The Norman Conquest
1066 and all that
Every schoolboy can remember the date of the Battle of Hastings,
but the whys and the wherefores are harder to remember. Most
historians treat the Norman invasion as nothing more than an
invasion of a foreign force. However, there is reason to connect
some of these Norman families with earlier Britons who fled to
the continent, in time of war or pestilence, and, thus, many
of these Normans, rightly or wrongly, could claim descendancy
from Britons, and they MAY have seen the invasion as more of
freeing their mother-land from the rule of the Saxons than a
simple invasion of a foreign land!
In 1085, almost 20 years after the Norman Conquest, William I
initiated the Domesday Survey. It was nicknamed the Domesday
Survey, by the natives by analogy from the Day of
Judgement. Basically William wanted to know what he had and who
held it. His grandson, Bishop Henry of Winchester was a little
more diplomatic when he said its purpose was that every 'man
should know his right and not usurp another's'. It has to
be the most comprehensive survey carried out to that date, and
probably for many centuries afterwards.
To carry out the survey, the King sent men (Commissioners)
all over England to each shire to find out what or how much each
landholder held, in land and livestock and what it was worth.
It is recorded that he even sent a second set of commissioners
out to check on the first commissioners!
The result is a book which is comprehensive and a source of much
information, but, at times, its abbreviated form is a thorn in
the side of anyone doing research. But going back to the actual
conquest, the details of William dividing up his spoils
are not so clear.
It seems that most of Shropshire went to Roger de Montgomery,
others being the Bishop of Chester, the Bishop of Hereford, St.
Remy's Church, Osbern son of Richard, Ralph of Mortimer, Roger
of Lacy, Nigel the Doctor and Hugh Donkey, but under each of
these would be sub-tenants, and it is these sub-tenants which
we are most interested in. One document which gives details of
these sub-tenants is Fulk le Fitz Warine, a family history
of the Fitz Warines. However, first it is necessary for me to
explain my connections with the next part of this publication.
When I first started publishing Shropshire Unfolded, I
came across references to Shropshire's own Robin Hood,
and this led me to the document, Fulk le Fitz Warine,
detailing the life of Fulk Fitz Warine. This document is believed
to have been written in the mid-13th century and, at first glance,
is a mixture of fact and fiction. I took the facts and wrote
about Fulk Fitz Warine in a number of editions of Shropshire
Unfolded as well as in our publication Shropshire Legends
and People.
Unbeknown to me at that time, Graham Phillips had also tackled
the subject but, because of his expertise, he was able to see
further than I had, and thus explained the facts behind much
of the fiction that I had ignored. In particular it was he that
made the astounding, and almost unbelievable, connection between
Fulk Fitz Warine and King Arthur.
The books of Graham Phillips, and those he wrote in conjunction
with Martin Keatman, should be mandatory reading for anyone interested
in Shropshire. I don't always agree with their findings, but
they have been instrumental in me delving even deeper.
In addition, since then, Glyn Burgess has published his Two
Medieval Outlaws, one of whom is Fulk Fitz Warine. I was
rather flattered when I read this book as I am mentioned, together
with our publication Shropshire Legends and People, in
the Bibliography. In essence Glyn Burgess and Graham Phillips
agree, their differences being small. Unfortunately, I am about
to disagree with them both, or, at least, suggest a few alternatives.
1066-1087 Reign of William I.
The early part of 'Fulk le Fitz Warine' is something of
a simplification on how the Norman's divided what is now Shropshire,
but occasionally there are details which are of interest.
"When William the Conqueror approached the hills and
valleys of Wales, he saw a very large town, once enclosed with
high walls, all burnt down and laid to waste."
When the king asked the name of the place he was told;- "The
castle was aforetime called Castle Bran, but now it is called
the Old March."
I, like many, have always assumed this to be Castle Dinas
Bran, the ruins of which still stand near Llangollen. But now
I am not so sure.
According to 'Fulk le Fitz Warine', while William was
here, Payn Peverel and some of his knights slept within the ruins,
and during the night Payn was visited by an evil spirit. This,
I believe is pure legend, but it is worthy of repeat. After Payn
beat the evil spirit, it told him a complex story of hidden treasure,
of Saint Augustine founding a chapel there, of Corineus from
Cornwall, and of King Bran. But when Payn pressed the evil spirit
for details of the treasure, the evil spirit said, "speak
no more of that, for it is destined for others. But you will
be lord of this fief, and those who shall come after you shall
hold it with much strife and war. And from thy default will issue
the wolf who will do wonders, who will have sharp teeth, and
will be known of all, and will be so strong and fierce that he
will drive the wild boar from out the White Plain, such great
power will he have. the leopard will follow the wolf and will
menace him at arm's length. the wolf will leave woods and hills,
in the water will he dwell with the fishes, and he will pass
over the sea, and will environ this whole island. At length will
he subdue the leopard by his cunning and his artifice. Then will
he come into this plain, and will make his stronghold in the
water."
I have always had difficulty in equating Castle Dinas Bran
with being in a plain, as the Llangollen valley is far from flat.
The only area I could term a plain is from Oswestry to the Wrekin,
and to the east of the Stretton /Pontesbury hills.
The 'Fulk le Fitz Warine' continues;- But the best
was saved for Payn Peverel. To him, the king gave the White Plain
with its forests, wastes and chases. Here, on a little hill,
called Waybury, surrounded by marsh and water, Payn built a castle."
Now we have another problem as there is not a Payn Peverel
listed in the Domesday Survey of 1086, nor a place which we can
equate to Waybury. There is, however, a Ranulf Peverel. The notes
to the Domesday Book state that Ranulf was succeeded by his son
William of Essex, yet Glyn Burgess says that the Peverels in
Shropshire are the Peverels of Dover and of Bourn in Cambridgeshire
(Not Essex), however there was a William amongst the Dover branch
of the family. These are the lands listed in the Domesday Book
for Ranulf Peverel.
Cressage. From Ranulf it passed to William Peverel, then
by 1180 it passed to the de Lacy family.
Lacon, near Wem. About 1130 it appears to have fallen
to the Crown.
Weston (under Redcastle) By 1130 the land appears to have
returned to the Crown.
Whixall. By 1130 the land appears to have returned to
the Crown.
To complicate matters even more, part of the early Fulk le
Fitz Warine, seems to apply more to the reign of Henry I,
rather than William I. In other words, the account of how the
Peverel family came to hold lands in Shropshire is no more than
a family legend based on actual events.
Shropshire's Secrets
So where did the Peverel's build their castle
called Waybury?
Glyn Burgess suggests it is The Berth, near Baschurch and also
says that the River Perry got its name from Peverel. Personally,
I find it hard to believe it was at The Berth, but assuming that
there is a connection between Peverel and Perry, it is interesting
to note that the River Perry flows through Whittington which
we will later find is closely connected with the Peverel family
from the reign of Henry I onwards.
From the Domesday Book list of lands held by Ranulf Peverel,
Whixall could certainly be described as being surrounded by marsh
and water. Weston (under Redcastle) has its little hill.
. Ellesmere might even fit the bill as it did once belong to
the Peverel family (during the reign of Henry I.)
What about Cressage? Despite not having marsh and water
(other than the River Severn) it might fit the bill for one simple
reason, the reference to the White Plain and its close proximity
to Viriconoium. Besides, according to my sources, Castle Dinas
Bran was only a castle and never had a town. Its usage was limited
to quite a short period and would, at the time of the Conquest
probably have still been in use, or only recently abandoned,
and certainly not in ruins. Besides, it was, and still is, firmly
in Wales. It is only now near the border which has retreated
westward over the centuries. The Old Border lies much
further to the east. So where is this Castle Bran?
Perhaps the clue is in the words " - but now it is called
the Old March. Remember The Songs of Llywarch Hen?
They mention the royal residence as the White Hall of Powys.
(Powys, which then included much of Shropshire, was known as
the White Land.) Could this White Plain, given
to the Peverels, be the area around the White Hall, ie, Viriconium?
If so, could there be also be a mistake in the reference in Fulk
le Fitz Warine to Castle Dinas Bran? -"When William
the Conqueror came to the hills and valleys of Wales, he saw
a very large town, once enclosed with high walls, all burnt down
and laid to waste." The ONLY very large town in this
area with high walls, all burnt down and laid to waste was
Viriconium, and it was once in Powys, the Old March'.
And here's the twist. In the Grail Romances (the fiction/fact
stories written in the late 12th century) the character known
as the Fisher King repeatedly occurs, but he has a name,
Bron. Bron, in Welsh, is simply a variation of
Bran. The name means 'exalted one', a superb description
of Joseph of Arimathea.
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