40.3.1 Researching the Durnfords in early historyWiltshire Sir Roger de Dernefords and others lands earliest recorded 1150

There are a considerable number of members of the Durnford family, possibly from the town of Durnford who, from the 12th century have recorded information about their lives.

Just where they fit into the picture of the Cornwall Derenfords, and the Wiltshire Derenfords is not known, but possibly by including some of the information, others in our family may find a missing link.

The names Richard, William appear frequently.

The River Avon Durnford is a very picturesque area with a famous singer chosing to call it home!

There have been some very clever people, and within the realm of the Knights, the ancestors were also Constables and sheriffs, they were also clergy.


An enoffment by Simon son of Roger le Schepeheorde of Styvynton to Roger de la ..... John the deacon, Master Thomas of Salisbury, William de Haselden, Peter Giffard, ... de Wika, Martin de Norhumberl[and], Roger son of Henry de Derneford. ..... relating, apparently, to indulgences granted for building of Exeter cathedral

Roger Durnford in the 12^th reign of Henry II held the fifth part of a Knight Tree in the County of Wiltshire, of Patrick, Earl of Salisbury.

Roger de Derneford witnessed Ela Countess of Longspee's will     (our lineage)

A. 8529. Grant in pure alms by Andrew Giffard, with his body, to the church of St. Mary of Stanley (Stanleia) and the monks there, of the land with a messuage (masuagio) in Sutton, which William Blund (Blundus) held of him; to hold free from all service and exaction, provided however that the said William and his heirs shall hold the same of the House of Stanley by hereditary right, rendering therefore yearly to the said House of Stanley 2s. for all service; also grant to the said monks that they may have for ever six oxen and three cows, quit of herbage, in his pasture, together with his demesne oxen and likewise one bull, and four pigs in his wood, quit of pannage.

Witnesses:—Hugh de Temple, canon of Salisbury, Stephen, parson of the church of Tysseb[eri], Thomas de Sutton, Thomas de Dunton, chaplains, John the deacon, Master Thomas of Salisbury, William de Haselden, Peter Giffard, Andrew Baker (pistore), Robert Gale, Robert de Wika, Martin de Norhumberl[and], Roger son of Henry de Derneford.

There are obviously a few Roger de Derneford

Sometime the lineage can be determined by these sorts of records.  It would appear that Roger de Derneford is a son of William de Derneford, who much have lived prior to 1255.

There is also a son of Roger de Derneford called Philip.

Philip son of Roger leases land in Upton St Leonard's to Gloucester Abbey, 1244

Phillip also has a son called William

William son of Phillip de Derneford' gives half a mark for an assize 

And there is a Walter de Derneford

There are records for Thomas de Derneford and a son John de Derneford

 Court rolls 1245 John son of Thomas de Derneford in marriage to Alma 

Both William and Walter in List of Military summons

This is most probably the coat of arms relating to this Sir William de Derneford

William de Derneford, d. 1316  coat of arms

Following Roger de Derneford most likely the son of William

Lived in Deerhurt in Gloucestershire.

Those franchises were described as half of the hundred of Deerhurst in the mid-12th century.

In 1248 Roger de Derneford acknowledged that he held a quarter of the hundred from the abbot, and granted that the abbot could hold view of frankpledge in his land and that Roger and his men would make suit to the two law-day hundreds.

• C - Records created, acquired, and inherited by Chancery, and also of the Wardrobe, Royal Household, Exchequer and various commissions
• Records of the Chancery as central secretariat
• C 143 - Chancery: Inquisitions Ad Quod Damnum, Henry III to Richard III
• C 143/29 - Inquisitions taken as a result of applications to the Crown for licences to alienate land.
• C 143/29/9 - William de Derneford to grant the manor of Deerhurst (Glouc.) &c. to the abbot and...

ASHLEWORTH MANOR



The Preaching Cross A 14th century preaching cross stands upon a three-step plinth on the village green. Though the Ashleworth example is called a 'cross', it is really more of a simple column with a four sided top which has been carved with religious scenes. The cross was lost for many years until it was found hidden in a chimney in one of the cottages that line the green. The scenes carved upon the cross are thought to represent Mary and John, a Virgin and Child, St Augustine, and Robert Fitzharding, founder of Bristol Abbey.




In 1086 Ashleworth was one of 21 ‘berewicks’, or outlying estates, belonging to the extensive royal manor of Berkeley, which had belonged to the crown before the conquest.2 Although not recorded by name before 1086, the earlier history of the Ashleworth estate may be inferred from its membership of the ‘Hernesse’ or jurisdiction of Berkeley


This represented the landholding accumulated by a pre-conquest monastic community founded in Berkeley in the 8th century and dissolved before 1053. Ashleworth, however, lies some 30 km north-east of the estate centre and far removed from its other members. 

Like other early monastic possessions in the area of the later Corse forest, therefore, it was probably granted to Berkeley by a Mercian king to provide the house with a valuable, if distant, woodland resource.  After Berkeley abbey or minster was dissolved by Earl Godwin, father of Harold II,
the Hernesse, including Ashleworth, reverted to the crown.


Before 1066 Ashleworth lay within a large tract of woodland and woodpasture which in the Norman period became the forest and later chase of Corse, so that its agriculture may have been less advanced than that of communities east of the Severn. Place-name evidence suggests that strips of arable land may have been cultivated near Berrow Farm before the conquest, and an area described as ‘old land’ adjacent to a meadow before 1200 may also denote early cultivation.

Ashleworth was assessed in 1066 and 1086 at 3 hides, without differentiation of land or classes of tenant. Farmland was being won from the forest by assarting before 1191, including at Ashmore.  Further assarts had been made between 1217 and 1230, and 30 a. at Foscombe were assarted before 1243. Restrictions were placed by the owners of Corse Chase, the earls of Gloucester, on ditching and
fencing, and on further encroachment by assarts or purprestures

Personal animosity led to the murder before 1221 of Pollard the forester by the Ashleworth reeve, 
 In 1240–1 St Augustine’s abbey asserted its rights of common in Foscombe assart over other claimants, and probably at this time agreed with the lord of Corse and Deerhurst, Roger of Derneford, that their manors would not intercommon, and that they would not hinder each other from further assarting, ditching and inclosing their own land. By 1269 the abbey had made 40 a. of pasture in Foscombe several.


Corse Chase, which was closely connected with Malvern Chase, belonged to the Earls of Gloucester in the 12th century,  and was presumably part of the great manor of Tewkesbury, with which it descended until the 16th century.

 By the early 14th century the chase was attached administratively to the earls' manor of Stoke Orchard,  a sub-manor of Tewkesbury.  It seems likely that the earls had no land in the area of Corse Chase, but only the right of hunting the game there and the associated right of preserving the woodland.

That may underlie the statement in 1350 that there was no free chase of Corse, and that the earls had Corse Chase by usurpation and by encroachment of beasts from Malvern Chase. (fn. 85) If Corse Chase was held by usurpation, the usurpation was one of long standing, for before 1179 William, Earl of Gloucester, confirmed to the monks of Gloucester all their old and new assarts in Maisemore and Hartpury. (fn. 86) In 1199 land below Corse Wood was said to be in the forest of Malvern. (fn. 87) The earls' chase was referred to as the forest of Corse in 1262, (fn. 88) and in 1263 the forest of Corse was valued at little less than Malvern Forest. (fn. 89)

Corse Chase extended far beyond the parish of Corse. It appears to have included all that part of Gloucestershire lying between the rivers Severn and Leadon, for in 1350 Maisemore, Hartpury, Ashleworth, Hasfield, and Tirley were within the chase.

 In addition, the chase extended into Worcestershire: on the boundary of Eldersfield and Chaceley there remains an uninclosed piece of Corse Lawn, the common which represented the unassarted area of the chase, and some of the freeholders of Staunton and Eldersfield successfully claimed right of common in Corse Lawn within the parish of Corse. In Staunton, the right was restricted to those with land east of the Glynch brook,  suggesting that the brook had at one time been the western boundary of the chase.

In 1212 Nicholas Lefward was said to hold in Pull by serjeanty of keeping Corse Forest. Walter the forester was recorded in 1221,  Gilbert of Corse, forester, between 1276 and 1287,  and Thomas the forester of Corse in 1285.

 Reynold the forester in 1293  may have been the same as Reynold the woodward in 1306.  In 1276 the Earl of Gloucester had three foresters in Corse, of whom it was complained that they arrested men in Gloucestershire and imprisoned them in Worcestershire without trial, and that they had caused a man to be beheaded for stealing sheep without trial.

It was also alleged that the earl's steward exacted a fine in the townships adjoining Corse Wood for the lawing of dogs, not only from those with dogs but also from those who had none, and that the foresters appropriated warren outside the cover of the wood in places where the earl had no fee or tenement.

In 1321,  and in 1350 when there was a head forester and three others, the foresters were paid out of the issues of Tewkesbury manor;  in 1378 the four foresters were paid out of the issues of Stoke Orchard manor.  The offices of two of the underforesters may have been represented by those of keeper of the middle bailiwick and forester of Charlewood, both said to be within the chase of Corse Lawn and recorded in 1478.

In 1330 John of Longdon was appointed chief rider of the chase. 

Staunton is a village in the Forest of Dean District in Gloucestershire, England. It lies close to the village of Corse. Staunton is eight miles north of the city of Gloucester.To the south-west of Staunton is the River Leadon.

Staunton used to lie in the county of Worcestershire. Originally Staunton was included in the "forest of Corse", the woodland in 1086 being a league long and half a league in breadth.

In 1347 Robert de Staunton, then lord of the manor, obtained a grant of a Wednesday market at Staunton and a fair for four days at the feast of St James, but by the 17th century the earlier prosperity of Staunton had disappeared. At the end of the 18th century cider and perry were produced in large quantities at Staunton, but because the soil produced good crops of wheat, beans and barley, the cidermaking industry died out.

The church of Saint James was originally a 12th-century church with short rectangular chancel and aisleless nave, the chancel afterwards being rebuilt and the tower and aisle added in later years.

The nave windows are all of 14th-century type, apparently copies or restorations of work of that period, and the tower and spire are of late 14th-century date with a later west window. The church was heavily restored in 1860, when the chancel was rebuilt and the vestry added.

Staunton Court stands immediately to the east of the church and is a picturesque brick and timber building with hipped red-tiled roofs, dating probably from the latter half of the 16th century.

Manors and Other Estates.

The bounds of an estate west of the Severn that belonged to Westminster Abbey in the 11th century, and had presumably belonged earlier to the monastery at Deerhurst, included the whole area of Corse parish.  Westminster Abbey's estate in Corse was represented in Domesday by the ½ hide at Oridge Street (Tereige) held by Lewin; any other land in Corse was presumably entered simply as part of the abbey's manor of Deerhurst. 

Corse was one of the members of Deerhurst manor which William de Derneford surrendered with Deerhurst manor to Westminster Abbey in 1299;    (He must be Roger's son)

William had held Corse under the grant of 1192 by the abbey to his namesake, and in 1284 he had granted holdings in his wood called Corse Woods Moor and in Oridge to his son John. 

From 1299 Westminster Abbey retained what was called, in the abbey's refoundation grants of 1542, 1556, and 1560, the manor of CORSE LAWN. 

 By the 16th century the abbey appears to have had no demesne in Corse, and in 1649 the manor consisted of the rents of freehold and copyhold tenants.  The manor was leased, and from 1641 until inclosure the lessees were the members of the Dowdeswell family  that from 1651 were the lords of the other manor in Corse parish.

About 1255 Roger de Derneford was given licence for a priest to celebrate in the chapel of Aluredston, and in 1282 Roger Bigod held 2 a. of new assarts in Aluredston which had been made without warrant by William de Derneford.

At Aluredston c. 1255 Roger de Derneford, who held the manor from Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, obtained licence for a priest to celebrate in the chapel of Aluredston,  and Roger Bigod's presentation of Thomas Lenebant to the living of Woolaston in 1257 may have been connected with the chapel. 

By 1289 there was apparently a graveyard attached to the chapel, and repairs to the roof were carried out in 1291-3.  No record of it has been discovered after the acquisition of the manor by Tintern Abbey in 1302. The medieval chapel at Woolaston Grange has been mentioned above. 


1256  This record relates to an estate which Sir Roger had an interest

Church of St Chad rebuilt

 Collation to Roger de Dernford - Marshall of Prebend on Lichfield Church   (Church has been remodeled)

The said Robert held the manor of Botinton of triple lordship, to wit, 1 part of the fee of the Earl of Gloucester, and that part answers to the manor of Kenemerton for the royal service as it shall happen, for the 4th part of a knight's fee; another part of the fee of the Abbot of Westminster, and that part pays to Sir Roger de Derneford, who is the mesne, 28s. 4d.; and 1 part of the fee of the Prior of Derherst, and that part pays to the said Prior 7s. 2d. The said manor is worth per annum £40.
Book:	Burialls 1604. (Burial)
Collection:	Gloucestershire: - Abstracts and Inquisitiones Post Mortem,1236-1300

E. Abbot of Persor to H. le Rus. Know ye that I, by the oath of John de Forda, Reginald de Heydon, Nicholas Quiet, Roger de Hezerl, William de Eilworth, and Adam Carpeniar\ have diligently made inquisition as to the land which was of R. de Mucegros in co. Glouc,

"c, who say that The said Robert held the moiety of the manor of Kenemerton of the gift of the King as of the escheat of the Normans; and this land is of the fee of the Earl of Gloucester, and answers to him, together with the other lands which belong thereto for the royal service, for 1 knight's fee, and the said land is worth per annum, clear, "18.

The said Robert held the manor of Botinton of triple lordship, to wit, 1 part of the fee of the Earl of Gloucester, and that part Gloutestershir'e answers to the manor of Kenemerton for the royal service as it shall happen, for the 4th part of a knight's fee; another part of the fee of the Abbot of Westminster, and that part pays to Sir Roger de Derneford, who is the mesne, 28j. 4*/.; and 1 part of the fee of the Prior of Derherst, and that part pays to the said Prior 7-r. 2d. The said manor is worth per annum "40.

The said Robert held 1 carucate of land at Hezerl of the fee of the Earl Marshall for the 3rd part of 1 knight's fee, and that land is worth per annum 40^.; also 6 bovates of land at Norteclive of the fee of the Prior of Derherst, and that land pays per annum to the said Prior 4*., and is worth per annum 2 marks; also 1 carucate of land at Killicote, in the forest of Dene, of the fee of Sir Ernald de Bosco, and that land answers to the manor of Tanton for the royal service when it shall happen, for the 5th part of 1 knight's fee, and is worth per annum 2 marks.

John de Mucegros is the next heir of the said Robert, and he was aged 21 years on the Feast.of St. Laurence last past, to wit, in the 37th year of King Henry III.
Chan. Inq. p.m., 38 Hen. Ill, No. 39.   golm Ire Hjmartreslep* 
Writ dated at Newcastle-on-Tyne 25th September, 39 Hen. Ill [1255].

16 Aug. 1292 touching the persons who entered the park of John son of Reginald at

 Bardeslee, co. G. with dogs 

Commission of oyer and terminer to John de Cantebrigge, John de Pulteneye and Gregory

atte Shire, on complaint by Thomas le Bonde that Alexander de Eurgoyne, Walter atte Got,

John de Wyrhale, Robert de Ansty  Thomas Hubert, John Tytegrove, Thomas le Shephird, 

William de Lambourne, parson of the church of Eeauchaump Rothyng, Henry Wilyot 
Thomas Moryz, John de Derneford and others broke his gates and houses at Otenham, carried

away his goods and assaulted his men and servants. 

This could be Tottenham
Lord of the Manor of Tottenham. ... of the Court Rolls of ... William Denys, Walter de Derneford, Geoffrey Edes, John Edes, Walter Edes ... William Daissh,  William Daubeny,  Giles Daubeny,  Christine Denys,  John Denys,  Richard Denys,  William Denys,  Walter de Derneford, Edward II (1318) through Richard II (1377)


Tottenham is an area in the London Borough of Haringey, in north London, England. It is situated 8.2 miles (13.2 km) north-north-east of Charing Cross.

Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the Domesday Book; hence Tota's hamlet became Tottenham. It was recorded in the Domesday Book as Toteham. There has been a settlement at Tottenham for over a thousand years. It grew up along the old Roman road, Ermine Street (some of which is part of the present A10 road), and between High Cross and Tottenham Hale, the present Monument Way.

When the Domesday Book was compiled in 1086, about 70 families lived within the area of the manor, mostly labourers working for the Lord of the Manor. A humorous poem entitled the Tournament of Tottenham, written around 1400, describes a mock-battle between peasants vying for the reeve's daughter.

Waltheof, son of Siward of Northumbria, held Tottenham, probably from 1065 when he became earl of Huntingdon on the banishment of Tostig.

In 1086, ten years after Waltheof's execution, Tottenham was held by his widow Countess Judith, daughter of William the Conqueror's sister Adelize.  Presumably it passed with Huntingdon through Maud, daughter of Waltheof and Judith, to her successive husbands Simon de St. Liz (d. c. 1111) and David of Scotland, each of whom received the earldom. David, who succeeded in 1124 as King David I, resigned Huntingdon in 1136 to his son Henry (d. 1152), who made a grant of lands in Tottenham. Huntingdon had passed to Simon de St. Liz (II), born of Maud's first marriage and a supporter of King Stephen, by 1146, but in 1157 it was restored to Henry's son, King Malcolm IV (d. 1165).

Further grants in Tottenham were made by Malcolm and by his brother and successor William the Lion, who forfeited his English honors in 1174, when Huntingdon was vested in Simon de St. Liz (II)'s son and namesake. On the death of Simon de St. Liz (III) in 1184 the earldom was restored to William, who resigned it to his brother David in the following year. David, deprived c. 1215 but restored in 1218, was succeeded in 1219 by his son John the Scot, whereupon the manor of TOTTENHAM, with that of Kempston (Beds.), was assigned to his widow Maud, daughter of Hugh (II), earl of Chester (d. 1181).  John was created earl of Chester in 1232 and died without issue in 1237, when the two manors were granted to his widow Helen, as the customary dower of a countess of Huntingdon. In 1238 they were granted again to Helen and to her second husband, Robert de Quincy.

On the death of John's widow in 1253 the manor, as part of his honor of Huntingdon, passed to the descendants of his married sisters and coheirs.  Margaret, the eldest, had become the wife of Alan, lord of Galloway, and mother of Devorgild, wife of John de Balliol, while Isabel, the second, had married Robert de Bruce, lord of Annandale; both sisters, as great-granddaughters of David I, transmitted Scottish royal blood to their children. A third sister, Ada, had married Henry de Hastings.

In 1254 Tottenham was therefore divided into three, (fn. 91) probably by sharing out the tenants rather than dividing the land. (fn. 92) The three manors, all held in chief, thereafter descended separately until they were reunited by John Gedney in the early 15th century.

One third of Earl John's Tottenham lands, which became the manor of BALLIOLS or DAUBENEYS, passed to Devorgild de Balliol, who in 1281 granted them to her son John. They were forfeited after John's abdication as king of Scotland in 1296 and were leased out during pleasure in 1299, first to William Persone (fn. 95) and then to Edward I's nephew John of Brittany, later earl of Richmond, . who secured a grant for himself and his heirs in 1308.

When John died childless in 1334, his Tottenham lands were bestowed for life on Sir William Daubeney,  who likewise secured a grant for his heirs three years later. An exchange of Daubeney's share of Tottenham for the earl of Pembroke's share of Kempston, licensed in 1342, apparently was not put into effect, since Balliols was entailed by Daubeney in 1344.

When Sir William died in 1360 the manor passed to his son Giles Daubeney,  who in 1382 was licensed to convey it to the London draper John of Northampton, otherwise Comberton.

Two years later, after John of Northampton's forfeiture, it was granted for life to John Beauchamp of Holt,  later Lord Beauchamp of Kidderminster, on whose own forfeiture in 1388 it reverted to the Crown.  A grant to William Brightbrook and others in 1389 was cancelled later in the same year because of the claims of John of Northampton, who had regained it by 1392 and who was succeeded by his son James in 1397.

 On James's death in 1409 it passed to William Comberton, son of John Comberton and grandson of William, who had been John of Northampton's elder brother,  and in 1412 it was held during William's minority by Thomas Burton, a London grocer.

In 1421 Daubeneys was inherited by William's brother Richard Comberton  and by 1426 it had been conveyed to Richard Chippenham and others, who still held it in 1433. Thereafter it was reunited with the other subdivisions of the manor which had been acquired by John Gedney, a London draper, who died seised of them in 1449. 

Tenancy

In England in the Middle Ages, land was held of the English monarch or ruler by a powerful local supporter, who gave protection in return. The people who had sworn homage to the lord were known as vassals. Vassals were nobles who served loyalty for the king, in return for being given the use of land. After the Norman conquest of England, however, all the land of England was owned by the monarch who then granted the use of it by means of a transaction known as enfeoffment, to earls, barons, and others, in return for military service. The person who held feudal land directly from the king was known as a tenant-in-chief (see also Land tenure).

Sub-tenancy

Military service was based upon units of ten knights (see Knight-service). An important tenant-in-chief might be expected to provide all ten knights, and lesser tenants-in-chief, half of one. Some tenants-in-chief 'sub-infeuded', that is, granted, some land to a sub-tenant. Further sub-infeudation could occur down to the level of a lord of a single manor, which in itself might represent only a fraction of a knight's fee.

A mesne lord was the level of lord in the middle holding several manors, between the lords of a manor and the superior lord. The sub-tenant might have to provide knight service, or finance just a portion of it, or pay something purely nominal. Any further sub-infeudation was prohibited by the Statute of Quia Emptores in 1290. Knight service was abolished by the Tenures Abolition Act 1660.

Manors were defined as an area of land and became closely associated to the advowson of the church and often by default the advowson was appended to the rights of the Manor, sometimes separated into moieties.

Many lords of the manor were known as squires, at a time when land ownership was the basis of power. While some inhabitants were serfs who were bound to the land, others were freeholders, known as 'franklins', who were free from feudal service. Periodically all the tenants met at a 'manorial court', with the lord of the manor (or squire), or a steward, as chairman.

These courts, known as courts baron, dealt with the tenants' rights and duties, changes of occupancy, and disputes between tenants. Some manorial courts also had the status of a court leet, and so they elected constables and other officials and were effectively Magistrates Courts for minor offences


Many of the Dernefords were mesne lords.

Tottenham an Anglo Saxon village.

To the south of the area now known as Carshalton, remains of artefacts dating from the Neolithic to the Iron Age have been found, suggesting that this was an early place of habitation. Prior to the Norman Conquest it is recorded that there were five manors in this location owned by five freemen.
The village lay within the Anglo-Saxon administrative division of Wallington hundred.
Carshalton appears in Domesday Book as Aultone. It was held by Goisfrid (Geoffrey) de Mandeville. Its domesday assets were: 3½ hides; 1 church, 10 ploughs, 1 mill worth £1 15s 0d, 22 acres (89,000 m²) of meadow, woodland worth 2 hogs. It rendered £15 10s 0d.

In the Domesday era there was a church and a water mill in Carshalton, which was then still made up of a number of hamlets dotted around the area, as opposed to a single compact village.

In the Middle Ages the land in the village was generally farmed in the form of a number of open fields, divided into strips. The number of strips which each land owner possessed was based roughly on his wealth. There was also an area of open downland in the south of the parish for grazing sheep.

Carshalton was known for its springs; these may have given the place its name Cars - Aul - ton. Aul means well or spring. A ton is a farm which was in some way enclosed. The meaning of the Cars element is uncertain but early spellings (Kersaulton and Cresaulton) may indicate connection with a cross or perhaps cress, watercress having been grown locally.

ALUREDSTON

Derneford family were the under-tenants

For much of the 13th century the manor was held by members of the Derneford family as under-tenants. 

In 1302 Roger gave the manor to Tintern Abbey in exchange for the manor of 'Plateland' (Mon).

It was held by the abbey until the Dissolution when it was granted to Henry Somerset,  and descended with the Woolaston estate,  losing its distinct identity.

Roger Bigod died 1302 without heirs, and when he died his estated were escheated to the crown and were eventually bestowed on Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk.

Thomas of Brotherton, born 1 June 1300, was the fifth son of Edward I, and the eldest son of his second marriage to Margaret (1279?–1318), the daughter of Philippe III of France (d.1285). He was born at the manor house at Brotherton, Yorkshire, while his mother was on her way to Cawood, where her confinement was scheduled to take place. According to Hilton, Margaret was staying at Pontefract Castle and was following a hunt when she went into labour. The chronicler William Rishanger records that during the difficult delivery his mother prayed, as was the custom at the time, to Thomas Becket, and Thomas of Brotherton was thus named after the saint and his place of birth.

Edward I quickly rushed to the queen and the newborn baby and had him presented with two cradles. His brother Edmund was born in the year after that. They were overseen by wet nurses until they were six years old. Like their parents, they learned to play chess and to ride horses. They were visited by nobles and their half-sister Mary of Woodstock, who was a nun. Their mother often accompanied Edward on his campaigns to Scotland, but kept herself well-informed on their well-being.

His father died when he was 7 years old. Thomas's half-brother, Edward, became king of England and Thomas was heir presumptive until his nephew Edward was born in 1312. The Earldom of Cornwall had been intended for Thomas, but Edward instead bestowed it upon his favourite, Piers Gaveston, in 1306. When Thomas was 10 years old, Edward assigned to him and his brother Edmund, the estates of Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk who had died without heirs in 1306.

Woolaston in the Forest of Dean

Link: Image of document at AALT County: Oxfordshire. Place: York. Date: Two weeks from Holy Trinity, 10 Edward III [9 June 1336]. And afterwards one week from St Michael in the same year [6 October 1336]. Parties: William de Shareshull' and Denise, his wife, querents, and John de Molyns, knight, and Giles (Egidia), his wife, deforciants. Property: The manor of Derneford' by Wodestok', which John de Crawle holds for life. Action: Plea of covenant. Agreement: John de Molyns and Giles have acknowledged the manor to be the right of William, and have granted for themselves and the heirs of John that the manor - which John de Crawle held for life of the inheritance of John de Molyns on the day the agreement was made, and which after the decease of John de Crawle ought to revert to John de Molyns and Giles and the heirs of John - after the decease of John de Crawle shall remain to William and Denise and the heirs of William, to hold of the chief lords for ever. For this: William and Denise have given them 100 marks of silver. Note: This agreement was made in the presence of John de Crawle, and he did fealty to William and Denise in the court. For much of the 13th century the manor was held by members of the Derneford family as under-tenants. About 1255 Roger de Derneford was given licence .. Lands in Enfield and Edmonton Writ 16 Sept. 1413. MIDDLESEX. Inquisition. Westminster 2 Oct She held to herself and the heirs of her body 3 messuages, 2 carucates, 90 a. meadow, 20 a. pasture, 40 a. wood and £28 rent payable by equal parts at the 4 terms, in Enfield and Edmonton by a fine of 1369 [CP 25/1/151/71, no. 474] by which John de Ekyndon, then vicar of Enfield, Thomas Payn, clerk, and Roger Derneford granted these premises to John Wroth and Margaret his wife for their lives with successive remainders to Francis de Enefeld and the heirs of his body and the heirs of John Wroth.  Francis de Enefeld died without heirs of his body. Margaret died. John Wroth had issue John Wroth, knight, and Agnes. John Wroth, knight, inherited and had issue John and Elizabeth. This John died without heirs of his body. Then Elizabeth held. One messuage, 32 a. arable, 2 a. meadow and 66s.11d. rent are held of the king in chief by an 8th part of a 4th part of a knight’s fee. Of whom the rest is held and by what service is unknown; annual values, the messuage, arable, wood and pasture 40s., the meadow 11 marks 3s.4d. Date of death and heir as above.  WOOLASTONE (in 1870) is a village, parish and station, on the Gloucester, Swansea and Carmarthen line of the Great Western Railway, 5 miles north-east from Chepstow, 12 south-east from Monmouth, and 11 south-west from Newnham, situated on the western bank of the river Severn. The village, which is very much scattered, partly lies on the high road from Newnham to Chepstow in the Western division of the county, hundred of Westbury, union and county court district of Chepstow, rural deanery of The Forest, archdeaconry of Gloucester, and diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. The church of St. Andrews is an ancient and curiously formed structure in the Norman style, beautifully restored in 1859: It consists of chancel, nave, south aisle, organ chamber, and a massive western tower; the church is entered on the south side, through an old porch, and the interior is rendered exceedingly noble by the length and height of the nave, combined with its fine timbered roof; the arcade which divides the aisle from the nave consists of double shafts of polished marble, with richly foliated capitals. The large east window of the chancel is filled in with stained glass, by Wailes. The register dates from the year 1688. Deerhurst is a village near Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, England on the east bank of the River Severn. . According to legend, the village was once the home of a dragon, said to have been swept in on the River Severn.  Deerhurst has an Anglo Saxon partly 10th century monastic building still standing, St Mary's Priory Church. It is notable among Anglo-Saxon buildings for the many features of the period which can be observed. Remarkably, there is a second important Anglo-Saxon building in the village, Odda's Chapel, a Saxon church, lying about 200 yards south-west of the church. An inscription dates this precisely to the reign of King Edward the Confessor. The tiny village of Deerhurst is the site of major historic importance at the Priory Church of Saint Mary. The following about the area an article about the old Saxon Church Deerhurst Priory Saxon church BY DAVID ROSS, EDITOR  Britain Express Deerhurst priory One of the most intriguing and architecturally fascinating Saxon churches still in existence. Deerhurst is unique in that the church is almost entirely Saxon, which a paucity of later additions.   It is rare to see two historic churches so close together; Deerhurst boasts Odda's Chapel (English Heritage) and the delightful Saxon church of St Mary's. The church was founded about the year 800, and later became part of a monastic settlement. History Although the date usually given for the founding of St Mary''s is 800 AD, it is quite likely that the church was begun well before that date, perhaps as early as the late 6th century. Deerhurst seems to have occupied a position of importance in the territory of the Saxon Hwicce, a subkingdom of Mercia, and it is possible that the church here was the most important in the region. Excavations around the church have uncovered ruins of the Saxon monastery, including burial remains dating to the 7th century. Near the east end of the church a wheel-head cross was unearthed. In the year 804 Aethelric, son of King Edmund of the Hwicce, granted land at Deerhurst to the priory, and and he and his father were probably buried at Deerhurst. In 1016 Edmund Ironside and Cnut (Canute) chose Deerhurst to sign a treaty dividing England between them. And in the 11th century Deerhurst was the home of Earl Odda, one of the most powerful of Edward the Confessor's nobles. Odda was responsible for the chapel which bears his name, which was completed shortly before his death in 1056. After Odda's death the priory lands were given to the monastery of St Denis, in France, and the chapel passed into the hands of Westminster Abbey. The monastery was later granted to Tewkesbury Abbey, but at the Dissolution of the Monasteries the priory was disbanded and the church became the parish church. Beside the church is Priory Farmhouse, which occupies some of the domestic buildings of the medieval priory. It is worth noting that, as early as the church was built, it was not the first building on this site. Excavations near the apse revealed Roman pottery and indications of a high-status Roman building on the site. It seems logical that the priory church was built on top of, and incorporated bits of, a substantial building that had existed since Roman times. St Mary's is visible for some distance over the fields surrounding the village. There is a small layby just outside the church grounds and a car park outside Odda's Chapel a few hundred yards further on. The church is approached by way of a wide path that runs parallel to the wall separating the churchyard and the nearby farm.The farmhouse was once part of the monastic settlement here. The Angel of Deerhurst Before entering the church by way of the west door carry on around the side of the building, down a few steps (which actually take you into the farmyard) and around the back of St Mary's. There, set high into the wall of the church, is the famous 'Angel' of Deerhurst, a 9th century carving in what was originally the apse of the church. Inside St Mary's The carving in the interior of St Mary's is quite simply superb. To single out a few of the best features is difficult, but the font is certainly one of the finest I have seen from any time period. Step into the nave and look back up at the west wall (see photo). High on the wall are two pointed windows which show the location of an unusual chapel far above ground level. Sadly the chapel is not open to visitors. The Cassey Brass Set into the floor of the norh aisle is a memorial brass to the Cassey family, dated to about 1400 AD. The small dog at the feet of Lady Cassey is named in the inscription ('Terri'), the only case in Britain where a family pet has been named on a funerary brass. Saxon Wall Painting A painted figure high on the east wall of the nave was recently uncovered; it is thought to be 10th century, which would make it the oldest wall-painting in Britain. Over 25 Saxon carved stones and sciulptures have been identified in the church. Among these are: 9th century grave cover (built into a north wall door in the chancel 9th century font bowl and shaft 'Deerhurst Angel' carving, 9th century Early 9th century carving of the Virgin and Child, west tower wall Several 10th century panels in the nave Numerous animal head label stops, including one just inside the main entrance Early 9th century string course Double triangle-headed window openings, west wall of the nave 9th century carved capitals on the chancel arch 10th century base of the tower Cnut (also known as Canute and as Knut Sweinsson, he was the son of the Danish King Swein Forkbeard who died in 1014) met with Edmund Ironside (the son of Ethelred the Unready who died in 1016) and it was here in 1016 that they agreed to divide England between them, this followed a battle in which Cnut had defeated Edmund. It was agreed that Cnut would control the North of the Kingdom and Edmund the South however the agreement was to be short lived as Edmund died mysteriously and Cnut was in total control. The origins of Deerhurst church are unknown but evidence shows that it existed prior to 804. It is thought that this was one of the most important religious institutions of the Kingdom of Hwicce which was a sub-kingdom of Mercia. Regarded as one of the most complete Anglo-Saxon churches in England this beautiful church is well worth a visit. It was here Alphedge began his religious career before eventually becoming the Bishop of Canterbury. In the year 1012 he was martyred by the Danes at Greenwich. Visitors will see in amongst the fine collection of medieval glass at the west end of the south aisle a 14th century figure of St Alphedge. At the east end of the south aisle an ancient wooden chest is on display. It would seem that Roger and his family had the lands before 1066, and unfortunately as was the law when King William came, the lands were all distributed to Lord, and Knights.  In 1248, the Church, which was extremely powerful, decided to take some of the lands from the Derneford's culminating in the final distribution from William. The churches became some of the largest landowners throughout the land, at that time. This surely must be a different William de Dernford than the esteemed Knight! This medieval hunting park covering over 300ha survives intact as the Forest Commission’s Chepstow Park Wood. The wood is 7 km north-west of Chepstow Castle and was originally used by the Lords of the castle in the 13th and 14th Centuries as a hunting forest. Chepstow Park is a large block of woodland with both mature broadleaf and conifer species. A network of footpaths will lead you into the heart of the wood where you can walk for miles without seeing another sole. Viewpoints along the south-eastern edge of the wood allow you to see far across the Bristol Channel with both the old and new Severn Bridges clearly visible. Along the western edge of the wood you will come across panoramic views of the Black Mountains and the Brecon Beacons National Park. It was established as a hunting forest around 1280 by Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk, the lord of Striguil or Chepstow Castle. It covers about 3,300 hectares, and was originally enclosed by a fence stretching 7.8 km. Around 1340, it was occupied and taken over by a band of outlaws led by William de Derneford and his son Robert. It was re-enclosed with a stone wall around 1630, and at the same time a stone lodge was built in the centre of the forest, with views back towards Chepstow, for the use of visitors to the forest. Later, the wood became notorious as a haunt of highwaymen. Historically, the woodland lay within the parish of Newchurch East.