Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 03.pdf/433

 39« annually paid a pound of pepper. Demesne lands and tenements in the manor of Pokcrley were rented on condition of the payment of one clove upon every anniversary of St. Cuthbert's Day Three gilliflowers formed the singular rentcharge paid for property at Kingston, Surrey; and roses, of various prescribed colors, were rendered to landlords in respect of various other holdings. At Brookhouse, near Penistone, a farmer used to pay, two centuries ago, the very remarkable rent of one red rose at Christmas, and one snowball at mid summer. It may be stated, by way of attempt at explanation, that in the caverns and hollows of the high moors, in this district, snow has occasionally been seen in the month of June, so that these peculiar conditions of tenancy might not always be so difficult of fulfilment as would at first sight appear. When King John occupied the throne of England, two farmers at Apse, in Surrey, held their lands under the stipulation that they should, each All Saints' Day, give away a cask of ale for the benefit of the soul of their sovereign and his ancestors; truly a curious condition, and little likely to accom plish the desired object. The memory of an old dragon legend is preserved in a tenure at Sockburn, near Durham. The manor is held by the Blackett family of the bishop of the diocese by simply showing to that digni tary of the church, upon his first assuming the prelatical functions, an ancient falchion with which, tradition says, Sir John Conyers, the first lord of the manor, slew a monstrous flying serpent, or " worm." Cornage was another class of tenure. This was the blowing of horns to herald the approach of the king's army. One example was the barony of Burgh-over-sands, Cumber land, the lord of which had to precede the royal forces whenever they went into Scot

land. The bugle or hunting-horn played a very important part in connection with ancient tenures. It was often the token by which lands were held, and thus stood in the place of a written charter. A fine charterhorn of this description is still preserved at Queen's College, Oxford. By way of conclusion we may mention two tenures of comparatively recent date, but with very interesting associations. We refer to the Strathfieldsaye estate, in Hamp shire, held of the Crown by the descendants of the Duke of Wellington by the nominal rent of a tri-colored flag, to be presented at Windsor Castle on every anniversary of the battle of Waterloo; and the honor of Wood stock conferred by Queen Ann on the Duke of Marlborough as a reward for his services at the battle of Blenheim, the sole rental of which is the bringing of a banner to Windsor on the 2d of August in each year, in memory of the " famous victory " as Southey makes " Old Kaspar " call it, which was gained on that date in the year of grace 1704. At Broughton, near Brig, in Lincolnshire, some lands are (or were) held by the follow ing tenure. Every year, on Palm Sunday, a person from Broughton comes into the church porch at Caister, having a green silk purse, containing two shillings and a silver penny, tied at the end of a cart-whip, which he cracks three times in the porch, and con tinues there until the second lesson begins, when he goes into the church and cracks it three times over the clergyman's head, and kneeling before him during the reading of the lesson, he presents the minister with the purse, and continues there during the rest of the service. We are indebted for many of the foregoing curious tenures to an interesting paper, written by T. B. Trowsdale, and which was published in the "Antiquarian Magazine."