Robert D'Oyly (Oxford)
Encyclopedia
Robert D'Oyly was a Norman
nobleman who accompanied William the Conqueror
on the Norman Conquest
, his invasion of England. He died in 1091.
. D'Oyly is a Norman French name, from the place name Ouilly
of the Calvados
département in Normandy
. He married Ealdgyth, the daughter of Wigod
, the Saxon
lord of Wallingford. After Wigod's death, William appointed Robert the lord of Wallingford, and ordered him to fortify Wallingford Castle
between 1067 and 1071. It is believed he may have become the third High Sheriff of Berkshire
around this time. He was made Baron Hocknorton.
D'Oyly was a sworn brother-in-arms of Roger d'Ivry
. The Domesday Book
records that by 1086 D'Oyly and d'Ivry held a number of manors either partitioned between the two of them or administered in common.
His brother Nigel's son was Robert Doyley
, the founder of Osney
Priory, Oxford
. He was also an ancestor of Henry D'Oyly, one of the major feudal barons of the Magna Carta
.
"He was so powerful a man in his time, that no one durst oppose him", says one account. At Abingdon
he was remembered as "a despoiler of churches and the poor until his miraculous conversion [to Christianity
]". The latter was during the economic decline that Oxford experienced between 1066 and 1086 however it is noted that Robert's own properties suffered as much waste in this period.
was built under Robert's orders in 1071, and the collegiate church of St George's within the castle was founded by Robert in 1074. The church of St Peter-in-the-East
was first mentioned in 1086 as a possession of Robert's although it is possible that he merely acquired it, along with St Mary Magdalen's Church, north of the former gate of Oxford's medieval wall.
The monks of Abingdon
credited him with the construction of a series of stone bridges at Grandpont
, which form a causeway over the River Thames
. This now forms the major route between the city centre and the south, and the crossing point is near St Aldate's
. It is possible however that he merely fortified an older crossing point. Eights Reach, which now forms part of Shire Lake Stream in Christ Church Meadow
is also attributed to Robert.
. The village was valued at £6, and its land consisted of 5¾ hides
. With Oakley’s clay soil the total cultivated land would have been around 550 acres (222.6 ha). Robert, also, held a tenure (or burgage
) in Buckingham
held by a man of Azor
, the son of Tote, who paid sixteen pence annually and to the King, five pence.
The Manor of Iver
became part of the possessions of Robert D'Oyley, who held Eureham (as Iver was called in the Domesday Book
), for seventeen hides. The land was sufficient for thirty ploughs. It was estimated at £22, it had been exchanged for Padbury
, with Robert Clarenbold of the Marsh. The daughter of Robert D'Oyley married Miles Crispin
, to whom the Manor of Iver descended.
D'Oyly also owned a considerable amount of land in Oxfordshire
and in Oxford itself recorded in the Domesday Book
of 1086:
Courit, lord of Burgavennu, but leaving no issue, was succeeded by Nigel D'Oyly, her uncle, who was constable to
William Rufus and Baron of Hocknorton.
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
nobleman who accompanied William the Conqueror
William I of England
William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
on the Norman Conquest
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
, his invasion of England. He died in 1091.
Background
Robert was the son of Walter D'Oyly and elder brother to Nigel D'OylyNigel D'Oyly
Nigel D'Oyly was an 11th-12th century nobleman of England and, in 1120, the Lord of Oxford Castle, and briefly the Lord of Wallingford Castle.-Biography:...
. D'Oyly is a Norman French name, from the place name Ouilly
Ouilly-le-Vicomte
-External links:*...
of the Calvados
Calvados
The French department of Calvados is part of the region of Basse-Normandie in Normandy. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the English Channel coast...
département in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
. He married Ealdgyth, the daughter of Wigod
Wigod
Wigod was the eleventh century Saxon thegn or lord of the English town of Wallingford, and a kinsman of Edward the Confessor....
, the Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
lord of Wallingford. After Wigod's death, William appointed Robert the lord of Wallingford, and ordered him to fortify Wallingford Castle
Wallingford Castle
Wallingford Castle was a major medieval castle situated in Wallingford in the English county of Oxfordshire , adjacent to the River Thames...
between 1067 and 1071. It is believed he may have become the third High Sheriff of Berkshire
High Sheriff of Berkshire
The High Sheriff of Berkshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'....
around this time. He was made Baron Hocknorton.
D'Oyly was a sworn brother-in-arms of Roger d'Ivry
Roger d'Ivry
Roger d'Ivry or d'Ivri was an 11th century nobleman from Ivry-la-Bataille in Normandy. He took part in William of Normandy's conquest of England in 1066 and founded the Abbey of Notre-Dame-d'Ivry in 1071...
. The Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
records that by 1086 D'Oyly and d'Ivry held a number of manors either partitioned between the two of them or administered in common.
His brother Nigel's son was Robert Doyley
Robert D'Oyly (Osney)
Robert D'Oyly was a 12th century English nobleman, son of Nigel D'Oyly, and nephew of Robert D'Oyly, founder of Oxford Castle.Robert married Edith Forne, daughter of Lord Greystock, who had been King Henry I of England's concubine, in 1120...
, the founder of Osney
Osney
Osney, Osney Island, or Osney Town is a riverside community in the west of the city of Oxford, England. It is located off the Botley Road, just west of the city's main railway station, on an island surrounded by the River Thames, known in Oxford as the Isis. Osney is part of the city council ward...
Priory, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
. He was also an ancestor of Henry D'Oyly, one of the major feudal barons of the Magna Carta
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
.
"He was so powerful a man in his time, that no one durst oppose him", says one account. At Abingdon
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Abingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with...
he was remembered as "a despoiler of churches and the poor until his miraculous conversion [to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
]". The latter was during the economic decline that Oxford experienced between 1066 and 1086 however it is noted that Robert's own properties suffered as much waste in this period.
Legacy
Robert was appointed High Sheriff of Oxfordshire and ordered the construction of many parts of Oxford, some of which still survive today. Oxford CastleOxford Castle
Oxford Castle is a large, partly ruined Norman medieval castle situated on the west edge of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England. The original moated, wooden motte and bailey castle was replaced with stone in the 11th century and played an important role in the conflict of the Anarchy...
was built under Robert's orders in 1071, and the collegiate church of St George's within the castle was founded by Robert in 1074. The church of St Peter-in-the-East
St Peter-in-the-East
St Peter-in-the-East is a 12th century church on Queen's Lane, north of the High Street in central Oxford, England. It forms part of St Edmund Hall, one of the Oxford University colleges. It is now deconsecrated and houses the college library for graduates and undergraduates...
was first mentioned in 1086 as a possession of Robert's although it is possible that he merely acquired it, along with St Mary Magdalen's Church, north of the former gate of Oxford's medieval wall.
The monks of Abingdon
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Abingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with...
credited him with the construction of a series of stone bridges at Grandpont
Grandpont, Oxford
Grandpont is a mainly residential area in south Oxford. It is west of Abingdon Road, and consists mainly of narrow streets that run at right-angles to the main road, with terraced late-Victorian and Edwardian houses....
, which form a causeway over the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
. This now forms the major route between the city centre and the south, and the crossing point is near St Aldate's
St Aldate's, Oxford
St Aldate's is a street in central Oxford, England. It is named after Saint Aldate of whom little is known, although it has also been suggested that the name is a corruption of 'old gate', referring to the south gate in the former city walls. St Aldate's Church is on the west side of the street, in...
. It is possible however that he merely fortified an older crossing point. Eights Reach, which now forms part of Shire Lake Stream in Christ Church Meadow
Christ Church Meadow, Oxford
Christ Church Meadow is a famous flood-meadow, and popular walking and picnic spot in Oxford, England.Roughly triangular in shape it is bounded by the River Thames , the River Cherwell, and Christ Church. It provides access to many of the college boat houses which are on an island at the confluence...
is also attributed to Robert.
Possessions
Robert owned land in Oakley, BuckinghamshireOakley, Buckinghamshire
Oakley is a village and civil parish in Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England of about 400 households with a population of 1,059 people and an area of...
. The village was valued at £6, and its land consisted of 5¾ hides
Hide (unit)
The hide was originally an amount of land sufficient to support a household, but later in Anglo-Saxon England became a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax. The geld would be collected at a stated rate per hide...
. With Oakley’s clay soil the total cultivated land would have been around 550 acres (222.6 ha). Robert, also, held a tenure (or burgage
Burgage
Burgage is a medieval land term used in England and Scotland, well established by the 13th century. A burgage was a town rental property , owned by a king or lord. The property usually, and distinctly, consisted of a house on a long and narrow plot of land, with the narrow end facing the street...
) in Buckingham
Buckingham
Buckingham is a town situated in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire. The town has a population of 11,572 ,...
held by a man of Azor
Azor
Azor is a small town in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, on the old Jaffa-Jerusalem road southeast of Tel Aviv. Established in 1948, Azor was granted local council status in 1951. It was named for the ancient city of Azur , preserved in the name of the Arab village of Yazur...
, the son of Tote, who paid sixteen pence annually and to the King, five pence.
The Manor of Iver
Iver
Iver is in the south-east corner of the English county of Buckinghamshire and it forms one of the largest civil parishes in the South Bucks district.Iver railway station is in Richings Park.-Etymology:...
became part of the possessions of Robert D'Oyley, who held Eureham (as Iver was called in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
), for seventeen hides. The land was sufficient for thirty ploughs. It was estimated at £22, it had been exchanged for Padbury
Padbury
Padbury is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located on the A413 main road that links Buckingham with Winslow....
, with Robert Clarenbold of the Marsh. The daughter of Robert D'Oyley married Miles Crispin
Miles Crispin
Miles Crispin , also known as Miles or Milo of Wallingford, was a wealthy Norman landowner, particularly associated with Wallingford Castle in Berkshire...
, to whom the Manor of Iver descended.
D'Oyly also owned a considerable amount of land in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
and in Oxford itself recorded in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086:
- Oxford CastleOxford CastleOxford Castle is a large, partly ruined Norman medieval castle situated on the west edge of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England. The original moated, wooden motte and bailey castle was replaced with stone in the 11th century and played an important role in the conflict of the Anarchy...
, and the collegiate church of St George's within the castle, that was later acquired by Osney Abbey. - The Castle Mill in Oxford. This belonged to Ælfgar of MerciaÆlfgar, Earl of MerciaÆlfgar was son of Leofric, Earl of Mercia,by his well-known wife Godgifu . He succeeded to his father's title and responsibilities on the latter's death in 1057....
before the Conquest and was escheatEscheatEscheat is a common law doctrine which transfers the property of a person who dies without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in limbo without recognised ownership...
ed to the CrownThe CrownThe Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
in 1163 following the death of Henry D'Oyly. - The church of St Peter in the East in Oxford, that now forms part of St Edmund Hall.
- The church of St Mary Magdalen.
- 42 dwellings both within and without the city wall of Oxford.
- The settlements of WatlingtonWatlington, OxfordshireWatlington is a market town and civil parish about south of Thame in Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlets of Christmas Common and Greenfield, both of which are in the Chiltern Hills. The M40 motorway is from Watlington.-History:...
, GoringGoring-On-ThamesGoring-on-Thames is a large village and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, about south of Wallingford.-Geography:...
, BicesterBicesterBicester is a town and civil parish in the Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in England.This historic market centre is one of the fastest growing towns in Oxfordshire Development has been favoured by its proximity to junction 9 of the M40 motorway linking it to London, Birmingham and...
, KidlingtonKidlingtonKidlington is a large village and civil parish between the River Cherwell and the Oxford Canal, north of Oxford and southwest of Bicester.-History:...
, Water EatonWater Eaton, OxfordshireWater Eaton is a hamlet in the civil parish of Gosford and Water Eaton, between Oxford and Kidlington in Oxfordshire.-History:The toponym Eaton is Anglo-Saxon, and "Water Eaton" means "farm by a river", referring to the manor's site beside the River Cherwell. Water Eaton manor house was built for...
and three manorsManorialismManorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
in Hook NortonHook NortonHook Norton is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold Hills in Oxfordshire, England. It is northeast of Chipping Norton.-Toponym and early history:...
. - Land and dwellings in a further 22 Oxfordshire villages.
Family
With his wife Ealdgyth he had a daughter and heiress Maud who first married Miles Crispin, and afterwards Brian Fitz-Courit, lord of Burgavennu, but leaving no issue, was succeeded by Nigel D'Oyly, her uncle, who was constable to
William Rufus and Baron of Hocknorton.