Norman and Post Conquest Period |
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The Norman & Post Conquest page covers the following topics:
Battle of HastingsOn the 14th October 1066 the last true English king of England - Harold - was killed at the battle of Hastings thus ending the run of Anglo Saxon kings of England which had lasted for about 400 years. At such battles it is usual for the king to be supported by much of the nobility of the country. However, at the battle of Hastings the Mercian brother of Edwin, earl of Mercia and Morcar, earl of Northumbria were absent from the battle field and as such much of their estates and local nobility was still in place. They had fought with Harold at the battle of Stamford Bridge but for whatever reason had not rode south with him to defend the kingdom from the Normans. Over the next year there was an uneasy peace between the newly established Norman overlords and the English. This peace collapsed during the Mercian Rebellion of 1068 which helped re structure the land owning of the whole of the Mease Valley.
Mercian Rebellion 1068The effect of the Mercian rebellion on the study area must have been extreme. The origins of the rebellion would seem to have been caused by the failure of a marriage proposal of Edwin to William's daughter. However, there may have been far more complicated reasons for this rebellion. Whatever the case the rebellion seem to have started around Easter 1068 when William was in Exeter. Over the next few weeks he force marched his troops from Exeter to Warwick where he established the castle by the River Avon. He then carried onto Nottingham. The route of this march between Warwick is unclear but there is little doubt that he travelled through Tamworth and then onto Nottingham. This would suggest that he travelled along the probable Roman road from Tamworth to Measham and then onto Nottingham. The most lasting effect of this march can be seen in the Doomsday entries some 18 years later. Here, the entries for Measham, Willesley, Oakthorpe and Ravenstone are shown as waste. This probably indicates not only the ferocity of William's march but also possibly the significance of the Measham/Donisthorpe enclave to the earls of Mercia. Part of the military tactics of the time would seem to dictate punishing not only the rebellious earl but also the people of the earl's land. Clearly the peoples of the Measham/Donisthorpe enclave were singled out for particular attention as the neighbouring settlements of Ashby de la Zouch, Packington, Swepstone in Leicestershire and Clifton Campville appear to have thrived by Doomsday. To reinforce this William took control of much of the area - the lands of the Repton Wapentake became the Kings as did the lands of Burton Abbey. This meant that much of what must have been the centre of the earl's of Mercia lands were now controlled by the king. The rebellion was final put down by the end of 1069 and the two chief protagonists were dispatched. Edwin was dead and Morcar had fled to the marshes of Ely to join Hereward the Wake. Nothing is heard of him again. The effect of the rebellion was clear on the land of the Measham/Donisthorpe enclave and the Mease valley. The king now had control of most of the area. He probably drained the area of as much value as he could and it wasn't until the 12th century that royal land ownership and control of the area was released and new dynastic conflicts begun. This time between the earls of Chester and Leicester.
Earl of ChesterThe earl of Chester was established after the Mercian rebellion and the first earl was not a success. He was replaced by earl Hugh who for the next 30 years ruled the palentine of Chester as a viceroy. Hugh had originally been given the honour of Tutbury but he vacated this for the earldom of Chester. He was replaced at Tutbury by Henry de Ferrers. These two families came to dominate the affairs of the whole study area for the next 200 hundred years.
The relationship between the de Ferrers family and earls of Chester seems to have been a close one. The de Ferrers were given castles by the earls of Chester and their sisters married earls of Chester. By the mid 12th century the de Ferrers were also earls - this time of Derby, but it would appear that they were always under the influence of the much more powerful earls of Chester. By the 12th century the earl of Chester appears to have gained control of the Repton Wapentake. This may have been favours from the king but it also may have been helped by the marriage of the 4th earl of Chester, Ranulf de Meschin to the English women Lucy. Much time has been spent trying to identify who Lucy was. There would appear to be two separate views of her antecedence. It is agreed that she was related to the family of Aelfgar but either as Aelfgar's daughter or a Lincolnshire niece. Either way she was an important enough person to have married into the upper echelons of the Norman aristocracy. By her first husband she produced a son, William de Roumare, who went on to become the earl of Lincoln. By Ranulf she produced the next earl of Chester, Ranulf de Gernon. Whichever way you look at it Lucy was a pivotal person in the development of an Anglo Norman aristocracy and more so when you consider that her two sons were heavily involved in the rebellions against King Stephen during the 1130's and 40's. It is during this time that the earls of Chester gain control of the Repton Wapentake. This whole area, along with the massive land holdings of earls of Chester around Barrow on Soar abutted the land holdings of the earls of Leicester and this appears to have been the source of continuing conflict between the two powerful earls. The honour of Leicester had originally been given to Hugh de Grandnesnil, however by the end of the century it was in the had of the hands of Robert de Meulan. he was created earl by Henry 1st and so not only was the earl of Leicester but also the earl of Warwick was also controlled by the same family. The boundary of the earls' of Warwick and Leicester land was around the Mease Valley. The importance of this boundary can be shown by two items. The first was the 'earls dyke' which ran across the Charnwood forest and separated the earl of Chester's hunting rights from those of the earl of Leicester. The second is a remarkable treaty dated around 1148. This clearly sets out the relationships between the two earls and even sets down rules for where castle could be established. It also lead to destruction of the castle at Ravenstone. The Mease valley was influenced by three powerful land owners. The earls of Chester and Derby both controlled most of the land within the study area. The earl of Leicester controlled some but, along with his relatives the earls of Warwick controlled much of the land to the south and east. These land owners continued to dispute and feud over their land rights through out the post conquest period but also no doubt co-operated on many projects when it suited their own goals. However, it would be wrong to suggest that the land ownership was a simple case of control of such powerful families. Below this levels there appears to have developed a much more complicated picture of tenants and sub tenants all of whom paid their dues to the powerful families of the day. The Norman aristocracy also developed a number of religious establishments in the area which also by the end of the study period were no doubt expressing themselves as they had control of large tracts of land within the study area.
Religious EstablishmentsThe first recorded religious establishment in the area was at Breedon and dated back to the middle of the 7th century. Repton and Lichfield were the most important religious sites of the Mercian kingdom but as the Mercian kingdom faded so did their importance. By 1075 Lichfield was stripped of it's bishopric which was not returned for another 200 years.
Of the all the religious establishments in the area three perhaps have had the most influence. These were Burton Abbey, Repton Priory and Merevale Abbey. Burton AbbeyBurton Abbey was established in the early part of the 11th century by Wulfric Spot. There was recorded religious activity in the Burton area possibly going back to the pre English period however the abbey was the most influential. By the Norman conquest the abbey had considerable land holdings in the area. Most of these, however, were seized by William after the Mercian rebellion and were not returned for some years. By the 12th century the abbey was once more a well supported establishment. Like most pre Norman establishments Burton was a Benedictine abbey. The abbey itself was never a large establishment by contemporary standards yet nonetheless was by far the wealthiest abbey in Staffordshire - twice as wealthy as the next abbey in Staffordshire. There never more than 30 monks serving at the abbey. The abbey controlled land throughout the Mease valley area - especially around Coton in the Elms. However, prior to the conquest it controlled land over a far greater area with fishing rights on the River Mersey. The monks helped to develop the mining of coal from the exposed coal measures of the hills which over looked Burton. Repton PrioryThe religious centre at Repton had been one of the most important Mercian centres during the Mercian kingdom. However, due to the actions of the Danish armies and settlers it's pre-eminence had declined. It was re established as a religious centre by the earls of Chester during the 1150's. Originally the priory had been based at Calke some 5 miles to the east but they were moved to Repton as this was seen to be a more suitable place for them to be based. Repton Priory had considerable land granted to it within the Repton Wapentake. Before the re establishment of a priory at Repton there had been a church which no doubt carried on the work of the older religious establishment. It is clear that by the 13th century much of the work of the church at Repton had been taken over by the Priory. In 1278 there was dispute between the people of Measham and Repton prior over the upkeep of the chapel at Measham. The matter was referred to the Bishop at Coventry who decided on the matter. Here was clear evidence of the involvement of Priory of Repton in pastoral matters. It is also interesting that the matter was referred to the bishop of Coventry. This indicates that both Measham and Repton were within the old diocese of Lichfield - the bishopric having been moved first to Chester and then to Coventry before being returned to Lichfield. Merevale AbbeyMerevale was established around the same time as the Priory at Repton. It was at the bequest of the de Ferrers family who already supported the abbey at Tutbury. It would seem that Merevale was there favoured establishment as a number of them were buried there - including its founder Robert de Ferrers earl of Derby in 1162. As with all these establishments the de Ferrers gave them large tracts of land in the area. The main land ownership ran from the abbey, through Twycross, Appleby, Stretton en le Field and onto Seal. The establishment was a Cistercian abbey which was situated just to the north west of Atherstone. The abbot was also responsible for the up keep of bridges on his land because in the early 14th century the Fieldon bridge, across which the main Coventry to Derby road ran, was repaired by the abbot of Merevale. In many ways this road symbolise much of the power within the study area. It ran from a Chester (Coventry) stronghold to a de Ferrers stronghold (Derby) and was maintained by a de Ferrers appointee - the abbot at Merevale. Thus we can see how the powerful men of the area influenced much that took place within and around the Mease valley. Development of TradeIt would be wrong to see the whole area as monolithic blocks of land controlled by great land owners and their client monastic establishments. No doubt they had a great influence on the area but there was other developments going on through the period. After the devastation of the conquest it would seem that trade again developed. The area is dotted with small markets at Seal, Measham and Packington. These markets were connected by a developing long distance trade routes. Running through the Mease Valley is a salt route which probably straddled both sides of the valley. To the south it went towards Atherstone. To the north it went through the heart of the Measham/Donisthorpe enclave to Measham. From there it's route is somewhat difficult to trace but it is fair to assume that it probably ended somewhere near to the west side of the Charnwood Forrest. There are clear indicators that the Soar valley and points east from this were supplied from the east coast of England. When the salt routes developed is unclear however by the 12th and 13th century they no doubt were major conduits of trade through out the whole region.
Within the Mease valley the salt routes probably combined with the coal roads which ran from all over the Mease valley and the Ashby Wolds area towards Leicester. By the 13th century coal from Oakthorpe and probably Measham was being used to heat the abbey at Leicester. As previously mentioned the abbey at Burton was also a major user of coal. To the north of the study area at Southwood and Calke Abbey coal mining took place from around the same time. These mines were controlled by the earl of Chester and again it maybe that the leading land owners of the area helped develop the markets and thus the trade routes of the area. The major North/South trade route through the study area was the Derby/Coventry road. This entered the study area at Twycross and then went through Snarestone, Measham and left the study area through Ashby de la Zouch. The actual route through the area is somewhat unclear and may have varied - so it is likely that the route also passed through Packington.
At the centre of this complicated web of major trade routes through the area was Measham. It is unclear whether this was a reflection of earlier importance of Measham or perhaps just a lucky coincidence of history. Whatever the reason by the start of 14th century there must have been a considerable amount of traffic along these routes. There is just the slightest suggestion of this as around this time an assize court sat at Measham. Equally around this time an annual fair is established. So over the 300 years from the Conquest the study area grew. It's first few years were no doubt traumatic as there seems little doubt that William personally ensured that the area was subject to particular vicious repression. After this, though, we see the area recover with the re development of old trade routes and perhaps new ones. New major religious houses are established in the area and older ones are reformed. These must represent the growing wealth of the area. coal starts to become an important commodity for the first time - although it may have been mined from a much earlier age and finally by the end of the 13th century Measham has an annual fair and an Assize court sat at Measham.
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