Mediaeval Agriculture

Mediaeval and early post-medieval finds of pottery are common across those parts of the parish that have been fieldwalked. This suggests extensive arable agriculture which would have been carried out in huge open fields where ploughing resulted in ridge and furrow, remnants of which can be seen scattered throughout the parish. Mediaeval documents may give more details of everyday farming life in the parish.

The principal medieval centres in Dodderhill were Rashwood, Astwood, Huntingdrop (later placed in Hanbury), Crowfield (later placed in Bromsgrove), Impney, Purshull (later placed in Elmbridge), Sagebury, Obden, Pipers Hill, and Cassies, now Cashes Farm.

We assume that the Black Death in 1348-9, like other plagues and famines, had an impact on the parish. Survivals of ridge and furrow on marginal land in the parish suggest that, in Dodderhill as across the rest of the country, more land was in arable cultivation in the 14th century (when there was a warming of the climate) before the Black Death. Later, due to the lack of people to cultivate this land, it returned to pasture and so the ridge and furrow survives. The smaller post-Black Death population led to greater mobility for people and higher wages, and is generally thought to have led to the easing of the restrictions of feudal society. Individuals had more options, such as moving to towns, or could demand higher pay and better conditions if they stayed on the manors/estates where they had previously been bound to remain. Obligations and payments in kind, such as produce or days of labour for the lord of the manor, were commuted to money payments; labourers could ask for monetary pay for their efforts. In this way, the impact of the Black Death started the process of moving the medieval economy onwards towards a more modern monetary system.

Mid 16th century Nuremberg token or counter of the type found in Dodderhill. This type of mediaeval token was used on an accounting (chequers) board – perhaps for the salt trade.