Alveston

Domesday Book

The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded the following entry for Alveston: In Langelei Hundredum tenuit comes Herald Alwestan ibi erant X hidae in dominio, I carruca, XXIII villi, V bordarii cui XXII carrucae, II servii. Ibi ppos..accrevc.. II carucae, V servos. Reddat XII libri ad pensu. Translated as follows: "In Langeley Hundred Earl Harold held Alveston. There were there 10 hides in demesne, 1 plough-team, 23 villeins, 5 bordars for whom there were 22 plough-teams, 2 serfs. There....2 plough-teams, 5 serfs. It returned £12...." This was a very large manor, of 35 households in total.^[5] As the manor had been held by King Harold Godwinson it was seized into the royal demesne by William the Conqueror and remained in use as a royal hunting park until 1149.

Illness of William Rufus

Early in March 1093 King William II (1087–1100) was at the royal manor of Alveston, possibly awaiting his passage across the River Severn to Wales via the Aust ferry. He was suddenly attacked by a serious illness, thought to have been a disorder of the stomach or bowels. He was immediately rushed to Gloucester Castle 25 miles to the north, near which the monks of Gloucester Abbey were relied upon to provide a medical cure. It was believed the illness had been brought on as a result of the king's sinful behaviour and he determined to repent and make amends. This illness contracted at Alveston thus resulted in the issuance of a charter which elaborated the king's coronation pledge, akin to a charter of liberties. He pledged to protect and defend the church, to abolish simony, to abolish unjust laws and deter wrong-doers. He ordered the release of prisoners, remission of debts and all offences against himself he pardoned. He was confined to his chamber for the whole of Lent, covering the period 2 March to 17 April 1093. On 6 March he consented to appoint Anselm Abbot of Bec as Archbishop of Canterbury, which he had previously strongly opposed.^[6]

FitzWarin

In 1149 it was granted by Henry Plantagenet,^[8] then heir to the throne of King Stephen (1135–1154) to Fulk I FitzWarin (died 1171), a powerful Marcher Lord from Shropshire.^[9] In 1160 Fulk was in charge of arming and provisioning for King Henry II (1154–1189) Dover Castle,^[10] the second most important fortress in England after the Tower of London. Henry trusted Fulk and valued his services.^[10] The grant was a reward for Fulk's loyalty to the cause of Henry's mother the Empress Matilda in the civil war with "The Usurper" Stephen.

Alveston was inherited in 1171 by Fulk's son Fulk II.^[11] During the Barons' wars of the reign of King John (1199–1216) which led up to Magna Carta signed in 1215, Fulk II's son and heir Fulk III FitzWarin (died 1258) rebelled, and the manor escheated to the crown and passed temporarily into the stewardship of Hugh de Nevill. In 1204 Fulk III regained possession, but on 30 June 1216 King John ordered that Alveston should be seized once again from Fulk III FitzWarin. On 15 January 1230 King Henry III granted the park of Alveston back to Fulk III FitzWarin,^[12] and Fulk is recorded as having incurred a debt of 300 marks for this grant^[13] As a royal favour the king pardoned Fulk 200 marks of this debt.^[14]

Clearly Fulk was then in royal favour as in June 1234 he received from the king a gift of three deer from the royal Forest of Cannock. In September he received two bucks and eight does from the royal Forest of Braden, north Wiltshire, to help him to stock his deer park at Alveston.^[15] In 1236 Fulk was given another six does from Braden and six more from the Forest of Selwood, again to help him stock his park at Alveston.^[16] In November 1246 the king gave Fulk another six bucks and ten does for the same purpose.^[17] In 1249 Fulk III became involved in a lengthy legal dispute brought against him by Nicholas Poyntz, his near neighbour from Iron Acton who had accused Fulk of expelling him from the common pasture of Tockington, which adjoined Alveston manor.^[18]

Fulk IV FitzWarin fell at the Battle of Lewes in 1264, loyally supporting King Henry III in his struggle against the barons. He left his son and heir a minor, Fulk V (died 1314). Fulk V was awarded in Wardship, probably by Simon de Montfort, victor of Lewes, to Peter de Montfort (died 1265), "The Nemesis of the Marcher Lords". He was rescued from this unpleasant position by his warder's death at the Battle of Evesham following which King Henry III re-granted him in wardship to the Fitzwarin's long-time friend Hamo le Strange. In 1273 Fulk V attained his majority of 21 years of age and gained possession of his father's lands including Alveston.^[19]

De Gloucester

On 28 September 1309 Fulk V obtained royal licence to grant the manor of Alveston, which was held in-chief from the king, to Walter de Gloucester (died 1310) for life.^[22] Walter was Sheriff of Somerset & Dorset 1293–1298 and in 1309 Escheator citra Trentam ("on this side of the River Trent").^[23] Little is known of the origin or history of this family, but Sir Robert Atkyns (died 1711) in his "History of Gloucestershire" stated him to be a younger son of Fulk FitzWarin, yet failed to explain his deduction.^[23] He may in fact have been the son-in-law of Fulk as his widow is recorded with the name of "Margaret Waryn" and was still alive in 1322, as the Inquisition post mortem of Walter's son Walter (died 1322) (sometime Escheator of Gloucestershire^[24])states her to have been then holding in dower 1/3rd of the manor of Alveston.^[23] The grant to Walter (died 1310) in 1309 was in fact made, contrary to the licence, "in fee" (i.e. hereditable) and Walter's grandson, another Walter de Gloucester (died 1360) was still in possession of the manor of Alveston in 1340/1.^[25] The trespass of obtaining a grant in fee without licence to alienate a tenancy-in-chief was pardoned on 28 July 1340 to Walter of Gloucester on payment of a fine.^[26]

Corbet

The de Gloucester manors of Alveston and "Urcott" (Earthcott Green) together with Langley Hundred were settled during the reign of King Edward III (1327–1377) onto the heir of Peter Corbet (died 1363) of Hope, Salop., and later of Siston. Walter FitzWalter de Gloucester (died 1360) had married Petronilla (or Pernel), one of the three daughters of William Corbet (born c. 1280) of Chaddesley Corbett, Worcs., and Siston, Gloucestershire. In 1342 following this marriage Walter settled the manors of Alveston and Erdecote and the hundred of "Langele" on himself and his wife for their joint lives and the life of the survivor of them, with remainder to their joint issue, and in default of such issue with remainder to Peter Corbet of Syston and his heirs.^[27] Peter Corbet (died 1362) was the next younger brother and heir of William Corbet (who presumably was dead by then and unlike his brother had no male offspring) and was therefore Petronilla's uncle.^[28] Walter and Petronilla's son Peter de Gloucester married a certain Alice. Peter de Gloucester died childless before 1370, as is apparent from the fact that the settlement made by his father had taken effect by then in granting the de Gloucester lands, including Alveston, to John Corbet (died 1370), the grandson and heir of Sir Peter Corbet (died 1362). John Corbet had outlived his father William who had a short life, but himself died aged only 17, leaving his triplet William Corbet (1353–1378) his heir, who in turn also died young in 1378 aged only 25. Alice de Gloucester, widow of Peter de Gloucester, was then still alive and was recorded in the Inquisition post mortem of William Corbet dated 1378 as holding 1/3rd dower share of Alveston.^[29] The young William Corbet had become a merchant dealing in the wool-trade as on his death he owed the very great sum of £320 for merchandise received to the Bristol merchant and clothier John Canynges (died 1405),^[30] father of the great Bristol merchant William II Canynges (died 1474). This sum had been incurred before 1375, as a record from that year of Extent for Debts heard before Walter Frampton, Mayor of the Staple of Bristol reveals,^[31] and represented several multiples of the annual value of the revenue from all the Corbet family's Gloucestershire manors, and clearly placed the inheritance in a precarious position. Indeed, John Canynges and his business partner William Cheddar the Elder had taken temporary possession of William Corbet's 2/3rds occupancy of Alveston manor as security for their debt, and later granted it by gift to William II Canynges (died 1474) who held it from them as a "free tenant".^[32] Young William's own heir was his sister Margaret Corbet (died 1398), who brought the Corbet manors to her husband William Wyriott (died 1379) from Pembrokeshire. Wyriott died before the couple had produced any offspring and Margaret married secondly Sir Gilbert Denys (died 1422) from Waterton in the lordship of Coity, Glamorgan. Thus the manors of Alveston, Earthcott Green and Siston together with Langley Hundred entered into the possession of the Denys family.

Denys

The widow Alice de Gloucester remarried to Alan Eckylsale and the couple remitted all their rights in her 1/3 dower in Alveston in consideration of 100 marks paid by Gilbert Denys and Margaret.^[33] who thus had obtained vacant possession of the manor.