William FitzOsbern
William FitzOsbern along with Bishop Odo of Bayeux (Earl of Kent) were the most powerful Earls after the Conquest.
William FitzOsbern is one of the confirmed Companions of William the Conqueror that came over with the Conquest and is reported in William of Poitiers list of the Companions.
FitzOsbern and Odo pretty much ran England after Conquest as the Conqueror was busy back in Normandy taking care with unfinished business on the other side of the Channel. The Conqueror was still Duke of Normandy and therefore had to exhibit his power in his home country.
Odo fell foul of the Conqueror's trust when in 1076 when he was found guilty of defrauding the crown and had his land forfeited but he was not executed. In 1086 Odo was arrested again and his titles forfeited for planning a military campaign to Rome. This left FitzOsbern the most powerful person in England.
The Domesday Survey
The Survey of 1086 was commissioned, probably by Ranulf Flambard.
Wikipedia
William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford, Lord of Breteuil (c. 1011 – 22 February 1071), was a relative and close counsellor of William the Conqueror and one of the great magnates of early Norman England. FitzOsbern was created Earl of Hereford in 1067,[a] one of the first peerage titles in the English peerage. He is one of the very few proven companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. His chief residence was Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight, one of many castles he built in England.
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After William became King of England, FitzOsbern was made an earl, with major land holdings in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, and the Isle of Wight, and smaller areas under his authority in Berkshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, and Worcestershire.[1]
In the summer of 1067 King William returned to Normandy and left his half-brother Bishop Odo of Bayeux and FitzOsbern in charge of England during his absence.[1] The king was back in England in 1068 and FitzOsbern accompanied him in the subjugation of south-west England. He attended the King's Whitsun court in May 1068, and then visited Normandy, where he fell ill for some months.
Isle of Wight - according to Wikipedia
Norman Conquest to 18th century
Carisbrooke Castle
The Norman Conquest of 1066 created the position of Lord of the Isle of Wight; the island was given by William the Conqueror to his kinsman William FitzOsbern. Carisbrooke Priory and the fort of Carisbrooke Castle were then founded. Allegiance was sworn to FitzOsbern rather than the king; the Lordship was subsequently granted to the de Redvers family by Henry I after his succession in 1100.
A silver penny of Edward I, minted 1300-05, found on the island in 2011[47]
For nearly 200 years the island was a semi-independent feudal fiefdom, with the de Redvers family ruling from Carisbrooke.
The final private owner was the Countess Isabella de Fortibus, who, on her deathbed in 1293, was persuaded to sell it to Edward I.
Subsequently, the island was under the control of the English Crown[48] and its Lordship a royal appointment.
Earl of Kent
The Earldom Kent was first created by Cnut the Great for Godwin, Earl of Wessex.[citation needed] Upon his death, in 1053, it was inherited by his son, Leofwine Godwinson. Leofwine, who was killed in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings and his titles forfeited to the new King William.
After William, Duke of Normandy conquered England, Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, his half-brother, was awarded the Earldom of Kent, the second creation. In 1076, Odo was found guilty of defrauding the crown, and most of his properties were forfeited to the crown, but he was not executed. In 1082, he was arrested for planning a military campaign to Rome and in 1088 his titles were forfeited. He died in 1097 at Palermo, on his way to join the First Crusade.
