Eswalt, later St. Alban’s Court-revised 18.5.2013

Eswalt was once part of the ancient Manor of Oesewalum also Oesuualun, and Oesewalum, along with adjoining Essewelle (later Essesole, Esole & Easole,  and Fredville) and nearby Solys (Soles).

At the time of the Domesday survey of 1086 Eswalt was part of the holdings of Odo, Bishop of Bayeaux and recorded as: “In Eastry Hundred………….Aethelwold held ESWALT from the Bishop (Odo, Bishop of Bayeaux),  It answers for 3 sulungs. Land for… In lordship 1 plough. 6 villagers with 2 smallholders have 3 ploughs. 2 slaves; a little wood for fencing. Value before 1066 £9; now £15. Young Alnoth held it from King Edward”, (from “History from sources, Domesday Book of Kent”, by Phillimore, published in 1983).

Odo,Bishop of Bayeaux and William I, the Conquerer, were half-brothers, their mother was Herleva of Falaise. Willliam I created Odo Earl of Kent in 1067 as reward for his support during William’s invasion and subsequent conquest of of England. The earldom gave Odo an annual income of £.3,000 from 184 lordships in Kent and numerous manors in 12 other counties making him by far the richest tenant-in-chief in England. However, this was not enough for Odo and he set about increasing his wealth by taking whatever he wanted by force, which before long he was the most hated man in Kent and bought him into direct conflict with Lanfranc, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who also had extensive land-holdings in Kent. In 1076 this confrontation led to Odo’s trial on Pennenden Heath, Kent, for defrauding the Crown and Diocese of Canterbury after which he had to return some of the land holdings he had illegally obtained whilst other assets were re-apportioned. Odo’s greed and ambition led to his downfall in 1082 when William arrested and imprisoned him for seditiously planning a military expedition to Italy, supposedly in pursuit of the Papacy, without the Kings permission. His earldom and remaining estates were confiscated by the Crown and Odo was imprisoned until 1087 when William was persuaded on his deathbed to release him.

After William I died the newly crowned William II, called Rufus,  returned the Earldom of Kent to his uncle and Odo showed his gratitude in 1088 by organizing a rebellion to overthrow William II and replace him with Robert, Duke of Normandy, another son of the Conqueror. When the rebellion failed William II took back the Odo’s newly restored earldom and lands and distributed some of the confiscated estates to various barons.  Odo was allowed to go to Normandy where he took service with Duke Robert, his nephew, and died in 1097 at Palermo in Sicily whilst en route to Palestine with Duke Robert to take part in the First Crusade.

One of the barons favoured by William II was William d’Aubigny (also Albini, known as ‘Pincerna’), Master Butler of the Royal Household, who received Eswalt which remained in the possession of his family until the reign of Henry I  when Hugo d’Aubigny (de Albeneo),  the Earl of Albemarle, gave the Manor of Eswalt (Eswala) to his cousin the Abbot of St. Alban’s Abbey in Hertfordshire to help the Abbey’s finances. The Earl also held the neighbouring Cnoltune (Knolton) estate.

The original grant by charter of Henry I was later reconfirmed by charter of King Stephen. In the 1930’s Dr. Hardman, a well respected East Kent historian, translated  King Stephen’s charter from the original Latin and using various indicators in the charter he dated it to the early 1140′s.
The manor remained in the possession of St. Alban’s Abbey for over four hundred years, around 1270 the Abbey increased its holdings by acquiring part of the neighbouring manor of Essewelle.

Over the centuries the Abbey’s estate had various tenants paying rent and service to the Abbot. In the early 1500’s Thomas Quylter was the tenant and in 1519 he willed his lease to John Hamon, who also had land in the adjoining parishes of Goodnestone and Chillenden.

The Hamons, later Hammond, continued as tenants of the Abbey during the 1530′s when Henry VIII began the Dissolution of the Monasteries. In 1539 the Abbot of St. Alban’s sold “Seynte Albons Courte” to Sir Christopher Hales, Master of the Rolls of King Henry VIII., probably to avoid confiscation without payment, with the Hamons as sitting tenants. On Sir Christopher’s death in 1542 his three daughters sold the estate to Alexander Culpepper, who in turn sold it to his brother, Sir Thomas Culpepper, who sold it to Thomas Hammond, the sitting tenant, in 1555 (1556).