Aust
Encyclopedia
Aust is a small village in South Gloucestershire
, England
, the historical site of the eastern terminal of the Aust Ferry
crossing route over the River Severn
between England and Wales, believed to have been used in Roman times as a continuation of Icknield Street
which led from Eastern England via Cirencester
to Chepstow
, Caerleon
& to St David's
. It is today near the eastern end of the Severn Bridge
, built in 1966 to carry the M4 motorway
(now the M48 motorway
) over the river estuary to Wales. The village has been divided by both the motorway and dual carriageways which now dominate the local landscape. It has a chapel, a church and a public house. Formerly there was a pond near the chapel, since removed to make way for the motorway. There is a large area of farmland on the river bank, which is often flooded due to the high tides of the River. A tunnel runs under the River Severn from Aust to Beachley
carrying electric cables.
Aust lies at .
The civil parish of Aust also includes the villages of Elberton
and Littleton-upon-Severn
. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 518.
. Fossil collectors visit the site after storms and rock falls and many fossil
s have been discovered here.
took the view that the name of Aust is "probably" one of the very few English place-names to be derived from Latin
. Gelling believed that the name almost certainly derives from Augusta, a common place-name in Gaul
. One theory is that the Severn crossing was known to the Romans as Traiectus Augustus from a connection with the Legio II Augusta
, stationed at Glevum
(modern Gloucester
) and from AD 75 at Isca Augusta
(modern Caerleon
), but Gelling thought that the connection with the Legio Augusta was doubtful.
Augusta is the feminine form of the Latin adjective augustus, meaning consecrated, holy, venerable, the epithet conferred by the Roman Senate upon Gaius Octavius Caesar
, the first Roman emperor. The form (Villa-)"Augusta", became a common place-name in Gaul and throughout the Roman Empire.
Ancient places named after the Emperor have in some former imperial countries become very corrupted over the centuries, for example the Roman town in Iberia Caesar Augustus has degraded by today to the modern Spanish Saragossa.
(d.604) (not to be confused with St. Augustine of Hippo
,d.430) held a conference with the British bishops. The meeting is generally thought to have occurred on the site of St. Augustine's Abbey
in Bristol, yet in view of Aust's proximity to that abbey, which is situated 10 miles to the south, it is conceivable that the Archbishop set foot in Aust, perhaps being the place where the British bishops from today's Wales landed, and possibly the village grew from a single church erected on the site commemorating his presence. The site of the meeting is certainly thought to be somewhere near the Severn. "Austin" is a common ancient shortened form of the name Augustine, for example Austin Friars are Augustinian Friar who follow the Rule of St. Augustine of Hippo
. Bede identified the site only as "St. Augustine's Oak". The passage in Bede is as follows:
He failed by argument to get them to adopt the Roman Christian way of dating Easter
and then attempted to persuade them to accept his teaching in this matter by publicly curing a blind local Englishman. They were impressed by his powers and agreed to consult their other bishop colleagues, after which another conference with Augustine would be held, the location of which is not recorded by Bede.
Baker (1901) states however that a certain Dr Forrest Browne has disproved the theory that Aust was the site of the meeting of St Augustine and the British Bishops.
(d.1384) is by tradition said to have been prebend of Aust and to have preached there, yet Baker (1901) was unable to find any record of such an appointment in the diocesan registers at Worcester, which see held Aust for many centuries.
.
of Turstin FitzRolf
who had acted as standard-bearer to William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings
in 1066. The barony is thought to have had its caput
at North Cadbury
in Somerset. Aust was one of only 5 or so of Turstin's holdings in excess of 30 manors which was not held in chief
, that is to say directly from the crown. Aust is thought to have formed part of the see of Worcester's extensive manor of Westbury-on-Trym. The see of Worcester held spiritual jurisdiction over the whole of Gloucestershire not covered by the see of Bath & Wells
until the establishment of the sees of Bristol and Gloucester after the reformation
, both converted from abbeys. The addition to the place name of "-clive" (or "-cleeve") may be related to the use of the word in Bishop's Cleeve
near Tewkesbury
. Turstin also had a holding at Caerleon
across the River Severn, and the two holdings may have been logically related in view of Caerleon's proximity to the western terminal of the Aust Crossing.
(d.1126), a soldier from Maine
, who was close to William Rufus. Wynebald also had a holding at Caerleon, above which, also on the River Usk
, his brother Hamelin de Ballon founded the extensive marcher lordship of Abergavenny
, and built the castle there. Still further up the Usk at Brecon
was the lordship of Bernard de Newmarch(d. circa 1125), and circumstantial evidence suggests that his son from an early marriage became the husband of Mabilia de Ballon, the sole heiress of Wynebald following the early death of his son.
, Dorset. Russell married off the eldest daughter Isabel de Newmarch to his son Ralph, and sold the marriage of Hawise the younger daughter to John Bottrell on whose death Hawise married Nicholas de Moels
. Thus the barony of Newmarch was split into 2 moieties
. The division was mostly performed by the allocation of complete manors to one side or the other, but some were split into 2, and this may be the source for the splitting of the manor of Aust into 2 moieties. The history of the Russell moiety is clearly traceable until at least 1600, but that of the other moiety is less clear.
on the annual payment of one penny. One half fee (moiety) was held by the Russell family, based at Yaverland
manor on the Isle of Wight
from about 1280 to about 1370 when Maurice Russell
(d.1416) was given by his father the former Newmarch Gloucestershire manor of Dyrham
as his marital home. From him it passed through his eldest daughter Margaret by her marriage to Sir Gilbert Denys
of Siston
, Glos., almost adjacent to Dyrham. the Denys family retained Aust until after 1600.
levied in 1347, as 20 shillings per moiety, as held by Roger de Acton, probably of the Acton family of Iron Acton
, and formerly held by Nicholas Cautel. In 1393 a half-fee was held by John Corbet.
, grandson of Sir Gilbert Denys, he held: "a moiety of the manor of Awste, worth 10 marks, held of Silvester, Bishop of Worcester, as of his manor of Henburye, as in right of his church aforesaid, by service of paying to him yearly one single penny". It remained with the Denys family until after 1600, Richard Denys(d.1593) having sold it to his younger brother Thomas Denys, son-in-law of Thomas Bell
the Younger of Gloucester. The Denys/Dennis armourials were visible in the church at Aust in 1684: "3 leopards' faces jessant-de-lys over all a bend engrailled."
A road, now known as the Old Passage, runs near the A403
which follows the bank of the River Severn
. Following on from the Old Passage is a path which leads to ruins of the Aust ferry terminal and a long concrete path leading to a small beach near the bridge. At the beach it is possible to walk to the bottom of the bridge at low tide. The path is used as an access road to the pylon of the Aust Severn Powerline Crossing
which supports cables running over the river.
, a small motorway service station near the bridge, which was reduced in size due to falling business caused by the traffic going over the newer bridge. The old site of the service station is now used as business premises. Motion Media, which became famous during the 2001 Afghanistan War for supplying equipment to transmit TV pictures from the battlefield, was located there until fairly recently. At the service station, there is a footpath that allows people to walk over the bridge.
in 1966 standing outside the Aust Ferry
ticket office. In the murky background is the Severn Bridge. The photo was used to publicise Martin Scorsese
's film about Dylan, "No Direction Home
".
South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire is a unitary district in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, in South West England.-History:The district was created in 1996, when the county of Avon was abolished, by the merger of former area of the districts of Kingswood and Northavon...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the historical site of the eastern terminal of the Aust Ferry
Aust Ferry
Aust Ferry or Beachley Ferry was a ferry service that operated across the River Severn between Aust and Beachley both in Gloucestershire, England. Before the Severn Bridge opened in 1966, it provided a daily service for road traffic crossing between the West Country and South Wales...
crossing route over the River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
between England and Wales, believed to have been used in Roman times as a continuation of Icknield Street
Icknield Street
Icknield Street or Ryknild Street is a Roman road in Britain that runs from the Fosse Way at Bourton on the Water in Gloucestershire to Templeborough in South Yorkshire...
which led from Eastern England via Cirencester
Cirencester
Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...
to Chepstow
Chepstow
Chepstow is a town in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the River Wye, close to its confluence with the River Severn, and close to the western end of the Severn Bridge on the M48 motorway...
, Caerleon
Caerleon
Caerleon is a suburban village and community, situated on the River Usk in the northern outskirts of the city of Newport, South Wales. Caerleon is a site of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman legionary fortress, Isca Augusta, and an Iron Age hill fort...
& to St David's
St David's
St Davids , is a city and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Lying on the River Alun on St David's Peninsula, it is Britain's smallest city in terms of both size and population, the final resting place of Saint David, the country's patron saint, and the de facto ecclesiastical capital of...
. It is today near the eastern end of the Severn Bridge
Severn Bridge
The Severn Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the River Severn between South Gloucestershire, just north of Bristol, England, and Monmouthshire in South Wales, via Beachley, a peninsula between the River Severn and River Wye estuary. It is the original Severn road crossing between England and...
, built in 1966 to carry the M4 motorway
M4 motorway
The M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
(now the M48 motorway
M48 motorway
The M48 is a motorway in Great Britain joining Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire over the original Severn Bridge. The M48 is anomalously numbered, as it is entirely to the west of the M5 motorway and its number should really therefore begin with 5.-Route:...
) over the river estuary to Wales. The village has been divided by both the motorway and dual carriageways which now dominate the local landscape. It has a chapel, a church and a public house. Formerly there was a pond near the chapel, since removed to make way for the motorway. There is a large area of farmland on the river bank, which is often flooded due to the high tides of the River. A tunnel runs under the River Severn from Aust to Beachley
Beachley
Beachley is a village in Gloucestershire, England, near the border with Wales. It is located on a peninsula at the junction between the Rivers Wye and Severn, where the Severn Bridge ends and the smaller secondary bridge for the River Wye begins. The tidal drop here is one of the highest in the UK...
carrying electric cables.
Aust lies at .
Elberton, Gloucestershire
Elberton is a village in South Gloucestershire, England, in the civil parish of Aust. It is just beyond Alveston and Olveston and is on a B-road that leads towards the Severn Bridge. It is mostly a farming community, with a small church St John's, and it contains a popular garage.Elberton was the...
and Littleton-upon-Severn
Littleton-upon-Severn
Littleton-upon-Severn is a village in South Gloucestershire near the mouth of the River Severn and is located to the west of Thornbury.The village has a church, village hall, post box and public phone box as well as a popular 17th Century pub called The White Hart.Littleton Brick Pits are an...
. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 518.
Aust Cliff
The cliff above the beach at Aust is subject to frequent erosionErosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
. Fossil collectors visit the site after storms and rock falls and many fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s have been discovered here.
Theories as to nomenclature
The name of Aust is first recorded in 794 as Austan. There are conflicting theories as to the origin of the name.Possibly named after Emperor Augustus
Margaret GellingMargaret Gelling
Margaret Joy Gelling, OBE was an English toponymist, Fellow of St Hilda's College, Oxford, and member of the Society of Antiquaries of London and the British Academy....
took the view that the name of Aust is "probably" one of the very few English place-names to be derived from Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
. Gelling believed that the name almost certainly derives from Augusta, a common place-name in Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
. One theory is that the Severn crossing was known to the Romans as Traiectus Augustus from a connection with the Legio II Augusta
Legio II Augusta
Legio secunda Augusta , was a Roman legion, levied by Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus in 43 BC, and still operative in Britannia in the 4th century...
, stationed at Glevum
Glevum
Glevum was a Roman fort in Roman Britain that become "colonia" of retired legionaries in AD 97. Today it is known as Gloucester, located in the English county of Gloucestershire...
(modern Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
) and from AD 75 at Isca Augusta
Isca Augusta
Isca Augusta was a Roman legionary fortress and settlement, the remains of which lie beneath parts of the present-day village of Caerleon on the northern outskirts of the city of Newport in South Wales.-Name:...
(modern Caerleon
Caerleon
Caerleon is a suburban village and community, situated on the River Usk in the northern outskirts of the city of Newport, South Wales. Caerleon is a site of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman legionary fortress, Isca Augusta, and an Iron Age hill fort...
), but Gelling thought that the connection with the Legio Augusta was doubtful.
Augusta is the feminine form of the Latin adjective augustus, meaning consecrated, holy, venerable, the epithet conferred by the Roman Senate upon Gaius Octavius Caesar
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
, the first Roman emperor. The form (Villa-)"Augusta", became a common place-name in Gaul and throughout the Roman Empire.
Ancient places named after the Emperor have in some former imperial countries become very corrupted over the centuries, for example the Roman town in Iberia Caesar Augustus has degraded by today to the modern Spanish Saragossa.
Possibly named after St. Augustine of Canterbury
An alternative theory is that Aust is the place where in 603, as the Venerable Bede records, Archbishop St. Augustine of CanterburyAugustine of Canterbury
Augustine of Canterbury was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597...
(d.604) (not to be confused with St. Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
,d.430) held a conference with the British bishops. The meeting is generally thought to have occurred on the site of St. Augustine's Abbey
Bristol Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity is the Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England, and is commonly known as Bristol Cathedral...
in Bristol, yet in view of Aust's proximity to that abbey, which is situated 10 miles to the south, it is conceivable that the Archbishop set foot in Aust, perhaps being the place where the British bishops from today's Wales landed, and possibly the village grew from a single church erected on the site commemorating his presence. The site of the meeting is certainly thought to be somewhere near the Severn. "Austin" is a common ancient shortened form of the name Augustine, for example Austin Friars are Augustinian Friar who follow the Rule of St. Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
. Bede identified the site only as "St. Augustine's Oak". The passage in Bede is as follows:
Meanwhile with the aid of King Ethelbert, Augustine summoned the bishops and teachers to a conference at a place still known to the English as Augustine's Oak, which lies on the border between the HwiccasHwicceThe Hwicce were one of the peoples of Anglo-Saxon England. The exact boundaries of their kingdom are uncertain, though it is likely that they coincided with those of the old Diocese of Worcester, founded in 679–80, the early bishops of which bore the title Episcopus Hwicciorum...
and the West SaxonsWessexThe Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
.
He failed by argument to get them to adopt the Roman Christian way of dating Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
and then attempted to persuade them to accept his teaching in this matter by publicly curing a blind local Englishman. They were impressed by his powers and agreed to consult their other bishop colleagues, after which another conference with Augustine would be held, the location of which is not recorded by Bede.
Baker (1901) states however that a certain Dr Forrest Browne has disproved the theory that Aust was the site of the meeting of St Augustine and the British Bishops.
Association with Wycliffe
The Lollard theologian John WycliffeJohn Wycliffe
John Wycliffe was an English Scholastic philosopher, theologian, lay preacher, translator, reformer and university teacher who was known as an early dissident in the Roman Catholic Church during the 14th century. His followers were known as Lollards, a somewhat rebellious movement, which preached...
(d.1384) is by tradition said to have been prebend of Aust and to have preached there, yet Baker (1901) was unable to find any record of such an appointment in the diocesan registers at Worcester, which see held Aust for many centuries.
Descent of the manor
Historically Aust was a tything and manor in the large parish of HenburyHenbury
Henbury is a suburb of Bristol, England, approximately 5 mi northwest of the city centre. It was formerly a village in Gloucestershire and is now bordered by Westbury-on-Trym to the south; Brentry to the east and the Blaise Castle estate Blaise Hamlet and Lawrence Weston to the west...
.
Turstin FitzRolf
In 1086 Aust was recorded as "Austreclive" and was held from the Bishop of Worcester as part of the extensive feudal baronyEnglish feudal barony
In England, a feudal barony or barony by tenure was a form of Feudal land tenure, namely per baroniam under which the land-holder owed the service of being one of the king's barons. It must be distinguished from a barony, also feudal, but which existed within a county palatine, such as the Barony...
of Turstin FitzRolf
Turstin FitzRolf
Turstin FitzRolf was a Norman magnate, one of the few "Proven Companions of William the Conqueror" who fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. As his name indicates, he was the son of a certain Rolf, synonymous with Rou and Rollo . His first name appears as Tosteins, Thurstan and other variants...
who had acted as standard-bearer to William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...
in 1066. The barony is thought to have had its caput
Caput
The Latin word caput, meaning literally "head" and by metonymy "top", has been borrowed in a variety of English words, including capital, captain, and decapitate...
at North Cadbury
North Cadbury
North Cadbury is a village west of Wincanton in the River Cam in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. It shares its parish with nearby Yarlington and includes the village of Galhampton, which got its name from the settlement of the rent-paying peasants, and the hamlet of...
in Somerset. Aust was one of only 5 or so of Turstin's holdings in excess of 30 manors which was not held in chief
Tenant-in-chief
In medieval and early modern European society the term tenant-in-chief, sometimes vassal-in-chief, denoted the nobles who held their lands as tenants directly from king or territorial prince to whom they did homage, as opposed to holding them from another nobleman or senior member of the clergy....
, that is to say directly from the crown. Aust is thought to have formed part of the see of Worcester's extensive manor of Westbury-on-Trym. The see of Worcester held spiritual jurisdiction over the whole of Gloucestershire not covered by the see of Bath & Wells
Diocese of Bath and Wells
The Diocese of Bath and Wells is a diocese in the Church of England Province of Canterbury in England.The diocese covers the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells is located in the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew in the tiny city of...
until the establishment of the sees of Bristol and Gloucester after the reformation
Reformation
- Movements :* Protestant Reformation, an attempt by Martin Luther to reform the Roman Catholic Church that resulted in a schism, and grew into a wider movement...
, both converted from abbeys. The addition to the place name of "-clive" (or "-cleeve") may be related to the use of the word in Bishop's Cleeve
Bishop's Cleeve
Bishop's Cleeve is an urbanised village in the Borough of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England, near Cheltenham. The village lies at the foot of Cleeve Hill, the highest point in the Cotswolds.- History :...
near Tewkesbury
Tewkesbury
Tewkesbury is a town in Gloucestershire, England. It stands at the confluence of the River Severn and the River Avon, and also minor tributaries the Swilgate and Carrant Brook...
. Turstin also had a holding at Caerleon
Caerleon
Caerleon is a suburban village and community, situated on the River Usk in the northern outskirts of the city of Newport, South Wales. Caerleon is a site of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman legionary fortress, Isca Augusta, and an Iron Age hill fort...
across the River Severn, and the two holdings may have been logically related in view of Caerleon's proximity to the western terminal of the Aust Crossing.
Wynebald de Ballon
Between 1088 and 1092 Turstin appears to have been banished from England, possibly due to support given by him to the claim of Robert Curthose, the eldest son of William I, to the crown over William Rufus. Turstin's barony, almost intact and including Aust, was granted to Wynebald de BallonWynebald de Ballon
Wynebald de Ballon ,, was an early Norman magnate. He was a son of Drogo de Ballon and appeared in England accompanied by his brothers, Hamelin de Ballon, later created 1st Baron of Abergavenny, and Wynoc de Ballon, about whom little is recorded...
(d.1126), a soldier from Maine
Maine (province)
Le Maine is one of the traditional provinces of France . It corresponds to the old county of Maine, with its center, the city of Le Mans.-Location:...
, who was close to William Rufus. Wynebald also had a holding at Caerleon, above which, also on the River Usk
River Usk
The River Usk rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain of mid-Wales, in the easternmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially it flows north into Usk Reservoir, then east by Sennybridge to Brecon before turning southeast to flow by Talybont-on-Usk, Crickhowell and...
, his brother Hamelin de Ballon founded the extensive marcher lordship of Abergavenny
Abergavenny
Abergavenny , meaning Mouth of the River Gavenny, is a market town in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located 15 miles west of Monmouth on the A40 and A465 roads, 6 miles from the English border. Originally the site of a Roman fort, Gobannium, it became a medieval walled town within the Welsh Marches...
, and built the castle there. Still further up the Usk at Brecon
Brecon
Brecon is a long-established market town and community in southern Powys, Mid Wales, with a population of 7,901. It was the county town of the historic county of Brecknockshire; although its role as such was eclipsed with the formation of Powys, it remains an important local centre...
was the lordship of Bernard de Newmarch(d. circa 1125), and circumstantial evidence suggests that his son from an early marriage became the husband of Mabilia de Ballon, the sole heiress of Wynebald following the early death of his son.
Newmarch
The first name of Mabilia's husband is not known, but the couple's son & heir was Henry de Newmarch, generally termed baron of North Cadbury. Henry was succeeded by his eldest son William, succeeded in turn by his brother James de Newmarch who died in 1216.Russell
James left 2 infant daughters co-heiresses, the wardship of whom was awarded by the king to his steward John Russell of Kingston RussellKingston Russell
Kingston Russell is a large mansion house and manor near Long Bredy in Dorset, England, west of Dorchester. The present house dates from the late 17th century but in 1730 was clad in a white Georgian stone facade. The house was restored in 1913, and at the same time the gardens were laid out...
, Dorset. Russell married off the eldest daughter Isabel de Newmarch to his son Ralph, and sold the marriage of Hawise the younger daughter to John Bottrell on whose death Hawise married Nicholas de Moels
Nicholas de Moels
Nicholas de Moels was a medieval Norman administrator in Somerset.He was born about 1195. He married, as her 2nd. husband, Hawise de Newmarch, younger daughter & co-heiress of James de Newmarch feudal baron of North Cadbury, Somerset, in about 1224...
. Thus the barony of Newmarch was split into 2 moieties
Moiety
Moiety may refer to:* Moiety , a part or functional group of a molecule* Moiety , either of two groups into which a society is divided* An Australian Aboriginal kinship group* Native Hawaiian realm ruled by a Mo'i or Ali'i...
. The division was mostly performed by the allocation of complete manors to one side or the other, but some were split into 2, and this may be the source for the splitting of the manor of Aust into 2 moieties. The history of the Russell moiety is clearly traceable until at least 1600, but that of the other moiety is less clear.
Split into moieties
By the 14th.c the manor had been split into 2 half-fees, each held in socageSocage
Socage was one of the feudal duties and hence land tenure forms in the feudal system. A farmer, for example, held the land in exchange for a clearly defined, fixed payment to be made at specified intervals to his feudal lord, who in turn had his own feudal obligations, to the farmer and to the Crown...
on the annual payment of one penny. One half fee (moiety) was held by the Russell family, based at Yaverland
Yaverland
Yaverland is a village on the Isle of Wight, just north of Sandown. It has about 200 houses. About 1/3 of a mile away from the village is the Yaverland Manor and Church. Holotype fossils have been discovered here of Yaverlandia and a pterosaur, Caulkicephalus...
manor on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
from about 1280 to about 1370 when Maurice Russell
Maurice Russell, knight
Sir Maurice Russell of Kingston Russell, Dorset and Dyrham, Glos. was a prominent member of the Gloucestershire gentry, the 3rd son, but eventual heir of Ralph Russell and his wife Alice. He was knighted between June and December 1385 and served twice as Knight of the Shire for Gloucestershire in...
(d.1416) was given by his father the former Newmarch Gloucestershire manor of Dyrham
Dyrham
Dyrham is a village and parish in South Gloucestershire, England.-Location and communications:Dyrham is at lat. 51° 29' north, long. 2° 22' west . It lies at an altitude of 100 metres above sea level. It is near the A46 trunk road, about north of Bath and a little south of the M4 motorway...
as his marital home. From him it passed through his eldest daughter Margaret by her marriage to Sir Gilbert Denys
Gilbert Denys, knight
Sir Gilbert Denys of Siston, Gloucestershire, was a soldier, and later an administrator. He was knighted by Jan 1385, and was twice knight of the shire for Gloucestershire constituency, in 1390 and 1395 and served as High Sheriff of Gloucestershire 1393-4...
of Siston
Siston
Siston is a small village in South Gloucestershire, England east of Bristol Castle, ancient centre of Bristol, recorded historically as Syston, Sistone, Syton, Sytone and Systun etc. The village lies at the confluence of the two sources of the Siston Brook, a tributary of the River Avon...
, Glos., almost adjacent to Dyrham. the Denys family retained Aust until after 1600.
de Acton/Cautel
The other moiety of Aust is recorded in the feudal aidFeudal aid
Feudal aid, or just plain aid is the legal term for one of the financial duties required of a tenant or vassal to his lord. Variations on the feudal aid were collected in England, France, Germany and Italy during the Middle Ages, although the exact circumstances varied.-Origin:The term originated...
levied in 1347, as 20 shillings per moiety, as held by Roger de Acton, probably of the Acton family of Iron Acton
Iron Acton
Iron Acton is a village and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England. The village is about west of Yate and about northeast of the centre of Bristol. The B4058 road used to pass through the village but now by-passes it just to the north....
, and formerly held by Nicholas Cautel. In 1393 a half-fee was held by John Corbet.
Denys
From 1416 the former Russell moiety was held by the Denys family of Siston Court. On the death in 1506 of Sir Walter Denys of Olveston CourtOlveston
Olveston is a small village and larger parish in South Gloucestershire, England. The parish comprises the villages of Olveston and Tockington, and the hamlets of Old Down, Ingst and Awkley. Alveston became a separate parish in 1846...
, grandson of Sir Gilbert Denys, he held: "a moiety of the manor of Awste, worth 10 marks, held of Silvester, Bishop of Worcester, as of his manor of Henburye, as in right of his church aforesaid, by service of paying to him yearly one single penny". It remained with the Denys family until after 1600, Richard Denys(d.1593) having sold it to his younger brother Thomas Denys, son-in-law of Thomas Bell
Thomas Bell (Mayor of Gloucester)
Sir Thomas Bell the Elder was an English cap manufacturer, mayor of Gloucester and MP. He was a manufacturer of caps in Gloucester and one of the city's largest employers and wealthiest citizens and a great benefactor of the city and its people. He is described in contemporaneous documents as a...
the Younger of Gloucester. The Denys/Dennis armourials were visible in the church at Aust in 1684: "3 leopards' faces jessant-de-lys over all a bend engrailled."
1600s
Aust was eventually acquired by Sir Samuel Astry (d.1704), to whom a monument exists in the church. In 1884 Aust became a parish in its own right.Old Passage Road
A403 road
The A403 is a road in the United Kingdom that starts at junction 1 of the M48 at Aust and leads to Avonmouth in Bristol. It is important as a major route for the industries there, allowing easy travel access to Wales and South and East England....
which follows the bank of the River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
. Following on from the Old Passage is a path which leads to ruins of the Aust ferry terminal and a long concrete path leading to a small beach near the bridge. At the beach it is possible to walk to the bottom of the bridge at low tide. The path is used as an access road to the pylon of the Aust Severn Powerline Crossing
Aust Severn Powerline Crossing
Aust Severn Powerline Crossing is the longest powerline span in the United Kingdom with a span width of 1,618 m .The crossing, which spans the River Severn between Aust and Beachley, is part of the National Grid. It was built by J L Eve & Co and is situated south of Severn Bridge. It is...
which supports cables running over the river.
Aust Service Station
Aust is also home to Severn View servicesSevern View services
Facilities:*Costa Coffee - formerly Little Chef *Burger King*WHSmith - there also formerly was a 'Scoop' Convenience Store *BP Facilities:*Costa Coffee - formerly Little Chef (removed 2009)*Burger King*WHSmith - there also formerly was a 'Scoop' Convenience Store (removed 2009)*BP Facilities:*Costa...
, a small motorway service station near the bridge, which was reduced in size due to falling business caused by the traffic going over the newer bridge. The old site of the service station is now used as business premises. Motion Media, which became famous during the 2001 Afghanistan War for supplying equipment to transmit TV pictures from the battlefield, was located there until fairly recently. At the service station, there is a footpath that allows people to walk over the bridge.
Aust Ferry
Bob Dylan was photographedAust Ferry
Aust Ferry or Beachley Ferry was a ferry service that operated across the River Severn between Aust and Beachley both in Gloucestershire, England. Before the Severn Bridge opened in 1966, it provided a daily service for road traffic crossing between the West Country and South Wales...
in 1966 standing outside the Aust Ferry
Aust Ferry
Aust Ferry or Beachley Ferry was a ferry service that operated across the River Severn between Aust and Beachley both in Gloucestershire, England. Before the Severn Bridge opened in 1966, it provided a daily service for road traffic crossing between the West Country and South Wales...
ticket office. In the murky background is the Severn Bridge. The photo was used to publicise Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
's film about Dylan, "No Direction Home
No Direction Home
No Direction Home is a documentary film by Martin Scorsese that traces the life of Bob Dylan, and his impact on 20th century American popular music and culture. The film does not cover Dylan's entire career; it concentrates on the period between Dylan's arrival in New York in January 1961 and his...
".
Sources
- Sanders, I.J. English Baronies, A Study of their Origin and Descent, 1086–1327, Oxford, 1960. p. 68 "North Cadbury"
- Baker, James, "Aust & Wyclif", in: Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeology Society(BGAS), 1901, vol.24, pp. 267–273
External links
See also
- Aust Cliff SSSI