Page:VCH Worcestershire 1.djvu/361

 THE HOLDERS OF LANDS and 2 * hocci ' (which) pay 6 shillings and 8 pence. In another brine-pit, Helperic, (there are) 17 saltpans. In a third (' iii ') brine- pit, MiDELWic, (there are) 1 2 saltpans and two- thirds of a ' hoccus ' (which) pay 6 shillings and 8 pence. In 5 other brine-pits there are 15 saltpans.' From all these king Edward used to have a ferm {de firma) of 52 pounds. to. JTab. In these brine-pits earl E(a)dwine used to have 51^ saltpans {salinam), and from the ' Hocci ' he used to have 6 shillings and 8 pence. All this used to pay a ferm {de firma) of 24 pounds. Now king William has in demesne both what king Edward and what earl E(a)dwine used to have. The sheriff (has) paid thence 65 pounds by weight {ad pels) znd 2 ' mits ' {mittas) of salt while he has had (the) wood.^ For without the wood, he says, he could not possibly pay that (amount). For {de) Chenefare [Kinver] he pays 100 shillings of twenty (pence) to the ounce. This land is in Stadfordscire, so also is SuiNESFORDE [King's Swinford]. For {de) this manor and two others which are in Wire- cestrescire, — that is Terdesberie [Tardebigg] of 9 hides and Clent of 9 hides, — for these 3 manors the sheriff pays 15 pounds of pennies at {de) 20 to the ounce.' In Came Hundret King William holds Terdeberie [Tarde- bigg]. King Edward held (it). There are 9 hides. In (the) demesne is i plough and another can be employed {fieri). There are be traced four centuries later, for Habington says in his Survey (II. 296) that under Hen. VII. there were ' fyve salt wells springinge in three severall places, one named Upwich, the other Middelwich, the last Neather Wich.' The ' five other brine-pits ' of Domesday are somewhat obscure. ^ For the saltworks. ' The entries following show that this sum was made up of 11 pounds from Tarde- bigg and 4 pounds from Clent. Thus Domesday contradicts itself when it states that the 15 pounds were the proceeds of one. From this it follows that the rent of ' Swinford ' must be sought elsewhere, namely on fo. 246, where it is seen to be King's Swinford. Old Swinford (Wore.) will be found below on the fief of William Fitz Ansculf. 2 villeins and 28 bordars with 12 ploughs. In (Droit)wich * are 7 saltpans and 2 lead vats {plumbi), and they pay 20 shillings and 100 'mits' (mittas) of salt. The sheriff of Stadfordscire receives, and pays in Suinesford [King's Swinford], the ferm of this manor, that is 1 1 pounds of pennies (at) 20 to the ounce. In Clent Hundret King William holds Clent [Clent]. King Edward held (it). There are 9 hides. In (the) demesne is a plough and a half and there are 12 villeins and 3 bordars with 9^ ploughs. There are 3 oxmen {iovarii), and of wood- (land there are) 2 leagues {lew'). The ferm of this manor, 4 pounds, is paia in Suinesford [King's Swinford] in Stadford- scire. In (Droit)wich is half a hide which be- longs to the (King's) hall at {de) Gloucester.* THE LAND OF THE CHURCH OF WIRECESTRE II. The church of St. Mary of Wire- cestre [Worcester] has one Hundret, called OswALDESLAW, in which are {jacent) 300 hides. ^ In these {de quibm) the Bishop of that church has, by ancient {antlquorum temporum) custom, all revenue from jurisdiction {socharum) and all customary dues there belonging for (his) demesne support {dominicum victum) and the King's service and his own, so that no sheriff'' can have any claim there, either in any plea or in any other matter {causa). The whole county (court) testifies to this. These said 300 hides were of the actual {ipso) demesne of the church, and if any portion of them was leased {prestitum) to any man,* for service to be done for it to the Bishop, he who held that land on lease could not retain for himself any customary due from it whatsoever except by permission of {per) the Bishop ; nor could he retain the land beyond {nisi usque ad) the ^ In Heming's Cartulary (pp. 287-8) this return of the Bishop's privileges in Oswaldslow is specially entered with the heading, ' Indicu- lum libertatis de Oswales Lawes Hundred,' and with a few slight additions noted below. '' ' Or officer demanding service for the King ' (exactor regalis serviiii) is added here in Heming's Cartulary. ever, or to whomsoever, they were leased.' 287
 * These five brine-pits in three localities can
 * three ' manors, of which ' Swinford ' was
 * i.e. belonging to this manor.
 * A blank space follows here in the MS.
 * Heming's Cartulary has here : ' howso-