Conclusion

The three villages experienced gradual but significant change over three centuries, growing in population and experiencing political, religious, and consumer evolutions. The early end of serfdom and adoption of copyhold tenure let men create larger holdings generations before southern England. Those men prospered; those with smaller holdings persisted but they and women did not share the same options. The steady low rents made it easy for those with land to profit either from agriculture or from letting out their holdings; surprisingly, the bishopric administration made few adjustments to rents unlike many other lords in Durham and throughout England, even though there were numerous opportunities. The region’s economy and agriculture supported growth in Newcastle, just as London’s surrounding counties did for the capital, although not to the same scale; and that helped bolster the national economy. In the end, however, these great economic changes were determined by the actions and choices of ordinary men and women in rural England.