GWENO DE ALSOP 1150-1224

GWENO DE ALSOP 1150-1224

In 1066 Elleshope and Eitun were berwicks to the Manor of Parwick in Derbyshire, which had been a parcel of the ancient demesnes of the crown, granted to William-de-Ferrers, Earl of Derby. In the reign of King John (1199-1216) the Earl granted the town of Elleshope to Gweno de Alsop, son of Gamellus de Alsop, to hold by homage and service of ten shillings per annum and suit to the Wapentake of Wirksworth. Afterwards, Gweno named it Alsop-en-le-Dale. For 500 years the Alsops resided here until 1666-1669.

About the time Richard the Lion-Hearted returned from the Crusades, Gweno was given control of the township of Alsop, which was recorded in the records of the Wapentake of Wirksworth. He established the family holdings in Alsop-en-le-Dale in Derby. He also gained additional property in Lilwell, County York, which Ranulph de Alsop gave to his son Richard. If Robin Hood and his merry men were history rather than legend, the residents of Alsop would have been quite familiar with them; Nottingham being only a few miles to the east. The shires of Derby and Nottingham were under the same sheriff.

In the days of feudalism in England, a fief was an estate granted by a Lord to a person of lower rank in return for a promise of military service. The best fighters received the fiefs and were called vassals. The ceremony by which a knight or other deserving person became a lord's vassal and received an estate was called homage.

Gweno de Alsop became a vassal of William, Earl Ferrers, in 1200, receiving the fief of Alsop-en-le-Dale. He did not own the property, but could keep possession as long as he fulfilled his military duties and other services as required by the Earl. Gweno kept what the land produced, set up a court, passed judgement, and used the several peasant families living there for farm labour, building, construction or repair and road work.