1 The medieval village of Welby The countryside around the village of Welby in Medieval times would have looked very different from today. Thick forest would have covered a lot of the countryside where dangerous wild animals such as wolves and bears would have lived. Throughout the forest would have been villages known as manors. The Manor of Welby The manor was the land owned by the lord of the manor. The lord of the manor of Welby at the time of our journey back into the past at the village was William Digby. The village was lived in by farmers called peasants. The village was part of the lord s land. The people were only allowed to live there in return for the work that they did for the lord. That work was mainly farming. There might also have been craftsmen, such as a metal worker/blacksmith and a carpenter, living in the village in medieval times as they were important members of the village who provided important services to the manor. A medieval peasant s house Peasants lived in cruck houses. These had a wooden frame onto which was plastered wattle and daub. This was a mixture of mud, straw and manure. The straw added insulation to the wall while the manure was considered good for binding the whole mixture together and giving it strength. The mixture was left to dry in the sun and formed what was a strong building material. Cruck houses were not big and repairs were quite cheap and easy to do. The roofs were thatched. There would be little furniture within the cruck houses and straw would be used for lining the floor. The houses are likely to have been very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter. Windows were just holes in the walls as glass was very expensive. Doors might be covered with a curtain rather than having a door as good wood could be expensive. There is a cruck house in the village of Hoby. The large stone building at the top of the picture is William Digby s Manor House. The building to the right of the Manor House is the monastic grange. This is where monks would have lived. The monks would have led services at the church and worshipped there. They may have had a small chapel in the monastic grange. Look for the fish ponds to the right of the monastic grange. The church is easy to spot as you will recognise it as the church building we see today. The church is near to the manor house and not in the centre of the village. The trees growing on the west side of the church would have been planted to protect the church from storms and strong winds that usually come from the west. One or two of the trees may have been yew trees. These were often planted next to churches because they were considered sacred. They also bent easily in the wind and also lasted for many centuries. The building which has smoke coming from it is the blacksmith s workshop. Where do you think the carpenter lived and worked? The other buildings in the village are where the people of the manor lived. There are also buildings where food for the people and the animals would have been stored. Can you see the village well? This is where villagers would have got water. Can you see some open sided buildings? The animals would have been brought into these buildings each night to keep them safe from wild animals and to stop them wandering off and getting either attacked by wolves or bears, or being stolen by people from other manors. Notice that the village has a fence around it. This would have been around the village to keep the village safe from wild animals. There is one track through the village and another leading to the manor house and the church. The picture is based on the maps we have of what remains of the village of Welby.
2 The peasant farmers working on the land The main purpose of the manor and the work of the peasant farmers was to grow food for the lord of the manor and the people who lived in the village. The people lived on the land and grew their own food. There were no shops to buy food from. The lord owned all the land. He kept part of it to grow food for himself and his family. This piece of land was called the demesne. This was farmed by the tenants for the lord. Any food left over was sent to market to be sold. The manor house was at the centre of this demesne. The peasants living in medieval Welby would have followed a system known as the open-field system. Surrounding every village was an area of land set aside for growing crops. This land could be divided into either two or three roughly equal areas. Where two areas were used, one was used for crops and the other lay fallow, meaning it was left without any seeds being sown so that the soil could recover for the next year s crop. Where three areas were available, one was left fallow while the other two were used for crops that needed harvesting at different times of the year. Each area of land was divided up into strips which were shared out amongst the inhabitants of the village. Villagers would spend several days a week tending to their own strips and spend the other days tending to the strips owned by the Lord of the Manor. The main crop the peasants of Welby would have grown would have been wheat. This was used in bread making and for making what we call beer but the people of Welby would have called ale. People drank ale instead of water. Can you think why this was? Look at the wheelbarrow and bucket. What material are they made from? Which craftsman in the village do you think made it? The peasant standing beside the wheelbarrow has a wooden bowl in his hand. The bucket and bowl probably contain wheat seeds. He will take a handful of seeds and throw them over the ploughed ground. This is called broadcasting the seed. The peasant on the right is working on the earth that has been ploughed by the oxen and plough. What do you think he is doing? He is using a tool with a metal blade. Which craftsman in the village made the blade? A drawing of a medieval plough In the main picture above you can see the plough being pulled by oxen. Oxen were very important animals to the villagers as if one was killed by wild animals or stolen the effects were disastrous. This was why the animals were kept safely in the village at night.
3 The Blacksmith Blacksmiths were very important in medieval villages. They made weapons, armour, and decorations for the medieval household. They made keys, chains and many other tools that were needed in a village. A blacksmith would use certain tools in order to help hold the metals and join them together when they were hot enough to bend and shape. Some of these tools were anvils (used as a template on which to shape the hot object), hammers (used to flatten and shape metals), rasps, files, (used to smooth out rough edges) chisels, (used to sculpt and carve out details or designs on objects) pincers, (used to pinch, close, and twist metals) chasing tools, and drawplates used to shape the metal into the desired object. Also, in every blacksmith s shop, there was a furnace in which the metals would be heated, so that they were more manageable and could be bent, folded, or pinched into the right shape. Air was blown through the fire to keep it red hot by the use of bellows. Look carefully at the object that the blacksmith in the picture is working on. What do you think the object is? The village carpenter would either finish the object or supply something to complete it. What do you think would be needed to finish off the object? The blacksmith is wearing an apron. It would be made from animal skin. Why would the blacksmith need to wear such a garment? The large object in front of the blacksmith is called an anvil. This was probably the most important tool for the blacksmith. He would use the anvil by placing the heated metal on the anvil and beating the very hot metal into shape by using one of his special hammers. He might use his pincers to twist the hot metal. Look at the box at the bottom right of the picture. What is it full of? Can you think of some words that would describe what it would be like inside the Blacksmith s shop? A medieval blacksmith s tools
4 The Carpenter The village carpenter in the medieval village of Welby would have been highly skilled and, like the blacksmith, he would have been considered to be an important person in the village. To become a carpenter it was usually necessary to join a guild as an apprentice and learn the craft. Most of the items used during daily life in the village were produced and manufactured by the carpenter. The frameworks for houses, as well as wagons, furniture, tools and utensils would have been made by the carpenter. Knowledge of calculations, woodworking and the use of tools was required. Though many of the implements used were basic in comparison to those used today, it can be argued that some fine examples of work were produced in the medieval period. The village carpenter would have made furniture and special weapons and utensils for the lord of the manor. These special items were not only made for decorative purposes but also to show that the lord of the manor was a man of prestige and status. A master carpenter was always in demand and could earn high wages. Many of the tools you can see around the carpenter you would see being used by a carpenter today. Can you spot the following tools? An axe, a chisel, a simple hand drill for making holes. Compare the chair in the background with the four legged stool in front of the set of drawers. How are they different? Which, do you think took the longest to make? Why was this? A medieval carpenter s tool box The carpenter in the manor of Welby would have a whole set of tools. He would have an axe for roughly shaping the wood. He would need a plane to smooth the wood and a large saw for cutting larger pieces of wood to size. He would have various sized chisels for making joints and for putting shapes and patterns into the wood. He would need a hand drill for drilling holes into the wood. He would need a tool for measuring with, as well as something to help him make a right angle. Using wood cut from the forest surrounding the village he would make cabinets, chairs, wooden handles and utensils. He would shape larger pieces of wood into frames for building the houses. A medieval carpenter s tool box can be seen on the right.
5 Villagers fishing and cutting reeds for thatch Fish was an important part of what people living in the manor of Welby would eat. All the fish, in Welby s case, would have come from the fish ponds near to the monastic grange that we believe was part of the manor. Old maps show that there were fishponds near to Welby that were fed by a stream. Carp, tench and bream would probably have been the type of fish living in the ponds. The monks living in the monastic grange would have bred the fish and kept the fish ponds well stocked with fish. Fishermen would fish by pulling or dragging the net through the water, hoping that the fish would swim into the nets. The caught fish would be thrown onto the bank to be collected later, or put into a basket carried around the fishermen s waists. Later the fish may have been smoked, salted, honeyed or dried to preserve them. In medieval times it was very important to preserve meat and fish in the event of poor harvests and famine. There were lots of fish living in ponds, rivers and streams in medieval times. There was no water pollution (other the emptying of toilet buckets into the streams in the morning), so therefore fish thrived. Also in the picture you can see a man cutting rushes that are growing on the banks of the ponds. He is using a scythe to cut down the rushes. The rushes may have been used on the roofs of the houses in the medieval village of Welby but rushes would have probably been too loose a material to use on the roofs. Tightly packed straw stalks (or thatch) would have more likely to have been used for roofs. The rushes would have been used to cover the floors of the peasants houses as well as the floor in the manor house. Sweet smelling herbs would have been also put on the floor to improve the smell. When the rushes got trampled or broken they would just be swept out of the door and fresh rushes and herbs put down on the floor. Before nets were used to catch greater numbers of fish, people used a simple rod and line to fish with. Here is a medieval engraving showing someone fishing with a rod and line.
6 The Lord of the Manor: William Digby outside his Manor House in Welby Looking at William Digby s clothes If you compare what William Digby, the Lord of the Manor, is wearing with what the peasants and serfs who lived and worked on his land are wearing (see the other information boards) you will notice his clothes reflect his wealth and position. The peasants and serfs clothes were rougher and simpler. William Digby s undertunic would have been a long shirt and would have been made of wool and belted at the waist. It would probably have been embroidered around the hem and sleeves. His top garment would also have been made of wool and trimmed with fur. Gold chains would decorate his top garment. He would wear long stockings and leather boots. His hat, decorated with a feather, would be a sign of wealth. As well as appearing rich and powerful there was great need to wear warm clothes as his manor house would have been cold and draughty, apart from near to the large log fires that would have been evident in some of the larger rooms and especially in the Great Hall of the Manor House. The clothing of peasants was simple and practical. There was no decoration. The tunic was made of wool and often had a simple leather or cloth belt at the waist. Woollen trousers were also worn. Boots were worn on the feet. A small hat or a woollen cowl or hood might have been worn over the head. Again the need was to keep warm rather than look smart or fashionable. The manor house lived in by William Digby would have been large. It would have reflected his wealth and his importance. It would have been surrounded by its own gardens and land for growing food for the lord and his family and servants. The manor house would have been very different from the simple wattle and daub houses lived in by the peasants of the manor. The Great Hall: this was the main meeting room and dining area. It was used by everyone who lived in the manor house. The Solar: The room called the Solar was for sleeping in and was also a private sitting room for the Lord of the Manor and his family. The name solar may mean sunlight or isolate. The solar therefore could be a sunny room and full of light. Or it could be a place where the Lord of the Manor went to be alone to get away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the building. The Kitchen: The Kitchen was an important room in the Manor House. Here were ovens for cooking in and large fireplaces for smoking food (to preserve it) and also roasting food.. A cut-away view of the Manor House The Buttery: The room called the Buttery was usually off the kitchen and was used for storing and serving ale. The ale would have been stored in large casks or barrels. The Pantry: The Pantry was also off the kitchen and was used for storing food that would quickly and easily go mouldy. Bread would have been stored here: pantry comes from the French word for bread, pain. Storerooms: There would be many Storerooms. The main ones were usually above the buttery and pantry. The storerooms were used for storing things for the kitchen and non-perishable food.
7 The Lord of the Manor: William Digby ordering the evacuation of the village of Welby Deserted medieval villages In the United Kingdom, a deserted medieval village is a former settlement which was abandoned during the Middle Ages, usually leaving no trace apart from earthworks (mounds in the ground). If there are three or fewer inhabited houses the convention is to regard the site as deserted. In the early centuries of the Middle Ages, the population of Britain increased rapidly. This meant that farmland was in short supply and many villages developed on less fertile land. However, from around 1200 onwards, the climate became colder and a period sometimes called the Little Ice Age began. Villages situated on exposed uplands or on land where the soil became waterlogged due to it being mainly clay suffered most at this time. Eventually, crop failures forced many such villages to be abandoned. In 1348, the Plague or the Black Death arrived and up to a half of the British population died in the years that followed. Many village abandonments have been said to be due to the Black Death, but very few are known to have been directly caused by it. Many villages that lost their occupants due to the Plague or Black Death were soon re-settled and re-populated, especially those on good growing land. An indirect effect of the Black Death, however, was that the number of people to work on the land, was suddenly in short supply. This improved the bargaining position of labourers, who demanded better pay and conditions from landowners. In response, many landowners discovered that the rearing of sheep for wool was far more profitable than rent from tenants. Common land was then enclosed a flock of sheep only needed a handful of shepherds to look after them, and villagers who were no longer required to grow food for the lord of the manor. The picture shows William Digby directing the evacuation or clearing of the village of Welby. You can see the villagers being dragged out of their homes and forced to leave. William Digby, the angry looking man in the foreground has ordered his men to force the villagers out of their homes. You can see these men wielding sticks and spears. Previous to the forced clearing the villagers may have been asked to leave and meetings may have been held, but this is unlikely. William Digby was an important and very powerful man in the area and if he wanted the villagers out Welby church as it stands today. nothing would have stood in his way. Digby also had force on his side. Look closely at the villagers houses. Notice the thatched roofs, covered in reeds from the ground near to the ponds. They would easily be set alight so that the villagers couldn t return. Notice the church in the background. It is the same building as we see today. Sir William would not have felt it necessary to damage the church and after the clearing of the village it may have been included in Sir William s grounds.