Talk:Walton Hall, West Yorkshire

Ailric
Ailric was a thegn under King Edward, that is well recorded, although none of that seems to be mentioned here. He was not thegn of South Yorkshire but of the two wapentakes of Staincross and Osgoldcross - Cawthorne is in the former and Walton Hall in the latter. So, the article is inaccurate in that respect, because he had no authority in the vast majority of modern day South Yorkshire, but rather more stretching into modern West Yorkshire. This is the first place that I have ever read that he ran a guerilla war, nor indeed fought, against Ilbert. The likelihood of either is low and without evidence to support it must be regarded as pure fantasy.

Ilbert was one of the two lords granted significant lands by William in the southern districts of the West Riding, both for their support of William in the so-called harrying of the north. The fact that Ailric and his successors were granted significant land-holdings within Ilbert's new Honour of Pontefract amounting to several knights' fees does rather suggest that he was not seen as the 'enemy'. Many of Harold Godwinson's followers were made landless or dead. There is no record of Ailric supporting Harold at the Battle of Stamford Bridge against King Harald of Norway and Tostig Godwinson, Harold's brother. He almost certainly was not at Hastings, even though he was a thegn. Perhaps he was seen as suspect by Harold? He was, after all, of Scandinavian rather than Anglo-Saxon descent. Ailric's grandchildren were named in the Norman fashion and married Normans; none of this supports the profile of a 'Saxon' chieftain defending his home from invading Normans, who may even have been relatives! Please show the evidence for your assertions. Moonraker55 (talk) 00:12, 29 June 2013 (UTC)