A HISTORY OF WORCESTERSHIRE 



house in the city of Worcester (JVirecestre) 

 which renders a marc of silver,^ and {et simul) 

 wood(land) one league {lewa) long and the 

 same in width. All this he so bought and 

 held undisturbed {quiete), that he rendered no 

 service [non serviret) for it to any man.^ 



In this manor is one hide and in (the) 

 demesne are 2 ploughs, and there are 4 villeins 

 and 8 bordars and a reeve [prepositus) and a 

 beadle [bedellus). Between (them) all they 

 have 4 ploughs. Of {inter) serfs and bond- 

 women there are 8, and (there are) a cowman 

 and a dairymaid {vaccarius et data). A forester 

 holds half a virgate of land there. 



In Lapule ' [Pull (Court)] are 3 virgates of 

 land which used to belong to {jacebant in) 

 Langedune [Longdon], a manor of earl Odo. 

 Earl William* put {misit) this land in Biselie 

 [Bushley]. There is i plough, and i 

 tenant [homo) of the monks of Lire^ holds one 

 virgate of land. Earl William put [misit) 

 outside his manors® two foresters, one of 

 Hanlie [Hanley Castle] and the other of 

 Biselie [Bushley] for the keeping of the 

 woods.'' 



The King holds Chonhelme [Queenhill]. 



^ 13J. 4^., a very large sum for a single 

 house in the city. 



^ This seems intended as a direct contra- 

 diction to the statements in the Worcester- 

 shire entry of this manor. 



^ This name is further disguised by the 

 Domesday scribe as ' Lapvle.' It can be 

 identified with Pull (Court) by the 1212 

 return in the Testa de Nevill (p. 43) and the 

 Red Book of the Exchequer (p. 566), in 

 which the name occurs twice over as ' la 

 Pulle.' In spite of this clue, the official 

 editor of the Red Book identifies the place 

 as ' Lapal,' which lies near Halesowen at the 

 opposite extremity of the county. The 12 12 

 return associates ' la Pulle ' with the adjacent 

 Bushley as closely as does Domesday, stating 

 that it was held under Henry II. ' pro 

 custod' haya de Busseleg,' and entering the 

 virgate held of Lyre Abbey there as in 

 ' Bisseleg.' 



* William Fitz Osbern earl of Hereford. 



* The abbey of La Vieille Lyre. 

 ® 'Suos {sic) M[aneria].' 



' The 1 2 12 return records (not one, but) 

 one and a half virgates as held in Hanley 

 ' per serjantiam custod' forestam Malvernie,' 

 and Nash identified this property as Hanley 

 Hall. It also records, like Domesday, half a 

 virgate as held in Bushley ' per serjantiam 

 ousted' hayam de Bisseleg.' 



It was held by .Sthelric {Adelric) brother of 

 bishop ' Brictrec' There is i hide, and in 

 (the) demesne is I plough, and (there are) 7 

 villeins and 3 bordars with 4^ ploughs. 

 There is i swineherd and 2 oxmen {bovarii) 

 and a dairymaid {daia). The wood(land) is 

 put {tnissa) out of the manor. Earl William 

 gave the tithe(s) of this manor to St. Mary 

 of Lire with i villein who holds half a virgate 

 of land.* 



Herman holds of this manor i villein 

 who has half a virgate of land. 



The King holds Edresfelle [Eldersfield]. 

 Reinbald canceler» held (it) T.R.E. Earl 

 W[illiam]^° obtained it by exchange {excam- 

 biavit illud) from him. There are 5 hides. 

 In (the) demesne are 3 ploughs, and (there 

 are) 12 villeins and 13 bordars with 11 

 ploughs. Of serfs and bondwomen there are 

 5 there, and (there are) 6 oxmen {bovarii) and 

 a mill worth {de) 2 shillings. The wood- 

 (land) is 2 leagues {lewa) long and the same 

 in width ; it has been put {missa) outside the 

 manor. Ansgot, a tenant {homo) of earl 

 W[illiam] holds half a virgate of land and 

 Wulfgeat {Vluiet) I hide of free {liberie) land. 



St. Mary^^ has there i villein who holds 

 one virgate of land. 



® ' Chonhelme ' is another name which is 

 not easy to identify. I have no hesitation, 

 however, in saying that the place is Queen- 

 hill (chapel) adjoining Pull (Court). The 

 Testa de Nevill version (p. 43) of the 1 2 12 

 return assigns to the prior of Lyre (Abbey) 

 half a virgate ' in Ruhull de dono Willelmi 

 filii Osberti comitis Glou' {sic). This is, 

 clearly, the above half virgate in ' Chonhelme.' 

 In another entry where the Testa has 

 ' Ruhulle ' (suggestive of Ryall on the opposite 

 bank) the Red Book reads ' Cuhulle,' which 

 approximates to the Worcestershire Domesday 

 form ' Cu[n]hille ' (p. above). My con- 

 clusion, therefore, is that ' Chonhelme ' is the 

 same place as ' Cu[n]hille,' and ' Adelric ' 

 the same tenant as ' Ailric,' both representing 

 '^thelric' The two surveys are quite 

 different except as giving the King as the 

 possessor and the assessment as i hide. 



^ The chancellor of Edward the Confessor. 

 See my paper on ' Regenbald, priest and 

 chancellor ' in Feudal England, pp. 42 1 et seq, ; 

 and compare p. 301 note I above. 



" William Fitz Osbern earl of Hereford. 



** i.e. the abbey of La Vieille Lyre, which 

 held a virgate at ' Herdewyk ' (Hardwick in 

 Eldersfield), as is shown by the 12 12 return 

 {Testa de Nevill, p. 43). 



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