History of Wiltshire - Land Ownership After The Norman Conquest

Land Ownership After The Norman Conquest

With the redistribution of estates after the Norman Conquest more than two-fifths of the county fell into the hands of the church; the possessions of the crown covered one-fifth; while among the chief lay proprietors were Edward of Salisbury, William, Count of Eu, Ralf de Mortimer, Aubrey de Vere II, Robert Fitzgerald, Miles Crispin, Robert d'Oily and Osbern Giffard. The first Earl of Wiltshire after the Conquest was William le Scrope, who received the honor in 1397. The title subsequently passed to Sir James Butler in 1449, Sir John Stafford in 1470, Thomas Boleyn in 1529, and in 1550 to the Paulet family.

The Benedictine foundations at Wilton, Malmesbury and Amesbury existed before the Conquest; the Augustinian Bradenstoke Priory was founded by Walter d'Evreux in 1142; that at Lacock by Ela, countess of Salisbury, in 1232; that at Longleat by Sir John Vernon before 1272. The Cluniac priory of Monkton Farleigh was founded by Humphrey II de Bohun in 1125; the Cistercian house at Kingswood, Gloucestershire by William de Berkeley in 1139; and that of Stanley by the Empress Matilda in 1154.

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