Yeomen ****** In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries it had a particular meaning that, by the nineteenth century, had become largely obsolete. A 'yeoman' in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was a 'customary tenant' - in other words, someone who held his land by 'custom' rather than by the 'will' of the lord of the manor. This meant in practice that his land would pass from father to son automatically - the lord couldn't prevent the inheritance. The lord, did, however have various rights. These were often described as 'fines' (monies due, for instance, when the land changed hands or when the lordship of the manor changed hands) but the term had nothing to do being fined for being naughty. Possibly the two most important rights were over wood and minerals - the yeoman couldn't cut down the trees on his land, or mine for coal and iron, without permission. These rights (as a major source of income) were usually jealously guarded by the lord of the manor (or landlord, as wills often describe him). The manorial court also had certain powers. Though this court might be chaired by a representative of the lord, the decisions were made by a jury of yeomen. In effect, these were an oligarchy who controlled life in the manor. They could, and did, fine ('amerce') their fellow yeomen for being naughty. People who weren't yeomen ( husbandmen or whatever ) had no rights or powers - they couldn't, for instance, graze animals on common land and weren't protected by local bylaws and notions of 'good neighbourhood'. In other words, whatever your actual occupation (farmer, shoemaker, lawyer) it was very much in your interest to retain a parcel of customary land so that you were still a yeoman. By the end of the seventeenth century, many yeomen elsewhere in England had lost their rights and status. In Cumbria and Yorkshire, they were able to resist attempts by big landowners to take over (partly because they were able to claim special right as a potential defence force against Scottish raids). However, by the mid 1700s, the things that made 'yeomen' a special breed were beginning to die out. Yeomen had often bought out the rights of the lord ('enfranchisement') and had privatised the common land ('enclosure'). Neither the lord nor the manorial court had any significant power over them or their land. This eliminated the Scottish threat. The term had largely lost its technical status. A 'yeoman' described as such in a nineteenth century census or directory was someone who owned his own land. This could be a big or a small landowner, especially when the term is used in a directory, but the census might more usually describe a big landowner as a 'landed proprietor'. A yeoman might in other contexts be described as a 'gentleman' or might equally not be in that social category. The term yeoman had most meaning in contrast to the term 'husbandman' or 'Ag.lab' - someone who didn't own the land.