Page:VCH Sussex 1.djvu/471

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THE HOLDERS OF LANDS self (ire) whither he would, and then, as (ft) now, it was assessed for I virgate. There is land for I plough, and there it is on the demesne, with i villein and 2 cottars. It is and was worth lo shillings. In Bexelei [Bexhill] Hundred Osbern holds Bexelei [Bexhill] of the count. In the time of King Edward Bishop Alric held it, because it belongs to {est de) the bishopric,' and afterwards he held it until King William gave the castelry of Hastings [castellariam de Hastinges) to the count. In the time of King Edward, as [et) now, it was assessed for 20 hides. There is land for 26 ploughs. Of the land of this manor the count him- self holds in demesne 3 hides, and there he has I plough, and (there are) 7 villeins with 4 ploughs. Of the same land Osbern has 10 hides, Wenenc I hide, William de Sept Mueles 2 j hides all but {>ninus) half a virgate, Robert St. Leger i hide and half a virgate, Reinbert half a hide, Anschitil half a hide, Robert Cruel half a hide, Geoffrey and Roger, clerks, i hide as a benefice {in prebendd). There (are) 2 churches. On (their) demesne are 4 ploughs, and (there are) 46 villeins and 27 cottars with 28 ploughs. In the whole manor (are) 6 acres of meadow. The whole manor in the time of King Edward was worth 20 pounds, and afterwards it was waste {wasta). Now (it is worth) 18 pounds and 10 shillings. Of this {his) the count's portion accounts for {capit) 40 shil- lings. Osbern holds of the count 2 virgates of land in the same hundred, and they were assessed for 2 virgates then as now {semper). There he has 5 ploughing oxen {ioves in carluca]). (This) was worth 8 shillings, now 16 shillings. Levenot held Bolintun [Bollington in Bexhill] of King Edward, and it was assessed for 5 hides both then and now. There is land for 5 ploughs. Of this land the count holds in demesne 3 virgates ; and there he has 20 burgesses ^ and 5 cottars with 2 ploughs. 1 Bexhill was recovered by the Bishop of Chichester before 1 166, when it was rated at 10 hides {ReJ Book of the Exchequer [Rolls Series] i. 200) ; the 10 hides held by Osbern may have formed a separate manor (see note 11, p. 394). ^ It is difficult to account for the appearance of burgesses here and nowhere else in the Count of Eu's rape ; their borough must have been Hast- The abbey of Treport ^ {Ultresport) holds 3 hides all but {minus) 2 virgates, and for so much (this holding) is assessed. On the de- mesne is I plough, and 13 villeins with 13 cottars have 5 ploughs ; (there are) 20 acres of me:idow. In the time of King Edward the whole manor was worth 6 pounds, and afterwards 50 shillings. Now the count has 43 shillings and the monks 4 pounds. In Baldeslei [Baldslow] Hundred King Edward held Wilesham [Filsham] in demesne. There arc 15 hides which do not pay geld and have not paid geld. There is land for 30 ploughs. Of this land the count himself holds 8 hides and I virgate ; and there he has 2 fo. 18b ploughs, and 48 villeins with 7 cottars have 34 ploughs. Of the land of the same manor Geoffrey holds 2 hides, Robert I hide and i virgate, William half a hide, Hugh the crossbowman 5 virgates, Ingelran 2 virgates, Robert the cook* half a hide, Walter 5 virgates, Sasward I virgate, Wenenc the priest I virgate, Osward 2 virgates, Roger Daniel half a hide.° On (their) demesne are 6-h ploughs, and 13 villeins and 17 cottars and 3 serfs with 7^ ploughs. In the manor (are) 30 acres of meadow, and wood(land yielding) 8 swine. The whole manor in the time of King Edward was worth 14 pounds. Afterwards it was laid waste {vtisintum)." Now (it is worth) 22 pounds. Of this {his) 14 pounds are assigned to the count's portion {computan- tur in parte comitis). Ulward the priest of this manor holds a church with I virgate, but (that virgate) does not belong to the 15 hides. Ulmer held it of King Edward, and it did not then pay geld, nor does it {nee facit) now. (This) is worth 5 shillings. ings, and the land itself may have been at Bul- warhithe which was afterwards a member of Hastings. 3 Robert Count of Eu gave 'Boniton' to the abbey of Treport ; it apparently included Pep- plesham, as that was afterwards in the abbey's possession.' « Coc{us) interlined. 6 The total amount of land here accounted for, including the I virgate attributed to Pileshara in the ' rape ' of Battle, is l virgate short of l 5 hides. 6 The routes of the armies of William and Harold at the time of the invasion can be partly traced by these notices of devastated manors, but it is remarkable how completely they had recovered, and even increased, their v.ilue. See Introd. p. 363. 397