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NORMAN CHESTER

1066 William I Chester was the last city in England to hold out against the Norman King When the King, after his dreary march from York in mid - winter reached Chester, he was in no pacific mood, His doings at that time are best told a few years later: that whereas in Edward 's time there were 431 inhabited houses, the number had fallen to 226 in the reign of the Conqueror. Domesday significantly adds the reason " the city was greatly wasted . "

The advent of the Norman Earl marked a new era in our local history. Earl is the oldest title in the British peerage. The first Earls appeared in Anglo Saxon times. Soon they were rulers of parts of the country. The office continued in Norman times and each county had its earl, who were entitled to a third part of its revenues

William ruled sternly, but he ruled all alike, by his gifts of land he had bound to him a body of armed followers who could defend him against any attempts of the English to drive him out. Yet he did not mean to let this armed force be used against him. He himself had been a feudal vassal before he became a feudal king. As Duke of Normandy he had been so strong in his own dominions that he could disregard his superior, the King of France, as he liked. He had even met him in battle, and had overthrown him. He had no mind to let his barons be as troublesome to him as he had been to the King of France. So he did three wise things, and, by doing so, set up a different kind of Feudalism from that which later proved such a curse to both France and Germany.

First, he gave his barons much land, but he gave it them in scattered estates, not all together. There were indeed three exceptions he made great earldoms in Durham, Kent, and Chester But the earldom of Durham was given to the Bishop of Durham , who being a churchman could leave no heir to inherit ; the earldom of Kent he placed in the hands of his half-brother Odo of Bayeux who was also a churchman The earldom of Chester alone went to a lay-man, but no doubt William expected that his hands would be kept full enough by the need of guarding the border against the Welsh. These " palatine " earldoms were, however, the ex-ception. The usual rule was to divide the estates widely. For example, Robert of Mortain, one of the greatest of the barons, held seven hundred and ninety-three manors, but they were in twenty different counties. Wherever we find a man with vast estates, we find they are much scattered. Thus, if a baron intended to rebel against the king, he could not collect his forces in one place; and he had always jealous neighbours round him who kept a watch on what he did. This precaution, wise in itself, did not, however, save William from rebellions

The turbulent and unsettled condition of the country around , with Wales in the background and yet very much in the front , had made it a long battlefield of various contending chiefs and petty kings. All this was now to be ended as Englishmen and Norman as well, were to submit to the new rule. The Earldom of Chester is conferred on Georbodus a nobleman of Flanders who however, never took possession of it, he returned to the Continent and died soon after.1070 The Conqueror bestowed upon his half -sister's son, Hugh de Abrincis (or Avranches) surnamed Lupus the Earldom . A strong hand was to grasp the situation, sovereign power to rule absolute was given. Chester became the centre of that rule, and the castle the seat of his power .

We may also observe that the Norman Conquest brought with it a peaceful invasion of the industrial and trading classes of Normandy, who, in matters of skill, were greatly in advance of our native artisans. It was a Norman architect that planed, and Norman masons who built our first Cathedral. So well was the work done that much of it still remains standing. Not only masons, but other craftsmen would be attracted, until a Norman element was to be found in the principal towns; not to large, however, to be absorbed and known in the future as Englishmen. Still, at first, friction would inevitably arise with the Englishmen, and the Seneschal would be appealed to. The office of Seneschal in later times was merged in that of the leave-looker, of whom there were two appointed annually .

(Gloversone, Chester G. W. Shrubsole, F. G. S. Chester Archaeological Society & Historic Society Chester C. C. Library)

Following the Norman Conquest Hugh Lupus decided to transform the Minster into a Benedictine abbey. For this purpose he asked for help from his friend Anselm , the Abbot of Bec in Normandy. So in 1092 Anselm arrived in Chester with some of his own monks; and the abbey , attached to the diocese of Lichfield began. It was constantly endowed by successive Earls and their Barons, it owned a quarter of the town of Chester, besides great possessions in the County elsewhere.When the Earldom of Chester was independent of the Crown, the Earls occupied a predominant position in the county ; but when the Earldom became a royal title, the Earl would ; of course, be seldom there ; and in his absence, the most important position in the County was occupied by the Abbot of St. Werburg's Abbey. This Abbey belonged to the Benedictine Order, an order of world wide fame for learning and ability .

It is one of the first rules of St. Benedict that the monks should exercise liberal hospitality , the poor could always get a meal . As a matter of fact , in the long line of Abbots , there is but one we would call of a good family William de Albo Monasterio (or Whitchurch). The elections were made from the community itself in the best interests of the monastery , the qualities were piety and the ability of administration

The fairs were held at Midsummer, and in the Autumn the feast of St. Michael (Michaelmas fair). The Midsummer Fair started on the feast of St. John the Baptist, and went on for 3 days. Booths were set up on an open space in front of the Abbey , and thatched with reeds supplied by the monks of Stanlow. The letting of these stalls were in the hands of the Abbot and convent. The Fairs stood on ground that was an open area, and here , from the time of the great Hugh Lupus to the glorious advent of the Reformation, (The movement that led to the division of Western Christendom . The authority of the clergy and the sacramental system was weakened in various degrees, and the way opened for religious individualism. ) did the monks of St. Werburgh hold their annual Chester Fair of the feast of the great saint .

These fairs are of great antiquity, being recognised as established fairs by the; Charter of Hugh Lupus c. 1093
This is a remarkable document, though abnormal and almost unique in form,. Its authenticity has been disputed and
more probable that Sanctorium prisca is a confirmation of all the gifts .The charter comprises

(1) a sort of notitia of the foundation and endowment of the house , (a) an exordium which may have been influenced by the Anglo-Saxon and Norman Charters, a reminder of benefactors of the church by the holy fathers of old was worthy of imitation in later ages; (b) a brief narrative of the foundation by Earl Hugh and Countess Ermentrude; (c) their grant of the former possessions of the canons of St. Werburgh, free and quit (of custom), with additions including the tithes of many of their demense manors, and licence to their barons and others to give a limited amount of land and goods to the new Abbey , followed by a witnesses headed by Anselm d ) the grants of the barons, etc. of the earldom ; e ) the earls grant of fishing rights and a fair at Chester .

(2) a statement by the Earl Hugh that these were gifts from he and his son Richard and his wife Ermentrude and his barons and men had given to the Abbey , and that they were given free of all custom

(3) a fuller definition of the abbey immunity

(4) a general confirmation of the proceeding by Hugh and his barons , in the presence of Archbishop Anelm, by the earl 's seal and his and their signa .

(Chartulary of Cheshire Abbey Part 1)

In the late eleventh century the church of St. Peter 's at the Cross on the western end of Eastgate Street was described as de mercato, de foro phrases which suggest that it adjoined the marketplace (Barraclough 1988, 1 Orderic Vitalis, Hist Eccles iv, 136 )


1101 27th July Hugh Lupus dies as a monk at the abbey of St. Werburghs at Chester

1119 Richard the son of Hugh Lupus inherited the Earldom as the male line, it then became extinct the earldom passed to his first cousin Ranulph de Meschines, son of Ralph de Meschines who had married Maud de Abrincis, sister of Hugh Lupus . Ranulph or Ralph de Meschines surnamed Blundevil became the 4th earl of Chester .

Charter of Earl Ranulf I. and his men confirming ( 1121 - 29 )
1st) their own gifts to the abbey, including the eals grant of the manor of Upton by Chester and confirmation of the founders grant of a fair on the day of the translation of St. Werburgh and the day before and after (June 20 - 22), specifying that the abbey jurisdiction over fair cases is to be exercised in its court by the abbot ' s officials and the sheriff of the city from whose farm the fines received by the monks are deducted by the earl's chamberlains; (2nd) the gifts of Earls Hugh and Richard and their men; (3rd) the liberties of the abbey; (4th) the confirmation of previous earls and their men of the exclusive jurisdiction of the court of St. Werburgh in every matter concerning the abbey, to impress which upon posterity he, Ranulf, has appeared and received judgement from the abbots doomsmen in a case in which he was party. (Chartulary of Cheshire Abbey Part 1 )

1125 William Of Malmesbury ( c. 1095 - 1143 ) a monk of that abbey, was of mixed Anglo Norman birth. He spent most of his life as a writer and librarian at Malmesbury, but he also travelled widely through England. He was the first real English historian after Bede ( c 672 - 735 )

Earl Ranulf II . 1129 - 53 Confirmed the grant by his predecessors to the abbey of all rents and issues of a fair from noon on the eve of ( the feast ) St. Werburgh to the night of the day following the feast, in toll, in forfeitures, etc., so that if any case arise, the whole plea shall be tried in the court of St. Werburgh for the privilege that any thief or malefactor coming to the feast should have firm peace while in the fair, unless he committed an offence there .
From Harl MS. 2071 f 18 ( old, 5 ) copied from the original by Randle Holme . (Chartulary of Cheshire Abbey Part 1)
Earl Ranulf II . 1141 - 53
Pledges his peace to all coming to the fair of St. Werburgh. (Chartulary of Cheshire Abbey Part 1)
From Harl MS. 2071 f 19d ( old , 6d ) copied from the original by Randle Holme.