A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



meadow P). 1 It was then worth 10 shillings ; 

 now 2O. 



HUNDRET OF WlTBRICTESHERNA [DENGIE] 



NORTUNA [(Cold) Norton], which was 

 held by Ulfric, a free man, as a manor and 

 as 8 hides in King Edward's time, is held by 

 R[alf] in demesne. Then as now (semper) 



5 villeins, and 1 1 bordars. Then 2 serfs ; 

 now none. Then 2 ploughs on the demesne ; 

 now 3. Then 4 ploughs belonging to the 

 men ; now 3. Of these hides 2 are of 

 woodland (silva).* (There is) pasture for 

 40 sheep, (and) now i mill. Then 4 

 rounceys (runcini), and 15 beasts (animatia), 

 2O swine, and 150 sheep; now 6 rounceys, 

 8 beasts, 20 swine, and 60 sheep. It was 

 then worth 6 pounds ; now 7. Robert has 

 also as a manor 3 hides and 45 acres which 



6 free men hold now as then (semper) ; then 

 5 ploughs (were there) ; now 3 ; (this) was 

 then worth 40 shillings ; now 30. This was 

 delivered (to Ralf) in exchange (liberatum est 

 pro escangio). Of this manor Walicher[ius] 

 holds half a hide, and (this) is worth 10 

 shillings in the above valuation (in eodem 

 pretio). 



WDEHAM [Woodham (Walter)], which 

 was held by Leveva as a manor and as 7 

 hides, is held of R[alf] by Pointel. 8 Then 

 12 villeins ; now 6. Then as now (semper) 

 4 bordars. Then 6 serfs ; now 4. Then 

 as now (semper) 3 ploughs on the demesne. 

 Then 4 ploughs belonging to the men ; now 

 I. (There are) 24 acres of meadow, (with) 

 wood(land) for 500 swine. Then I mill ; 

 now 2. Then 2 beasts (animaUa) and 7 

 swine, (and) 37 sheep ; now 8 beasts, 21 

 swine, 6 asses, 130 sheep, (and) 13 hives of 

 bees. It was then worth 8 pounds ; and 

 when received, 40 shillings;* it is now worth 



7 pounds. 



CURLAI [Purleigh ? 5 ], which was held by 



1 *et I bor[darius] iii. ac.' The sense is doubtful. 



8 The reason for inserting this clause here was 

 that the woodland is regularly entered just before 

 the pasture for sheep. On the ' hides ' of wood- 

 land see pp. 376-7 above. 



3 This was doubtless the Thierri (Tedricui) 

 Pointel who held North Fambridge, in this Hun- 

 dred, as a tenant-in-chief, and who also, held at 

 Cricksea as an under-tenant and claimed land at 

 Steeple. 



* This is an unusually sharp drop in value for 

 the intermediate period in Essex. 



6 This is one of the mysterious manors of the 

 most difficult Domesday Hundred in the county 

 (see p. 391 above). Morant assumed that it lay 



Grim as a manor and as I hide in King 

 Edward's time, is held of the same (Ralf) by 

 the same (Pointel). Then 2 villeins ; now 4. 

 Then as now (semper) 9 bordars. Then 4 

 serfs ; now none. Then as now (semper) 2 

 ploughs on the demesne, and i plough be- 

 longing to the men. (There are) 22 acres 

 of meadow, (with) wood(land) for 40 swine. 

 (There was) then i mill ; now none. Then 

 and afterwards it was worth 40 shillings ; 

 now 4 pounds. Godric also holds (habet) of 

 R[alf] half a hide, which (Ralf) has, he says, 

 by exchange (pro escangio) ; but the Hundret 

 (court) knows nothing of this (nescii). Then 

 as now (semper) half a plough was there ; it 

 is worth 10 shillings. 



HUNDRET OF DOMMAWA [DUNMOW] 



DOMMAWA [(Little) Dunmow 6 ], which 

 was held freely (liberte) by a certain woman, 

 Ailid, as a manor and as 4^ hides, is held by 

 R[alf] in demesne. Then as now (semper) 

 3 ploughs on the demesne. Then 7 ploughs 

 belonging to the men ; now 6. Then as 

 now (semper) 15 villeins, and I priest. Then 

 12 bordars ; now 16. Then as now (semper) 



fo. 6gb 



10 serfs. (There is) wood(land) for 150 

 swine, 50 acres of meadow, (and) now I 

 mill. Then 3 rounceys (ruvcint), 1 1 beasts 

 (anima/ia), 40 swine, 15 sheep, (and) 23 

 goats ; now 1 1 rounceys, 2 1 beasts, 30 

 swine, 104 sheep, 53 goats, (and) 8 hives of 

 bees. Then and afterwards it was worth 8 

 pounds ; now 10. To this estate (terrts) 

 has been added i hide which was held by I 

 free man in King Edward's time. Then as 



in Purleigh (the ' Purlai ' of Domesday), but could 

 not identify there a manor held of this fief. Its 

 amount of meadow is significantly large, especially 

 as none of the entries undoubtedly relating to 

 Purleigh (a parish away from any river) mention 

 an acre of meadow. It is clear from the extent of 

 its meadow that ' Curlai ' must have been on a 

 river, and this river can only have been the Chel- 

 mer. As the manors of Woodham Walter and 

 ' Curlai ' were held together by ' Pointel,' it ap- 

 pears to me that ' Curlai ' was probably in Wood- 

 ham Walter and became absorbed in the main 

 manor owing to their having the same lord. 

 Woodham Walter, with a frontage of some three 

 miles to the Chelmer and a brook of its own as 

 well would of course be rich in meadow. 



This suggestion is supported by the fact that 

 ' Woodham,' which had but i mill before the 

 Conquest, had now 2, while ' Curlai,' which then 

 had I, had now none. This probably implies 

 that one of the mills had been annexed since the 

 Conquest to the main manor. 



6 This was afterwards the eaput of the barony. 



522 



