The Extent and Layout of Commonfields in Eastern Norfolk
Bruce Campbell
Abstract
This chapter is concerned with their extent and layout and the changes which they underwent over time. In spite of the differences which existed between these eight parishes, in the ratio of common pasture to commonfield and in the rates at which consolidation and enclosure were taking place, the layout of their fields shared one fundamental feature: a pervasive irregularity. In eastern Norfolk, in contrast, it was the individual parcels and holdings which provided the twin bases of commonfield management. Such a high degree of parcellation seems to have been fairly characteristic of medieval commonfields in eastern Norfolk. The processes which were eventually to lead to the dissolution of eastern Norfolk's commonfields were therefore already beginning to take effect from the second half of the fourteenth century. The high degree of parcellation reached in the fourteenth century did not always prevail and during the long period for which these commonfields were in existence they were in constant state of change.