ECONOMIC HISTORY.
In 1066 the largest
estate, called Durleigh, was assessed at 2¾ virgates but in 1086 had land for 3 ploughteams:
the demesne had 1¾ virgate with 1 team and the
tenants, enumerated as 4 villani, 2 bordars, and
3 servi, had the rest of the land and 2 teams. The
three other Domesday estates which may be
assigned to Durleigh, Rexworthy and two called
Chilton, however, had land for 1 team, 1¾
virgate of demesne, and a bordar as a tenant,
while Ansger's estate called Chilton had land for
1 team, ¾ virgate of demesne with 1 team and a
servus, and a villanus with ¾ virgate and ½ team;
on that estate 3 cows, 14 a. of meadow, and 5 a.
of pasture were recorded. Rexworthy had land
for ½ team and 2 bordars as tenants. Two of the
estates had woodland, 20 a. at Durleigh and 6 a.
at Rexworthy. (fn. 80)
In the later Middle Ages some substantial
estates were created in and around Durleigh. In
1444 Richard Walshawe, for example, held over
200 a. in Durleigh, Wembdon, Bridgwater, and
elsewhere, (fn. 81) and in 1461 Sir Alexander Hody's
holding, partly his own inheritance and purchase, partly the inheritance of his wife, included
Everley manor and the tenancy of Durleigh mill,
the manors of West Bower in Bridgwater and
Wembdon, mills in Spaxton, and scattered lands
in Chilton, Enmore, Goathurst, Bridgwater,
North Petherton, and beyond. (fn. 82) St. John's hospital, Bridgwater, had a demesne farm at
Durleigh, the nucleus of Durleigh farm, and
rents in Chilton marsh and Wembdon. (fn. 83) A copyhold farm at Chilton, part of the manor of Bower
with Durleigh, in 1540 centred on an empty toft,
with 12½ a. of arable in three fields, 2½ a. of
meadow in separate yardlands said to be
'between the doles', and common pasture on
Chilton moor. (fn. 84)
Small-scale farming is implied by 17th-century
inventories, the largest, that of John Woodland
(d. 1693), including 15 sheep and lambs, 3 cows,
1 heifer and 2 calves, 1 pig, and 8 a. of corn. (fn. 85) In
1666 tithes were payable for cows, heifers, calves,
lambs, piglets, and colts, fleece, stored fruit, cider,
hops, corn, honey, and wax. (fn. 86) In the 18th century
there was some consolidation of farms, and by
1794 the Tyntes had five formerly separate tenements west of Durleigh village, (fn. 87) although holdings around Chilton remained fragmented. (fn. 88)
By 1839 Durleigh farm measured nearly 223
a., followed in size by the Tyntes' 191 a. north,
east, and south of West Bower. Rexworthy farm
was 79 a. and the Gooding family's lands at
Durleigh Elms 63 a. Groomhouse (46 a.) and
Chilton (42 a.) were the only two consolidated
holdings at Chilton. In the whole parish there
were 536 a. of meadow and pasture, 313 a. of
arable, and 36 a. of orchards. (fn. 89) In 1905, after
boundary changes, there were 647 a. of grass and
354 a. of arable. (fn. 90) The loss of land near Chilton
and along Enmore Road for house building and
the creation of Durleigh reservoir c. 1938 left
Durleigh and Rexworthy farms as the principal
farms in the ancient parish. In 1982 there were
within the altered parish parts of six farms, one
specializing in dairying, another in cattle rearing. (fn. 91)
Durleigh mill was recorded in 1461 (fn. 92) when it
formed part of Sir Alexander Hody's holding in
Wembdon. By 1540 it had passed to the Seymours and was held with West Bower. (fn. 93) In 1553
the Crown sold it to Nicholas Halswell of
Goathurst (fn. 94) and it descended in the Halswell and
Tynte families. (fn. 95) The mill, standing north-west
of Durleigh church and driven by the Durleigh
brook, seems to have continued in operation
until c. 1936 when the construction of the
reservoir began. (fn. 96) Some of the buildings survive
below the dam at no. 8 Durleigh.
Two isolated fields beside the Parrett at Crowpill, between Bridgwater and Chilton, were
occupied in 1839, one as a brickyard by John
Browne & Co., the other as a timber yard. (fn. 97) By
1886 the Crowpill Brick and Tile works there
included a kiln and a jetty, (fn. 98) but the yard was no
longer in operation by 1930. (fn. 99)