What is their lasting impact?

What is their lasting impact?

Reference: OS 1st ed 94.06 Hexham

CONTEXT

Burgage plots were a feature of boroughs from 12th century until 1922, when the manorial system was abolished in England. The documents relating to burgages included in the using documents section of this module date from 1437, 1686 and 1809 – a period of almost 400 years. 

Although burgage plots were sometimes divided into parts, their original boundaries have often survived. The long, thin shape of burgage plots can often be seen on modern maps. Another clue that a town had burgage plots can be found when looking at the front of buildings on a high street or in a marketplace. The fronts will be a regular width or a proportion of that width (where a burgage plot has been divided in half or quarters along its length.) 

GIVE IT A GO

  1. Discuss what preceded the manorial system in England.
  2. Discuss what succeeded the manorial system in England.
  3. Discuss what caused the manorial system to end in England.
  4. Go on a town walk, or use Google Street View, to look at the fronts of buildings on a high street or marketplace. Can you identify the features of burgage plots?

OTHER ONLINE RESOURCES

Burgages 

Burgage Plots website, fantastic source of information about all aspects of burgage plots: www.burgageplots.info 

Burgage Plots website, page with links to other online sources: https://www.burgageplots.info/links 

Amble and District Local History website, page about Warkworth (from JC Hodgson A History of Northumberland 1899): https://www.fusilier.co.uk/warkworth_northumberland/warkworth.htm  

Morpeth Conservation Area Review website, page about town’s heritage: https://morpeth-conservation-area-review-luc.hub.arcgis.com/  

Royal Berkshire History for kids website, page about burgage plots (includes diagram): http://www.berkshirehistory.com/kids/burgage_plots.html  

Marian L. Wilson Plan analysis of the medieval boroughs of Northumberland PhD thesis, Edinburgh, 1989 (PDF download): https://era.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1842/6884/294040.pdf?sequence=1  

Manorial records 

Cumbrian Manorial Records website from Lancaster University (includes glossary of manorial terms): 

https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fass/projects/manorialrecords/manors/whatis.htm  

Digital Humanities Institute website (Shffield University), pages about Conisbrough Manor (includes glossary of manorial terms): https://www.dhi.ac.uk/conisbrough/index.html  

Manorial Documents Register database from The National Archives: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/manor-search  

Hexham 

Hexham Local History Society website, page with gallery of leather working images: https://www.hexhamhistorian.org/historic-hexham/photograph-archive/photo-archive-choices/hexham-choices/industry-and-transport-gallery/leather-gallery/