ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL HISTORY.
Traces of Celtic fields have been observed to the north of
Edgwarebury, (fn. 81) and part of Brockley Hill appears to
have been cultivated for a time in the 4th century
A.D., (fn. 82) but it seems likely that a great part of the
parish was covered by forest until the 12th century. (fn. 83)
Nothing is known about the agriculture of Edgware
before 1277, but it is probable that by 1227, by
which date Middlesex had obtained total exemption
from the forest laws, (fn. 84) the greater part of the parish
had been cleared of wood. A survey of the manor
made in 1277 provides the earliest definite evidence. (fn. 85)
It does not distinguish between land in Edgware and
land in Kingsbury appurtenant to the manor, but
the acreage of the latter was not large. The demesne
consisted of 357 a. of arable, 90 a. of woodland, and
6½ a. of meadow. Nine free tenants held between
them a carucate, 4½ virgates, and at least 115 a. of
land. Fifty-two customary tenants held 21¾ virgates
and 184 a. of land. The holdings were not big; one
of the free tenants held a carucate, another held two
virgates, while two free and nine customary tenants
held one virgate each, six customary tenants threequarters of a virgate, and eleven customary tenants
half a virgate each. The main arable fields of the
demesne were grouped around Edgwarebury:
Milepondfeld (54 a.) to the south between Edgwarebury and Piper's Green Lane, Blanchepetfeld (100
a.) to the west, Mapeldereherst (30 a.) directly to the
north, and Berihel (66 a.) to the north-east. (fn. 86)
Melcheburnefeld (53 a.) cannot be identified, unless
it is Great and Little Misburn (to the east of Edgwarebury and now bisected by the main railway
line) which in 1597 were part of the manor of Edgware Boys. If any open fields existed, they must have
been in the southern half of the parish.
All the customary tenants owed services to the
lord, but these services did not run the whole gamut
of agricultural practice. Every customary tenant
owed reaping and binding services, and most of them
owed carrying, hoeing, harrowing, and hedging
services. A total of 598 days' work was due: 358 days
of reaping, 79 days of binding, 68 days of hoeing, 33
days of hedging, 32 days of harrowing, and 28
days of carrying. In addition 29 tenants owed 80
averages between them. It is possible that such
works as ploughing and sowing had already been
commuted. These works were worth just under £3 a
year, and with rents of £11 and the profits of the
demesne the annual yield of the manor was almost
£18. (fn. 87) An account of c. 1370 gives the gross income
of the manor as £41, including £14 12s. from rents,
£2 12s. from services, £10 13s. from the farm of the
demesne, and £9 9s. from sale of stock and profits of
the court. (fn. 88)
A rental of the manor of Edgware shows that in
1426 there were 3 free and 29 customary tenants. (fn. 89)
It is certain that by this time much of the land must
have been parcelled out, for there were no fewer than
81 crofts, fields, and pightles. Many of the crofts and
fields and even a few of the half-virgates are named,
and by comparing them with the maps of 1597-9 it
is possible to identify 46 out of the 111 pieces of land
listed, a total of some 350 a. If there were any open
fields they lay immediately to the north and south of
Hale Lane. The common Broad Field is mentioned
four times between 1484 and 1493 in the court rolls, (fn. 90)
but it is impossible to discover its location. The
common wood mentioned in 1483 (fn. 91) seems to have
been part of what was later called Brockhill Wood.
Of the free and customary tenants in 1426, twelve
(41 per cent.) held under 20 a., ten (35 per cent.)
between 20 and 50 a., and seven (24 per cent.) over
50 a. Rents and services were worth together over
£24, with a net income to the lord of £17 9s. (fn. 92) In
1525-6 there were 2 or 3 free and 27 customary
tenants. (fn. 93) Nine half-virgates, 14 quarters, and 3 halfquarters were held by the customary tenants, together with 81 crofts, fields, pightles, and the like.
Out of the 107 pieces of land listed, 60, including 7 of
the half-virgates, can be identified. There is a blank
space in the Hale Lane area where the remnants of
the open fields, if there were any, were situated. The
holdings of the tenants had become more differentiated in size. Fifteen (54 per cent.) held under 20 a.,
eleven (39 per cent.) between 20 and 50 a., and only
two (7 per cent.) over 50 a.; one of these two tenants,
William Blackwell, held about 118 a. and the other,
William Goodyer, about 138 a. These figures do not
include the demesne land and its farmers or the free
land held by the Prior of Clerkenwell. Rents and
services in 1483 (fn. 94) and 1525-6 (fn. 95) were valued at just
over £11, and the net profit of the manor in one year
between 1533 and 1536 was estimated to be just
under £15. (fn. 96) Quit-rents for the manor in 1548 were
reckoned to be worth nearly £22, (fn. 97) and in 1613 quitrents for the manor of Edgware and Kingsbury 'by
the ancient rule' were worth £21 and decayed rents
'by way of purchase and excheat' £4 or £5. (fn. 98) The
annual value of the copyhold land in Edgware manor
in 1599 was reckoned to be £276 (fn. 99) and by 1680 this
had increased to £1,161, although at the same date
the total rents for the manor were worth under £16. (fn. 1)
The manorial income must have depended more and
more on fines for entry, for in 1751 the combined
rents for the manors of Edgware and Kingsbury
were worth under £24. (fn. 2) A good deal of enfranchisement occurred during the late 18th and early 19th
centuries, and by 1845 only 604 a. were owned by
the college. (fn. 3)
Surveys made during the reign of Elizabeth I
show that the demesne land was divided into five
portions. (fn. 4) Earlsbury Farm, with the house at Edgwarebury, was reckoned to contain 191 a. in 1574
and 216 a. in 1597. The George farm, which included the inn of that name, contained 74 a. in 1574 and 56 a. in 1597. Both these farms had been leased
since the mid 15th century at the latest. Another
farm, called Strensham's Farm, contained 65 a. in
1597, and a fourth contained 27 a. There are no
leases surviving for either of these farms. The remainder of the demesne, 251 a., was woodland in
the hands of the lords, who made it their usual
practice, at least in the 16th century, to sell the
standing timber. By 1597 the manor was totally
inclosed; most of the fields were small, and, apart
from Brockhill Wood (137 a.), only three fields were
reckoned at more than 20 a.-Bury Bush (28 a. of
wood in the hands of the lords), Great Broadfield (24
a.), and Long Broadfield (21 a.), both belonging to
Earlsbury Farm. Around most of the fields were
hedgerows wide and thick enough to produce valuable timber; many were retained by the lords when
the fields which they surrounded were leased. In
addition to the leaseholders there were 28 tenants.
Six held 91 a. of free land and 27 held 757 a. of copyhold, and with the tenants of 29 a. not specified the
total extent of the manor was 1,493 a. Nineteen of
the free and customary tenants (68 per cent.) held
under 20 a., four (14 per cent.) held between 20 and
50 a., and five (18 per cent.) held over 50 a. Apart
from Earlsbury Farm, there were two other large
holdings: Richard Franklin's of 238 a., and William
Blackwell's of 177 a. Earlsbury Farm was arranged
compactly around Edgwarebury. Blackwell's holding
consisted mainly of land in the middle of the parish
between Piper's Green Lane, Edgwarebury, and
Clay Lane, but Franklin's was more scattered, the
main portions being situated in the extreme north of
the parish around Deacon's Hill and Woodcock Hill,
in the middle between Clay Lane and Edgwarebury
Lane, and in the extreme southern tip of the parish.
In 1597 the agriculture of the parish was still very
mixed. Only 21 per cent. of the land was used as
arable; 32 per cent. was pasture, 13 per cent. was
meadow, and 29 per cent. was woodland. Even if the
large acreage of demesne wood is not included, 15
per cent. of the rest of the manor was woodland, a
figure which contrasts strongly with the 1½ per cent.
(11 per cent. if the demesne wood is included) of
Kingsbury manor, also in the hands of All Souls
College, at the same date. (fn. 5) The woodland was for the
most part situated on the northern heights of the
parish. The arable land was spread fairly evenly over
the manor, but pasture occupied most of the central
area and the meadowland was concentrated in the flat
and well-watered area in the south. Apart from
Franklin's holding, which, perhaps on account of its
disposition over the three areas of the manor, was
divided evenly between meadow, pasture, arable, and
wood, those holdings which were more than 50 a.
concentrated on arable or pasture or both. Earlsbury
Farm had 61 per cent. pasture and 33 per cent. arable;
the George farm was 80 per cent. pasture, while
Strensham's Farm of 65 a. was 70 per cent. arable and
had no pasture at all. The larger holdings of free and
copyhold land were used in a similar way. Lynford's
holding of 50 a. was 58 per cent. pasture and 31 per
cent. arable, and Blackwell's holding of 183 a.
contained 47 per cent. pasture, 18 per cent. arable,
and 18 per cent. wood. A common feature of the
larger holdings was the relatively small amount of
meadow, only Franklin's containing more than the
average acreage for the manor. In all the holdings of
under 20 a. 36 per cent. of the land was meadow,
while pasture and arable accounted for only 22 per
cent. and 18 per cent. respectively. Seven of the
smaller tenants held meadowland, six held pasture,
five held arable, and only one held woodland. The
use to which four of the smaller tenants put their
land is not stated. Again, there is a contrast with the
land use of the manor of Kingsbury. In that manor
50 per cent. of the land was pasture, 32 per cent. was
arable, and only 7 per cent. was meadow. In
Kingsbury there was little significant difference in
the uses to which the land was put by large or small
tenants; moreover, only one of the fourteen tenants
holding under 20 a. had any meadow, while ten held
some pasture and seven some arable. It is probable
that by this date Edgware was beginning to assume
an important role as a supplier of hay to the London
market, and it is certain that cattle intended for
Smithfield were grazed there. (fn. 6)
Some occupations of Edgware men other than
those engaged directly in agriculture can be gathered
from the Middlesex sessions records. Between 1608
and 1617 nine individuals were licensed as badgers,
kidders, or drovers. (fn. 7) Ralph Haley, collier (i.e. a
vendor of coal or charcoal), is recorded in 1612; he
is mentioned again in 1616, along with two other
colliers of Edgware, and in 1618. (fn. 8) In 1612 Thomas
Wilson of Edgware, tailor, was sentenced to be
hanged for stealing from a house in Edgware. (fn. 9) In
1615 Edward Wharton of Edgware, draper, was
taken at Uxbridge for abusing the constable of Little
Stanmore, telling him that he would not come to the
musters and dissuading others, 'asking them if they
would go see a football play'. (fn. 10) A brewer of Edgware
was indicted in 1617, and butchers are mentioned in
1610 and 1613. (fn. 11) A surgeon resided in Edgware in
1608. (fn. 12) In 1621 John Pooley of Edgware, carrier, was
indicted for driving more than five horses in his
cart. (fn. 13) The parish was visited by the plague in 1630;
the constable neglected to keep the sick persons
isolated and finally abandoned his office altogether. (fn. 14)
A survey of the woods of Earlsbury Farm and the
George farm in 1662 shows that 1,236 out of 1,256
trees counted by the surveyors were oaks. (fn. 15) Brockhill
Wood seems to have continued to be woodland until
the end of the 18th century. Rocque's map of 1754 (fn. 16)
appears to indicate that the woods had been cleared
and inclosed, but the field boundaries bear so little
resemblance to those of the 1845 tithe award, or,
indeed, to those of the 1597-9 maps that Rocque's
map must be regarded as extremely untrustworthy.
Brockhill Wood was leased, along with two other
and smaller pieces of woodland, in 1795 (fn. 17) and again
in 1802 (fn. 18) but in the latter year, although the 140 a.
was still called Brockhill Wood, Rush Wood, and
Rush Mead Wood, it was noted that it was now 'for
the most part stocked up, grubbed up, and converted
into arable, meadow or pasture land'. The lessee of
this demesne land also had all common of pasture for
all commonable cattle on all fields and commonable
pastures in Edgware, but there is no indication of
the practical extent of these rights. It is obvious,
however, that timber was no longer regarded as a
very profitable crop for most of the land in Edgware.
In 1791 it was remarked that the fields between Edgware and London were kept constantly in grass;
there was scarcely any arable land, and it was
chiefly from here that London was supplied with
hay, 'so that it is no uncommon thing to see one
hundred loads of hay go up to London on a marketday, and each of the teams bring back a load of dung
for dressing the land, which preserves the ground in
good heart'. (fn. 19) Middleton, writing in 1798, considered these upland meadows and pastures to be of the
finest quality. (fn. 20) In 1808 Samuel Ridge of Edgwarebury Farm was one of many farmers and landowners in the neighbourhood who signed a protest
against hunting over the area. The land was of great
value, they said, and hunting over it by 100-150
horsemen was injurious. Fences were broken, cattle
were allowed to stray, lasting damage was wrought
on the heavy, retentive soil, and trespasses were
committed by huntsmen who were not even residents or neighbours. The hunt pledged itself to make
good any damage, but in 1809 Mr. Ridge suffered
fresh trespasses upon lands 'which had been recently
hollow-drained, and were thereby materially injured'.
Several legal actions were brought against the hunt
and damages were awarded to the plaintiffs. (fn. 21)
In 1811 there were 55 families chiefly employed
in agriculture, 61 in trade, manufactures, or handicrafts, and 33 in neither category. In 1821 the figures
were 58, 45, and 49 respectively, and by 1831 they
had become 34, 45, and 56. Although the population
figures showed a steady rise over this period (543,
551, 591), the number of families declined (149, 142,
135). (fn. 22) During the hay harvest the population was
swollen by the influx of a large number of labourers;
in July 1816 upwards of 300 poor Irish and other
strangers were found to be 'almost in a starving
condition, the weather having been so unfavourable
as to prevent their being able to earn anything for
many days'. A subscription was opened, and within
six hours £39 was collected. (fn. 23) The Revd. Thomas
Hitchin recalled that when he and his family arrived
in Edgware for the first time (c. 1833) it was pouring
with rain, and they had to witness' a most savage
encounter between the English and Irish labourers'. (fn. 24)
A commercial directory of 1832-4 gives the names of
56 individuals engaged in 31 different trades, and
includes 5 grocers, 5 shoemakers, 6 shopkeepers, 2
innkeepers, 4 tavern keepers, and 4 retailers of beer.
Besides other traders to be found in any village of
this size there were a cabinet maker, a breeches
maker, a straw-hat maker, a watchmaker, and a
printer. (fn. 25)
The tithe award of 1845 shows how completely the
agriculture of the parish had been given over to the
production of grass. Taking the area within the
bounds of the manor for the purpose of comparison
with earlier figures, it can be estimated that only
105 a., or 7 per cent. of that area, were arable, while
1,376 a., or 86½ per cent., were meadow or pasture.
There were only 18 a. of woodland left. In the
whole of the parish, 1,683 a. (83 per cent.) were
grassland, 172 a. (8½ per cent.) were arable, 63 a. (3
per cent.) were built over or used as gardens. Only
three farms contained more than 30 a. of arable each.
The largest farm was that of Henry Child, who held
391 a. from 11 different owners, and six other farms
were between 100 and 200 a. These seven farms
contained almost two-thirds of the agricultural land
of the parish. Only 15 per cent. of the land was
occupied by its owner. The common land mentioned
in the tithe award was inclosed in 1854. (fn. 26) In 1597
this land had been leased by All Souls College as
part of Strensham's Farm, and although two-thirds
of it had borne the name 'common wood' only seven
acres were in fact woodland, the remainder being
cultivated by Strensham as arable. (fn. 27) Both in 1845 and
1854, however, it was clearly regarded as common
land and not as part of the manor.
It was said of Edgware in 1862 that 'all its importance as a market town has long since vanished, and
it may now be ranked among the suburban districts
of the metropolis'. (fn. 28) The market had indeed
vanished, but it was a little premature to call the
village a suburb, for it was not until its expansion
began in the 1920s that Edgware really became a
part of the London sprawl, and in 1963 two-thirds of
the parish was still outside the blanket of suburban
housing, thanks largely to the preserving influence
of the Green Belt. Edgware still had some local
importance in the later 19th century. Lysons could
find no charter for the weekly market, (fn. 29) but a market
certainly existed in 1607. (fn. 30) The market-house, or at
least the site of the market, was conveyed by Sir
Lancelot Lake to trustees for a public school for
Little Stanmore in the mid 17th century. (fn. 31) No
market-house is readily distinguishable on the map
of 1597, but if the school house on the tithe map
(1838) of Little Stanmore is on the 17th-century
site, it seems that the market-house in 1597 was one
of the few houses on the Stanmore side of Watling
Street showing its gable-end to the road, being
almost exactly half-way between Edgware Bridge
and Whitchurch Lane. (fn. 32) In spite of the loss of its
site, however, the market was still being held in
the earlier 18th century. (fn. 33) It seems to have been discontinued at some date between 1792 and 1795. (fn. 34)
In 1867 the Privy Council licensed the holding of a
cattle market on the last Thursday in every month, (fn. 35)
but no market was noted by the Royal Commission
in its report of 1888. (fn. 36)
There is no record of a fair in Edgware before
1760. On Ascension Day in that year a large fair for
cattle was held in the yard and field belonging to
the George Inn, but the dealers, finding their horses
detained for the payment of toll and standing,
'naturally forsook it to return no more'. (fn. 37) The fair
continued but degenerated into a pleasure fair with
bull-baiting and throwing at cocks, until it eventually became extinct. In 1810, however, the lack of
amusement for the inhabitants induced some of
the principal tradesmen to organize a fair for the
first three days of August, when a large quantity of
cattle, shows, booths, and stalls was displayed in the
field just above Edgware Bridge called Bakers
Croft. Apart from the sale of animals, events such as
'wheeling barrows blindfolded for a new hat, jumping in sacks for a smock frock, grinning through
horse collars for tobacco, and climbing a lofty pole
for a shoulder of mutton' amused 'a very numerous
attendance of the respectable families in the neighbourhood'. (fn. 38) The fair continued to be held, with an
increasing emphasis on its lighter side, on the first
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday in August until
about 1855; from at least 1834 to 1855 races were
held on the Thursday and Friday, (fn. 39) but attempts to
revive them in 1869 and 1873 did not succeed. (fn. 40)
In spite of its relatively small population in the
19th century the village of Edgware seems to have
prospered commercially. In 1870, for instance,
there were six insurance agents in the village. (fn. 41) The
opening of the Great Northern Railway branch in
1867, (fn. 42) however, seems to have had little effect on
the expansion of the village, and plans to extend the
railway met with strong local opposition. A Bill to
establish a line from Watford to Edgware, brought
before Parliament in 1896 and 1897, (fn. 43) was opposed
by residents, and it was said that the real harm of the
railways was the opening up of building sites 'which
are quickly covered with architectural atrocities'. (fn. 44)
By this time the parish had begun to display a tendency to split into an opulent north and a workaday
south, separated by a buffer of agricultural land. By
1896 several large houses had been built in the
Elstree area or along the Elstree-Barnet road, while
the old village gained the post office, the infants'
school, the station, and the Railway Hotel. (fn. 45) The
southern part of the parish was unable to repel the
tide of suburban development, but the threatened
dichotomy of the parish was to a large extent averted
by the nature of new buildings erected between the
two world wars. Although the Elstree region of
Edgware remained almost exclusively an area of large
and expensive houses, the new estates which spread
northward from the old village were widening ripples
of working-class housing, and of the detached and
semi-detached dwellings favoured by the middle
classes. The shopping facilities of Edgware grew in
proportion to the increasing size and diversity of
the population. A branch of the Hendon Chamber
of Commerce was formed in 1929 with an initial
membership of 37, and in 1931 the Edgware Chamber
of Commerce was founded. After the Second World
War it was re-founded, and in 1963 it had 200 members, (fn. 46) including perhaps half the business and
trading concerns in Edgware.
Industry has never played an important part in the
economy of Edgware. Gravel pits were probably
being worked by 1802 (fn. 47) and certainly by 1834,
partly at least by the labour of the able-bodied poor
as a parish employment, (fn. 48) and in 1963 gravel was still
being extracted on the eastern side of the parish. In
1831 there were no persons engaged in manufacturing in the parish, (fn. 49) and in fact there were no industries until in 1900 the firm of Chas. Wright Ltd.,
manufacturing engineers, moved from Clerkenwell
to Edgware. During the First World War this firm
was employed on government contracts and after the
war it struck some two million Mons Stars and
Victory medals. During the Second World War the
most remarkable contract was for the metal parts of
respirator filters, 94½ million being made between
1937 and 1943. In 1963 the company was chiefly
engaged in the manufacture of motor car registration plates. There were 70 workmen employed,
together with an office staff of 30. The firm of
A.E.W. Ltd., founded in 1923 and established in
Edgware in 1927, has a labour force of 50 and
manufactures laboratory and industrial electric
ovens and furnaces. (fn. 50)