After the Norman invasion in 1066 and following his coronation, King William divided vast areas of land between the Knights of Normandy who had brought about the defeat of the English at the Battle of Hastings.  King William proclaimed all England to be his and his rewards to his knights were grants, in the form of Lordships to Manorial estates.  The land and the powers of the Lords of each of the Manors were held on condition that all services, including military service, were rendered to the King. 

Hugh de Grantmesnil, who came from Lisieux in Normandy was one of King William’s most trusted knights and had master minded the invasion in 1066.  He was well rewarded, made Earl of Leicester and granted 100 English Manors in a number of counties including Oxfordshire.  His Manor in Sibford Gower comprised 10 hides.  The definition of a hide has been disputed by many medieval historians but most now agree that it was not a unit of area but one of value.  The lands under Grantmesnil’s grant were managed by a demesne tenant called Aba.  The grant comprised “Land for 8 ploughs.”  The income from land under two of those ploughs was in demesne and payable in tithes to the Crown via the Lord of the Manor. There were a further ‘four acres of meadow and a mill.’

A second Domesday Manor in Sibford Gower and Burdrop, also assessed at 10 hides, was granted to William Fitz Corbucion and held as one knight’s fee. In 1086 the demesne tenant was Ralph and the income from one of the 7 ploughs was due to the Lord of the Manor. There was also ‘a mill and four acres of meadow plus pasture 7 furlongs in length and breadth.’  In the 12^th century the fee was held by the Norman family of Goher, from which it is thought the Gower took its name. During the 13^th century the manor descended in the line of the Earls of Warwick. 

The actual areas of these two Manors remains unknown although the dovecote which remains in a garden in Main Street may have been part of the Grantmesnil Manor.