Differing Responses to an Industrialising Economy - eTheses ...

more than thirty proprietors. 28
Traditionally this area was regarded as a wood-pasture
area; inventories show mixed farming, with cheese production important. 29
Apart from
scheduled changes such as enclosure, weather disasters and animal epidemics also made
their unwelcome impact on the agrarian economy. One Inkberrow yeoman was
appointed as county inspector to ensure that no cattle were moved into Worcestershire at
the time of the cattle plague. 30
In this subdivision (as in all others) more yeomen (and later farmers) left probate
than husbandmen or labourers. 31
Of course, the number of labourers leaving probate in
no way reflects their true proportion of the workforce. Often there was a special reason
for their family to register probate, such as a debt due to them or rights over property.
For example, John Merrick was valued at £11 including a debt due to him of £10. 32
William Pensam, (valued at £70-10-0), was exceptional amongst labourers. He had
connections with London, and £50 was due to him in bonds, bills and debts. 33
Thomas Sabel had his own working tools worth 15s. 34
The possession of tools
and property amongst these labourers indicates a certain level of independence. That
they were not tied to one master brought both benefits and disadvantages. Richard
Sheppie of Abbots Morton was specifically described as a day-labourer in his
inventory. 35
He and others like him would undergo slack periods, but at other times,
such as harvest, they were in great demand for farm-work, and they also enjoyed
28 Appendix 24. The diversity does not seem to be specifically connected with enclosure.
29 J. Yelling, ‘Livestock numbers and agricultural development’, in Slater, Field and Forest, pp. 286-7,
shows similar numbers of livestock to the Champion Country, but with slightly more cattle, pigs and
horses, and a dramatic increase in the number of sheep at this time.
30 Worcester Weekly Journal 11 Jan 1748/9. The yeoman farmer was John Gower of Inkberrow.
31 The figures are yeomen 451, farmers 85 (all after 1750), husbandmen 72 and labourers 56.
32 WoRO, probate of John Merrick, Haselor, labourer, 1690, £11-0-0.
33 WoRO, probate of William Pensam, Kington, labourer, 1690, £70-10-0, (the highest valued labourer in
this zone). Most labourers in probate were illiterate and valued below £25.
34 WoRO, probate of Thomas Sabel, Oldberrow, labourer, 1692, £11-19-0.
35 WoRO, miscellaneous probate (812/2409) of Richard Sheppie, Abbots Morton, labourer, 1664, £11-15-0,
(of which £10 was a desperate debt).
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