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Eaton Tregoz and Hole in the Wall, Foy
Herefordshire |
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From at least the 13th century Eaton Tregoz seems to have been the principle settlement in
what is now Foy parish. The site of the settlement seems to
have been at the place now known as Hole-in-the-Wall.
Hole-in-the-Wall may be
Turlestane in Domesday which was one hide within the
king's manor of (Much) Marcle. Turlestone is 'hole-stone' and
may have easily become Hole-in-the-Wall. at the time of Edward
the Confessor Turlestane paid 50 lumps of iron (L massas ferri)
and six salmon. This was now in 'the forest', probably the
Forest of Dean.
Somewhere in the area once stood
Eaton Tregoz Castle.
A licence to crenellate (permission to build fortifications)
was granted to William Grandison in 1309.
In 1280 John de Tregoz endowed the chapel of St John the
Baptist at Eaton Tregoz, where in 1325 William de Foy became
priest.
The site of this castle has for long been uncertain but it
was certainly on the left bank of the Wye (English Foy) rather
than on the right bank, the peninsula in the meander of the
Wye where Foy hamlet and Ingestone stand (Welsh Foy). One of
these sites is at Hole-in-the-Wall
(see below), the other is at the Hill of Eaton where it has
also long been suggested there was an Iron Age promontory
fort. |
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Foy, Ingeston,
Hole-in-the-Wall, Eaton Tregoz and Hill of Eaton on Isaac
Taylor's 1754 map of Herefordshire.
The double
outlined rectangle in the centre is Taylor's symbol for a
prehistoric camp. |
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Bryant in 1835
clearly identifies Eaton Tregoes as being at 'The Hole in th'
Wall'. He is equally certain about the castle site - Site of
Castle is marked above 'Chantry'.
'Site of Camp'
is marked in the centre. |
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Foy,
Hole-in-the-Wall and Hill of Eaton on the OS 1880s 1st edition.
The 'Camp' is again shown. |
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A study of
aerial photographs has now shown traces of Bronze Age ring
ditches on the Hill of Eaton site. It was probably these
features which led to the mis-identification of the site both as
a promontory fort and of the castle: the site of Eaton Tregoz
Castle is almost certainly at Court Farm, Hole-in-the-Wall.
It seems
unlikely that Eaton Tregoz was a castle in the conventional
sense. In many cases where licences to crenellate were granted
they were never followed by any actual construction work. Often
buildings which were constructed or fortified following the
granting of a licence were fortified manor houses rather than
true castles, such as
Acton Burnell
in Shropshire, where Robert Burnell, the Bishop of Bath and
Wells, was granted a licence in 1284.
An
Inquisition Post Mortem of 1420 has a description of the manor
house or castle of Eton Tregoz:-
'One
hall, one great chamber, at the end of the hall, and under it a
buttery and pantry; a parlour with a chamber adjoining, a chapel
with a chamber adjoining, a chamber called John ap Harry's
Chamber, a kitchen, a bakehouse, a brewery, a great stable, a
great barn, a chamber over the lower gate, a
chamber over the outer gate, a great oxhouse,
with divers other tiles houses built on the site of the manor
there, which are worth yearly nothing beyond repairs...'
Such a
description may well be that of a fortified manor house. |
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The origins of
Eaton Eaton
means 'River Settlement' and before 1066 Edtune was
held by Earl (later king) Harold Godwinson. At Domesday in
1086 it was a manor of Alfred of Malborough, a member of a
Norman family which had settled in England in the time of
Edward the Confessor.
Alfred's
uncle Osbern Pentecost had built the first castle in Britain
at a place which was to become known as
Ewyas Harold. It was Ewyas Harold which was the caput or main seat of the honour.
In 1086 Edtune had 2½
hides which paid tax and there was one plough in lordship.
There were nine villeins and six bordars with seven ploughs
between them. Its value had decreased from fifty shillings in
1066 to forty shillings.
The second element of the
name Eaton Tregoz
comes from the Tregoz
family, who originated in Troisgots, Manche. William de Tregoz
of Billingford, Norfolk, was born in about 1150 and married
Agnes in about 1268. Their son, Robert I de Tregoz, married
Sybil, daughter of Robert II de Ewyas in about 1197 and thus
acquired Ewyas Harold and its lands at Eaton.
Robert I de Tregoz and Sybil's
son, Robert II de Tregoz,
Lord of Ewyas Harold, was born
in about 1206. Robert II married Juliane de Cantelou in about
1238.
Robert was killed fighting on Simon de Montfort's side at the
Battle of Evesham in August 1265.
Robert II de Tregoz and
Juliane's son John de Tregoz, Lord of Ewyas Harold, was
born in about 1245. John married Mabel Fitz Warin daughter of
Fulk Fitz Warin and Clarice d'Auberville in about 1262,
and the pair produced two daughters, Clarice (born about 1267)
and Sybil
(born 1270). It was John
de Tregoz who was granted an annual fair to be held at the
manor.
Sibyl de Tregoz
married William Lord Grandison, in about 1284.
The Grandisons were a prominent family with extensive estates including Ashperton in
Herefordshire where there was a
castle for which William Grandison received a crenellation
licence in 1292.
John de Tregoz died in
1300 and his estates were divided among his co-heirs, and
Eaton Tregoz passed to William and Sibyl. Their main residence
was at Ashperton Castle and their children appear to have been
born there - Piers in 1286, Otto in 1288, Agnes in 1290, John
in 1292 and Mabel in 1300.
Sybil died in 1334 and William
the following year.
Their third son, John became Bishop of Exeter in 1327 and
remained at that see until his death in 1369. On his death he
held property including the manor of Eaton Tregoz.
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In 1410 the manor
of Eaton Tregoz extended on both sides of the Wye. On the left
bank - in English Foy - it included the townships of Eaton
Tregoz itself, Sneogeasshe (Snogsash), and Hill of Eaton with
two water-mills and a weir, and a deer-park of 144 acres. On
the Welsh side of the river were the townships of Foy, Ingestone and Underhill, with the
Homme (now Carthage). |
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Eaton
Tregoz in 1369
Below is an
Inquisition Post Mortem of 1369 from the National Archives.
The inquisition begins with the date, then names the witnesses
before going on to describe the property held by John
Grandison (de Grandissono) in Eaton Tregoz
the day that he died.
This is one of the
documents translated during our Monday document sessions in
which we gratefully acknowledge the expertise of Sue Hubbard
and Janet Cooper, without whom it could not have been
done. Any mistakes are the result of the transcriber,
not Sue or Janet. |
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image courtesy of the Public Record Office -
C135 209
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1. Inquis capit
apud Rosse in Com Hereford coram Willm Ancel Esc dm Reg in Com
Hereford Gloc et Marche
2. Wall eisdm com adiacent xxvi die
Men Agust anno Regni Regis Edwardii tercii post conqu
quadresino ter regni
3. vero sui francia trecesimo virtute
brev dom Regis huic inquisitio constitu p sacrum Johes
Millyes, Willm de Asshe, Will Marky
4. Henry Smith de
Optom, Stephani Comyn, John Loffynges, Will Priour, Thomas
Dour, Thoma Trygg, Thomas de
5. Ewyas, John Ewyas et John Redhale qm dic p sac suam qd John Grandissono nuper Epius Exon
in brv contentus tenuit
6. de dmo rege in capite in
dominico suo ut de feodo die quo obiit manerum Eton Tregoz in
com Hereford per service militare in quo
7. quidem maerm
est um capitale mesuage quo nichil ultra reprisam Et sunt ibm
duo carucate tre in culte que val p anm xs
8. et sund ibd
xx prati que p anm xxxs precie cuiuslibet p acr xviii d Et est
ibm quedam pastur sepearlis quo val p annm
9. vi viii d Et
ibm unus parc cuis hbage nh val ultra sust ferarum Et est ibm
quid bosc voc Lyndore in quo nullo
10. est pasture nec
gross mereum quod nichil val p annm Et sunt ibm duo mol
aquatica que val per anm vis viiid Et est ibm
11. quedam
piscaria cm gurgita quo val per anm xls Et est ibm de redditu
assise p anm xii li sol terminus st Mich et Ann St
Marie
12. equis percionbus Et ibm una curie tent septima in
tres septias die tribus et tres cuis placita et perquitiones
val per anm xs Et dicut qd pdct John de Grandisson obiit xvi
Julies
13. ultimo praeterito. Et dicunt qd Thomas de Grano
nepos praed John de Grandisson est heres euis
14.
propinquior et etartis trigunta annorum et ampluis. Et dicunt
qd prdt John de Grandissono non
15. tenuit aliqua terr
necque ten in dominico suo ut de feodo nec in [ser ] die quo
obiit in Com Glouc
16. nec in Marchis Wall eodm Com
adiacent de dm Rege in capite nec de alique alio. In
cuius rei tetimonium
17. huic
inquision sigilla jure praedic sua appenserunt. Dat um die
loco et anno supradicto
'Inquistion held at Ross in the County of Hereford
before Willaim Ancell the king’s Escheater in the County of
Hereford and Gloucester and the adjacent county in the Welsh
Marches on the 26th August in the 43 year of Edward
III (1369). By virtue of the king's brief this
inquisition constitutes the oaths of (12 named jurors) who say
under oath that John Grandissono, formerly bishop of Exeter,
held from the king in chief in his lordship, the day that he
died the manor of Eton Tregoz in the county of Hereford by
military service. In this manor there is one capital
messuage which is worth nothing after the reductions.
There are two carucates of land in cultivation worth per annum
10s. There are 20 acres of meadow worth 30s, per acre
18d. There is a separate pasture worth per annum 6s 8d.
There is one park of which the grazing is worth nothing over
the sustenance of the wild animals (deer?). There is a
wood called Lyndore in which there is no pasture or timber,
worth nothing per annum. There are two water mills worth
6s 8d. There is a fishery with a weir which is worth 40s
per annum. And from the assize rent there is £12 per
annum due at St Michael and the Annunciation of St Mary in
equal portions. There is one court held every three
weeks of which the pleas and perquisites are worth 10s per
annum. The jury say that John de Grandissono died on the
16th July last year and that Thomas de Grandisson
his nephew is his nearest heir and he is of age being over 30
years old. The jury say that John de Grandissono didn’t hold
other land in his lordship in Gloucestershire nor in the Welsh
Marches in the adjacent county. To these things the
testimony of this inquisition append their signatures at the
date and place set down above.'
The witnesses include Thomas de Ewyas
and John Ewyas presumably either from Ewyas Harold, the
caput of the honour which included Eaton Tregoz, or from Ewyas
Lacy, the adjacent area which includes Longtown. Another
witness, John Redhale, may have been a member of the Rudhall
family who gave their name to Rudhall in
Brampton Abbotts
parish.
The bosc voc Lyndore -
wood called
Lyndor - still exists as Lyndor Wood on the banks of the Wye
immediately north of Hole-in-the-Wall.
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The Wye with
Lyndor Wood in the background |
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Eaton Tregos
and Lyndor 'Grove' on Henry Garling's 1823 map of the manors
of Yatton, Eaton Tregos and Calborough. |
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Hole-in-the-the-Wall on the same map |
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Old
postcard of the road between Lyndor Wood and the Wye
courtesy of Tim Ward |
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These buildings were part of Court Farm. Court farm is now a
PGL activity holidays centre. |
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The old Anchor
and Can public house at Hole-in-the-Wall |
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The range in
side the Anchor and can
photo Fenny Smith |
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The rental
agreement between Annabella Clive of Perrystone, the
estate owner, and Francis Broden, a labourer, for 'all that
Cottage or tenement with the garden and Orchard thereto
belonging and adjoining situated at Hole in the Wall in the
County of Hereford aforesaid called "The Anchor and Can" from
the second day of February one thousand eight hundred and
ninety four of one year and so on from year to year'.
The rent was £6 per annum payable at 10 shillings (50 new
pence) on the second day of each month.
document courtesy of Ron Shesmith |
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The manor descended to the Abrahall
family who were holding it in the early 15th century. The
Abrahalls came from the township of Abrahall in the south of
Hentland parish. The first member of the family to hold
Ingestone, together with Eaton Tregoz, was John
Abrahall who died in 1442 and was succeeded by his son William
Abrahall. When
William died in 1487, the manor appears to have been
divided between his elder son John, who had Eaton Tregoz and Ingestone, and
his younger son Fulk Abrahall, who had the manor of Abrahall in the parish of
Michaelchurch. The focus of the manor seems to have switched
at some stage from Eaton Tregoz to Ingestone. |
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On the right bank of the Wye, towards the end of the Foy
peninsula in a great loop in the river, is Ingestone. It
was earlier a mansion and township and was for centuries the
home of the senior branch of the Abrahall family. See
Foy page. |
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Eaton Tregoz appears as the villata
de - township of - Eton Tregoys in 1523. In that year the
taxable residents were as follows:- |
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William Bayton
John Bayton
Richard Bayton
Richard Collins
David Hope
Richard Taylor
Thomas Button
Richard Colla |
20 shillings
40 shillings
20 shillings
4 pounds
3 pounds
40 shillings
40 shillings
6 pounds |
John Painter
Christopher Clark
'Robert'
William Young
Robert Furney
Thomas Gore
William Griffith
John Millward |
20 shillings
10 marks
20 shillings
20 shillings
4 pounds
20 shillings
20 shillings
20 shillings |
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These men would have been the heads of
households so there were at least 16 prosperous households in
the township at that time. These assessments were clearly
rounded figures and some people were too poor to appear on them.
Tax assessment from
Herefordshire Taxes in the Reign of Henry VIII edited by M A
Faraday: Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club, Herefordshire, 2005 |
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In the militia assessments of 1663
Eaton Treagos was assessed as follows |
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£ |
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d |
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John Lord
Scudamore
John Abrahall esq
Thomas Abrahall gent
George Abrahall
John Furney
James Collins junior |
7
50
28
33
28
50 |
0
0
0
0
0
0 |
0
0
0
0
0
0 |
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Tenants at rack under
James Scudamore esq |
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Thomas Apperlye gent
James Collins senior
Charles Prosser
Richard Meeke
Walter Powell
John Prosser
Richard Hannis
Richard Cooke |
6
20
13
4
10
7
7
4 |
10
0
0
10
0
0
0
10 |
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0 |
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Militia assessments from
Herefordshire Militia Assessments of 1663 edited for the
Royal Historical Society by M A Faraday |
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