Land belonging to a parish church used to support its priest. The size of glebes varied enormously from 1 ha. (2 acres) to a few hundred hectares; priests might afford to engage labourers or be obliged to work the land themselves, and they could sub-lease part or all of the land. Since the glebe was a freeholding, the lord of the manor could not demand labour duties of the priest, although this immunity was not always observed.