A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE
Amounderness in 1066 consisted of 62 vills—3 of which belonged properly to Lonsdale. All these vills were berewicks of the capital manor of Preston, and owned Tostig as lord. Whilst the value of the land between Ribble and Mersey was depreciated by the events which followed the Norman invasion only to the extent of 25l., or from 145l. 2s. 7.d in 1066, to 120l. when Roger of Poitou received it, Amounderness fared grievously. At the date of the survey only 16 out of 62 vills possessed inhabitants, and these but a few, whilst the remainder were derelict, and devoid of stock, crop, or inhabitants. Probably this deplorable condition was not so much due to the levy of oxen, sheep, swine, corn, and other stores made by the Conqueror's army in passing through these regions, as by the devastations committed by Tostig's enemies in his lands, owing to his unpatriotic attitude, and during his prolonged absence from his earldom previous to the conquest. The survey gives us no hint as to the value or condition of Lonsdale, Kendal, Cartmel, or Furness, either before or after the conquest. The reduction in the assessment to Danegeld made in or before the reign of Henry I. amounting to 143 carucates[1] in these regions, proves how greatly they had suffered impoverishment since the days before the conquest.
Little can be added to that which is already known concerning the pre-conquest lords of the regions north of the Ribble. As already shown, Tostig held Amounderness, Halton, Whittington, Beetham, and Furness, with their respective members, embracing a territory rated at 419 carucates, of which 386 lay in Amounderness, Lonsdale, Kendal, Cartmel, and Furness, with 14 carucates in Ewcross wapentake, co. York, and 19 carucates in Millom ('Hougun'), co. Cumberland.
Thorfin, who held the Yorkshire manor of Austwick, with its members—of which those in Kendal and Lonsdale contained 33 carucates—may possibly be identified as the thegn who also held the manor of Winterburn in Craven, with seven berewicks under Roger of Poitou (f. 332).
Chetel, who held the Yorkshire manor of Bentham (6 carucates) and three other manors in Lonsdale rated at 12 carucates, cannot be certainly identified with any of the thegns of this name who held manors in Craven. Other thegns in Lonsdale were Ulf and Machel, who each had a manor and 2 carucates between them in Cockerham; Cliber, Machern, and Gillemichael, who had manors rated at 10 carucates in Ashton, Ellel, and Scotforth, the last named being perhaps the Gillemichael who had a manor in 'Stercaland,' now Strickland Ketel and Strickland Roger, rated at 20 carucates in the whole, with 9 other manors, including Kirkby Kendal, of which Dalton alone was in Lonsdale; Ulf, who had a manor rated at 9 carucates in Melling, with Hornby and one moiety of Wennington; Orm, who had a berewick of the manor of Melling, supposed to be Wrayton, rated at 1½ carucate; the same or another Orm, who had a manor in Thornton in Lonsdale (3 carucates), co. York, and a moiety of Burrow rated at 3 carucates; Duuan, who had Kirkby Cartmel (6 carucates), that is the village and church of Cartmel; Ernulf, who held the manor and vill of Aldingham (6 carucates), and his neighbour Turulf, who had a manor in Ulverston (6 carucates), of which Bolton, with Adgarley and Dendron, were either berewicks, or were then
274
- ↑ This total is obtained by a comparison of the figures given in Dom. Bk. with those recorded in the Testa de Nevill.
