A HISTORY OF WORCESTERSHIRE 



priest and 3 villeins and 2 bordars and 4 ox- 

 men {hovarii) and I Frenchman {francigena) ; 

 between (them) all they have 3 ploughs. It 

 was and is worth 30 shillings. 



In the city of Wirecestre [Worcester] the 

 church of Evesham has 28 dwellings [masuras). 

 Of these, 5 are waste, and the others render 

 20 shillings. 



fol. 176. 



THE LAND OF THE BISHOP OF 

 BAYEUX 

 In Dodintret Hund[ret] 

 The bishop of Bayeux held ^ Actune 

 [Acton Beauchamp], and Urse (held it) of him. 

 It belonged to {fuit de) the church of St. 

 Mary of Evesham T.R.E., and Urse received 

 it afterwards from the Abbot in exchange for 

 (some) other land.* He holds it now of the 

 bishop of Bayeux's fee. There are 6 hides. 

 Of these, 3 (pay) geld, (and) the other 3 do 

 not (pay) geld. In (the) demesne are 6 

 ploughs, and (there are) i villein and 9 bordars 

 with 4 ploughs. There are 12 serfs. It was 

 worth 70 shillings T.R.E. ; now 4 pounds. 



In Esch Hund[ret] 

 The same Bishop held {ten') Lenche 

 [SheriSs Lench] ^ and Urse (held it) of him. 

 There are 4 hides that (pay) geld. Two of 

 these were held by 2 thegns, and the other 2 

 by a certain woman named jElfgifu (Mlvevd). 

 These (holders) could betake themselves ijre) 

 where they would, and held (the lands) as 3 



^ The use of the past tense should be 

 observed. 



* The title to Acton was much disputed. 

 According to the monks of Worcester (Hem- 

 ing's Cartulary, p. 250), it was an old posses- 

 sion of their monastery, which had been in 

 the hands of a certain Ordwig, who had 

 restored it before his death to St. Wulfstan, 

 then prior. But it had subsequently been taken 

 from them violently by jEthelwig, abbot of 

 Evesham, only to be taken in turn from him 

 by the rapacious Urse, who settled it on his 

 daughter (the ancestress of the Beauchamps). 

 The Evesham monks, on the other hand, 

 asserted (Chron. Evesham, p. 95) that it was 

 the patrimony of abbot jEthelwig, who gave 

 it to Urse in exchange for the land which he 

 had wrongfully seized at Bengeworth. The 

 bishop of Bayeux must have owed his tenure 

 to his placing himself in the shoes of the 

 Abbot (so far as his personal possessions were 

 concerned) on the latter's death. 



' See p. 290 above, note 3. 



manors. In (the) demesne are 2 ploughs ; 

 and (there are) 6 villeins and 2 bordars and 4 

 serfs with 2 ploughs ; and 8 ploughs more 

 can be (employed) there. There is wood- 

 (land) which renders 2 shillings. It was 

 worth no shillings T.R.E., and 30 shillings 

 afterwards ; now 42 shillings. 



Of this land, 2 hides were given by Gilbert 

 Fitz Turold to the church of Evesham for 

 the soul of earl William * by permission of 

 king William, and i monk was placed in (that) 

 church from the proceeds {proinde). For the 

 other 2 hides abbot .iEthelwig [Elwi) gave I 

 mark of gold * to king William, and the King 

 granted [concessit) the said land to the abbey 

 {acclesics) for his soul, Gilbert Fitz Turold, 

 who received the gold for the King's use, 

 being witness. This same church was 

 possessed (seisita) of these 4 hides many years, 

 until the bishop of Bayeux took them away 

 from the church and gave them to Urse. 



THE LAND OF ST. GUTHLAC" 

 In Clent Hund[ret] 



XII. Of St. Gullac {sic) Nigel the 

 physician holds I hide in Wich [Droitwich]. 

 There are 9 burgesses, who render 30 shil- 

 lings from the saltpans and for everything. 



In Cresselau Hund[ret] 

 The same Nigel holds Dunclent [Dun- 

 clent] and Urse (holds it) of him. There 

 are 3 hides. In (the) demesne there is i 

 plough ; and (there are) 2 bordars and 2 ox- 

 men {hovarii) ; and 5 ploughs can be (em- 

 ployed) there. It was worth 25 shillings ; 

 now 10 shillings. Odo held it of St. Guthlac.'' 



XIII. The priests of Wrehantune 

 [Wolverhampton] hold Ludeleia [Lutley].* 



There are 2 hides. They themselves held 

 it T.R.E. They have there 2 villeins and 2 

 serfs and I bordar with 4 ploughs. It is 

 worth 15 shillings. 



THE LAND OF EARL ROGERS 



In Clent Hund[ret] 

 Earl Roger holds of the King one manor 

 (called) Hala [Halesowen]. There are 10 



* William Fitz Osbern, earl of Hereford. 



* Six pounds. 



* St. Guthlac's Priory, Hereford. 



' The whole of this entry is added at the 

 foot of the column. 



* A township of Halesowen. 



^ Roger de Montgomeri, earl of Shrewsbury. 



30S 



