LIFE IN MEDIEVAL SURREY BASED ON THE MANOR OF BETCHWORTH

Jane Le Cluse, Archivist at Dorking Museum, gave the April lecture on life in medieval Surrey. Covering 300 years of change, she covered the business of the manor courts; squabbles and misdeeds of the inhabitants; and the dreadful effects of the Black Death among other subjects. 

The manorial system of land holdings was Saxon in origin, pre-dating Domesday and even the institution of parish boundaries. Manors were not the same in different parts of England. This lecture concerned in particular the manors of Betchworth in Surrey.

There are two references to Betchworth in the Domesday Book. The second refers to Betchworth as a sub-holding of Thorncroft, ‘held of the King by De Warenne’. There were actually several original manors but they were gathered together as one, occupying most of the land between Dorking and Reigate. A charter of 1225 confirms the manor boundaries to tenants. These relate to streams, hedgerows and other markers that had prevailed since the times of Saxon rule more than 150 years earlier, preserved in local memory.

In 1216 Louis, son of King Louis VIII of France, came to England at the request of certain barons to drive out King John who was ignoring Magna Carta although he had signed it the previous year. Prince Louis landed at Dover, occupied Reigate, and set out for Guildford using the older road through Betchworth. The name of the Dolphin pub there is said to recall his visit, although Louis did not actually hold the title of Dauphin, traditional heir to the French throne. Despite this the pub sign shows a coronet on a dolphin’s head.

The period 1066-1300 was characterised by bad weather with poor harvests and there were 28 years of famine and many other disasters. The subsequent ‘little ice-age’ from 1303 lasted for several more centuries.

In 1200, England’s population is estimated to have been between three and 4.5 million, rising by 1300 to perhaps 6 million. However, during the Black Death of 1348 about half of the population perished and no account rolls were prepared for Betchworth manor after this time. At least seven tenancies were unclaimed while others went to questionable claimants. Youngest sons were inheriting property and even youngest daughters. In one case mentioned a widow inherited but this was land she had brought herself to the marriage.

After the Black Death catastrophe, labour was more limited and sheep rearing became more important. There was evidence that the sheep were milked as well as yielding wool and meat. Some of the milk would have been made into cheese.

Questions following the talk covered the limited value of the River Mole for transportation in summer and the length of time before serfdom ceased officially. Jane illustrated her lecture with outline maps of the area, copies of charters in Latin with their imposing seals, and simple illustrations of everyday work activities, many taken from the Luttrell Psalter.