ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 



cathedral of Canterbury, and remained a part of its endowment until 

 the Reformation. The first of these, 1 dated 995, is a confirmation by 

 King Ethelred II. of a grant of this manor to ./Escwig, bishop of Dor- 

 chester, and states that it had been conveyed to the latter by Sigeric, 

 archbishop of Canterbury, for " 90 ' librae ' of pure silver and 200 ' man- 

 cusae ' of purest gold," wherewith to buy off the Danes presumably 

 in 991.* But ^Escwig himself in the next charter, dated the same year, 

 speaks as if the money had been only a loan, and the land security for 

 payment ; he now restores it of his own accord. 3 The subsequent char- 

 ters of Ethelred and Edward the Confessor* are merely confirmations of 

 this manor to Christchurch, Canterbury. A will of Archbishop JElfric 8 

 speaks of property at Willen and Burnham ; but of this nothing further 

 is known. It seems probable, from the dating of a few charters, 8 that 

 the archbishops had a residence at Monks' Risborough early in the 

 eleventh century : but there is no evidencejthat they founded a monastery 

 there as a cell to Christchurch. 



The entries relating to Church property in the Domesday Survey 

 are not very extensive, and may here be briefly summarized. The 

 manors are named as belonging to the see of Canterbury : that of 

 Monks' Risborough, already alluded to, 30 hides in extent and worth 

 16 ; that of" Nedreham" (Haddenham and Cuddington), 40 hides in 

 extent, worth 40 ; and Halton, only 5 hides, worth 8. The manor 

 of * Nedreham ' changed hands only a few years after the Survey was 

 made : it was granted by William Rufus, at the request of Lanfranc, to 

 Bishop Gundulf of Rochester, in compensation for the expenses he had 

 incurred in fortifying Rochester Castle for the King. 7 



Two manors belonged to the see of Winchester : West Wycombe, 

 19 hides, worth 15 ; and Ivinghoe, 20 hides, worth 18. These had 

 both belonged to the Church in King Edward's day, and continued to 

 do so for some time after. 



The lands of the bishop of Lincoln are the most interesting of the 

 series. We know from the Conqueror's foundation charter 8 that the 

 new Cathedral was endowed with the churches of Buckingham and 

 Aylesbury and the manor of Wooburn : of these the two churches at 

 any rate were part of the endowment of the old see of Dorchester, and 

 so was the manor of Buckland. These churches and manors with two 

 small holdings in Burnham and ' Lede ' (only two hides of land taken 

 together, worth 35^.) brought the value of the bishop's land in this 



i Kemble, Cod. Dipt, dclxxxix. 



W. Hunt, History of the English Church, i. 381. 



* Kemble, Cod. Dipl. dcxc. 



4 Ibid, dccxv. and dcccxcvi. The name given is ' Hrisebeorgam ' or ' Hrysebyrgan ' ' be Cilter- 

 nesefese,' which can scarcely refer to any place but Monks' Risborough. 



1 Naming ' Wyllan, Burnan, and Risenbeorgas.' Ibid, dccxvi. 



6 One of ^Ethelnoth and another of Eadsige, both referring to property at Halton, are dated at 

 Risborough. Ibid, mcccxxi. and mcccxrxvi. 



* The original charter of William Rufus still exists (Campbell ch. vii. i). See also William of Mal- 

 mesbury, De Gest. Pont. (Rolls Series), 137. 



Dugdale, Man. vi. (3) 1270. 



I 28l 36 



