SOME EARLY 

 WORCESTERSHIRE SURVEYS 



In most counties the Domesday Survey is followed by a period of 

 peculiar darkness, for which we have no assistance from documents, and 

 in which the changes of tenure were often great and violent. In 

 Worcestershire, however, we are fortunate in possessing certain surveys 

 which help us to bridge this dark period, especially one of the Hundred 

 of Oswaldslow, which was printed by Hearne in Heming's Cartulary, but 

 the date of which had not been realized till I showed that it belonged 

 to the reign of Henry I. It may safely be dated as having been made 

 between the years 1108 and 11 18. A translation of this survey, com- 

 pared throughout with Domesday, is here appended. 



Survey of Oswaldslaw Hundred 

 These are the 300 hides which belong to Oswaldes Lawes 

 Hundred : 



Into Kemesige [Kempsey] are 24 hides. 

 Of these Walter de Beauchamp has 9,* and 

 Hugh Puiher 2,^ and the Bishop 13 with his 

 demesnes. 



Into WiKE [Wick Episcopi] 15 hides. Of 

 these Walter de Beauchamp (has) io|,* and 

 Nicholas ^ (a hide) at Lawern,* and Hugh 

 Fitz Osbern i at Kodere [Cotheridge],^ and 

 the Bishop 3 with his dem[esne]. 



In Fledebyri [Fladbury] 40 hides. Of 

 these the bishop of Hereford (has) 5 hides,^ 

 and Walter de Beauchamp 22 hides,'' and 

 Hugh de Laci 10 hides,^ and the Bishop 3 

 with his demesne. 



^ i.e. the 7 at Mucknell, Stoughton, and 

 Wolverton which had been held by Urse, and 

 the 2 at Wolverton which Roger de Laci had 

 held. 



^ i.e. the 2 at Whittington which Walter 

 * Ponther ' had held. 



^ i.e. the 9f which Urse had held, and 

 apparently | hide more. 



* i.e. the half hide which Robert the De- 

 spencer had held there. 



^ Which his father Osbern had held there. 



" At Inkberrow. 



' He seems to have secured 5 more in addi- 

 tion to the 12 held by Urse and the 5 held 

 by Robert the Despencer in 1086. 



* The 10 hides at Bishampton which Roger 

 de Laci had held in 1086. 



In Bredune [Bredon] 35 hides. Of these 

 the monks of Worcester (have) 4 hides,' and 

 Walter de Beauchamp 16 hides,^" and the King 

 I hide,^^ and ' Gile ' i hide, and the Bishop 



13 with his dem[esne].** 



In RiPPEL [Ripple] and Uptune [Upton 

 on-Severn] 25 hides. Of these Walter de 

 Beauchamp (has) 6 hides,*' and Hugh de Laci 

 3,** and the King 2,'* and the Bishop 14 with 

 his demesne.*^ 



' At Teddington and Mitton. 



10 The 16 hides at Redmarley d'Abitot, 

 Pendock, Little Washbourne, and Westman- 

 cote, which Urse had held in 1086. 



** At Bushley, which was in the King's 

 hands in this survey, as in Domesday. 



*^ On this manor the Bishop had gained, for 

 he had only 10 hides in demesne in 1086, 

 Durand having 2 at Bredons Norton, and 

 ^thelric the archdeacon 2 at Cutsdean. 



" To the ' I hide held by Urse,' in 1086, 

 he had evidently added the 5 hides at Crombe 

 (d'Abitot), which Siward had held at the time 

 of Domesday. 



** The 3 hides at Hill Crombe, which Roger 

 de Laci had held in 1086. 



*^ At Queenhill and the adjoining 'Burge- 

 lege ' of Domesday, as in 1086. 



*® The Bishop had increased his 13 hides to 



14 by regaining the hide at Crombe, which 

 Ordric had held in 1086. 



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