The productivity and management of sheep in late medieval England

Agricultural History Review

Volumn 51, Issue 1, 2003, Pages 1-22

  Stone, David ^a  

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EID: 2342594569     PISSN: 00021490     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
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References (107)

1. With the exceptions, in terms of seigniorial agriculture, of the East Midlands and the North of England: B. M. S. Campbell, English seigniorial agriculture, 1250-1450 (2000), pp. 163-4.
2. M. J. Stephenson, 'Wool yields in the medieval economy', EcHR 41 (1988), pp. 385-6; id., 'The productivity of medieval sheep on the great estates, 1100-1500' (unpublished PhD thesis, University of Cambridge, 1986), p. 395.
3. M. J. Stephenson, 'Wool yields in the medieval economy', EcHR 41 (1988), pp. 385-6; id., 'The productivity of medieval sheep on the great estates, 1100-1500' (unpublished PhD thesis, University of Cambridge, 1986), p. 395.
4. A. Davison, Six deserted villages in Norfolk (East Anglian Archaeology Report, 44, 1988), pp. 55-7.
5. Stephenson, 'Productivity of medieval sheep', p. 149; D. Stern, A Hertfordshire demesne of Westminster Abbey: profits, productivity and weather (2000), pp. 147, 231-3.
6. Stephenson, 'Productivity of medieval sheep', p. 149; D. Stern, A Hertfordshire demesne of Westminster Abbey: profits, productivity and weather (2000), pp. 147, 231-3.
7. C. Dyer, Making a living in the middle ages: the people of Britain, 850-1520 (2002), p. 333.
8. ibid., p. 343; P. Northeast (ed.), Wills of the Archdeaconry of Sudbury, 1439-1474, I, 1439-1461 (Suffolk Records Soc., 44, 2001), pp. li, 417.
9. ibid., p. 343; P. Northeast (ed.), Wills of the Archdeaconry of Sudbury, 1439-1474, I, 1439-1461 (Suffolk Records Soc., 44, 2001), pp. li, 417.
10. Stephenson, 'Wool yields', pp. 381-5 (quotes taken from pp. 381, 382).
11. Stephenson, 'Productivity of medieval sheep', p. 315.
12. Fleece weights dropped at Hinderclay by over 26% between 1305-34 and 1370-96 and at Wisbech by 19% between 1327-48 and 1349-1428: Chicago University Library (hereafter Chicago UL), Bacon Mss, 438-61, 484-506; Cambridge University Library (hereafter CUL), EDR, D8/1/6-9, 13-17, D8/2/2-8, D8/3/5-30, D8/4/1-6.
13. H. H. Lamb, Climatic history and the future (1985), pp. 564-8.
14. Stern, Hertfordshire demesne, pp. 85-102.
15. A. Ogilvie and G. Farmer, 'Documenting the medieval climate', in M. Hulme and E. Barrow (eds), Climates of the British Isles: present, past and future (1997), pp. 120-1.
16. CUL, EDR, D8/1/1-D8/4/8.
17. R. Trow-Smith, A history of British livestock husbandry to 1700 (1957), pp. 155-6. For evidence of falling lambing rates, see Stephenson, 'Productivity of medieval sheep', pp. 112-4, 311-12; M. Bailey, A marginal economy? East Anglian Breckland in the later middle ages (1989), pp. 124-5.
18. R. Trow-Smith, A history of British livestock husbandry to 1700 (1957), pp. 155-6. For evidence of falling lambing rates, see Stephenson, 'Productivity of medieval sheep', pp. 112-4, 311-12; M. Bailey, A marginal economy? East Anglian Breckland in the later middle ages (1989), pp. 124-5.
19. R. Trow-Smith, A history of British livestock husbandry to 1700 (1957), pp. 155-6. For evidence of falling lambing rates, see Stephenson, 'Productivity of medieval sheep', pp. 112-4, 311-12; M. Bailey, A marginal economy? East Anglian Breckland in the later middle ages (1989), pp. 124-5.
20. Lambing rates in this essay are defined as the percentage of ewes bearing a lamb, excluding those ewes dying, sold, or otherwise disposed of before lambing.
21. Below, fig. 8; Stephenson, 'Productivity of medieval sheep', pp. 313, 315.
22. See, for example, D. Stone, 'Medieval farm management and technological mentalities: Hinderclay before the Black Death', EcHR 54 (2001), pp. 612-38.
23. C. Thornton, 'Efficiency in medieval livestock farming: the fertility and mortality of herds and flocks at Rimpton, Somerset, 1208-1349', in P. R. Coss and S. D. Lloyd (eds), Thirteenth century England, IV, proceedings of the Newcastle upon Tyne conference, 1991 (1992), pp. 25-46; M. Page, 'Agrarian innovation on the bishop of Winchester's estate in the later middle ages' (paper presented at the Economic History Society conference, 2002).
24. C. Thornton, 'Efficiency in medieval livestock farming: the fertility and mortality of herds and flocks at Rimpton, Somerset, 1208-1349', in P. R. Coss and S. D. Lloyd (eds), Thirteenth century England, IV, proceedings of the Newcastle upon Tyne conference, 1991 (1992), pp. 25-46; M. Page, 'Agrarian innovation on the bishop of Winchester's estate in the later middle ages' (paper presented at the Economic History Society conference, 2002).
25. D. Farmer, 'Prices and wages, 1350-1500', in E. Miller (ed.), The agrarian history of England and Wales, III, 1348-1500 (1991), pp. 462, 512-4.
26. Campbell, English seigniorial agriculture, pp. 33, 98-9.
27. CUL, EDR, D8/1/1-D8/4/8.
28. T. H. Lloyd, The movement of wool prices in medieval England, (EcHR Supplement, 6, 1973), p. 26; M. Mate, 'Pastoral farming in south-east England in the fifteenth century', EcHR 40 (1987), p. 527; Bailey, Marginal economy?, p. 290.
29. T. H. Lloyd, The movement of wool prices in medieval England, (EcHR Supplement, 6, 1973), p. 26; M. Mate, 'Pastoral farming in south-east England in the fifteenth century', EcHR 40 (1987), p. 527; Bailey, Marginal economy?, p. 290.
30. T. H. Lloyd, The movement of wool prices in medieval England, (EcHR Supplement, 6, 1973), p. 26; M. Mate, 'Pastoral farming in south-east England in the fifteenth century', EcHR 40 (1987), p. 527; Bailey, Marginal economy?, p. 290.
31. Lloyd, Movement of wool prices, pp. 2-3.
32. CUL, EDR, D8/2/2, 4; K. J. Allison, 'Flock management in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries', EcHR 11 (1958), p. 107.
33. CUL, EDR, D8/2/2, 4; K. J. Allison, 'Flock management in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries', EcHR 11 (1958), p. 107.
34. CUL, EDR, D8/3/5-30, D8/4/1-6.
35. D. Farmer, 'Marketing the produce of the countryside, 1200-1500', in Miller (ed.), Agrarian History, III, pp. 397-400. However, some outlying Winchester manors remained outside this system: see Farmer, 'Prices and wages', p. 463, where he notes that, 'On two occasions eight years supply [of wool] accumulated at Wargrave and Witney before the bishop of Winchester was able to sell it'.
36. W. Youatt, Sheep, their breeds, management and diseases (London, 1837), p. 537.
37. The flock numbered approximately 1500 sheep in the decades immediately after the Black Death, and about 1400 in the first half of the fifteenth century. Other than the draught beasts required for arable cultivation, sheep were the only livestock kept at Crawley in this period. A sample of accounts suggests that the sheep were given all the hay that was bought and all the leguminous fodder at this time: N. S. B. Gras and E. C. Gras, The economic and social history of an English village (1930), pp. 272, 274-5, 298, 300, 329, 331, 401-19.
38. For example, at Hinderclay (Suffolk) the price of a cartload of hay increased from 35. od. in the years 1373-80, to 35. 4 1/4d. in 1384-96, and 45. 2 3/4d. in 1401-4: Chicago UL, Bacon Mss, 485-91, 494-509.
39. A. Fraser, Sheep husbandry (sec. edn, 1951), pp. 263-5.
40. N. W. Alcock, 'An east Devon manor in the later middle ages, I, 1374-1420, the manor farm', Reports and Transactions of the Devonshire Association, 102 (1970), p. 157; id., 'An east Devon manor in the later middle ages, II, leasing the demesne, 1423-1525, 1525-1650', Rep. and Trans. of the Devon. Assoc., 105 (1973), pp. 152-3.
41. N. W. Alcock, 'An east Devon manor in the later middle ages, I, 1374-1420, the manor farm', Reports and Transactions of the Devonshire Association, 102 (1970), p. 157; id., 'An east Devon manor in the later middle ages, II, leasing the demesne, 1423-1525, 1525-1650', Rep. and Trans. of the Devon. Assoc., 105 (1973), pp. 152-3.
42. D. Stone, 'The productivity of hired and customary labour: evidence from Wisbech Barton in the fourteenth century', EcHR 50 (1997), pp. 640-56; CUL, EDR, 08/1/14-D8/3/4.
43. Youatt, Sheep, p. 48.
44. Westminster Abbey Muniments 21082, 21086; I am grateful to Barbara Harvey for this reference. The author of the anonymous thirteenth-century Husbandry noted that a gallon of sheep's milk at that time was worth as much as one-and-a-half gallons of cows' milk: D. Oschinsky (ed.), Walter of Henley and other treatises on estate management and accounting (1971), pp. 428-9.
45. K. Biddick, The other economy: pastoral husbandry on a medieval estate (1989), p. 114.
46. CUL, EDR D8/3/5-10, 12-16, 26. Notably, the decision to reduce the amount of fodder provided for lambs was subsequently reversed when wool prices recovered slightly, and during the 14105 and 14205 fleece weights at Wisbech returned to their 13905 level.
47. On Bruton Priory's manor of Horsley (Gloucs.) it has been estimated that over £25 was lost on the rents of meadows and pastures that were reserved for the lord's sheep during the period 1444-52. In using the meadow and pasture themselves, the priory made a net loss in that period of just over £1: Lloyd, Movement of wool prices, p. 26.
48. M. Page (ed.), The pipe roll of the bishopric of Winchester, 1301-2 (Hampshire Record Ser., 14, 1996), p. 268; id., The pipe roll of the bishopric of Winchester, 1409-10 (Hampshire Rec. Ser., 16, 1999), p. 362.
49. M. Page (ed.), The pipe roll of the bishopric of Winchester, 1301-2 (Hampshire Record Ser., 14, 1996), p. 268; id., The pipe roll of the bishopric of Winchester, 1409-10 (Hampshire Rec. Ser., 16, 1999), p. 362.
50. Page (ed.), Pipe roll 1409-10, pp. 340-1.
51. Fraser, Sheep husbandry, p. 257.
52. CUL, EDR, D8/1/6-D8/3/17.
53. CUL, EDR, D8/2/16-17, D8/3/11, 17.
54. Quoted in Trow-Smith, History of British livestock husbandry, p. 249.
55. Stephenson, 'Productivity of medieval sheep', pp. 58-9; Bailey, Marginal economy?, pp. 291-2; Chicago UL, Bacon Mss, 506-10; Campbell, English seigniorial agriculture, p. 236, n. 191. There were exceptions: on the duchy of Lancaster's Berkshire manors of Aldbourne, Chipping Lambourne, and Berwick, numbers of wethers were maintained by buying new stock, even in the late 14305: Lloyd, Movement of wool prices, p. 25. The duchy must have had a very good reason for persevering with such an expensive policy.
56. Stephenson, 'Productivity of medieval sheep', pp. 58-9; Bailey, Marginal economy?, pp. 291-2; Chicago UL, Bacon Mss, 506-10; Campbell, English seigniorial agriculture, p. 236, n. 191. There were exceptions: on the duchy of Lancaster's Berkshire manors of Aldbourne, Chipping Lambourne, and Berwick, numbers of wethers were maintained by buying new stock, even in the late 14305: Lloyd, Movement of wool prices, p. 25. The duchy must have had a very good reason for persevering with such an expensive policy.
57. Stephenson, 'Productivity of medieval sheep', pp. 58-9; Bailey, Marginal economy?, pp. 291-2; Chicago UL, Bacon Mss, 506-10; Campbell, English seigniorial agriculture, p. 236, n. 191. There were exceptions: on the duchy of Lancaster's Berkshire manors of Aldbourne, Chipping Lambourne, and Berwick, numbers of wethers were maintained by buying new stock, even in the late 14305: Lloyd, Movement of wool prices, p. 25. The duchy must have had a very good reason for persevering with such an expensive policy.
58. Stephenson, 'Productivity of medieval sheep', pp. 58-9; Bailey, Marginal economy?, pp. 291-2; Chicago UL, Bacon Mss, 506-10; Campbell, English seigniorial agriculture, p. 236, n. 191. There were exceptions: on the duchy of Lancaster's Berkshire manors of Aldbourne, Chipping Lambourne, and Berwick, numbers of wethers were maintained by buying new stock, even in the late 14305: Lloyd, Movement of wool prices, p. 25. The duchy must have had a very good reason for persevering with such an expensive policy.
59. CUL, EDR, D8/1/1-D8/4/8.
60. Youatt, Sheep, pp. 494-5.
61. Stern, Hertfordshire demesne, pp. 85-6, 139, 229-30; Alcock, 'East Devon manor, I', pp. 161-2, 166. Notably, whenever fresh stock was acquired at Clyst, the number of naked sheep decreased temporarily.
62. Stern, Hertfordshire demesne, pp. 85-6, 139, 229-30; Alcock, 'East Devon manor, I', pp. 161-2, 166. Notably, whenever fresh stock was acquired at Clyst, the number of naked sheep decreased temporarily.
63. Some historians have doubted whether scab actually caused death, though it is instructive that Henry Best wrote of the effects of scab in 1642 that 'oftentimes (after a long declininge and going backe) [they] turne up theire heeles', a diagnosis which modern experts confirm: D. Woodward (ed), The farming and memorandum books of Henry Best of Elmswell, 1642, (Records of Social and Economic History, new ser., 8, 1984), p. 31; D. W. Tarry, ' "Sheep scab" and other forms of mange', in W. B. Martin and I. D. Aitkin (eds), Diseases of sheep (2nd edn, 1991), p. 261.
64. Some historians have doubted whether scab actually caused death, though it is instructive that Henry Best wrote of the effects of scab in 1642 that 'oftentimes (after a long declininge and going backe) [they] turne up theire heeles', a diagnosis which modern experts confirm: D. Woodward (ed), The farming and memorandum books of Henry Best of Elmswell, 1642, (Records of Social and Economic History, new ser., 8, 1984), p. 31; D. W. Tarry, ' "Sheep scab" and other forms of mange', in W. B. Martin and I. D. Aitkin (eds), Diseases of sheep (2nd edn, 1991), p. 261.
65. M. L. Ryder, Sheep and man (1983), p. 689.
66. P. Mauleon, 'Manipulation of the breeding cycle', in G. L. Tomes, D. E. Robertson, and R. J. Lightfoot (eds), Sheep breeding (2nd edn, 1979), pp. 443-5.
67. W. W. Skeat (ed.), The book of husbandry by Master Fitzherbert (1882), p. 61. See also Youatt, Sheep, p. 49, where he suggested that 'that which should have ... brought her regularly and effectually into season for impregnation or given her strength to yean a full-grown and healthy lamb, has been gradually abstracted in the milk .... He who followed it up too closely was sure to have fewer lambs'.
68. W. W. Skeat (ed.), The book of husbandry by Master Fitzherbert (1882), p. 61. See also Youatt, Sheep, p. 49, where he suggested that 'that which should have ... brought her regularly and effectually into season for impregnation or given her strength to yean a full-grown and healthy lamb, has been gradually abstracted in the milk .... He who followed it up too closely was sure to have fewer lambs'.
69. The author of the Gloucester Treatise compromised by suggesting that milking could take place until Michaelmas (29 September), but that it was best to stop by 1 August in order to ensure the ewes' strength for winter: Oschinsky (ed.), Walter of Henley, pp. 286-7, 428-9, 472.
70. R. Lock (ed.), The court rolls of Walsham le Willows, 1303-50 (Suffolk Rec. Soc., 41, 1998), p. 297.
71. Farmer, 'Marketing the produce', p. 401.
72. Stern, Hertfordshire demesne, p. 189; CUL, EDR, D8/2/13-D8/3/3; E. Miller, 'Farming practice and techniques: the southern counties', in Miller (ed.), Agrarian history, III, pp. 295-6; Chicago UL, Bacon Mss, 497-506; Mate, 'Pastoral farming', p. 528.
73. Stern, Hertfordshire demesne, p. 189; CUL, EDR, D8/2/13-D8/3/3; E. Miller, 'Farming practice and techniques: the southern counties', in Miller (ed.), Agrarian history, III, pp. 295-6; Chicago UL, Bacon Mss, 497-506; Mate, 'Pastoral farming', p. 528.
74. Stern, Hertfordshire demesne, p. 189; CUL, EDR, D8/2/13-D8/3/3; E. Miller, 'Farming practice and techniques: the southern counties', in Miller (ed.), Agrarian history, III, pp. 295-6; Chicago UL, Bacon Mss, 497-506; Mate, 'Pastoral farming', p. 528.
75. At Wisbech (Cambs.), ewes fetched 3-4d. per head for lactage between 1314 and 1354, but only 2-3d. per ewe in the 13605 and 13705: CUL, EDR, D8/1/1-D8/2/24.
76. See Trow-Smith, History of British livestock husbandry, p. 151. The Wisbech evidence is supported by specific references to ewes producing two lambs at Hinderclay (Suffolk) in the mid-1350s: Chicago UL, Bacon Mss, 473-5.
77. Miller, 'Farming practice', p. 296.
78. Medieval accounts often seem to have distinguished sterility from miscarriage, as at Downton (Wilts.) in 1301-2, when the reeve noted that of 48 ewes not bearing a lamb '28 were sterile and 20 aborted': Page (ed.), Pipe roll, 1301-2, p. 70.
79. As Owen wrote, 'Ewe lambs ... have lower ovulation rates than more mature ewes, as well as poorer conception rates'. J. B. Owen, Sheep production (1976), p. 183.
80. CUL, EDR, D8/3/18-D8/4/1.
81. Woodward (ed.), Farming and memorandum books, p. 31. Later in the seventeenth century, Houghton noted that 12 sheep could be greased in a day: Trow-Smith, History of British livestock husbandry, p. 249.
82. Woodward (ed.), Farming and memorandum books, p. 31. Later in the seventeenth century, Houghton noted that 12 sheep could be greased in a day: Trow-Smith, History of British livestock husbandry, p. 249.
83. The flock at that time comprised 416 wethers, 8 rams, 511 ewes, and 304 yearlings. Page (ed.), Pipe roll, 1409-10, pp. 66-7.
84. Youatt, Sheep, pp. 514-5; Oschinsky (ed.), Walter of Henley, pp. 338-9.
85. Youatt, Sheep, pp. 514-5; Oschinsky (ed.), Walter of Henley, pp. 338-9.
86. Skeat (ed.), Book of husbandry, p. 47.
87. Youatt, Sheep, p. 478.
88. D. Farmer, 'The famuli in the later middle ages', in R. H. Britnell and J. Hatcher (eds), Progress and problems in medieval England: essays in honour of Edward Miller (1996), pp. 221-2. Demesne shepherds often received extra help at lambing time, but rarely at any other time during the year.
89. Farmer, 'Famuli', pp. 232-3; id., 'Prices and wages', p. 509.
90. Farmer, 'Famuli', pp. 232-3; id., 'Prices and wages', p. 509.
91. Farmer, 'Famuli', pp. 231-2.
92. E. W. Stockton (ed.), Major Latin works of John Gower: the 'Voice of one crying' and the 'Tripartite chronicle' (1962), p. 209. See also J. Hatcher, 'England in the aftermath of the Black Death', Past and Present 144 (1994), pp. 10-19.
93. E. W. Stockton (ed.), Major Latin works of John Gower: the 'Voice of one crying' and the 'Tripartite chronicle' (1962), p. 209. See also J. Hatcher, 'England in the aftermath of the Black Death', Past and Present 144 (1994), pp. 10-19.
94. R. Lock (ed.), The court rolls of Walsham le Willows, 1351-99 (Suffolk Rec. Soc., 45, 2002), pp. 37, 99. See also pp. 132, 197 in this volume, and Lock (ed.), Court rolls of Walsham le Willows, 1303-50, p. 293.
95. R. Lock (ed.), The court rolls of Walsham le Willows, 1351-99 (Suffolk Rec. Soc., 45, 2002), pp. 37, 99. See also pp. 132, 197 in this volume, and Lock (ed.), Court rolls of Walsham le Willows, 1303-50, p. 293.
96. Stephenson, 'Productivity of medieval sheep', p. 87.
97. J. P. Bischoff, '"I cannot do't without counters": fleece weights and sheep breeds in late thirteenth and early fourteenth century England', Agricultural Hist. 57 (1983), pp. 142-60; M. L. Ryder, 'Medieval sheep and wool types', AgHR 32 (1984), pp. 23-8; Stephenson, 'Productivity of medieval sheep', pp. 32-3, 127-9.
98. J. P. Bischoff, '"I cannot do't without counters": fleece weights and sheep breeds in late thirteenth and early fourteenth century England', Agricultural Hist. 57 (1983), pp. 142-60; M. L. Ryder, 'Medieval sheep and wool types', AgHR 32 (1984), pp. 23-8; Stephenson, 'Productivity of medieval sheep', pp. 32-3, 127-9.
99. J. P. Bischoff, '"I cannot do't without counters": fleece weights and sheep breeds in late thirteenth and early fourteenth century England', Agricultural Hist. 57 (1983), pp. 142-60; M. L. Ryder, 'Medieval sheep and wool types', AgHR 32 (1984), pp. 23-8; Stephenson, 'Productivity of medieval sheep', pp. 32-3, 127-9.
100. Northeast (ed.), Wills of the Archdeaconry of Sudbury, pp. 58, 397-8.
101. C. Dyer, 'Farming practice and techniques: the West Midlands', in Miller (ed.), Agrarian History, III, pp. 226, 238.
102. S. J. M. Davis and J. V. Beckett, 'Animal husbandry and agricultural improvement: the archaeological evidence from animal bones and teeth', Rural Hist. 10 (1999). pp. 10-12.
103. For a similar use of animal and product prices as an indicator of productivity, see M. Overton, Agricultural revolution in England: the transformation of the agrarian economy, 1500-1850 (1996), pp. 115-6.
104. Stephenson, 'Productivity of medieval sheep', pp. 44, 49, 79, 88-9, 257.
105. See, for example, Stone, 'Medieval farm management'; and P. Glennie, 'Continuity and change in Hertfordshire agriculture, 1550-1700, II: trends in crop yields and their determinants', AgHR 36 (1988), pp. 145-61.
106. See, for example, Stone, 'Medieval farm management'; and P. Glennie, 'Continuity and change in Hertfordshire agriculture, 1550-1700, II: trends in crop yields and their determinants', AgHR 36 (1988), pp. 145-61.
107. E. H. Hunt and S. J. Pam, 'Managerial failure in late Victorian Britain? Land use and English agriculture', EcHR 54 (2001), p. 259.