A HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE Roger de Laci had succeeded his father, whose predecessor in three Berkshire manors, as in a Gloucestershire one, had been Edmund. Hascoit (Musard) a Breton, who belonged to Derbyshire and Gloucester- shire, had for his tenant at Winterbourne, a fellow-countryman, Chemar- huec. Geoffrey de Mandeville of Essex was indebted for most of his Berkshire lands to his well-recognized succession to Esgar, staller and sheriff. With Walter Fitz Other we come to a baron of local association, for he was the founder of the house of Windsor and may himself have been occasionally named, as were his sons, from that royal abode. Keeper of the forests of Berkshire and constable of Windsor castle, 1 his was the charge of the knights who owed it castle guard, namely those of Abingdon Abbey, of Ghilo de Picquigny and of his own fief 8 which extended into the four counties adjoining eastern Berkshire. Of his connexion with Windsor Domesday affords us no indication beyond his holding a small portion of the King's own manor there ; but it hints at his forest post in its entry under Kintbury, where we find him holding half a hide, which King Edward gave to his predecessor ' out of his demesne (jirma) . . . for keeping the forest.' The monks of Abingdon suffered at his hands, for when the King annexed part of Winkfield to Windsor forest, Walter did some robbing on his own account, seizing some of their woods down Bagshot way. Of the great English lord whom William found in possession, namely Wigod of Wallingford, there is scarcely any mention, Letcombe (Bassett), a manor of Robert d'Ouilly, being alone mentioned as formerly his. But under the fief of Miles Crispin we have just a hint in one place of his former possession ; and this is as it should be, for it is well recognized that Robert and Miles succeeded to the widely scattered estates of the lord of Wallingford. In Berkshire, as in Bucks and Oxon, Domesday seems to support the story of some mysterious connexion between Robert d'Ouilly and Roger d'lvry. Stowe in Buckinghamshire is entered, under the Bishop of Bayeux' fief, as held of him by Robert and Roger jointly, 3 and in Berkshire an estate in Shefford, 4 which had belonged to ' Bristei ' or 'Bricstec,' appears in two moieties under the fiefs of Robert and Roger respectively, Domesday adding in each case * de feudo episcopi 1 Abingdon Cbron. (Rolls Ser.), ii. 7, 132. * Red Book of the Exchequer (Rolls Sen), 716-7. 3 See V '.C.H. Buckinghamshire, . 237. 4 The Rev. H. Salter, editor of the Osney cartulary, inclines to the view, from evidence therein, that this estate was Elton farm in Welford, now bordering on the east of East Shefford. This view I can confirm from independent evidence. In the Testa (p. 126) we find ' Elfreton ' divided into two holdings, each of a quarter of a fee. One of these was held of the Honour of St. Valery (pp. lllb, 1244), which is known to represent Roger d'lvry ; and the other was held of the Earls of War- wick (pp. 109, 122), who are known to have inherited from Robert d'Ouilly. ' Elfreton,' therefore, was the present Elton, which supports my view (p. 363 below) that the ' Ulvritone ' of Domesday is repre- sented, as a name, by Woolton. The quarter fee at ' Elfreton ' is duly entered in the Inq. p.m. on the earl in 26 Hen. III., but the Record Office has failed to identify the place (Cat. of Inq. i. 3). Yet further confirmation is found in the return of the Berkshire carucage (1220-1221) in Testa, p. 131^, where, between two Shefford entries, we read (the text is bad), ' De Elfinton (sic) Ad' et Galfr" pro tribus caruc[atis] terrse.' Here we have the three hides of Domesday in two moieties again. 290
