A HISTORY OF DORSET 



Dorsington (Glos.), assessed at lo hides. Eyton remarked that 'the appearance of this 

 name on any page of Domesday is a marvel'-*- since Roger must have been of an 

 advanced age in 1086. He was the son of Humphrey de Vieilles, who died before i047.'*3 

 Roger furnished 60 ships for the invasion of England, but was already too old to fight 

 in the battle of Hastings, and was represented by his elder son Robert.'^* Nevertheless, 

 Roger remained active throughout his long life. As late as 1090 he supported his son 

 Robert in a quarrel with the Duke of Normandy*' and about 1095 he entered the 

 monastery of St. Pierre, Preaux, where he died as a monk, som^ years later {post aliquot 

 aiinos (sic) comer sionis suae bono fine quievit)^^ 



Some of the men holding smaller amounts of land in Dorset were powerful barons in 

 neighbouring counties. Edward of Salisbur}', who held two manors assessed at 38 hides 

 in Dorset, was Sheriff of Wiltshire, where he held 193 hides. Much of his land in 8 

 counties, including his Dorset manors, had belonged to the English ladv Wulfwynn. 

 Waleran the huntsman {venator), who held 38 hides in Dorset, had extensive lands 

 in Wiltshire also. One of his Domesday manors. Church Knowle (no. 308), was given 

 to him by William fitz Osbern. Robert fitz Ceroid held 22 hides in Dorset and 55 in 

 Wiltshire. Ernulf of Hesdin, a Fleming from the Pas de Calais,-*" had land in Wiltshire 

 and Gloucestershire, as well as his 15 hides in Dorset. William of Moyon,-*^ Sheriff of 

 Somerset, had 36 hides in Dorset, and 75 in Somerset, including the manor of Dunster, 

 where he built his castle. Turstin fitz Rolf, another Somerset landowner, held 1 1 hides 

 in Dorset. He is perhaps to be identified with Turstin son of Rollo, who is said to have 

 borne the Norman banner at Hastings.-*^ Two other Somerset barons, Serle of Burcy 

 and William of Falaise, had 13 hides each in Dorset. William of Falaise was Serle's 

 son-in-law, having married his daughter Geva.so Another of Serle's daughters was a 

 nun at Shaftesbury.'' Walter or Walscin of Douai, whose lands lay mainly in Devon, 

 held ID hides in Dorset, and Walter de Claville, who had 13 hides in Dorset, also held 

 land in Devon. Unlike the foregoing barons, the bulk of the land of William of Briouze'^ 

 lay at a distance, in Sussex, where he had over 400 hides. His 26 hides in Dorset were 

 an insignificant part of his fief, later known as the honor of Bramber. A less important 

 person was William of Ecouis,'' who held 1 1 hides in Dorset, and also held land at 

 Caerleon, then part of Herefordshire. Most of his land lay in East Anglia and Essex. 

 Hugh de St. Quintin, who had 4^ hides in Dorset, held 3 manors in Essex, and was a 

 tenant of Hugh de Port in Hampshire. Hugh de Boscherbert who held iii hides, is 

 unknown outside Dorset, but appears also as a tenant of the wife of Hugh fitz Grip. 



Some men who held isolated manors had received the estates of Englishmen whose 

 lands were scattered over several shires. Baldwin of Exeter, Sheriff of Devon, held 

 Iwerne Courtney (no. 316) as a result of his acquisition of the lands of Seward, who held 

 this manor T.R.E. and appears as a predecessor of Baldwin in Devon and Somerset. It 

 acquired its alternative name Shroton (i.e. sheriff's town) from Baldwin. The pre- 

 decessor of Alvred of Epaignes'^ at Turnworth (no. 319) was Alwi, whose lands in 

 Devon and Somerset had also passed to Alvred. Exon. Domesday for these two counties 



" Eyton, Key to Domesday: Dorset, 76. ^o £)o»i. Bk. (Rec. Com.), i, f- 96b. For a discussion of 



*' D. C. Douglas, 'Companions of the Conqueror', the 2 famihes and their descendants, see H. Maxwell- 



History, xxviii. 136. Humphrey founded the 2 mon- Lyte, 'Burci, Falaise and Martin', Proc. Sam. Arch. Soc. 



asteries at Preaux, St. Pierre for monks and St. Leger for Ixv. 1-27. 



nuns: Ordericus Vitalis, Hist. Eccl. ii. 14. '" Her father gave Kilmington (Wilts.) to the abbey 



" History, xxviii. 136. when she entered it: Dom. Bk. (Rec. Com.), i, f. 98. 



*5 Ordericus Vitalis, Hist. Eccl. iii. 336-44. ^^ Briouze: Ome, arr. Argentan, cant. Briouze. 



*'' Ibid. 426-7. 53 Ecouis: Eure, arr. Les Andelys, cant. Fleur\-sur- 



<' Hesdin: Pas de Calais, arr. Montreuil, cant. Hesdin. Andelle. 



See Cal. Doc. France, ed. Round, 481-2. '■* Epaignes: Eure, arr. Pont-Audemer, cant. Cor- 



*' Moyon : Manche, arr. St. L6, cant. Tessy-sur-Vire. meilles. 



••' Ordericus Vitalis, Hist. Eccl. ii. 147. 



48 



