Welsh Journals

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These wastes and common lands were highly valued. Over the uncultivated open common land and waste lands of the parish of Llanfihangel y Creuddyn, for instance, landowners and owner-occu- piers enjoyed certain rights. First, there were "large Tracts of Waste called the Mountains, upon which all Occupiers of Houses and Lands within the Parish" enjoyed an "unlimited Right of Common".17 Secondly, there were "other wastes in which a limited Number only of the surrounding Occupiers of Lands" had "a Right of Pasturage in Common with each other, and these Wastes "were" said to be appen- dant to those particular Tenements".18 Hence, only horses, sheep and cattle were pastured, and then only as many as could be wintered on the common. Thirdly, there were "large Tracts of Sheepwalks ('called 'arosfa(eydd) cynefin in Welsh) contiguous to the Mount- ains, of each particular Tenements claim certain distinct Parcels as appendant or appurtenant thereto, tho' these Sheepwalks lye open to the Mountains at large, but the Boundaries of each are well known" When the right was appurtenant other animals besides horses, sheep and cattle could be pastured. Three rights were thus recognised in the parish of Llanfihangel y Creuddyn-the right of common, the right of pasturage, and the right of sheep-walk. The commons and wastes of the county as elsewhere sup- plied fuel in the form of peat, turf and faggots pasturage for stock and often, "illegally", land to build houses. Their value to the inhabi- tants cannot be exaggerated. Gwallter Mechain said that frequently a sheep-walk upon the mountains, attached to a farm, "is of more value to the farmer than the farm itself".20 "The people in Wales," claimed one witness to the Select Committee on Common's Inclosure in 1844, "look upon the rights of common as invaluable I believe I may safely say that I have let more farms than any man in Wales, and the first question which a Welshman asks when he comes to take a farm is "What kind of a right of common can you offer ?112" Advertisements of farm sales in local newspapers confirm the importance of these rights "The foregoing Lands and Premises have two excellent Commons appurtenant, called Pant-y-Cerrig and Mynydd Moelrygos containing about 130 Acres and have a Right of Pasture on that excellent Common, called Gorse-Fochno, measuring 9000 Acres, which in this enlightened age will not be left long undivided".22 These commons and wastes though owned by the Lord of the Manor were often supervised by the manor courts. Thus from the court book of the manor of Llanddewibrefi, the court saw to it that tenants main- tained the gates and fences saw to it that cattle, sheep, horses and geese brought from the adjoining manors to depasture were charged as follows cattle 5s., sheep is., geese 4d. Horsemen found depasturing their stallions upon the commons or wastes were fined in the sum of