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Leith 2

Name

Summary

Leith 2 was a king’s thegn with a manor in north-west Buckinghamshire TRE assessed at 6 hides and with a value of £3; he had power of alienation over his land.

Distribution map of property and lordships associated with this name in DB

List of property and lordships associated with this name in DB

Holder 1066

Shire	Phil. ref.	Vill	DB Spelling	Holder 1066	Lord 1066	Tenant-in-Chief 1086	1086 Subtenant	Fiscal Value	1066 Value	1086 Value	Conf.	Show on Map
Shire Buckinghamshire	Phil. ref. 4,32	Vill Foxcote	DB Spelling Leit	Holder 1066 Leith 'of Foxcote'	Lord 1066 Edward, king	Tenant-in-Chief 1086 Odo, bishop of Bayeux	1086 Subtenant Thurstan de Guéron	Fiscal Value 6.00	1066 Value 3.00	1086 Value 3.00	Confidence C	Map
Totals								Fiscal Value	1066 Value	1086 Value

Profile

Leith 2’s manor was at Foxcote (also known as Foscott), on a hill-spur by the River Ouse in north-west Buckinghamshire and only a couple of miles from the county town. DB states that Leith was a thegn of King Edward (Edward 15) and also notes that he could sell his land, indicating that he was not a dependent tenant and implying that his relationship with the king was one of commendation.

After the Conquest and later in the medieval period the lordship of Foxcote and another manor 10 miles away at Dunton were associated with a ward of Dover Castle (Page 1927: 170). This was presumably instigated by Bishop Odo of Bayeux (Odo 3), who was not only the post-Conquest tenant-in-chief of both manors but also the earl of Kent. There is nothing to suggest that the association reflected an earlier one or involved Leith 2.

This is the only instance of the name Leith not only in DB be also in pre-Conquest England, and there is no reason to consider Leith 2 in connection with any other person or estate.

Bibliography

Page 1927: A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 4, ed. W. Page (London, 1927)