The Honour of Eye was a significant medieval feudal landholding in

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

, centred on the town and

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

Eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Established in the aftermath of the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

, it comprised a large group of manors across Suffolk, as well as parts of

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

and

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. The Honour played an important role in the regional governance of medieval Suffolk and Eastern England. The administrative centre, or ''caput'', of the Honour was

Eye Castle Eye Castle is a motte and bailey medieval castle with a prominent Victorian addition in the town of Eye, Suffolk. Built shortly after the Norman conquest of England in 1066, the castle was sacked and largely destroyed in 1265. Sir Edward Kerris ...

, a motte-and-bailey castle that also served as a local stronghold and court centre. At its height, the Honour of Eye consisted of dozens of manors and generated substantial income and influence for its holders. Following the decline of the feudal system the Honour’s significance diminished, and its lands were gradually absorbed into other estates or returned to royal control.

Holders

Initially granted by

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

to William Malet, a Norman baron and sheriff who started the building of Eye Castle. When it was granted the honour comprised around 75,000 acres in Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex, Surrey, Bedfordshire and Nottinghamshire although 80% of it lay in Suffolk. The

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

reported the honour to be worth £600 a year, which made its holder,

Robert Malet Robert Malet (c. 1050 – by 1130) was a Norman- English baron and a close advisor of Henry I. Early life Malet was the son of William Malet, and inherited his father's great honour of Eye in 1071. This made him one of the dozen or so g ...

, one of the twelve richest lay figures in England. The Honour reverted to the Crown after the Malet family's forfeiture, and

Henry I Henry I or Henri I may refer to: :''In chronological order'' * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry ...

gifted it to his nephew

Stephen of Blois Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne ''jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 un ...

who would later become King and grant the honour to his son

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

. The honour reverted to Henry II in 1156 would grant it to his chancellor

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury fr ...

, who in turn lost it in 1164 when as Archbishop of Canterbury he fell out with the Henry. During that period of royal control the building of

Orford Castle Orford Castle is a castle in Orford in the English county of Suffolk, northeast of Ipswich, with views over Orford Ness. It was built between 1165 and 1173 by Henry II of England to consolidate royal power in the region. The well-preserve ...

was commenced. In the fourteenth century, the Honour came as part of the new Duchy of Suffolk to the Ufford family and in 1381 to the

de la Pole family The surname Pole usually derives from "Pool", a person associated with a body of water. The Welsh ''de la Pole''s descended from Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn take their name from the previous association with the place Welshpool. The link between the kni ...

. The Lordship of the Manor of Eye (Sokemere) and Constableship of the Castle is held by the Palmer family of

Haughley Haughley is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. The village is located northwest of the town of Stowmarket, overlooking the River Gipping, Gipping valley, next to the A14 road (England), A14 corridor. Th ...

in Suffolk. The current Lord is Kieron Palmer of Haughley, succeeding his father Kenneth Palmer. The Manor was held by the Malet family in Norman times, Henry Earl of Brabant, the De Ufford, De la Pole, Cornwallis and Kerrison families as well as King Stephen,

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...

and

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous a ...

in previous years. Known as the Honour of Eye, it consisted of 129 manors and had the right to a court of pie poudre at its Whit Monday market fairs and those of Thrandeston and Finningham.''Whites Directory'', 1844, p. 330/331.

References

Sources

* * {{cite journal, title=The King and Eye: A Study in Anglo-Norman Politics, first=C. P. , last=Lewis, journal=The English Historical Review, volume=104, No. 412 , date=July 1989, pp=569-589 History of Suffolk

Eye, Suffolk