cathedral of Canterbury, and remained a part of its endowment until the Reformation. The first of these,[1]dated 995, is a confirmation by King Ethelred II. of a grant of this manor to .Æscwig, bishop of Dor- chester, and states that it had been conveyed to the latter by Sigeric, archbishop of Canterbury, for " 90 ' librae ' of pure silver and 200 ' man- cusae ' of purest gold," wherewith to buy off the Danespresumably in 991.[2] But Æscwig himself in the next charter, dated the same year, speaks as if the money had been only a loan, and the land security for payment ; he now restores it of his own accord.[3] The subsequent char- ters of Ethelred and Edward the Confessor[4] are merely confirmations of this manor to Christchurch, Canterbury. A will of Archbishop Ælfric[5] speaks of property at Willen and Burnham ; but of this nothing further is known. It seems probable, from the dating of a few charters,[6] that the archbishops had a residence at Monks' Risborough early in the eleventh century : but there is no evidence that they founded a monastery there as a cell to Christchurch.
The entries relating to Church property in the Domesday Survey are not very extensive, and may here be briefly summarized. The manors are named as belonging to the see of Canterbury : that of Monks' Risborough, already alluded to, 30 hides in extent and worth £16 ; that of 'Nedreham' (Haddenham and Cuddington), 40 hides in extent, worth £40 ; and Halton, only 5 hides, worth £8. The manor of 'Nedreham' changed hands only a few years after the Survey was made : it was granted by William Rufus, at the request of Lanfranc, to Bishop Gundulf of Rochester, in compensation for the expenses he had incurred in fortifying Rochester Castle for the King.[7]
Two manors belonged to the see of Winchester : West Wycombe, 19 hides, worth £15 ; and Ivinghoe, 20 hides, worth £18. These had both belonged to the Church in King Edward's day, and continued to do so for some time after.
The lands of the bishop of Lincoln are the most interesting of the series. We know from the Conqueror's foundation charter[8] that the new Cathedral was endowed with the churches of Buckingham and Aylesbury and the manor of Wooburn : of these the two churches at any rate were part of the endowment of the old see of Dorchester, and so was the manor of Buckland. These churches and manors with two small holdings in Burnham and ' Lede ' (only two hides of land taken together, worth 35s.) brought the value of the bishop's land in this
- ↑ Kemble, Cod. Dipl. dclxxxix.
- ↑ W. Hunt, History of the English Church, i. 381.
- ↑ Kemble, Cod. Dipl. dcxc.
- ↑ Ibid, dccxv. and dcccxcvi. The name given is ' Hrisebeorgam ' or ' Hrysebyrgan ' ' be Cilternesefese,' which can scarcely refer to any place but Monks' Risborough.
- ↑ Naming ' Wyllan, Burnan, and Risenbeorgas.' Ibid, dccxvi.
- ↑ One of Æthelnoth and another of Eadsige, both referring to property at Halton, are dated at Risborough. Ibid, mcccxxi. and mcccxrxvi.
- ↑ The original charter of William Rufus still exists (Campbell ch. vii. i). See also William of Malmesbury, De Gest. Pont. (Rolls Series), 137.
- ↑ Dugdale, Mon. vi. (3) 1270.
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