Robey, Ann Catherine
(1991)
The village of Stock, Essex, 1550-1610: A social and economic survey.
PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Abstract
This thesis is an examination of as many aspects of the economic and social history of the sixteenth century Essex village of Stock, as surviving records permit. A survey of landholding and the complex manorial structure in the village is followed by an analysis of agrarian activity (arable and animal husbandry, market gardening and the marketing of produce). Those engaged in non-agricultural occupations are studied, with special reference to those pursuing dual economic roles. Central to the economy of the village, was the important brick, tile and pottery industry. Very little research has hitherto been undertaken to show clay-based workers in their economic and social setting in the sixteenth century. Methods of production, marketing and distribution, as well as the status of this important group of men are examined. Over fifty clay-based craftsmen are studied biographically. Religious life and belief within the village are set against a general background of heretical belief in Essex and interpreted in terms of the influence of the resident clergy and the resident noble landlords, the Catholic Petre family. The maintenance of law and order are studied, firstly through internal manorial agencies (the Court Leet and the Court of Civil Pleas) and secondly through the external or state agencies of law and order. An attempt is made to measure the importance of an efficient Court Leet and to appraise the role of the Quarter Sessions and other courts in the affairs of the village.
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