The Domesday Book entry for Goldhanger
Adelulf also holds GOLDHANGER from the Count,
which Alric held for 1 hide and 15 acres. Now 4 smallholders; then 2 slaves,
now none. Always 1 plough in lordship. Now ˝
mens plough. Woodland, 40 pigs; meadow, 3 acres; pasture, 50 sheep -
Value then 20s; now 30s.
He (Hugh son of Mauger) also holds GOLDHANGER from Hugh, which Leofwin (and) later Hager held as a manor, for 1 hide and 15 acres. Always 1 villager; 6 smallholders; 4 slaves. Then 1 plough, now ˝ Woodland, 60 pigs; meadow, 7 acres; pasture, 60 sheep; then ˝ salt-house, now l˝. - Value then 30s; value now 20s. 9 free men dwelt on ˝ hide. One man, a thane, held 30 acres and 2 other free men held 10 acres. Then 1 plough, now ˝. - Value then 26s 8d; now 8s. One of Hugh de Montfort's men-at-arms, Hugh son of Mauger by name, acquired 15 acres from 1 free thane and put it with his own land. He did not have a deliverer, so the Hundred testifies; therefore it is in the King's hand.
Richard holds GOLDHANGER from Ranulf, which Leofwin and Wulfward the priest held as a manor, for 2˝ hides and 25 acres. Then 3 smallholders, now 14; always 2 slaves. Then 2 ploughs in lordship, now 1. Now 1 men's plough. Woodland, 80 pigs; pasture, 50 sheep; meadow, 3˝ acres. Then 51 sheep, 8 pigs; now 1 cob, 1 cow, 3 sheep, 3 pigs. - Value always 40s. In the same (Goldhanger) 2 free men with 7˝ acres. - Value 20d.
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Count Eustace fought at the Battle of
Hastings (1066) and was rewarded with land in England. At the Domesday Survey,
Eustace held vast lands Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire,
Kent, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Suffolk and Surrey; whilst Countess Ida
of Boulogne held land in Dorset, Somerset and Surrey.
Count Eustace - of Boulogne, he was married first to Goda, King Edward's sister (died c1056) and then to Ida of Lorraine. He was father of Godfrey of Boulogne and King Baldwin of Jerusalem.
At the time of the Conquest
Chipping Ongar became the principal property of Count Eustace of
Bolougne.
Coggeshall
Abbey was founded by Queen Matilda, wife of King Stephen, in about 1142 as a
house of the Savignac Order. She endowed it with the Manor of Coggeshall which
she had inherited from her father Count Eustace of Essex.
The manor of Great Birch with Birch Castle
(sometimes referred to as Birch Hall) was held in 1066 by Edric, and afterwards
by Ingelric, and in 1086 of Count Eustace of
Boulogne by Hugh who held
Easthorpe of the count. Great Birch manor owned two houses in Colchester in
1086, which perhaps served as the lord's town houses, but their use declined
after the 11th century. The overlordship was still in the honor of Boulogne in
the 14th century.
The manor, known in the 11th century as Legra
(Layer), held in 1066 by Liwin, a free man, and in 1086 by Hugh de Montfort in demesne, can be identified as
William A Birches.
Ranulf Peverel was born 1030 in Normandy,
and died 1072 in Hatfield, Essex.
Hatfield Peverel Doomsday Book
entry:- Bishop of Bayeux; Ranulf Peverel and Serlo, Arnulf and Richard from
him. 5 men- at -arms. 2 mills. 5 cobs, 4 foals, 5 cows, 7 calves, 20 goats. The
church is the nave of an ancient priory church founded by Ranulf Peverel.
Leofwin
Early records show the name LEWIN to
be derived from the Norman race, which were of Viking origin and landed in the
Orkneys and northern Scotland about 870 A D. The name appears in England from
about 1066 A D and its history is interwoven within the majestic tapestry which
contains the history of Britain.
The surname LEWIN emerged as a
notable family name in the county of Shropshire, where the family was anciently
seated. They were first recorded in 1010, when the Name Wilfricus Filius Leofwini was recorded. The doomsday book of
1086 included variations of the name such as Leuuin, Leuins , Lifwinus and
Liuuinus Modernly Lewin. Members of the family figured prominently in the
Norman conquest, in particular leofwin, son of Godwin. A Commander at
Stamford bridge and Leofwin son of Hugh, a Freeman. The family prospered in Shropshire
and as individuals sought to pursue new interests, branches of the family were
established throughout England in surrey, Lancaster, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire,
Northamtonshire, Worcestershire, Suffolk, Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire,
Northumberland and Essex.
In 1001 Danish
forces invaded
England, plundering, ravaging and burning, and spreading terror and
devastation. When they reached Alton, the men of Hampshire came together and
fought against them. About 81 English were killed, including Ethelwerd the
King's high-steward, Leofric of Whitchurch, Leofwin the King's high-steward, Wulfhere a
bishop's thane, and Godwin of Worthy, Bishop Elfsy's son. Danish casualties
were higher, but the Danes won the battle and fleeing Englishmen took refuge in
Winchester.