Chapter Four - Life on the Manor

Summary

The bailiffs’ accounts and manor court rolls for Willington, though not a complete record, provide information about the administration of this single manor parish by an important medieval family, the Mowbrays, and about aspects of the lives of those that lived there. It is possible to draw some inferences on topics such as population, mobility, co-operation, crime, work and standards of living. Many of the issues that arise through examination of these topics echo those of communities today including violence, anti-social behaviour, theft, fraud and debt.

Other areas are more difficult; while there were differences in the wealth and status of tenants on the manor, gradations in social status are harder to identify. Free men did not usually serve on the court juries or as tithing men, but both they and villein tenants were elected to manorial offices – as bailiff, constable, ale-taster and assessor of fines. The lives of women also present problems. The most powerful woman was Katherine Neville, but many other women will have participated actively in the life of the manor. However, in the manor court rolls, their names are exceeded by the names of men in the proportion of ten to one and there is little detail about their domestic existence. Evidence of their influence is largely represented by their calling the hue, their work as brewers and the management of their own holdings on widowhood.

After the death of Katherine Neville's fourth husband the rolls are less detailed than previously, although there are still records of land transfers, buildings needing repair, petty crime and disturbances of the peace. By the time of her death in 1482/83, the rolls contain very little information about the lives of the tenants.

Population and mobility

It is thought that up to one third of the population of England may have died of the Black Death, 1348–69, and this may also be true of Bedfordshire. Another tangible effect of the plague was that land fell out of cultivation and buildings fell out of repair. Although difficult, it is possible to tentatively assess the impact of the plague on Willington. It is known that in 1366 there were complaints that the widow of the late Lord Mowbray had: ‘committed waste by destroying the trees, digging up the land and allowing the buildings to fall into decay.’