ECONOMIC HISTORY.
In 1086 the demesne of
Gloucester Abbey's manor of Frocester had four
plough-teams and three servi, (fn. 38) and the demesne
arable was apparently the same size in 1267 when
the lord's four ploughs were mentioned. (fn. 39) The
demesne was cultivated in 1267 mainly by the labourservices of the tenants. A yardlander, owing the full
scale of works, worked 5 days a week for the lord
between October and July, including ploughing,
harrowing, mowing, threshing, and on one day each
week carrying to Gloucester or elsewhere; in August
and September the yardlander owed 5 days' work
in the harvest with two men each week. In addition
a number of odd days' ploughing, harrowing,
carrying, and bedrips, some with food supplied,
were utilized when required. Only about one-sixth
of the tenants had any works commuted. (fn. 40) In 1291
the carrying-services of a number of tenants were
used for bringing fish from Bristol. (fn. 41) There was a
vineyard on the demesne in 1267. (fn. 42) In 1547 the
demesne comprised 607 a., of which 136 a. lay in
the open fields. (fn. 43)
The tenants in 1086 were 8 villani and 7 bordars
with 7 ploughs. (fn. 44) In 1267 9 tenants each held a
yardland of 48 a., 15 held a half-yardland, 5 held a
fardel or 12 a., 16 held a mondayland of 1 a., and
one or two held only a house. The customs claimed
by the lords included toll on ale sold, payments
for children leaving the manor and for animals sold,
pannage of pigs, a commutation for the service of
carrying salt from Droitwich, rents of hens and eggs,
and heriots of the two best beasts, one as lord of the
manor and one as rector. (fn. 45) In 1607 there were on the
manor 34 copyholders holding for up to three lives
and 13 leaseholders; most of the tenants owed eggs
in addition to cash rents. About half of the holdings
were under 10 a., about a quarter 10-30 a., and
another quarter 40-60 a. (fn. 46) There were 33 copyholders and 18 leaseholders on the manor in
1675. (fn. 47)
The open field found earliest recorded at Frocester
was South field which lay along its south-western
boundary with Coaley and was shared by the two
parishes in 1313; by an agreement made in that year
the Abbot of Gloucester and his tenants renounced
their right to common pasture in an area at the south
of the field lying below Coaley Peak, and Thomas of
Berkeley, lord of Coaley, and his tenants renounced
their right to common in a portion lying north of
Peter Street, while shared rights of common in the
central part of the field were confirmed. (fn. 48) In 1547
the arable of the Frocester customary tenants lay
in three large fields, South field, West field (in the
north-west of the parish) and Up field, and five
smaller ones, Nockall and Chargus fields (in the
north of the parish between Downton and Gloucester
Road), Breadcroft (to the north-east of the village),
Lyde field, and Longfurlong; (fn. 49) Up field may have
been the one later called Nut field, lying to the
south-east of the village. (fn. 50) In 1611 rights of common
in the fallow fields were fixed at three sheep or two
beasts for each acre owned there. (fn. 51) In 1547 half
of the land held by the customary tenants was
pasture, (fn. 52) and the proportion of pasture in the parish
seems later to have increased steadily: in 1596
George Huntley converted 300 a. of the Frocester
Court estate from tillage to pasture, (fn. 53) and the parish
was said to consist mainly of pasture c. 1710. (fn. 54)
Inclosure of the open fields had perhaps begun by
the second decade of the 17th century when several
tenants had licence to exchange strips, (fn. 55) and it
apparently continued steadily over the next two
hundred years. By 1737 all the land of the Frocester
Court estate was inclosed; most of it lay in a compact
block on the slopes south-east of the village, but the
estate also included several closes, presumably
representing inclosed open-field land, in the western
part of the parish, (fn. 56) most of which were exchanged
with the manorial estate for lands in the south-east in
1801. (fn. 57) About 1775 there were still c. 207 a. of uninclosed land divided among the six surviving open
fields, (fn. 58) and c. 1790 at least 146 a. of the manorial
estate, most of it in South field and West field,
remained uninclosed. (fn. 59) As the result of private
inclosure during the next 50 years there was no
open land left in the parish by 1839. (fn. 60)
Dairy products played an important part in the
economy of the parish in the 18th and 19th centuries.
A cheese-factor of Frocester, John Wilkins, was
mentioned in 1755, (fn. 61) and his grandson Richard
Bigland was following the same trade when he was
declared bankrupt in 1800; (fn. 62) a dairyman of Frocester
was mentioned in 1794. (fn. 63) Only 212 a. of arable,
growing wheat and beans with some barley, oats, peas,
and potatoes, were recorded in 1801. (fn. 64) In 1839 there
were only 193 a. of arable out of a total acreage of
1,712, (fn. 65) and the vicar estimated that two-thirds of
the value of his tithes came from 215 milch cows and
their produce; (fn. 66) the Frocester Court estate, which
being tithe free was not included in that estimate,
was then a large pasture farm of 480 a. (fn. 67) with a herd
of 100 dairy cows and over 300 sheep. (fn. 68) There were
eight other farms in 1839, the largest of which were
the Downton farms held together (315 a.), Frog
Lane farm (295 a.), and Capehall farm (143 a.), (fn. 69)
and the number of farms has remained fairly
constant since. (fn. 70) In 1968 the land of the parish was
used in about equal proportions for pasture and
tillage.
A mill called Cherynges Mill, recorded as part of
Frocester manor from the late 13th century (fn. 71) and as
a fulling-mill from 1489, (fn. 72) was situated in King's
Stanley parish, (fn. 73) apparently at Dudbridge; it was
sold by the Earl of Warwick in 1761. (fn. 74) In 1533 the
Frocester tenants owed suit of multure to Gloucester
Abbey's corn-mill at Upper Mill in Stonehouse. (fn. 75)
A water-mill on the Frocester Court estate was
recorded in 1628 and 1634 (fn. 76) but no later reference to
it has been found; it was apparently on the stream
to the east of the house where stonework has been
found. In the late 19th century a corn-mill was
installed at Frog Lane Farm, but the machinery was
later removed to Fromebridge Mills and subsequently, c. 1920, to a farm at Longney. (fn. 77)
A smith, who held by the service of making the
ironwork of the lord's ploughs, and a weaver were
among the tenants of the manor in 1267. (fn. 78) In 1608 the
men recorded in the parish included 25 employed
in agriculture and 18 in trade, namely a tailor, a
carpenter, and a cooper, and 15 weavers. (fn. 79) A clothier
lived at Frocester in 1635, (fn. 80) and a tucker in 1642. (fn. 81)
The parish still had a group of weavers in the early
19th century as well as one or two workers at the
local cloth-mills. (fn. 82) William Whitmore, who cast
bells for Frocester church in 1639, probably had a
foundry in the parish; between 1647 and 1657 he
cast bells in the Home Counties, (fn. 83) but James
Whitmore had a bell foundry at Frocester in 1652. (fn. 84)
A brush-maker lived in the parish in 1758. (fn. 85) In the
early 19th century the village had two or three
blacksmiths; (fn. 86) one smithy adjoining a small stone
cottage on Gloucester Road has been in use since
1839, although in 1968 the smith was employed solely
on farriery and travelled round to most of his work. (fn. 87)
The village had a carpenters' shop in 1803 and 1839, (fn. 88)
and a wheelwright, a cooper, and a maker of spadehandles were recorded in the early 19th century. At
that period the parish also had two or three masons
and a number of shoemakers. (fn. 89) In 1831 44 families
were supported by agriculture and 24 by manufacture or trade. (fn. 90) In 1969 there were eight resident
farming families employing six other workers;
the remainder of the working population were
chiefly employed by industry in Stonehouse
and the locality. (fn. 91)