demeane or in usu, and
have divers sonnys by dyvers venters, viz. by dyvers wyvys, or women by
divers men, and dye, that then the yonger son of them shall inherite the
seid lands and tenements with other the premyses in fe symple as in fe
tayle that so descendith in the seid yonger holdyng in demeane or in
use, except ther be any other estate made & proved to the contrary by
wryting & if the[y] have no yssue butt all doughters that then the seid
inheritance [is] to be parted betwene theym except any lawful wryting or
state made to the contrary after the custom."

Neither of these rules of succession was in any way confined to the West
of England. Indeed, the late Mr. T. W. Shore, who appears to have been
quite an authority on the subject, affirms that "in a general way it may
be said that the further we go from Kent the less numerous become the
instances in any county of England." This statement is confirmed by a
yet greater authority. "Borough English," says Elton, "was most
prevalent in the S.E. districts, in Kent, Sussex, and Surrey, in a ring
of manors encircling ancient London, and, to a less extent, in Essex and
the East Anglian kingdom." Mr. E. A. Peacock, however, points out that
there are in Lincolnshire seven places where the custom is still
abiding--viz., Hibaldstow, Keadby, Kirton-in-Lindsey, Long Bennington,
Norton (Bishops), Thoresby and Wathall; and he further calls attention
to the fact, which is certainly most important, that the custom may be
traced over nearly all Europe with the exception of Spain and Italy, and
up to the boundaries of China and Arracan. The German name is
_jungsten-recht_; and the practice for which it stands existed, amongst
other places, at Rettenburg in Westphalia. How then did it become known
as Borough _English_? The reason is suggested by the two sorts of
tenure--Burgh Engloyes and Burgh Francoyes--which are found in different
parts of the town of Nottingham in the reign of Edward III. Borough
English was the native custom which had succeeded in holding its ground
against the effects of the Norman Conquest.

As has been said, Borough English was in vogue all around London--at
Lambeth, Vauxhall, Croydon, Streatham, Leigham Court, Shene or Richmond,
Isleworth, Sion, Ealing, Acton, and Earl's Court. In some of these
places--Fulham, Wimbledon, Battersea, Wandsworth, Barnes and
Richmond--the "yonger holding" descended not only to males but to
females; and at Lambeth (and at Kirto