Page:VCH Essex 1.djvu/587

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THE HOLDERS OF LANDS which was held by Esgar as a manor and as I hide in King Edward's time, is held of G[eoffrey] by Martel. Then 2 ploughs on the demesne ; now i. Then I priest and i villein with (de) 20 acres which belonged (attinebant) to the church ; now they do not belong (sunt) to the church. (There are) now 4 bordars. Then 3 serfs ; now 2. (There is) wood(land) for 100 swine, 20 acres of meadow, (and) now a moiety of a mill. 1 Then as now (temper) it was worth 40 shil- lings. MATCINGA [Matching*] was held by Esgar as a manor and as 40 acres, which (manor) G[eoffrey] holds in demesne. Then as now (semfer) I plough. Then I serf; now none. (There is) wood(land) for 10 swine, (and) 3 acres of meadow. It is worth 10 shillings. HALLINGEBERIA [Hallingbury 8 ], which was held, in King Edward's time, by Godid, a free woman, as a manor and as half a hide less 8 acres, is held of G[eoffrey] by Hugh. Then half a plough ; now none. Then 2 villeins ; now none. There are 5 acres of meadow. It is worth 5 shillings. HUNDRET OF DoMMAWA [DuNMOW] ESTRA [(High) Easter] was held by Esgar, in King Edward's time, as a manor and as 2 hides. 4 Now G[eoffrey] (holds it) in demesne. Then as now (semper) 4 ploughs on the demesne, and 1 2 ploughs belonging to the men. Then 46 villeins ; now 47. Then 14 bordars ; now 33. Then as now (semper) 9 serfs. (There is) wood(land) for 600 swine, and 30 acres of meadow. And a fifth plough could be employed (fieri) on the demesne. fo. 6ob Then 3 rounceys (runcini), and 7 beasts (ani- malla and 60 swine, and 60 sheep, (and) 30 Abbey in 1093. It was from the monks of Ber- mondsey that the manor derived its name. It may safely be inferred from this gift that the ' Martel ' of the text was the ' Geoffrey Martel ' who held of Geoffrey de Mandeville at Abbess Roding (see above). Ralf Baignard is similarly spoken of sometimes as ' Baignard ' only. 1 As there is a similar entry under the manor of Little Hallingbury Hall, it would seem that a mill had been erected here under the Conqueror, and a moiety of it assigned to each of the two manors.

  • i.e. the manor of Stock Hall there.
  • The identity of this small estate seems doubt-

ful. 4 The very low hidation of this great and valu- able manor should be observed. It appears to have included Pleshey (see Introduction, p. 343). goats, (and) 10 hives of bees. Now 3 roun- ceys, and 7 cows, 5 27 swine, 50 sheep, and 4 goats, and 17 hives of bees. 6 Then and afterwards it was worth 20 pounds ; now 30.' To this manor belong now as then (adjacent semper) 6 sokemen with (de) i^ hides. Then 2 ploughs ; now i ; (there are) now 3 bor- dars ; 8 (there are) 8 acres of meadow ; it was then worth 20 shillings ; now 30. There also belong (adjacent) to this manor 2 hides and i virgate which were held by 2 sokemen in King Edward's time, (and) in which there are now as then (semper) 4 ploughs on the demesne, and i ploughs belonging to the men. Then 8 villeins ; now 7. Then 6 bordars ; now 7. Then as now (semper) 3 serfs. (There is) wood(land) for 60 swine, (and) 24 acres of meadow. Then and after- wards it was worth 100 shillings; now 10 pounds. This is held of Geoffrey by 4 knights. And there belongs further (adhuc jacet) to this manor half a hide which used to belong to the church of the manor in King Edward's time, and which (earn) is now held of G[eof- frey] by Gutbert. Then as now (semper) i plough. Then I bordar ; now 3 ; and (there is) I serf. (There is) wood(land) for 20 swine, (and) 5 acres of meadow. It was then worth 20 shillings ; now 30. And this abovesaid manor is claimed by the Abbot of Ely, and the Hundret (court) testi- fies that it was in (possession of) the abbey in King Edward's time, but (that) Ansgar held this manor on that day on which King Ed- ward was alive and dead. 9 8 Here the cows seem to represent the 'ani- malia ' mentioned just before. 6 The hives had here increased from 10 to 17, and on his adjoining manor of Great Waltham from none to 20, giving on the whole estate an increase from I o to 37. It is worth noting that on the great manor of (Saffron) Walden, his other seat in the county, the hives had increased from 4 to 30. 7 Here is an increase in value of 50 per cent, with no increase in ploughs and a slight decrease in the live stock. 8 This implies that these sokemen had tilled their own land and had no peasants under them. 9 i.e. on the day of his death. For the abbot's claim to this manor see Liber Eficniis (Ed. Anglia Christiana Society), pp. 216-8. The abbey alleged that Ansgar the staller had seized this manor, that Abbot Wulfric and the monks appealed to King Edward in vain, and that they were ulti- mately obliged to grant it to Ansgar for his life. As in other cases, his Norman successor took pos- session of all the land he had held by whatever title. 509