6 - NEW PROBLEMS, NEW SOLUTIONS: THE LIBERTY OF HAVERING-ATTE-BOWER, 1460–1500

Summary

Between 1460 and 1500 a cluster of related developments modified nearly every aspect of Havering's life. New patterns appeared in the amount and kind of immigration, the economy, religion and charity, standards of social behaviour and the forms of control as administered by the manor court and Havering's new justices of the peace. None of these changes occurred de novo. They were rooted in Havering's past. Nevertheless, by the end of the fifteenth century Havering manifested many of the characteristics frequently observed elsewhere in the decades around 1600. In this chapter we first discuss the revival of the land market and immigration, looking then at the increasingly capitalised and specialised nature of the economy. The expanding role of Havering's leading families in matters of religion and charity is covered next. After exploring the reasons which led Havering's tenants to seek Liberty status, we consider the provisions of the charter of 1465 and the exceptional jurisdictional range of the Havering court and Liberty as they dealt with traditional concerns and new topics, especially the conduct of the poor. In conclusion we can identify those factors which shaped Havering's history before and after 1460.

RESURGENCE OF THE LAND MARKET AND ARRIVAL OF NEWCOMERS

The first signs of change in Havering came in the mid-1450s, when the vitality of the land market quickened. As Table 8 and Fig. 5 display, the number of transfers reported by the manor court and those of the larger holdings shown in the central court records went up sharply between 1455 and 1470, dropping again over the next two decades.