Royal Lordship and Ladyship of Lopham

Brief Description:

In the Royal county of Berkshire.
In the Doomsday book 1086. Once called Lopham Magna. Joins to the south part of Kenninghall; what this town’s name signifies, I know not, and which is remarkable, it never altered its spelling from the Conqueror’s time to this day, for in Domesday (fn. 1) we find it the same.

In the Confessor’s time Lopham was two distinct towns and different manors, Lopham-Magna, now North Lopham, belonged to Ofl, (fn. 2) a freeman, his manor having three carucates of land in demean, and the other Lopham, called afterwards LophamParva, and now South Lopham, belonged to Alsius, a freeman, whose manor then contained two carucates in demean.

This Alsius had a manor in Norton, which in the Conqueror’s days he joined to this, making it a berewic to it, after which it came into the Conqueror’s hands, who gave them to Roger Bygot Earl of Norfolk, who joined the two Lophams, and granted off the Norton part to Alured an Englishman; (fn. 3) from this time Lopham hath continued as one manor to this day, though they are two distinct parishes, each having their separate bounds and officers.