PURSE CAUNDLE HISTORY - CHAPTER 3: ANGLO-NORMAN PURSE CAUNDLE 1066-1154

Following his success at the Battle of Hastings, William had himself crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066. The Normans did not immediately conquer the whole of England. They apparently did not occupy Dorset and the rest of the West Country until 1068. One wonders when the first Normans visited the area of the village. Also, what the few inhabitants thought about yet further interloping foreigners with their strange tongue. One can imagine, however, their thoughts when only the next year, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, 'The king set a heavy tribute on poor folk, though nevertheless still let his men harry all that they went over.' (See illustration below from the Bayeux Tapestry, which whilst not displaying this particular Norman activity, shows how the Saxon peasants suffered severely from the brutality of the Norman invaders who just before the Battle of Hastings destroyed their property, and pillaged their livestock and provisions as here seen rounding up sheep, cows and packhorses. It could be thus said to be an example of 'To the victors go the spoils.'

Certainly in 1068, and later, King William had new silver pennies minted carrying his name and profile (see illustrations), and sometimes these would be cut into halves and quarters to

create halfpennies and farthings. The Anglo-Saxon mint that had been installed at nearby Milborne Port was now to be followed by a Norman one.

William refused to pay homage to the Pope, but promised that the Peter's Pence (see CHAPTER 2) should be paid. He made detailed arrangements for the collection of this tax, where in some instances demesne serfs would pay through their lord - who sometimes did not always pass it on. A free man who had possessions in the country valued at least thirty pence would pay this tax; but the lord would acquit his bordars, ploughmen, and serfs for one penny.
Saxon estate owners were to be dispossessed, with many lands being farmed out amongst William's followers, including Candel - see below.

Ekwall and Watts both surmised that the eventual name 'Purse' could be derived from the Old English 'preosta', meaning priest: possibly because it belonged to Athelney Abbey. It was also suggested that 'Caundle' was the name of the nearby chain of hills. It is now generally believed to be Celtic, named after the stream Caundle Brook and its own tributaries that run through Purse Caundle and other villages lower down with Caundle in their name. A. D. Mills considered 'Purse' to be manorial, but nobody with that name has been found here; though the name has been found elsewhere in Dorset, but only as early as 1327 at Corfe Castle. Neighbouring Stalbridge is a Saxon name, as is the first part of Bishops Caundle.

Part of [Purse] Candel in the 11th century was within the old Saxon Hundred of 'Brunsella' (or Brownshall), and part [Stourton] Candel within the Sherborne Hundred.

In CHAPTER 1 the problems of determining the various boundaries connected with [Purse] Candel were discussed. Even from the earliest known records it is somewhat difficult to judge the exact boundary and size of what was eventually to be known as Purse Caundle.

Again, in 1083, 'the king had a severe and heavy tax announced over all England, that was seventy-two pence for each hide of land.' Understandably this was to lead to several rebellions against the Normans.

As King William eventually wanted to know what he owned in England, and who held it, in 1085 he ordered a national survey into each county's land ownership, use, population, etc. This consolidated survey of 1086 was to be come known as the Domesday Book. In 1986 there was an exhibition at the Public Record Office in London (now known at The National Archives) to celebrate the 900th anniversary of Domesday Book, and the following details are derived from the Exhibition Guide.

As well as the volume of the main Exchequer Domesday Book itself, the survey for the south-western counties, including 'DORSETE', universally known as the Exon. Domesday (Liber Exoniensis) - Exeter Domesday. This was because it has always been kept in Exeter cathedral, and the only surviving original record of the survey. Exchequer Domesday is probably the final draft made from the returns of the south-western circuit. The text was compiled, with little condensing, from written records of proceedings arranged under each tenant-in-chief in turn. Exon. had several defects. Its compilers had omitted many basic items, such as the names of some manors. They also failed to note the hundreds in which estates lay. Even more crucially, they had failed to understand that they were required to produce self-contained surveys for each county, and had instead listed together the holdings of each tenant. The compilers attempted to correct their mistake and to sort the material into individual counties. The finished text of Exon. is divided into two sections, one of which contains about one-third of Dorset. The information in Exon. was to be edited for the final version of Exchequer Domesday - the data was re-arranged in the required order; details of livestock were removed; errors and confusions were amended; and the language was standardised. More that 90% of the relevant sections of Exchequer Domesday are based on Exon., but the compilers' main error, the omission of hundreds, was not corrected.

Domesday uses throughout the initials 'T.R.E.' = tempore regis Edwardi = 'in King Edward's time' (i.e. Edward the Confessor 1042-1066). William wanted to know how matters had changed since that time, and whether current ownership and tenancies could be accounted for.

Hutchins in the mid-19th century was to record a somewhat condensed version of Domesday:

'In Domesday Book, "the church of Athelney holds Candel. In King Edward's time it was taxed for four hides and one virgate of land and a half. There is land for four ploughs. Of this there are four hides in the demesne, and therein one plough: and two villeins and fourteen bordars with two ploughs. There are fourteen acres of meadow. Wood three quarentens long and two quarentens broad. Alured holds one virgate and a half of this land. The whole is worth sixty-seven shillings and sixpence."'

The 20th century Victoria History of Dorset, Volume 3, contained both versions of Domesday, which clearly showed their differences. Both were written in Latin, with abbreviations and ambiguities. Phillimore's have since published individual county editions of Exchequer Domesday, showing the original Latin survey on the left-hand page, and the best appropriate English translation on the right-hand. Each edition also contains copious notes and explanations, including Exon. additions. Phillimore's were accepted as providing the authorative version.

But now colour digital images of the original , with latest translations, may be obtained through the internet from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline. Here follows the translated Exon. Domesday entry, followed by the two Exchequer Domesday entries to show the differences:

'THE LAND OF THE ABBEY OF ATHELNEY IN DORSET.

(lxiv) The abbot has 1 manor which is called Candel which 7 thegns held T.R.E. and they could go to any lord, which paid geld for 4 hides and 1 1/2 virgates. Four ploughs can plough these. Of these the abbot has in demesne 4 hides and one plough and the villeins 1 1/2 virgates and 2 ploughs. There the abbot has 2 villeins and 14 bordars and 3 furlongs of wood[land] in length and 2 in width and 14 acres of meadow and it is worth 60s a year for the abbot's use and for the use of Alvred the butler (pincerna)who holds 1 1/2 virgate of these 4 hides of the abbot, it is worth 7s 6d.'

'TERRA ABBATIE ADELINGIENSIS [THE LAND OF ATHELNEY ABBEY]

xv The Church Of Athelney holds [Purse?] CANDEL. T.R.E. it paid geld for 4 hides and 1 1/2 virgates of land. There is land for 4 ploughs. Of this 4 Hides are in demesne, and there is 1 plough; and 2 villans and 14 bordars with 2 ploughs. There are 14 acres of meadow, [and] woodland 3 furlongs long and two furlongs wide. Of this land Alvred holds 1 1/2 virgates of land. The whole is worth 67s 6d.'

'TERRE TAINOS REGIS [LAND OF THE KING'S THANES]

SAEWARD holds 2 1/2 virgates of land in [Purse?] CANDELE. He himself held them T.R.E. There is land for half a plough. There is 1 acre of pasture. It is worth 5s.

Two bordars hold the fourth part of 1 virgate of land. It is worth 15d. They themselves held it freely T.R.E.'

A Domesday entry for 'SUMERSETE' contains the following translated entry:

'TERRA COMITIS MORITONIENS [LAND OF THE COUNT OF MORTAIN]

The count himself holds in demesne BISCOPESTONE [Bishopstone in Montacute] and there is his castle which is called MONTACUTE. T.R.E. this manor paid geld for 9 hides; and it belonged to the abbey of Athelney and for it the count gave to that church a manor which is called CANDEL. In this manor, Bishopstone, there is land for 7 ploughs. Of this 2 1/2 hides are in demesne, and there are 2 ploughs and 4 slaves; and 4 villans and 3 bordars with 2 ploughs.

There is a mill rendering 50d, and 15 acres of meadow.

Of these 9 hides Alvred holds of the count 1 1/2 hides; Drogo 1 hide; Dponecan 1 hide. There are 5 ploughs with 1 slave and 19 bordars. This manor is worth to the count £6; to the knights £3.3s.'

This exchange is considered to have taken place c.1069-1070, with Count Robert of Mortain clearly having the better of the deal: exchanging his four plus hides for the Abbey's nine hides. One wonders why this exchange was not mentioned in the Dorset Domesday entry. In his new manor the Count was to build his castle of montacute; and his son William was to found a priory there c.1100. In the Montacute cartulary there is mention of it having at some time the whole or portions of the tithes of Purse Caundle.

Illustrated below is a frame from the Bayeux Tapestry depicting William the Conqueror, and his two half-brothers Bishop Odo and Robert in conference just before the Battle of Hastings.

It will be noticed that one of the Anglo-Saxon thegns at Candel seems to have survived to retain his T.R.E. land holding, though as with all other thegns he could no longer go to whatever lord he pleased. Thegns had not always been big men in the sense of land holding, with some performing very humble services indeed, and owning tiny plots of land. Many of the very small manors (e.g. possibly as at Candel) were to be amalgamated - either under a Norman or ecclesiastical tenant-in-chief. Thaneland also applied to the demesne land held of a benefice (e.g. Athelney abbey), who had to supply when required the military service of the professional soldier. The thegn or thane as such was to eventually supplanted after the Norman Conquest by two titles which have endured to modern times - Baron which was from France, and Knight from Germany.

For an explanation of the different measurements and descriptions in Domesday see previous TERMS AND EXPRESSIONS USED. The extent of the Athelney Abbey's taxable holding here could be assumed to be 525 acres of land, plus 14 acres of meadow and 60 acres of woodland (the largest portion possibly being what is now known as Plumley Wood), a total of some 599 acres. This is only a fraction of the potential area; thus the abbey's holding must have come to include a substantial amount of unproductive or as yet uncleared woodland, and waste. The Abbot of Athelney seems to have held at least half the supposed settlement, less half a hide. But over the years it was to be granted land there from other landowners, as will be seen later. The remainder of the settlement/village was seemingly at some time in the future to be held by the Abbess of Shaftesbury Abbey (Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, volume iii, no. 111; Hutchins vol. iii, page 143). Whilst the abbey of Athelney had but this one manor of Candel, the abbey of Shaftesbury had some fourteen or so properties in the Domesday record for Dorset, and one in Somerset.

Regarding the 'tax for 4 hides and 1 1/2 virgates', the details of lordship and villeins' land plus that of Alvred's holding appears to total 4 hides and 3 virgates. But Exon. Domesday says that Alvred held '1 1/2 virgates of these 4 hides': unless the 4 hides was a scribal error for the total 4 hides and 1 1/2 virgates, with possibly the villagers' 1 1/2 virgates also a mistake. Although unusual, for there were other discrepancies, it would make the details agree with the tax total.

Alvred [Alfred] the Butler was the Count of Mortain's servant, who also held a considerable amount of land from him in many other counties, including the 1 1/2 hides in the Count's 'Bishopstone'.

Also of interest is that there were 'serfs' or slaves within the immediate vicinity: 'serfs' being the term which generally first comes to mind when discussing the inhabitants of Saxon and medieval Britain.

Windmills had not yet apparently been introduced into Britain, but there were many watermills were appropriate. The Caundle Brook was not to have sufficient running water for [Purse] Candel to have its own mill; but at the time of Domesday there were six mills at Milborne Port, two mills at [Stourton] Candel, and one each at Goathill, Stalbridge and Henstridge.

The CANDEL of Domesday is in modern times now represented by the parishes of: Purse Caundle, Stourton Caundle (originally Caundle Haddon), Bishops Caundle (Caundel Episcopi), and Caundle Marsh (Le Marsh or Le Merssh), spread across the two Hundreds of Sherborne and Brownshall. Phillimore has attempted to clarify the exact relation of these parishes to the nine 'CANDEL' entries in Domesday, where all are separately mentioned, and lands within each accounted for. Purse Caundle is assumed to be the land held by Athelney Abbey, and probably also the 2 1/2 virgates which were in the Sherborne Hundred in 1086, although some may have been in Brownshall Hundred (Tax Returns for the Dorset Hundreds, in Exon. folios 17a-24a). According to Phillimore the Count of Mortaine retained [Stourton] Candel.

Phillimore's notes (for 56.55) say that the 2 1/2 virgates of the land appear in the Tax Return for Sherborne Hundred xxxiv. With the 4 hides and 1 1/2 virgates of [Purse] Candel held by Athelney Abbey they form a 5 hide unit (Rotuli Hundredorum, vol. i, page 103b) as the holding of PURS CANDEL except for 1/2 hide held in the thirteenth century by John filius Alani for nursing the King's dogs injured in Blackmoor Forest. This 1/2 hide is probably the 2 1/2 virgates of the present entry and the same piece of land found in records quoted by Hutchins (i.e. page 5 in volume 2 of Inquisitions and Assessments relating to Feudal Aids with other analgous Documents preserved in the Public Records Office AD 1284-1431; page 90 of the Book of Fees (Testa de Nevill - see CHAPTER 4); Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, volume iii, (Edward I) no. 111 and vol. iii, (Edward III) no. 241.

From the given Domesday details it has been estimated that the population in the 'Candel' area was an average of only 8 or 9 persons per square mile. Although actual numbers of serfs and slaves are given, only the number of heads of households were enumerated, not the num,ber of persons in each household. Also not recorded for Candel were any numbers of farm animals as elsewhere. One can only assume there were not any at this time, except it being automatically accepted there would be oxen for the ploughs.

What would the area of [Purse] Candel have looked like? According to the Domesday Exhibition Guide of 1986, England was a rich farming land, long settled. Miles of quiet (green)ways wove through the open corn fields and irregular patches of wood, linking the settlements of villages, hamlets, farms and homesteads which nestled in the hollows of hills. Thick hedgerows of maple, dogwood and spindle often formed boundaries; though the Purse Caundle boundary with Henstridge seems to have become marked at some time with a dry-stone wall built from stone quarried locally. Only 15 per cent of England was now tree covered. In medieval times the word 'forest' was used to describe the tracts of land, not necessarily woodland, reserved to the king and his barons for hunting deer for sport and food. Such a place seemingly was within the Blackmoor Vale. Any other tree-covered areas were called woods. Small Saxon churches built of local wood or stone dotted the landscape, serving the scattered communities and farms around, but were to be destroyed by the Normans - probably as proof of conquest - and to build their own.

One of the questions which the Domesday commissioners asked was "quantum silvae?" - how much wood? It has been seen that Candele had some, with measurements given. The proportion was not great in relation to the size of the manor, thus it would seem there had been some clearance carried out - whether mainly for agricultural or royal hunting purposes is not clear. Woods were valued for game and swine pasture. Timber trees were grown, but probably more important were the coppiced and pollarded trees, which were used to supply building poles, hayrakes, brooms, fences, firewood, baskets and shepherds' crooks. Roaming among the coppices, spinneys and groves of Domesday were wild boar and wolves. There were red and roe deer, and many fallow deer introduced by King William into his forests. There were beaver, foxes and hares, and still some wild swine. While the nobility hunted the deer, the ordinary people stuck pigs, trapped hares and shot small birds with slings. Hawking, or falconry, was introduced into England in the ninth century, though people of the different ranks were allowed only to hunt with a kind of falcon particular to their respective rank.

The first known documented village/manor's names were solely of variations of 'Caundle':

Candel in 1086 Domesday, Exon.; 1091-1106 Montacute Cartulary; 1100-1122 Calendar of Charter Rolls; 1203 Two Cartularies of Benedictine Abbeys of Muchelney & Athelney.

Caundel 1241 Dorset Feet of Fines.

It was not until the thirteenth century that a variant of 'Purse' began to be included - see CHAPTER 4.

At some time around the time of Domesday was the Inquisitio Gheldi: a copy being attached with Domesday. The Dorset Geld Rolls for rhe Sherborne Hundred included the following which may relate to [Purse] Candel:

'. . . et de dimidia hida et dimidia virga quas tenet Sawarus de rege et habet eas in dominio non habuit rex gildum.'

'. . . and [the] 1/2 hide and 1/2 virgate which Saward holds of the king, and he has them in demesne, the king did not have geld.'

This geld tax was 6s per hide - presumably that imposed in 1083. Sherborne Hundred consisted of what would become the settlements, etc. of Sherborne, Bradford Abbas, [Purse] Caundle (part), Up Cerne, Compton, Oborne, Plumber, Stock Gaylard, Thornford, Trill. The adjoining Brownshall Hundred consisted of Stourton Caundle, Stalbridge, Stalbridge Weston, [Purse] Caundle (part).

To quote again from Robert Smith of the Manorial Society:

'Historians are also agreed that the Normans institutionalised the Manorial System in Domesday Book . . . The conquerors also introduced the word feudum, from feuum (the Latin form of the Old English feoh, cattle, money, possessions in general); either a landholder's holding or lands held under the terms of a specific grant.'

1087 During the year King William passed severe Forest Laws, including the penalty for killing deer and boar being loss of eyes.

26th September saw the accession of William II (William Rufus) as king on the death of William I. He mintedhis own silver pennies. Heavy taxation continued, to fund warfare in France.

1094 William II stayed at Gillingham, Dorset, possibly at Edward the Confessor's old Royal Hunting Lodge.

1100, following the death of William II (Rufus) in the New Forest whilst hunting, 5th August saw the accession of Henry I as king. Heavy taxation continued, plus c.1107 some silver halfpennies. During his reign Henry I signed two of his Charters at Gillingham.

1135, 22nd December was the accession of Stephen as king, who minted official silver pennies.

1138-1153 This was a period of Civil War of Accession and Anarchy, during which many French came over to England to try and take the throne for France. Warring forces went around the country, with Stephen capturing the castle at Castle Cary, not quite ten miles northwards of [Purse] Candel. He spent Christmas 1139 at Salisbury, and making several forays through Dorset. During this period there were various local and irregular mintings by the usurpers - see illustration.

This is a reproduction copy of a silver penny of Stephen's son Eustace, showing a standing knight with sword.

With peace finally coming in 1154, and confirmation of Stephen as king. a new coinage was introduced with its distinctive bearded effigy of the king.

The threat of famine was always present at this time. Farming was almost entirely done by man's hand. The slow harvesting of crops could be disastrously interrupted by bad weather. Crops included cereals such as wheat, barley and oats, and vegetables such as peas, beans, leeks and onions. But yields were extremely poor compared to modern times. Agricultural technology was still basic. Ploughshares were tipped with iron to turn heavy soil such as that at [Purse] Candel, and ploughs were guided by hand. A large plough was often attached to a wheeled carriage, and on clay soil pulled by as many as eight oxen. Scattering seed by hand was naturally wasteful; and reaping, which relied on scythes and sickles was exceptionally labout intensive. Manure, the main fertilizer, was generally in short supply. The spreading of lime on heavy soils was not yet followed. Pasturing animals on land left fallow for a season could help to increase the soil's productiivity, but peasants' flocks were usually too small to supply enough dung.

The illustration to the left shows cultivation of the ground.

The illustrations below show reaping with sickles on the left, and picking fruit on the right.

1154 King Stephen died 25th October, to be succeeded by Henry II.