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Alfrith 6

Name

Summary

Alfrith 6 was a radknight who held a small estate in north-east Gloucestershire TRE assessed at ½ hide; the value is uncertain but was perhaps about 7s.  He was still alive and holding his estate in 1086, when he was among the subtenants of St Peter’s Abbey, Westminster.

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 Gloucestershire	Phil. ref. 19,2	Vill Moreton in Marsh	DB Spelling Elfridus	Holder 1066 Alfrith 'of Moreton'	Lord 1066 Edwin, abbot of Westminster	Tenant-in-Chief 1086 Gilbert Crispin, abbot of Westminster	1086 Subtenant Alfrith	Fiscal Value 0.50	1066 Value 0.48	1086 Value 0.39	Confidence B	Map
Totals								Fiscal Value	1066 Value	1086 Value

Subtenant in 1086

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 Gloucestershire	Phil. ref. 19,2	Vill Moreton in Marsh	DB Spelling Elfridus	Holder 1066 Alfrith 'of Moreton'	Lord 1066 Edwin, abbot of Westminster	Tenant-in-Chief 1086 Gilbert Crispin, abbot of Westminster	1086 Subtenant Alfrith	Fiscal Value 0.50	1066 Value 0.48	1086 Value 0.39	Confidence B	Map
Totals								Fiscal Value	1066 Value	1086 Value

Profile

Alfrith 6’s small estate was at Moreton in Marsh, where the Foss Way crosses a tributary stream of the river Evenlode in north-east Gloucestershire.  DB describes it as one of the many berewicks of Deerhurst manor; and if the TRE value of £41 for this manor is divided proportionately through its total assessment of 59 hides, then Alfrith’s ½ hide will have had a value of about 7s.  The wording and layout of the DB entry implies that Alfrith and the other TRE tenants were all radknights who, although free men, provided ploughing, harrowing, mowing and reaping service for their lord.

Deerhurst minister had been granted to Westminster Abbey by King Edward (Edward 15), perhaps only shortly before his death, and Moreton was very probably part of Deerhurst’s lands prior to that grant (Harmer 1952: 363-4 no. 99, 519-20; Bassett 1998: 15-18).  It is therefore possible that Alfrith originally held his estate as a dependent tenant of Deerhurst minster before its lands were granted to the king’s new abbey at Westminster.  In either case, he survived the Conquest and was still holding his land as a subtenant of Westminster Abbey in 1086.

Alfrith 6’s little estate was too small and too far removed from that of anyone else of that or a similar name for any connection between them to be considered.

Bibliography

Bassett 1998: S. R. Bassett, The Origins of the Parishes of the Deerhurst Area, Deerhurst Lecture 1997 (Deerhurst, 1998)

Harmer 1952: F. E. Harmer, Anglo-Saxon Writs (Manchester, 1952)