A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



that church, as the whole shire-moot (syra) 

 testifies, and attached it to his manor of Hiz 

 [Hitchin] 3 years before king Edward's death. 



King William holds MENLESDENE [Mins- 

 den]. 1 It is assessed at 4 hides. There is land for 

 8 ploughs. In the demesne there are 2 hides 

 and 2^ virgates, and on it there are 3 ploughs. 

 A priest with 8 villeins and 2 cottars have 3 

 ploughs between them, and there could be 2 

 more. There are 6 serfs. Meadow is there 

 sufficient for i plough team, and pasture suffi- 

 cient for the live stock of the vill. There is 

 woodland 8 to feed 30 swine. This manor 

 belonged and still belongs to (jacuit et jacet 

 in) Hiz [Hitchin]. Earl Harold held it. 



fo. I3b 



IN THE HALF-HUNDRET OF Hiz [HITCHIN 3 ] 



King William holds Hiz [Hitchin]. It is 

 assessed at 5 hides. There is land for 34 

 ploughs. In the demesne is i hide, and on 

 it are 6 ploughs ; and 41 villeins with 17 

 bordars have 2O ploughs between them. 

 There could be 8 more. There are 22 

 cottars and 12 serfs, and 4 mills worth 53 

 shillings and 4 pence. Meadow is there suffi- 

 cient for 4 plough teams, pasture sufficient 

 for the live stock of the vill, and woodland to 

 feed 600 swine. This manor earl Harold 

 held. 



Of these 5 hides 2 belong to the minster 

 (monasterium) of this vill. There is land (in 

 them) for 4 ploughs. In the demesne is i hide 

 and a half, and there is I plough on it and 

 there could be another ; and 4 villeins have 2 

 ploughs between them, and there are 7 cot- 

 tars. Meadow is there sufficient for 2 oxen, 

 pasture sufficient for the live stock. These 

 2 hides are worth 6 pounds ; when received 

 they were worth 40 shillings ; T.R.E. worth 

 4 pounds. This manor earl Harold held. 



King William holds WELEI [ ]. 4 



It is assessed at 2 hides. There is land for 

 7 ploughs. In the demesne is i hide ; 2 

 ploughs are on it ; and 8 villeins with 5 bordars 

 have 4 ploughs between them, and there 

 could be a fifth. There are 2 cottars and 4 

 serfs. Pasture is there sufficient for the live 

 stock of the vill, and woodland to feed 300 

 swine. Earl Harold held this manor, and it 

 belongs (jacet in) to Hiz [Hitchin], to which 

 it belonged (jacuit) T.R.E. 



1 AKas Minsdenbury. The ruins of Minsden 

 chapel remain (J.H.R.). 



2 ' Silva ' (translated ' woodland ' throughout). 



3 Now part of Dacorum Hundred. 

 * See Introduction, p. 297. 



King William holds WESTONE [Weston]. 5 

 It is assessed at 5 hides. There is land for 

 14 ploughs. In the demesne are 2 hides, and 

 on it are 2 ploughs ; and 16 villeins with 3 

 bordars have 5 ploughs between them, and 

 there could be 5 more. 6 There are 4 serfs. 

 Meadow is there sufficient for 7 plough teams, 

 pasture sufficient for the live stock of the vill, 

 woodland to feed 400 swine, and worth 3 

 shillings besides. This manor earl Harold 

 held, and it belonged, and still belongs, to 

 Hiz [Hitchin]. But its 'wara' (place of its 

 assessment) was in Bedfordshire T.R.E., in 

 the Hundret of Maneheue [Manshead], and 

 there the manor to which it belonged is and 

 always was ; and after king Edward's death it 

 ceased to pay the King's geld. 



King William holds WALDENEI [King's 

 Walden]. It is assessed at 2 hides. There 

 is land for 20 ploughs. 7 In the demesne are 

 2 virgates, and 2 ploughs are on it. A priest 

 with 13 villeins and 4 bordars have 6 ploughs 

 between them, and there could be 2 more. 

 There are 2 cottars and 4 serfs. Meadow is 

 there sufficient for half a plough team, pasture 

 sufficient for the live stock of the vill, wood- 

 land to feed 400 swine. Its total value is 

 and was 8 pounds ; T.R.E. 10 pounds. 

 Leueva held this manor of earl Harold and 

 could sell without obtaining his consent. In 

 the King's service it finds (invert) i ' avera ' 

 (carrying service of i load) and i ' inward ' 

 (bodyguard service), 8 but this is perforce and by 

 injustice, as the shire-moot (scyra) testifies. 

 Of these 2 hides a widow, Asgar's wife, holds 

 I hide of the King as i manor ; and she has 

 there i plough, and 17 villeins and 7 bordars. 

 These have 6 ploughs between them, and 

 there could be 3 more. There are 5 cottars. 

 Meadow is there sufficient for a half-plough 

 team, woodland to feed 400 swine, pasture 

 sufficient for the live stock of the vill. Its 

 total value is and was 4 pounds ; T.R.E. 

 8 pounds. The same woman held this manor 

 T.R.E. of earl Harold and could sell without 

 obtaining his consent, and it used to find, (but) 



5 This has been identified by Hertfordshire 

 historians as the manor of Weston Argentine in 

 Weston in Broadwater Hundred, but I feel sure 

 that it is Westoning in Bedfordshire, which was 

 and is in Manshead Hundred, and to which the 

 suffix ' ing ' was only added later (J.H.R.). 



6 These details do not tally with the given 

 total or ploughlands (J.H.R.) 



7 This entry needs explanation. There were 

 here 2 distinct manors, each assessed at I hide 

 and each containing 10 ploughlands. They are 

 separately surveyed in this entry (J.H.R.). 



* See, for these services, Introduction, pp. 269-7 1 . 



302 



