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Granby's importance in 1086 Granby's imposing medieval church is the successor to an Anglo-Saxon building. The Domesday Book entry for Granby is remarkable. The population is twice that of Bingham at the time. There were 28 plough teams and 200 acres of meadow. There was a market, presumably weekly (and this is the only market in the Vale of Belvoir mentioned in the Domesday Book). There were two water mills and a church. We also know the Normans established a rabbit warren there, although it is not mentioned in the Domesday Book. The principal landowner in the late eleventh century was Walter Dayncourt. And he held a total of fifteen manors in parishes surrounding Granby. Domesday Book tells us that in 1066 this estate, held at that time by Heming, extended into Barnstone, Langar, Wiverton, Hickling, Kinoulton and Cropwell Butler. And, unlike the many absentee manorial lords, Dayncourt seemingly lived 'on the job' in Granby. The surname is Norman – d'Aincourt – but interestingly Walter D'Aincourt held land from Edward the Confessor in 1065/6 so he was not a newcomer given land by William I after 1066. Jumping ahead in time, the Dayncourt family founded Thurgaton Priory on the west side of the Trent. And granted the Priory at least three churches in the Vale – at Granby, Owthorpe, Tithby – and two chapels, one at Cropwell Butler and the other St Ethelburga's near Langar. Granby was a big estate, even by the standards of Norman overlords. It was bigger than the royal estate based at Orston (which included land in Scarrington, Staunton, Thoroton, Screveton, Car Colston and Aslockton) and the estates at Bottesford (which held land in Knipton, Redmile and Stathern). A smaller estate was based at Whatton with land in parts of Hawksworth and Aslockton. Large tenth or eleventh century estates had their own law code. The correct term is sokeland. Sokes were never tightly defined and there would have been differences in detail between different sokes. But what they all had in common was that the lord who held the estate (a) had rights of justice over the land and the people who lived there and (b) collected levies (geld) as he saw best when instructed to do so by the king. We simply don't have any documentary evidence for the pre-Conquest estate. The clearest evidence is the place-name which in 1086 is spelt Granebi – the settlement (-by) of a chap called Grani. Both the personal name and the -by ending are Scandinavian. So either a Scandinavian called Granni took over an existing settlement in the late ninth or tenth century or he created a nucleated settlement in a tract of land that hitherto had only dispersed farmsteads. So likely Grani ran his soke according to Scandinavian precedents (think 'Dane law') rather than by the Mercian law code more typical of the Midlands. Place-names tell us something similar happened at Thoroton, Tithby and probably Harby. Thoroton retains the Old English suffix -ton 'settlement; farmstead' but the personal name was originally Thorfrothr (which is as Scandinavian as male names come!). Tithby is named after a Scandinavian chap known as Tidhe (probably pronounced 'Tyde' but maybe closer to 'Tyth' using a phoneme that is halfway between 't' and 'd' no longer used in Modern English). Harby may be from Scandinavian male personal names Hjorth or Herrothr. But the oldest surviving spelling is 'Herdebi' which suggests the Scandinavian personal name had been tricky to pronounce and corrupted to Old English herde 'herd; flock'. I doubt if herde was how the name was coined else it would have been 'Hardwick'. Just possibly Harby was once Hardwick but when a Scandinavian took over it was renamed 'Herdeby', with the Scandinavian ending. I'm not aware of any parallels but place-names do strange things, especially when no one's writing them down. The Vale's scattering of Scandinavian settlements, often of local importance as estate centres, is typical of much of the East Midlands. Key exceptions are the Wreake valley to the immediate south of the Vale (where there is much denser Scandinavian renaming) and Rutland where there is only two Scandinavian place-names (Glaston and Normanton). The Vale's Scandinavian settlers certainly didn't live in isolation from those in the Wreake valley. And there was also a scattering of Scandinavian settlements to the immediate east of the Vale around Barrowby. Indeed Barrowby is another major estate centre with a Scandinavian name, very comparable to Granby in importance and status. More about Barrowby in the Domesday Book. Back to top of this page     Back to home page   This website does not gather or store any visitor information. Copyright Bob Trubshaw 2025 No unauthorised copying or reproduction except if all following conditions apply: a: Copy is complete (including this copyright statement). b: No changes are made. c: No charge is made. www.hoap.co.uk/chronicle

Chronicle entries home page what's new? the geology of the Vale the boundaries and rivers of the Vale long, long ago prehistory in the Vale prehistoric boundaries in the Vale north-south prehistoric routeways Romans roads in the Vale Roman settlements in and near the Vale long ago introduction to Anglo-Saxons place-names of the Vale waterborne transport around the sixth century Orston's early church Anglo-Saxon sculpture in the Vale why Orston lost out to Bingham and Bottesford what the Normans did for the Vale Granby's importance in 1086 Granby's lost castle the Vale's watermills in 1086 Romanesque sculpture in the Vale St Remigius why Bottesford is in Leicestershire the Vale in medieval times medieval gargoyles of the Vale Eastwell's chancel screen St Ethelburga's church other early saints Elston's old chapel Muston and Long Clawson saltways of the Vale the Vale's medieval tile collection the Vale in Tudor times Dissolution in the Vale not that long ago the Vale in the C17th the 'great and the good' of the Vale Bottesford's effigies 'wicked practice and sorcerye' the whales on the Whalley memorial Car Colston's bigoted GP cum JP the Vale's very own regicide Wiverton Hall five rare C17th fonts in the Vale pinfolds and pounds in the Vale dovecotes in the Vale the Vale in the C18th turnpiking the Vale gravestones and C18th trade routes goodbye 'Belvoir Angels' C18th gravestone carvers in the Vale Daffy's Elixir the Marquess of Granby Stilton from the Vale springs and spas of the Vale outstanding organs in the Vale Grantham canal changes in the Vale's agriculture since 1800 Eastwell's recusant priest house and chapel Colston Bassett's ruined church seems like yesterday windmills in the Vale stained glass in the Vale village life in the southern Vale 1850 to 1880 folklore of the Vale Flintham museum lacemaking in the Vale gypsum pits in the Vale brick and tile works in the Vale ironstone quarrying in the Vale ironstone railways ironstone quarries of Leicestershire (YouTube video) The Vale's railway stations Orston's famous architect Mothers Union banners of the Vale redundant telephone exchanges in the Vale WWII airfields and pillboxes in the Vale the Vale in 1944 location shooting at Belvoir Castle Screveton's giants researching and writing local history the Vale as a verb getting started free advice from 2005 asking curious questions (YouTube video) local history groups in and around the Vale Aslockton (Cranmer LHG) Bingham Heritage Trails Association Bottesford Eastwell Harby Harlaxton Hickling Redmile archive Belvoir Villages History and Memories Group Belvoir Angel Society Grantham Canal Society you may also be interested in free PDFs written by Bob Trubshaw Earliest Churches in Nottinghamshire How Anglo-Saxons Found Their Way Anglo-Saxon Leicestershire Conversations in Churchyards Little-known Leicestershire and Rutland Bob Trubshaw's YouTube channel Introduction to medieval carvings Anglo-Saxon and Romanesque carvings How Anglo-Saxons found their way Anglo-Saxon shrines at fords Meetings at triangles Rota's Land and Franni's Land Reading Romanesque fonts Church and manor The significances of square headdresses Early churches and waterborne trade Charnwood slate gravestones and C18th trade routes Ironstone quarries of Leicestershire Roman roads in north-east Leicestershire Salt ways in Leicestershire Why Melton Mowbray needed to called 'middle town' Evolving Anglo-Saxon agriculture Nottinghamshire's earliest churches Ploughs not piety? Economic regeneration in the C7th Were Anglo-Saxon weaving huts women-only places? Barrowby Until Now website Rutland Village by Village website Sepulchral Effigies of Leicestershire and Rutland