ECONOMIC HISTORY.
Of the twelve ploughs
at Miserden in 1086 three were used on the demesne,
which extended to one hide and had ten servi. (fn. 79) In
1289 there were 132 a. of arable on the demesne,
excluding that held in dower, but the amount of
arable had decreased to 96 a. by 1331. (fn. 80) This was
probably due to conversion of arable to pasture,
which amounted to 60 a. in 1331. (fn. 81) Some of the
demesne land of Miserden presumably passed to
Wishanger by grant. (fn. 82) In 1338 two plough-lands at
Wishanger were let at farm by the preceptory of
Quenington, (fn. 83) and in 1535 the rental of the demesne
farm at Wishanger accounted for 24 per cent of the
manorial profits. (fn. 84)
There were 8 villani, 5 bordars, and one radknight
sharing the 9 ploughs worked by the tenants of
Miserden in 1086 (fn. 85) but in 1220 only 6 plough-lands
were assessed. (fn. 86) There were 8 free tenants, 11
customary tenants, and 7 cottagers on the manor in
1331; 8 of the customary tenants held ½ yardlands
and 3 held fardels. Four of the ½-yardlanders no
longer provided works in 1331 (fn. 87) which presumably
accounted for the decrease in the value of works
since 1272 when the customary tenants had to
provide 50 works during the summer, 150 at harvest
time, and 8 harrowings in the year. (fn. 88) Copyhold
tenure was noted on the manor in the 17th century (fn. 89)
but the history of post-medieval tenures on the
manor cannot be traced in detail. There were four
free tenants at Wishanger in 1541 paying 28s. 4d. in
rents and three customary tenants paying 47s. 3d. (fn. 90)
In 1824 only one small parcel of land in the parish
was still held by copy. (fn. 91)
In the 17th century there were at least three
open fields in the parish, West field (also known as
North field), East field (also known as South field),
and Wishangerfield. (fn. 92) In 1824 West field amounted to
120 a. and covered much of the area west of the
Gloucester road between the Wishanger road and
Lypiatt Gate. South field, amounting to 93 a. in
1824, was south of the village and park; to the
south-east of the field was a detached piece of open
field called Goldwell Corner (8½ a.) and to the
north-west another piece called Lyes Corner
(15 a.). Wishanger field, in the north-east corner of
the parish, contained 43 a. in 1824 and had four
parcels of contiguous open-field land stretching
from its south-east corner and totalling 40 a.; they
were named Bidwell, the Butts, the Downs, and the
Plain of Downs. (fn. 93) The open fields extended to
c. 300 a. in the later 18th century, (fn. 94) and in 1824
328 a. of open-field land were inclosed by Act of
Parliament. (fn. 95) Earlier surveys of the glebe and the
shape of Wishanger field in 1824 both suggest that
piecemeal inclosure had taken place by then. (fn. 96) Only
seven landowners received allotments: the largest,
amounting to 106 a., went to Daniel Mills of
Sudgrove, Sir Edwin Bayntun Sandys received
84 a., four others received 25–50 a., and one
received 1½ a. (fn. 97)
There were 8 a. of meadow in 1086 (fn. 98) and 6½ a. in
demesne in 1289, (fn. 99) but in 1331 only 1 a. of meadow
was recorded. (fn. 1) A change from arable to pasture is
indicated during the 14th century (fn. 2) but by the early
18th century the parish was described as mostly
arable. (fn. 3) The low acreage of arable recorded in 1801
ignored the land lying fallow; cereal crops predominated but there were 100 a. of turnips and
small acreages of peas, beans, and potatoes. (fn. 4) In
1838 the arable land comprised almost half the land
in the parish and remained in that proportion in
1970. (fn. 5)
In 1838 there were 370 a. of woodland, held in
two lots, and fourteen farms in the parish, two of
which had substantial holdings of woodland;
William Blackwell farmed 233 a. in the north-east
of the parish, of which 145 a. were woodland, and
the home farm of Miserden manor had 54 a. of
woodland. Of the remaining twelve farms six were
over 140 a., four were 40–100 a., and two were
c. 30 a. Arable land predominated on all farms
except one of the smallest, at the Dillay on Down
hill, which was almost totally pasture. Wishanger
farm, the largest with 308 a., reflected the usual
pattern with between two and three times more
arable than pasture but Henley farm (189 a.), Down
farm (162 a.), the glebe farm (77 a.), and Wateredge
farm (50 a.) had less than 1/5 pasture. (fn. 6) In 1939 there
were five farms of over 150 a. in the parish (fn. 7) but
many of the farms were incorporated into the
Miserden Park estate between 1945 and 1970. At the
latter date the estate covered much of Miserden and
Winstone parishes, amounting to c. 2,500 a., 3/5 of
which was used for arable farming, 1/5 dairy farming,
and 1/5 cattle and sheep raising. (fn. 8) The Cotswold Game
farm established headquarters at Miserden in 1923
just north of the Camp, (fn. 9) and the specialist aspects
of 20th-century farming were also represented in
1970 by the Cotswold Pig Development Co. (fn. 10)
A water-mill recorded on Miserden manor from
1273 (fn. 11) was evidently that which stood on the river
Frome south of the castle site. (fn. 12) It was described in
1832 as a corn- and flock-mill (fn. 13) and ceased working
in the late 19th century. (fn. 14) In 1970 the mill-pond
could still be seen but the mill was in a ruinous
state. In 1678 the Warneford family held a watermill at Sudgrove (fn. 15) but no other reference to it has
been found.
The mill south of Snow's Farm in the west part
of the parish (fn. 16) was probably that which Elizabeth
Rogers of Arlingham owned in 1780. (fn. 17) It was
acquired by the Townsend family, possibly in 1792
when it was described as a corn-mill, (fn. 18) and they
granted it on lease with Snow's Farm in 1860. (fn. 19) It
was worked as part of a baker's shop in the late 19th
century (fn. 20) but by 1970 all the buildings had disappeared, the site being marked by the depression
of the mill-pond and some worked stones.
At the western tip of the Down hill promontory
stands Upper Steanbridge Mill, (fn. 21) also known as the
Jenny Mill. (fn. 22) The mill, a 17th- or early 18thcentury building, was evidently being worked by
John Pegler, clothier, in 1763 and 1767 and by
James Woodfield in 1774, (fn. 23) and it was bought by
Theyer Townsend from Pegler's executors in 1781;
it was then a fulling-mill with 2 stocks and a gig. (fn. 24)
By 1838 the mill was owned by Nathaniel Samuel
Marling and worked by William Lay. (fn. 25) It was
converted to a farm-house before 1882, (fn. 26) and was
occupied as such in 1970. It is a T-shaped stone
building with a hipped stone-slated roof and
mullioned windows with dripmoulds.
Some inhabitants of the parish were employed
in the local cloth industry from 1608 when there
were two weavers; (fn. 27) a dyer was recorded in 1614. (fn. 28)
In the later 18th century there were two resident
clothiers and the cloth industry provided much
work for the women and children in the parish. (fn. 29)
The extent of the outdoor work done by the
villagers is indicated by the employment figures for
1801 and 1811. In 1801 131 people were engaged in
trade or industry, but in 1811, when employment
was recorded on a family basis, only 14 families
depended on trade and industry for their main
income. (fn. 30) The decline in outdoor cloth-working
in the 19th century meant that it could not supplement the agricultural wages and was one of the
chief reasons for a decline in the population. The
other main reason was the decline of the pottery
at Cranham, the only other important non-agricultural employer of labour in Miserden. (fn. 31)
In 1466 a lime-kiln and a quarry were being
worked at Miserden (fn. 32) and the sites of a number of
small quarries were discernible in 1970. There were
three masons and two tilers in 1608, (fn. 33) and the high
quality of the stone tiles made locally (fn. 34) ensured that
the building industry was represented among the
inhabitants at all times (fn. 35) although transport
difficulties limited its extent. (fn. 36) There was a smith
recorded in the parish in 1608 (fn. 37) and a forge in 1672. (fn. 38)
In 1874 there were two sites described as blacksmiths' shops (fn. 39) and a smith continued to work there
until 1939, although by that time he was supplementing his farriery with the manufacture of wicket-gates
from horse-shoes, examples of which can be seen
locally. (fn. 40) There was also a collar-maker at Miserden
in the late 18th century (fn. 41) and a wheelwright in
1856. (fn. 42) In the later 18th century timber from the
manor estate was converted to gun-stocks for sale
at Birmingham (fn. 43) and a resident of Miserden was
described as a timber-merchant in 1800. (fn. 44) In 1863
there was a charcoal-burner working in the parish. (fn. 45)
There was a carpenter from 1885 and a cabinetmaker in 1939. There were at least two shops in the
village in the later 19th century and two remained
in 1970; a butcher and a baker had premises in
Miserden at various times between 1889 and 1923. (fn. 46)