Walter I de Claville (

floruit ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

1086) (''alias'' de Clarville and Latinised to ''de Clavilla'') was an Anglo-Norman magnate and one of the 52

Devon Domesday Book tenants-in-chief The Domesday Book of 1086 lists in the following order the tenants-in-chief in Devonshire of King William the Conqueror: * Osbern FitzOsbern (died 1103), Bishop of Exeter *Geoffrey de Montbray (died 1093), Bishop of Coutances * Glastonbury Church, ...

of King

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

. He also held lands in Dorset. His Devonshire estates later formed part of the

feudal barony of Gloucester The feudal barony of Gloucester or Honour of Gloucester was one of the largest of the mediaeval English feudal baronies in 1166, comprising 279 knight's fees, or manors. The constituent landholdings were spread over many counties. The location o ...

Origins

He is believed to have originated at any one of the manors called Claville or Clasville in the

Duchy of Normandy The Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911 Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between King Charles III of West Francia and the Viking leader Rollo. The duchy was named for its inhabitants, the Normans. From 1066 until 1204, as a result of the Norman c ...

, namely: *Claville near Évreux *Claville-Motteville near Yvetot *Clasville near Cany Barville His brother was Gotshelm, also a Devonshire tenant-in-chief, whose estates also later formed part of the

Progeny

It is not known whether he married and left progeny, however Walter II de Claville (supposed by Cleveland to be his grandson) in about 1170 gave many of Walter I's former Domesday Book estates to a

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...

which he established on his estate of Leigh within his manor of

Burlescombe Burlescombe (, ) is a village and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon, England. The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Holcombe Rogus, Culmstock, Uffculme, Halberton and Sampford Peverell. According ...

, later known as Canons' Leigh Priory. Furthermore, several of his estates were held in the 13th century by a certain "William de Claville", as recorded in the Book of Fees (see list below).

Succession

Sir

William Pole William Pole FRS FRSE MICE (22 April 181430 December 1900) was an English engineer, astronomer, musician and an authority on Whist. Life He was born in Birmingham on 22 April 1814, the son of Thomas Pole. Pole was apprenticed as an engineer t ...

(d.1635) gives the descent of the manor of ''Lomen Clavill'', in the parish of

Uplowman Uplowman () is a village and civil parish in Devon, situated about 4 miles north-east of the town of Tiverton. The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Hockworthy, Sampford Peverell, Halberton, Tiverton, and Huntsha ...

, as follows: *Walter I de Claville, Domesday Book tenant *William I de Claville *Sir Walter II de Claville *William II de Claville *Sir Walter III de Claville *Sir William III de Claville *Sir Roger I de Claville, who according to Risdon died ''sans issue'' and was succeeded by his nephew William Clavell. *John I de Claville (brother), heir of Roger I according to Pole. Apparently the John Clavell who according to Risdon was the grandson of William and died in the reign of King Edward III (1327-1377), having been "slain the next day after his marriage, coming from London to these parts, but his wife was conceived with child and brought a son, who had this (Lomen Clavell) and other his father's inheritance". Risdon however gives his son and heir as William. *John II de Claville (son), according to Pole. *John III de Claville *William IV de Claville (son) *William V de Claville (son), died without progeny According to Sir

(d.1635), the male line of the Clavell family was extinguished during the reign of King Richard II (1377-1399). The heir to Lomen Clavell was the Beare family, lords of the nearby manor of

Huntsham Huntsham is a small village and civil parish, formerly a manor and ecclesiastical parish, in the Mid Devon district of Devon, England. The nearest town is Tiverton, about south-west of the village. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the ...

. There was however at some time a dispute over the inheritance between Thomas Beare and Sir Henry Perchey (''alias'' Percehay). The hamlets of Lomen Clavell and Bukinton Clavell still retained the family's name in the 19th century. According to Pole the arms of "Clavill of Burlescombe" were: ''Or, three keys gules'' which are thus

canting arms Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name (or, less often, some attribute or function) in a visual pun or rebus. French heralds used the term (), as they would sound out the name of the armiger. Many armorial all ...

alluding to the Latin ''clavis'', meaning a "key". In Dorsetshire however the family continued longer than the Devonshire branch and according to Hutchins (d.1773) the Dorsetshire historian: "the family of Clavell could boast an antiquity not to be equalled in this county and very rarely in any other", and was carried on in the male line until the latter half of the 17th century.

Landholdings in Devon

The manors or

fees A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead (business), overhead, wages, costs, and Profit (accounting), markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Repu ...

held by Walter I de Claville were recorded as 32 separate entries in the following order in the Domesday Book (with modern-day spellings): {, class="wikitable" , - !Name of

fee A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in cont ...

!!Parish!!

Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...

!! Book of Fees
tenant-in-chief!!Book of Fees
mesne tenant , - , Bywood, , Dunkeswell, , Hemyock, , Honour of Gloucester, , John de Claville (whose tenant was Dunkeswell Abbey) , - ,

Brampford Speke Brampford Speke ( ) is a small village in Devon, to the north of Exeter. The population is 419. It is located on red sandstone cliffs overlooking the river Exe. Its sister village of Upton Pyne lies to its southwest, and Stoke Canon is across th ...

, , Brampford Speke, , Wonford, , Honour of Gloucester, , Agnes de Esford (i.e. de Ayshford, see below) , - , Withycombe Raleigh, , Withycombe Raleigh, ,

East Budleigh East Budleigh is a small village in East Devon, England. The villages of Yettington, Colaton Raleigh, and Otterton lie to the west, north and east of East Budleigh, with the seaside town of Budleigh Salterton about two miles south. Until th ...

, , Honour of Gloucester, , William de Claville , - , West Raddon, ,

Shobrooke Shobrooke is a village, parish and former manor in Devon, England. The village is situated about 1 1/2 miles north-east of Crediton. It is located close to Shobrooke park. The river Shobrooke Lake flows through the village. It had a populatio ...

, , West Budleigh, , unrecorded TiC, , unrecorded , - ,

Washford Pyne Washford Pyne is a village and civil parish in Devon, England. It is 7 miles NE of Morchard Road railway station and 8 N by W of Crediton Crediton is a town and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon in England. It stands on the ...

, , Washford Pyne, , Witheridge, , unknown, , Herbert de Pinu , - , Drayford, , Witheridge, , Witheridge, , Honour of Gloucester, , John le Despencer , - , Sydeham, , Rackenford, , Witheridge, , unknown, , Herbert de Pinu , - , Craze Lowman (Claville Lomene), , Tiverton, , Tiverton, , Honour of Gloucester, , William de Claville , - , Kidwell, ,

, ,

Halberton Halberton is a village and civil parish in Devon, England. The Grand Western Canal runs through the village. The village is situated between the historic market towns of Tiverton and Cullompton. The large parish has an area of about and it i ...

, , Honour of Gloucester, , William de Claville , - , Murley, , Uplowman, , Halberton, , Honour of Gloucester, , John Lancelevee , - , Coombe, , Uplowman, , Halberton, , Honour of Gloucester, , Robert Avenel , - , Boehill, , Sampford Peverell, , Halberton, , Honour of Gloucester, , William de Claville , - , Ayshford, ,

, , Halberton, , Honour of Gloucester, , Agnes de Esford , - , Appledore, , Burlescombe, , Halberton, , Honour of Gloucester, , William de Claville , - , Canonsleigh (''Leige''), , Burlescombe, , Halberton, , Unknown, , (post 1170 Canonsleigh Priory) , - , Leonard, ,

, , Halberton, , Honour of Gloucester, , Dunkeswell Abbey , - , Bere (possibly ''Netherton''), , possibly Farway, , Colyton, , unknown, , unknown , - , Buckland-Tout-Saints(Woodmanstone in Bearscombe), , Buckland-Tout-Saints, , Coleridge, , Honour of Gloucester, , Thomas de Wodemaneston , - , North Pool, , South Pool, , Coleridge, , Honour of Gloucester, , William de Bykelegh , - , Lupridge (Colemore), , North Huish (formerly in Ermington), , Stanborough, , Honour of Gloucester, , William de Bykelegh , - , Leigh (All Hallows Leigh/Leigh All Saints), , Churchstow, , Stanborough, , Honour of Gloucester, , Geoffrey de Insula (de L'Isle) , - , One

virgate The virgate, yardland, or yard of land ( la, virgāta was an English unit of land. Primarily a measure of tax assessment rather than area, the virgate was usually (but not always) reckoned as hide and notionally (but seldom exactly) equa ...

Iddesleigh Iddesleigh is a village and civil parish in the county of Devon, England. The settlement has ancient origins and is listed in the ''Domesday Book''. The village lies on the B3217 road, roughly central in its parish of around , about north of ...

, , Iddesleigh, , Shebbear, , Honour of Gloucester, , unknown , - , Dowland, , Dowland, ,

North Tawton North Tawton is a small town in Devon, England, situated on the river Taw. It is administered by West Devon Council. The population of the electoral ward at the census 2011 was 2,026. History Romans crossed the River Taw at what is now Newl ...

, , Honour of Gloucester, , Henry de Nuny and wife Matilda , - , Loosedon (Lullardeston), ,

Winkleigh Winkleigh is a civil parish and small village in Devon, England. It is part of the local government area of Torridge District Council. The population of the parish at the 2011 census was 1,305, compared to 1,079 in 1901. The population of the el ...

, , North Tawton, , Honour of Gloucester, , Roger Cole , - , One virgate in Dowland, , North Tawton, , North Tawton, , unknown, , unknown , - ,

Instow Instow is a village in north Devon, England. It is on the estuary where the rivers Taw and Torridge meet, between the villages of Westleigh and Yelland and on the opposite bank to Appledore. There is an electoral ward with the same name. Th ...

(DB:''Lohannestov'' (i.e.Johannes Stow, "John's Church"), , Instow, , Fremington, , Honour of Gloucester, , John de Sancto Johanne (de St John) , - , ''Chetelescote'' (possibly "Gillscott"), , possibly Coldridge, , possibly North Tawton, , unknown, , unknown , - , ''Nimet'' (Wolvys Nymet/Wolfin), ,

Down St Mary Down St Mary is a small village and civil parish off the A377 in Mid Devon in the English county of Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most po ...

, , North Tawton, , Honour of Gloucester, , Walter le Lou (''le loup'', "wolf") , - ,

, ,

Morchard Bishop Morchard Bishop is a village and civil parish in Mid Devon in the English county of Devon. It has a population of 975, and contains a primary school, two churches, and a playing field with tennis court. Notable past residents include Ernest Be ...

, , Crediton, , unknown, , unknown , - ,

, , Burlescombe, , Bampton, , unknown, , given c.1170 to Canonsleigh Priory by Walter II Claville , - , ''Ciclet'', , unknown, , possibly Bampton, , unknown, , unknown , - , Virworthy (held jointly with brother Gotshelm), ,

Pancrasweek Pancrasweek is a civil parish and hamlet in the far west of Devon, England forming part of the local government district of Torridge and lying about three miles north west of the town of Holsworthy.Ordnance Survey mapping It is bordered clockwi ...

, ,

Black Torrington Black Torrington is a village and civil parish in mid Devon, England, situated between the towns of Holsworthy and Hatherleigh. It is located on and named after the River Torridge. Within the village is a small but well maintained 15th-centu ...

, , unknown, , unknown , -

Landholdings in Dorset

In Dorset he held five manors including East Morden, since known as Morden-Maltravers. According to Hutchins four of the manors held by Walter de Claville in Domesday "seem to have passed at a very early period to a younger son—perhaps before the time of Henry II. Robert de Clavile held a fee in 'Porbica' in the time of Henry I., of which two hides were given to the Abbot of Tewkesbury, probably about 1106, soon after the Monastery of Cranborne became a priory dependent upon the former house. The gift was conferred by charter of King Henry I. In 12 Hen. II., (i.e. 1166

Cartae Baronum In the kingdom of England, a feudal barony or barony by tenure was the highest degree of feudal land tenure, namely ''per baroniam'' (Latin for "by barony"), under which the land-holder owed the service of being one of the king's barons. The du ...

) Radulphus de Clavill held one fee in Dorset of Alured de Lincoln, of the "new feoffment", and Robert de Clavile held another of Gerbert de Perci, of the "old feoffment".

Tewkesbury Abbey The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin, Tewkesbury–commonly known as Tewkesbury Abbey–is located in the English county of Gloucestershire. A former Benedictine monastery, it is now a parish church. Considered one of the finest examples of No ...

was founded by the

Earl of Gloucester The title of Earl of Gloucester was created several times in the Peerage of England. A fictional earl is also a character in William Shakespeare's play ''King Lear.'' Earls of Gloucester, 1st Creation (1121) *Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (1100� ...

and thus is a link to the Honour of Gloucester to which Walter I's Devonshire holdings passed. The arms of the Clavell family of Dorset were: ''Argent, on a chevron sable three chapeaux or.''Cleveland

References

Sources

*Thorn, Caroline & Frank, (eds.) ''Domesday Book'', (Morris, John, gen. ed.) Vol. 9, Devon, Parts 1 & 2, Phillimore Press, Chichester, 1985, part 2 (notes), chapter 24 *Cleveland, Duchess of (Catherine Powlett), ''The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages'', 3 vols., London, 1889
Vol. III, "Clarvaile"
* Hutchins, John (d. 1773), ''History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset'', 1774 Devon Domesday Book tenants-in-chief