eT ae 
By the Rev. J. Wilkinson. 289 
where they had a large and well fortified castle. Sherrington was 
their chief seat in Wilts. 
These are the elder branch of the family, and our Giffords. 
The immediate successor of Osbern was Elias, who, 1086 and 
1121, gave, jointly with Ala his wife, certain woods and lands 
to the Abbey of St. Peter in Gloucester. To him succeeded 
another Elias, who granted to the monks of Gloucester, for the 
good of his own soul and of that of Berta his wife, the lordship 
of Cronham, the churches of Boyton and Orcheston St. George, 
and the chapel of St. Andrew Winterborne. He himself became a 
monk in the Abbey, and died before 1167. His eldest son Walter 
confirmed the grant; but, did not succeed his father. Another 
Elias (the third of the name and a younger brother of Walter) 
succeeded; and be, being not well disposed to the monks, and no 
party to the grants, reclaimed them. He exchanged certain lands 
in Willingwike for Cronham. The Abbot (Thomas Carbonel) gave 
up Orcheston and Winterbourne, but struggled hard to retain 
Boyton (the best endowed). Elias, however, was too strong for the 
Abbot, and compelled him to resign Boyton also, on a pension of 
a mile or two on every side. The moat very deep (no water here now) encloses 
about an acre, ovalin shape. A deep valley bounds it on the east, elsewhere the 
ground is on a level with the area of the enclosure, even a trifle higher on the 
west, which from its irregular surface has evidently been some time covered 
with buildings, possibly outworks. The barbican fronted the 8.W., where you 
now enter: the ballium occupied the opposite extremity at the N.E. Judging 
by the heaps of now grass-grown ruins, I suppose the wall of the ballium to 
have been massive, flanked with four towers, and possibly to have had a mount 
within it for the purpose of commanding the ground outside. Altogether a 
very sufficiently strong place against the weapons of its time. The entrance to 
the ballium, and the circumference of the outer wall, are plain. The surface is 
covered with small wall stones. The heaps contain good square larger stones. 
The whole place is a village quarry. . Every house near is more or less built 
from the ruins, and, I take it, the Church also (which is close by on the north); 
_ certainly its chancel, where I measured one fine quoin stone 5 feet by 16 inches. 
The Goodrich family are the present possessors of the castle remains, and nine 
acres adjoining. ‘There is another moat, enclosing about a quarter of an acre, 
distant in the valley a quarter of a mile from the castle to the E.N.E. The 
purpose of this I do not quite understand. ‘There is a fine spring of water to the 
8.W. of the barbican, which doubtless was tapped by a well inside. I was ac- 
companied by Mr. Winning, a resident yeoman, of much kindness and intelli- 
gence, whose ancestors migrated from Highworth a century since. 
