9. Demesne. 9. Will Lee, freeholder.
10. Glebe. 10. Will Gell, copyholder.
11. Demesne. 11. Demesne.
12. Demesne. 12. Demesne.
13. Glebe. 13. Demesne.

If, as was probably the case, the product from these demesne strips
was so small that the land was fit only for conversion to pasture, the
pecuniary interest of the lord was to be served best by enclosing it
and converting it. But should he make three enclosures in furlong A,
and two in furlong B, besides taking pains to leave a way clear for
Will Yelverton and Lee and Gell to reach their land? Or should he be
content merely with enclosing the larger plots of land, because of the
expense of hedging and ditching the smaller plots separately from the
rest? If he did this, the unenclosed portions would be of little
value, as the grass which grew on them could not be properly utilized
for pasture. The final alternative was to get possession of the strips
which did not form part of the demesne, so that the whole could be
made into one compact enclosure. In order to do this it might be
necessary to dispossess Will Lee, Will Gell, _etc._ The intermingling
of holdings, in such a way that small holders (whose own land was in
such bad condition that they could not pay their rents) blocked the
way for improvements on the rest of the land, was probably responsible
for many evictions which would not otherwise have taken place.

But not all evictions were due to this cause alone. The income to the
owner from land which was left in the hands of customary tenants was
much lower than if it was managed by large holders with sufficient
capital to carry out necessary changes. Where it is possible to
compare the rents paid by large and small holders on the same manor,
this fact is apparent:

AVERAGE RENT PER ACRE OF LAND ON FIVE MANORS IN WILTSHIRE, 1568[127]

I II III

s. d. s. d. s. d.

Lands held by farmers 1 6 7 3/4 1 5 3/4

Lands held by customary tenants 7 1/2 5 1 0 3/4

IV V

s. d. s. d.

Lands held by farmers 1 1 3/4 1 5 1/2

Lands held