Agricultural History Review, Volume 60 Part 2 (2012), p. 311

The University of Hertfordshire Press is a publisher worth watching, as it has produced a number of excellent and engaging books in the last few years, and this present volume is no exception. Hare’s study of later medieval Wiltshire provides an important addition to our knowledge of local and regional history. The book is clearly and logically structured, and divided into thematic chapters, which are organized in three parts. The first part considers the nature of the available sources, as well as the wider context of the study, the county as a whole, its constituent regions and types of settlements. The second part focuses on change in the later Middle Ages, after the arrival of the Black Death, in particular in the context of agriculture, demesne leasing and serfdom. Part three of the book looks at trade and local industries, especially the developments in the cloth industry. Maps, photographs and tables are clearly presented and well-integrated into the text.

Considering the continuing popularity of local history, regional studies such as this should find a broad appeal. This book is not only very welcome because it consolidates a lot of existing knowledge, but it also adds to our understanding and knowledge of the county of Wiltshire. Hare explores changes and continuities in the county mainly from about 1380 to 1520. However the real scope of the volume is considerably broader than this, as the author also considers developments in the earlier centuries, and a significant amount of space is devoted to the exploration of various aspects of the society and economy of Wiltshire before the arrival of the Black Death.

The first part of the book neatly sets out the wider as well as the local context for the study, discussing the nature of the available sources, settlements and demographic developments. Hare notes in particular the population decline following the Black Death, but he might even be underestimating death rates in the region, as – especially on Glastonbury Abbey manors – studies of death rates have frequently indicated population losses in excess of 50 per cent. (See for instance, M. Eccleston, ‘Mortality of rural landless men before the Black Death: the Glastonbury Head-Tax lists’, Local Population Studies 63 (1999), pp. 6–29.)

Chapter 4 contains an interesting discussion of local agriculture and often takes a satisfying comparative perspective, for example between the types of crops grown in the seigneurial agriculture in Wiltshire’s chalk downlands and non-chalk areas. Following the excellent studies of Ben Dodds, Hare uses tithe data from Winchester Cathedral Priory, which recorded tithes from demesne lands and tenants, to gain comparative insights into peasant and seigneurial agriculture. While he finds some interesting differences in the crops grown by lords and tenants, he also notes that there were regional divergences.

Alongside arable agriculture a significant amount of space is devoted to livestock, which grew in importance in the context of contracting arable farming in the post-Black Death decades. Sheep farming is discussed at length, but Hare also considers the importance of other livestock. Whilst the growth in rabbit farming on various estates from the fourteenth century onwards has been noted before, Hare also explores the significance of cattle- and especially pig-farming, which lasted well into the fifteenth century.

The developments in demesne leasing are discussed in detail in part two of the book. Demesne leasing was undertaken by people from varying backgrounds. However, in Wiltshire it appears to have been peasant families who were at the forefront in taking advantage of new leasing possibilities. The decline of serfdom in this period has also been linked to the development of demesne leases and Hare discusses this development in depth in chapter 8. He links the decline of serfdom to increasing mobility, while also drawing attention to the clashes between lords and peasants, which inevitably occurred as a result of the struggles over serfdom.

The third and final part of the book includes some very useful discussions of Wiltshire’s hierarchy of towns, and the nature of industry and trade in the county. Of importance here was first the growth, then the decline and subsequent recovery of the cloth industry in the fifteenth century.

Overall this is a very satisfying and interesting study, and it will be of interest to historians of local history, students of the social and economic developments of later medieval England, as well as the interested general reader.