DOMESDAY SURVEY than this. In addition to this estate at Liver, he held four hides at Faringdon (from which he derived his name) and two more at Little- worth adjoining, both being portions of manors in which William had succeeded Harold. In Oxfordshire we find him as ' Alsi de ferend' ' ' farming ' for the King Langford and Shipton, 1 both which manors had belonged to Harold, and he is thus proved to have acted as one of the King's reeves. Moreover, in the same county he occurs among the King's thegns, for he must be the Alsi who held two hides at Shipton,* formerly Harold's, and who also held at ' Rocote ' in that county. 3 Lastly, as * Elsi de ferendone,' he heads the King's thegns in Gloucester- shire, holding 3^ hides at Windrush (some seven miles N.W. of Langford), and farming for the King, as Harold's successor, the adjoining manor of Great Harrington. 4 Returning to Berkshire, we note that he had held even before the Conquest his Littleworth land, which implies that he had probably enjoyed Harold's favour. He must have been an elderly man in 1086, for Domesday names his son as holding a house at Wallingford, ' which he said the King had given him.' Turning now to the victims of the Conquest, the most interesting Englishman of whom we hear under Berkshire is Godric its former sheriff. That, according (apparently) to the Abingdon cartulary, he fell at the battle of Hastings would alone invest him with interest, but his dealing with the crown lands is of more real importance. The entries concerning him are found partly under the fief of Henry de Ferrers, who had clearly received a grant of his lands, and partly under the King's land, of which he is alleged to have filched portions, which were claimed by Henry as his successor. There is reason to believe that in other counties no less than in Berkshire there was apt to be confusion between the sheriffs land and that which he ' farmed ' for the Crown ; but the Berkshire evidence is instructive. At Woolhampton for instance Godric had been given certain land by King Edward, whose seal ' the men of the county ' had seen attached to the writ ; but he had also ' received ' further land ' de firma regis,' as to which they had seen no grant. At Bagshot, close to Shalbourn, Henry was holding two hides which were ' de firma regis ' and which were claimed as the King's. Turning to the ' terra regis' we read, under Shalbourn, that certain land 5 belonging to that manor had been separated from it (forts missa) ' in the time of sheriff Godric ' and was now in the hands of Henry de Ferrers. 8 Then there was a hide in Hendred, which was formerly ' de firma regis.' Godric had held it and ./Elfric of Thatcham asserted that he had seen King William's writ granting it to Godric's widow in con- 1 Langford lay some five miles N.W. of Farringdon. 2 Which, together with the eight retained by the King, account for a ten-hide manor of Harold's. 3 This was probably Radcot, on the border of Berkshire. 4 This manor had been held by one of Harold's house-carls. The details do not quite agree, but the locality is clear. 6 Of the other two hides here in dispute, one is described as ' de Reve Land,' that is, probably, part of the official endowment of the Sheriff (Shire Reeve). 293
