1068 DOMESDAY book

Domesday & Who Got What 
The Battle of Hastings was in August 1066 and seven months later in March 1067 William the Conqueror went back to Normandy with his household knights . Because of numerous  rebellions in England he returned later that year to the Siege of Exeter
Ranulph de Pomeroy  was a Norman knight  who fought at the Battle of Hastings  for William Duke of Normandy - the Conqueror.

His home domain was at La Pommerai  in Bayeux in Normandy,  the apple growing lands of Normandy
He may have been in Duke William's household bodyguard , one of his  ’housecarls’
It was usual for landowners to attached themselves to the forces of an earl or other magnate, such as William Duke of Normandy .

The Domesday survey took 2 years & was compiled into a book by 1068.  All landowners had to submit information regarding their holdings, the resulting entries were made by the excellent  Anglo-Saxons administrators who the new King kept in post after the Conquest. Once received  the information was compiled into the Domesday Book . Subsequently groups of officials , which consisted of bishops, dukes and other high-ranking officials, traveled all across England to gather more information.

 We might reasonably speculate that Ranulph de Pomerai  was sent by King William to Devon to ​inspect the landholdings , with a grant ​in his packet ​to choose 60 manors.   He chose as his chief domain the Manor of Beri, near Totnes and the family name was added later.

Speculation is all we really have - William the Norman was illegitimate and it's only possible to estimate when he was born  - about 1028 - someone wrote at the time that he was 7 when his father died . Ranulf is even more vague; he may have been born  about 1045 making him younger by over a decade .
The unmarried Duke Richard of Normandy died in 1035 with no legitimate sons the child William became Duke  at about 7years old.
Ranulf de Pomerai was born 10 years after William took the Dukedom and at the age of 7 or 8 Ranulf was probaly sent into the Dukes household for training as a squire.  

 
Ranulph would have known Duke William from childhood ; he probably became part of the dukes household as a boy squire and later once his training as a squire was completed, becoming part of a private army that  each aristocrat  maintained  to protect their estates and provide an army to the monarch. 

The Battle of Hastings was in August 1066 and seven months later in March 1067 William the Conqueror went back to Normandy with his household knights . Because of assorted rebellions in England he returned later that year. Compiling the book Taxable lands  took 2 years 

The Domesday survey was compiled into a book by 1068. The entries were initially made through lists. All landowners had to submit information regarding their holdings, the resulting entries were made by the excellent  Anglo-Saxons administrators who the new King kept in post after the Conquest. Once received  the information was compiled into one book. The Domesday Book . After that  groups of officials groups  which consisted of bishops, dukes and other high-ranking officials, traveled all across  England to gather more information.

Ranulph de Pomeroy  was a Norman knight  who fought at the Battle of Hastings  for William Duke of Normandy - the Conqueror.

His home domain was at La Pommerai  in Bayeux, Normandy. He may have been household bodyguard or ’housecarls’ -   one who attached himself to the forces of an earl or other magnate such as William Duke of Normandy .

 We might reasonably speculate that Ranulph de Pomerai  was sent by King William to Devon to ​inspect the landholdings , with a grant ​in his packet ​to choose 60 manors.   He chose as his chief domain the Manor of Beri, near Totnes. The family name was added later.

His son Joselin Pomeroy succeeded him and then the 1st of 8 successive Henry Pomeroy's,whilst  retaining their estates in Normandy at the Castle of Pont-Antou.

The wealth of the Pomeroy estate was large and in the Exon Domesday he held considerable numbers of livestock in the north Devon.

Manors: Ash (Bradworthy), Ashcombe, Aunk,Berry Pomeroy, Bradworthy, Brendon, Clyst St George, Curtisknowle, Dunsdon, Heavitree, Highleigh, Huxham, Keynedon, Lank Combe, Mamhead, Peamore, Sheldon, Smallridge, Southweek, Stockleigh Pomeroy, Strete Raleigh, Tale, Upottery, Washfield, Weycroft, Yeadbury, Great Torrington, Bruckland, Caffyns Heanton, Cheriton (Brendon), Dunkeswell, Dunstone (Widecombe in the Moor), Gappah, Holcombe, Mowlish.

He also held 2 manors in Somerset which he gave to his sister or shared with his half brother William Chievre  called William the Goat

Manors in Devon covers estates of vastly differing sizes and values. Either held by Ranulph de Pomerai or held as Tenant in Chief.

They range, for example, from Winkleigh, worth £40, paying tax for 5½ hides,and inhabited by 50 villeins,with 40 ploughs (which probably represented 40 separate farms), to what were effectively single-farmstead estates like Scobitor in Widecombe, worth only a few shillings, and of less than one virgate taxable rate.

Slightly larger holdings like Blackslade in Widecombe, with 3 inhabitants, 1 plough and worth 3/-, together with Dunstone and Natsworthy in the same parish, were probably typical of small holdings on the fringe of the Moor.  Dewdon, though it would have been similar to its neighbours, all tiny estates on marginal land – it wasn’t surprising that many were swallowed up by larger manors by 1086

 Ash (in Bradworthy) Aisse / Aissa / Eissa:- Ralph de Pomeroy. Now 2 hamlets, East and West Ash.  Gmaps  shows East Ash Farm close to A22386. Close to Lynton on North Devon coast 

Ashcombe Aissecome-  Ralph de Pomeroy. 42 cattle, 150 sheep, 50 goats. 14th century church; rectory; a few farms. 3 Miles E Chudleigh

Aunk Hanc / Hanche: Ralph de Pomeroy. 1 Cob(Horse), 11 cattle, 12 pigs & 100 sheep. Tiny -  a hamlet west of village of Payhembury which is not far from Buckerell

Awliscombe Aulescome - his half brother William Cheever and Ralph and Hamo from him; Gotshelm; Ralph de Pomeroy and Helgot from him. Mill, 16 cattle, 287 sheep, 97 goats. Cheever was Pomeroys half brother  - a Parish W by N of Honiton

Berry Pomeroy Bury or Beri.  The primary or Caput of Pomeroy holdings.  A large parish  a miles or so from Totnes  where they built a manor house close to the church.  The castle which is now in ruins was not built until around the time of  Wars of the Roses 1450 – 1500.
In 1086 it had  8 households (very large). Total tax assessed: 2 geld units (quite small).  Taxable value 2 geld units.
Value to lord of £12 in 1086 . Households: 45 villagers. 17 smallholders. 16 slaves working  25 ploughlands with 4 lord's plough teams. 17 men's plough teams.  10 acres of Meadow; 40 acres of Pasture; 100 acres of Woodland . They had 8 cattle. 17 pigs. 560 sheep.
Before the Norman Conquest the land belonged to Alric. After 1086 the Lord of the Manor was Ralph of Pomeroy. 

Blackborough Blacheberge / beria / berie / Blacaberga: Baldwin the Sheriff; Ralph de Pomeroy; Ralph Botin from William the Usher, the king's servant. 15 cattle, 38 goats.      5 miles E.N.E. of Collumpton, anciently held by the Boldhay family, and afterwards by the Cobhams and the Bonvilles. 

Blackslade Blachestach / tac / Bacheslac: Ralph de Pomeroy. Not found on G maps Lords of the manor In 1086 the tenant-in-chief was William de Falaise. Dewdon isn’t mentioned in “Book of Fees”  of the mid-13thC, though the ¼ knight’s fee of Widecombe  is recorded, apparently being an amalgamation of Dunston and Blackeslac (Blackslade). In around 1285   all the manors are recorded (incl. Widecombe, Spichwik etc), though Dewdon is merely assumed in the entry for Cockington (Roger de Cockington holds Cockington of William Martin for one Knight’s Fee,William holding of the King. Presumably  Pomeroy held another ¼  of knights fees. ) Found on slopes of Blackslade Tor. Not far  east of Widecombe.

Bradworthy Brawordine / Braor / Bravordina: Ralph de Pomeroy. 40 cattle, 30 unbroken mares, 120 sheep. Remote; a large central square. BRADWORTHY a village   6½ miles N. by W. of Holsworthy, 9856 acres of land, including hilly moorland,  with  small hamlets of Denworthy, Alfardisworthy, Kimsworthy, and Youlston. 

Bridestowe Bidestou: Ralph de Pomeroy from Baldwin the Sheriff. 135 sheep. Norman arch from the church was used as a gateway on the main road. Okehampton 

Bruckland Brocheland / lande / landa: Geoffrey from Ralph de Pomeroy, formerly Aethelhard the monk. Now Higher Bruckland Farm and Lower Bruckland, a tiny hamlet. Musbury in East Devon 

Caffyns Heanton Hantone / tona: Ralph de Pomeroy. 13 cattle, 20 goats. Caffyns Heanton Farm near Caffyns Heanton Down. Lynton North Devon

Cheriton (in Brendon) Ciretone / tona: Ralph de Pomeroy. 27 cattle. couldnt find this before   thought it was in East Devon but it isnt its very north Devon around Lynton area . Also found Lyncombe Wood , Brendon,  all LYNTON area. 

Chevithorne Chenetorne / Chevetorna / Chiveorne / -orna: Rogo from Baldwin the Sheriff; Beatrix from Ralph de Pomeroy. 15 cattle. Elizabethan Chevithorne Barton nearby. Tiverton

Clannaborough Cloenesberg(a): Ralph de Pomeroy from Baldwin the Sheriff. Clannaborough Barton; tiny church. WnW of Credition

Gappah Gatepade / pada: Roger from Ralph de Pomeroy. 12 cattle, 100 sheep, 60 goats. A small hamlet in Kingsteignton or Teignton Regis,  1½ mile N.E. of Newton Abbot,  on the north bank of the river Teign

Great Torrington Toritone / tona: Roger from Ralph de Pomeroy; Ansger de Montacute; Odo FitzGamelin and 3 Frenchmen from him. 12 cattle, 146 sheep. Town and market centre since Saxon times, with a park on the site of a Norman castle. The church was blown up in 1645 with 200 Royalists inside.

Heavitree Hevetrove / trowa: Roger from Ralph de Pomeroy, formerly Viking. Exeter

Hemyock Hamihoch / hoc: King's land. Castle ruins. Nearby Whitehall was the home of the de Brewer family who founded Dunkeswell Abbey in 1201. HEMYOCK, or Hemiock, near Culmbridge, 5 miles S. of Wellington, and 9 miles N.E. of Collumpton . Includes hemyock Castle.

1400: March: Sir Thomas Pomeroy, son of Robert Pomeroy of Smallbridge a cadet line spouse of Joan Chudleigh who was heir to the Pomeroy title , before 1388 was made the King’s esquire; and by December of that year was The King’s Knight. (Powley, page 64..says the King had knighted him at his last voyage to Scotland. He was given a grant for life of William Hasthorpe’s land in Hemyock.

Henford Hindeford / fort: Ralph de Pomeroy from Iudhael of Totnes. Some houses; Henford Water.  NE Lamerton 

Highleigh Henlei / leia: Ralph de Pomeroy. Some houses East Devon Oakford

Hittisleigh  Hiteneslei / leia: Ralph de Pomeroy from Baldwin the Sheriff. Hittisleigh Barton; Hittisleigh Cross, a tiny hamlet. SWS of Crediton

Holcombe (in East Dawlish) Holecome / Holcomma: Ralph de Pomeroy. Cpart of the parish of East Teignmouth

Hollowcombe (in Ermington) Holescome / coma: Ralph de Pomeroy from Count of Mortain. 4 salthouses. Hollowcombe Farm. Ermington near Plymouth  

Horwood Horewod / -wode / Horewda / -woda: Bishop of Coutances; Ralph de Pomeroy. Cow, 90 sheep. Overlooking the Taw and Torridge Estuary. ENE of Bideford  

Huxham Hochesham / sam: Roger from Ralph de Pomeroy. Mill. NNE of Exeter

Ivedon Otri: Warin and Ralph FitzPayne from William Cheever; Ralph de Pomeroy and Rozelin from him. Ivedon Farm. Offwell Honiton East Devon.

Keynedon Chenigedone / Chenighedona / -irghedona: Roger from Ralph de Pomeroy. 106 sheep. Keynedon Barton,  Kingsbrisdge  just north of Frogmore not far from South Pool

Lower Creedy Credie / Cridie / Creda / Cridia: Bishop of Coutances; William from Ralph de Pomeroy. Parish  Crediton

Littlehempston  Hamestone / Hamistone / Hamistona: King's land formerly Earl Harold. Ralph de Pomeroy from Iudhael of Totnes. 40 goats. Old manor, c.1400 with a 15th century fresco. 2 miles N.E. of Totnes; 1270Acres. 3Rods 17Perches  of fertile land. The manor, anciently held by the Arundells,.

Lank Combe Lacome / Lancoma: Ralph de Pomeroy. Downland. Lank Comb found mentioned in a description of a walk around Badgeworthy on the edge of Exmoor.  On the banks of river Badgeworthy Water are the remains of a deserted medieval village. The last resident left in the 1930s.

Mamhead  Mammeheua / -hetua / Manneheua: Ralph de Pomeroy from Baldwin the Sheriff; Saewulf, the pre-Conquest holder, from the king. Cob, 27 goats. Mamhead House, rebuilt in Tudor style in the 19th century on the site of a medieval castle.  Near Dawlish and Kenton ion the slopes of the Haldon Hills, with views of  the Exe estuary

Mowlish Milchewis / Milehyuis: Richard from Ralph de Pomeroy; Saewulf, the pre-Conquest holder, from the king. Cow. Mowlish Manor. Starcross  at Kenton and close to Mamhead a listed 15th C house and nearby farm

Peamore Peumere / mera: Roger FitzPayne from Ralph de Pomeroy. Peamore House. Exminster not far from Mowlish & Mamhead

Pool Pole / Pola: William from Iudhael of Totnes; Ansfrid from Walter de Claville; Roger from Ralph de Pomeroy. Now South Pool, at the head of Southpool Creek. Salcombe

RADISH no longer exists but can be identified on the ground ?? Worth 2 d- 2 pennies Hundred: Colyton in Devon

Total tax assessed: 0.5 geld units (very small). Taxable units: Taxable value 0.5 geld units. Value: Value to lord in 1086 £0.2. Value to lord c. 1070 £0.2.

Ploughland: 2 ploughlands (land for). Woodland 15 acres.

Lord in 1066: 2 thanes,  Lord in 1086: Geoffrey. Tenant-in-chief in 1086: Ralph of Pomeroy.

Rapshays Otri / Oteri: Warin from William Cheever; Rozelin from Ralph de Pomeroy. Rapshayes Farm. Gittisham Honiton EX14 3AB

Sheldon Sildene / denna: Ralph de Pomeroy. 10 cattle. E N of Cullumpton

Smallridge Smarige / Smaurige / Esmarige / Esmaurige: Ralph de Pomeroy. Mill. 15 cattle, 32 goats.  A hamlet in  East Devon situated about 1 mile north of the town of Axminster, close to the Fosse Way, the  A358.  A farm & mill , a tything in the parish of Axminster, 

Southweek Wicha / Wica / Wyca: Ralph de Pomeroy. 30 cattle. Tiny; Southweek Wood. Chumleigh South Molton mid Devon 

Stockleigh Pomeroy Stochelie / Estocheleia: Ralph de Pomeroy. Cob, 103 sheep, 23 goats. Belonged to the Pomeroy family until the Catholic Rising of 1549. East Devon parish. 4 miles N.E. of Crediton, a village and parish of 1239 acres 2rods 5poles long held by the ancient family of Pomeroy. Its watermill, last used for fulling and first recorded 1293   and was gifted for his lifetime to Nigel the cook to Sir Henry. Pomeroy .

Stoodleigh (near Oakford) Stodlei / Estodleia: Bishop of Coutances; Robert from Ralph de Pomeroy. 18 cattle, 33 goats, 100 sheep. East Stoodleigh Barton nearby. Oakford Highleigh

Strete Ralegh Estrete / eta: Thurstan from Ralph de Pomeroy. 60 goats. A farm in Whimple 4½ miles W.N.W. of Ottery St Mary, and 8½ miles N.E. by E. of Exeter.  Whimple has just over 3028 acres of land.  The manors of Whimple, Strete Raleigh, and Cobdon, formerly held by the Englefield, Clist, Pudding, Raleigh.

Tale Tale / Tala: Ralph de Pomeroy. Mill. 15 cattle, 50 goats. Lower Tale, some houses. Payhembury in Ottery St Mary includes  the hamlets of Cheriton, Tale, and Upton and also Hembury hill fort ,the manor belonging to the Giffords in the reign of Henry III (1216-1272). Tale Manor

Tedburn St. Mary Teteborne / burne / borna: Rainer and Ralph de Pomeroy from Baldwin the Sheriff; William Cheever. Cob, 12 cattle, 162 sheep.  7½ miles W. by N. of Exeter, has  4433 acres of land

Uplowman Oplomie / -ia / Oppelaume / Oppaluma: Gotshelm; Aelmer the Priest from Gotshelm; Alwin from Ralph de Pomeroy.

Cob, 14 cattle. 14th century church built by Henry VIII's mother.Margaret Beaufort Countess of Richmond.  Tiverton in East of Devon

Upottery Otri: Ralph de Pomeroy. Mill. On the River Otter. East Devon 5 miles N.E. by N. of Honiton, Its parish contains just over 5830 acres of land

Walson  Nimet / Nimeth: Ralph de Pomeroy from Baldwin the Sheriff. Walson Barton. Tiverton Withyridge  a town,  10 miles W. of Tiverton, 9 miles S.E. by S. of South Molton, and 8 miles E. of Chulmleigh with 9958 acres of land. The manor and hundred of Witheridge was anciently held by the Fitzpayne, Poleyne, Marchant, Chichesters

Washfield  Wasfelle / felte / fella: Ralph de Pomeroy. Church with a Norman font. Near Tiverton/ Poteford / -forde / Potaforda / -fort / Peteforda / Pudeforde / -forda: Ansketel from William Cheever; Roger from Ralph de Pomeroy; Reginald from Roald Dubbed. 38 cattle. ( Will'm Cheever was Ralph's half brother) NW of Tiverton

West Putford Podiford / -forda / Poteford / -forde / Potaforda / -fort / Peteforda / Pudeforde / -forda: Ansketel from William Cheever; Roger from Ralph de Pomeroy; Reginald from Roald Dubbed. 38 cattle. ( Will'm Cheever was Ralph's half brother) Nr Holsworthy.

West PUTFORD    8½ miles N. of Holsworthy, with 2620 acres of land, including the small hamlets of Colscot, Thriverden, and Westfield. Includes Cory Barton, half a mile N. of the church, is a good Elizabethan farmhouse, possibly with even older portions.  Churston House (a corruption of "church-town") stands near the church and is an attractive Elizabethan manor house in the unsophisticated style of rural Devon at that period.

Weycroft Wigegroste / Wigacrosta / Willecroste / -crosta / -crostra: Roger from Ralph de Pomeroy. 2 mills. 25 goats. On the River Axe. Close to Smallbridge on Fosse Way Possibly a mill too.  Weycroft Hall an early C15, and C16 and C17 with great hall of circa 1400.  The existing house is the greater part of former Manor House. Weycroft Hall stands on the site of a fortified Roman Camp. Its previous owners can be traced back to 1050 including Sir Thomas Bennet, Lord Mayor of London in 1603. In the 16th century dissenters used it and the surrounding area as a secret meeting place.

Yeadbury Addeberie: William from Ralph de Pomeroy.  4 to 5 miles W. of Tiverton near Cruwys Morchard  the parish  with 5765 acres of land, including the hamlets of Cotton, Yelbury, and Way.

Payhembury includes hamlets of Cheriton, Tale, and Upton, manor belonged to the Giffords in the reign of Henry III (1216- 1272) Higher and Lower Cheriton represent the Domesday manor of Cherleton, and Tale the manor of Tala. Uggaton, a large farmhouse of late 17th century date, is mentioned as early as 1196. Leyhill Farm was rebuilt in 1657 -

WIDECOMBE-IN-THE-MOOR, 6 miles N.W. by N. of Ashburton. Its parish is a detached member of  Haytor Hundred, including the hamlets, &c., of Cator, Ponsworthy, Poundsgate, Linchaford, Fernhill,  Dunstone, Blackslade, Lower-Tor, &c., and about 4700 acres of open commons, called Newbridge, Blackdown, Natsworthy, Jourdan,

Records relating to Sir Thomas Pomeroy 5th son of Sir Henry by his wife Johanna Moels mentions Sothcroft on the north part under the town of la Yurd; also 2  acres of arable land in Southcroft near the land of Mounketon in the south part, also a third part of Middelcroft in  the south part, and a third part of Battishemcroft in the north part, and a third part in Yoldebatcroft

MONKTON parish on the high road from Honiton to Taunton and Ilminster, 2 miles north-east from Honiton.  Yard farm is in the parish on the A30

Hoskins, W.G. Extracts from the lay subsidy rolls...for the parishes of Luppitt [1591, 1660], Cotleigh [1660], Monkton [1660], Shute [1660], Northleigh [1660], Farway [1660] and lists of the inhabitants of the precinct of Bradninch in Exeter, 1708, 1732, 1752, 

John Pomeroy found this in Jan 2021

 House of De La Pomerai "ROBERT DE LA POMERAI ( -1346- ). In an assignment of dower to Joan, late wife of William Cheyny, la Yurd (in Rose Ash?), in 1346," 

ROSE-ASH, formerly called Ralph Esse, is a pleasant village, on an eminence, 6 miles S.E. by E. of South Molton, and has   4988 acres of land; rising in bold hills on the east and north, and comprising the hamlet of Yard, and many scattered houses, bearing different names.  Rose Ash is the parish  & Yard is a farm complex nearby    Historic England   https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1325489

 The settlement was owned by Richard de Yerda in 1211 and remained in the Yard family until 1615. Richard Yard, 1450 - c1514 was probably responsible for the present house. Group value with North Yarde and with a farmyard of traditional farmbuildings to the south. South Yarde is an outstanding building. The medieval roof is a remarkable survival and the unfinished state of its carved decoration provides important evidence of the methods of a late medieval carver. The late C16/early C17 remodelling is also fine and the house has not suffered from any damaging alterations this century while in the hands of the Rolle family. The method of carving on the east end hall truss is described by A.W. Everett in a letter to the owner, dated 10/4/63 which is partly quoted by Charles Hulland in his account of the house in the Transactions of the Devonshire Association.

The lord of the manor retained the advowson, that is the right to select and appoint the parish priest, yet the parish was governed by the diocese within which it was situated, which also granted it the tithes to which it was legally entitled, which was a tax of one tenth of the produce of the manor.

Outlying parts of a manor over time were exchanged between neighbouring lords, and thus would change from being within the manorial boundaries of the one to the other, but would remain within the original parish's boundaries. 

 The method of agriculture at the time of the Norman Conquest, the 11th century, was "strip farming" , an open field system imported by the Saxons. The method worked  well enough in areas where the lands were flat, plain areas, but was much more difficult in hilly Devon.

The legal theory of the origin of manors refers them to a grant from the crown -  The beginning of a manor was when the king gave a thousand acres of land, to a favoured subjects and his heirs, for which tenure the knight  gave military service.” 

The manor is often described as the basic feudal unit of tenure and is historically connected with the territorial of a parish and township. However the proper unit of tenure under the feudal system was the ‘fee’. On this ‘fee’ the manor became established through the process of time, something akin to the modern establishment of a "business" upon a freehold site.

A Manor ‘s lands was divided into the demesne,  lands belonging to the Lord of the Manor and the glebe, lands which belonged to the church. The manor house, residence of the lord was where he lived and where the manorial court was held. The manor House was frequently placed near the parish church.

The manor comprised lands differentiated by legal status and by physical characteristics.

Demesne, land retained "in-hand" by the lord, without legal tenant. It was worked for the lord of the manors profit using his manorial workforce, men and women without tenancy rights who held their hovel and a small piece of land in exchange for  working  the lord of the manors demesne or land for so many days per month or year.

Glebe, land reserved for the support of the parish priest.

Common land, was free  by traditional rights, exploitable by the manorial tenants. This free land was used by the tenants,  living at a barely subsistence level, to make their lives sustainable.

Arable, ploughed land used to grow crops.

Waste, economically unproductive land.

Pasture, grassland used for grazing livestock.

Meadow, grassland used for haymaking.

Closes, small enclosed fields created by hedge or stone wall boundaries, used for example to house ewes with their lambs requiring close observation.

Marsh

Woodland, an essential fuel resource.

Furze, a fuel resource used by the lower tenants.

Fallow, land resting within the cycle of crop rotation agriculture.

Fishpond, used to breed fish such as carp

A manor was a productive agricultural unit, which required physical capital, in the form of land, buildings, equipment and draught animals such as ploughing oxen and labour in the form of direction, day to day management and a workforce. It was further similar in that its ownership could be transferred, with the necessary "licence to alienate" having been obtained from the overlord, as can the ownership of a modern company. The administration was self-contained and the new lord needed only to collect its net revenues to form his return on investment. The direction was ultimately provided by the manorial court, presided over by the lord's personal steward, whose members included the freehold tenants of the manor.

 The court itself appointed most of the lower manorial officers, which included the following:

Bailiff, in charge of supervising the cultivation of the manor.

Reeve, an overseer.

Ditch Reeve, responsible for maintaining drainage ditches.

The efficiency, productivity and thus profitability of a manor therefore depended on a mixture of qualities and interaction of location, micro-climate, natural resources, soil type, direction and labour. It was in the interest of all dwellers within the manor, to a greater or lesser degree, that it should be successful.

The manorial court had wide legal jurisdiction over the inhabitants of the manor, sometimes with the right to administer capital punishment, if the lord had obtained from the king the right of holding a court leet. Much of the law was specific to a particular manor, as developed by "custom of the manor" and as interpreted by the manorial court. Rights of appeal existed to the hundred court and the county court beyond that over which presided the county's sheriff.