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Medieval Society
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The White Tower was
built after the
Conquest by Duke William
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Dover Castle, built to
guard the port at Dover
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Rochester Castle stood guard
at a point on Watling Street
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William Peveril, a vassal of the Conqueror, who had lands in the Peak, at his death, passed his fief to his son William. William became involved in civil war during Stephen's reign and resisted the return to order under Henry II and so his lands and castle were forfeit to the crown and the king kept and maintained them. The feudal lord had to administer his land, exercise justice, collect tolls and taxes, maintain roads and bridges and protect the poor. The lords and their vassals together formed the nobility. The feudal agreement was tied to the land as this was the only means of support or capital at that time, but the fief was more, as it involved a series of rights and duties on behalf of both the vassal and his lord which was sealed with a ceremony of homage in which the vassal took an oath of fealty.
The Conquest
William the Conqueror took control of England after his victory at the Battle of Hastings by putting the feudal system into effect. The beginning of his feudal structure was well illustrated at that point by his immediate plans to strengthen the country and secure it with the building of castles and the distribution of land. In London William made a start with the White Tower and then toured the country, setting his troops to building and fortifying castles. Then the Conqueror distributed the land of the defeated English nobles amongst his supporters, placing those he most trusted in coastal areas which were important for defence against raids, while, one suspects, placing his least trusted in central lands. Odo, the Conqueror’s half brother and Bishop of Bayeux, was entrusted with the Earldom of Kent, an obviously important coastal county which included Rochester castle that guarded a point on Watling Street and the road from Dover to London not to mention Dover castle itself that watched over the port at Dover. William de Warenne, a supporter of William the Conqueror, took part in the invasion of 1066 and, like many, gained rich rewards for his trouble. Warenne was given lands in over a dozen counties including the Rape of Lewes in Sussex which strategically lies on the main route from Normandy to the heart of England. Another trusted supporter, William Peveril, was given charge of the royal manors in the Peak, significant for the mines and hunting country. Peveril was sufficiently important to be given his own land that was formerly owned by two Saxon lords, Gernebern and Hundine, with which he built Peveril Castle.
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