Villein, Bordar & Free Man

In these days people knew their place in society. At the top of the social ladder was the King and the supporters of the King, who between them owned everything.

Every settlement had its master and was populated by people of varying levels of freedom. Little is known about the living conditions of ordinary people - the clothes they wore, about their work and the tools they used, or what they did in the leisure time. Local written records do not exist.

A villein (13 were recorded at Perton) was a peasant of some social standing responsible for the management of from 30 - 100 acres of land but was at the beck and call of the landowner and had to provide goods and services to him.

A bordar (2 were recorded at Perton) was a peasant of lower standing than a villein and who possible owned a cottage and managed a small piece of land. Borders did not own any oxen

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A free man (1 was recorded at Perton) was a peasant free to come and go as he pleased but had to pay rent and had certain obligations to the land owner.

The landowners seldom visited the lands they owned but left their management to bailiffs whom were appointed to ensure they got the returns from the land expected. The local villeins elected a representative amongst themselves to work with the bailiff for the day to day running of the settlement.