Page:History of Norfolk 1.djvu/27

 which was as large as Diss, and seemingly fuller of inhabitants, as we may judge by the geld or tax that it paid, was soon after quite lost in Diss, to which it was appendant at that time. This was afterwards called Walcote, and includes part of Heywode, as appears from its joining to Burston, into which town this manor extended.

The manor thus joined, with the advowson and hundred, continued in the Crown till King Henry I. granted them to

Sir Richard de Lucy, a Norman knight, a man of great renown in those days; the record called Testa de Nevil says, that it was not known whether it was rendered unto him as his inheritance, or for his service; but without doubt it was for the latter, it having been always demean of the Crown. This Richard was governor of Falais in Normandy, the third year of King Stephen, which he manfully defended against Jeffery Earl of Anjou, who had besieged it; he was a great instrument towards the agreement between that King and Henry II. and had the Tower of London, and Castle of Winchester put into his hands, by the advice of the whole clergy, upon his swearing to deliver them up at Stephen's death to King Henry, all which he faithfully accomplished, which so far advanced him in that King's favour, that he made him Chief Justice of England, and in his absence he was appointed governour of the realm, during which time, he took prisoner, in a pitched battle near Fornham in Suffolk, Robert Earl of Leicester, together with his Amazonian proud Countess, Petronell or Parnell, and withal put to the sword above 10,000 Flemings, which the said Robert had levied and sent forth to the depopulation of his country; all or the most part of which were buried in and about Fornham, anno 1178; their sepulchres are now to be seen near a place called Rymer House, on the right hand of the road leading from Thetford to Bury, and are now called the Seven Hills, though there are many more; but seven of them being much larger than the rest, are particularly taken notice of by those that pass this way, under which most probable the commanders were buried: this memorable battle was fought in this field. But to our purpose: it appears he had two sons, Jeffery or Godfrey, afterwards Bishop of Winchester, which, Dugdale says, died before his father; but that is an errour, for Godwin tells us (p. 273) that he lived till 1204; however, certain it is, he died without issue, as also did Herbert de Lucy, the second son, so that the inheritance came to his daughters. Maud, the eldest, married to Walter Fitz-Robert, the progenitor of the Fitz-Walters, to whom he gave two parts of the hundred, manor, and market, of Diss with her in marriage. Aveline, he second, married ''