The AGRICULTURAL HISTORY REVIEW

a journal of agricultural and rural history

Volume Contents

Agricultural History Review, Volume 48 Part 2 (2000), pp. 1–26

"Pays reel" ou "pays legal"?: Contrasting patterns of land tenure and social structure in eastern Norfolk and western Berkshire, 1450-1600

Jane Whittle and Margaret Yates

Combining detailed studies of two contrasting regions, eastern Norfolk and western Berkshire, this article examines regional differences in land tenure and social structure in the period 1450-1600. Comparing manorial records with tax returns and probate records, it questions whether the patterns of landholding in the two regions were really as different as the manorial records alone would suggest. The use of non-manorial records also allows the relationship between manorial administration, land tenure, the land market, and social structure to be explored in some detail, touching on issues such as the cost of customary land, engrossment, sub-tenures and landlessness. 
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