The distribution of the majority of the land in the three open fields in 1580 is given in the following tables. The information is taken from Tables 49 to 51 of Professor Chibnall's book "Sherington: Fiefs and Fields of a Buckinghamshire Village". See also: Distribution of land in the Demesne area.

Note: The tables only list those fields for which terriers were available: approximately 70% of the total.

Marehill Field

Furlong	Acreage
Barrend Hole	3
Broadmoor	6 1⁄12
Bredonwell	3 1⁄4
Clay	9 1⁄4
Little furlong between Cowpasture and Clay	1 1⁄4
Shotting to Cowmead	3 5⁄12
Under Down hedge or fence or Coppedmore	6 1⁄4
Dowsdale	5 3⁄4
Cross furlong above Dowsdale	1 1⁄2
Dropwell Leys	3 1⁄2
Foxenhill	10 1⁄6
Cross furlong above Furmity Bush	2 7⁄12
Gore Broad	4 3⁄4
Godescote	9 1⁄6
Furlong shooting above Godescote	1⁄4
Furlong under Godescote	2 5⁄6
Upper furlong in Godescote	5 3⁄4
Goldsworth	8
Long Greenditch	8 2⁄3
Short Greenditch	6
Under Greenditch	3⁄4
One Hole (Deep furrow)	9 2⁄3
Shooting to Filgrave hedge	2
Mare Hill	29 5⁄6
Patch	1 2⁄3
Price (Breche)	13 5⁄12
Under Price	1⁄4
Little furlong above Price	2
Scragen Hill	4
Stoney Clay	3 7⁄12
Stoney Clay shooting to Walcot	5 1⁄4
Stuttels alias Dropwell	10
Below Stuttels	1 1⁄2
Walcott	15 11⁄12
Cross Alban	5 1⁄2
TOTAL	206 2⁄3

Windmill Field

Furlong	Acreage
Under the Ash	11
Blackland	12 1⁄4
Bullocks leys	8 7⁄12
Denson alias Monchlade	8
Gomeshole	8 1⁄2
Holbrooke alias Dagger way	4 3⁄4
Little Furlong at Holbrook Hill	1 1⁄3
Hollow Willow patch	6 1⁄2
Beyond Hollow Willow Bush	1 5⁄6
Homer Side of Hollow Willow Bush	5
Short furlong above Holloway	4 1⁄4
Holloway	3 3⁄4
Furlong beneath Holloway	1
Holloway Slade	3⁄4
Hunger Hill	6 1⁄2
Short furlong under Hunger Hill	3 3⁄4
Bacon's womb or Miller's Knob	3 3⁄4
Middle Malme	2 1⁄6
Nether Malme	5 1⁄2
Upper Malme	2 1⁄2
Pinson Hill	6 5⁄6
Raye	3 11⁄12
Above Rensfurrow	2 1⁄2
Rensfurrow	2
Ruden Hill	9 1⁄4
Rye	5 2⁄3
Sim Shooters (to Wolfreycroft)	1 3⁄4
Standhill Marsh	8 1⁄12
Staple Hill	12 1⁄3
Scardingswell	3 3⁄4
Townsend (including furongs named Upper Hay, under Burnt Leys, Hay, abutting down to New Close, abutting down to highway, Mr Catesby's Townsend)	17 1⁄3
Whitwell	5 1⁄3
Windmill	21 1⁄4
Wolfreycroft	4 1⁄2
TOTAL	206 1⁄16

MiddleField

	Furlong	Acreage
Above Town Ditch	Backside	6 11⁄12
	Cow Mead	1⁄2
	Elderstub	1 1⁄4
	Foxenhill	11 5⁄12
	Fully Hill	12 1⁄12
	Gusitslade	14 7⁄12
	Ryeslade	12 1⁄12
	Course's Townsend	4
	Walcote	17 1⁄4
	Yard's end	7 5⁄8
	TOTAL Above Town Ditch	87
Below Town Ditch	Alborough	11 1⁄6
	Bridge Leys	6 3⁄4
	North side of Clots or Tonditch	11 3⁄4
	Clots	3 3⁄4
	Clots slade	3 3⁄4
	Delves	7 1⁄3
	England	1 3⁄4
	Farthingstile	3⁄4
	Hareland	7 3⁄4
	Longland	7 3⁄4
	Meadow without Lords	4
	Millway	8 1⁄4
	Pusty	10
	Little furlong above Pusty	1 1⁄2
	Water Furrows	4 7⁄8
	Water Swallows	1⁄2
	Wetherhedge	3 1⁄4
	TOTAL Below Town Ditch	91 7⁄8
All	TOTAL	178 7⁄8

Summary - Area covered by terriers

3-field system in 1580			2-field system in 1300
Marehill Field	206 2⁄3 acres		West Field	293 3⁄4 acres
Windmill Field	2061⁄16 acres		South Field	304 1⁄8 acres
Middle Field	178 3⁄4 acres
TOTAL	597 7⁄8 acres		TOTAL	597 7⁄8 acres

Based on his analysis of the part of Windmill Field lying south of Bedford Road, where there was no cowpasture, Professor Chibnall believed the available terriers had accounted for 183 acres of an area known to contain 260 acres, suggesting he could apply a scaling factor of 260:183 or 1.42:1 to account for the missing information. He then assumed a similar factor applied to the other fields. After also allowing for the meadows, he concluded that the remaining area in the other fields still unaccounted for must be the cowpasture. This analysis led to the following overall distribution of land, as published in Table 52 in Chibnall's book. (The corresponding data for 1300 is from Table 4)

Computed Distribution of Land

1580					1300
		Acres	Acres				Acres	Acres
Demesne	Arable land	311			Demesne	North Field, arable and pasture	214 1⁄2
	Pasture	218				East Field, arable and pasture	138
						East Field, le Hoo Park	84
						South Field, arable and pasture	911⁄2
	Hazlemead	23				West Field, Willowmed	23
	Total		552			Total		551
Woods	How Wood	26			Woods			78
	Mercers' Wood	21
	Heyton Wood	18
	Linford Wood	17
	Total		82
Common fields	Marehill	293			Common fields	West Field	423
	Middle	260				South Field	427
	Windmill	296
	Total		849			Total		850
Non-demesne closes			22 3⁄4		Non-demesne closes			as 1580?
Cowpasture			97		Cowpasture			as 1580?
Meadows			54		Meadows			as 1580?
Farms and home closes			64		Farms and home closes			as 1580?
Cottages			9 1⁄4		Cottages			as 1580?
Roads			22		Roads			as 1580?
TOTAL			1752		TOTAL			1748

Other assumptions:

• The non-demesne closes are plots numbered 11, 13, 31-33, 41, 43, 56, 57 and 75 on the 1796 Enclosure Map.
• The farms and home closes are plots numbered 15-24, 28, 29, 40, 46, 52, 137-139, 147-152, 154-159, 163, 167, 176, 177, 179-182, 187, 188, 194, 195, 198 and 202 on the 1796 Enclosure Map.
• The cottages are those listed on the 1796 Enclosure Map.
• The roads are as stated on the 1796 Enclosure Map.

The total area on the 1796 enclosure map is 1763 ¹⁄₂ acres.

Maps:

Complete map of Sherington in 1580.

Larger scale maps of the four quadrants: North west, North east, South west, South east.

Note that there are a number of detailed discrepancies between the information on the map and that given in the tables.

In 1580, farming followed a 3-year cycle. The arable land was therefore divided into three fields: Marehill Field, Middle Field and Windmill Field. The division is shown on the Field map

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