Barholm

Hereward's lands
in Lincolnshire

BARHOLM & Stowe

WITHAM ON THE HILL, Manthorpe, Toft & Lound
RIPPINGALE & Ringstone
ASLACKBY & Laughton

When the Gesta Herwardi framed him as 'Hereward of Bourne', the monks were giving him a convenient nickname, but the taxman knew better.
Domesday Book – the most extraordinary land survey in medieval Europe – tells a different story. Hereward was not a great castle-lord at Bourne, that was all a 19th century Kingsleyian construct. His landholdings indicate he was a middle-ranking thegn who held scattered manors on the limestone ridge and fen-edge of south Kesteven, nearly all leased from the two great abbeys of Peterborough and Crowland. Though there appears to be much more to it than that.

What is Domesday Book? In 1086, twenty years after the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror ordered a gigantic national audit – the greatest land-survey ever attempted in Europe until modern times. Commissioners rode circuit asking three brutal questions:

Who held this land in King Edward’s day (1066)?
Who holds it now (1086)?
How much is it worth?

The answers were written up in two huge volumes known as Great and Little Domesday. Nothing escaped: plough-teams, villagers, woodland, meadow, mills, even beehives. William wanted to know exactly what he had conquered and who owed him what.

Barholm was a settlement in Domesday Book, in the hundred of Ness and the county of Lincolnshire.

It had a recorded population of 17 households in 1086, and is listed under 5 owners in Domesday Book.

Hereward's landholdings at Barholm

Hereward held 2 Manors in Barholm

leased as a tenant from Peterborough Abbey.

Listed under Lincolnshire Folio 21 -

Philimore References 8,35 & 8,36.

The Clamores folio 376v states Hereward did not

hold Asfrith's land on the day that he fled.

1). Land of Peterborough (St Peter), abbey of

Households: 2 villagers. 2 smallholders.
Ploughland: 1 ploughland. 1 men's plough teams.

Owners

Tenant-in-chief in 1086: Peterborough (St Peter), abbey of.
Lord in 1086: Asfrith.
Overlord in 1066: Peterborough (St Peter), abbey of.
Lord in 1066: Hereward ('the Wake'). (F21-Ph.8,35)

2). Land of Peterborough (St Peter), abbey of

Households: 1 villager. 9 freemen. 2 smallholders.
Ploughland: 1 ploughland. 2 men's plough teams.
Annual value to lord: 1 pound in 1086; 1 pound in 1066

Owners

Tenant-in-chief in 1086: Peterborough (St Peter), abbey of.
Lords in 1086: Godfrey; Robert.
Overlord in 1066: Peterborough (St Peter), abbey of.
Lord in 1066: Hereward ('the Wake'). (F21-Ph8,36)

Barholm St Martin of Tours Church - Saxon and Norman origins. (Image courtesy of Bill Dunnakey Geograph.org.uk)

Other landholders in Barholm

3) Land of Gilbert of Ghent (F38-Ph24,29)

Households: 4 freemen.
Ploughland: 0.5 ploughlands. 0.3 men's plough teams.
Annual value to lord: 8 shillings in 1086.

Owners

Tenant-in-chief in 1086: Gilbert of Ghent.
Lord in 1086: Gilbert of Ghent.
Lord in 1066: Ulf (Fenman).

map showing the Ness Wapentake in south Linc's

"The Wapentake says that Hereweard did not have Astfrith's land in Barholm on the day he fled." (Domesday - Kesteven Clamores 376V).

Barholm is in the very south of Lincolnshire, two miles north of the border with Northamptonshire in the district of South Kesteven. It is 6 miles (10 km) south of Bourne.

Saint Martin of Tours Church is a historical medieval church with Anglo Saxon origins (not listed in Domesday) noted for its Norman arches and arcading. A 12th-century font, possibly moved from the now-demolished church at Stowe, is a notable feature. Grade 1 listed, the church is officially recognized as a building of outstanding national and historical importance.

The Old Hall at Barholm: The current 17th C Old Hall is built on the site of a medieval manor house, and some of its features, like the dovecote, are key components of the manorial complex.

Barholm is first recorded as 'Berc(a)ham' in 1086. The name is from Old English beorg + hām or hamm meaning 'homestead or enclosure on a hill'.

Barholm & Stowe are in NESS Wapentake in the Parts of Kesteven of south west Lincolnshire bordering Rutland & Northants.

4) Land of Gilbert of Ghent (F39-Ph24,35)

Ploughland: 0.5 ploughlands.

Owners

Tenant-in-chief in 1086: Gilbert of Ghent.
Lord in 1086: Gilbert of Ghent.
Lord in 1066: Azur.

5) Land of Godfrey of Cambrai (F61-Ph51,4)

Households: 5 freemen.
Ploughland: 1 ploughland. 0.5 lord's plough teams. 0.3 men's plough teams.
Other resources: Meadow 1 acres.
Annual value to lord: 12 shillings in 1086; 1 pound in 1066.

Owners

Tenant-in-chief in 1086: Godfrey of Cambrai.
Lord in 1086: men, two.
Lord in 1066: Eskil

Barholm Dovecoat Historic England archive.jpg

Barholm Old Hall Dovecoat

(image courtesy of Historic England)

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Stowe

Stowe was a settlement in Domesday Book, in the hundred of Ness and the county of Lincolnshire.

It had a recorded population of 24 households in 1086, putting it in the largest 40% of settlements recorded in Domesday, and is listed under 7 owners in Domesday Book

Hereward's Landholdings at Stowe

Hereward held 2 Manors in Stowe,
leased as a tenant under Peterborough Abbey.
Listed under Lincolnshire folio 21 - Philimore References 8,37 & 8,38 [Also listed under Stowe are Hereward's 2 Manors recorded under Barholm (land of each Manor in each vill) not included here.]

1) Land of Peterborough (St Peter), abbey of

Households: 1 villager. 2 freemen.
Ploughland: 0.6 ploughlands. 0.5 men's plough teams.

Owners

Tenant-in-chief in 1086: Peterborough (St Peter), abbey of.
Lord in 1086: Asfrith.
Overlord in 1066: Peterborough (St Peter), abbey of.
Lord in 1066: Hereward ('the Wake'). (F21-Ph8,37)

2) Land of Peterborough (St Peter), abbey of

Households: 1 villager. 2 freemen.
Ploughland: 0.3 ploughlands. 0.5 men's plough teams.
Annual value to lord: 3 shillings in 1086; 3 shillings in 1066.

Owners

Tenant-in-chief in 1086: Peterborough (St Peter), abbey of.
Lord in 1086: Godfrey.
Overlord in 1066: Peterborough (St Peter), abbey of.
Lord in 1066: Hereward ('the Wake'). (F21-Ph8,38)

The hamlet of Stowe was once a bustling settlement noted in the Domesday Book as a seperate parish next to Barholm, but by the early 1800's the village had dwindled to just 1 household.

The name 'Stowe' is of Old English origin, meaning 'place' or 'holy place'. In this context, the hamlet of Stowe near Barholm in Lincolnshire was likely originally named to signify an important or holy site.

St John's Church, listed in Domesday, fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1780.; its Norman font now resides in St Martin's Church Barholm.

In 1931 Stowe amalgamated with Barholm, to become the parish of Barholm and Stowe uniting the two parishes where Hereward once held land.

Domesday Lincolnshire folio 21 ('Lindesig XXI')