Map Key
Even if you are familiar with the Hârnic local mapping style, this key should still prove useful, as it provides definitions of the visual elements that are unique to Aedificium local scale maps. New symbols are included for embankments, coniferous trees, graveyards, hand-tilled arable, weirs, windmills, and overshot water wheels.
Bilby
Bilby is a small village on the banks of the River Ryton, within the parish of Blyth. No major road runs through the settlement, and consequently the villagers do not see many outsiders passing through. Henry of Bilby, a knight of modest means, holds the village as a fief from Robert FitzRanulph [1], who in turn holds it from Maud de Lovetot. Henry dwells in the manor house in the southwestern area of the map.
The village is comprised of 15 households, 12 servile and 3 free [2]. The latter include the miller and 2 farmers; the farmers' holdings are to the east and south of the map. The peasants employ the three field system of crop rotation; one field lies beyond the river to the north, one is to the west of the village, and the last is to the south. Of a total of about 700 acres, 600 are cleared [3]. The miller's arable, located immediately to the northeast of the mill, is bounded to the north by the east-west road, to the west by the north-south road, and to the south by the river.
Carlton in Lindrick
Carlton in Lindrick is a substantial settlement, covering about 1500 [4] acres with a population of 32 households in addition to that of its lord, Ralph de Chevercourt. Ralph lives in the well-appointed manor house in the northwestern part of the map. His household retinue includes an ostler, a clothier, and a kennelman. He holds land in several different villages in Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire, mostly from Maud de Lovetot [5]. In the middle of the century, the Chevercourts founded the nunnery at Wallingwells, which lies less than a mile to the west [6]. The parish church of All Saints features a tower of pre-Conquest origin and an aisle altar dedicated to St. Thomas Becket [7]. Wallingwells Priory has appropriated the church and its tithes, and the vicar appointed to minister to the faithful also acts as the nunnery's chaplain.
One of the major north-south routes running through Nottinghamshire passes through Carlton in Lindrick. To the south, the road leads to the hamlet of Wigthorpe and then to the town of Worksop, while to the north, it curves through Kingston in Carlton, and from there leads to Hodsock and eventually Blyth. Of Carlton's households, 5 are free: 2 yeomen, who live in Wigthorpe to the south; a priest and his helpers, who tend to the church; and 2 millers, one of whom has his holding off to the west. Carlton in Lindrick uses a two field system for crop rotation; the fields are both to the south of the stream, one to either side of the north-south road. The church glebe is quite substantial, and includes the arable to the north of the stream on both sides of the road.
Harworth
Harworth is a small village located midway along the road between Blyth in the south and Tickhill to the northwest. This road is a major thoroughfare in the region, and traffic through the village is heavy at times. A resident bailiff administers Harworth for Robert de Chaworth as a demesne fief; Robert holds it from John, the constable of Chester, who in turn holds it from Prince John as part of the honor of Tickhill [8].
The village population consists of 13 peasant households, 2 of whom are free: the vicar of the church, and a timberwright who lives off to the east [9]. Harworth works most of its 570 acres of arable as two open fields, one to the west of the main road, one to the east. Over half of the fief, 850 acres, is still woodland. The church of All Saints, located just to the north of the stream, is a modest structure. Its tithes go to the canons at the royal free chapel of Tickhill, its vicar being paid a fixed stipend [10].
Hodsock
Hodsock is a large village comprised of 36 tenant households and over 2000 acres of arable, pasture, and woodland [11]. The lord, Roger de Cressey, holds from Maud de Lovetot. His family lives in the masonry manor house that dominates the center of the village, surrounded by orchards, gardens, and outbuildings [12]. The boundary of the manorial complex is the wet moat that Roger recently had constructed, in line with the current fashion amongst minor nobility [13]. The Cressey house also boasts an attached private chapel staffed by a chaplain [14], and the household includes a clothier, an ostler, and a falconer. About 60 acres of arable, some in the form of strips intermixed with Roger's land in the open fields, are held by the monks of Blyth [15].
The major route that passes through Carlton in Lindrick also leads through Hodsock from the southwest to the northeast. A mile or so along the road in the latter direction is the town of Blyth; the villagers often travel this stretch, as they are parishioners of that town's church. One of Roger de Cressey's tenants is Ralf de Cossard, a wealthy commoner who serves as his lord's messenger and light horseman. In addition to farming the field to the northwest of the village, Ralf also holds land in Costhorpe, a hamlet to the west, and hopes to gain entry for himself or his offspring into the ranks of the minor nobility [16]. Of the remaining tenant households, 29 are servile and 6 are free: a carpenter, 2 millers, a blacksmith, and 2 farmers. The farmers and the smith are to the north of the village beyond the edge of the map; the westernmost miller holds the field adjacent to his toft and croft; the other miller works the southwestern field; and the carpenter holds the land in the extreme northeastern part of the map, east of the woodland. The southern and eastern arable visible on the map are each part of the village's two open fields.
Kingston in Carlton
Geographically speaking, Kingston in Carlton is barely a separate village from Carlton in Lindrick; the northern edge of the latter's map begins just a few hundred feet south of the the southern border of Kingston's map. However, from an administrative perspective it is distinct from its southern neighbor [17]. Ralph de Chevercourt, the lord of Carlton in Lindrick, holds Kingston in Carlton from the king in fee farm. Because the lord dwells nearby, he manages Kingston directly through the village reeve. The community attends Carlton in Lindrick's church.
The village lands comprise 580 acres; its population includes 13 households, 9 servile and 4 free [18]. The latter include a blacksmith, a carpenter, and a farmer, all of whom live to the north in the hamlet of Costhorpe. The other freeholder is a yeoman, who lives to the east of Kingston. His lands include the enclosed furlong partly visible on the map to the east of the village. The community manages its common arable as two open fields. The first includes the selions to the north, and those to the southeast on the north side of the stream; the land to the northwest is part of the second field. The southwestern arable makes up a portion of the glebe of Carlton in Lindrick's church.
Oldcoates
Oldcoates, located in Harworth parish, is a large village held as two manors with a total tenant population of 41 households. A resident bailiff, dwelling in the northern manorial complex, holds the eastern third of the village for Phillip of Oldcoates, lord of Styrrup; another bailiff, occupying the western manor house, administers the remaining two thirds for Roger de Cressey, lord of Hodsock. Both manors are part of Prince John's honor of Tickhill [19]. The east-west road along which the village is laid out leads west to Roche Abbey and then Maltby, and east to Blyth.
Phillip's manor comprises over 600 acres, and its population includes 4 free and 7 servile households. The former include the miller whose holding is in the southeastern portion of the village, and a woodcrafter, a yeoman, and a farmer located beyond the eastern border of the map. Roger's manor is much larger, including over 1400 acres, a limestone quarry, and 27 tenant households, 7 free and 20 servile. The freeholders are 2 yeomen, a miller, a timberwright, a quarry mason, and a farmer, all of whom live beyond the west edge of the map; and a blacksmith, whose toft, croft, and arable are located at the extreme northeastern edge. Additionally, Blyth Priory holds perhaps 70 acres and has 2 servile households to work their arable.
Osberton and Scrofton
Osberton and Scrofton are two adjacent woodland hamlets. Both are classic examples of the sorts of communities often found in such terrain, with their dispersed settlement patterns and populations of freeholders who hold no arable in common. In contrast, most of the other villages portrayed here feature nucleated settlements, common fields, and a large proportion of servile tenants. Neither Osberton nor Scrofton have a resident lord; the men and women of the former rent their holdings from Robert FitzRanulph of Derbyshire [20], while those of Scrofton do so from Maud de Lovetot. The hamlets lie to either side of the River Ryton east of Worksop and a couple of miles upstream of Bilby.
Osberton's most notable feature is its parish church, dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, which serves the populations of the surrounding hamlets. The advowson of the church is held by Worksop Priory to the west; the rector is a priest who lives in the adjacent dwelling, and holds 15 acres to the north of the church as its glebe [21]. The miller has 15 acres of arable lying to the immediate north and south of the river east of the mill. South of the river, two farmers each hold a 30 acre field enclosed by hedges. Finally, 4 other farmers live beyond the southern borders of the map, holding a total of 160 acres [22].
Scrofton is much smaller, with only 3 households as opposed to Osberton's 8. Unsurprisingly, it lies within the latter's parish. Only a portion of a single farming family's holding is visible, its toft, croft, and field located to the extreme northeastern part of the map. The two other farmers live beyond the map's boundaries to the north [23].
Scrooby
Scrooby is a typical nucleated village that happens to sit astride the Great North Road, the primary route connecting London and other points south with Scotland and the northern English counties [24]. The merchants, nobles, pilgrims, and others who make use of the road rarely stop in Scrooby, as it has little to offer the weary traveller. They prefer to press on north or south, or make for Blyth a few miles to the southwest if they are seeking accommodations.
Scrooby is managed by a resident bailiff for the Archbishop of York, whose considerable holdings are scattered throughout the country [25]. Its location makes it an ideal stopping point for the Archbishop and his agents as they traverse the length of England [26]. The occasional visits of the lord and his retinue, which last a few days at most, transform Scrooby from a sleepy little agricultural community into a bustling center of archiepiscopal court life. During these times, the visiting lay and ecclesiastical nobles and their many followers often outnumber the village's inhabitants. The manorial hall comes alive with feasting and the holding of councils. Flatterers and hangers-on intrigue with one another for favor, and petitioners gather in the hope of having their grievances heard and their requests granted.
The permanent village population consists of 25 peasant households, 5 of whom are free: the parish priest, the miller, 2 yeomen, and a farmer [27]. The latter three live beyond the southern edge of the map. The parish church, dedicated to St. Wilfred [28], is held by a rector. He lives in the longhouse adjacent to the churchyard and tends to the glebe across the road to the east. The miller's field is located just to the west of his mill, and the rest of the arable near the village is divided into two open fields worked in common, one to the east of the Great North Road, one to the west. Altogether, the community's lands cover perhaps 1200 acres, including 1000 acres under cultivation [29].
Serlby
Serlby is a modest community located on the southern bank of the River Ryton, a few miles downstream of Blyth. It is administered by a resident bailiff for Nigel de Mowbray [30]. Though close to Blyth, a few miles away via the south road, Serlby is not itself located on a busy thoroughfare.
Part of the parish of Harworth, Serlby is fortunate enough to have its own chapel of ease [31]. Its inhabitants are thus excused from having to trek to Harworth via the north road for most services. The villagers regard this as a particular blessing because that route requires that they ford the Ryton, a sometimes unpleasant prospect. There are 19 tenant households, 15 servile and 4 free; the latter include a vicar, a miller, a charcoaler who lives to the northwest along the road to Harworth, and a yeoman whose holding lies beyond the eastern edge of the map. The manor's 700 acres of arable are divided between the east and west fields; it also includes about 300 acres of other land, mostly woodland and a fair amount of meadow [32].
Shireoaks
Shireoaks is a small village a couple of miles west of the town of Worksop along a road that sees little traffic. A resident bailiff manages the manor in the name of the canons of Worksop Priory. The village is named after the old oak standing a few miles to the southwest that marks where three counties (Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, and Yorkshire) meet [33].
Shireoaks is a relatively young village, having only been founded half a century ago [34]. There are 14 tenant households, 10 servile and 4 free. The latter include a farmer living in the holding near the northern extreme of the map; and a charcoaler, a timberwright, and another farmer, all of whom live off to the west. The 500 acres of arable are divided into three fields for crop rotation; these are termed the West Field, the South Field, and the East Field. The manor also includes nearly 300 acres of woodland.
Styrrup
Styrrup is a medium-sized village to the southwest of Harworth and the northeast of Oldcoates. Phillip of Oldcoates is lord of the manor, holding from Prince John's honor of Tickhill. Phillip's household makes its home in the manor house at the northeast end of the village [35]. The manor consists of 1400 acres of land, with 1200 acres cleared; of the latter, 60 are held by Blyth Priory [36].
Some villagers are parishioners of Blyth, while others attend church in Harworth. There are 30 tenant households altogether, 25 servile and 5 free [37]. The latter include a miller, who operates the windmill and holds the toft, croft, and enclosed arable to its northeast [38]; a yeomen living in the longhouse directly north of the windmill who farms the land in the northwestern part of the village; another yeoman and a blacksmith, both off to the southwest; and a carpenter living in the dwelling and field east of the manor house. The freeholders to the north of the road are assarting, gradually extending their arable into the marshy area to the northwest and the woodland to the north. The remainder of the manor's arable is split between two open fields, one immediately south of the road, the other off the map to the east.
Wallingwells
Wallingwells was originally the park of the Chevercourt family, lords of Carlton in Lindrick. In King Stephen's time, Ralph de Chevercourt founded a priory for Benedictine nuns on the site [39]. The location is ideal for those desiring isolation, as it is off the beaten path; almost no traffic passes down even the busiest route, the east-west road visible in the southernmost part of the map. The monastery is the lord of the place, collecting rents and fees from the scattered farmsteads and managing the woodland.
The peasant population is made up of 14 households, all free. They work no fields in common, and a dispersed settlement pattern prevails amongst the freeholders [40]. The servant households are an exception; they are located adjacent to the palisade ringing the conventual precinct. The path leading east from the monastery is used by the priest of Carlton in Lindrick when performing his role as the nuns' chaplain [41].
Worksop and Radford
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Worksop and Radford collectively comprise a small market town, one of the local centers of commerce. The two communities are often thought of as a single entity and are referred to simply as Worksop. The town's layout and population serve as a good illustration of the relationships that bind together farmers, craftspersons, merchants, nobility, and the clergy [42].
The west end, Worksop, is dominated by Maud de Lovetot's castle. The Lovetots, lords of Hallamshire in Yorkshire and tenants in chief of much of the land in the region, are a baronial family of middling rank [43]. Maud is the sole heir of the family's estates, but is still a minor. Her mother, Maud FitzWalter, tried to purchase the right of wardship over her own daughter after her husband, William de Lovetot, died. But the king awarded the wardship to Ralf Murdac, sometime sheriff of Nottinghamshire. Ralf thus manages the barony, and will continue to do so until the younger Maud marries [44]. Worksop Castle serves as a secondary residence for the family, Sheffield being the baronial seat.
Where the west end is a seat of secular power, the east end, Radford, is the domain of the religious. Dwarfing the rest of the community is Worksop Priory of St. Mary and St. Cuthbert, a substantial Augustinian house. The monastery was founded by an earlier Lovetot, and remains the favorite of the baronial family today [45]. Indeed, a number of the Lovetots are entombed within its impressive church [46]. The edifice also serves as the parish church for the surrounding area. The monastery is home to 20 regular canons [47]. Radford's lay populace of 32 households is primarily employed by the monastery; about 60 servants are required to staff the priory.
The western half of town is the center of commerce. It features two markets; the central one is used for the trading of most commodities, while the one to the north is for the buying and selling of animals. The markets are held each Wednesday. As one of the primary north-south routes traversing Nottinghamshire passes through Worksop, the town benefits from much traffic. There are 97 households in Worksop [48]. Perhaps one third of the townsfolk are craftspersons: fullers, smiths, potters, salters, butchers, woodworkers, and so forth. Some, such as the tanner, tawyer, and fullers, dwell and work east of the monastery. This arrangement prevents the effluent that their industries produce from polluting the River Ryton upstream of the town and thus fouling the community's water supply.
Most of Worksop's inhabitants are agricultural workers; the vast majority of these, 56 households, are unfree, while 6 are yeomen. Such a mix of rural and urban tenants and occupations is typical of a small town still close to its manorial roots. Worksop's lands cover 3750 acres, 3000 acres of which are arable [49].
