Arable
Land used to grow crops.
Commissioners
People entrusted by the lord of the manor to make the manorial
survey on his behalf.
Court baron
A type of manorial court, consisting of the assembled freehold
tenants (those who paid rent but often were not subject to any other
obligations) of the manor, headed by the lord or his steward. It
dealt with the transfer of copyhold land, determined the customs
of the manor and enforced payments due to the lord.
 Top
of page
Court of survey
A meeting of the manorial court called for the purpose of compiling
a survey, conducted by the manorial steward or by commissioners.
Customary tenants
Tenants who held their land from the lord of the manor through
the payment of rent but were also subject to various other obligations,
according to the custom of the manor. These obligations normally
included labour services on the lord's own land. Also known as 'copyhold
tenants'.
Furze land
Open uncultivated land with gorse growing on it.
Heath land
Open uncultivated land, often covered with low growing shrubs such
as heather.
Husbandry tenants
A regional variation of customary tenure, found in Pembrokeshire.
A husbandry tenant held his land of the lord of the manor to himself,
his heirs and assigns for ever, according to the customs of the
manor and in return for the rent and services due.
Top
of page
Jameston
A village in Pembrokeshire, near Manorbier.
Juror
A member of a jury.
Jury (of survey)
A number of men sworn in to swear the truth of facts known to them
that the information collated regarding the holdings and customs
of the manor was true. In a manorial court the jury would be sworn
in from amongst the manor's tenants, and would number somewhere
between 12 to more than 20.
King James
James I (James VI of Scotland) was born in Edinburgh on 19 June
1566, the son of Mary Queen of Scots and Lord Darnley. He ascended
the throne of Scotland on 24 July 1567 after the forced abdication
of his mother. He became king of England on 24 March 1603 after
the death of Elizabeth I. With his wife Anne of Denmark he had three
sons, including the future Charles I, and five daughters. The first
few years of his reign included the commissioning of an authorised
version of the Bible – the King James Bible in 1604 - and the Gunpowder
Plot of 5 November 1605. James I died at Theobalds Park in Hertfordshire
on 27 March 1625 and was buried at Westminster Abbey.
Top
of page
Lady Day
Also known as the Feast of the Annunciation (the announcement by
the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she was to bear Jesus),
Lady Day falls on 25 March. In England, Wales and Ireland it was
one of the quarter days – one of four specified days of the year
when certain payments were due. Until 1752 it was also the first
official day of the year in England and Wales.
Letters commisionary
Documents giving the people commissioned to compile the manorial
survey the authority to do so.
'Mannor de Beere' / Manorbier
A village in Pembrokeshire, South Wales, 5 miles/8 km from the
county town of Pembroke.
Top
of page
Manorial survey
Manorial surveys were drawn up for the landowner and provided a
description of all aspects of the manor. Surveys varied in length
and detail, but could include information on the boundaries of the
manor, details of the extent of each property, the customs of the
manor and the rental. Surveys were often made upon change of ownership
of the manor, or in order to try to discover ways in which the yield
of the manor could be increased. They provided for the lord of manor
a written record of the obligations owed to him by tenants but also
recorded the rights of the tenants themselves. Surveys were drawn
up at the court of survey.
Messuage
A portion of land, generally with a house and outbuildings on it.
Michaelmas
The feast of St Michael and all the Angels, 29 September. One of
the quarter days (four specified days of the year when certain payments
were due) in England, Wales and Ireland.
Top
of page
Office of the Auditors of Land Revenue
The department that administered crown lands in England and Wales
(excluding those of the Duchy of Lancaster) from 1554 to 1832.
Parcel
A part or portion of something, for example, of land.
Pasture
Land covered with grass, used for or suitable for the grazing of
livestock.
Top
of page
Pembrokeshire
A southern county of Wales.
'Pennally' / Penally
A village in Pembrokeshire, South Wales.
Prince Charles
Charles I was born in Dunfermline on 19 November 1600, the son
of James VI of Scotland (the future James I of England) and Anne
of Denmark. Charles ascended the throne on 27 March 1625. With his
wife Henrietta Maria of France he had four sons including the future
Charles II and James II, and five daughters. Disputes and confrontations
with Parliament over the power of the monarchy, religious disagreements
and financial troubles marred Charles' reign and eventually led
to civil wars, in Scotland from 1637 and then in England from 1642
to 1646 and 1648. Charles was executed at Whitehall on 30 January
1649, after having been sentenced to death by the Parliamentary
High Court of Justice. He was buried in St George's Chapel, Windsor
Castle.
Top
of page
Rental
Rentals began to appear in England in the 14th century, but in
Wales they are rare before the beginning of the 16th century. They
are often the longest part of the manorial survey. They often include
a list of the tenants' names, details of land they hold, the form
of tenure by which it was held, the use to which it was put (for
example, arable, pasture), the amounts of rent due each year (usually
at Lady Day and Michaelmas) and the services the tenants owed the
lord of the manor. The person actually occupying the property might
have been a sub-tenant however, and therefore their name might not
appear on the list. A rent roll was a list of rents paid rather
than due.
Steward (manorial)
A man appointed by the lord of the manor to administer the financial
and legal business of the manor on his behalf. The steward held
the manorial court in the lord's absence and kept its records.
Tenant
A person who holds a piece of land, property etc from a landlord
for a set time.
Top
of page
Tenure
The conditions under which the land rented from the lord of the
manor is held. There were three kinds of tenure in the manor of
Manorbier and Penally: freehold and two types of customary or copyhold,
i) husbandry hold, which was equivalent to copyhold of inheritance,
and ii) censory hold, which was equivalent to copyhold for one lifetime.
Yard
An area of land which would vary in size according to the locality.
In Pembrokeshire a yard of land might mean a virgate or four poles.
A pole in this particular manor was nine foot long. A virgate varied
around the country, but was most frequently 30 acres.
Top
of page
|
