Of all the influences that have endured following William’s victory, such as on our language and indeed who has been head of state ever since, the impact of the reforms of land ownership he introduced, and the accompanying form of aristocracy that underpinned it, has arguably had the most important impact on how we work, or indeed don’t.
After his victory in 1066, William effectively seized all the land in the country, giving himself the right of ownership of last resort. He gave control of about 50% of the country to fewer than 200 barons, replacing about 4000 ‘thegns’ under the Anglo-Saxon regime it replaced. These barons who found themselves on the right side of history by supporting William in return provided military personnel under the feudal system and payment of taxes. The church held over a quarter of the land and the King kept about 17% for himself, much of it as private estates for hunting.
This is the first in a series of articles marking the opening of the Bayeux tapestry exhibition in the British Museum – all reflecting in some way on the Norman victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, and the extraordinary impact on Anglo-Saxon culture, language and social structure in subsequent centuries.
Sussex Bylines is inviting people to walk sections of the route – or as close to it as we can get – that the Norman army took after their victory, from Hastings to Dover, and then to write about the experience. Send us your accounts of the countryside and the villages you walked through: the castles and historic churches along the way that still bear traces of Norman influence, or your imaginings of what it must have been like for the soldiers of William’s army or the local population to experience such an extraordinary event. Contact editor@sussexbylines.co.uk for more details of how you can take part.
The system of inheritance is what keeps estates large
Another key change introduced by William was inheritance of land and titles by (male) primogeniture, namely that all land was inherited intact by the eldest son. This kept estates large, contributing to what we think of as a quintessentially English landscape, especially those parts of it modelled by the landowners to create a manicured view, after driving the original inhabitants off the land. By contrast, in much of Europe the Napoleonic code of inheritance, in which land is divided among all surviving children, often leads to a more fractured landscape, so that, for example, much of the south of Italy now looks not unlike never-ending allotments.
One of the 180 knights who accompanied William in the invasion was Roger Bigod who became Earl of Norfolk. His grandson became the 1st Earl of Arundel and Earl of Sussex, with subsequent generations being granted the title of Duke of Norfolk, the current holder being the 18th Duke. The Dukes of Norfolk have held land for centuries around Arundel – including Arundel Castle itself – but also in Norfolk and across the north of England. The current Duke’s net worth is estimated to be in excess of £100 million.
Other current beneficiaries descended from William’s band of brothers include the Duke of Northumberland (estimated land holdings of over 100,000 acres, including Alnwick Castle) and the Duke of Westminster, whose land holdings include enough of the West End for his net worth to be around £9 billion. The current Duke’s father, when asked to give advice to young entrepreneurs on how to succeed in modern Britain is said to have recommended ‘Make sure they have an ancestor who was a very close friend of William the Conqueror’.
Ownership of at least 15% of the land in England is still unknown
To determine who was responsible for what land, and therefore for taxes and any other commitments to the crown that were due, William commissioned The Domesday Book of 1086. What is astonishing is that despite various attempts to repeat the exercise of documenting who owns what since 1086, there has never been as complete a record as there was then, despite repeated attempts by the Victorians, Lloyd George and the government in the Second World War. Not surprisingly the major landowners who had reason to fear another tax raid on their assets were able to hinder these attempts, aided by being in control of the upper chamber of Parliament. It is depressing that each of these exercises were described as ‘The Second Domesday Book’ by commentators of their day, indicating that none succeeded.
Even the modern Land Registry fails to reveal who owns what. Set up in 1862, it only became mandatory to register purchases of land in 1925. With many estates staying in the same families for centuries, there is still approximately 15% of land that has never been registered. Even for land that is registered, it can be difficult to identify who owns it. Not only is there a fee for each ‘search’, much is now held in trust or by companies registered overseas.
Researchers and campaigners trying to delve into the ownership of the missing 10-17% have had to look at pieced-together records of schemes such as, pre-Brexit, the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy recording grants.
One such campaigner is Guy Shrubsole, author of ‘Who Owns England’, the dust jacket of which, alongside plaudits from George Monbiot and Chris Packham, playfully includes a review from Owen Paterson, (the disgraced former Tory Environment Secretary) who declared it was ‘A catastrophising Left-wing polemic imbued with parodic student-union chippiness’.
And what about the South Downs?
Shrubsole also writes a blog of the same name on which there are links to tools to see to whom payments have been made. The blog includes a page ‘Who Owns the South Downs’ which uses this data to show the largest landowners within the National Park. This shows just 12 landowners are in control of 100,000 acres, nearly a quarter of the total area.
The largest owner, just, is Brighton and Hove Council who had the foresight in the early twentieth century to buy much of the Downs around the town, the intention being to protect the water supply and to be able to also control development. While, not surprisingly, The National Trust also holds a significant amount of South Downs land, places 2,3, 5 and 8 in the league table are members of the aristocracy, with the second largest being our old friend the Duke of Norfolk.
Other ‘top 10’ Sussex estates include Goodwood, Firle and Glynde. Clearly, while they may add to the picture postcard loveliness of Sussex, the inequality of land ownership, wealth and influence introduced by William is alive and well in our own backyard.
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