries o f t heir l and,
a s S tenton c oncludes:
' it i s c lear t hat t he man who t raced
t hese b oundaries w as t hinking o f v illage c ommunities a nd n ot merely b locks o f l and w hen h e named t he t erritories on w hich h is l ine i mpinged.'
( 49)
S everal c lauses h ave been n oted which s erved t o d elimit pieces o f l and o f a s pecific character a nd i t i s not t o b e c laimed that a ll s ub-units r ecorded i n c harters r epresent t ownship c ommunities.
S ome a re s tated t o be g rants o f w oodland and c lauses
o f part o f B redons N orton ( S 1 373, Rob 5 6 )
( S 1 405, E 2 47-48), part o f H imbleton
and o f G enenofre
( S 1 374, R ob 5 7)
C lauses a ttached t o g rants o f C lopton i n W ican o f a messuage i n Worcester
( S 1 280, Rob 1 9)
boundaries o f a reas o f meadowland.
a re o f t his t ype.
( S 1 352, K 6 49)
a nd
b oth d escribe t he
A c lause g iving t he a ctual
measurements o f a h aga a t Worcester
( S 1 280, R ob 1 9 )
i s a more
unusual t ype o f c lause f or this a rea, a nd o thers d escribe parts o f parishes which d id n ot n ecessarily c ontain s ettlement. part o f Hartlebury p arish
( S 1 351,
K 6 53)
A c lause o f
purports t o d elimit l and
t o t he n orth o f t he v illage w ithout g iving f urther d etails and two d ivisions a re n oted w ithin a n e state a t S alwarpe S 1 597,
B 3 61).
This,
h owever,
( S 1 596, B 3 62;
l eaves a l arge n umber o f W orcester-
s hire c lauses r eferring t o s ub-units s maller t han t he modern parish which a ppear t o have b een a ssociated w ith i ndividual c ommunities. The b oundary c lauses r eveal n othing o f t he n ature o r c haracter o f t he s ettlements t hey r efer t o and t his i s a s ubject which w ill b e e xplored l ater. a s hamlets o r d ispersed a s
S ettlements may h ave b een n ucleated
s cattered f armsteads - many n ames may
i ndeed r efer t o t he h ome o f a s ingle f amily - t he c harters a re a s unhelpful i n t his r espect a s t he e qually a mbiguous r ecord i n t he D omesday S urvey of 1 086.
O ccasional r eferences t o o utlying
s ettle-
ments n ear t o b oundaries d o o ccur b ut s uch r eferences a re very f ew. Many o f the m inor t ownships r eferred t o i n t he c lauses s urvive a s hamlets t oday,
a mong t hem W ick E piscopi i n R ushwick,
G rimley and
Moseley within t he modern parish o f G rimley, W aresley i n H artlebury, Dunhampstead a nd P hepson i n H imbleton.
O thers a re n ow r epresented
by only i solated f armsteads o r a moated manor h ouse which may i n
1 05
s ome c ases h ave r eplaced a n e arlier h amlet which h as l anguished i n t he medieval o r l ater period.
Sciran Ac i n Feckenham, n ow Shurnock,
i s r epresented t oday b y a moated manor h ouse s ite now o ccupied b y a post-medieval building, I nkberrow,
a nd Thorne,
a f ew m iles t o the s outh
i s n ow a m oated s ite o ccupied b y one f arm.
L ower S mite,
i n H indlip,
L aughern i n H allow,
T apenhall a nd B attenhall,
U pper
i n a nd
n ear W orcester,
a nd U pper a nd L ower W olverton i n S toulton,
a ll s ingle-farm s ettlements t oday.
a re
A t P oden t he e arthworks of t he
medieval hamlet a re s till c learly v isible t o t he s outh-east of t he modern f armstead a nd t here c an b e l ittle d oubt t hat s ome of these w ere hamlet c ommunities i n t he A nglo-Saxon period for t he charter o f T horne ( S 1 305, R ob 3 6) r efers t o ' the b oundary of t he pornhane ' ( above ). W ican
O n o ccasions n o s ettlement s urvives t oday and C lopton i n
( S 1 352, K 6 49 )
s urvives only a s a f ield-name
t he v icinity o f t he hamlet o f Rushwick.
' Claphill', i n
T he a rchaeological record
i s a s y et i ncomplete but t he p lace-name, c harter and medieval e vidence s uggests t hat t hese were r ecognisable Anglo-Saxon c ommunities.
( v)
A ppendages o f l and A lthough s ome a reas o f w oodland a nd meadowland h ad their
own b oundary c lauses,
h oldings o f l and o f a particular t ype were
o ften s mall a nd u sually t acked on t o t he e nd o f t he charter grants a s a ppendages o f l and,
w ithout any a ttempt t o d elimit t hem apart
f rom s uperficial d escriptions o f their l ocation.
On s ome occasions
a ppendages o f l and o ccur w ithin b oundary c lauses,
usually near t he
point a t which t hey a re t o b e f ound.
T hese a ppendages u sually
r elate t o particular c ategories o f l and, o r a rable,
e specially e xtra meadowland
a nd t hey a re n ormally a dditional s ources of r evenue t o
whoever h eld t hem.
I n B erkshire G elling
( 50 )
was able t o i dentify
s everal o f t hese a dditional parcels w ith detached portions of p arishes which s urvived i ndependently i nto modern times, a feature which may t hrow s ome l ight upon t he d ate o f t he s tabilisation o f t he parish b oundaries i n t hat c ounty.
U nfortunately s uch a
c orrelation b etween m inor l and a ppendages i n t he c harters and d etached portions o f parishes c annot b e d emonstrated i n t he West M idlands,
a lthough t here c an be l ittle d oubt t hat t he l atter
o riginated i n t his w ay. W here n eighbouring t ownships h eld s hares in patches of woodland o r meadowland i t i s possible t hat t his r eflects t he d ivision o f l and p reviously h eld i n c ommon within a l arger united e state a nd i t i s s ignificant t hat s uch h oldings a re rarely f ar d istant f rom t he t ownship c oncerned. I n e arly s ocieties s uch a s t hose p reviously r eferred t o i n t he C eltic West,
( 51)
r ights
i n
c ommon l and w ere p roportional t o t he s ize o f an a rable h olding a nd t here a re s everal W est M idland i nstances i n which woodland i s h eld a s a n a djunct t o r ights i n a h ide o f l and. o f H imbleton
( S 1 373,
R ob 5 6 ),
The t enth-century
f or i nstance,
f ifta . 1 cer 1 D re d alm&due t o ), , z re h ide
l ease
Ponne gehirae ) s e
' every f ifth ECer o f the
partible meadow a lso b elongs t o t he h ide',
a nd t he same c harter
g ives 1 Ds w udu gemare pe t o p c fre h ide g ebyre8 w oodland t hat b elongs t o t he h ide'.
a dds:
( 52 )
' the boundary of t he
H ere t he l and m ay well
h ave b een w ithin t he t ownship a nd s eparate c lauses e xist f or both
1 06
t he t imberland a nd t he h ide o f t he l and. s eems a pparent i n B redons Norton ( S 1 405,
A s imilar r elationship E 2 47-48) w hen i n AD 1 058
a l ease i s made o f t wo m ansa a nd o ne pertica o f l and,
a pparently t wo
h ides a nd one y ardland, b ut a lso i ncludes ( 4 a f eower a ceras 8 arto of 6 are s tyfycunge i nto 8 am t wan h idan 7 8 a made . 7 8 one g raf 6 e barto m id r ihte t olige8 ' the f our a cres o f t he c learing t hat g o w ith t he t wo h ides, t he meadow a nd t he g rove t hat b elong o f r ight t hereto', p erhaps a gain l and w ithin t he parish. Where s uch l inks e xist b etween l and i n a djacent parishes i t i s an a ttractive t heory t hat t hey may p redate t he d ivision o f a l arger l and u nit i nto t ownships.
O n t he s outhern b orders o f
G loucestershire a n e state a t Ewen,
Kemble
( S 1 552,
B 6 73)
i s f ound
t o hold i n e odem prato c ommunam i n p astura v idelicet q uam y mene morlese appellatur.cum a lliis v illatis s cilicet.Somerford. P ole 7 Kemele
' in t he s ame m eadow c ommon p asture,
c alled t he c ommon marsh-pasture, f ord,
P oole a nd Kemble'.
n amely t hat which i s
w ith o ther v illages,
n amely S omer-
This r efers t o a n a rea o f r ough g razing
l and i n t he m arshy a reas o f t he valley o f t he U pper T hames a nd i ts t ributaries a nd m ight i ndicate a n a rea o f marshland u sed b y t he s urrounding c ommunities o f S omerford K eynes, a nd Kemble.
P oole K eynes, Ewen
I n W orcestershire, B redicot i s f ound t o be a ssociated
with r ights i n t he meadows o f t he a djacent e state o f T ibberton a nd t he
l essee o f T horne held r ights i n l and b elonging t o t he i nhabitants
of I nkberrow. i ndicative o f
I t i s possible t o i nterpret s uch r elationships a s ' the g rouping of s ettlements i nto e states'
e arly d ate, w ith s ubsequent f ragmentation,
( 53)
a t a very
a n i nterpretation
which would n ot b e a t v ariance with t he i deas e xpressed a bove. There i s e vidence i n Worcestershire, h owever,
t hat s uch
l inks c ould s till b e f orged i n t he p eriod u nder d iscussion a nd that c omplex a rrangements w ere a ctually t aking p lace a t t he p eriod o f the g rants a nd l eases.
I ndeed, m ost c harters w hich c ontain d etails
of l and a ppendages post-date t he t enth c entury a nd a v ery l arge number of t hem a ppear t o have b een l eases b y t he C hurch o f Worcester ( Table 2 .1). Stoulton
A s an e xample,
( S 1 332,
R ob 5 5 )
a c harter o f U pper W olverton i n
r ecords t hat A rchbishop O swald had
t ransferred 6 0 a cres of wheat-land f rom t hat unit i n A D 9 77 and annexed them t o Kempsey, h ides b uton
. LX.acran
f or t he charter r ecords a n a rea o f two
p haft
h is h ame h im t o hwatelande
se arcebisceop g enumen i nto C ymesige t o
' less 6 0 a cres, w hich t he a rchbishop h as
attached a s w heat-growing l and t o h is manor a t K empsey'. Later,
i n AD 1 058,
a c harter o f B redons Norton
( 54)
( S 1 405, E 2 47-48)
r ecords t hat t he t hree a cres o f meadowland l eased w ith t he main e state h ad b een a dded to t he l and o f Bercstane b y S t.
O swald.
Byrcstan, t hegn, h ad b een l eased t he l and b y A rchbishop O swald i n AD 9 89 ( S 1 359, K 6 71 ) a nd t he meadow l ay a t a fan hamme, t he name s uggesting a m eadow b eside t he R iver Avon. of l and may,
t herefore,
T hese m inor a ppendages
h ave n o a ncient o rigin a nd m erely s tem f rom
a c ommon l and o verlordship.
T hey may n ot b e u sed s afely t o
reconstruct a ncient t ownship l inks. An i nvestigation o f t he 4 1 c ases i n which c harters c ontain not o nly a m ajor l and unit b ut a dditional d etached p ieces o f l and ( excluding s alt r ights)
( 55)
s hows t hat 2 9 o f t hem w ere i ssued by
the Church o f W orcester a nd a f urther 7 c oncerned l and c onnected
1 07
w ith t his C hurch. B ishop O swald
Almost h alf o f t hem w ere i n f act l eases made b y
( later a rchbishop o f Y ork )
i n t he t enth c entury,
i ndicating a t ype o f o rganisation c ommonly practiced b y t he Church o f Worcester.
A n umber were,
o f L ong I tchington, Warks. p roperty i n W arwick,
K 7 05 ),
( S 9 01,
K 1 295),
and s everal o ther
a lso i ncluding a n urban
a nd a n e state a t Ombersley, W orcs.
i ncluded two w eirs on t he R iver S evern .
i ncluding t hat
which included an u rban
t hat o f Dumbleton, G loucs.,
W orcestershire e states property,
h owever, r oyal grants,
( S 8 98,
( S 5 4,
B 1 16),
which
S alt r ights w ere
f requently a ppended t o r oyal g rants i n a s imilar f ashion.
The
e xtension o f s uch a s ystem t o a reas o f l and i s f oreshadowed in t he i nclusion o f a n a rea o f w oodland at N uthurst w ith an e state at S hottery i n a r oyal g rant t o the s eventh o r e arly e ighth c entury
Church o f W orcester i n t he late ( S 6 4, B 1 23)
a nd l and a t brochyl
w ith l and b eside t he R iver S tour i n W orcestershire in A D 7 36 B 1 54).
B y t he t enth c entury,
h owever,
f requently o f v ery l imited e xtent a nd i ncluded many t ypes of ( Part I I,
( vi)
Chapter
( S 8 9
s uch parcels o f l and were l and
2 ).
C onclusions I n v iew o f t he a pparent l ack o f proven c ontinuity o f
s ettlement a nd t he known t endency f or m edieval hamlets t o disappear f rom t he l andscape
( 56)
i t may b e t hat b oundaries f orm a more v iable
s ubject o f s tudy f or those i nterested i n e xploring the p ossibilities o f c ontinuity i n t erritorial o rganisation.
M ost a reas d isplay a
r ange of b oth major and m inor b oundaries which w ill r epay further d etailed s tudy a nd i t i s b eyond t he s cope o f the present w ork t o make more than t he most s uperficial o bservations a rising f rom a n e xamination o f p re-Conquest c harters. I n t he W est M idlands t here s eems t o b e a c onsiderable v ariety i n t he t ype a nd i n the a ges o f b oundaries
i n g eneral.
T he
e vidence s uggests that i n many parts o f W orcestershire t he parishes r epresented g roupings o f s maller t ownships b ut t hat t his w as n ot n ecessarily the c ase o ver the e ntire a rea.
I n c ertain a reas minor
t ownship-estates a ppear t o h ave b een s ufficiently e stablished f or t heir l and b oundaries t o i nfluence t he l ine t aken by t he p arish d ivisions.
S ome o f t hese s maller units may e ven survive a s
i ndependent parishes.
These a reas may b e r egarded a s a reas of
primary d evelopment o r a reas where d evelopment was e arly s tage o f t he Anglo-Saxon period.
intensive at a n
I n particular, t he eastern
b ank o f t he R iver S evern i n mid-Worcestershire a ppears t o be a p rimary d evelopment a rea
( Fig.
2 .15),
w here B redicot s urvived a s a
s mall p arish-unit a nd C udley a nd S mite r emained d istinctive units w ithin l arger parishes.
The boundaries o f a n umber o f p arishes i n
t his a rea a ppear t o h ave b een i nfluenced by s uch pre-existing units.
T he s outhern bank o f t he Avon i n b oth W orcestershire and
W arwickshire
( Fig.
2 .12)
i s a nother a rea i n which s ub-units appear
t o h ave b een e stablished a t a n e arly d ate, particularly a long t he b anks o f t he R iver S tour,
their b ounds o ften i ncorporated into t hose
o f t he parish d ivisions.
A l arge p ercentage o f s uch a reas
b e r iver v alleys o pen t o e arly,
i ntensive s ettlement.
s eem t o
T he date o f
parish f ormation may n ot h ave b een uniform throughout t he region b ut i n t he C oln v alley which d issects t he G loucestershire Cotswolds
1 08
Finberg
( 57)
h as b een a ble t o s how t hat a n e state a t Withington w as
a lready i n e xistence b y t he e ighth c entury
( S 1 429,
B 1 56)
s eems l ikely t hat minor units l ike t he l ands o f H ilcot,
a nd i t
t o t he w est
of the H ilcot B rook, h ad a lready b een i ncorporated w ithin i t 2 .15).
( Fig.
This e state s eems t o h ave b een e nlarged b etween A D 6 74 x 7 04
and A D 7 74 t o i nclude a s ingle m ansa o f l and a t Cumtun, which h e identifies a s t he l ands o f B rockhole End, l ying o n t he e astern s ide of the R iver C oln,
a fter which t he b oundary b ecomes s tabilised a s
that o f the p arish.
Additional g rants o f l and a t D owdeswell,
Tyreltune and O nnandune b etween A D 7 81 and A D 8 00 b ring t hese a reas within t he e state o f W ithington but a re n ot i ncluded i n t he modern parish.
Other l arge e states which a ppear t o c ontain a n umber o f
smaller units s ufficiently e stablished t o i nfluence t he b oundary l ine o f t he main e state i nclude t hat c entred u pon Wootton Wawen i n the v alley o f t he A lne i n Warwickshire a nd t he e state o f B lockley in t he v alley o f a t ributary o f t he Knee B rook i n G loucestershire. There a re n o e arly b oundary c lauses o f t hese e states b ut p resent boundaries o bviously r un a round i ndividual s ub-units. B eyond t hese a reas w ere o thers where t he parish b oundaries appear t o b e t he e arliest minor d ivisions a nd a lthough t ownships a re recorded t heir b ounds d o n ot a ppear t o h ave preceded t he l arger parish d ivisions.
Much o f the a rea a long t he n orth b ank o f the A von
in both Worcestershire and Warwickshire f alls i nto this c ategory o f area,
t ogether w ith much o f t he F eldon o f Warwickshire.
noted h ow the b oundary o f W ormleighton, century
( S 5 88, B 9 46)
f or i nstance,
I t may b e
i n t he t enth
a ppears t o i nclude t he s ub-unit o f S toneton.
This unit h as a n i rregular and a pparently l ate t ype o f b oundary which s uggests t hat i t was c arved o ut o f t he W ormleighton e state ( Fig.
2 .18).
T he D omesday a ssessment f or Warwickshire s hows t he
continued p rocess o f this s plitting u p o f l arger e states.
F ragmenta-
tion i n many c ases c ame t oo l ate t o i nfluence t he p arish b ounds a nd no c lear d ivisions c an b e s hown b etween t he l ands o f D odwell and Luddington i n t he parish o f L uddington,
o r b etween those o f Walcot
and U pton H aselor i n t he p arish o f H aselor a lthough t hese a ppear t o have b ecome i ndependent manors by 1 086.
I n Worcestershire t he
l arge parishes o f F eckenham and I nkberrow s eem t o l ie i n a reas o f s econdary d evelopment and i t i s n oticable h ow many o f t hese parishes l ie i n a reas w hich r emained well-wooded i nto t he Anglo-Saxon period. Beyond these a reas a re yet o thers, where t he p ressure on l and w as i nsufficient t o n ecessitate t he b reak-up o f units u ntil a much l ater d ate.
I n t he G loucestershire Cotswolds a c harter o f
Bawling s hows t hat i n A D 8 16 a n e xtensive a rea o f w oodland b elonging to t he people o f B awling e xtended a cross a l arge a rea which w as l ater t o f orm t he parishes o f R oel a nd S udeley M anor a nd t hat a l arge a rea o f f eld-land a lso e xtended a cross a t l east t he s outhern part o f B awling parish a nd p robably i ndicated o pen p asture-land. Much o f west W orcestershire s outh o f the R iver Teme was a lso divided i nto i ndividual e states a t a l ate d ate a nd w as i ndeed described a s
' a w ilderness'
i n e arly medieval t imes.
( 58)
There a ppear t o b e s everal t ypes o f a rea i n which t he modern parish b oundaries d iffer f rom t hose r ecorded i n t he c harters o f t he Anglo-Saxon p eriod. While s ome v ariation h as b een n oted upon t he G loucestershire C otswolds i t i s l argely w oodland a reas
1 09
W orm le ighton w i th S toneton
/
S TANTONE
H ase t o r w i th U pton a n d W a l co t W ILMAN L ENT T UNE \s
,„ :
IS
.
_ _,--
,
I /\ •
0 .1O . P0 T OW N E AL ECOT E . s' . . , •
. . .. »,
-
, ' ; , -, . . , , .
% . , % , ,
; 5, % , ,,
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I 7
,
. . S C IRAN A C 0 ,J ,
.
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-
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i
t i t
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, E THOM 0
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I NTANBEORGAS
T HORDUNE
o
F eckenham a nd l n kber row
-
—I
N orton-and- L en chw ick w i th C hadbu ry
0 0
1m l l km
DH
that b etray t his t endency most f requently.
I t b ecomes e vident t hat
i t i s i n p reviously d ensely w ooded a reas t hat c harter b ounds b ecome most o ften d ifficult t o s olve a nd q uite o bviously do n ot a lways f ollow modern b oundary l ines.
I n s outh-west G loucestershire,
w here
woodland was p articularly dense a long t he C otswold s carp, d ifficulties are e ncountered i n t he c lause o f t he c omposite e state o f P ucklechurch and i n the c lause o f O lveston, which a ppears t o r efer t o l and extending n orthwards i nto t he p resent parish o f Thornbury.
I n
Worcestershire s imilar d ifficulties a re e ncountered i n t he f rontier area t hat l ay t o t he w est o f t he S evern, l ate d evelopment.
a gain a n a rea o f r elatively
O n t he Worcestershire/Warwickshire b order
woodland w as e xtensive i n A rden and h ere t here s eems t o have b een changes the
i n t he boundaries o f O ldberrow,
A spley a nd T eodeces l eage,
l atter p art of U llenhall i n t he p arish o f W ootton W awen.
Roberts,
( 59)
t oo,
n oted t he possibility o f l ate f ragmentation i n
Arden w ith m any b oundaries o f a pparently l ate c reation.
I t s eems
that e state b oundaries may h ave b ecome s tabilised i n marginal a reas at a r elatively l ater d ate t han i n a reas o f i ntense e arly development. On t he b asis o f these o bservations a t entative h ypothesis may b e p resented. s ub-units,
I nternal d ivisions, whether o f parishes o r
a ppear t o h ave b een demarcated a t s ome s tage o f
development w ithin p re-existing l arger t erritorial b locks.
Few of
these l arger o riginal u nits c an b e r econstructed w ith p recision today b ut t hey w ere u sually l arger than t he e states r ecorded i n the charters o f t he e ighth and s ubsequent c enturies.
A f ew r eferences
to 5 0-hide units may r epresent a t l east part o f s uch e arly t erritories.
I t s eems l ikely t hat i n so me p art o f t he c ountry major
territorial u nits e xisted a t a very e arly d ate, l ate I ron A ge.
a t l east by the
W ithin e ach o f t hese units one o r more administrative
f oci w ere t o b ecome e stablished,
w ith o ccasional s hifts o f s ite,
and s ome o f t hese w ere t o r emain outstanding e nough t o a cquire early m insters o r t o s urvive a s c hief manors i nto t he post-Conquest period.
M ajor changes may h ave t aken place i n t he R oman period but
the u nderlying pattern was o ften t o s urvive.
W ithin t he major
divisions s ome e states were t o b e r etained by the c rown but o thers were t o b e a lienated t o e cclesiastical o r l ay o wnership.
W ithin
the l arger u nits n umerous minor s ettlements d eveloped a nd t he b ounds of t hese w ere t o b ecome
s tabilised a t d ifferent periods i n
different t ypes o f c ountry,
t he p rocess o verlapping w ith t he
creation o f t he e cclesiastical p arishes.
The b ounds o f the l atter
were undoubtedly i nfluenced b y t he e state b oundaries e xisting a t the t ime o f t heir f oundation. S ubdivision c ould o ccur a t a ny t ime and f ragmentation c ontinued a fter parishes h ad b een f ormed. I n s ome c ases i t may i ndeed b e h appening a t the t ime o f t he c harter grants a lthough t hese o ften s eem t o r efer t o d ivisions a lready i n e xistence.
A r elatively l ate d ivision may b e s een i n t hat o f H ardwell
i n B erkshire,
( 60 )
where i n AD 9 03 t he b ounds s eem t o c ut a cross t he
f ield s ystem o f a c ommunity,
a nd i n K ingston B agpuize a nd p erhaps,
t oo, i n Chieveley a nd B eedon, the b oundary a ppears t o c ut t hrough the v illage s ettlement. S ince their c reation parish b oundaries have r emained s urprisingly s table i nto m odern t imes and i t i s only i n a reas o f w oodland that a ppreciable c hanges a re c ommon. A p romising l ine o f e nquiry,
1 11
b ut one which c an l ead t o
d angerously f acile c onclusions,
i s t he
c onfiguration o f p arish b oundaries.
s tudy o f the s hape and
W hen t he degree o f development
o f t he l andscape i s understood t hese b oundaries may b e re-examined w ith g reater understanding. Many b oundaries s uggest b y pattern a lone t he e xistence o f major l and g roupings a nd these may b e e xamined i n c onjunction w ith hundred a nd e cclesiastical bounds o f t he l ate Anglo-Saxon and e arly medieval period. I n W arwickshire a d egree o f unity i s, f or i nstance, s uggested b y the p attern o f b oundaries o f parishes l ying b etween t he r ivers Avon a nd L ear n, parishes i ncorporated Hundred,
wholly w ithin t he n orthern p art of M arton
b ut i n t he S tour valley t o t he s outh of the A von t he
s ymmetry o f parish b oundary patterns i s destroyed b y t he bounds o f t he h undred d ivisions. The b oundaries o f the minor e states and parishes a re i ntimately l inked t o t he t opographical n ature o f the c ountryside, t he d istinctive patterns o f b oundaries characterising p articular t ypes o f a reas. above,
The b oundaries o f t he Upper Marton H undred n oted
f or i nstance,
a re t ypical o f a n a rea o f open h eathland,
h ere D unsmore H eath,
d ivided b etween t he t ownships e stablished
on i ts outer margins.
A s imilar pattern may b e observed in t he
v icinity o f Welford H eath on t he b orders o f G loucestershire, O xfordshire a nd W arwickshire where t he b oundaries o f n ine parishes a nd f our f ormer counties c onverge,
a nd upon h igh l and a t Ready T oken
i n s outh G loucestershire, where t he b oundaries of f ive parishes c onverge
( Fig.
2 .19).
O n a l esser s cale b oundaries i n undeveloped
a reas w ere o ften f ree t o e ither f ollow b road t opographical f eatures o r e ven t o c ut a cross c ountry when t hey were d rawn u p, whereas i n d ensely s ettled a reas t hey w ere f orced t o f ollow an i rregular l ine b etween p re-existent h oldings.
I n d ense woodlands r ivers were
o ften the e asiest a nd i ndeed t he o nly s atisfactory w ay o f d emarcating l and.
The f orm and s ize o f parishes i s o ften a reflection u pon the
d egree a nd n ature o f the d evelopment o f an a rea by t he middle o f t he Anglo-Saxon period.
W hile s uch a n e xamination o f b oundaries
w ould n ecessarily f orm the t heme of a s eparate s tudy c ertain a reas w ill b e r eviewed a t the e nd o f t his w ork. I t i s f elt, h owever, t hat a knowledge of t he d egree a nd n ature of d evelopment present in the Anglo-Saxon l andscape must p recede a ny w orthwhile t erritorial s tudy.
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