The next entry presents some slight difficulty. This Manor of Derbie with these aforesaid hides returned to King Edward of "firma" £26 2s. Of these, 3 hides were free, whose rent he (the King) pardoned to the thanes that held them. They (the hides) returned £3 14s. 8d. This is the entire entry relating to the King's "firma." The opening phrase, "Hoc Manerium Derbei, cum his supra"dictis hidis," has been construed "This Manor of “Derbie with its aforesaid hides." Now compare this phrase, "cum his supradictis hidis," with the opening words of the "firma" entries of the other hundreds :

Newton-Totum hoc Manerium.

Walintune-Totum Manerium cum Hundredo. Blackburn-Totum Manerium cum Hundredo. Salford Totum Manerium Salford cum Hundredo.

Lailand-Totum Manerium Lailand cum Hun

dredo.

With the exception of Newton the formula is the same for each hundred. The "firma" proceeding from the manor is added to that from the hundred, and the whole sum stated. It would appear, then, that "cum his supradictis hidis" of Derby Hundred is merely another way of saying cum Hundredo. It is further noticeable that the word Hundredo is in three of the four cases lined with red, and always written in capitals. The values of the "firma” are as follow:

This is an enormous sum of money, and we may see in it a reason for the very small assessment of the manors. Taking a geld of 2s. on the nominal hide, or 12s. on the South Lancashire hide of 6 carucates, West Derby Hundred, which is assessed

almost exactly at 18 hides, would pay approximately I to the geld, while the firma is more than double the quantity, £30 16s. Sd. The city of Chester gelded for 50 hides-£5, at 2s. per hideand returned of firma £45, and 3" timbres pellium "martrinum," of which the Count had one share and the King two.

At the Conquest the Manor of West Derby, with the rest of the land "inter Ripam et Mersham," was bestowed upon Roger of Poictou; but his rebellion led to the resumption of the estates into the King's hands, who held them at the time of the Inquest. The political history of this great man, who held land-298 manors in all-in many other parts of England, in the counties of Derby, Nottingham, Norfolk, Lincoln, York, Essex and Suffolk, can be obtained from "Baines." Ordericus Vitalis gives him the character of "great prudence, mode"rate temper, a lover of justice, and of discretion " and modesty in those he had about him. His constant guides, councillors, and companions "were three priests." And this was the organiser of two revolts against his sovereign lord and king! And what of the priestly counsel?

He gave 8 hides 3 carucates in West Derby to eight vassals in unequal shares, varying from 2 hides carucate to I carucate. The demesne of these tenants contained 4 plough teams, 46 villains, I radman, 62 bordars, 2 slaves, and 3 slaves (ancillae). There were 24 ploughs in all, and the whole is worth £8 12s. Roger's demesne of this manor is worth £8, and now there are 3 ploughs, with 6 bovarii, i radman, and 7 villani. These valets T.R.W. total £16 12s. The valets T.R.E., so far as they are given, amount to 12 os. 6d. No values are assigned to the first two entries and Uctred's six manors, assessed in all at 6 hides. A comparison then of the values T.R.E. and T.R.W. shows that the land remained at practically the same value.

Of the men of the hundred we find 2 radmen, 53 villains, 6 bovars, 62 bordars, and 5 slaves. What, it may be asked, has become of the 33 nameless thanes in T.R.E., and the 4 radmen, and the other holders, 15 in all, some, at least, of whom may have been thanes, making a grand total of 52? And 53 villani now? There must be that degradation of rank which is so conspicuous in the east.

Newton Hundred seems to have contained but one manor, Newton, assessed at 5 hides, of which one was in demesne T.R.E. The tenants were drengs, and the "reddebat" 30s. The church of the manor had I carucate, and St. Oswald of the same villa 2 carucates quit. In the Testa de Neville we read that Roger of Poictou gave the church of Wynwick to the canons of St. Oswald with 2 carucates of land. In the church can be seen at the present day an old inscription, part of which Gough has translated :

This place of old did Oswald greatly love,

Who the Northumbers ruled now reigns above,
And from Marcelda did to heaven remove.

North of the church is the well of St. Oswald. Oswald's association with Winwick has led antiquarians to place "Maserfelth" in the district.

The demesne, to continue the Domesday text, has now 9 teams, with 6 drengs, 12 villains, and 4 bordars, and is worth £4. Warrington Manor is assessed at 1 hide, but 34 drengs had 42 carucates and a hide and a half. Give also I carucate to St. Elfin. Roger's demesne has 2 ploughteams and 8 men with I ploughteam-7 vassals of Roger have land there to the extent of 5 hides. The whole is worth £4 10s., and the demesne (Roger's) £3 10S. In order to avoid monotony, the remaining hundreds will be treated without figures.

In Blackburn Hundred, King Edward held 4 manors-Blackburn, Huncoats, Walton-in-the-Dale, and Pendleton. The church at Blackburn had a

small tenement, and the church of St. Mary a quit holding in Whalley. Roger of Poictou gave the whole hundred to Roger de Busli and Albert Greslet. Nine and a half carucates were held by tot homines, on a tenure by which the carucates were quit for three years, and therefore, says the record, they are not valued. Croston's Baines' History of Lancashire says that it appears from Baronia de Manchester that Robert Busli held Blackburne Hundred on a temporary tenure for three years. This may explain the sub-letting of land quit for as many years.

This same Roger had vast possessions in Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, with a few manors in Lincolnshire, Devonshire, Derbyshire, and Leicestershire as tenant-in-capite. Albert Grelley and Roger de Busli were deprived of their hundred when their lord revolted, but appear to have been granted land, Grelly in Salford Hundred and Busli in Penwortham. From Grelly came the house of the Grellys, Lords of Manchester.

In the particulars of this and of Salford Hundred, there is a difficult phrase-" Ad hoc Manerium "vel Hundredum adiacebat" or "pertinebat"-so many men or so many berewicks in this manor or hundred. When the firma is given the formula is "Hoc Manerium cum Hund.," which has already been discussed. Now every student of Domesday Book is familiar with the legal phenomenon of land lying fiscally in a manor and physically outside it. The commissioners are only concerned with the geld of a manor, and care nothing about its geography; and when they find a member of a manor lying outside the boundaries, they still speak of that member as lying in. X adjacebat ad hoc manerium wherever x may be. It is just a suggestion, then, that the phrase "Ad hoc Manerium vel Hundredum "adiacebat," so many free men, may simply mean that, geographically, the men lie in the hundred, outside the manor, but fiscally they lie in the manor.

The Hundred of Salford was the most valuable of the six-it gave most firma to the King. Besides the Manor of Salford, Edward the Confessor held "Radeclive." The Churches of St. Mary and of St. Michael held a carucate in Manchester, quit from all customs but the geld. While 28 free men held in Blackburn, we find 21 thanes in Salford. One of these, Gamel by name, held Rochdale by a tenure privileged to the same extent as that of Crosby and Kirkdale held by Uctred. The name Gamel appears among the tenants (milites) who hold by gift of Roger of Poictou. He also had a small manor in Lincolnshire, which he held of the same lord. Another of Roger's knights (milites) who held in Salford, one Nigellus, seems to have had a son, Fitz Nigel, Baron of Halton and Widnes, whose co-heiress, Maud, married Albert fil Robert de Greslet. Many of these milites, who held in various parts of Inter Ripam et Mersham, may be the predecessors of notable mediæval Lancashire families. They do not appear, at the time of the Domesday Inquest, to have taken a surname from the place which they held. It is possible, even probable, that the Goisfrid of Derby Hundred is identical with him of Salford, that Roger of Derby, Warrington, and Leyland, is the individual who held land under the same lord in Lincolnshire, and similarly with other names which occur in more than one hundred. The absence of the distinguishing tenement-name, if it may be so termed, makes all uncertain.

No manors occur by name in Leyland Hundred, except Leyland and Penwortham, where there were 6 burgesses. There were twelve other manors, assessed at 6 hides and 8 carucates, among which there was one carucate per manor pertaining to Leyland. Part of the hundred was waste.

The sum total of the hidage and valets for the six hundreds is given at the close of the record.