Adwell Agrarian & Social History: The Site at Adwell was favourable for early-Settlement: a Spring & Streams, a sheltered Dip in the Hills & underlying Rocks of Gault, Clay & Greensand, so productive of good Crops, were all present. There are indications that Bronze Age Settlers recognised this & that the Saxons took Possession at an early-Period. The name of the Village means Ead(d)a‘s Spring and it is generally recognised that Placenames derived from Personal names & Topographical features belong to the older Settlements. The Spring was the source of the Brook, known farther North in its Course as Haseley Brook & by its side, the Church, the Manor-House & Mill were Built.
By the time of Domesday a small Estate at Adwell Assessed at 3-Hides was being fully Cultivated. There was said to be Land for 3-Plough-teams, but there were 4 at Work, perhaps on account of the steep Gradient of the Cop, which has been one of the Chief Arable Fields since Medieval Times. Two Teams Worked by 3-Serfs were on the Demesne & 1–Villanus with 6-Bordars shared a further 2-Teams. Meadow, a Furlong Square, and a Water-Mill rendering 6s are mentioned. The Manor was worth £6 as it had been in pre-Conquest times. The Mill & the Estate are mentioned slightly later in a Grant of 1110 when the Lord gave a 10th of the Annual Produce from lambs, cheese, fleeces, skins, piglets, calves, pannage & the Bill to the Foreign Abbey of Bec. The Mill itself was later Granted to Reading Abbey & a Charter (dated c.1211–55) of Aumary Fitz Robert records that William son of Richard was then the Miller, that all the men of the Lord of the Manor had to Grind their Corn at the Mill, and that the Corn of the Lord’s Household was also Ground there. Aumary promised at the same time that he would not Build a 2nd-Mill or interfere with the Course of the Stream to & from the Mill. He also Granted the Service (i.e. 2-Marks of Rent) owing from the Miller for the Mill & 11-acres to the Abbot of Reading.
It is possible that it was between Domesday & the Payment of the Carucage of 1220 that the expansion of Adwell Manor by the inclusion of part of Postcombe Field took place. Carucage, at all events, was Paid on ‘6–Carucates & a part’ in Adwell, whereas in 1086 only 3-Carucates are Recorded. The increased figure may, however, represent a Financial Assessment rather than real Ploughlands.
By 1255 the value of the Manor had increased to £10 & the Hundredal Survey of 1279 gives some details about its Management. There were 2-Farms, one belonging to Richard de la Hyde, the other to Hugh de St Philibert; each had a Carucate (i.e. about 120-Field acres) of Arable Demesne & 2-acres of Meadow, together with Right to Free Warren (Game). On the Hyde half of the Manor there were 5-Villein Virgaters & on the St Philibert half 2. They each paid 6s-9d a Virgate and owed similar Services: they were to work with 1-man at their own cost during 3-Summer months, except on Saturdays & Sundays; they were to have their Lord’s Licence before marrying a daughter & to Pay Toll when they Sold Ale. In addition, all the Villeins were to Mow the Meadow of the 2-Lords & be paid 20d in Common. Since 1086 there had been a change in nomenclature of the different Classes of Villagers & perhaps of Status. In place of the single Villanus & Bordars of 1086, there were Villeins & 2-Free Tenants; 1-Free Tenant rented a Virgate for 10s; the other, Henry the Miller, held a Messuage with 10-acres & the Mill for 26s-8d Rent paid to the Abbot of Reading.
Later Medieval Records give the extent of the St Philibert Manor as a Messuage & 2–Carucates in 1333 & its valuation in 1432 as £6-13s-4d. No Court Rolls have survived for either Manor, but there are Records of Adwell’s View of Frankpledge, since it was a Member of the Honour of Wallingford. Its Tithingman had to attend the Views held by the Steward of the Honour at Aston Rowant & pay 1s Cert money.
Adwell’s Medieval Population can only be conjectured. It’s Agricultural Land was so Limited that it cannot have supported many Families, but there were certainly more than those of the 9-Tenants Recorded in 1279 in the Hundred Rolls. The incomplete Tax Assessment of 1306 Lists at least 10-Contributors, 13 for that of 1316 & there are likely to have been some who escaped Taxation through Poverty; & for the Poll Tax of 1377, 26-persons of 14 & over were Listed, a figure which again may not include all the Taxable Inhabitants. In 1349 and later it looks as if Plague may have affected the Village, for in 1354 after Adwell had been reassessed in 1344 for Taxation at a fixed rate of £1-10s-6d (an increase of 6d on its 1327 Assessment), an abatement of 6d was allowed and in 1428 the Village was returned as having fewer than 10-Inhabited Houses. Adwell’s total contribution to 14thC Taxes was small compared with other Parishes in the Hundred, but this is to be expected in view of its small acreage.
There is no certain information about the Medieval Field System of Adwell, but the evidence of Field Names from the Terriers combined with a Study of the Tithe Maps of Adwell & Lewknor suggest that the original Fields were North Field, lying North-west of the Parish’s Principal Road & ‘Copt‘ Field, lying to the South of it, and that these were converted into a 3-Field System by the formation of Middle Field. Adwell also had detached Land in Postcombe Field, lying partly to the East on the Aston Rowant Boundary and partly in the North of the Township, though most of Postcombe was in Lewknor Parish. There is evidence that Medieval Tenants Held acres both in Adwell Field & in Postcombe Field, that Tithe was paid to the Rector of Adwell on Land in both Fields & that the Glebe was dispersed in both.
Perhaps because of Labour shortage following the Black Death and because of the high price of Wool, there was some early conversion of Arable to Inclosed Pasture, particularly on the Demense Land. By 1621 Farm Field (c.60-a), an area that can be identified with some certainty with the Farm Field & Stampe Green shown on the Tithe Award Map of 1840, was Inclosed; also the Miller’s Land (c. 12-a) & a number of other Pasture Closes, totalling 82-acres in all. Judging from the names these Closes were in the West & North of the Parish, precisely where the Pasture Closes were in 1840; the names of some, Home Pen, Home Close, Stampe Green are identical, while Mill Furlong, Long Meadow, & Further Pen are obviously likely to be in this area. Nevertheless, Traditional Methods of Agriculture continued alongside Inclosure. Some of the Demesne Strips were consolidated by 1621. Upper Copt & Nether Copt were Blocks of 16 & 30-acres respectively, but 103-acres still lay in 16-pieces ‘dispersedly‘ in Copt Field, 17-Pieces in the Field ‘shooting on Adwell Town‘ & 9-acres in 17-Pieces ‘dispersedly‘ in Townsend Field & Lamsworth Field (i.e. in Postcombe Field).
Adwell Farmhouse. Early 18thC, extended in late-18thC. Flemish Bond Red Brick with glazed Headers; Gabled Welsh Slate Roof; Brick symmetrical end Stacks. 2-Unit Plan, extended to L-Plan with rear left Wing. 2-Storeys; symmetrical 5-Window Range. Mid-19thC 4-panelled Door in early-19thC Frame with Overlight & Hood. Gauged Brick segmental Arches over mid/late-19thC 2-light Casements; Gauged Brick Flat Arches over similar 1st-Floor Casements. Raised Storey Band; coved plaster Cornice. Rear right Outshut adjoins late-18thC Rear Wing of random Bond Brick with Gabled old Tile Roof, and Brick Gable-end Stack.
Interior not fully inspected and likely to be of interest.
The Subsidy of 1523 throws some light on the Social Structure of Adwell. There was only 1-Contributor of Substance, William Allnut, the Tenant of the Manor, and the 5 other Persons listed all paid the Labourer’s rate of 4d. In 1649 when Dame Elizabeth Franklin owned the Manor the Demesnes were Leased on a 21-yr Lease at a Rent of £83 a yr. Agnes Cornish held the Water-Mill with a House & 12-acres of Closes at a Rent of £3 a year, also on a 21-yr Lease. Five Tenements of various sizes were Leased on 3 or 2-Lives: most had a Yard or ½-Yard of Land in the Common Fields of Adwell & Postcombe & Heriots were Owed on the death of a Tenant. 3-Tenants Held at Will Pasture Closes & 6-acres of Arable each, the former Leases for 21 or 19-yrs having Expired. There were 5-Holders of Cottages at Will; in the case of 4 of them with Rents of 3s-4d to 8s each no Land is mentioned, but one is said to have had Common of Pasture for 20-sheep & 2-cows in Adwell & Postcombe. The most prominent Members of the Village Community belonged to the Family of Clarke. Members of this Family Held between them 3 of the Tenements & 2½-Yardlands, and one John Clarke appears on the Hearth Tax List of 1665 where his Farmhouse was Rated on 2-Hearths. Widow King, a Member of another Family of small Tenant Farmers, was discharged from Payment on account of Poverty. She died in the next year & it is of interest that her Goods were valued at nearly £17.
At this date there were 2-Larger Farmhouses that were rated, like the Rectory, on 3-Hearths, while 17thC Inventories of Adwell’s men & women demonstrate the great variety of Farming practised in this small Community: in 1639 John Clarke, a Husbandman with goods valued at £32, had £20 worth of wheat, peas & hay, a cow, 2-bullocks & a pig worth £5. Another small Husbandman Richard Swinburne (d.1640), with goods worth about £13, had cheeses, but curiously enough no cows, a Loom, Farm & Hemp valued at 21s & corn & hay valued at £4-10s. His son Richard Swinburne described himself as a Weaver. Another man, a Labourer, also had goods worth about £13, which included cheeses, but his wealth was mainly in Stock – 10-sheep & 3-lambs, 4-kine & a sow. His wheat & hay were valued at only £1-6s. His son Christopher Jeffery (d.1675) was a Shoemaker with a Shop, but also kept 2-cows & a pig, and grew grass & corn. The total valuation of his Goods, £23, included £5-5s of ‘Desperate Debts‘ owing to him. Nearly half of Widow King’s (d.1666) goods consisted of corn in the Barn & wheat & ‘gratten‘.
At the other end of the Scale with Goods worth £302-10s. was the Lord of the Manor, Henry Franklin. Although he had 10-bullocks, 5-cows & a calf, a flock of 105-sheep & 30-lambs, 13-hogs & pigs worth in all £62-10s., his corn crops were the most valuable part of his goods, being worth over £100. What his growing Crops were is not specified, but he had small quantities of beans, malt, peas & wheat in store. Richard Clarke (d.1682) also grew a little Barley & Peas and corn Sown in the ‘Tylth‘ & ‘Gratten’ Fields are mentioned. Nearly half his Goods, however, consisted of ‘Money upon Bonds‘ worth £65. The Miller must always have been an important Member of the Village & at this Period the Mill was described as 2-Common Water Grist-Mills under 1-Roof. 14-Acres of Closes belonged to the Mill and were Leased with it in all the surviving Leases. When Richard Hollyman, a Quaker, was Miller, he also had a Windmill in Cop Field which he had Erected in 1695.
Either in the late-17thC or during the early-18thC the remainder of Adwell’s Open-fields must have been Inclosed by Agreement. In so small a Parish which was almost entirely owned by 1-Person, such a change must have been simple enough. The earliest Record of it comes in 1786, when the Lady of the Manor was herself Farming all the Land of the Parish, including the Rector’s Glebe & the small Property belonging to the Lybbe Powys Family that was once the Property of Bec Abbey. In 1818 she only had 99-acres in hand and a Tenant was Farming about 310-acres, and this was roughly the position in 1866 when the Parish was divided between the Home Farm (109-a) & Adwell Farm (284-a) & the Glebe (15-a). At the time of the Tithe Award in 1839 more than half of the Agricultural Land was Meadow or Pasture & there were 30-acres of Wood including a New Plantation of 9-acres.
The Terms of a Lease of Postcombe Farm made in 1846 may be taken as an illustration of Agricultural Practice in Adwell Parish. It was to be Farmed according to the ‘best rules of Husbandry preached in the Neighbourhood‘; the Tenant was to Fallow 1/5th of the Arable every year; have 1/5th in clover or another green crop; not to take more than 2-white corn crops in succession and that only once in 5-yrs; and not to break up any Meadow or Pasture under penalty of £50 an acre. At this date, Home Farm (105-a) had nearly twice as much Meadow & Pasture as Arable. At the time of the Tithe Apportionment there were 225-acres of Arable & 164-acres of Meadow & Pasture. In 1851 there was 1-Large Farm of 300-acres in the Parish on which 12-Labourers were Employed.
Adwell like other Parishes was badly affected by the Agricultural Depression. One sign of this is the drop in Population in the decades ending in 1871 & 1881 & another that Allotments were Laid out in 1886 by the Lord of the Manor in order to alleviate the Poverty of the Cottagers; the Rents were 4d a Pole & the Land was not Ploughed up again until 1890.
Adwell did not share in the late-18thC increase in Population which is generally found in the Neighbourhood. In 1676 there had been 35-Churchgoers over 16 & in the 1st 3-Census Returns of the 19thC, there was an average of 40-Inhabitants. A sharp rise took place in the decade after 1841 when numbers rose from 46 to 75. This is probably to be explained by the Letting of Adwell House to the Thornhill Family which with its 12-Employees totalled about 20-persons. The number of 12-Houses recorded was the same as in 1781. In the 20thC, the number of Inhabitants rose slightly from 64 in 1901 to 71 in 1951, but the change of the Boundary in 1953 had now left Adwell with only 41-Inhabitants.
Many Furlong names are known: Lambworth & Saltwey in Postcombe Field are significant. The Furlongs were made up of ½-acre Strips called Lands, broad Ridges according to Arthur Young & ‘little arched‘. These were defined by Stakes & Mearstones which were set down before the Spring sowing at Candlemas (2nd Feb). Enlargement of Strips by Ploughing away the edges of Highways & Mear Balks was an Offence that led to Presentment in the Manor Court. There is evidence for a certain amount of consolidation of Strips by purchase or exchange. The Furlongs called Inlands & Priestlands show the Lord of the Manor & the Parson taking the lead in this direction. A half-way Stage is visible in the Field Map of 1598 where one Furlong is depicted as divided into alternate Rectory & Manor Strips. In 1704 Rolles Property in the Common Fields included 3-Lands & 3-Yards each ‘lying together‘ and 5-acres or 11-Lands ‘lying together‘. Still, there is no evidence that there was much early Inclosure though there was some at least by 1779, and there is no sign of that conversion of Arable into Pasture which was the characteristic feature of Tudor Inclosures. No serious attempt was made to obtain Parliamentary Inclosure until 1792 when an Inclosure Bill passed the Commons but was opposed by Lord Macclesfield & thrown out in the Lords. In 1810 the Lewknor & Postcombe Inclosure Act was finally passed. The Award followed in 1815. When Hay-harvest came round, the work of Mowing, Pitching & Carting the Hay was carried out by the Abbot’s Customary Tenants & the men of Postcombe received for their Services 3-sheep, 12d & a Basin of Salt. Watermills had given place to Windmills, of which one, which gave its name to the Windmill Field of Postcombe (nr Salt Lane) is shown & another stood on the Hillock called Windmill Knapp, South of Lewknor Village.
Aston Rowant & Chilterns Spring Line Villages 