Medieval Staffordshire
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Manors
Peasant Life
In the feudal system, the king gave land or fiefs to his most important followers, his barons, and his bishops, in return for their contribution of soldiers for the king's armies. These men then gave land or manors to their followers who then, in exchange gave their allegiance to the tenant in chiefs. The under-tenants needed workers for their land, these were the peasants, also called "serfs" or "villeins." In exchange for living and working on his land, known as the demesne, the lord offered his peasants protection.
Peasant sowing seed : © Ben Cunliffe
Peasants worked the land and produced the goods that the lord and the manor needed. Peasants did not have an easy time of it. They were taxed heavily and had to give up much of what they grew or bred to the lord. If they found the conditions too harsh, many peasants were not free to move elsewhere, according to medieval laws, so they just had to put up with their lot. The lord was the law-keeper of the manor.
See what work was done for the lord of the manor of Haywood||||
Peasant Homes
Medieval peasants rose with the sun and retired when it set, so homes were primarily for sleeping and eating. Early peasant homes were cruck houses, which were made by splitting a tree trunk up the middle and splaying it out to make an inverted V-shape. Later houses were constructed with a little more sophistication. The walls were made of wattle and daub. The wattle was a woven, basket-work panel; the daub was a plaster that was smeared over the panel.
Many peasant families ate, slept, and spent time together with their animals. The animals were safe inside the house and they provided the family with heat - a kind of smelly central heating! The houses had thatched roofs and were easily destroyed.
Many cruck houses survive in Staffordshire today. To see what they look like visit the Staffordshire PastTrack|||| website and do a keyword search for "cruck".
The roof had a hole so the smoke from the fire could escape. This often meant houses were smoky. The floor was usually dirt or clay, later houses may have been stone flagged or cobbled. Floors were covered by straw or reeds which were 'mucked out' when they became too soiled. The house more often than not had a heavy door and could be barred with wooden timbers. Windows often could be closed with shutters, peasants would never have glass but they did oil animal skins to a translucent, if not transparent, quality. Latrines, or toilets, were commonly outside the house. These were made by digging a hole about three feet square and two feet deep with a plank across with a hole in the centre to sit on. The contents of the pit would be spread on the fields to fertilise them.
Why not design a estate agent's poster for a cruck house?
Link to information about manors around Burntwood||||
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