Grewelthorpe

Domesday Book

The Domesday Book was commissioned in 1085 by William the Conqueror and the first draft was completed in August 1086. Grewelthorpe is listed as “,Torp”, in a section of the book which lists all of Gospatric’s holdings.

There is evidence that Gospatric’s family still held land in nearby Ilton in c1138.

The family [Staveley] descended in the male line from Dolfin son of Gospatric _son of Archil.

Until recently no proof had been found that Dolfin was a son of Gospatric, as stated in a fifteenth-century genealogy. But a charter is now available recording that Roger de Mowbray enfeoffed Uctred son of Dolfin of the land of Uctred’,s grandfather Gospatric in Ilton (par. Masham), the date being 1138-?1145._

The Domesday book says that Torp consisted of 7 carucates of geld or taxable land. Although there was ploughable land for 3 plough teams Gospatric had one team worked by 3 villans and 2 bordars with one team. The total population of Grewelthorpe at the time was 5 households. At that time the value of the whole holding was 10 shillings having been 20 shillings In the time of King Edward the Confessor.

Villans were the highest peasant class, they had land which passed from farther to son which they worked for themselves and also had to work for the Lord, they paid taxes (geld) via the Lord to the King. Borders were the next peasant class down, they had no hereditable land of their own and relied on payment in kind for the work they did for the Lord and land allocated to them for their own keep.

Unlike Bramley which became a Fountains Abbey grange Grewelthorpe appears to have been allowed to develop as a village by the Abbey. The Chartulary of Fountains Abbey confirms that parcels of land in and around Grewelthorpe were held by various people in the Monastic period. The Knights Templar followed by the Knights of St. John held the South end of the village for a short period.