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Driffield Manor, its organisations and regulations = COMMENT ON THIS STORY
Open-field agriculture had the advantage of bringing together the whole of the village in one working community in which each member had equal rights with the rest, but was dependent on the work and goodwill of the others. As long as the population of the country remained small and everyone lived on the land the system worked well, but when the demand for food for those who had migrated to the towns began to make itself felt, it was not flexible enough to meet this demand.
Early farmers had learnt that corn was an exhausting crop and took so much goodness out of the soil that it could not be grown successfully year after year without a rest. Ploughing the whole of the Middle Field in the Driffield Manor would take many weeks, even with a number of plough teams working at the same time, an ox team probably did no more than three quarters of an acre a day. If no arrangement had been made about the ownership of strips before the whole field was done, much of the good sowing weather would have been lost, so it was natural to allot the strips to the villagers as the work proceeded and what method could be more natural than to give each strip as it was ploughed to one of the members of the group that supplied the oxen and the plough,
After a few days work each member of the group would have a strip he could sow and harrow, and as the work proceeded he would get another strip and so on, until by the time the whole big field was finished he might have many strips of different sizes and quality in the field. In this way ploughing and sowing went on together and the whole area was sown almost as soon as it was ploughed.
When the first field was sown with wheat, the plough team went on to the second field for spring corn, barley, oats, beans and peas and then to the third field which was ploughed and this was allowed to lie fallow for a year. The fallow field was grazed by livestock all winter and spring and so got some manure, which was ploughed in as opportunity arose during the summer, for sowing winter wheat in the autumn.
The introduction of turnips, clover and potatoes as farm crops, with the consequent provision of winter food for all the animals was the death knell of the open field system. The essence of that system was the rigidity with which the prctice of cropping and grazing to time had to be obeyed by all. The right of stubble grazing after the harvest was jealously guarded and certain to be exercised, so that no one could grow a crop on his strip which did not ripen at the same time as crops of his neighbours. To grow anything for winter food was impossible as it would have been eaten off when the stubbles were thrown open to grazing for the cattle of the whole village. In this rigidity lay the seeds of the decay of the system, and though for over 1,000 years the open fields had fed and clothed the majority of the people of England, they had eventually to give way to inclosed farming.
Open-field farming could never have been successful without some authority behind it to ensure that its rules were obeyed. At first it was the Manor Court which made the rules and imposed fines for breaking them, and then later a jury made up of villagers, which kept unruly members in check.
Offences against the laws of the open-fields made up a considerable number of presentations to the court. Chief among these offences were, not obeying the jury, over stocking the commons, taking soil from the common, putting cattle on the stubble before it was open, destroying corn with his swine, bringing cattle from another parish on to the stubble, resisting the Pinder, the man who rounded up stray cattle, breaking into the pinfold, where stray cattle were impounded, taking up marking stones, not making up fences and not cleaning out ditches.
The by laws of Driffield Manor help to throw into clear relief the working of the open-field system in Driffield and the practical problems which it involved. Access to the various parts of the fields was obtained by the balks or cart tracks, which tended to become narrower owing to the encroachment of adjoining farmers.
In order to preserve the balks at Driffield, farmers were ordered to leave sufficient heading at their lands end to turn their carts on their own ground.
The right to pasture livestock on the commons was called a 'stint' and at Driffield the 'allowable stint' was for every three oxgang of land - one yoke of oxen. If the neatherd or the swineherd did not blow his horn loudly at the appointed places to collect the animals to take them to the common at times fixed by the jury, and stay in the field till the time appointed, he was fined 3s - 4d.
In 1657 it was stated that hemp was not to be kept in the oven or by the fire side - a fine of 10s. This was obviously to avoid a serious fire and the size of the fine reflected this. The rating of hemp and flax was only to be done at the hemp dike - a fine of 3s - 4d.
No villager to wash puddings, entrails or fish in the town beck or at any common well - fine 3s.
Strangers or foreigners were not welcome in the manor. No foreigners to make way over the common - fine 10s. None to lodge strangers more than one night - fine 3s - 4d. No stranger to wash sheep, fowl or fish - fine 10s.
The constable was to search weekly in harvest time for sheaf stealers - failing to do his duty - fine 6s - 8d,
None was to gather wool before six or eight in the morning in order to prevent the possibility of taking it from the sheep's back.
Geese have several mentions, the highest fine being 10s for keeping them on the common in summer.
A close watch was made on the quality of ale brewed in Driffield. Brewsters are to brew'a good and wholesome ale for man's body', to be sold at a price fixed by the official. The ale wife must send for the official 'every time she tunns', a fine of 1s.
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Weather for Driffield
Sunday 05 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -1 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 1 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North
