By T. II. Baker. 323 



i" Land of Odo and other of the King's Thanes. 



"Alvied holds sela. In the time of King Edward it paid geld for *2\ hides. 

 The land is 3 earucates. In demesne is 1 carucate and there are 4 serfs and 8 

 villans and 9 bordars with 2 earucates. There is a mill paying 3 shillings and 

 l acres of meadow and 40 acres of pasture. The wood is half a mile long and 

 half a mile broad. It is worth 30 shillings." 



The present area of Zeals is over 1500 acres, so the whole of the 

 parish, as now constituted, could not have been included in the 

 return. We find that the Duke of Cornwall at one time held lands 

 here, so that — as at Mere — probably the Crown property was not 

 assessed for "Dane geld." The mills have disappeared, and their 

 site is not known. There is a stream between Zeals and Penselwood, 

 and another at Wolverton, of sufficient volume to drive a mill, and 

 probably one existed at each of these places. A wood, called 

 Norwood, still exists of about the extent of one of those named, 

 but of the other no trace is left. 



1533. Thomas Chafyn had a grant of the parsonage and tithes 

 of Mere for sixty 7 years. Between this Thomas Chafyn and the 

 Lord Stourton there was a deadly feud. 



1550. Lord Stourton sent notice to Mr. Chafyn to give up 

 possession of the demesne lands in Mere. 



1551. Thomas Chafyn had a grant of 200 acres of land in Mere 

 for twenty-one years from King Edward VI., when Lord Stourton 

 and his agents forcibly seized Mr. Chafyn's sheep on the demesne 

 lands of the manor of Mere, which were driven to Stourton House 

 and impounded. On May 16th : — 



"John Blandford, Richard Mackhill and eight others armed with weapons 

 assaulted Leonard Chafyn, Thomas Horton and Robert Clemente beating, 

 manassing and mis-entreating them ; taking from them one ferratte, oue iron 

 barre, a bagge, a bottle, a purse conteyning ixs. in money and one plowme of 

 feathers ; and did also carry away the said Leouard Chafyn &c. against their 

 will to the mansion house of Lord Stourton, where they were shut up in a prison 

 in the house for some days and were afterwards released, July 12th. Other 

 servants of Lord Stourton armed with weapons entered the demesne lands of Mere 

 and took prisoner Thomas Hopkins shepherd to Mr. Chafyn and carried him to 

 Stourton House and kept him in prison some days. August 12th. They again 

 went to the folds of Mr. Chafyn and took 210 sheep which they drove to Lord 

 Stourton's grounds and by his commaud proclaimed them in the markets as 

 strayers and still detained them. August 22nd. Lord Stourton attended by his 

 men armed entered the demesne and drove out 1000 sheep of Chafyn's and 



