Swanley Heritage No 2 - History of land ownership to before the Kentish Kingdoms

Land Ownership before the Kentish Kingdoms
Land "tenures" were alloidal before) the Norman Conquest. In Pre-history anyone could take land for occupation provided it was not already occupied. He or she would call it his or her own.

Thus, it is probable that land ownership from Pre-history until the end of the Anglo-Saxon Era was characterised by individual family estates with others becoming land owners/occupiers as followers of the principal estate owner. Thus, a tribal leadership heirarchy came about by the likes of the following:

• an individual (as leader) took and enclosed unoccupied lands and created a settled place for his/her family and any followers;
• the  leader had gifted portions of land to a family member or some other person (in recognition of fealty);
• strangers with knowledge or skills, say a warrior, would be given land (in exchange for fealty);
• amalgamations of lands or even estates might take place at the time of a "strategic" marriage (fealty may have been one result) ; 
• land or estates were taken over as spoils as a result of a victory in disputes (survivors became slaves or admitted fealty); and,
• customary laws were invoked to enforce surrenders of land to the leader from a miscreant follower (who may have become as slave or an outcast).

As far as is know land in Swanley was not owned and would have probably been common land - perhaps subject to tribal customary law for grazing (pigs?) and other rights of common as we now call them.

Roman Era
The only period (known to me) when a different system was imposed was during the Roman Era. Even so in general the Romans recognised tribal customs of friendly tribes. Examples included tribal "tenure" and, for instance, inheritance of of tribal lands. Roman law was only applied to Roman settlements and rural areas and perhaps the lands of unfriendly defeated tribes. One principal exception was the treatment of Boudicca (Queen of the Icenii) and her daughters. On his death Boudicca had inherited the tribal lands from her husband but the Roman leader, Vespasian, ignored the tribal customary rights of the friendly tribe and demanded tribute. As a result the Romans lost Colchester, London... before finally supressing the rebellion lead by Boudicca. 

Romano-Britons
From about 410 for about 50 years the Roman way of life may have survived in the Dareth Valley (DV). The villas would have continued in occupation unless the occupiers joined the military withdrawal to Rome. As with all failing economomies commercial  life withered and trading is likely to have ceased because of the following:

• military defences were absent;
• roads became impassable;
• buildings became derelict; 
• travelling traders could not travel;
• lawlessness became prevalent; and,
• foreign warlike groups arrived - Jutes, Saxons and Angles.

The times were truly darkened!

Dark Ages
The representatives of the invading tribes soon established settlements and may have taken over some of the countryside villas (but I have no evidence of local happenings). Life became one of disputes to be settled by combat between such groups. The period is one of no contemporary records! Archaeological evidence of any life in the Swanley area in this period has not come to notice - it would have been a peaceful place of woodlands to camp and chill out with the swine.

Kingdom of Kent
At some point at this time, say 550, (for now until corrected) Kent became unified as one of the Kingdoms of what was later to become England  - 300 years or so later.