Hayward (profession)

For other uses of "Hayward", see Hayward.

Hayward, or "hedge warden", was an officer of an English parish dating from the Middle Ages in charge of fences and enclosures; also, a herdsman in charge of cattle and other animals grazing on common land.[1]


Notes

  1. ↑ Susa Young Gates (1918). Surname book and racial history. Pg. 435. "Hay, or hedged enclosure-keeper; O. E., haeg, haga, hedged enclosure and w(e)ard, keeper. The duties of the hayward were of a varied nature. His chief task seems to have been to guard the cattle at pasture ; also to protect the crops, trim the hedges, etc.."
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