DEFINITIONS FROM ‘THE LOCAL HISTORIAN’S ENCYCLOPEDIA.

[Stanley]

DEFINITIONS FROM ‘THE LOCAL HISTORIAN’S ENCYCLOPEDIA.
By John Richardson. Pub. 1986.

Akerman. A small tenant holding an acre of land.

Alien. One who had not been granted privileges by the Crown and could not hold or inherit land.

Armiger. A person entitled to hold a coat of arms, also used to denote a Gentleman or Esquire.

Atheling. Anglo Saxon term denoting a relative of the king.

Baronet. Hereditary title, superior to a knight but not of peerage rank.

Bordar. A villein cottager and one of the lowest ranks in feudal society. He had some land for subsistence but he was obliged to perform agricultural and menial services for the lord free or for a fixed sum.

Burgess. (a) A citizen of a borough having full municipal rights. (b) A Member of Parliament for a borough or corporate town.

Ceorl. An Old English term for a free peasant ranking above a Serf but below a Thane or Gesith. He was obliged to do military service and keep up bridges and defences. The monetary value put on his life (wergild), was usually 200 shillings. After the Norman Conquest his status declined to that of a Bordar, or Villein. Alternatively called Carl, Carlot, Churl.

Cottar. A cottager, sometimes with a smallholding. He was obliged to labour on the lord's land either free or for a fixed sum.

Dame. A style of address which was once applied to the wives of baronets and knights, or else to the wives of prominent citizens, or merely to elderly women.

Denizen. An alien admitted to citizenship by royal letters patent. He was able to hold and devise land, but not to inherit it; neither could he hold public office.

Electioner. A person eligible to be elected to a parish office.

Eorl. An Anglo-Saxon aristocrat sometimes synonymous with Ealdorman, who was in charge of a shire.

Esquire. Originally an attendant to knight or lord and responsible for carrying shield and armour. The term later denoted a status above that of a Gentleman, but in the 19th century became merely a courtesy title.

Foreigner. A resident of a town who was not a citizen or, more specifically, not
a member of a guild.

Franklin. A free tenant, usually of the wealthier sort; the predecessor of the Yeoman.

Freeman. (a) A tenant who held his land of the lord at a fixed rent and without the obligation of feudal services. (b) Before the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, a citizen entitled to claim a share of the profits of his city or borough, and to claim exemption from tolls. The title is now an honorary one conferred by a city or corporation. (c) A man who has served his apprenticeship and is thus free to pursue his trade in his locality.

Gebur. An Old English term for a free peasant within the strata of society called Ceorls (qv), having a status between that of Ceneat and Cottar. The monetary value placed on his life (wergild) was 200 shillings. Subsequently the term was shortened to the uncomplimentary 'Boor'.

Geneat. An Old English term for a Gee peasant within the strata of society called Ceorls (qv), having a status superior to that of a Cebur (qv). The monetary value placed on his life (wergild) was 200 shillings. In the Middle Ages his equivalent was a Radknight (qv).

Gentleman. In this context, a well-born man above the rank of yeoman, usually entitled to bear a coat of arms. It was assumed that a Gentleman did not do manual work and the term gradually encompassed all those in the professions.

Gesith. A companion to the king and part of his household and warband; he was rewarded with gifts of land. In the Teutonic kingdoms of England, excepting Kent, the Gesith was an aristocrat. By the 9th century the term was replaced by that of Thane. The monetary value placed on his life (wergild) was 1,200 shillings.

Hold. A Scandinavian term used in Northumbria in the 10th and 11th centuries to denote a nobleman.

Husbandman. A tenant farmer.

Intrante. A person admitted to live and trade within a city or borough on payment of an annual fine.

Knight. Knights were originally obliged to perform military service in exchange for the lands granted to them (Knight's Fees). This duty was gradually commuted to a regular fine called 'scutage'. A knight and his wife are
styled Sir and Lady.

Lackland. A person who owned no land.

Laet. A social group in Kent in Anglo-Saxon times, between free and servile status. Its members had the rights of a free peasant but had to perform some villein services.

Laird. A Scottish and north-country term for a lord or large landowner.

Mesne Lord. A lord who held land directly of the Crown and who was above
other lords in status.

Miss and Mrs. Originally Miss was a style of address for a man's mistress. Other women, married or unmarried, in the same social class as a man who was addressed as 'Mr', were styled Mrs. By the 18th century Miss was used to denote a young spinster bride and Mrs to denote an older or married
woman.

Mr. An abbreviation of the word Master, and originally a style of address for a
Gentleman. In 19th-century directories however, Mr. usually denotes a tradesman or someone who had no claim to be called gentry.

Neife. A villein (qv).

Nobility. The five ranks of peerage in descending order of precedence are Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount and Baron (Lord). They may be summarised as follows:

Duke: The first Dukedom in England was created in 1337 when the Black Prince was created Duke of Cornwall. The title then took precedence over other noble titles. His wife is known as a duchess, his eldest son takes his father's second title, and the younger children are addressed as Lord or Lady before their Christian names. The term Duke derives from the word dux, meaning leader of an army.

Marquess: The first Marquess was appointed in 1385. Except on formal occasions he and his wife are referred to as Lord and Lady, and their children as Lord and Lady before their Christian names. The term Marquess (Marquis in France) is derived from those barons who held and guarded lands on the borders or marches of a kingdom.

Earl: Before the Norman Conquest the Earl was the highest rank of nobility and acted as the king's representative in charge of a shire; subsequently the title denoted a dignity rather than a function. The wife of an earl is a countess but except on formal occasions he and his wife are addressed as Lord and Lady. His eldest son takes his father's second title, the younger sons are styled 'Honourable', and the daughters as Lady before their Christian names.

Viscount: The first Viscount in the English nobility was created in 1440, but previously the term denoted a sheriff of a county acting as deputy to the Earl of the shire; the word derived from the Latin vicecomes. A Viscount and his wife are styled Lord and Lady.

Baron: The title Baron, more commonly styled Lord, is the most numerous rank in the nobility. A greater baron was one summoned by direct writ to the king's council, and a lesser baron was one who was summoned via the county sheriff. Peers of the realm are the successors to the greater barons. A baron and his wife are styled Lord and Lady, and his children 'The Honourable' on formal occasions and Mr, Miss and Mrs otherwise. A peeress (Baroness) in her own right who marries a commoner retains her title, but a peeress by marriage loses her title on remarriage.

Peder. A Lincolnshire term for a Cottar (qv) or cottager.

Radknight. A tenant who gave service on horseback to his lord as an obligation of his landholding.

Regardant Villein. A person who performed the lowest manorial services but was annexed to the lord's manor rather than to his person. He was distinct in this from a Villein in Gross, who was transferable from one owner to another.

Serf. An inhabitant with a status lower than that of a Villein (qv), who was annexed to the lord's person and could be sold to another person. His freedom was obtained when the lord granted a release called Manumission.

Slave. In this country slaves officially became free in 1772.

Socman. A free tenant.

Sojourner. A temporary resident in a parish.

Squire. A common term for a lord of the manor, or a principal landowner.

Stranger. A new resident.

Thane. An Old English term for one who was part of the king's or a lord's household and his military elite. The word seems to have superseded the term Gesith in the 9th century. The Thane had a monetary value on his life (wergild) of 1,200 shillings. Alternatively spelt Thegn.

Theow. An Anglo-Saxon slave, either a conquered native or an Anglo-Saxon felon. He had no rights whatsoever.

Thrall. A Slave.

Vassal. A person who held land of a lord and swore fealty to him.

Vavassor. A term dating from the Norman Conquest to denote a free tenant of high status but with less land than that held by a baron, and who had military obligations to his lord. The word was used in Danelaw counties. He was the forerunner of the Knight.

Villein. A general term to describe an unfree tenant after the Norman Conquest. He held his land subject to a range of agricultural services and fines. He was above the status of a slave but was, excepting the Regardant Villein (qv), usually annexed to the lord's person, in which case he was termed a Villein in Gross. Neither he nor his daughter could marry without the lord's permission, nor could he bring a suit in the king's court, or acquire land that would not be taxed. Upon his death a heriot (fine) was paid by his heirs. In return he had a landholding and the right to graze a fixed number of cattle on the common pastures and to take hay from the common meadow. The loss of population resulting from the Black Death put the Villein into a better bargaining position and his tenure gradually became Copyhold (qv).

Yeoman. A free tenant, usually a prominent farmer. As he worked with his hands he could not be styled a Gentleman (qv) but is status was above that of most other copyhold tenants. He was qualified to serve on juries and vote in county elections.

ADMINISTRATIVE AREAS AND
BODIES

Bailiwick. An area under the jurisdiction of a bailiff.

Barmote. A Derbyshire court which managed the affairs of the lead mines.

Barony. The Irish equivalent of the English Hundred (qv). Baronies existed before the Norman Conquest virtually as small kingdoms; they were eventually divisions of counties.

Bedellary. An area under the supervision of a beadle.

Borough. Up to 1835 most boroughs had obtained their status by charter. Many had the right to levy a toll at the town market, to send a representative to the House of Commons and to hold a court which dealt with civil, and some criminal, matters. Often the body administering the borough was self-perpetuating and public elections did not take place. The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 laid down that in 178 boroughs councillors were in future to serve for no more than three years before facing public election; the aldermen were restricted to six years. At the same time franchise was extended to ratepayers who had lived in the borough for three years. This legislation was consolidated in the Municipal Corporations Act 1882.

Burgh. The Scottish equivalent of an English Borough whose charter could derive from a king, baron or lord. Up to 1832 only royal burghs could return members of Parliament.

Burh. An Old English term for a fortified area - either a town or a dwelling.

Byelaw. A north country term for a district having its own bye law court.

Cantrev. The Welsh equivalent of the English Hundred (qv) divided into Commote, Maenol, Trev and Gavel.

Castelry. In medieval times an area which was organised for the protection of its castle.

Churchtown. A west country term for a town, village or hamlet which contained a church.

Clachan. In Scotland and Ireland a village containing a church.

Close Parish. A term to describe a parish which took particular care to bar itinerant strangers from obtaining Settlement Certificates there. Under the Poor Law regulations, once a settlement was granted the person could, if necessary, apply for Poor Relief from the parish.

Colonia. There were four coloniae in Roman Britain - Colchester, Gloucester, Lincoln and York. They were centres in which retired Roman soldiers were given land as a pension. Citizens were entitled to Roman protection and privileges, which was not the case in native townships.

Constablewick. A township or tithing under the jurisdiction of a constable.

Cot-town. A small village containing residents dependent on the main local farm.

County. A term derived from the Norman word comte and which, after the Norman Conquest, superseded the old English word 'shire'. Many shires followed the boundaries of the ancient kingdoms and provinces. In the 8th and 9th centuries Wessex was divided into Hants, Wilts, Berks, Somerset, Dorset and possibly, parts of Oxfordshire. In the 10th century the kingdom of Mercia was divided to form Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Northants, Notts, Rutland, Staffs, Warwickshire, Worcs and possibly parts of Beds, Bucks and Oxfordshire. Norfolk and Suffolk are divisions of the old East Anglian kingdoms. Sussex, Essex, Kent and Middlesex were Teutonic kingdoms, and Yorkshire roughly corresponded to the Danish kingdom of York. Cumberland was Cumbria (the land of the Welsh), and Northumberland part of the old kingdom of Northumbria. Durham was granted to St Cuthbert in AD 685 and held as a Palatinate (qv) by the Bishop of Durham until 1836. Cheshire, earlier a Roman province, became a county palatinate under William I. Lancashire was the Honor of Lancaster; in 1071 the northern part was in Yorkshire and the southern part was crown property. Westmorland, under the Normans, was held as two baronies each divided into wards. Rutland was originally a Soke (qv) in Northamptonshire, given as dower of the Queen of England during the reign of John.

The early Welsh counties were formed after the Act of Union between England and Wales in 1536. Monmouthshire has been claimed as both an English and a Welsh county, although ecclesiastically it was almost all in the ancient diocese of Llandaff. Since 1974 it has assumed its original name of Gwent and is officially part of Wales.

The Scottish counties in the Lowlands were established by Malcolm III in the 11th century, and those in the Highlands were formed in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Only six new counties in England, including London, were formed between the Norman Conquest and 1888. In 1888 also, the Isle of Ely. the Soke of Peterborough, East and West Suffolk, East and West Sussex, the Isle of Wight and the Yorkshire Ridings all became administrative counties while nominally remaining part of their original counties.

In 1964 London was enlarged by the absorption of parts of Surrey, Essex, Herts, Kent and Middlesex, and the last-named county disappeared.

In 1974 there was a major revision of county boundaries and while some disappeared others were created. The principal changes may be summarised as follows:

Anglesey: now part of Gwynedd. Berks: northern area to Oxfordshire. Brecon: now part of Powys. Caernarfonshire: now part of Gwynedd. Cambridgeshire: absorbed the Isle of Ely, Huntingdonshire and the Soke of Peterborough. Cardiganshire: now part of Dyfed. Carmarthenshire: now part of Dyfed.
Cheshire: absorbed southern border area of Lancashire. Cumberland: now part of Cumbria. Denbighshire: now part of Clwyd. Dorset: absorbed the Bournemouth area of Hampshire. Durham: north-east area to Tyne and Wear, south-east area to Cleveland. Flintshire: now part of Clwyd. Gloucestershire: south part to Avon. Hampshire: Bournemouth area to Dorset. Isle of Wight became separate county. Herefordshire: combined with Worcestershire. Huntingdonshire: now part of Cambridgeshire. Lancashire: parts around Manchester to Greater Manchester; south west to Merseyside; southern borders to Cheshire. Leicestershire: absorbed Rutland. Lincolnshire: northern areas to Humberside. Merionethshire: now part of Gwynedd. Monmouthshire: now called Gwent. Montgomeryshire: now part of Powys. Northants: the Soke of Peterborough to Cambridgeshire.
Northumberland: the south east, including Newcastle, to Tyne and Wear.
Oxfordshire: absorbed northern area of Berks. Pembrokeshire: now part of Dyfed. Radnorshire: now part of Powys. Rutland: now part of Leicestershire.
Somerset: northern part to Avon. Staffordshire: southern part now in West Midlands. Warwickshire: Birmingham and Coventry area to West Midlands.
Westmorland: now part of Cumbria. Worcestershire: part to West Midlands: remainder combined with Herefordshire. Yorkshire: north-east to Cleveland; south-east to Humberside; remainder divided into three metropolitan counties of North, West and South Yorkshire.

The new counties may be summarised as follows:

Avon: parts of Glos and Somerset. Cleveland: south-east Durham and north-east Yorkshire. Clwyd: Flintshire and Denbighshire. Cumbria: Westmorland and Cumberland. Dyfed: Pembrokeshire, Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire.
Greater Manchester. Gwent: a new name for Monmouthshire. Gwynedd: Merionethshire, Anglesey, Caernarfonshire. Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Humberside: south-east Yorkshire, north Lincolnshire.
Isle of Wight. Merseyside: Liverpool and surrounding area. Powys: Radnorshire, Brecon and Montgomeryshire. South, West and North Yorkshire. Tyne and Wear: south-east Northumberland and north-east Durham. West Midlands: parts of Worcestershire, south Staffs, and Birmingham and Coventry areas.

In 1986 the metropolitan counties of Greater London, Greater Manchester, West Midlands' Merseyside, Tyne and Wear, South, North and West Yorkshire, were abolished.

County Councils. These authorities were established by the Local Government Act 1888, and the administrative functions of Quarter Sessions transferred to them.

Court Baron. A manorial court which enforced the customs of the manor. It was the property of the lord and was a private jurisdiction. Originally the Homage or Jury at meetings had to consist of at least two freeholders but with the decline of this form of tenure copyhold tenants formed the Homage and the Court Baron became a Customary Court Baron. The main business of the Court included escheats (qv), surrenders and transfers of land, dower administration, the agricultural management of commons and wastes, and the rights of lord and tenants. The Court appointed a reeve who represented the parish and collected the lord's dues, a hayward to look after fences and the common stock of animals, and other minor officials such as woodward and swineherd.

B69 Court Leet. The term usually refers to a manorial court although it could also apply to a Hundred court. It dealt with petty offences such as common nuisances or public affray, the breaking of the Assize of Bread and Ale, and with the maintenance of highways and ditches. It was a court of record and a public jurisdiction presided over by the lord or his representative. Each male over the age of 12 or 16 (depending upon custom), was obliged to attend. If a tenant's house extended over two leets he attended the court applicable to the main bedroom of the property. The Court met at least twice a year and apart from the duties mentioned above it appointed officials such as the constable, aletaster and pinder; it was also responsible for the View of Frankpledge (qv).

Danelaw Counties. Strictly speaking those areas of the country occupied by the Danes and Norwegians in the 9th and 10th centuries, which roughly correspond to the counties stretching from the south Midlands. However, the influence of the Danes was strongest in the counties of Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. (See also Five Boroughs)

District Councils. These authorities were established by the Local Government Act, 1894.

Extra-parochial. (a) An area outside the jurisdiction of the adjoining civil or ecclesiastical parish. Its existence could arise for example, from the purchase by an over-crowded parish of land in another parish on which to form a consecrated burial ground. No poor or church rates were paid to the parish in which the area fell, and, in theory, tithe money went to the Crown. In 1894 all extra parochial areas were made into parishes or incorporated into existing ones. (b) Uninhabited land outside the bounds of any parish and exempt from church rates.

Fief. An area held by grant from a superior.

Field Jury. A group tenants elected to manage the common fields.

Five Boroughs. The headquarters of the Danish armies in the 9th century. They consisted of Derby, Lincoln, Nottingham, Leicester and Stamford. There is also evidence to suggest that Torksey and York were additional garrison towns. The Five Boroughs formed a federation with a general assembly as its court.

Folk Moot. A town or shire assembly.

Frankpledge. In Anglo-Saxon times each vill or area was divided into tithings, associations of ten or twelve households which were held corporately responsible for the behaviour of each member. The tithing was also responsible for ensuring that any member accused of an offence was available to answer the charge This system was called Frankpledge and at the manorial Court Leet (qv) a View of Frankpledge regulated the working of the tithings. The term will be found in court rolls into the 19th century but it had long since lost its significance in practice. Some areas, such as Westmorland, did not adopt the system and some classes of society - knights and clerks, for example - were exempt. Representatives of tithings were called tithingmen, headboroughs, thirdboroughs and borsholders.

Gemote. A Saxon term meaning a court or assembly.

Green Village. A village in which the houses are grouped around a common green, as opposed to a village strung along a central road.

Halmot. A Court Baron or Court Leet (qv). Alternatively spelt Hallmote, Hallmoot.

Ham. A house or village.

Hamil. A north-country term for a hamlet or village.

Hamlet. A small village, usually without a church, under the jurisdiction of and in the same parish as another village or town. It had neither a constable or an Overseer of the Poor, and did not levy a separate rate.

Hardwick. A pastoral settlement.

Home. A Shropshire term for a parish consisting of several hamlets.

Honour. A grouping of several Knight's Fees (qv), lordships or manors under the administration of a lord and honorial court. The court consisted of honorial barons who were the chief under-tenants. This grouping usually occurred around a castle, but in some cases the land could be widely scattered around England. Royal Honours were still to be found in the 16th century.

Hundred. (a) An administrative division of a shire, probably established in the 10th century, whose influence declined as parochial, manorial and judicial bodies became more important. The derivation of the term remains obscure - it is thought to have originally contained a hundred families or ten tithings, or else a hundred taxable hides of land. The Hundred Court, presided over by the Hundred Reeve acting on behalf of the king, usually met monthly at an open place distinguished by a feature such as a boundary stone, barrow, tree or crossroads; it considered criminal offences, minor ecclesiastical matters and private pleas; it also levied taxes. New hundreds were created as late as the 17th century by Justices of the Peace in Quarter Sessions, and the unit of government existed formally until the Local Government Act 1894 set up District Councils which are the successors of the Hundred Courts. Alternatively called Wapentake in Danelaw counties (qv), Lathe in Kent, Rape in Sussex, Leet in East Anglia, Ward in Cumberland, Durham and Northumberland, and Liberty in the Isle of Wight. (b) A division of a Wapentake in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, or a division of a Lathe in Kent.

Husting. A term now used in connection with meetings before a parliamentary election, but the Old English hustings had some legal business to pursue. In an administrative sense the word is retained in the Court of Hustings in the City of London, which was established before the Norman Conquest. Similar courts, which registered deeds and wills, existed elsewhere, eg. at Boston and Winchester.

Inship. A term applied to a small portion of a parish.

Joclet. A Kent term for a small manor or farm.

Kintra. A Scottish term for a region or district.

Kirk Clachan. A Scottish village containing a church. Alternatively called Kirktoun.

Knight's Fee. An area held by a knight for which he was obliged to perform military service to his immediate overlord.

Lady Court. A court belonging to a lady of the manor.

Lathe. In Kent, an administrative area equivalent to the Hundred (qv). Confusingly, it was itself divided into areas called Hundreds. In Norman times there were six Lathes but this was later reduced to five.

Liberty. (a) An area situated outside a borough in which freemen had certain rights of pasture etc. (b) A group of manors, the lord of which held certain privileges of the Crown. The sheriff's authority was excluded and the lord had the return of writs. Alternatively called Soke. (c) In the Isle of Wight another name for a Hundred (qv).

Lordship. A manorial holding.

Manor. An estate held by a landlord, (not necessarily a titled person), who himself was a tenant of the Crown or of a mesne lord. A manor could be part of a parish contiguous with its boundaries, or else be large enough to spread over more than one parish. The lord of the manor retained part of the land, called demesne, for his own use, while the rest was tenanted or else used for common or waste.

Mayor's Brethren. A body of 24 Aldermen governing a town, together with 48 other residents, who formed a Common Council.

Moot. An assembly of people which formed a legislative court, especially important in Saxon times. There were gemots, witangemots, burgmotes, hundred-motes etc. Alternatively called Mote.

Open Parish. As opposed to a Close Parish (qv), one in which it was relatively easy for a stranger to obtain a Settlement Certificate.

Open Vestry. A general meeting of male ratepayers which carried out the civic functions of a parish and which sometimes had authority in the expenditure of the church rate. Open Vestries in large urban areas in the 19th century became unmanageable and sometimes open to mob leadership. Some were supplanted by Select Vestries established by Act of Parliament. Some parishes took advantage of the powers allowed in the Sturges Bourne Act 1819 to elect a Parish Committee which, confusingly, was often called a Select Vestry.

Palatinate. An area administered by an earl or a bishop, such as the county palatines of Chester, Durham and Lancaster; these were abolished in 1835.

Parish. Originally a township or group of townships possessing its own church and parson, to whom it paid its tithes and other ecclesiastical dues. A parish could contain one or several manors, and sometimes a manor was large enough to spread over more than one parish. Successive Acts of Parliament, particularly in the 16th and 17th centuries, encouraged the transformation of the Parish into a secular authority through its meetings of the vestry (qv). The early parish already had the power to levy a church rate, but further legislation empowered the parish to levy a rate for Poor relief and the repair of highways, two areas of activity which increased the importance of the parish. As this happened the functions of the manor courts, excepting those which included the transfer and inheritance of land, declined, although for a period there could be an overlap of powers between the Vestry and manor court. Most vestries were Open, in that any male ratepayer could attend and vote. This was not always the best administrative solution particularly in populous areas and for want of an established local electoral system parishes opted for the establishment of Select Vestries which were self-perpetuating and undemocratic bodies. The Vestry, of whatever nature, appointed churchwardens, sexton, and, subject to the approval of the Justices of the Peace, the Overseers of the Poor, Surveyors of Highways and constables. In urban areas the parishes were consolidated into boroughs after the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, although London was left relatively untouched until 1855.

Parish Councils. Authorities established by the Local Government Act 1894. The Act specified that such bodies should be elected in rural areas with a population of over 300. In parishes where the population numbered between 200 and 300 the council could be elected if a parish meeting decided so; in areas with an even smaller population a parish council could be elected if the county council agreed. The powers of the parish councils were greatly expanded by the Local Government Act 1972.

Portsoken. An area outside a city. Alternatively called Portsoone.

Quarter. A division of a parish for the purposes of Poor Law administration.

Rape. The Sussex equivalent of a hundred (qv). There were six rapes, each with a castle and a harbour. It was a unit of local government and assessed for tax.

Regality. A Scottish term for a territorial jurisdiction granted by the Crown.

Reguard. A forest court held every three years to safeguard the bounds of the
forest and the Crown's interests. It consisted of 12 knights whose findings were reported to the justices.

Riding. A third of a shire, from the Old Norse ‘thrithing’ Yorkshire was divided into Ridings by the Danes, each with their own town courts. A similar division took place in Lincolnshire where the areas were known as parts or divisions. The sub-divisions of one of these, Lindsey, were also known as Ridings.

Royalty. A Scottish and north-country term for an area under the jurisdiction of the Crown. An example of this could be a royal palace or estate.

Rural District Councils. Authorities established under the Local Government Act, 1894.

Seigniory. A lord's holding of land, usually a manor.

Seigniorial Borough. A borough which received its charter from an earl or lord, and not from the Crown.

Select Vestry. A self-perpetuating body of residents responsible for the civic management of a parish. Sometimes a Select Vestry was established by local residents themselves usurping the traditional Open Vestry (qv). Often in the 17th century a Select Vestry was established by Bishop's Faculty. In London a number came about as a result of the 1711 Act for building fifty new churches in the metropolis, or else from particular Church Building Acts. Other Select Vestries were formed when a sufficient body of ratepayers could obtain an Act of Parliament on the grounds that the parish was too populous to be governed by Open Vestry. Inevitably, when Select Vestries were formed, they consisted of the wealthier members of the parish and as the Vestry was then entitled to fill any vacancies without reference to the ratepayers, this social imbalance continued and caused much resentment, especially in areas where there had previously been a strong Open Vestry. The attraction of the Select Vestry rested on it ability to manage the affairs of a populous area better than an open meeting of ratepayers. Also, the Act establishing the Vestry could include powers that were denied Open vestries. Although the system was undemocratic it has to be remembered that no general method of local elections had yet evolved and the adoption of non-elected bodies was not considered so extraordinary. A select Vestry could be established with as little as twelve members whereas a parish like St Pancras in London had 122 members. Alternatively called the Twelve, Fifteen, Sixteen, Company of Four and Twenty, Ancients, Elders and Twenty.

Soke. A term used in Danelaw counties to describe a jurisdiction over a number of estates or villages. There are 32 such townships in the Soke of Peterborough. It is thought that the townships were settled by Danish soldiers who owed personal allegiance to a lord and a court. The land of any particular Soke could be in a number of manors which meant that some villages and farms were under divided lordship. The Soke was the lord’s private jurisdiction and he was entitled to hold a Soke Court. His tenants were freemen. The word was also generally used for a private jurisdiction, whether owned by barons, religious houses or guilds. Alternatively called Liberty.

Swanimote. A forest court which met three times a year to manage the Crown's woodland. A fortnight before Michaelmas it would regulate the pasturing of pigs; about St Martin's Day it would meet to collect dues for this. It also met just before Midsummer when the forest was closed and the beasts fawned. Alternatively called Swainmote.

Team. A Crown grant to the lord of the manor giving jurisdiction over the punishment of offenders within his manor. Alternatively spelt Theam.

Tithing. (a) Originally a company of ten householders who stood security for each other within the system called Frankpledge (qv). Each male over the age of 12 was obliged to be in a Tithing. (b) A land division, once regarded as a tenth of a Hundred (qv).

Township. A division of a parish which formed a unit of local administration; it levied a separate Poor Rate and appointed a constable.

Urban District Councils. Authorities established by the Local Government Act 1894.

Vestry. The governing body of a parish.

Vill. A division of a parish, perhaps synonymous with a township, manor or tithing.

Wapentake. A term used in the Danelaw counties of Derbyshire, Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham and York to denote a Hundred.

Wardmote. A meeting of citizens of a ward.

Wick. A village.

SCG/02 March 2006

[Stanley]

Bumped. A useful list to have handy.....