Local goverment
Robert Arsic was
holding courts baron for Cogges manor by
1212-13, when he exempted his tenants at
Newland from owing suit there. (fn. 84) In 1241,
following the division of the manor, Henry III
exempted Archbishop de Grey, his heirs, and
their tenants at Cogges from suit to county and
hundred, from aids of sheriffs, reeves, and royal
bailiffs, and from view of frankpledge and murdrum; in 1242 Cogges wood was freed from the
foresters' regard. (fn. 85) In 1279 the de Greys were
holding courts baron with view of frankpledge at
Cogges which all tenants except the seven remaining at Newland were required to attend; the
king's bailiff held an annual view of frankpledge
for the de Gardinis moiety, which presumably
continued until the manor was reunited. (fn. 86) The
exemption for Newland tenants evidently disappeared with the original tenancies, and by the
16th century Cogges and Newland comprised
separate tithings; the court then met once or
twice a year, usually around April and October.
Business in the 17th century still included copyhold grants as well as regulation of agricultural
affairs and appointment of officers. (fn. 87) The court
still met in the mid 18th century, but may have
lapsed soon after. (fn. 88)
Manorial officers in the 17th century included, besides the two tithingmen, a constable
and a hayward, (fn. 89) and by 1740 there were also
three grass stewards; (fn. 90) in 1601 the court agreed
that the constable should be allowed one yardland quit of all payments to the Crown except
subsidies and fifteenths. (fn. 91) Officers were usually
newly elected at each court session, although in
the early 18th century the lord of the manor
pressed the court to replace a constable who had
served too long; by the late 18th century constables and tithingmen generally served for several years. (fn. 92) There were 2 surveyors of the
highways by the early 17th century and until the
late 19th, when they were appointed by the
vestry; (fn. 93) in 1700 they spent 53s. on repairs for
which a tax was levied, which most of the
inhabitants refused to pay. (fn. 94) From 1865 a single
waywarden was appointed. (fn. 95)
There were two churchwardens by 1530, one
appointed by the vicar and one by the parish; in
1887 there were also two sidesmen. (fn. 96) In 1623 the
wardens' income included c. 5s. 'for the farm',
and several smaller, unspecified payments; they
were then apparently responsible for relief of
vagrants. (fn. 97) There were two overseers by the
early 17th century. (fn. 98) In the early 18th both were
elected annually, but from 1786 they usually
served two terms, one retiring each year. In
1734 and 1801 there were women overseers. (fn. 99)
The overseers' expenditure fluctuated considerably, from £104 in 1719 to only £30 in 1723;
the 1719 total included items such as apprenticeship, and expenditure during the earlier 18th
century was usually below the £60 spent in
1776. In 1783-5 an average of £101 was spent, and in 1803 £392 or c. £1 3s. per head of
population, one of the highest rates for the area;
in 1801-2, exceptionally, over £475 (c. £1 7s. a
head) was said to have been spent. (fn. 1) By 1813 the
capitation rate was again £1 7s., and in 1818 rose
to £2 3s., (fn. 2) probably reflecting both the rising
population and increasing mechanization of the
Witney woollen industry. (fn. 3) During the 1820s the
rate in Cogges, as in Witney, fell sharply to c.
10s., presumably partly due to the establishment
of Early's Newland factory; by 1831 the capitation rate was only c. 8s., below the average for
the area, and in 1832 the poor rates were claimed
to be extremely low. (fn. 4)
In the early 18th century c. 12 people were
receiving weekly relief, and c. 1785 regular out-relief was received by c. 15 persons, then as
earlier nearly all women and children. (fn. 5) By 1803
there were 23 adults receiving regular weekly
payments, and in 1814 there were 36. (fn. 6)
There is no early 18th-century evidence for
employment of those without work, and
roundsmen or yardlandmen and women were
first recorded in 1789, when the parish was
supplementing the wages of several people by
2d. a day. The supplement later rose to 4d. or
even 1s. 6d., probably the whole wage. In 1800
there were 4 men and 15 women on the round,
the latter mostly employed in weeding and hay
making, and there were a few payments to
people with 'no work'. Later the parish employed paupers on the roads. (fn. 7)
In 1788 the parish set up a workhouse; a
building was rented and equipped, and an agreement made to farm the poor at £21 5s. a quarter.
The contractor for the first two years was John
Rusher of Eynsham, who was farming the poor
both there and at Woodstock. From 1796 to
1799 and again 1802-4 the overseers ran the
workhouse directly, and the accounts record
payments for cheese and potatoes, for meat and
bread, and for beer, cabbage, peas, and beans,
together with seeds and plants for the workhouse garden. More usually the workhouse was
farmed to a succession of contractors at up to
£27 10s. a quarter, although in 1800 the contractor was given a special allowance of c. £17 'in
consideration of the exorbitant price of provisions', and by 1809 he was receiving c. £20 a
month. In 1801 there were 16 people in the
workhouse at a cost of 5s. a head per week, and
in 1803 there were 13, but no workhouse inmates were recorded for 1813 or thereafter. (fn. 8)
In the mid 1780s unspecified materials to
employ the poor cost over £5, and in 1786 Mr.
Luckett, a Witney blanket weaver, was paid £4
10s. for 18 packs of work for the poor. In 1795
nearly £15 was earned for work done in the
workhouse. By 1802 flax was being bought and
spinning was done both in the workhouse and at
'Mr. Turner's', presumably High Cogges Farm
or one of its appurtenant cottages. (fn. 9) A 'double
handed' spinning wheel and up to 15 other
spinning wheels were bought, and nearly £19
was earned by the sale of linen cloth; (fn. 10) only £6
14s. was said to have been spent on materials to
employ the poor in 1803, however, and £13 was
earned in the workhouse. (fn. 11) In 1803-4 £24 was
received for cloth, but there is no later evidence
of receipts for spinning and weaving, perhaps
reflecting increasing mechanization in the Witney textile industry. (fn. 12)
In the 18th century and early 19th the overseers made payments towards clothes, rent,
funeral expenses, and alms to travellers, as well
as on nursing and doctors' bills. In 1796 Mr.
Birdseye was paid 10s. 6d. for 'attending on the
Small Pox House', the only known reference to a
pest house. (fn. 13)
From 1834 Cogges formed part of Witney
poor law union, and later of Witney rural district. In 1974 it became part of West Oxford-shire District. (fn. 14)