THE DOMESDAY SURVEY 



by Domesday to the bishop, which Morant placed in East Horndon 

 (i. 208) although he could find there no trace of the bishop's lordship. 

 Having now cleared out of the way these three holdings, we will turn 

 to East and West Horndon, as they are still known to-day. Morant 

 observed that : 



There are within this hundred three parishes named Horndon, distinguished 

 from each other by the respective appellations of East, and West, and on the Hill, so 

 styled from their situation. But those distinctions were not existing at the time of 

 the general survey. The name is derived from the Saxon words Horn and dun, i.e. 

 Horn-hill. It is sometimes written Thorndon ; in which case the first syllabic 

 would be derived from Thorn. And in records it is called otherwise Horninduna, 

 Torninduna, and Torenduna. 



Two names entirely distinct have here again been confused. The 

 first manor entered on Suain's fief in Domesday is that of * Torninduna,' 

 which was large enough to be assessed at more than 5 hides. This 

 manor was held of that fief 120 years later as one fee by a William 'de 

 Tornindone,' * who clearly, like the Langedon family, derived his name 

 from his estate, and it regularly recurs in the feudal aids of the two 

 following centuries as ' Thornyndon.' * Its name is now represented by 

 Thorndon, the well-known seat of Lord Petre, although the parish in 

 which it stands is corruptly known as West Horndon. The identity of 

 this parish (which contains but one manor) with the above ' Torninduna ' 

 of Domesday (wrongly identified by Morant as East Horndon) is shown 

 by the fact that the township of' Westorendon,' in the thirteenth century, 

 advanced the plea that they belonged to ' the king's liberty of Rayleigh,' 

 that is to Suain's Honour. 8 But the form of the name given in the 

 plea shows that the corruption was of early date. 



Passing from West to East Horndon we identify in it the manor of 

 Abbots as held in Domesday, not, as alleged by Morant, by Suain, but, 

 as his own evidence proves, by William Peverel (of Nottingham), who 

 held it as ' Torinduna,' and of whose ' Honour ' it was held as ' Torin- 

 done ' or ' Torrindone ' by Henry de Cornhill * and his heirs the 

 Nevills, who gave it to Waltham Abbey, whence its name. 



The evidence of Inquisitiones post mortem entirely confirms the view 

 that Thorndon was the true name of both parishes alike. That on John 

 de Bryanzun (9 Ed. II.) shows him holding the manor of ' Thorndon ' 

 and tenements at ' Horndon ' (on the Hill) ; and a list of Tany's knights' 

 fees in 1 1 Edward II. includes 'Thorndon parva' held by John de 

 Breanzun.' 



The inquisitions on the Earl of Oxford in i Henry IV., on Sir John 

 de Vere in 9 Henry V., and on Sir Lewis John in 21 Henry VI. all speak 



1 Red Book of the Exchequer, p. 621. The deed of partition between the heirs of ' Sir William de 

 Thorendone ' is at St. Paul's (9(6 Report Historical MSS. i. 32). 



* Feudal Aids, ii. 133, 158, 217. Cf. Ancient Deeds, A. 732. 



3 'Sunt de libertate Domini Regis de Reilee ' (Hundred Rolls, i. 137). Morant was quite unable 

 to trace the descent of the manor, although his own evidence proves that it was held by Briancon under 

 the Tanys of Stapleford Tany, who were themselves great tenants of the Honour of Rayleigh. 



* Red Book of the Exchequer, pp. 122, 584 (where the place is wrongly identified as Thorrington 

 by the editor). See note 3 above. 



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