ECONOMIC HISTORY
Wakes Colne manor,
with woodland for 400 swine in 1086, was one
of the most heavily wooded manors in the Colne
valley, but part of its wood was probably in
Colne Engaine. On the four estates which later
formed Crepping manor there was pasture for
112 swine. As in other areas of north Essex,
clearance was rapid. That it was in progress by
1066 is indicated by the numbers of bordarii
recorded that year; there were 15 bordarii to 7
villani on Wakes Colne manor and 9 bordarii
were the only recorded tenants in Crepping. (fn. 89)
In 1380 the main wood on Wakes Colne manor
demesne was the 82-a. Westheywood in Colne
Engaine; in Wakes Colne itself there was only
the sparsely wooded 12-a. park. (fn. 90) On Crepping
manor Sowenewood, perhaps an early plantation, was recorded in 1327; there was a small
wood at Rowenhey (later Rowney) in 1331, and
other scattered woods in 1432. (fn. 91) Rowney wood
(11 a.) survived into the mid 19th century. (fn. 92) In
1996 the only wood in the parish was Acorn
wood (17 a.) near Wakes Hall, first recorded in
1790. (fn. 93)
In 1066 the arable on Wakes Colne manor was
worked by 3 demesne and 5 tenants' ploughs; in
1086 by 3 demesne and 4 tenants' ploughs. A
sokeman had a further ½ plough on his freeyardland. On Alward's two Crepping estates,
which extended into Chappel, there were 2
ploughs in 1066 and 1½ in 1086. There was ½
plough on the St. Edmund's abbey estate, and
1 plough on the 5 sokemen's 94 a. (fn. 94)
By the earlier 14th century most of the
tenants' arable on Crepping manor lay in
inclosed fields or crofts, but each was divided
among several owners and was presumably commonable after harvest. (fn. 95) Some rights of common
had been extinguished before 1307, and later in
the century holdings were apparently consolidated. (fn. 96) In 1530 land held in 'parcels' was still
distinguished from inclosed land, and the arable
of Crepping manor was divided from that of
Archentines manor in Fordham only by a mere
or baulk. (fn. 97) Most villein holdings were small,
some only 2 a. or 3 a., but a 30-a. holding was
recorded in 1337. (fn. 98) In the 1530s there were c. 53
free- and copyhold tenants whose holdings
ranged from 45 a. down to 1 r.; as much as half
the manor may have been freehold. (fn. 99) The
demesne in the 1330s lay in c. 15 small fields,
concentrated around the manor house in the
south-east quarter of Wakes Colne parish andthe north-east quarter of Chappel. Mowing and
carting services were being demanded in 1307,
and other works in 1343. (fn. 1) Parcels of the demesne
were leased in 1353, 1412, and 1417. (fn. 2) The repair
of the manorial sheepcote and two barns in 1409
and trespasses in the lord's corn in 1420 and
1426 suggest that the earls of Oxford were
exploiting part of the manor directly, but the
whole manor was being leased in 1432. (fn. 3)
Most named holdings on Wakes Hall manor
in the 15th century may have been former quar-
ter (12 a.-15 a.) or half yardlands (30 a.); two of
the latter were called half yardlands in 1480 and
1466. (fn. 4) In 1393 the demesne arable was divided
into 2 large fields of 134 a. and 136 a. and 4
smaller ones totalling 135 a., which may earlier
have been the units for a 3-course rotation of (1)
wheat (2) oats with barley, rye, peas, or beans,
and (3) fallow. (fn. 5) By 1393 almost two thirds of the
demesne was being leased, and the remaining
large field was leased in 1400. Ploughing,
mowing, and harvest works owed by up to 30
customary tenants had been commuted. Before
commutation 3 customary tenants had been
given food and drink at 2 special ploughing
works, and 4 at 5 carrying works; 8 mowers had
received grain for pottage. Reduction in rents
and in sums paid in commutation of works, as
well as the growing arrears of rents, suggests
some difficulties by 1393. (fn. 6) In 1404 rents on two
holdings were almost halved to attract tenants. (fn. 7)
There was 13 a. of meadow in Wakes Colne
manor in 1086, and probably 16 a. on the later
Crepping manor. (fn. 8) In the later 14th century there
was 12 a. or 15 a. of meadow on the Wakes Hall
demesne alone. (fn. 9) Most of the meadow probably
lay along the Colne, the tenants' meadow in
Edland or Headland meadow, part of which was
still divided into strips belonging to different
owners in 1885. (fn. 10) In the 17th, 18th, and 19th
centuries there was also meadow at Pardon
valley, on the White Colne boundary, and near
Allcocks green. (fn. 11)
In 1526 Wakes Colne green was common to
tenants of Wakes Colne manor for cattle and
sheep in accordance with a stint, but several tenants overloaded the common. (fn. 12) Unspecified
rights of common were still attached to enclosures at the green in 1866. (fn. 13) A 38-a. freehold on
Crepping manor had pasture for 12 cows in
1345, (fn. 14) but there is no later record of such rights
or of where they were exercised. The lord of
Crepping farmed out a herd of 20 cows in 1340,
and tenants owned up to 50 sheep and 7 cattle
in 1332. (fn. 15) There were 3 hives of bees on Wakes
Colne manor in 1086, and in 1338 bees, apparently the lord's, were stolen from a tree on
Crepping manor. (fn. 16)
Twenty-one people were assessed for subsidy
in Wakes Colne and Crepping in 1327 at a total
50s. 8¼d., an above average assessment for the
hundred. Among the wealthiest men, assessed
at 8s. 6d. and 5s. 6d., were Henry Bacon of
Crepping manor and the freeholder GeorgeCornerth. (fn. 17) Thirty-three people were assessed
for subsidy in 1524, 30 in 1525; at least 25 of
them were assessed in both years. The wealthiest
men were Thomas Turner, later lessee of Wakes
Hall and Crepping Hall, who was assessed on
goods worth £30, and the copyholder Richard
Bunner, assessed on £20 worth. Of the 11 men
assessed on earnings, only 4 or 5 were assessed
on the labourer's 20s. (fn. 18)
There were 35 tenants on Wakes Hall manor
in 1635. Although most of the c. 32 earlier hold-
ings had been split up, many of the resulting
smaller ones had been consolidated. Only about
a quarter of the land was freehold. (fn. 19) The largest
estate was William Potter's 126 a. which included Fishers, a 50-a. freehold first recorded in
1466. (fn. 20) It had been held by the Waldegraves of
Bures St. Mary (Suff.) and by John Turner
of Crepping Hall. (fn. 21)
Small numbers of cows and sheep were frequently recorded in the 16th century, but the
available pasture may have been reduced by
c. 1700. A lease in 1708 of 121 a. of arable, 26 a.
of pasture, and 23 a. of meadow apparently
allowed the ploughing of up to 160 a. a year. (fn. 22)
Wheat and oats, with some barley and maslin,
remained the principal crops. (fn. 23) Hops were
grown from the 1620s or earlier until the late
18th century, saffron before 1635, and teazel and
caraway c. 1780. (fn. 24)
In the 19th century the parish was still dominated by the two manorial estates, both held by
John Lay until his death in 1819. (fn. 25) In 1838
Henry Skingley at Wakes Hall owned and occupied 320 a. in Wakes Colne with 15 a. in
Chappel. Crickitt's executors at Crepping Hall
owned 266 a. in Wakes Colne and 182 a. in
Chappel; most of it was occupied by William
Worcester, whose farm, leased from several
landowners, comprised 298 a. in Wakes Colne
and 52 a. in Chappel. John Brett at Fishers held
203 a.; one of his tenants also leased Great
Loveney Hall and held altogether 173 a. in
Wakes Colne and 24 a. in Chappel. (fn. 26) In 1851
Wakes Hall comprised c. 400 a., Crepping Hall
450 a., and Great Loveney Hall 300 a.; Fishers
was not recorded. Three other farms were over
100 a. By 1881 Wakes Hall farm had increased
to 500 a. and Fishers to 320 a.; Crepping Hall
farm was only 355 a., and Great Loveney Hall
201 a. (fn. 27) The Wakes Hall estate was sold c. 1884
to Charles Page Wood who farmed it until his
death in 1915. (fn. 28) Joe Percival (d. 1973) bought
the Wakes Hall estate and much other land in
the parish in the 1930s and 1940s; his large farm
was intact in 1996. (fn. 29)
In 1839 there was 1,668 a. of arable to 117 a.
of grass, and 52 a. of woodland in the parish. By
1905 the grassland had increased to 520 a., the
arable had decreased to 1,496 a., and the woodland to 44 a. (fn. 30) In the late 19th century and the
early 20th several farms included 'garden' land,
presumably producing vegetables for market. (fn. 31)
Fruitgrowing was encouraged by the RevdE. Bartrum, rector 1887-1906, who published
guides to the cultivation of apples, pears, plums,
raspberries, and strawberries. (fn. 32) A 90-a. farm in
Wakes Colne and Mount Bures in 1926 included
10 a. of soft fruit. (fn. 33) There was a poultry farm in
1922. (fn. 34) In 1953 Rowneys farm (80 a. extending
into Mount Bures) could rear 1,008 poultry and
38 or more pigs; cereals, sugar beet, potatoes,
and cabbages were grown on the arable land. (fn. 35)
In 1996 most of the parish was arable, the chief
crops being wheat and barley, with rape, sugar
beet and beans; two farms kept beef and dairy
cattle. Oldhouse farm had extensive apple
orchards, and also reared ostriches. (fn. 36)
Wakes mill was a fulling mill in the 16th century; weavers were recorded in 1563, 1584, 1607,
and 1619, and woolcombers or combers in 1664,
1679, and 1701. (fn. 37) There was a glover in the
parish in 1582 and a bricklayer in 1597; otherwise most recorded trades were service ones:tailors in 1567 and 1595, a butcher in 1597, and
grocers in 1708 and 1754. In 1573 a husbandman
worked as a musician. (fn. 38)
Between 1841 and 1891 farmers and their
labourers made up c. 60 per cent of the working
population; the remaining workers included
wheelwrights, blacksmiths, and shopkeepers, as
well as domestic servants at Wakes Hall, Wakes
Colne Place, and Fishers. Wakes mill employed
6 men in 1851, and 10 in 1871. There were 3
railway employees in the parish in 1851, a total
of 14 in 1891. The railway probably also made
possible the establishment of the coalyard by
1851. (fn. 39) The early 19th-century Kiln field and
Bricks field may mark the site of brickworks in
the north-west corner of the parish. Brickmakers
were recorded in Loveney Hall Road in 1871
and at Parkers Green in 1886, and there was
still a brickfield in the parish in 1890. (fn. 40) Apart
from a silk worker, presumably employed in one
of the nearby silk mills, in 1851, and 2 strawplaiters in 1871, few working women were
recorded until 1891 when 23 were tailoresses,
probably for Colchester clothing firms. (fn. 41)
A wheelwright's, blacksmith's, and builder's
business, established in 1804 on the Colchester
road on the boundary between Wakes Colne
and Chappel, continued under different owners
into the 1920s when F. Doe diversified into
coach building. (fn. 42) A sawmill had been built on
the site by 1925, and the business became a
timber merchant's. (fn. 43) A blacksmith's business,
started in the disused Wakes Colne forge in
1934, (fn. 44) still produced decorative ironwork in
1996.
A mill on Robert Malet's Wakes Colne manor
in 1066 and 1086 descended with the manor
until c. 1860. (fn. 45) It was farmed for 60s. a year in
1392-3, (fn. 46) and was leased to the tenant of the
manorial demesne for 73s. 4d. a year in the mid
16th century. (fn. 47) In 1518 it was a corn mill, but
by 1540 when it was called Walkmill it was probably also a fulling mill, as it was in 1617. (fn. 48)
Fulling seems to have ceased by 1719. (fn. 49) An oil
mill was added before 1777. (fn. 50) In 1894 the corn
mill contained five pairs of millstones, the
oil mill a roller seed crushing mill and two
twelve-inch ram hydraulic presses. (fn. 51) Oil milling
ceased early in the 20th century, but the flour
and feed mill, powered by electricity, worked
until 1974. (fn. 52)
A windmill at Wakes Colne green was built
c. 1757, taken down between 1777 and 1782, and
rebuilt before 1787. The mill, a post mill with
two pairs of stones in 1821, burnt down in 1856
and was not rebuilt. (fn. 53)