Now! Then! 2025! - Yorkshire On This Day

Excerpt

November the 6th, 1628, my father [note added by Henry Best’s son John] agreed with Henry Morris, John Bonwicke, Ralph Lambert, and Leonard Goodale, to thresh all the corn that year, and to have 6d. a quarter for barley, 4d. a quarter for oats, 7d. a quarter for peas, and 8d. a quarter for rye; and a threave [two stooks, perhaps 24 sheaves] of straw in the week. He agreed with the threshers again the 8th of November, 1629, to have 7d. a quarter for peas, 4d. a quarter for oats, 8d. a quarter for wheat and rye, 6d. a quarter for barley, and every one of them to have a threave of straw a week, if they threshed the whole week, or else not. He agreed with the threshers the next year to thresh out his corn, and to have 5d. a quarter for barley, 4d. a quarter for oats, 8d. a quarter for wheat and rye, 7d. for peas, and 16d. a score for faying [winnowing?], and he gave them for a God’s penny [down payment] 2d. a piece. Agreed another year with Thomas Styringe and Leonard Goodale to give them 5d. a quarter for barley, 4d. a quarter for oats, 6d. a quarter for peas, 8d. a quarter for wheat and rye, and each of them to have a stook of straw every week.

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To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.

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Original

FOR BURYINGE OF CORNE BY QUARTER-TAILE.

November the 6th, 1628, my father agreed with Henry Morris, John Bonwicke, Ralph Lambert, and Leonard Goodale, to threshe all the corne that yeare, and to have 6d. a quarter for barley, 4d. a quarter for oates, 7d. a quarter for pease, and 8d. a quarter for rye; and a threave of strawe in the weeke. Hee agreed with the threshers againe the 8th of November, 1629, to have 7d. a quarter for pease, 4d. a quarter for oates, 8d. a quarter for wheate and rye, 6d. a quarter for karley, and every one of them to have a threave [of] strawe a weeke, if they threshed the whole weeke, or else not. Hee agreed with the threshers the next yeare to thresh out his corne, and to have 5d. a quarter for barley, 4d. a quarter for oates, 8d. a quarter for wheate and rye, 7d. for pease, and 16d. a score for feyinge, and hee gave them for a godspenny 2d. a peece. Agreed another yeare with Thomas Styringe and Leonard Goodale to give them 5d. a quarter for barley, 4d. a quarter for oates, 6d. a quarter for pease, 8d. a quarter for wheate and rye, and each of them to have a stooke of strawe every weeke.

219 words.

Tags

Tags are assigned inclusively on the basis of an entry’s original text and any comment. You may find this confusing if you only read an entry excerpt.

• Agriculture (10) ·
• Barley (5) ·
• Driffield (12) ·
• East Riding of Yorkshire (67) ·
• 📌Elmswell, East Riding of Yorkshire (19) ·
• Grain (4) ·
• Oat (2) ·
• Pea (2) ·
• Rye (7) ·
• Straw (1) ·
• Threshing (2) ·
• Wheat (14) ·
• Yorkshire Wolds (23) ·

All tags.

Similar

20 February 1582: Part of the household inventory made on the death of farmer Richard Best of Elmswell, including his homebrew kit

3 May 1641: On the day of the discovery of the True Cross, Driffield folk start moving their livestock out of town to high summer pasture, endangering crops

18 November 1641: How Henry Best of Elmswell (Wolds) got his straw into optimal condition for the arrival today of the thatcher

19 August 1641: Henry Best of Elmswell (Driffield) begins to harvest mixed grain, and gleaners wait in the wings

11 May 1641: William Simpson of Little Driffield takes a break from threshing to shear Henry Best’s sheep at Elmswell

21 May 1641: Six corn-wains from villages east of Driffield pass slowly through Elmswell on their way to Malton

5 November 1641: Henry Best of Elmswell (Driffield) lays his wagons up for the winter

25 April 1641: The mole-hunting season begins in the Yorkshire Wolds

16 September 1641: Henry Best of Elmswell (Driffield) begins to harvest peas, and describes the technique required

6 June 1641: Under a waning gibbous moon, armed with a penknife and sticky-willy unguent, a shepherd castrates Henry Best’s lambs at Elmswell (Driffield)