Yoke (unit of measurement)
Encyclopedia
A yoke was a unit of land measurement used in Kent
in England at the time of the Domesday Book
for tax purposes. It was equal to a quarter of a sulung. A sulung was the amount of land which could be ploughed by 4 ox-pairs (or approximately 2 hides), therefore a yoke was a pair of oxen, representing the amount of land that could be cultivated by an ox pair. A yoke also described the device used to harness two oxen together (see photo).
In early Saxon times nearly all the Weald of Kent
, the land between the chalk ridges of the North and South Downs
, was covered in ancient broadleaf forest but there are indications that much of what is now Penshurst
had been cultivated clearings since Roman days. The Romans
left no tangible relics although we have a record of their measurement for land in the “Yokes” of Chested, Vexour, Chafford etc. The yoke is the old Roman jugum, about 50 acres. This word has survived only in Kent. One theory is that the Jutes
conquered Kent, whereas the Angles
and Saxons
(c 450 AD) settled over the remainder of England. In these ‘yokes’ along the banks of the river Medway crops such as corn would have been cultivated.
A joch is a traditional unit of area in German speaking countries, especially in Austria
. One joch is the area of a square 40 klafters (about 83 yards) on a side. This comes to 0.5755 hectare or about 1.422 acres. The plural is joche. Joch is also the word for a yoke in German, so this unit represents an area that could be plowed in a day by a yoke of oxen. In what is now the Czech Republic
this unit was known as the jitro; in Croatia
it is the jutro.
There are references to the yoke or jugum in Kentish medieval records and in the Domesday survey. The rental record of Gillingham
dated 1477 reveals that the yoke was a fiscal land division for purposes of rents and services, and had its own privileges. Its size was clearly related to its fertility and position. For example, an Otford
rental of c.1425 lists a full yoke on the fertile soil of the valley as 120 acres, a figure to which many of these yokes approximate, but on the poor clay soils on the Downs one yoke is 231 acres.
The stability of names of yokes was remarkable: in Otford, almost all the names recorded in 1285 survived to 1447. The fields of yokes were large enclosures, not open fields, and the land within them, although possibly cultivated co-operatively by many tenants, was usually held severally. It appears that that the yoke was a compact holding and this is further suggested by early tenancies. In the 1285 Gillingham custumal
, it is recorded that 73.6 percent of the tenants possessed a single yoke of land. By 15th century gavelkind
tenure gave rise to an accentuated dispersal of settlement in Kent and many holdings were split and became uneconomic. Thus by the 15th century, yokes comprised one or more large fields farmed in many separate parcels. They were fiscal units with certain defined rights and privileges. Most of them still had a central farm, and they had at some time in the past been single land units.
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
in England at the time of the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
for tax purposes. It was equal to a quarter of a sulung. A sulung was the amount of land which could be ploughed by 4 ox-pairs (or approximately 2 hides), therefore a yoke was a pair of oxen, representing the amount of land that could be cultivated by an ox pair. A yoke also described the device used to harness two oxen together (see photo).
In early Saxon times nearly all the Weald of Kent
Weald
The Weald is the name given to an area in South East England situated between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It should be regarded as three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the centre; the clay "Low Weald" periphery; and the Greensand Ridge which...
, the land between the chalk ridges of the North and South Downs
Downs
-Places:In the 'hill' context, the word 'down' derives from Celtic dun "hill, hill fort".*Downland, a geographical feature*The North Downs and the South Downs, England, as a collective term*North Wessex Downs AONB, England...
, was covered in ancient broadleaf forest but there are indications that much of what is now Penshurst
Penshurst
Penshurst is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. The parish is located on the northern slopes of the Weald, west of Tonbridge. Within the parish boundaries are the two villages of Penshurst and Fordcombe, with a combined population of some 1,479 persons. The...
had been cultivated clearings since Roman days. The Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
left no tangible relics although we have a record of their measurement for land in the “Yokes” of Chested, Vexour, Chafford etc. The yoke is the old Roman jugum, about 50 acres. This word has survived only in Kent. One theory is that the Jutes
Jutes
The Jutes, Iuti, or Iutæ were a Germanic people who, according to Bede, were one of the three most powerful Germanic peoples of their time, the other two being the Saxons and the Angles...
conquered Kent, whereas the Angles
Angles
The Angles is a modern English term for a Germanic people who took their name from the ancestral cultural region of Angeln, a district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany...
and Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
(c 450 AD) settled over the remainder of England. In these ‘yokes’ along the banks of the river Medway crops such as corn would have been cultivated.
A joch is a traditional unit of area in German speaking countries, especially in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. One joch is the area of a square 40 klafters (about 83 yards) on a side. This comes to 0.5755 hectare or about 1.422 acres. The plural is joche. Joch is also the word for a yoke in German, so this unit represents an area that could be plowed in a day by a yoke of oxen. In what is now the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
this unit was known as the jitro; in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
it is the jutro.
There are references to the yoke or jugum in Kentish medieval records and in the Domesday survey. The rental record of Gillingham
Gillingham
-United Kingdom:* Gillingham, Dorset **Gillingham railway station**Gillingham Town F.C., association football club* Gillingham, Kent **Gillingham **Gillingham railway station...
dated 1477 reveals that the yoke was a fiscal land division for purposes of rents and services, and had its own privileges. Its size was clearly related to its fertility and position. For example, an Otford
Otford
Otford is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent known for its classically British countryside. The village is located on the River Darent, flowing north down its valley from its source on the North Downs...
rental of c.1425 lists a full yoke on the fertile soil of the valley as 120 acres, a figure to which many of these yokes approximate, but on the poor clay soils on the Downs one yoke is 231 acres.
The stability of names of yokes was remarkable: in Otford, almost all the names recorded in 1285 survived to 1447. The fields of yokes were large enclosures, not open fields, and the land within them, although possibly cultivated co-operatively by many tenants, was usually held severally. It appears that that the yoke was a compact holding and this is further suggested by early tenancies. In the 1285 Gillingham custumal
Custumal
A custumal is a medieval English document, usually edited and composed over time, that stipulates the economic, political, and social customs of a manor or town...
, it is recorded that 73.6 percent of the tenants possessed a single yoke of land. By 15th century gavelkind
Gavelkind
Gavelkind was a system of land tenure associated chiefly with the county of Kent, but found also in other parts of England. Its inheritance pattern bears resemblance to Salic patrimony and as such might testify in favour of a wider, probably ancient Germanic tradition.It was legally abolished in...
tenure gave rise to an accentuated dispersal of settlement in Kent and many holdings were split and became uneconomic. Thus by the 15th century, yokes comprised one or more large fields farmed in many separate parcels. They were fiscal units with certain defined rights and privileges. Most of them still had a central farm, and they had at some time in the past been single land units.