ABSTRACT
The dominance of agriculture is not in doubt, what remains uncertain is the relative importance of different types of land use. Arable farming was increasing in importance, and was 'probably the main source of the increased prosperity reflected in the rebuilding of the houses of the Monmouthshire countryside in the century before the Civil War'. The common-field system survived in full vigour in a zone which can be conveniently described as a triangle with its apex in County Durham and its base from Wiltshire to Norfolk. The pattern of rural settlement varied as much as the farming systems. In classic Midland open-field parishes, like Laxton, the houses of the farmers and labourers lay together along one/two streets, close to manor house and parish church, with almost no outlying dwellings. A manorial survey categorised the tenants by tenures rather than estates, which can give a distorted picture of their security.
