Untitled - Council for British Archaeology

Pasture and Meadow
Domesday Book records extents of both meadow and pasture on the joint
manor, and receipts from wool and cheeses. Small acreages of meadow,
which was probably restricted to the narrow valley-bott6ms of the
Sor Brook and its tributary, and therefore highly valued, are
recorded in extents in the 13th and 14th centuries. Purchases of
250 sheep in 1180-1 and 300 sheep in 1194 suggest that pasture
was more,readily available, probably on Hobb Hill, which is shown as
pasture by Davis in 1797, and which is largely, though not entirely,
devoid of ridge and furrow,
Enclosures
Open-field.farming in Bloxham remained Conservative in its'Practices,
and there .is little indication of significant. consolidation of striPs'
in the 14th century. The, main area of gnCient enclosure is.around
The Grove in the NE corner of the parish,'where over.200 acres (80.9 ha) of
pasture and meadow were hedged Some time between 1421 an4.1592. No
enclosures were reported to the 1517 Inquiry. Apart froM the Grove,
Davis. shows only a small block of enclosures immediately NW Of the
village and a narrow band of enclosed meadows abàvg Wickham Mill. in
the Sot Brook valley in 1797. The remainder of the parish was enclosgd.
by an Award of 1802, and it is from this period that the present:system.
of rectangularhedg_ed fields dates. Arthur Young visited lloxham.adecade
after enclosure, and comments on the progress-made by two
Bloxham farmers in particular, who had greatly.inCreasgd production
using new.techniques and machinery and were experimenting:with a mUch
greater range of crops..
Woodland
.
The Domesday.survey records an extent of,woodland.belonging to.the
joint manor, together with receipts from pannage,and gwine.
later evidence points to a conspicuous lack of woodland in.,BloxhaM pariSh.
itself. It is almost certain that the Domesday gntry.refers,to.two
woods in Wychwood Forest; now represented by King's Wood in Stonesfield
and Sheer's Copse in Spelsbury,. which were at.tached.to Bloxham manor, in the
later middle ages.
Warren
A rabbit-warren is mentioned in leases of Bloxham Beauchamp manor from
1431 onwards. The warren was in the Grove, ,as is recordgd in 1556 when
Richard Fiennes was sued in Chancery by Anthony Councer and other tenants
complaining of the havoc wreaked by rabbits from the warren in their corn.
In 1569 Fiennes agreed ,to confine his rabbits,to a limited area of the
Grove enclosed by walls. Remains of this enclosed warren are conceivably
represented by a large square ditched enclosure (PRN. 11,825) NE of
Bloxham Grove.
- 109-