ECONOMIC HISTORY.
In 1292 the demesne of
the Prior of Llanthony comprised three ploughlands. (fn. 33) Exchanges of small pieces of open-field
land in the Middle Ages (fn. 34) may indicate consolidation
of the demesne. In 1502 parts of former demesne
were granted to copyhold tenants, whose labourservices were remitted. (fn. 35) The change apparently
accompanied a swing from arable to pasture: in
1517 the prior was said to have inclosed and converted 50 a. of arable in 1510; the prior said that the
conversion was less extensive and happened
earlier. (fn. 36) The demesne of Woolstrop manor comprised two plough-lands in 1246; (fn. 37) in 1329 William
Walsh's plough-land in Woolstrop was 110 a. of
arable and 6 a. of meadow, while in Netheridge he
had a yardland of 40 a. and 4 a. of meadow. (fn. 38)
Other free tenants included several surnamed
freeman in the 14th century. In 1327 Edmund the
freeman seems to have had only a small holding, (fn. 39)
but the holdings of others, Philip the freeman (fn. 40)
and Roger the freeman, (fn. 41) may have been larger.
Philip of Quedgeley in the 13th century was a free
tenant of the lord of Netheridge manor. (fn. 42) His land
passed to his son, Henry Culverbrid, and then to
William Culverbrid. (fn. 43) One free tenement, in the
13th or 14th century, was in Woolstrop. (fn. 44) Apart
from the lords of Netheridge there was only one
free tenant of Quedgeley manor c. 1400 (fn. 45) and in
1538. (fn. 46)
Almost no record has been found of customary or
servile tenure before the 16th century; tithes of
villeins were mentioned in the 12th century, (fn. 47) and the
villeins of Woolstrop held 2½ yardlands in 1246. (fn. 48) In
1502 Llanthony Priory granted a house and land
formerly held by a neif to Richard Chapman, his
wife Elizabeth, and his son John for their lives in
survivorship: Richard was to hold as though he
were a free tenant, but after his death the holding
was to owe the customary dues. (fn. 49) The manumission
of a neif was recorded in 1514. (fn. 50)
Some of the open fields on the edge of the parish
had the same names as the fields of neighbouring
parishes, perhaps suggesting that they had originated
as fragments of fields belonging to other settlements.
A notable example was Westfield, which lay east of
Quedgeley. Other fields were shared by Quedgeley
with its neighbours, presumably for the same reason,
Canmore, for example, with Elmore, and Whaddon's
Hill with Whaddon. (fn. 51) Quedgeley's open fields,
recorded from the 13th century, (fn. 52) were numerous
and small. In 1605 there were 14 arable fields, of
which the largest were Sandfield and Westfield.
Despite exchanges of open-field land, mentioned
above, and inclosure by Llanthony Priory in the
early 16th century, much of the land in 1605 lay in
pieces of 1 a., ½ a., or ¼ a. (fn. 53) There was piecemeal
inclosure during the next two centuries: in 1719 an
orchard stood on former arable, (fn. 54) and in 1790
there were several new inclosures and consolidated
pieces of open-field land. (fn. 55) By 1840 the greater part
of the parish, including apparently the whole of
Woolstrop, was inclosed, and the number of fields
had fallen to four. (fn. 56)
The common meadows and pastures, like the
open fields, were small and numerous, including
Southmead or Southmore beside the river, Broadmead, Longmead, Horsebrook, and Cattleland. (fn. 57)
The extent of common meadow and pasture may
have decreased through inclosure by the 16th
century. In 1605, in a survey of customary tenants'
land, only five common meadows and pastures were
mentioned, and much of the tenants' meadow and
pasture was in closes. (fn. 58) In the 16th century the
commoning of cattle in Broadmead was stinted. (fn. 59) In
1841, when one common meadow was inclosed, the
landholders claimed right of common without stint
in all the land to be inclosed. (fn. 60)
Hemp, hops, and flax were grown in Quedgeley
in the 17th century. (fn. 61) In the early 18th century the
parish was said to consist of good meadow, pasture,
and arable, (fn. 62) and c. 1775 of meadow, pasture, and
orcharding. (fn. 63) In 1794 only 250 a. and in 1795 only
262 a. were sown, with wheat, barley, and beans, (fn. 64)
and in 1803 the parish was said to be mainly meadow and pasture. (fn. 65)
In 1605 Quedgeley manor included two leaseholds for lives, of which the larger was 26 a., and
there were 23 copyhold tenants. Holdings varied
from 30 a. to a few acres of arable, mostly between
10 a. and 20 a., with about half as much meadow
and pasture. Some included two or three messuages
and less than 20 a., suggesting that they were
amalgamations of even smaller holdings. Some
tenants had more than one estate. Copyhold tenants
held for up to three lives, and owed fines, rents, and
heriots in kind. (fn. 66) They were not allowed to sublet
without licence. (fn. 67)
During the 17th and 18th centuries there was a
decline in the number of landholders, and a corresponding increase in the average size of the farms.
Copyholds were apparently enfranchised in the
later 17th century, and the latest known record of a
copyhold was 1692. (fn. 68) In 1795 18 landholders were
recorded in Quedgeley, (fn. 69) and in 1841 the number was
c. 20. At that time the manor farm was 313 a., three
others including Netheridge were between 134 a.
and 170 a., and the rest were c. 50 a. or less.
The inclosure award of 1841 dealt with only 24 a.
of open arable and meadow, lying in Long Meadow
in the north, Nash field, Long Hill and Little Hasbrook field in the south-east, and Whaddons Hill
on the east side of the parish. Twenty-five people
received allotments, mostly of fractions of 1 a. (fn. 70) A
second award of 1866 dealt with small parts of the
parish that lay intermingled with the land of several
other parishes on the east. (fn. 71)
In 1875 Manor farm was 327 a., two others owned
by the Curtis-Haywards were 175 a. together, and
two more were respectively 84 a. and 90 a. (fn. 72) From
then the number of farms remained at about nine,
of which only one was said to be more than 150 a.
in the 1920s. (fn. 73) There were eight farms in Quedgeley
in 1967, mostly of 100 a. or less and farmed by
tenants of Glevum Estates Ltd. or the Air Ministry. (fn. 74)
After inclosure the land continued to be mainly
meadow and pasture with only small areas of arable.
In 1901 260 a. of arable were recorded (fn. 75) and in 1933
there was less than half that amount. (fn. 76) The area of
orchards probably increased in the early 20th
century; fruit growers were recorded in the parish in
the twenties and thirties, (fn. 77) and in 1933 the parish
had extensive areas of orchard. (fn. 78) By 1967 few of the
orchards remained: farming was mixed, with the
emphasis on cattle-farming.
In 1137 the tithes of the mill of Quedgeley manor
were granted to Llanthony Priory. (fn. 79) In the earlier
13th century the priory's mill, with 4½ a., was held
by a free tenant. (fn. 80) There were two water-mills in
1538, Upper Mill farmed with the manor and
another mill leased to Richard Barrow. (fn. 81) The tenant
of what was evidently Upper Mill, holding under
lease from Arthur Porter, was said by his widow in
the later 16th century to have repaired it when it
was in decay. (fn. 82) Tithes of a water-mill were reserved
in 1564 when the rectory was leased, (fn. 83) but no later
reference to mills in Quedgeley has been found.
The Upper Mill was near Long field, (fn. 84) but the site
of neither mill has been located.
There were fishponds at Quedgeley manor in the
early 12th century, and in 1146 tithes of fishing in
Quedgeley were confirmed to Llanthony Priory. (fn. 85)
The Prior of Llanthony complained in 1359 that his
fish at Quedgeley had been stolen. (fn. 86) The Walsh
family owned a fishery in the Severn c. 1500. (fn. 87)
In 1592 Thomas Porter was dealing with fishing
rights in the Severn at Woolstrop and Quedgeley. (fn. 88)
The parish had a smith in 1327, (fn. 89) a chapman in
1466, (fn. 90) and a clothier in 1608. (fn. 91) In 1811 only 6
families were supported by trade and manufacture,
compared with 41 supported by agriculture. (fn. 92)
There was a smith's shop in 1839, and by the late
19th century Quedgeley had a few craftsmen and
shops. The number of small shops, particularly on
the main road, increased in the earlier 20th century,
when also guest-houses, cafés, and garages were
opened. There were three basket-makers in 1927, (fn. 93)
and two in 1967. In the First World War a munitions factory was built near the railway north of
Naas Lane. Most of it had apparently been demolished by 1924, (fn. 94) but the eastern part of the site
later, it seems, housed G. H. Mayo & Sons, cidermakers and fruit merchants, (fn. 95) and the western part
was later incorporated in the R.A.F. unit. The
eastern part was acquired by Dow-Mac Concrete
Ltd., which in 1963 opened there a factory making
precast concrete railway sleepers. By 1967, when
various types of large precast concrete units were
made there, the factory employed 240 people. (fn. 96)
After the R.A.F. maintenance unit was opened in
1939 it became the main employer in the parish,
giving work in 1967 to 1,750 people, mostly civilians. (fn. 97) From the late 1950s the area around the
junction of Bristol Road and Cole Avenue was used
for industrial and commercial sites. Several service
and petrol stations and premises for the distribution
of motor vehicles and accessories were opened.
Daystrom Ltd. in 1959 opened a factory employing
c. 150 people in the manufacture of electronic
instruments, (fn. 98) the largest of a group of small
factories, warehouses, and depots west of the road
junction, north-east of which a small trading estate
was opened in the 1960s.