The history of many towns shows that they formerly enjoyed rights of
common which they no longer enjoy, and the manner in which these became
lost is in numerous instances a mystery. When, from being lands of which
the tenants were virtually seised for life, they passed through some
evolution into being the property of the corporation let to freemen or
others as the case might be, they might not improbably be sold for the
good of the community at large. In earlier days the right may have been
surrendered by timid or ignorant townspeople under the pressure of a
local lord of the manor strong enough to set the law at defiance, or a
compromise may have been effected between him and those in temporary
enjoyment of the benefit. These, as we have observed, sometimes
consisted of no more than a fraction of the inhabitants, and, as the
population increased, this would be a diminishing fraction, with the
result that outsiders would be apathetic regarding the fate of the
common. Where there was a special qualification, it was not necessarily
seniority. At Huntingdon, for example, it was the freemen dwelling in
"commonable" houses who were privileged to use the common.
There were other restrictions than those already named. In the locality
just mentioned "commonable" burgesses, if we may imitate their manner of
speech, might depasture two cows and one horse from Old May-day till
Martinmas, and four sheep from Martinmas till Candlemas.
Pages:
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271