Lowestoft Agriculture – 17th & 18th Century 

Grain

The potential value of Tithe Accounts books as a source of information regarding historical agricultural practice has long been recognised. The surviving Lowestoft tithe records (Norfolk Record Office, PD 589/80) begin to record details of agriculture in the parish in the year 1698, but there is no reference to the growing of corn until 1749 – the year in which the Rev. John Tanner began to draw the rectorial tithes. No acreages or quantities are revealed, but it is noticeable that grain tithes increased the incumbent’s annual income by about £70, from an average of £25-£35 mainly derived from small tithes alone (these latter being paid on all field crops other than corn). Lowestoft was a light-land parish, which would have made it more suitable for the growing of barley, oats and rye than for wheat, but there is limited evidence to show that all four varieties were produced – with barley being the most important. 

Only five inventories for husbandmen or farmers have survived and, as two of the documents were drawn up in April, there are no references to grain in them. This is because there would have been no corn in store at this time of year. The seed-corn would have been sown in either autumn or early spring; the surplus remaining for sale would have gone to the miller or the maltster. Two others, however – those of Thomas Clarke (September 1619) and Thomas Gardner (December 1720) – do show certain quantities of corn held in store. The former itemises unspecified amounts of wheat, barley and peas worth £2 10s. 0d., while the latter records fifteen coombs of oats, five coombs of barley, three bushels of wheat and two coombs of rye, worth a total of £7 10s 0d. 

The only other reference to corn-growing which appears in the probate inventories is to be found in July 1610, when it is revealed that the Vicar, John Gleason, had half-an-acre of standing barley on his glebe-land, worth 13s. In addition to this material, the will of Rychard Youngeman (husbandman), in February 1570, recorded a bequest made to his wife of two coombs of wheat, three coombs of rye and five coombs of meslin (this last-named item being a mixture of rye and wheat, used for milling into flour). There were four bushels to the coomb by customary dry measure of the time, with a coomb of barley weighing in at sixteen stones (two hundredweights), rye also at sixteen, wheat at eighteen and oats much lighter at nine stones. 

In the absence of much firm evidence, it is difficult to project the acreage devoted to grain, but the tithe accounts hold a clue – at least, as far as the middle of the 18th century is concerned. Corn was rated at 2s an acre for tithe payment, just like turnips, the other main field-crop. As was pointed out above, John Tanner’s annual income went up by £70 in 1749 and subsequent years, once the corn-tithes began to be paid to him – which means that 700 acres in the parish were growing corn at that particular time – though whether or not this represents an increase in area from the beginning of his incumbency, forty years before, is not known. It was certainly an increase in production from the time of the 1618 Manor Roll – Suffolk Archives (Ipswich), 194/A10/73 – when the total arable area added up to just over 600 acres. In fact, if the average acreages for turnips and clover are added to the 700 producing grain, a total of 800 is arrived at. This means that, between 1618 and 1750, 200 acres more had been brought into cultivation. Leaving the total available area aside, it is likely, throughout the whole period covered in this book, that the bulk of the arable land in the parish (perhaps as much as 85%) was devoted to corn production. And, with the amount of malting and brewing which took place, much of it was undoubtedly barley.

Given the fact that the Denes remained untouched (apart from use as open-air wharf and rough-grazing area, they were unsuitable for cultivation), that Goose Green was too small and too near the town to be much good for growing crops, and that Church Green was left alone as the main grazing-area for the town’s milk cattle, arable conversion must have occurred on areas of bruery (managed heathland) and waste (common) adjacent to the three former communal-fields. Thus, the North and the South End commons, Smithmarsh, Drake’s Heath and Skamacre Heath would have been the areas of reclamation – in addition to the extra acres gained from ploughing up pasture-land.

Turnips

It is clear from the Tithe Accounts that turnips were an important field-crop in Lowestoft by the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th, with anything between fifty and seventy acres grown annually. This suggests that the roots were well-established by that time, though the absence of any earlier information makes it impossible to place a date upon their introduction. The cultivation of turnips (and carrots) has been detected in the Waveney Valley as early as 1630, and comment has also been made on the importance of innovations regarding root-crops made by Dutch immigrants in Norwich during the 1570s. In view of the number of Dutch Protestants who were resident in Lowestoft between 1571 and 1574, it is just possible that turnips made their first appearance in the parish at that particular time. The neighbouring county of Norfolk had turnips grown over most of its land-area by the 1660s and more than 50% of its farmers were involved in producing the crop by the second decade of the 18th century. Problems encountered in extricating the roots from clay soil meant that large-scale introduction of turnips into High Suffolk did not occur until about 1670 or thereafter, with rotational use not really taking off until the 18th century. It was a problem that would not have bothered the tillers of the soil in Lowestoft!

The largest area of turnips during the first three decades of the 18th century was recorded in 1712, when 151 acres were grown, but the usual area after c. 1710 was somewhere between fifty and one hundred acres. The quantity produced by individual farmers depended on the size of their respective enterprises and ranged from two to twenty-five acres. No definite statements are made anywhere regarding use of the roots, but much of the crop was probably grown for consumption by cattle (especially during the winter months), with a lesser proportion going to feed sheep and with some perhaps even eaten by the townspeople. References made to the hoeing of turnips would seem to suggest that they were grown for roots rather than foliage, but in poor years some of the crop was consumed by direct grazing and a lesser amount of tithe charged. Hoeing of the roots shows that the plants were being spaced so as to allow full development. There would have been no need for such singling if the crop was being grown for its leaves. The liability of turnips for tithe payment does not seem to have been the cause of dispute sometimes noted elsewhere – at least, not during the years covered by the accounts. Any grazing which took place, on the foliage of poorly-developed or immature plants, would have been useful in building up the organic content of the light local soils via the dung deposited by livestock.

Within an average annual area of seventy-five acres of turnips being grown, the field-spaces themselves ranged from three acres to ten. Sometimes this represented a single field; in other cases turnips were grown with other crops in a bigger field. There were also areas both smaller and larger than the ones cited, the former including quarter-acre plots in and around the town itself. Such restricted spaces were almost certainly producing the roots for human consumption. Lowestoft does not feature as a turnip-growing parish in at least one major study of East Anglian agriculture, covering a period from the late 16th century to the early 18th (M. Overton, ‘Agricultural Change in Norfolk and Suffolk, 1580-1740’ - PhD thesis, University of Cambridge, 1980) – but this is because the data is based entirely on probate inventories. Only three farmers’ inventories have survived for the period in which turnips were produced as a field crop and none of them shows cultivation of the root. However, the Tithe Accounts indicate clearly that one of the men, Robert Lilley, was producing turnips during the earlier part of the 18th century – in addition to a number of other people. It all goes to demonstrate the dangers of working from a single source when compiling historical information. 

Other roots, peas and beans

Apart from turnips, the only other root crops which are referred to in the tithe accounts are carrots and parsnips. As is the case with turnips, there is no way of ascertaining how long they had been cultivated in Lowestoft but they appear to have been well established before 1700 – which perhaps fits the local pattern. They were only grown in small quantities, a fact which suggests use for human consumption rather than for feeding livestock, and the areas of cultivation ranged from one-eighth-of-an-acre to three-quarters of an acre in size. The favourite location was the base of the cliff, where the various fish-houses and net-stores stood, and where the light, sandy soil was ideal for their culture. They were tithable at a rate of 7s. to 8s. an acre.

Neither peas nor beans were prominent crops in the agricultural cycle, which may reflect a regional characteristic. It has been suggested that these legumes were relatively unimportant in north-east Suffolk during the period 1550-1640 and the characteristic may have held good for the following hundred years. Both crops in Lowestoft were the subject of small-scale culture, just like carrots and parsnips, with areas once more between one-eighth and three-quarters of an acre put under cultivation. Again, people’s yards were the most common location (especially below the cliff) and the limited scale of the operation suggests that the crops were grown with human consumption in mind. The tithe payable on them was 4s. per acre.

Forage crops (clover and hay)

The appearance of clover in the Tithe Accounts for 1698 and 1699 would seem to suggest that its culture was an established part of agricultural practice in Lowestoft before the end of the 17th century. It was obviously a fairly important crop for livestock, but the annual area sown during the first three decades of the 18th century did fluctuate between seven and eighty acres – with the larger amounts being grown from 1721 onwards. It had the capacity to produce as much as one-and-a-half to two tons per acre on good land. Observations concerning the Norwich area at this time have identified clover as being well established in the parish of Thorpe St. Andrew, where its function seems to have been as a catch-crop amongst cereals and pulses. This was not the case in Lowestoft where, on the evidence of particular field-names mentioned in connection with certain crops from year to year, clover can be seen as part of a rotational system with turnips, grass and grain. The size of the individual areas grown was largely in the range of two to ten acres (occasionally, larger parcels are recorded), and the spaces sown were either fields in their own right or areas within fields. 

The crop was mown and stored or had livestock allowed to feed directly on it in the fields. In the former case, the animals were turned out onto the aftermath; in the latter, the left-overs were raked up and put away to provide fodder during the winter. Clover was grown as a one-year, two-year or three-year crop, with mowing or feeding and raking carried out according to its quality. The best clover was always mown and stored; poor crops underwent direct grazing. As was the case with turnips, clover was grown in all parts of the parish and it was tithable at 2s 6d per acre. The variety sown was probably broad red, the commonest type available, but whether or not it was imported seed cannot be ascertained. Nor can the date of its introduction into the parish.

In addition to clover, there is also evidence to suggest that both vetches and trefoils were grown as part of the ley rotation. The former are mentioned only once as a crop in their own right in the Tithe Accounts, and that is in 1720 when John Jex (merchant) was charged 16s. on four acres of vetches “cut for horsemeat”. It was their particular use as equine fodder which made them eligible for the payment of tithe, but they may at other times have been sown in with other “grasses” and counted as part of the rotational pasture. The same is true of trefoils. There are no direct references to the crop in the accounts, but the name of at least one field in the parish, Nonesuch Pightle, suggests that they were grown (nonesuch being an alternative name for them).

The Tithe Accounts show that the annual area devoted to hay, during the first quarter of the 18th century, varied between two acres and nineteen acres, with an average of seven-and-a-half. Its relatively limited production probably means that it was only used for feeding horses. In terms of yield, hay was reckoned to produce at least one ton per acre, with one-and-a-half to two tons on low meadows and improved uplands. The crop was usually mown and stored, with various livestock (horses, cattle and sheep) turned out onto the aftermath. When sown as grass seed, it seems to have been grown in rotation with turnips, clover and cereals, while the other means of producing it was to mow permanent meadowland (a small quantity was also derived from ley grass being raked over after livestock had grazed on it). Hay was rated at 2s per acre for tithe purposes and the usual size of the spaces producing it was between two and four acres. It was grown in various parts of the parish, but with a tendency for it to be concentrated in enclosures on the western perimeter of the town.

Meadowland and pasture

There is no clear distinction made in the Tithe Accounts between the two different types of grassland, with each being classed as “pasture” and assessed at 1s per acre. However, the impression given by various references to specific, named meadows in different parts of the parish is that the area of permanent grassland had increased from the time of the 1618 Manor Roll and that the amount of sown pasture had noticeably decreased (most of it probably converted to arable use). During the first three decades of the 18th century, the area of permanent or semi-permanent grassland (i.e. meadow) used to provide grazing for livestock was established at about sixty-five acres, and it was largely located on the southern and western edges of the town. If its main purpose was to provide direct grazing, the tithe payment was 1s per acre; but if a hay crop was the prime objective, then a charge of 2s was made. At other times, if it could be shown that the grassland was worn out and needed a period of recovery, no tithe was levied. Sown pasture was a different thing altogether from long-term grassland and was part of the arable rotation. It was to be found in all parts of the parish and the annual area of such cultivation averaged about twenty-eight acres.

Minor arable crops

Hemp was grown on a very limited scale in specific yards and enclosures in town, varying from a quarter-of-an-acre to one acre in size. The annual area under cultivation ranged from a quarter-of-an-acre to two-and-a-half acres, with an average of about one-and-a-half. The crop was tithable at 4s per acre and only about two or three people were involved in growing it regularly. Two of the inns in town, the Globe and the Black Boy(formerly the King’s Arms), which had large yards to the rear, had hemp-lands situated within their curtilages. The plant had obviously been grown within the built-up area over quite a long period, because the 1618 Manor Roll mentions three other hemp-lands, which were no longer in use by the beginning of the 18th century. Two of them had been located on the western perimeter of the town, near Goose Green (the St. Margaret’s Plain area of today), and the third was situated on the freehold land at the High Street’s northern end, west side. 

The practice of growing hemp in the area where the latter plot had been located continued well into the 19th century and is perpetuated in a street name, The Hemplands – a small area of houses dating from the late 1800s. At no point in Lowestoft’s early modern history did the amount of hemp grown in the parish supply more than a fraction of what was needed for twine and rope, or for linen-weaving, and supplies must have been brought in from other local sources, as well as from further afield. Given the light, dry soil conditions in Lowestoft, the type of hemp grown would have been more suited to linen production than for making twine or rope. The Waveney Valley was a notable hemp-producing area and at least some of the town’s raw material would have originated from there – as well as from supplies being imported via its long-established Baltic trade. 

There are only two references to the growing of hops in the Tithe Accounts and they are to be found for the years 1699 and 1700. It is possible that both refer to the same hop-yard, because the men in question owned inns on opposite sides of Swan Lane (Mariner’s Street). Anthony Barlow (innkeeper) ran the King’s Head, on the southern side of the road, while Samuel Munds (merchant and brewer) had the Three Mariners, on the northern side. No clue is given as to the specific location of the plot, nor to its size, but Munds paid 2s tithe on it in 1700. Again, as was the case with hemp, most of the hops used in the town’s breweries must have been brought in from outside.

            The final crop that manifests itself is weld, from which a yellow dye was extracted and which needed warm, dry soil for successful cultivation. It was grown in small plots below the cliff at the northern end of town in 1716 and 1717 and the man who produced it, Charles Boyce (yeoman), paid tithe of 3s on the crop. Six years later, in 1722 and 1723, he grew larger quantities in a field called Bacon’s Close (again, at the northern end of town) and he paid the vicar £1 and 10s respectively. The crop-yield in 1722 was five cartloads, valued at £10, but the following year was a very dry one and the plants did not do as well. Boyce, who farmed largely in the adjoining parish of Gunton, seems to have either experimented with weld on almost marginal land or to have used it as a catch-crop. The plant can still be found growing wild in one or two locations near the cliffs at Gunton, in the Dip Farm/Corton Woods area.

CREDIT: David Butcher