Lammas Land at Eton by Robert Weatherall

This map was originally published in A Story of a Village by Judith Hunter

Lammas. The Name comes down to us from Saxon times about a thousand years ago, Originally, it meant a special religious feast the hlof maesse, or loaf mass, to celebrate the first fruits of the harvest. Experts disagree as to which day in the year that would be; some say August 1st., others, the 12th. Both of these probably meant the same day before the calendar was reformed in 1752. For centuries now, with us, the date has been August 1st. It is a pity that religious observances connected with the occasion have not been maintained.

With us, too, Lammas day has now lost its connection with the harvest. It is not very often that crops are ripe by August 1st.; and the feast must have been associated with some crop suitable for making into bread or cakes. That now would mean wheat: in Times past it probably meant rye, a crop which in these parts might well ripen early enough to be cut and threshed' before the end of July. One rarely sees rye growing here in these days, and never for making into bread.

At Eton, every freeholder, tenant, householder and cottager, living within the old parish boundaries possesses rights of grazing cattle on the Lammas lands. At first these rights may have extended over the grassland alone. We have to realise that in times past more land here was under the plough. Apart from small enclosures round the houses, the "in-ground", reserved for private use, the only land for grazing during the Summer was the Great and Little Commons. There were, of course, not so many cattle -then, although there would be more sheep, since sheep were needed for wool, to be spun and woven at home. Cotton was almost unknown.

Other grassland had to be cut for hay. That was how South Meadow got its name. Besides it, the low-lying Meads and Slads were used as meadows, along with other smaller patches most liable to flood. This land reserved for hay was most probably divided into strips belonging to the separate villagers, marked only by pegs in the ground. The strips of grass would be cut with scythe or sickle. What more natural than that after the hay had been carried homer the cattle and sheep, which had been grazing on the commons, should now be allowed to eat the aftermath? They were looked after by the Hayward. Notice the name; he was there to guard the hay.

How Lammas rights came to include the arable land we do not know. At Eton the rights run from August 1st. to October 31st. During the first half of this period much of the plough land is covered with corn crops, either still standing or cut and waiting to be carted home. There has never been any suggestion that the animals should wander over the fields before they have been cleared. The only exception might have been land left in fallow In many parts of the country it was the custom to let sheep graze over the fallow fields. Curiously enough, however, at Eton there is very little mention of this type of farming practice.

Similarly, Lammas rights might well have been a hindrance to the introduction of new crops, such as roots and clover, which are still in the ground in the autumn. It seems as if it was the Court Baron of 1871 which first allowed the farmers to grow turnips, and there is nothing now to prevent them growing clover. More than that, in post-war years we have seen considerable areas used for growing market garden produce, and many fruit trees and bushes have been planted, There must be some people still alive who can remember when Lammas land was first allowed to be used for allotments, as well as for the recreation Grounds, both at Eton and Eton Wick. That shows how ancient institutions can be adapted so suit modern needs.

Nevertheless, down the centuries these Lammas rights have had a great influence on the development of the parish. Thanks to them, much of the land has been kept free from building. Otherwise, the river bank might now be covered with bungalows, while Eton and Eton Wick might have become joined into one big residential district.

For a long time the only building possible was on land not subject to Lammas, chiefly on the small enclosures around the houses. That explains the compact nature of the two village centres: It also explains how difficult it has been to find new sites for the natural growth of Eton town as well as of the College, Eton Wick has been fortunate in being able to expand on to land which once belonged to Boveney, and not subject to Lammas.

Thinking along these lines one wonders how some areas are now free from Lammas. The Brocas, apparently; was always free It has a history of its own, for in Norman times it was owned by people living in Clewer. Something similar may be true of the land at Clewer Point. Perhaps at one time it was an island in the river.

The cedar tree in the Sanatorium grounds shows how long the land there has been free from Lammas; and for many years there has been an orchard at Crown Farm, much as Mr. R. Tarrant has it to-day. Along with these we must include the land on which two Eton boarding houses now stand. We do not know how these areas became free. We can guess, however, that the line of buildings along the west side of the lower part of Keate's Lane, which were once in private ownership, and the houses near the "Willow Tree" first originated in the good old English way of "squatting".

Examples of how with time and ingenuity one can get round the strict letter of the law come from the Eton town allotments. When they were first begun it was laid down that no erection should be more than eighteen inches high. Since then we have seen full-sized sheds appear, along with chicken runs and pig styes, complete with concrete floors. One plot, builder J. Platt, a stonemason, dug downwards and constructed a store place underground made of old stones from Windsor Castle and Eton College. Another plot holder, A. Dore, a wheelwright, went even further, he dug out a workplace, and for quite a time pursued his trade of making wheelbarrows and even ladders, unmolested by ancient customs.

Yet while Lammas rights have hindered building development, they have not prevented it altogether, it can be seen from the changes which have taken place in recent decades. The Church, school and churchyard at Eton Wick exist on land which almost certainly at one time was subject to Lammas. On this point, however, the records are not precise. We have clearer facts about the Pumping Station and Village Hall, and in more recent years, about the council houses at Broken Furlong and along Somerville Road. In these cases, building took place after proposals had been discussed at public meetings and proper resolutions had been passed.

The case of Bell Farm is interesting. Just before his death Mr. Robert Nason told me that the land  was at one time subject to Lammas, but when it became a sewage farm the Lammas rights were abolished the understanding that for the future no such rights should be exercised on behalf of Bell Farm in other parts of the parish.

This indicates one way in which these rights might be completely abolished. That they have continued at Eton so long while disappearing in most other parts of the country is due chiefly to the fact that no Enclosure Act was ever carried through here. All the time they have been controlled by the Eton Court Baron, under the old manorial system what land was Laminas and what was not depended on custom and the living memory of the people at the time. No old map of these areas seems to exist.

About ten years ago there was an informal, meeting arranged by J. H. Sayner, the town-planning officer, at which H. Dunce, a farmer of Eton Wick, and G. Gosling, a road-sweeper of Eton, both members of the 1908 CourtBaron, went over the map field by field saying what was and what was not subject to Lammas. This information was then embodied in the town-planning proposals and formally adopted; so now we have official regulations reinforcing the ancient rights in influencing the development of the parish.

All this may make alterations of lammas rights somewhat more difficult, but it would be a pity if customs originating, centuries ago should stultify the present life of the people. Cases in point are the two Recreation Grounds, now subject to Lammas. The question of freeing them arose as far back as 1898, when separate meetings of the parishioners of Eton Wick, the Eton Wick Parish Council and the Eton Town Council all passed resolutions in favour of the change being made, Why these resolutions were not acted upon still remains a mystery. There is no reason why the Recreation Grounds should continue under Lammas in perpetuity; and, although the problem of freeing them may seem complicated and difficult, it might well become a useful object for communal aims and action in this Festival Year. The same result, however, would be achieved if, as during last summer, the farmers were to refrain from exercising their rights on these areas, That would redound to their good sense and public spirit while producing a solution both traditional and typically British. 

Robert Weatherall

Note. It is unknown where this article was first published or when. The mention of "this Festival Year" seems to suggest 1951 as a likely date. Robert Weatherall was an Air Raid Warden during WW2 and the 1939 Register recorded that he was live at  Sanatorium Cottage at beginning of the war. He was born in 1899.

The Eton Wick Newsletter - April 2015 - `Our Village' Magazine

Our rural village - then and later

In 2014 our village history group programme included a talk on the local common and lammas lands. The speaker was Mr Ian Mellor from Eton College, and his talk was very interesting and well received by a customary sized audience of forty to fifty people. As usual this number was approximately two thirds of Eton Wick residents and the others from local districts of Eton, Windsor, Burnham, Dorney and Datchet.

It was in the early 1940s when Eton College purchased Manor Farm (Eton Wick) and in consequence became Lord of the Manor of Eton cum Stockdales and Colenorton, giving them much of the jurisdiction over the Eton, or Great Common as it is variously known; and Little Common; situated north of the village. The College of course owns much of the surrounding land that is not necessarily all lammas. The Lord of the Manor administers lammas through a Court Leet (Committee); a Bailiff and a Hayward. At least that is the custom in normal times, and had been so through the centuries, perhaps since Saxon times. 'Lammas' meaning loaf mass is of Saxon origin and means the celebration (mass) of the harvest (probably rye). Unfortunately if that long continuity was the 'norm' then we have now moved into abnormal times.

I write this while contemplating the seven to nine dairy herds that grazed the commons, under the watchful charge of the Hayward, during my pre WW2 youth. Farmers could use the commons between May 1st and October 31st for a stipulated number of animals; governed by their farm acreage. Cottagers in old Eton Wick (east of Bell Lane) could use the commons for one cow, horse or two pigs). Through the ages this varied according to the need. Certainly until a couple of centuries ago there were less cows, but more sheep. Home weaving for woollen clothes was an absolute necessity at a time of little or no cotton or man-made fibres. The numerous farmers and cottagers with these rights jealously guarded their interests, barring misuse, or use by others with no entitlement. There are a couple of interesting examples of this protective vigilance. The first I may have mentioned in an earlier issue, and it was in 1846 concerning a well-known Eton Town man named Tom Hughes. He had purchased land in Eton Wick that had lammas grazing rights, permitting grazing by farmers and cottagers from August of every year. Mr Hughes disregarded the regulations forbidding dwellings on lammas land, and built himself two houses. County Court ruled against Hughes and he was obliged to remove the houses. Seventeen years later he provided a sheep for the Eton Town feast, on the Brocas, to celebrate the wedding of the Prince of Wales. He also planted a tree on the Brocas, so it would appear he bore no rancour, and was himself a man of no mean means.

More recently, in the 1970s, a friend of mine who did have commoners' rights to use the common, had very extensive improvements to her old house, necessitating complete new flooring and walls. She refused to temporarily change her place of residence because she was sure it would cause her to lose her rights. She had no wish to graze the common, but did want to maintain her right to ensure proper use and not abuse of what she saw as her birth right. With no dairy cows to use the commons or lammas lands we may well say 'what does it matter, it is no concern of ours'. We can do nothing to revitalise the once busy farms, of which probably only one can now claim to be daily active, but this really needs more vigilance, not less. If there had been no interest in Tom Hughes building on his own land, what would have been our inheritance? Would others have done as he had done, resulting in much of our natural surroundings becoming housing estates. There was some local opposition when Eton College created the Rowing Lake, but it has very effectively stopped the creeping east of the riverside houses from Dorney Reach. There are many houses along the Thames from Bray, Dorney and Old Windsor, so with thanks to Eton College, green belt, lammas and north of the river the commons, we continue to enjoy our green and pleasant land.

Regulations are changed by the Court Leet. One example being an old ruling that certain crops must not be grown on lammas designated land. This included turnips and clover. Turnip of course included mangolds which was grown extensively for winter cattle feed. The reason for the ban was practical and common sense, as they were not harvested in time for the August 1st freedom to graze on all lammas land. In 1871 the Court Baron authorised the growing of turnip. Before WW2 South Field (large open area opposite the Church of St. John the Baptist) was frequently covered with mangolds, and the long earth covered clamps which stored the crop, were a very familiar sight along the Eton Wick Road.

Following the harvesting of the mangolds, horses were used to deep plough South Field; and the long earth furrows from north to south (Eton Wick Road to the old highway to Eton) were left to the frosts, winds and rain of winter before the land was used again. A farmer friend once say to me, the furrows afforded much used shelter from the elements for the hares. Perhaps so, and certainly when modern crops and farming methods saw the end of the lovely furrowed land, the hares seemed to disappear also.

The many farms that used the Commons and fields for grazing included Bell Farm; Dairy (or Wick); Saddocks; Manor; Little Common; Crown; Jersey; Long Close and Common Farm. In earlier times at the Eton end of the Great Common was Mustians Farm; a name we now only associate with an Eton College Boys' House. Additionally at various times there were small holdings with cattle; at Thatch Cottage and Wheatbutts, and one or two dairymen who probably owned a field and a few cows. All these retailed their milk to householders in Eton and the village, and to Eton College. All ladled their milk from churns into household jugs, and none to my knowledge used bottles during the pre mid 1930s. In fact the first bottle of milk I can remember was as a schoolboy around 1930 when small, one third pint bottles of milk were sold at morning playtime for one penny (less than %p today). Many families were large and in my instance with four brothers also at school at the same time, five pence a day was a prohibitive sum, and in so many cases those perhaps needing the milk most, never got it.

The reader may ask why could the commons be grazed from May 1st and the lammas lands not grazed before August 1st. Commons throughout the land have various uses to the local cottagers. Some places such as Stoke Common allowed furze to be taken, others perhaps, willow or turf, but here the commoner's rights are restricted to grazing. Grass makes rigorous growth in the spring and May 1st allows that it be grazed. Lammas however is a right to graze and glean on privately owned land when the crop grown on it had been harvested. August 1st was considered the date when the crops would have been gathered. Often the corn crop of today would not have been gathered, but when the rules were originally set, the quicker maturing rye was the generally grown crop. The village recreation ground is on lammas land but of course we now consider it an irrelevance as there are no cattle needing to use the commons or the lammas. In the early 20th century it would have been grazed; if for no better reason than the Haywards' need to herd all the cows over lammas lands. To do this it was necessary to have an access point at both ends of the Rec; and perhaps the relic of this can still be seen. There is a gate at the top end by the car park, and in the opposite corner leading to the river the gate has been replaced by an access structure that of course if it were still needed for cattle would not be suitable.

Now in the 21st century we have no dairy herds, no Hayward, probably no bailiff and maybe no cottagers with a right to graze for the simple reason that they did not register their rights in 1965. It matters, because it would only take an Act of Parliament to relinquish any or all of the protective conditions we enjoy. It could be later than we think. Apathy is no replacement for observant vigilance. Without commoner's rights, and certainly nobody living west of Bell Lane would ever have had these rights, we have no legal voice, but we can draw attention to known violation and abuses to those who do have the responsibility. Those with rights are the farmers and of course the Lord of the Manor. Listing the farms and small holdings in the village of the pre WW2 years when the population was about 1,100 reflects how much more rural Eton Wick was before the mid 20th century.

Submitted by Frank Bond

Click here to read Our Village April 2015.

This article was originally published in the Eton Wick Newsletter - Our Village and is republished with the kind permission of the Eton Wick Village Hall Committee. Click here to go to the Collection page.

Eton Wick Newsletter - Our Village August 2009

Manor, Lammas And Commons

In 1950 an Eton College master wrote an article for a village magazine stating that ten years earlier The Eton Urban Planning Officer asked two local men to mark a local map with all the land that they deemed to be lammas land. The men were Mr. H. Bunce a dairy farmer, and Mr. G. Gosling an Eton road sweeper. Apparently, the authorities had no map of this great institution that had existed here for over 1,000 years. 

I trust the men were knowledgeable and unbiased, but the point I am making is that my lack of sure facts puts me in good company. I have long believed that there is no confident authority on this subject. We have one certainly in that the green open spaces around Eton Wick are entirely due to the vigilance of many earlier generations and owe little to present day apathy. If you doubt me. please walk along the rail viaduct, adjacent to the Great Common and observe all the rubbish in the stream and the odd fridge, stove etc., dumped on the common. This could not have happened in the yesteryears because clearing the ditches was just one of the responsibilities shared by all users of the commons. 

Manor - The fact of being in a Manor: of having commons and lammas rights, are indicative of Eton's Anglo-Saxon origins. It was customary for Monarchs to reward for a special service, military; political; or perhaps even as bribery, some areas of his kingdom. The recipient became the Thegn (Thane) now known as Lord of the Manor. Locally we read that Edward the Confessor was living in a Saxon Palace at Old Windsor: (at that time there was no 'New' Windsor) In 1050 AD: he gave the Manor of Eton to his wife, Queen Edith. In 1075 the Queen died and the Manor went back to the Crown. A little later William the Conqueror granted the Manor of Eton to a 'Walter, son of other' in recognition of Walter being a Warden of the Forest and the Governor of the newly erected Castle Keep. The Castle's beginning dates to that time. Briefly. for nearly 1,000 years, the Manor has been handed down, divided and changing its name, is now the 'Manor of Eton cum Stockdales and Colenorton; which since 1941 has had Eton College as the Lord of that Manor. At the time of the Conqueror's Doomsday Book (1086) Eton Wick, as part of Eton. had Hedgerley and Wexham in the Eton Manor. 

Certainly there was no overcrowding; the Doomsday census of 1086 recorded only twenty-three families and four serfs in the entire holding. We can only guess at the accuracy of that census. Successive Lords were also the Governor/Constable of Windsor Castle. In 1204 there was no male heir to the Manor so it was divided between two sisters, each now having a separate Manor. In due course one of these was divided yet again, each, of course, having a separate title. It would be too complicated to try and cover all the changes in a short article, but it is sufficient to observe the more noteworthy. In the late 16. century a reference is made to a Manor of Colenorton. A few years later (1700) to a Manor of Eton cum Stockdales and later again to the Manor of Eton cum Stockdale and Colenorton. These dates do not necessarily reflect the starting dates of the respective changes. A Lord of the Manor may hold a. of Manors and yet not live In, or visit them. He is served by Stewards who administer the estate and the Courts Leet (meetings). 

The Stewards have a 'Bailiff and in the case of lammas, a 'Hayward'. Both are elected at the Court Leet. The Bailiff being in direct control and applications of the affairs of the Commons and Lammas, and the Hayward, being responsible for the seasonal grazing of lammas lands and the legitimacy of the grazing animals, ensuring only those belonging to local owners and not exceeding the 'stint' (allowance) of those owners. At an Eton Court Leet held after WW2 (1948) it is recorded the Deputy Steward (Mr A. L. Carter) held the meeting. Eight local adults were appointed jurors (Committee), the Eton vicar was appointed foreman. Mr Arthur (Bob) Bond as Bailiff and Mr John Pass the Hayward. Most were farmers, including two of the wives. We will leave Manors and look at the Commons and Lammas.

Commons and Lammas - Commons are areas for the restricted use of local people. They are throughout the country but not necessarily only for grazing, as is the case in Eton. Since the 18th century many commons have been enclosed (fenced or hedged) and many have been broken up and shared to the 'favoured'. Not so in Eton which, against the Lord of the Manors wish, petitioned Parliament in 1826 to reject the Enclosure Act being enforced. There was much rejoicing locally. Much earlier, open land had been set aside in Eton/Eton Wick as The Great and the Little Common on which authorised locals could graze their allowance of oxen, cattle, horses, sheep and pigs: but not geese. Throughout the years there have been changes and perhaps for two centuries oxen and sheep have not grazed the commons and latterly neither has dairy cows. The commons season is from May 1st until February 28th. The trees and fencing along Common Road give a wrong impression of the area of Great Common which reaches from the bollards close to Bell Lane and along the village to Eton's Common Lane. It also extends across the stream. behind the Greyhound, along to Common Road and again across that road as far as the stream again. These two smaller areas, bisected by Common Road, have the stream on one side and a wire cum hedge along the north side. Little Common is at the extreme north end of Common Road.

In those distant years any person settling in the Manor would be given a 'strip' (Butt) of land and common grazing rights. He would be told what to grow on his strip. There were narrow grass paths between the many strips of land, known as baulks, which strip holders were obliged to maintain. It was said a strip was equal to what a man could hand plough in a day: the many strips were unfenced. Crops were restricted to that which could be harvested by July 31st after which date the land was 'in lammas' and regardless of ownership was open to all those with a grazing stint (allowance) to use. The lammas lands were closed to general use on October 31st. In practice, until alter WW2, cows etc were fumed on the commons as from May 1st and after August 1st the Hayward exercised the right to take the beasts over the 'strips' and lammas lands (until October 31st) to graze. Over the years the 'strips' have all but vanished, being combined with and, in most cases, absorbed into the farms.

Eton and Eton Wick Recreation Grounds are among the numerous lammas lands. They were purchased with compensation for loss of lammas rights when the rail viaduct was built (mid 19th century). Today it is the practice for lammas rights to be switched from desirable sites to another of equal size not already an established lammas area. Even the Village Hall stands on former lammas land. which was apparently freed of lammas by unanimous approval. We could go on but space rules otherwise. 

The allowance to graze was restricted to the old village/town residents and was, at the beginning of the 20th century, restricted to one sheep for each acre of land held; one cattle or horse for every five acres and no cottager or freeholder to tum out more than two hogs or pigs; there was also an allowance of one cow for an odd three acres. Pigs had to be nose-ringed to prevent snouts damage to the turf. As holdings at the homes became smaller, many cottagers gave up their entitlements to graze. 

Older villagers will remember the mad stampede of homes every May 1st at 6pm. Mothers kept their children safely behind their garden fences until the horses had calmed down from their wild gallop of freedom after a winter of being stabled at the end of every day's work. Those horses were all work animals of either farmers or local traders. Very few have a right to graze on the commons and other places today. In 1965 it became necessary to register your rights and because so few used the commons at that time. they did not take up their option. It is several years since the seven or eight dairy herds of Eton Wick farms that regularly grazed the commons have gone. Fortunately, Mr Cooley still uses the common for bullocks. Without all the cows and horses lammas has become just a legend; there is of course no Hayward now. 

Mr Bill Cooley is now the Bailiff to Eton College 'The Lord of the Manor'. I believe Lord Carrington is the Steward. The Great Common is still used for a November 5th bonfire, which probably dates back to the Guy Fawkes era. In my childhood of late 1920's — 30's there was also a second bonfire close to the Jubilee Oak. The common was home to the Eton Wick Cricket Club between 1889 — 1922 when it moved to Saddocks Farm. In 1878 a steam fair was held on the common and about that time also a Political Rally. 

I understand the original football club of the late 19th century also used the common, but this may have been Dorney Common. This Is a very condensed résumé of Manors, Commons and Lammas. written to the best of my knowledge. Of any errors I offer my apology and I thank Mr Cooley for kindly checking this article and for correcting me on the grazing conditions now prevailing. 

Frank Bond

Click here to read Our Village August 2009.

This article was originally published in the Eton Wick Newsletter - Our Village as is republished with the kind permission of the Eton Wick Village Hall Committee. Click here to go to the Collection page.

Hayward, Cattle Pound and Common Lands

The Hayward, the Cattle Pound and the Common Lands

The hayward grazed the cattle over Lammas lands from the commons, the Slads, Eton Wick Recreation Ground, South Field and back home. The milking herds have virtually all gone, and with them the hayward, but the name lives on in Haywards Mead housing development.

Mr 'Hammer' Stannett, for many years the Lammas Hayward.

The Cattle Pound

Close to the road on the outskirts of Eton is a small brick enclosure - the Pound which was once used to impound cattle and sheep which had strayed from the field and the commons, or which belonged to people who did not have common rights.

The present pound (pictured here) was built in the 19th century, but there were several earlier ones.

The Pound was owned by the Manor of Eton cum Stockdales and Colenorton, which managed the common lands of Eton and Eton Wick and drew up the rules for their use. Eton College became Lord of the Manor in 1940 and in 1948 it held the last Court Leet and Court Baron, when the rules were ratified and a Bailiff and Hayward were elected.

The Hayward was responsible for placing strayed or unauthorised animals in the Pound; owners had to pay a fine before the animals were collected. In the early years of the twentieth century the fine was 6d (6 pennies) per beast for the Hayward, and 10 shillings per beast to the Lord of the Manor.

The plaque on the Pound gate reads:

"The Pound at Folly Bridge for unauthorised cattle from the Great Common in the Manor of Eton cum Stockdales and Colenorton. Restored 1996."

The Commons

There are two commons in the manor - Eton Great Common, which stretches from Eton Wick to Eton, and the Little Common to the north of the village. Commons were permanent pasture where animals belonging to those with common rights were allowed to graze from 1st May to 12th August each year, in the charge of the Hayward. For horses, cows, sheep and children May Day was an exciting day in Eton Wick!

Each commoner could graze his stint - an allotted number of animals based on the area he farmed. One beast was also allowed for every farmstead, house and cottage. The commoner must own the animals and mark them clearly.

Lammas Land

The name "Lammas" comes down from Saxon times. The name originally referred to the "loaf mass", a special religious feast which celebrated the first fruits of the harvest. Lammas Day used to be 1st August, but after the reform of the calendar in 1752 it moved to 12th August. In Eton and Eton Wick the Lammas lands were the large common fields - arable and meadow - which were subject to common pasture rights. This meant that after haymaking and the corn harvest, the cattle, sheep and horses belonging to the commoners (that is those with common rights) were allowed to graze those fields until 31st October.

Lammas rights might well have been a hindrance to the introduction of new crops, such as turnips and potatoes, but in the early 18th century the Eton Court Baron changed the rules to allow the farmers to grow a limited amount of turnip for winter feed for cattle. In earlier times there had been as many as eight farms with livestock in the parish, but there is now only one.

Down the centuries the commons and Lammas lands have had a great influence on the development of the parish. Thanks to them, much of the land has been kept free from buildings. Otherwise the river bank might now be covered with bungalows, and Eton and Eton Wick might have become joined into one large residential district. Instead, the commons and Lammas lands were registered under the Commons Registration Act of 1965.

For more about the Common lands of Eton and Eton Wick, see "The struggle to keep the common land".

The 18th Century Village of Eton Wick – Part One - Why Eton Wick is surrounded by open fields

The Village landscape was like the majority of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire in years leading up to the 18th century one of open fields, commons and other waste land with small tenant farmers, cottagers and squatters utilizing a rented un-enclosed strip of land from the Lord of the Manor or exercising a common right to graze their pigs, geese or maybe a cow upon the common land. During the late 17th and early 18th century improvements in animal husbandry and the harvest of arable crops gave impetus to enclosure of land by landlords and the Government. These changes in farming practice at that time could have led to later developments that would have made Eton Wick Urban in the late 20th century, an urban sprawl but for the opposition of the villagers and the influence of Eton College in the Houses of Parliament. 

For at least 700 years Eton Wick was administered through the Vestry of Eton but in 1894 this came to an end through the Civil Parishes Act. Eton Town became an urban District and Eton Wick became a Civil Parish in the Eton Rural District. The decision by Henry VI to build Eton College whose presence over the last six centuries has influenced the lives of those living in Eton and Eton Wick immensely, whether through the purchase of property or the employment of services and labour. 

Queen Anne, King George 1st, King George 2nd and King George 3rd
The first four monarchs of Great Britain after the Union of England and Scotland in 1707

The 18th Century had commenced and closed with England at war with France. Queen Anne succeeded to the throne in 1702 to be followed by George 1st in 1714, George 2nd in 1727 and George 3rd in 1760. Technical innovation during the century brought vast changes to the way of life. The introduction of the flying shuttle to speed the pace of handloom weaving, followed by the efficiency in the use of steam power but some of the main advancement during the century was in agriculture. One Historian calculated that in the early 1700's each person engaged in farming fed 1.7 persons and by the end of the century one agricultural worker fed 2.5 persons. The late 1600's and early 1700's saw improvements in use of the soil which gave increased cereal and root crops leading to better fed cattle to produce more dung thereby increasing more yield from the land, also the improved yield of grain and the introduction of the turnip root crop allowed cattle to be winter rather than slaughtered for lack of winter feed. 

This together with new agricultural tools, like Jethro Tull's development of his seed drill, were

publicized in books such as the Annals of Agriculture by one Arthur Young in 1784 to be read by the progressive farmer and landowner. It also led to the birth of the agricultural engineering industry which also spawned the industry's catalogues for seeds, plants, and machinery. Similar books were published by Eton Printer and Bookseller, Joseph Pote, one title being 'Gentleman's Farriery, (or, a practical treatise, on the diseases of horses). The book was written by J. Bartlet and first published in 1753.

Landowners realised that to achieve higher output and returns from the land, enclosure of the open fields and the abandonment of the strip as the fundamental unit of tenancy, together with the common lands would be a necessary part of these improvements. No doubt news of these technical developments and the expanding international and local trade were talked of and marvelled at here about as like today, but for the village tenant farmer and cottager it was still the sweat of his brow that tilled the ground, sowed the crops and husband the animals for much of the century, but the threat of enclosure must have been an increasing worry, probably being the main talking point for the tenant farmer and commoner of Eton Wick. The implications for those who leased their land from an absence landlord, would see it as having a disastrous effect for their livelihood with no redress and no-one to stand up for them. 

Creeping enclosure of pasture had been practised since Tudor times with the widespread enclosure of Sheep ranges and with the penning of flocks to manure the land to sustain fertility. By rationalization of scattered inefficient holdings and their transfer as compact commercially viable units to farmers with expertise and a forward outlook on the market economy, enclosure of holdings gathered pace during the century either with the connivances of the Landlord or perhaps strong-arm influence. 

At first legal enclosure was obtained by a Chancery Degree but this was superseded by the introduction of acts of Parliament in the eighteenth century. 

The procedure for an Enclosure Act did not require the agreement of tenants but did require enough money to pay lawyers' and surveyors' fees, and for the planting of hedges and fences, roads etc. after the bill was passed. 

This was generally a formality as the Enclosure Commissioners surveying the land generally favoured those wishing to enclose and Parliament followed their recommendations. A general Enclosure Act was passed by Parliament in 1801 but by then more than 1,300 enclosure acts had been passed since 1760. 

The Parish plan showing field names.

The common fields, meadows and The Commons.

The strips on common fields.

The Hamlet of Eton Wick 1797 showing strips, ownership, tenants and acreage.

How and Why did this play an important role in the history of Eton Wick? 

Apart from the two commons, Eton Little and Eton Great there are Lammas lands which influence what can and cannot be done with the land within Eton and Eton Wick. The Lammas rights over much of the meadow and cultivated land in Eton and Eton Wick are a legacy from the Saxons and are a rare survival in this age. It was the right of those entitled householders to graze so many head of cattle in the fields once the corn had been gathered thereby fertilizing the land in the most natural way possible , from August 1st to October 31st. 

How many Commoners with these rights and residing in the village at the time is not known.

Lammas Day was the first day of August (the Gule of August) until 1752.  With the change to the Gregorian Calendar in September 1752 Lammas day 1753 fell on the 13th of August on which it was customary to consecrate bread made from the first ripe corn of harvest. (In Scotland it is one of the QUARTER DAYS.). Lammas Land (also Half Year Land) was common meadow on which manorial tenants were allowed to graze their livestock from Lammas Day until the next sowing.

Lammas Day: August 1st until 1752

 Lammas Day: August 13th from 1753

The strip was the fundamental unit of cultivation and tenancy in the open field system. Information from Collier's map of 1743 shows that Lord of the Manor, Abraham Wessell was the largest landowner in the parish with College, second. There were four open fields, the Hyde, North Field, South Field and West Field, the latter so named apparently because It lay west of Eton rather than on the west side of the parish; in later centuries it appears to have been renamed Stonebridge Field. Each field was divided into strips, and these grouped Into furlongs or pieces with distinctive names such as Long Furlong, Middle Furlong, Stone hul (hill), Long Wythebedde, Broken Furlong and Rossey piece. There was also land known simply as Village land'. No hedges or fences divided these strips and furlongs but, although each open field was planted with the same crops like cereal, beans etc. The different alignment of the furlongs gave the fields a patchwork appearance. The holdings of each man or woman, either owned or rented, were scattered throughout the fields and meadows. It is thought that originally each strip could be ploughed in one day and that the strips of land had been shared between the fields and its furlongs. Within the parish of Eton/ Eton Wick but mostly in Eton Wick there were six small holdings of only one strip each and two holdings of three strips possibly by cottagers, who are named as Oakley and Widow Griffin.

The rights of pasturage and to subsistence farm the land was crucial to the village householder and his family, therefore an ever a watchful eye was kept for any encroachment by those wishing to increase the small land holding around their farmstead or home. A complaint was brought against Henry Bell of Bell Farm in 1605 for enclosing several pieces of the King's waste including so pieces of Lammas Land. He also built eight cottages that did not go well with the parishioners. They claimed that the buildings took away privileges and benefits of the common. It appears that Bell got away with his transgression. 

There were some wooded areas especially around Saddocks Farm with fully grown trees and coppice. The use of the timber seems to have been controlled by the crown as a later tenant of Saddocks Farm was given the right to take timber for the repair of farm carts and buildings. An elm tree was supplied from Eton Wick in the mid 1400's for the refurbishment of the Eton church tower. 

The large open expanse of land without fences except where necessary, on the outer edges was divided into many strips. Exchanging ones worked strips with others so as to make one’s parcel of land larger and more convenient to work did take place as is shown by a detailed description of eighteen scattered acres owned by Sir William Stratton, exchanged for sixteen acres with John Jourdelay thus giving both more compact and manageable units. In the closing years of the eighteenth-century Crown Commissioners overseeing the enclosure of land showed interest in the enclosure of Eton's common and Lammas lands. estimated to cover three quarters of the parish. They did not consider it of any urgency taking no action until John Penn, Lord of the Manor of Stoke Poges bought the Manor of Eton in 1793. 

He, having succeeded against heavy opposition over the enclosure of Stoke Common then denied many poor families their right by custom of using the Common to gather wood for fuel which provoked more resentment against him. Bearing this in mind and wishing calm the situation Penn sought a compromise, in his planned bill to Parliament for enclosure at Eton, he specifically excluded the Eton Great Common from his proposed Bill. However, his Bill presented to Parliament did not take account of his oversight of not having consulted with the Crown or giving them an opportunity to appoint their own Enclosure Surveyor. Problems arose when trying to fairly rearrange and adjust strips and plots of land to formed compact blocks, such a difficulty occurred with the rearrangement of the land bordering Manor and Saddocks Farms. 

This hic-cup in the proceedings may have delayed Penn's plans a little because Officers of the Crown belatedly became aware of Penn's plans and realized it was too late to do any-thing except oppose the Bill. 

Enclosure not only drew battle lines between landowners; but also, townsfolk and villagers took up the fight as they became worried at the prospect of losing their rights of pasturage, eventually therefore they took the only course open them, they presented a petition to Parliament. They protested that the Bill would diminish the livelihood of the inhabitants by depriving them the use of the Lammas lands, thereby increasing the burden on the Poor Rate.

Over one hundred and eighty people signed the petition or made their mark if they could not write, and among who were Joseph and Phillip Tarrant, John Atkins and Thomas Goddard and others from Eton Wick.

Other parishes had presented petitions, often in vain, as Parliament was made up of powerful land-owning families together with the new industrial magnates and Ecclesiastical gentry who tended to think in terms of protecting their own interests. As tithe- owners the Provost and Fellows of Eton College had shown interest in John Penn's proposed Bill, but it is possible that at the last moment they had considered the fact that being considerable leaseholders from the Crown their loyalty maybe called into question. As many old Etonians were Members of Parliament there is the possibility that College had some influence in managing the vote, but this is speculation, and cannot be proven as the records were lost when the Houses of Parliament were burnt down. 

The opposition by parishioners to Penn's plan for enclosure led to a standoff that lasted until the Bill was defeated on 1st May, 1826: With much rejoicing the town and village celebrated with bonfires and feasting no doubt helped along with beer and homemade wines of the day. A blue silk banner emblazoned with the words ' May Eton flourish free and ever protect her rights’ was paraded triumphantly through Eton proclaiming the feelings of farmer and cottager. No other Bill for the enclosure of Eton was ever presented to Parliament. The people of the parish continued to be vigilant in preserving their rights, even to the extent of taking a man to court around the year 1840 for building two houses on part of South Field near the village. 

It was his own land: yet when the case was tried at Aylesbury, he was ordered to pull them down because they were built on laminas land. When in the middle of the nineteenth century the Crown once more became interested in enclosure, the College was opposed to it and the Penn estates were 'in circumstances that rendered it difficult’. 

in 1902 seventy-six years after the rejection of John Penn’s Enclosure Bill the Crown negotiated with the Lord of the Manor to overcome the inconvenience of the scattered strips and holdings. Lammas and pasturage were also exchanged, but rights were untouched. Some householders still exercised their rights to graze a horse or cow on the common or on other peoples' field into the 1920's from August 1st to October 31st. 

The Hayward— 1930's 

The cattle would have been in the charge of the village Hayward. It is recalled that the Hayward would lead one cow across the South Field each Lammas Day to lay claim to the Lammas rights. as they existed right up to the second half of the 20th century. Today there is no longer a Hayward as each farmer now looks after his own cattle.

The rights still exist though most people lost theirs through the Commons Registration Act of 1965. To some people the rights have become an inconvenient anachronism, while to the majority it is just something that has nothing to do with them but the lammas lands and the two commons were registered under the Commons Registration Act of 1965. This should mean that only by another Act of Parliament can this land be released for building thus protecting the village from speculative property developers and urban sprawl. 

This was part of the script for a talk given by John Denham at a meet of the Windsor & District University of the Third Age in 2003.

Old Days of Eton Parish - Eton Before and After the Norman Conquest

CHAPTER 1

In all the books published about Eton, the great College and School naturally form the absorbing centre of at-traction. Very little attention has been paid to the history of Eton itself, and yet there is much about it which many would like to know. It would be interesting to trace its first beginnings, as a town and parish; to discover what people first settled there, what their occupation was, and what brought them there.

It would be a matter of interest, to find out whether the place was inhabited at all in the days of the ancient Britons, or only in the days of the Anglo-Saxons or the Normans; whether the first settlers were Christians; and, if so, what spiritual provision was made for them.

But we have to curb our curiosity. The materials to help us to any complete knowledge are somewhat scanty and uncertain. Eton seems to have no Roman or British remains, nor any buildings old enough to throw light on those very remote times. Buckinghamshire is not like some counties, fortunate in possessing the records of ancient chroniclers.

Until about the year 1030, no written records are forthcoming, and for many years later only sundry scraps of information are available.

But something may be learnt from the study of names and existing customs; enough at any rate to form strong circumstantial evidence.

First, as regards names, there is hardly any trace of Danish influence in this corner of the county, but the neighbourhood abounds in names with the well-known Saxon termination of 'ham' or 'home.' Burnham, Farnham, Wexham, Cippenham and many others will at once occur to our readers. Another common sign of Saxon settlement is the termination ' ton,' as in Upton, Horton, Cole Norton, and Eton itself. We shall see presently how this throws light on its early history.

Field Map by H. Walker 1839

Then within the limits of the parish itself, many of the old names of the fields bear distinct witness to Saxon origin. A glance at the map of Eton Parish reveals several: 'shot' (e.g. two acre shot), butts' (e.g. wheat butts), Mill ‘furlong' or furrow long, ‘ward,’ ‘croft,' even 'acre' itself, are Saxon words; and what we still call 'eyots' and ‘weirs' were Saxon terms too, though ‘weir' had then a wider significance, and was used also for wattled baskets and other such contrivances for catching fish.

Further we find the same evidence accorded by certain institutions and customs, which, although slightly modified and altered in name under Norman rule, were undoubtedly Saxon, and were firmly established before either Danes or Normans appeared.

There are three such in Eton. The first of these is the existence of Common lands, of which Long Common and Little Common are samples. These commons take us back to the times of the earliest settlers, when, besides the wooden hut and the enclosed plot of ground (described as a 'close,' see map for many examples) which each settler cultivated as his private holding, there were certain pasture lands or woods which the community or tribe shared together, and into which they could turn their cattle or pigs under certain agreed conditions.

But apart from these Common lands, which of course exist in most parts of England, much of the meadow and cultivated land in Eton is open and unenclosed, and subject to what are known as Lammas rights.

These rights entitle householders, according to their rate, to graze so many head of cattle on these fields from the 1st of August to the 31st of October.

This too is an institution which has come down from the seventh century. The name Lammas ' has its origin in the first day of the grazing season, viz. Lammas Day. It is derived from Hlaf-masse, Loaf-mass, or Bread-feast. The day was observed in Saxon times as a day of thanksgiving for the first fruits of the harvest; a loaf made of the new corn was offered at the Mass, as even in those days the Holy Eucharist was popularly called.

These Lammas rights have been jealously guarded by the inhabitants both in ancient and modern times. But for these, much of the open land in Eton would long ago have been in the hands of speculating builders and covered with bricks and mortar.

It is said, by good authorities, that the open or Lammas meadows were generally in old days allotted to tenants in strips, ' butts ' or shots ' as they were called. Another glance at the map shows how this custom prevailed as regards both meadow and plough land, and how in several instances the old names are preserved. It is also interesting to know that to this day very many of these old divisions of the land are still in use, and parts of fields are leased as separate holdings, although there is no visible boundary mark.

There is also a third institution closely connected with the two already mentioned, namely the Manorial system.

It is doubtless the case that the term ' Manor,' as well as most of the quaint old-world names connected with it, are of Norman invention, and the whole Manorial system with its Courts was developed somewhat under Norman rule but the best historians seem agreed that the system itself existed in substance in Saxon times and is hardly distinguishable from it. The lord in those days was called 'thegn' or 'thane,' the 'manor' was then the 'ham' or 'tun' (the township), or in Latin villata 'rendered in French ville.'

Many ratepayers, in response to a formal summons, attended a Court Leet, or General Court Baron, and a View of Frankpledge,' held by the Lord of the Manor or his steward in the dining-room of the Manor House of Eton; but it is as likely as not, that, in obeying this now very occasional summons, they have little realised that they were taking part in proceedings which were going on a thousand years ago, and some four or five hundred years before the College was founded.

Nowadays the Court and its jurors are only concerned with such small matters as the swearing in a new Bailiff or appointing someone to the office of Hayward, or possibly the amending some by-law or fining some offender for the breach of the same, but in early days this Court was of real importance to the whole village community. It was part of their system of local government.

The assembled freemen or land-holders met under their thegn or reeve, and determined whether some would-be settler should be admitted to the privileges of the Manor or Township, and what strip of land should be allotted as his holding. The jurors had to witness every surrender of land and every new tenancy, and to see that the terms were duly carried out. They were sureties responsible for the general good conduct of all on the Manor and for the good order kept. Some of what we now call petty police cases were brought before the Court, and the local Court assisted the Court of the Hundred and the Shire Court in enforcing their regulations.

Many other matters also were managed by the Court, as e.g. the keeping up of fences and dykes, the arrangement of crops, etc., to be planted in particular fields.

But what concerns us now, is that the existence of these three institutions is circumstantial evidence for there having been a settled population in Eton in Anglo-Saxon times. Moreover, the fact that a large portion of the land held by the Lord of the Manor is subject to Lammas rights, and that his Court is still charged with the due maintenance of both Lammas and Common rights, seems to show that these rights were fully established in the parish before Norman days and were accepted as part of the territorial system which prevailed throughout Wessex.

In other words, we may safely infer that Eton begins its history somewhere far back between the seventh and tenth centuries. At any rate, long before the Conquest we may picture in the higher ground of the parish (perhaps near the Manor Farm, Eton Wick, or in Northfield near Cole Norton) a cluster of small homesteads, occupied by agricultural folk who lived for the most part a peace-able life, who ploughed with their oxen their own strips or plots of land, or at stated times worked on the land of their thegn. These would meet together in their little community to discuss and settle matters which concerned their common benefit, and, at long intervals, would be called to arms by their thegn to join in resisting the inroads of some marauding foe.

It may be conjectured that this colony was known as Cole Norton or North tun; 'town' or 'tun' in Anglo-Saxon being the name given to the enclosure or hedge which surrounded the homestead of the thegn and his dependents.

But what of the town of Eton itself? Old maps and engravings, as well as information which belongs to the time of the Foundation of the College, make it clear that the river and its tributaries present a very different appearance to what they did even in the fifteenth century. The main stream has considerably shifted its course. Several of the streams have been diverted, some have disappeared altogether. Going back still further, we may conjecture something of this sort. If we could have taken a bird's eye view of the southern corner of the parish nearest the river, or even if we could have looked down on it from the chalk hill on the Berkshire bank, which in later days was crowned with the Round Tower, we should have noticed several intersecting streams and a cluster of islands, and especially a stream of some width flowing out of Cuckoo Weir stream and passing along the lane  on the north side of South Meadow into Barns Pool, re-entering the main stream to the left of the College Eyot.

On the principal island thus formed, we may conjecture that one of the early warrior-chieftains chose a sited for his homestead which would command the river and be secure from sudden attack, while his retainers built their log huts or cottages round him, protected by his fenced enclosure or tun; and out of this small nucleus the ' town ' little by little grew.

In old documents Eton is very variably spelt. It most often appears as Eyton, sometimes as Eiton, in Domesday Book it is Ettone, and we sometimes find Etone or Eaton.

The first spelling suggests that the name properly signified the Island Town, or the Town on the Eyot, and that this name was in course of time extended to the rest of the parish.

When the parish first appears in the pages of chroniclers, it was in the division of Bucks which was known as the Hundred of Burnham, but it seems to have been afterwards, either wholly or in part, transferred to the Hundred of Stoke.

Most of the land in very early days was probably, like the country on the opposite bank of the Thames, thickly wooded, but by the time of the Domesday Survey, taken by the order of William the Conqueror in 1086, Eton already was a place with some resources and importance of its own.

The land had been largely cleared and was partly in pasture and partly cultivated, although there were still woods and copses large enough to feed 200 swine on mast and acorns. There were two water-mills valued at a rent of 20s. in the money of that day. One is supposed to have stood at Cuckoo Weir, and what is known as Deadman's Hole may have been caused by the washing of the mill-stream. The other mill stood in what is now the Playing Fields, perhaps near the gate which now opens on to the College Eyot. There were also large fisheries, yielding a rent of 1000 eels.

In the time of Edward the Confessor, 1050, there was an ancient Saxon Palace at Old Windsor (near the Priory). It was here that the royal family resided; hence the property acquired by the King in the neighbourhood. The Manor of Eton was one of such holdings. It belonged to his wife, Queen Eddid or Eadgyth, and on her death (1075) reverted to the Crown. A little later, the Conqueror granted it to Walter son of Other, who was appointed Warden of the Forest, and also was the first Governor or Constable of the Castle Keep, which was just then erected on half a hide of land in the Manor and Parish of Clewer, as a suitable military post to command the neighbourhood.

This Walter, who afterwards took the title of Baron Windsor, had on his Manor fifteen 'villeins,' tenants under their lord of strips or portions of land and working between them six plough teams, also four 'bordars' or cottagers, who held their cottages and gardens on condition of supplying the lord with poultry and eggs. He had besides attached to his land four servants or serfs. The two mills, some of the fisheries, and woodlands mentioned above, belonged to this Manor.

There was also a second Manor in this parish held of the King by Walter son of Pont; he had thirteen villeins, five bordars and seven servants, whose lands were not geldable, i.e. not subject to tax. He had two fisheries and 148 acres of pasture land.

In addition to some rent, these thegns had to aid in building forts and castles and maintaining bridges in their jurisdiction and to provide a certain number of men for the King's army.

The building of the Keep was followed by the building of some other parts of the Castle, and Henry I. is said to have held a Courts there for the first time in 1110.

What communication there was between Eton and the Castle, except by ferry, is uncertain. But, as for many years yet there was no town on the Berkshire side of the river, we may presume that the presence of the Court and garrison helped considerably to the development of the trade of Eton. At any rate it had become sufficiently large and prosperous for a weekly market, which was held on Mondays. For this, King John granted a charter to Roger de Cauz in 1204.

Of the two manors mentioned above, one only survives under the designation of the Manor of Eton cum Stockdales and Colenorton. From the titles of its Courts and their powers, it would seem to have been a Manor of consider-able importance in the neighbourhood. The other Manor is represented by what is now Crown land and by what was in later years acquired by the College.

OLD DAYS OF ETON PARISH by The Rev. John Shephard, M.A. was published in 1908 by Spottiswoode and Co Ltd. The text is has been copied from the original book that is now out of copyright.

The Eton Inclosure Bill

By the end of the eighteenth century the Commissioners of the Crown had become interested in the enclosure of Eton's commons and Lammas lands. All over the country enclosure was taking place and there was much publicity for its advantages. According to their estimate the land needing to be dealt with in Eton comprised three-quarters of the parish. Little, however, seems to have been done until John Penn, Lord of the Manor of Stoke Poges as well as Eton, began making plans to push an Inclosure Bill through Parliament. He had already succeeded in Stoke Poges against considerable opposition, particularly over the enclosure of Stoke Common which furnished turf and furze, used as fuel by many poor families as well as the workhouse and the Hastings Hospital. In the end a compromise had to be reached, and perhaps because of this the Eton Inclosure Bill specifically excluded the Great Common. However, even this concession was not sufficient to ensure the smooth passage of the Eton Inclosure Bill through Parliament, for John Penn made the tactical error of not consulting the Crown or giving them opportunity to appoint their own Inclosure Surveyor. The particular problem in Eton was the proximity of Manor and Saddocks Farms. Not without considerable ingenuity could the different plots of land be rearranged so that, as well as each farm receiving its fair share, the share formed a  compact block adjacent to the farmhouse.  When at last the Officers of the Crown became aware of Penn's plans it was too late to do anything except oppose the Bill.

This was not only a battle between landowners; townsfolk and villagers were worried about the likelihood of their loss of rights and did the only thing open to them - they presented a petition to Parliament. They protested that 'the Bill instead of producing any beneficial effects (would) tend to diminish the comforts and prosperity of the Inhabitants by depriving them of the Right of       depasturing their cattle on the Lammas lands, thereby increasing the Poor Rates, the burden of which is already quite as much as can be borne'.

Over one hundred and eighty people signed the petition or made their mark if they could not write, and amongst them several who almost certainly came from Eton Wick like Joseph and Phillip Tarrent, John Atkins and Tholpas Goddard. Other parishes had presented petitions, but often in vain, for Parliament mostly comprised landed gentry who tended to think in terms of protecting their own interests.  As tithe-owners the Provost and Fellows of Eton College had originally been as interested as John Penn in the proposed Bill, but it seems possible that at the last moment they changed sides.  Perhaps their loyalty to the Crown was called into question; they were after all considerable leaseholders from the Crown. They had the power to sway the balance in Parliament by influencing the Members of Parliament, many of whom were old Etonians. This however is speculation, and we shall never know the full story, for the records were lost when the Houses of Parliament were burnt down.  The Bill was defeated on 1st May, 1826: the town and village celebrated with bonfires and testing in the local inns. A banner was painted on blue silk for the occasion and paraded triumphantly through the streets proclaiming the sentiment that was to burn brightly for another century or more, 'May Eton flourish free and ever protect her rights'.

No other Bill for the enclosure of Eton was ever presented to Parliament. The people of the parish continued to be vigilant in preserving their rights, even to the extent of taking a man to court about 1840 for building two houses on part of South Field near the village. It was his own land; yet when the case was tried at Aylesbury he was ordered to pull them down because they were built on Lammas land. When in the middle of the nineteenth century the Crown once more became interested in enclosure, the College was opposed to it and the Penn estates were 'in circumstances that render(ed) it difficult to be dealt with'. Not until 1902 did the Crown successfully negotiate with the Lord of the Manor to overcome the inconvenience of the scattered strips, and even the the pasturage rights, or Lammas rights, were not extinguished, but only an exchange effected. The rights still exist though most people lost theirs through the Commons Registration Act of 1965.  To some people the rights have become an inconvenient anachronism, while to the majority it is just something that has nothing to do with them. Yet it is these rights that have preserved Eton Wick as a village and prevented it from becoming engulfed in a suburban sprawl.

This is an extract from The Story of a Village: Eton Wick 1217 to 1977 by Judith Hunter.