THE DOMESDAY SURVEY claims to many estates which are found in the hands of Norman barons. Chief among these was the great manor of High Easter, which had passed into the hands of Geoffrey de Mandeville and became, if it was not already, the site of the Mandeville castle of Pleshey. The Domesday entry on the title to the manor ' is explained by the abbey's chronicle, which tells us that Geoffrey's predecessor, the potent Ansgar, had forcibly obtained from the monks a life estate therein. 1 The abbey had also suffered heavily, at the hands of Eudo Dapifer and William de Warenne, in the Rodings, and had further been despoiled, to a more or less serious extent, at (South) Fambridge, Witham, (West) Hanningfield, Broxted, Sandon(P), Amberden and Shellow (Bowells). In all, the lands it had retained in Essex were substantially less in value than those which were held by its spoilers in io86. 8 The more recent English foundations holding lands in Essex were those of the Confessor at Westminster, of Harold at Waltham (Holy Cross), of Ingelric at St. Martin-le-Grand, and of William himself at Battle. Westminster had greatly extended its lands in the county since its founder's death. Besides the manors obtained by exchange and that of which Barking was despoiled,* it had received two interesting gifts. A thegn, going with Harold to the battle of Stamford Bridge, gave it, as he left, a manor at Paglesham ; and JEthelric, who appears to have taken part in a mysterious naval fight (navale praelium) against King William, fell ill on his return home and gave the abbey his estate at Kelvedon Hatch. But the latter gift was imperfectly attested, and had never received the king's sanction. It was also claimed on behalf of the king that the abbey had obtained some land at Fanton by a forged writ (per falsum breve), a. kind of document for which the abbey became somewhat notorious. Of Waltham Abbey I have spoken already ; 6 and as for Battle, it obtained only manors at Hutton and at Hersham (Hall). The canons of St. Martin-le-Grand held Good Easter of the king, and lands at Maldon and Tolleshunt of Count Eustace, Ingelric's successor, be- tween whom and themselves there was naturally some friction. 8 The foreign religious houses endowed with land were four in num- ber. The most interesting of the gifts made to them is that of ' Mersea ' to St. Ouen. We can hardly hesitate to class this endowment by Edward the Confessor of the great Rouen abbey with his similar grants on the coast of Sussex. 7 Domesday, indeed, only tells us that St. Ouen had held the manor in Edward's time ; but the fact that it was given by him appears to be unquestioned. 8 It comprised not only West Mersea, with the manor of Peete on the mainland adjoining, but also Fingringhoe 1 Sec p. 509 below. * Liber EKeniis (Anglia Christiana Society), i. 216-8.
- See Inquisitio comitatus Cantabrigiensis, pp. 122, 127-30, 193. It will be seen in the Domesday
text that the sworn men of the Hundreds generally testified to the justice of the abbey's claims. 4 See pp. 337, 340 above. 8 See p. 337 above. ' See The Commune of London, and other Studies, pp. 28-30 ; Studies in Peerage and Family History, p. 155. ' See Feudal England, pp. 319-20. 8 His charter of donation was printed by Morant (i. 426) from a copy at Colchester, but its form appears to be most suspicious. Its date purports to be 1046. 34'
