570 Tropenell Memoranda. 



to the root of the matter when he tells us (i., p. 295) ' ■ Also the 

 said John Bourne the son holdeth his land of West Chaldefeld of 

 the priour of Wosspryng," It is quite possible that he knew why 

 it was so lield, for he had consulted public records in London and 

 cites (i., p, 272) tlie book of Exchequer precedents known as the 

 Testa de Nevill, " as hit appeary th on the chekker on the boke of 

 fees made in the Tyme of Kyng Edward j^'^ sone to Kyng Harry 

 the iij^®." We in our turn have consulted this book, or rather the 

 extremely bad edition of it issued by the Eecord Commission in 

 1807, and it will be convenient, perhaps, if we combine Tropenell's 

 facts concerning West Chalfield with the information obtained 

 thence, and from other such books of reference, in more or less 

 chronological sequence. 



West Chaldfield. 



Tlie ideal in such matters is, commencing from Domesday, to 

 present in parallel lists the changes of the tenants-in-chief and the 

 under-tenants across the centuries, and something of this kind will 

 doubtless some day be accomplished for all the Wiltshire fees, 

 w^ith coloured maps to represent the areas of baronies and of the 

 fees carved out of them. In the present instance we know that 

 " in the time of King Edward " " Caldefelle " was divided into two 

 equal parts, held by "Wallef" and "Godwin" respectively. In 

 1086 Ernulf de Hesding held the whole, himself, without under- 

 tenant. A hundred and fifty years later the same place, apparently, 

 now styled " Chaudefeld," or " Chaldefeld," appears again divided, 

 and into presumably equal parts, since each is held as one knight's 

 fee, the one either of the earl of Hereford or of the earl of Salisbury, 

 the other of persons of the name of Engayne, either Vitalis alias 

 Yiel, or Henry. Is it possible to follow back the titles of these 

 tenants-in-chief, to discover incidental mention of the under- 

 tenants, and finally to deduce the titles of the tenants-in-chief 

 f ronl Ernulf de Hesding himself ? Assuming, as we shall presently 

 prove, that the fee held of the Engaynes was West Chalfield, the 

 first thing to be done is to set out the entries relating to it in the 

 Testa. From these it appears that the tenant of it not only held 



