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The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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It is generally accepted that at the time of the Domesday Book those people listed as "villeins" were farmers, "bordars" were smallholders and "serfs" were quite literally slaves of the Lord of the Manor. The Manor of Sutton (Sutona) was a Royal Manor, held by the King. It had land for six ploughs. The Lord occupied land for half a plough with one serf. The remaining five ploughs belonged to the four villeins and two bordars. There were only 15 sheep accounted for and and it is thought they have given rise to the name Lambhay Hill, the hill of the sheep enclosure. There were 20 acres of pasture and 2 acres of meadow. The Manor was worth twenty shillings by weight. Stonehouse, or 'Stanehus', had land for only one plough and supported only one villein. He paid five shillings in tax. The Manor was held by Robert the Bastard, who also held Efford. To the far west was Stoke (Stoches), which as it belonged to Robert D'Aumale, slowly derived to become known as Stoke Damerel. It was a large Manor with land for twelve ploughs. The Lord of the Manor had two ploughs and five serf. The remainder of the Manor was worked by sixteen villeins and four bordars with eight ploughs. They were also looking after fifteen cows, twelve swine, 40 goats and 160 sheep. The land comprised 12 acres of pasture and two of woodland. It is known that the manor house was at Keyham Barton until the Wise family built Mount Wise, after which the Barton became an ordinary farmhouse. There were in later years farms at Ham, Higher Swilly and Middle Swilly, and as there was a Nicholas de la Forde in 1238 there must have been a farm of that name. Gill has suggested Pennycomequick and Higher and Lower Stoke as other long-lost farms. The value of the Manor had risen from 40 shillings in 1066 to 70 shillings by 1086. It is said that the oldest Manors were those settled from the sea, where the ground would have been cleared and cultivated before second generation settlers moved inland. The next Manor to the north of Stoke was King's Tamerton (Tanbtretona), which for strategic reasons was another of the Royal Manors. There was land for six ploughs. There were six villeins, two bordars and one serf with 4½ ploughs. In addition there was woodland measuring three furlongs long by one furlong in breadth. Like Sutton, this Manor was worth twenty shillings in weight. The Manor House was at Barne Barton. The other farms were probably East and West Barne, Gubb's, Kinterbury, Moor and one at Weston Mill. An unusual feature of this Manor was that the area known as Saltash Passage fell within the Honour of Trematon and thus remained in the County of Cornwall until as late as 1895. St Budeaux (Bucheside or Budshead) was settled from the water, Budshead Creek, where the Manor House was originally situated. The Manor was held by Alvred the Breton, who also held Tamerton on the opposite bank of the Creek. There was land for five ploughs. The Lord of the Manor had two ploughs and four serfs. Another villein had one plough. The farms were probably Higher, Middle and Lower Ernesettle and Agaton. There were four acres of meadow and an area of scrubland measuring half a league long by two furlongs broad. The Manor was worth thirty shillings. To the north was the Manor of Tamerton (Tambretona), also held by Alvred the Breton but which later acquired the suffix 'Foliot' from a later owner. This was a valuable Manor, worth 60 shillings in 1066 but 100 shillings twenty years later. It was also a large Manor in area, with land for ten ploughs. There were three ploughs and seven serfs on the Lord's estate with another five ploughs, sixteen villeins and six bordars working the remainder. There were three acres of meadow, plus smaller pieces of pasture and woodland. The Domesday surveyors noted the presence of a salt-pan, rendering five shillings in income. Having survived as farmland until recently, the farms are easier to identify: Ashleigh, Belliver, Broadley (no fewer than four variants), Clittaford, Coombes (three), Coppers, Haysend, Horsham, Looseleigh, Pound, Southway, Trehills, Warleigh, Webber's, and Witsun . On the eastern side of Sutton were the Manors settled from the river Plym and its creeks. Bordering Sutton was Lipson (Lisistona), which had land for three ploughs and was held by the Count of Mortain. In fact there was only one plough, with four villeins, three bordars and one serf. It seems to have been largely occupied by goats, no fewer than 30 of them, in addition to the 29 sheep and six cows. There was one acre of meadow, one virgate of pasture and six acres of scrubland. The Manor had been worth twenty shillings but by Domesday this had shrunk to ten shillings. The farms were at Lipson, Little Saltram (as opposed to 'bigger' Saltram across the river), and the three Mount Goulds. Efford (Elforde) would have been settled from the river Plym at Crabtree. Efford Manor survived until very recent times and is remembered in Manor Lane. It was held by Robert the Bastard, along with Stonehouse. There was land for four ploughs. On the Lord's estate there were two ploughs and two serfs. The remainder of the Manor was worked by one plough, three villeins and one bordar. In addition to the two acres of meadow and twenty acres of woodland, the surveyors also noted the presence of a fishery, upon which they placed a value of twelve pence. The value of the Manor had doubled from ten to twenty shillings. It might even have been possible to settle the Manor of Buckland (Bochelanda) from the river as there is in the Plymouth & West Devon Record Office a document which tells of crossing the mill dam in the valley between Efford and Eggbuckland. The location of the parish church is a guide and the fact that, like Tamerton, it had a salt-pan. The Manor was held by Judichael of Totnes. It was quite a substantial Manor, with land for six ploughs. Two of these, along with with ten serfs, worked the Lord's estate while there were a further ten villeins, eight bordars and six ploughs in the Manor. Like many of its neighbours, the land largely provided grazing for sheep, some seventy in number, but there were also three cows and only recorded packhorse in the area. Thanks to its late development the farms are easily identified: Austin, Bowden, Cressbrook, Deer Park, Doidge's, Estover, Frogmore, Goosewll, Mainstone, Pool, Rock, Shallowford, and Thornbury. The Manor had the largest woodland in the area, stretching some 200 acres, and the salt-pan was obviously prosperous as it was valued at twenty shillings. The whole Manor was worth fifty shillings. Last amongst the Manors settled from the water was Leigham (Leurichestona), sandwiched between the river Plym and the Forder Valley. This was held by Odo as a tenant of Judichael of Totnes. There was land for two ploughs and it was worked by two villeins and one serf. They also had to look after the eight acres of woodland and three acres of meadow. The Manor was worth just ten shillings. The remaining Manors were of the 'second generation' settlers: all landlocked. Weston (Westona) was the furthest west, adjoining Stoke. This was held by Odo as a tenant of Judichael of Totnes. There was land for four ploughs, two of which were worked by three serfs on the Lord's estate. The Manor House, Pennycross Barton, was alongside the Church of St Pancras. Elsewhere there were one villein and one bordar with half a plough. Within the Manor there were 15 cows, 10 pigs, 180 sheep and 60 goats. The Manor increased in value from ten to thirty shillings in the twenty years between 1066 and 1086 so it was one of the most prosperous in the area. At a later date the Manor was owned by the Peverell family and became known as Weston Peverell. Slightly to the north of Pennycross Barton was the adjoining Manor of Burrington (Buretona), also held by Odo. Although it only had land for 1½ ploughs it did in fact have two. It presumably loaned a half of one (in time not physically, of course, to Weston. There were three villeins and two serfs, at Burrington, Burraton and one other farm. There were three acres of meadow. It was a much poorer Manor, worth only ten shillings. The eastern boundary of both these Manors was the Tavistock Road and a boundary stone still exists on Manadon Hill. Next door to Weston was another of Odo's Manors, Manadon (Manedona). There was land for three ploughs but, interestingly, there was no mention of demesne land at that time. There were two ploughs with one serf and three villeins with one bordar. It had a large area of woodland, some 30 acres, and two acres of meadow. Unlike most Manors in the area, the value of Manadon actually fell, from twenty shillings to 12s 6d. The land between Weston and Sutton was the Manor of Mutley (Modlei), although it does seem to have been split into North and South Mutley. Both were held by Odo as a tenant of Judichael of Totnes. In the South Mutley there were two villeins with one plough and one of the farms was undoubtedly Houndiscombe. It is said that the other was Tongue's Land, near the present Hyde Park Hotel. There were also three acres of pasture and two of woodland. North Mutley comprised land for one plough but only had a half a plough. The one acre of meadow and three of scrubland was worked by one villein and two bordars, the latter at Upper and Lower Venn. Both Manors were very small -- worth only five shillings each -- and North Mutley had only ten sheep. On the eastern side of the Tavistock Road, first out of Sutton, was the Manor of Compton (Contona), another of those held by Judichael of Totnes but tenanted to Stephen. It hand land for four ploughs, which there were. There were six villeins, four bordars and two serfs looking after five cows, two pigs, 52 sheep, one acre of meadow and twenty acres of scrubland. Over time Compton merged with South Mutley and the Manor House was removed from Compton village to Thorn Park, roughly on the site of Hyde Park Schools, where it was at one time occupied by Sir Francis Drake. The Manor was worth thirty shillings. To the north of Compton was the Manor of Widey (Wide), which was tenanted by Oswulf from Robert D'Aumale. There was land for four ploughs. One plough was used on the demesne. Elsewhere in the Manor there were one villein and three serfs with a half a plough. There were forty acres of pasture, which was quite large, which seems to have been home to seven cows, two pigs and forty sheep. Alongside the Manor House was South Widey Farm. There was also an area of woodland measuring half a league yet only four furlongs wide. The Manor was worth ten shillings. Two of the three remaining manors, Honicknowle (Hanenchelola) and Coleridge (Colrig), were small and relatively insignificant, the first valued at ten shillings but the second a mere fifteen pence in 1086, having been reclaimed from wasteland. Honicknowle, which was held from the Count of Mortain by Reginald, had land for two ploughs and there were two villeins and two serfs. Along with three acres of woodland there were one acre of meadow and an area of pasture measuring three furlongs in length by one furlong broad. Coleridge was another estate held by Judichael of Totnes but tenanted by Odo. There was land for two ploughs but none were there. It was largely scrubland, thirty acres of it, in fact, and was occupied by only two bordars. Which leaves just the Manor of Whitleigh (Witeleia). In fact there were two manors of this name, one probably West Whitleigh and the other East Whitleigh. At West Whitleigh there was land for two ploughs although there was only one in the Manor. There were two villeins, one bordar and one serf along with one cow, twenty-seven sheep and sixteen goats. Although there were fifteen acres of scrubland the value of the Manor had increased from two shillings to seven shillings and six pence. East Whitleigh was held by Robert D'Aumale and was large enough for three ploughs. There was one plough on the Lord's estate and another plus three bordars on the remainder. There were nine acres of woodland and thirty acres of pasture. It had doubled in value to ten shillings. The Manors in Plympton and Plymstock will be dealt with at a later date.
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