ECONOMIC HISTORY.
In 1086 there were two
teams on the demesne of Churcham manor. (fn. 40) A
survey of 1649 extended 579 a. as being held in hand
by the lessees of the manor but probably only 416 a.
represented the demesne farm; the remainder was
grouped as six holdings ranging in size from 11 a. to
47 a., each with a house, and may actually have been
held by tenants on leases or at will. The 416 a.
included 60 a. in the open fields but twice as much
arable in closes; it also included 59 a. of meadow, of
which 9 a. were in the common meadows, as well as
177 a. in pasture closes. (fn. 41)
The tenants of Churcham manor in 1086 were
seven villani and two bordars with 6 ploughs. (fn. 42) By
c. 1267 four freeholds had been created. The largest,
held by Ralph Brown, was two yardlands (a yardland
being 48 a.), there were two of ½ yardland and
another of 12 a.; all four were held by charter in
perpetuity but they still owed heriots and one owed
a few labour-services. There were also 22 holdings
of varying sizes, including three of ½ yardland, which
were held either for life or at will. Most of them
owed cash rents and several also owed some labourservices and other customs or else some specific
service; a smith held by the service of providing
ironwork for the lord's ploughs, two other tenants
had to supply ploughshares, and three owed a fixed
quota of honey. (fn. 43)
The customary tenants c. 1267 were 10 holding ½
yardlands, 7 pairs holding jointly a ½ yardland, 12
mondaymen each holding 4 a., and 5 cottars. In the
October-July period the half-yardlander was required to work four days and plough ½ a. every other
week; the work might include mowing, threshing,
and carrying, but a moiety of his works might be
commuted if he did woodward service at Birdwood instead. In August and September the half-yardlander
had to work the whole of every other week and on
one day of that week find three men to work; in the
alternative weeks he had to find two men to work
two days. He also owed a number of bedrips. The
mondayman owed one day's work each week in the
October-July period and two days in the harvest
months. The cottars owed 8 bedrips. Other customs
included toll on ale brewed for sale and on the sale
of horses, two heriots, one to the abbey as lord and
one as rector, and pannage of ½d. for a young pig
and 1d. for a full-grown one. (fn. 44)
Between 1519 and 1527 the abbey granted leases
of several tenements for terms of years or lives with
heriots payable, (fn. 45) but in 1649 most of the land was
held by copyhold, although there were also three
freeholds, one of a yardland. There were 21 copyholders in 1649: one had 45 a., five had 30-40 a.,
seven 20-30 a., and eight 4-17 a. (fn. 46) The lessees of
the manor could grant copyholds for up to three
lives but could make no reversionary grants; widows
had freebench. Heriots were paid in cash or chosen
from the best goods. One labour service remained:
on one day each year every tenant owning a cart had
to collect and carry one load of wood from Birdwood
to College Green in Gloucester for the use of the
dean and chapter; they were provided with food by
the lessee of the manor who also had to give 1d. to
each and 2d. to the one who arrived and unloaded
first. The dues of c. 1267 for pannage, then called
tack pig, remained in force. (fn. 47) There were still 18
copyholders on the manor in 1812; there were then
also 35 leaseholders, about half of them holding
cottages built on the waste. (fn. 48) A large part of the
estate continued to be held by copyhold tenure until
the later 19th century. (fn. 49)
In 1649 there were seven open fields on Churcham
manor. The largest, Hanlow field with 60 a. or more,
lay in the north-east part of the manor near Highnam
Woods. Easterworth field, between Church Lane
and Oakle Street, and Oakle field, west of Oakle
Street, each had over 30 a., and there were four
smaller fields, Sainthill field north of Sainthill, Hook
field to the south-west of it, and Dishland field and
Landfurlong east and west of Oakle Street. One
copyholder had land in four of the fields but the
others had land in only either one or two; only three
had more than 10 a. of open-field land, most having
the bulk of their arable in closes. There were four
main common meadows: Blakemoor, the largest
with 25 a. or more, lay between Sainthill and Oakle
Street, while Sow Meadow (later South Meadow),
New Meadow, and Rod Meadow lay at different
places by the brook on the southern boundary of the
manor. Only five of the copyholders had parcels in
more than one of the meadows, but most also had
a few acres of meadow in closes. The copyholders had
between 1 a. and 20 a. in pasture closes and they also
had common in Birdwood and in the common
meadows and open fields after the hay- and cornharvests. (fn. 50)
By the beginning of the 19th century some inclosure had taken place in Easterworth field, which
was evidently represented by 15 a. lying in two fields
called Great and Little Easterwood, and in Oakle
field which had also been reduced to 15 a., but there
had been little reduction of the other open fields and
little or no reduction of the common meadow land.
All the fields and meadows were inclosed under Act
of Parliament in 1803; the award also inclosed
Birdwood Common and small strips of roadside
waste in Oakle Street, and reallotted certain old
inclosures. The Dean and Chapter of Gloucester as
lords of the manor were allotted a number of
cottages built on the waste, but the remainder of the
land of their estate was allotted directly to the
various leaseholders and copyholders. Ninety-five
acres of the waste, most of it in Birdwood Common,
were sold to meet the cost of the inclosure. (fn. 51)
In 1649 the cultivated land of Churcham manor
was under crops and grass in roughly equal proportions. (fn. 52) About 1780 the whole of Churcham
parish was said to consist of arable and grassland in
nearly equal proportions, (fn. 53) but c. 1803 arable
predominated. (fn. 54) The crops being grown in Churcham
manor c. 1267 included wheat, rye, barley, beans,
and oats, (fn. 55) and later in the medieval period flax was
also being grown in the parish. (fn. 56) Flax, hemp, and
turnips were among tithable produce in 1681. (fn. 57)
Cider-making was recorded from 1649 when four
tenants of Churcham manor had cider-mills, (fn. 58) and a
cider-retailer lived at Birdwood in 1841. (fn. 59) The main
farms on Churcham manor in 1812 were 265 a.
farmed from Churcham Court, 120 a. farmed from
the house west of the church, another farm of 105 a.,
Stone End (later Church Lane) farm with 68 a., and
Cursleys (later Beauchamp House) farm with 67 a. (fn. 60)
There were 14 farms in the Churcham division of
the parish in 1856 (fn. 61) but the number had risen to 20
by 1879; (fn. 62) by 1906 there had been an apparent
reduction to 14 (fn. 63) but there was another increase to
20 by 1939 when four of the farms were over 150 a. (fn. 64)
By 1970 the number of farms had been reduced by
about half; most of them then specialized in dairying
but two had considerable proportions of arable.
In 1086 there were three plough-teams and eight
servi on the demesne of Highnam manor. (fn. 65) In 1291
Gloucester Abbey had seven plough-lands in Highnam and Highleadon. (fn. 66) In 1607 the demesne of
Highnam manor comprised, apart from the immediate grounds of Highnam Court and the woods
and park, 153 a. of arable, 77½ a. of meadow and
139 a. of pasture; only 14½ a. of the arable lay in the
open fields but 53 a. of the meadow was common
meadow land. The lords of the manor then also
claimed the right to pasture 280 sheep in the Town
Ham east of Over Bridge; (fn. 67) the right to pasture
two horses in another of the Gloucester city
meadows, Wallham, further east, was retained by
the manor until 1797. (fn. 68) The vineyard belonging to
Gloucester Abbey at Over north-west of the bridge
was recorded from the mid 13th century. (fn. 69)
The tenants of Highnam manor in 1086 were 22
villani and four bordars with seven ploughs. (fn. 70) By c.
1267 a variety of tenements and tenures had
evolved. There was then one tenant holding ½
yardland freely but still owing some boon-reapings.
There were 43 tenements held for life or at the will
of the lord; they were of varying sizes, although
several, being evidently former mondaylands or
cottars' holdings, comprised either 4 a. of land and
½ a. of meadow or a messuage and curtilage. Most
of the holders of those tenements owed cash rents
and aid and eight also owed a few bedrips and
works in the hay-harvest; four owed ploughshares as
rent and one owed service to the sub-cellarer of the
abbey. The customary tenants c. 1267 were 19
half-yardlanders each holding 24 a. of arable and
3 a. of meadow, 16 pairs of tenants jointly holding ½
yardlands, 15 mondaymen holding 4 a. of land and
½ a. of meadow, and 12 cottars holding just a
messuage and curtilage. The labour-services owed
from ½ yardland every other week in the October-
July period were a day's ploughing (and harrowing
at seed-time) and four days' manual work which
might include threshing, mowing, weeding, haymaking, and carrying; in August and September the
half-yardlander had to provide two men to work each
Monday and one man for the four days following. He
also owed bedrips, and customary ploughings called
unlawenherthe and a harrowing called lonegginge. The
mondayman owed one day's work each week in the
October-July period and two days' in the harvest
months; he also owed two bedrips and had to collect
rushes at the feast of St. Peter. Some of the cottars
owed eight bedrips and three days' haymaking and
others sixteen bedrips and three days' haymaking.
The customary tenants also owed toll on ale and
animals sold, pannage of 1d. for each fully-grown
pig and ½d. for a young pig, and heriots of their best
beast, and they had to have the lord's licence for
their daughters to marry or for their sons to be
tonsured. (fn. 71)
Some customary tenements were leased for terms
of years or lives in the 1520s and 1530s, (fn. 72) but in 1607
the bulk of the land of the manor was held by copy.
There were 36 copyhold tenements, 18 in Highnam,
13 in Over, and 5 in Linton. The largest copyhold
was 71 a., three were c. 40 a., ten were 30-40 a.,
five 20-30 a., and the remainder under 20 a. The
copyholds were granted for up to three lives and
widows had freebench. In 1607 there were also four
free tenements, including one of 69 a. held by the
heirs of John Browne, 14 leaseholds, only one of
which with 39 a. was of any size, and four small
tenements held at will. (fn. 73)
There was a total of 15 open fields on Highnam
manor in 1607. Six were reserved to the tenants in
Highnam hamlet and lay between Highnam village
and Highnam Woods and north-west of the village
by the Newent road; they included the largest field,
the inappropriately-named Twelve Acre field with
86 a., Forehill field with 46 a., and Northway field,
Longhurst, Bleach field, and West field with between
7 a. and 28 a. There were four fields at Over reserved
to the inhabitants of that hamlet, Boulton, Ryecroft,
Bargus field, and Bovernhill, all lying in the vicinity
of Over Farm and ranging in size from 4 a. to 23 a.
The Linton tenants had two fields, Crash field with
21 a. and Gunnell field with 8 a., both lying west
of the lane leading to Linton Cottages. In addition
there was an open field called East Downs with 45 a.
lying east of the Newent road between Highnam and
Over and shared by the tenants of all three hamlets,
and two smaller fields, Reddings and Ell field lying
north and south of the junction of the Gloucester
and Newent roads and shared by the tenants of
Over and Linton. Most of the common meadow land
of the manor lay in two large meadows, Mickle Mead
with 107 a. and the Ham with 57 a., bordering the
Severn in the south-east part of the manor; there
were three smaller meadows with between 5 a. and
13 a., Rodway by the Leadon in the north-west,
Bickley by the Leadon north of Over, and Darley
near the Ham; and some tenants had meadow in
Maddox Holm and Kay Meadow, two common
meadows in Rudford parish. (fn. 74) In the mid 18th
century the Ham and Mickle Mead comprised
eight 'lengths' of intermixed meadow and two
lengths held in hand by the lords of the manor.
About 1 a. of the Ham was lot-meadow; it was then
divided into 19 lots held among 16 tenants. (fn. 75) In
1607 the copyholders had the bulk of their arable in
the open fields although most also had some arable
in closes; the open-field land of each tenant lay in
from one to six fields with holdings in five fields the
most usual. Most had meadow in three or four of the
common meadows and there were only a few meadow
closes. All the tenants had a fairly high proportion
of their land in pasture closes. (fn. 76) Common of pasture
in the open fields and common meadow after the
harvests was stinted at a beast and two sheep for
every 2 a. of land held. (fn. 77) There were also two small
common pastures, Over Pigham with 6 a. and
Linton Pigham with 4 a.; c. 1755 the former was
divided into 18 pastures shared among 13 tenants and
the latter into 7 pastures shared among 4 tenants. (fn. 78)
Considerable inclosure took place in Highnam
manor during the 17th and earlier 18th centuries;
between 1607 and c. 1755 the open-field arable was
reduced from 351 a. to 199 a. Little inclosure of
common meadow land took place in that period. (fn. 79)
The process of inclosure by private agreement had
been completed by 1841. (fn. 80)
Wheat, rye, peas, beans, barley, and oats were
among the crops being grown on Highnam manor c.
1267. (fn. 81) The cultivation of hops had given its name
to one of the fields adjoining Highnam Court by
1607 (fn. 82) and hops were still being grown there in the
early 18th century. (fn. 83) In 1769 turnips were being
grown on the home farm of the manor and in 1792
oats, barley, wheat, and potatoes; large numbers of
cheeses were also produced in the late 18th century. (fn. 84)
In the 1750s the main farms on the manor were
Home farm at Highnam with 251 a., others at
Highnam with 181 a. and 72 a., Over farm with
103 a., another at Over with 69 a., and three farms
at Linton, in the vicinity of Linton Cottages, with
148 a., 108 a., and 100 a. The land was then predominantly pasture, meadow, and orchard; only one
of the eight largest farms had more than one third
of its acreage arable. (fn. 85) From the mid 19th century
there have been four fair-sized farms in Highnam,
Linton, and Over: in 1854 they were Linton farm
with 500 a., Over farm with 330 a., Home farm with
269 a., and Highnam farm with 270 a. (fn. 86) In the later
19th century cheese-making and the production of
cider were carried on at all the farms. (fn. 87) In 1970
Linton farm, which remained the largest, specialized
in stock-raising.
There was a smith on Churcham manor c. 1267. (fn. 88)
In 1608 the only inhabitants recorded in nonagricultural occupations in the Churcham division
of the parish were a sailor and a carpenter. (fn. 89) There
was a smith's shop at a cottage on the GloucesterRoss road west of Church Lane in 1803, (fn. 90) and
between 1856 and the 1920s Churcham had two
blacksmiths, (fn. 91) evidently occupying that smithy and
another at Stone End. (fn. 92) A shoemaker was recorded
at Churcham in 1856. In 1856 there were also a
carpenter and a cooper there, (fn. 93) and two wheelwrights were working there in the earlier 20th
century. (fn. 94) A surgeon of Churcham was admitted to
practise in 1704, (fn. 95) and a veterinary surgeon lived
there in 1856. (fn. 96)
Alexander the smith held land at Over from
Highnam manor before 1258 (fn. 97) and there were three
smiths living on the manor c. 1267. (fn. 98) In 1803 there
was a blacksmith's shop at Over, (fn. 99) presumably that
on the north of the main road west of the hamlet
which was demolished in the 1840s and replaced by
another smithy nearer the Dog Inn. (fn. 1) During the
later 19th century Highnam, Over, and Linton had
a carpenter, a shoemaker, a tailor, and a straw-hat
maker, (fn. 2) the two last occupying Pope's Cottages west
of Over, which were built by Thomas Gambier Parry
for the purpose of settling new tradesmen on the
Highnam estate. (fn. 3) There were coach-builders at Over
from 1863 until the early 20th century. (fn. 4)
A mill was built or rebuilt on the New Leadon at
Over (fn. 5) in the mid 13th century by Gloucester Abbey,
which as a result became involved in a dispute with
Walter Mucegros, lord of Lassington, apparently
because the mill was causing the Leadon to flood in
Lassington; the dispute was settled by an agreement
of c. 1248 when the abbey undertook to restrict the
height of the sluice gates and mill-pond. (fn. 6) In 1525 the
abbey leased Over Mill to Adam Lye of Evesham
who agreed to build a new corn-mill on the site. (fn. 7)
It comprised two water-mills in 1607 (fn. 8) and three by
1682, (fn. 9) and in 1772 it was described as a complete
stack of corn-mills. (fn. 10) Over Mill remained in the
possession of lords of Highnam manor in 1843 (fn. 11) and
apparently until the 1860s when it was purchased by
the Leadon drainage commissioners whose works
involved a considerable reduction in the flow of
water to the mill. (fn. 12) It may have ceased functioning
as a water-mill at that time; by 1885, at least, it was
driven by steam. It apparently ceased working soon
afterwards, and was demolished in 1903. (fn. 13) There
was another water corn-mill on Highnam manor by
1607 situated at the south of the Great Pool; it had
apparently been built fairly recently, being described
as the new mill. (fn. 14) The mill was rebuilt in 1797, (fn. 15)
but it presumably ceased working c. 1818 when the
Great Pool was drained. (fn. 16) A windmill which stood
near the boundary of Churcham and Highnam
manors, west of Highnam Woods, had apparently
been demolished by 1765; (fn. 17) it may have existed by
1607 when part of the woods in that area was known
as Windmillhill Wood. (fn. 18)
There were five fishermen among the tenants of
Highnam manor c. 1267. (fn. 19) Gloucester Abbey had
two fishing weirs, called Lille Weir and New Weir,
in the Severn appertaining to Highnam manor in
1395 when the abbot and the kitchener were reported
to use 'seines, drags, fornwiles, and cornwiles' there
and another fish-trap called a 'butt' which was too
closely wrought and trapped the fry of lamprey and
salmon. (fn. 20) The two weirs were thrown down by
royal commissioners before 1541 when neither they
nor the fishery of a stretch of the Severn called the
Abbot's Pool yielded any profits. (fn. 21) A lease of the
Abbot's Pool fishery was granted by Sir Thomas
Lucy in 1598. (fn. 22) The lords of Highnam manor also
owned the fishing rights in the part of the Leadon
adjoining the manor; they were leased with Over
Mill in 1603. (fn. 23) The fishponds in the grounds of
Highnam Court are described above. (fn. 24)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
Court rolls for
Churcham manor survive for the years 1291-2, (fn. 25)
1389, 1439-40, and 1443-5; (fn. 26) there are draft rolls
and other records of the courts held by the lessees of
the two moieties of the manor for several years in the
period 1719-77, (fn. 27) and a book of records of courts
held by the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester between
1778 and 1847, (fn. 28) presumably relating until c. 1800
to only one moiety of the manor. (fn. 29) For Highnam
manor court rolls survive for 1291-2, (fn. 30) 1385, 1388,
1396, 1417-18, 1421-2, and 1558-9, (fn. 31) and there is
an isolated record for 1779. (fn. 32) In the medieval period
the courts of both manors were merely courts baron
dealing mainly with tenurial and estate matters and
occasionally hearing pleas; by 1558, however, the
Highnam court claimed view of frankpledge. From
c. 1800 the Churcham court dealt solely with admissions and surrenders of copyholds and it
evidently ceased to be held altogether after 1847. (fn. 33)
The Highnam court had jurisdiction over Highleadon in Rudford parish as well as over Highnam,
Linton, and Over, and the four townships made
separate presentments in the court in the medieval
period and in the mid 16th century. The court
elected a tithingman and constable in the mid 16th
century, (fn. 34) and in 1679 there was one constable for
Highnam, Linton, Over, Highleadon, and Lassington, and another for the Churcham division. (fn. 35)
Four churchwardens were sworn for the parish in
1576, (fn. 36) and in 1681 there were two for the Churcham
division and one for Highnam, Linton, and Over. (fn. 37)
By the late 18th century, however, there was one for
each of the two divisions of the parish; they kept
separate accounts, those of the churchwarden for
Highnam, Linton, and Over surviving from 1767. (fn. 38)
The two divisions were also separate for the purposes
of poor-relief in the early 19th century when there
were two overseers levying rates and accounting for
Highnam, Linton, and Over; their accounts survive
from 1819. (fn. 39) The usual forms of relief were then
being administered by the overseers for Highnam,
Linton, and Over who had the use of a poorhouse
at Over. (fn. 40) The cost of relief in that division increased
steadily during the late 18th and early 19th centuries
from £38 in 1776 to £210 in 1814; (fn. 41) it remained
about the same in 1824 but by 1831 had risen again
to £307. (fn. 42) Ten people were receiving permanent
relief in 1803 (fn. 43) but from 1813 the number was
usually about 19. (fn. 44) The cost of poor relief in the
Churcham division of the parish rose from £75 in
1776 to £274 in 1814; (fn. 45) by 1825 the cost had fallen
to £133, but later it was usually higher, reaching a
peak of £289 in 1833. (fn. 46) Ten people were receiving
permanent relief there in 1803 and 24 in 1815. (fn. 47)
Highnam, Linton, and Over became part of the
Gloucester Union in 1835 (fn. 48) and remained in the
Gloucester Rural District in 1970. The Churcham
division of the parish was included in the Westbury
Union in 1835 (fn. 49) and became part of East Dean
Rural District. (fn. 50)