Economic history

In the 17th century and presumably throughout the Middle Ages Sutton and Stanton Harcourt (with West End) each had their own fields, supervised by their own officers; (fn. 66) a mid 14th-century extent of the Harcourt manor suggests a three-course rotation. (fn. 67) Six open fields were listed in 1773: (fn. 68) Sutton North field, Sutton Hangle (or Angle) field on the west, and Between Towns field near Blackditch apparently belonged to Sutton, and Stone field, named from the Devil's Quoits, Hangle (or West End Hangle) field, and West End lower (or down) field to Stanton Harcourt. The down, by the Windrush, was divided between Stanton, Sutton, and South Leigh by the 17th century, and was partitioned by the inclosure commissioners in 1774. (fn. 69)

Many 17th-century holdings included lands in the fields of South Leigh, which lay within the two main Stanton Harcourt manors. (fn. 70) There was no clear balance between individual fields; ¾ yardland leased in 1630 comprised 8 ½ a. in two South Leigh fields, c. 13 a. in Stanton down and South Leigh down, 13 a. in Stone field, 3 ½ a. in Hangle field, and 1 a. in West End down field. Lands attached to Beard Mill in 1607 included 24 a. in three South Leigh fields with appurtenant meadow and commons, 5 a. in Stone field, ½ a. in Hangle field, and 2 a. in Between Towns field. (fn. 71) By 1769 the six fields in Stanton Harcourt parish followed a four-course rotation; (fn. 72) intermixing of Stanton Harcourt and South Leigh holdings continued until inclosure in 1774, when holdings were consolidated and the parish boundary was redrawn. (fn. 73)

Extensive meadow, said in 1086 to comprise 200 a., lay along the Windrush and the Thames. (fn. 74) In the early 14th century and early 15th keepers of Stanton Wyard manor sought relief for flooded meadows, and 20 a. of demesne meadow were flooded and worth nothing in 1349; flooding remained a problem in the 19th century. (fn. 75) In the 17th century Langley meadow, Long Guy meadow, and Mill meadow were lot meads; (fn. 76) Sutton mead was lot meadow in 1713, and was apparently shared between Stanton Harcourt and Sutton. (fn. 77) In the 15th century and later Sutton Inmead, Great and Little Sindry (by the Windrush), and Great and Little Easty (by the Thames) were held in demesne, (fn. 78) but parcels of 2 or 3 a. there were sometimes leased. (fn. 79)

Pasture was estimated at 200 a. in 1086. (fn. 80) Stanton moor or common covered much of the low-lying eastern half of the parish, extending from near Pinkhill Farm to West End; (fn. 81) other commons were West moor near the Windrush, Cox Hythe, adjoining Stanton common by the Thames, and 'Wyrelake'. (fn. 82) 'Kutelesmore' (i.e. Cytel's moor), mentioned in the 13th century, was perhaps the 'Killiesmore' mentioned in 1605 and 1685, which probably adjoined South Leigh on the west; (fn. 83) there was also common pasture and meadow in Sutton leys, mentioned from the 17th century, which adjoined Stanton common on the north. (fn. 84)

In 1235 Richard de Harcourt agreed to share common pasture in Tar wood ('Piriho') with Henry de la Wade, lord of Stanton Wyard, but in 1349 pasture there was said to be worthless because of shade from trees; by the 17th century assarted lands down the wood's western edge included pasture closes and leys. (fn. 85) In 1244 Harcourt agreed not to grub or assart West moor and 'Kutelesmore' without Wade's permission, and in 1224 agreed to demolish two houses built in the common pasture. (fn. 86) In the 15th century tenants of the Harcourt manor shared common rights in Northmoor; in 1407-8 Thomas at Moor inclosed the pasture and was successfully impleaded by Thomas Harcourt. (fn. 87) Inhabitants of Stanton Harcourt and Sutton could cut furze on South Leigh heath. (fn. 88)

Pinkhill probably shared Sutton's fields; Hamstall may have shared some of South Leigh's, and in the early 15th century some of Eynsham abbey's tenants there held lands in Eynsham's fields. (fn. 89) The hamlets may have had their own commons in the waste; later field names include Hamstall ground and meadow and, in South Leigh, Hamstall piece and Hamstall cow common, and in the early 17th century Pinkhill ground or great moor comprised 190 a. of inclosed pasture and meadow. (fn. 90)

In the later 16th century and the late 17th two freehold yardlands each comprised c. 30 a., apparently exclusive of meadow and pasture, but 6 yardlands held in demesne were estimated in 1621 at only 160 a.; in the later 17th century ¼ yardland held freely comprised 10 a. (fn. 91) Yardlands on Stanton Wyard manor may have been larger, since ¾ yardland was said in 1630 to include 40 a. of arable. (fn. 92)

In 1086 there were 22 ploughteams and enough land for 23, probably including new assarts in South Leigh. One hide and 1 yardland were held in demesne and were worked by 12 servi with 5 ploughteams, and there were 55 villeins and 28 bordars with 17 ploughteams; the value of the estate had risen from £30 in 1066 to £50. (fn. 93) Most assarting was in South Leigh, but during the 11th and 12th centuries there was presumably assarting around Hamstall and Pinkhill; by 1279 tenants at both places held yardlands in the open fields for the same rents and services as their neighbours at Stanton Harcourt and Sutton. (fn. 94)

There were then c. 34 villeins on the Harcourt manor, of whom 20 held a yardland each for 4s. 2d. and labour services, and 14 held ½ yardland; on the Wade manor c. 10 villeins held a yardland and 9 held ½ yardland. (fn. 95) On Sutton manor in the early 13th century there were 6 villeins holding a yardland and 2 holding ½ yardland. (fn. 96) Of 15 cottagers recorded in 1279, five, on the Wade manor, owed labour services only; on the Harcourt manor 6 owed labour services and rents of between 2s. and 6s. a year, 3 owed money rents of between 1s. and 7s., and at Hamstall one tenant held a cotland freely for 2s. 3d. (fn. 97) Freeholders were not generally recorded in 1279, but in 1293 freeholders on the Harcourt manor owed £9 4s, 6d., and in 1323 on Stanton Wyard manor 16 free tenants paid between 2d. and 13s. 4d. a year, in all £7 16s. (fn. 98) In the early 13th century one of 8 yardlands belonging to Sutton manor was held freely. (fn. 99)

In 1293 unfree yardlanders on the Harcourt manor each owed 4s. 4d. a year, and were required to plough 1 ½ a. and to do 8 days' weeding, 2 days' mowing, and 8 days' reaping, including one day with food. Since the services were given monetary values, some may already have been commuted. (fn. 1) Tenants of Stanton Wyard and Stanton Harcourt manors had also to undertake the services in the royal park at Woodstock by which the manors were held. (fn. 2) In 1421 and 1422 the keeper of Stanton Wyard paid 1s. to Woodstock in default of the mowing services of two deceased tenants, and 2s. 1d. for browsing; (fn. 3) the services were still demanded in the early 18th century, (fn. 4) but by the early 17th were sometimes commuted for payments of 16s. or 20s. for mowing, and 8d. a day per man for browsing. (fn. 5)

Over 60 inhabitants were taxed in 1306, c. 67 in 1316, and in 1327 c. 58. (fn. 6) The highest contributors were John Harcourt, assessed in 1316 on goods worth over £30, Roger Mortimer assessed on over £14, and John Pipard assessed on £15; agricultural stock in Sutton valued at £18 in 1306 presumably represented the Hospitallers' demesne. (fn. 7) Fourteen others were assessed on over 60s. in 1306, 8 in 1316, and 18 in 1327; amongst the wealthiest were Walter de Ho of Sutton, Richard Fisher and John Taylor of Stanton Harcourt, and Henry Longs of Hamstall. Some were presumably freeholders, although freehold tenants on Stanton Wyard manor mentioned in 1323 (fn. 8) were not all assessed and were not generally amongst the highest contributors.

Over all, the average value of movables assessed, Hamstall excluded, fell from c. 60s. in 1306 to 44s. 10d. in 1316, perhaps reflecting temporary economic contraction, but had risen to 58s. 2d. by 1327. Between 1321 and 1323 keepers of Stanton Wyard twice complained of flooding and of being unable to find buyers for vacant pasture land, although that possibly reflects disruption caused by the seizure of Mortimer's estates by the Crown. (fn. 9) The number of villeins on the manor fell from 23 to 13 between 1323 and 1349, when another 7 died of plague, and in 1349 the Harcourt manor also suffered deaths and vacant holdings. (fn. 10)

Both Hamstall and Pinkhill were reduced by the Black Death, and by the early 15th century Richard Clodding and Henry and Emma Hewet held all or most of Eynsham abbey's lands in Hamstall for assized rents totalling 22s. and one rose. In 1467 the lands were held by William Quenington for 23s. (fn. 11) The farm later called Hamstalls or Armstalls comprised 2 yardlands in the late 17th century, but in the late 18th most of the hamlet's site had been absorbed into the open fields. (fn. 12) Pinkhill comprised a single demesne farm by the later 16th century; by then the surrounding moor and pasture had been inclosed, perhaps for sheep farming, (fn. 13) and in 1495 Robert Harcourt imparked another 30 a. of his demesne for pasture, probably the park adjoining Stanton Harcourt common east of the manor house. (fn. 14)

In 1325 the rector had 200 sheep and lambs as well as 6 cows, 12 oxen, and 30 pigs, (fn. 15) and during the late 15th century and the 16th families such as the Seacoles made fortunes out of wool. William Seacole (d. 1527), a wool buyer, (fn. 16) owned 120 sheep, and c. 1525 was taxed on goods worth £16, the second highest assessment in the parish. (fn. 17) William Seacole the younger (d. 1569), also a sheep owner, paid the highest contributions c. 1543 and 1547, and left freehold lands in Northmoor and in Stanton Harcourt. (fn. 18) Among others, William Enstone (d. 1641), Thomas Flexney of West End (d. 1668), Thomas Wood of Cutmill (d. 1692), and Wil liam Barfoot (d. 1719) left flocks of over 100, (fn. 19) and throughout the 17th and 18th centuries many farmers had smaller flocks; (fn. 20) footrot on the frequently waterlogged commons remained a problem, however. (fn. 21) Cattle were often the most valuable livestock listed in inventories: William Crutchley (d. 1678) had 12 worth £32, and in 1688 there were 21 on the manorial farm, (fn. 22) while many farmers had 10 or more cows and calves. Most tenants also kept some poultry and pigs. In the 16th century the common stint on Stanton Wyard manor was 60 sheep and 12 cattle or horses per yardland; (fn. 23) on Stanton Harcourt manor by the 17th it was 60 sheep and 8 cattle or 5 horses. There was additional pasture for sheep in Long Guy meadow, Beard Mill ham, and Mill Mead. (fn. 24) The most important crops from the 16th century were barley and wheat, but pulses, beans, peas, vetches, and oats were also grown. (fn. 25)

Copyholds, usually for lives, were granted on both the main manors in the 16th century, but some tenants of Stanton Wyard already held by lease. (fn. 26) Most holdings comprised a yardland or half yardland, but in 1565 Alice Tunstall received 2 yardlands in Sutton. (fn. 27) In 1616 William Buttle, the new owner of Stanton Wyard, was accused by a tenant of ignoring manorial custom on copyholds, (fn. 28) and from the early 17th century leasehold became usual on both manors. (fn. 29)

By the later 17th century most tenants of Stanton Harcourt manor and many of Stanton Wyard held long leases at small quitrents. (fn. 30) During the earlier 18th century some leases were redeemed and relet at or near the rack rent, and most others expired before 1774; others were renewed at the old rents and at inclosure four freeholders of Stanton Harcourt manor still held lands for lives at 17th-century quitrents. (fn. 31)

Some freehold farms were bought by the Harcourts during the 17th century and early 18th, and at least one by the Bosviles, but most continued until inclosure and later. (fn. 32) In 1631 Thomas Flexney of West End owned 3 yardlands which he claimed was an independent and tithe-free manor, (fn. 33) and in the late 17th century 21 freeholders owed quitrents to Stanton Harcourt manor of between 4d. and 17s. a year; (fn. 34) two freeholds of 1 ¼ yardland were recorded and another of 2 yardlands. (fn. 35) In 1662 and 1665 many of those assessed on 4 or more hearths were freeholders, among them Thomas Flexney (5 hearths), John Wood of West End, and Walter Clanfield (4 hearths). (fn. 36)

Most leasehold farms in the 17th century comprised between 1 and 1 ½ yardland. (fn. 37) During the later 17th century and early 18th there was some amalgamation of freehold and leasehold lands by such families as the Parmees, Flexneys, and Barfoots, (fn. 38) and in 1735 Edward Tims, John Morgan, and Humphrey Dawson, tenants of Stanton Harcourt manor, each held farms estimated at 100 a. or more. (fn. 39) Large, consolidated farms based on old inclosures also emerged. The Place or manorial farm, leased to tenants for most of the 18th century, (fn. 40) included 6 yardlands in the open fields and c. 50 a. of old inclosure south and east of the manor house. (fn. 41) Pinkhill farm, 238 a. of old inclosure in 1774, consisted of meadow and pasture formerly held in demesne but leased as a single farm by the late 17th century. (fn. 42) Wood farm, along the western edge of Tar wood, was formed during the 18th century by amalgamation of old inclosures formerly held by two tenants, and in 1774 comprised 130 a.; (fn. 43) its house, later Tar Wood House, was built in 1724. (fn. 44)

In 1735 several tenants of Stanton Harcourt manor were in arrears, which was blamed on dull management and old-fashioned methods; no new crops were being grown on any of the Harcourts' Oxfordshire estates, although turnips were grown by the 1770s. (fn. 45) Inclosure, considered by the Harcourts in 1735 and by Hugh Bosvile c. 1750, was opposed by other landowners. (fn. 46) On the initiative of Earl Harcourt (d. 1777) an award for inclosing Stanton Harcourt was secured in 1774, though hopes of inclosing South Leigh under the same Act were frustrated. (fn. 47)

Some 70 per cent of the parish, comprising 2,658 a., was then still in common cultivation. Lord Harcourt was awarded c. 1,161 a. for 50 ¼ yardlands and commons, and Hugh Bosvile received c. 167 a. for 6 ¼ yardlands and commons; Sutton green, comprising 3 a., was divided between them. All Souls College received c. 423 a. for tithes, of which c. 70 a. were sold to Hugh Bosvile to cover inclosure expenses and 35 a. to Lord Harcourt; the bishop of Oxford received 36 a. for glebe and commons and 65 a. for tithes, and the vicar of Stanton Harcourt c. 9 a. Twenty-five freeholders, at least five holding by leases for lives, received a total of 951 a.; they included William Mynn who received 96 a. for 3 yardlands, John Bunce 90 a. for 3 ¼ yardlands, Hannah Bedwell 85 a. for 3 ½ yardlands, and James Smith of Whitehouse farm in Sutton c. 57 a. for 2 ¼ yardlands. John Walter of West End received c. 23 a., the nucleus of the later Elms farm, and Thomas Wood of Cutmill c. 49 a. John Gore, lord of South Leigh, received 26 a. in Land mead, part of which became incorporated into Stanton Harcourt parish; c. 243 a. were allotted for lands intermixed with those of South Leigh tenants. (fn. 48)

In 1774, immediately after inclosure, seven farms on Stanton Harcourt manor were over 100 a., and another five over 70 a.; there were c. 16 cottagers. (fn. 49) On the Bosvile estate Sutton (later University) farm was 160 a., Whitehouse farm 65 a., and Armstalls farm 53 a. (fn. 50) Inclosure accelerated amalgamation of holdings, and by 1809 the later farm pattern was established. In particular James Blake acquired lands in the north from three other tenants to form a unified Sutton farm of 314 a.; in 1831 it was badly managed, which was thought to reflect longterm neglect rather than Blake's extreme age. (fn. 51) By 1851 there were 15 farms of over 100 a. in the parish, providing employment for over 130 labourers; the manorial farm and, at West End, Elms farm, owned by Robert Walter, were over 500 a., and amalgamation continued throughout the 19th century. (fn. 52)

Fears that inclosure would lead to a decline in the arable acreage proved unfounded, and on some farms the proportion of arable rose slightly between 1774 and 1809; (fn. 53) barley and wheat were still the main crops, with beans, peas, and oats. (fn. 54) Land use was largely determined by location, most of the arable still lying on the gravels west of the villages. (fn. 55) West End farm, the larger Blackditch farm, and Beard Mill farm were rather more than half devoted to arable farming in 1774, and remained so throughout the 19th century; Sutton farm, which included much of the former leys and common, and Wood farm, comprising old inclosures on heavy clay soil around Tar wood, were predominantly pastoral, and on the manorial farm arable fell from c. 52 per cent in 1774 to c. 45 per cent in 1831. (fn. 56) Pinkhill farm remained mostly pastoral until the 20th century, and in the 1870s was described as a first-class dairy farm; after 1861 farmers used Eynsham railway station to transport milk for sale instead of making cheese or butter. (fn. 57) Sheep rearing continued, and in 1876 there was a sheep wash south of Stanton Harcourt manor house. (fn. 58)

In 1814 the moors were said to be so flat and boggy as to make drainage virtually impossible, and in 1829 there was serious flooding of meadows and pastures along the Thames, Windrush, and Limb brook. (fn. 59) By 1831 most farms on the Harcourt estate had recovered and were in a fair state of cultivation, but the grass was much reduced in value. Wood farm was inconveniently placed, and its grasslands were damaged both by hunters using Tar wood and by the need to drive carts and stock across the pastures. (fn. 60)

In 1866 the Northmoor and Stanton Harcourt Improvement Board was set up to co-ordinate land drainage in the area. (fn. 61) Embankments were built along the rivers Thames and Windrush, new watercourses were cut, and existing ones deepened and straightened, amongst them Medley brook. (fn. 62) A rate was levied on lands likely to be improved, including c. 450 a. in Stanton Harcourt parish; 120 a. of meadow and pasture between the embankment and the Thames were exempted. (fn. 63) By 1871 low-lying lands inside the embankments had been both protected from floods and thoroughly drained: some former pasture lands had been converted to arable and had produced good corn and root crops, and it was recommended that more be converted, since the pastures were unproductive and could be improved only by expensive manuring; Sutton farm was then 60 per cent arable, the manorial farm c. 70 per cent, and Beard Mill farm 75 per cent. (fn. 64) In the west the thinness of the gravelbased soil meant that crops still suffered in dry seasons, and mixed farming, mostly dairy, continued: in 1871 most farms on the Harcourt estate included cattle sheds, milking houses, and piggeries, and the West End farms were fairly evenly divided between arable and pasture land. (fn. 65)

Despite improvements, Stanton Harcourt did not entirely escape the agricultural depression of the later 19th century. George Castle of Sutton farm, which was well managed c. 1870 when a new farmhouse was built, was in arrears with his rent in 1886. (fn. 66) John Walter, of the combined Elms farm and West End Lower farm, fell into arrears and in 1886 could pay nothing; he was later given notice, and sold Elms farm soon after. (fn. 67) On Pinkhill farm, where flooding continued, Harcourt lowered the rent in 1879 and allowed the tenant to farm as seemed most advantageous, and in 1887 the farm was let to new tenants with a further rent reduction. (fn. 68) Even so, in 1881 there were still 150 men, women, and children employed full-time on the major farms, and during the 1880s the population, which had fallen during the 1870s, rose slightly to 561. (fn. 69) The Agricultural Labourers' Union had a branch in the parish in the 1870s, (fn. 70) and in 1874 a parish friendly society called the Victoria Club was founded. (fn. 71)

Mixed farming continued in the 20th century, and by 1924 the proportion of arable on the Harcourt estate was generally slightly less than in 1871, though Pinkhill farm had increased its arable to 22 per cent. Most farms had substantial cowsheds and several had piggeries; c. 100 a. in the south-west were said to be particularly suitable for poultry or pig farming. (fn. 72) In the early 1960s livestock on the manorial farm included over 2,000 poultry in deep litter, sold soon after as uneconomical, a herd of Aberdeen Angus beef cattle, and c. 150 Oxford Down sheep; c. 100 a., some in Northmoor, were permanent pasture, 210 a. were leys, and c. 395 a. were arable, the chief crops being barley (62 per cent), wheat (33 per cent), and oats. Low-lying fields by the Thames were still liable to flooding. (fn. 73)

In the early 20th century amalgamation of farms continued, and in 1928 Blackditch farm, Flexney's, and the manorial farm were held by one farmer, as were University and Sutton farms, Beard Mill and Friar's farms, and West End farm and Elms farm. (fn. 74) Several former farmhouses were detached from their lands and became private houses, among them Beard Mill and Flexney's; Tar Wood House was detached from Wood farm c. 1868. (fn. 75)

Tar wood remained part of the Harcourt demesne until its sale in 1924, when it consisted entirely of oaks. (fn. 76) In 1633 c. 4 a. of coppice wood was cut each year, (fn. 77) and in the later 17th century and early 18th c. 10 a.; sales of underwood then amounted to c. £100 a year, but in 1715 the wood was so depleted that none could be cut until 1716 or 1717. (fn. 78) The Harcourts also reserved the right to cut timber on farms leased for lives, but in the early 18th century those supplies too were depleted. (fn. 79) Sales from Tar wood in 1792 raised c. £72, and in 1829 c. £135. (fn. 80) During the mid 19th century the southern part, 69 a., was cleared for cultivation and added to Wood (later Tar Barn) farm; (fn. 81) the remainder, 90 a. in 1924, had a gross estimated rental in 1912 of c. £31, of which £ 20 was for shooting rights. (fn. 82)

William the cooper of Hamstall was mentioned in the 13th century, and William Smith and John Taylor of Stanton Harcourt in the early 14th; (fn. 83) blacksmiths, carpenters, wheelwrights, tailors, and cobblers were mentioned from the 16th and 17th centuries. (fn. 84) Smithy Cottage (no. 30), opposite Blackditch, may have included a smithy by the 17th century, and was so used until the mid 20th century; (fn. 85) at West End the Million family had a smithy in the later 17th century. (fn. 86) In 1605 there was a woolwinder, in 1687 a fellmonger dealing in fleeces, in 1662 a tanner, and in 1645 a mercer, and narrowweavers were mentioned in the 18th century; in 1664 there was also a glover, and in 1699 a hatbandmaker. (fn. 87)

In 1801 there were 65 people (13 per cent of the population) employed in trades or crafts, and by 1841 there were 10 carpenters, a sawyer, 3 blacksmiths, and 4 cobblers. (fn. 88) By the 1880s there were also 2 machinists, a platelayer, a thatcher, and a mason, and in 1893 a cottage in Sutton included an iron furnace. (fn. 89) At Duck End there was a grocer by 1841, and at Stanton Harcourt a baker; by 1881 there were 7 grocers' shops in the parish, most combined with other shops including bakeries, (fn. 90) and in the mid 19th century Robert Walter, farmer at Elms Farm, sold groceries and bread. (fn. 91) White Cottage (no. 22) was a shop in 1924; a smithy formerly in no. 26 and most of the shops at Sutton had closed. (fn. 92) The post office continued as a general store in 1988.

A small haulage firm was established in Sutton by 1931, (fn. 93) and by 1962 there was a plant hire and transport business at Blackditch; Stanton Harcourt was then said to be becoming a dormitory village for Oxford. (fn. 94) Some local emploment remained in the gravel works, in the Blackditch warehousing and haulage business, and on local farms, but in 1988 many inhabitants worked outside the parish. (fn. 95) A small petrol and motor repair garage in Stanton Harcourt was closed to public use c. 1977. (fn. 96)

MILLS AND FISHERIES. Three mills rendering 40s. a year in 1086 probably stood on the Windrush on the sites of Beard Mill, Cutmill, and Pipard's Mill, (fn. 97) which lay between Beard Mill and Cutmill near Long Guy meadow and Stone field. (fn. 98) In 1279 Pipard's Mill was held freely by Henry de Harcourt; Cutmill was held with 3 a. of land by Ediza of Cutmill and remained a freehold thereafter. (fn. 99) Richard de Harcourt owned a watermill, probably Beard Mill, on the Windrush, perhaps held by John of Beard Mill. (fn. 1) A fishery in the Windrush, also owned by Harcourt and one of two mentioned in 1086, was probably that later held with Beard Mill; in the 17th century it extended from Great Sindry meadow near the South Leigh boundary to Pipard's Mill ford. (fn. 2) In 1244 Henry de la Wade, lord of Stanton Wyard, claimed 8s. rent from one of the Harcourts' mills without success, but his tenants were freed from suit there; (fn. 3) in 1540 tenants of Stanton Harcourt manor were still required to use the lord's mill. (fn. 4)

In 1293 Pipard's Mill was worth 15s. a year; (fn. 5) it or its site was mentioned in the late 16th century and early 17th, but it had disappeared by the mid 18th. (fn. 6) Cutmill survived as a farm, but there was no mill by the mid 19th century and probably much earlier; the mill's earthworks survive north of the farmhouse. (fn. 7)

Beard Mill, apparently rebuilt c. 1575, (fn. 8) was sold in 1607 with 1 ½ yardland, various closes, and the fishery, to Richard Parmee of Eynsham; it was then a grist mill. (fn. 9) The holding included two wheels in 1655 and 1698 and three in 1687. (fn. 10) In 1666 his son defaulted on a mortgage payment, and the mill and farm passed to John Lucas of Oxford university, and later to Thomas Gore, owner of South Leigh; it was later sold to Elizabeth Huntington, widow of the rectory lessee, who with her second husband William Gibbons sold it to Simon Harcourt in 1711. (fn. 11) It was then held by Richard Bedwell for £50 and three brace of eels, presumably with the fishery; in 1774 William Swingbourne held the mill, fishery, and 84 a. (fn. 12) In 1831 the mill was said to be very ancient with little storage space; the number of mills nearby meant that it was not worth expensive alterations, but the water supply was good. (fn. 13) About 1860 its western end was rebuilt in brick and the tenant, William Mountain, installed new machinery; the eastern end is probably 17th-century, roughly contemporary with the house. (fn. 14) It was still used as a mill in the earlier 20th century, but by the early 1980s most of the machinery had gone and in 1988 the buildings were used as craft workshops; in 1984 the Harcourt estate sold the fishing rights with the rest of the holding. (fn. 15)

Two weirs on the Thames, one of which may have been Langley weir, were held with Stanton Wyard manor in 1279; (fn. 16) in 1323 Roger Mortimer held a fishery and adjacent meadow worth 20s. a year, (fn. 17) and in the 1420s a weir on the Thames was farmed. (fn. 18) In 1821 Lord Harcourt owned half of Langley weir, which by 1880 was dilapidated, and in 1920 only a footbridge remained. (fn. 19)

Pinkhill weir and fishery were attached to the Harcourt manor, and were probably the fishery with ½ yardland at Sutton held in 1279 by William the Marshall. (fn. 20) In 1502 one of Sir Robert Harcourt's servants regularly fished from an island in the Thames, perhaps at Pinkhill, and accused monks from Eynsham of stealing his baskets and storepots there. (fn. 21) In the late 17th century the fisherman's house, lands, and waters, then in demesne, were worth £13 a year; a 'lone, poor fish-house' at Pinkhill weir was mentioned in 1702. (fn. 22) In the 1770s the weir was extensively repaired; (fn. 23) in 1774 it was let with the fishery, and in the 1790s the tenant charged each London boat 4s. to pass. (fn. 24) A poundlock, on the opposite side of the island from the weir, replaced the old flashlock in 1791; Lord Harcourt then proposed surrendering the tolls and profits to the Thames commissioners but still received rent in 1816. (fn. 25) There was no toll house in 1832, and no keeper in 1850, and in 1872 the lock was ruinous. It was partially rebuilt before 1877, and in 1880 a house was built and a keeper installed; in 1909 the lock was voted the best kept on the river. (fn. 26) New cuts were made c 1899 and in 1932, when the weir was rebuilt. (fn. 27) In 1925 the fishing rights were held by Oxford Angling Association. (fn. 28)

Footnotes