Description:The Manor Court was not just an occasion for tenants to show deference to the Lord of the Manor. Important local issues were also debated, including disputes over rent.
One document within the Court Papers for Longton (1696-1733) tells us about the tenants who leased cottages in Longton in 1705. The document appears to be a survey of tenants made by the Bailiff concerning their encroachment onto common land which the Lord of the Manor was claiming to own. Many of the tenants appealed against the rent charges demanded by the Lord of the Manor, many stating that they would leave the land rather than pay rent. This document records the responses of Longton tenants to increases in their rents.
Oliver Evans occupied 'a house not long since built & a croft or two lately inclosed' within the Manor of Longton. Oliver's rent amounted to twenty shillings per year which he refused to pay, stating that he would 'pay nothing further then a hen or a days work'.
Many tenants rejected increases in their rent. Like Oliver Evans, James Whittacre refused to pay the new rent on the 'house garden & croft' which he owned with 'a smithy'. He answered that he would pay 'a days sheering & a hen as his father did before him'.
Other tenants were simply too poor to pay their rent. William Anson leased 'a house & Garden' with a 'nailing shop' attached. He appealed against his rent pleading 'poverty & a great family'. Matthew Edwards was also too poor to afford his annual rent of fifteen shillings for his 'house with three dwellings' and garden. Matthew appealed stating that he received two shillings and sixpence 'paid him out of the parish for susstainance'and 'unable to work or get any thing' was 'not able to pay any rent more than a hen'.
Some tenants responded angrily to their rent charges, such as Thomas Barker who occupied a house and garden with his father Sampson. Thomas answered on his father's behalf that Sampson 'was not able to pay any thing', adding that he would 'leave ye premises before he would pay 10 shillings per annum'.
This document demonstrates that although the Lord of the Manor oversaw the tenants on his lands, many tenants actively disputed decisions made by the landlord. The responses of the tenants represented in this document suggest that tenants were responding to the Bailiff about their concerns, rather than directly to the Lord of the Manor. The document suggests that during this period tenants and landlords appear to have debated and attempted to resolve local disputes through consultation with local estate agents.