Top of page Name Summary Distribution Map Property List Profile Bottom of page

Leofcild 5

Name

Summary

Leofcild 5 was a small landowner, commended to Archbishop Stigand, who had 3 carucates worth £4 10s. divided between two adjoining estates in mid Suffolk. He was himself the lord of a handful of smaller men in the immediate vicinity.

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 Suffolk	Phil. ref. 29,2	Vill Somersham	DB Spelling Leffcilt	Holder 1066 Leofcild 'of Offton'	Lord 1066 -	Tenant-in-Chief 1086 Roger d'Auberville	1086 Subtenant -	Fiscal Value 1.00	1066 Value 1.50	1086 Value 1.50	Confidence B	Map
Shire Suffolk	Phil. ref. 7,60	Vill Offton	DB Spelling Lefficilt	Holder 1066 Leofcild 'of Offton'	Lord 1066 Stigand, archbishop of Canterbury	Tenant-in-Chief 1086 Roger Bigod	1086 Subtenant Hugh de Houdain	Fiscal Value 2.00	1066 Value 3.00	1086 Value 3.00	Confidence B	Map
Totals								Fiscal Value	1066 Value	1086 Value

Lord 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 Suffolk	Phil. ref. 7,60	Vill Offton	DB Spelling -	Holder 1066 Blæcsunu 'of Rendham'	Lord 1066 unnamed antecessor of Roger Bigod	Tenant-in-Chief 1086 Roger Bigod	1086 Subtenant Hugh de Houdain	Fiscal Value 0.01	1066 Value 0.01	1086 Value 0.01	Confidence B	Map
Shire Suffolk	Phil. ref. 7,60	Vill Offton	DB Spelling -	Holder 1066 Ealdwine 'of Offton'	Lord 1066 unnamed antecessor of Roger Bigod	Tenant-in-Chief 1086 Roger Bigod	1086 Subtenant Hugh de Houdain	Fiscal Value 0.01	1066 Value 0.01	1086 Value 0.01	Confidence B	Map
Shire Suffolk	Phil. ref. 7,62	Vill Flowton	DB Spelling Lefcilt	Holder 1066 Brungar 'of Burstall'	Lord 1066 Leofcild	Tenant-in-Chief 1086 Roger Bigod	1086 Subtenant Hugh de Houdain	Fiscal Value 0.08	1066 Value 0.10	1086 Value 0.10	Confidence B	Map
Totals								Fiscal Value	1066 Value	1086 Value

Profile

Offton and Somersham are adjoining vills and parishes about 6 miles north-west of Ipswich in the prosperous farming country of High Suffolk, and the Leofcild named as a landowner in both places was clearly the same person. At Offton, his 2 carucates made him the largest holder in the vill, and he was presumably the unnamed antecessor of Roger Bigod (his successor there) who was the lord of two small free men with just 1½ acres, having the full commendation of Blæcsune and half the commendation of Ealdwine. The parish church and its glebe were also recorded on Leofcild’s holding, but about half the vill was in the hands of other, smaller, free men. He was also the largest proprietor in Somersham, again with about half the vill (1 carucate). Another of his commended men was Brungar, who had 10 acres at Flowton, just south of Somersham.

Leofcild 5 is not likely to have been the same person as the sometime sheriff of Essex (Leofcild 3), since he was described as a free man rather than a king’s thegn and was commended to Archbishop Stigand, who also had the soke of Offton.

Leofcild’s manors were divided after the Conquest, Offton passing to Roger Bigod and Somersham to Roger d’Auberville, for reasons which are not yet clear: both places were in the heartland of d’Auberville’s fief, but Bigod also acquired several manors in this part of Suffolk.

Leofcild farmed at both Offton and Somersham in 1066, with 2 ploughs, a flock of 40 sheep, and some other livestock at Offton, and a single plough at Somersham.