A HISTORY OF ESSEX HALF HUNDRET OF THUNRESLAU * BELCAMP [Belchamp (Walter)], which was held by Ulwin' as a manor and as 7. hides in King Edward's time, is held by Afubrey] in demesne. Then as now (semper) 4 ploughs (on the demesne), 8 and 7 ploughs belonging to the men. Then and afterwards 13 vil- leins; now 15. Then and afterwards 9 bordars ; now 14. Then and afterwards 6 serfs ; now 8. (There is) wood(land) for 20 swine, 60 acres of meadow, (and) now 1 1 arpents (arpenni) of vineyards, (of which) I is in bearing (portat). Then 24 beasts (animalia), 1 60 sheep, 80 swine, (and) 2 rounceys (run- cini) ; now 28 beasts, 200 sheep, TOO swine, (and) 2 rounceys. To this manor belong now as then (adjacent semper) 7 sokemen with (de) i hides and 15 acres; then as now (semper) 3^ ploughs were there ; 4 bordars (are there) now ; (there are) i oj acres of meadow. Then and afterwards it was worth 14 pounds ; now 1 8. Of this manor Enisant holds of A[ubrey] half a hide and 30 acres ; William Peche (peccatum) half a hide ; Suad' 30 acres ; and (these holdings) are worth 4 pounds in the above valuation (in eodem pretio 8 ). HUNDRET OF HIDINGAFORDA [HINCKFORD] HERSAM [Hersham (Hall) 4 ], which was held of A[ubrey]'s predecessor by 2 sokemen on the terms that (ita quod) they could not withdraw themselves (recedere) without his permission (licentia), is held of Afubrey] by Adelelm. 5 (There are) 45 acres. 6 Then as valued at the high sum of 7 out of the 20 which was the total value of the manor. But though their assessment (90 acres) is low, they had 5 ploughs among them. Yet even so their value is remarkable, for there seems to have been 20 ploughs in the rest of the manor. 1 For this mysterious Half Hundred see the Introduction (p. 405). 8 car' horn" in the MS., an obvious error for car' in fnlo. 3 The value of these holdings was only 4 out of 1 8 ; yet their total assessment was ij hides out of 4^, a high proportion, and one which con- trasts with the manor preceding, where a value of 7 out of 20 accompanies an assessment of only | hide out of (apparently) 3|. On the other hand the division of these two demesne manors of Aubrey is curiously similar, and they deserve to be carefully compared. 4 A manor of which the hall is in Helions Bumpstead, which parish is in Freshwell Hundret (see p. 535 below). 6 This is the Adelelm who held of him at ' Bumesteda ' (see p. 535 below), and at Burgate in the north of Suffolk. 6 This clause is interlined. now (semper) i^ ploughs. Then 5 bordars ; now 10. (There was) then wood for 40 swine ; now for 30. (There are) 7 acres of meadow. It is worth 20 shillings. HUNDRET OF LEXENDANA [LEXDEN] COLES [(Earls) Colne], which was held by Ulwin as a manor and as 5 hides, is held by A[ubrey] in demesne. Then as now (semper) 7 villeins, and 13 bordars, and 6 serfs. Then 3 ploughs on the demesne ; now 5. Then among the men (were) 3 ploughs ; now 4. (There is) wood(land) for 400 swine, 40 acres of meadow, (and) 2 mills. Then 2O cows and 19 beasts (animalia) ; 8 1 2O sheep, 60 swine, 60 goats, (and) 3 rounceys (runcini) ; now 45 beasts (animalia), 1 60 sheep, 80 swine, 80 goats, 4 rounceys, and 6 asses, and 20 mares. 9 And 4 sokemen dwelt on (in) these 5 hides and (had) i o bor- dars and 4 serfs. 10 (The whole) was worth 10 pounds then and afterwards; now 12. Of this manor Miblanc (Dlmidi[us] blancus]) holds i hide ; and (there are) 7 bordars and 2 ploughs on the demesne, and i plough be- longing to the men ; and it is worth 45 shillings in the above valuation (in eodem pretio). 11 7 The number is omitted in the MS. 8 This is one of the most noteworthy entries of live stock in the whole survey of the county. The cows and beasts, it should first be observed, are treated as quite distinct in the return for the earlier period ; but as there had been a general increase in the live stock on the manor, I suspect that the 45 ' animalia ' of the later period, who replace the 20 cows and 19 'animalia' (total 39), included cows, and that we have here another instance of the Domesday scribe's varying terminology. 9 This is the only entry of mares in Essex save for a single mare at Prested (in Peering) and one of the six entries of asses in the county. 10 There is no entry of ploughs and no valuation of these holdings, nor is their assessment recorded. They would seem to have been swept away. 11 It seems to be clear that this sub-manor was that which appears as Colne ' Miblanc ' not long afterwards, and which is now White Colne or part thereof. Morant assigned to White Colne this part of the entry, but held it ' certain that one Blancm held it at the time of the general Survey ' as 'half of the manor of Earls Colne; for he read the text as ' tenuit dimidium Blancus ' (ii. 210, 215). The entry under Radwinter below shows that his reading was wrong, and that ' Dimidius blancus ' must represent the ' Miblanc ' from which was derived the name (known to him) of Colne-Miblanc. 'Demiblanc' is found as the name of a certain coin in old French, which sug- gests that ' Dimidius blancus ' may have been a nickname. It occurs again below under Colchester, 534
