Norman de Normanebi, Reiner de Waterton & Ralph de Normanebi

Norman de Normanebi was a younger son of William I's (William the Conqueror) companion, Norman d'Areci, who was given 33 manors in the county of Lincoln.

Norman d'Areci's principal seat was at Nocton where his eldest son established the noble house of Darcy, but at his manors in the north of the county at Flixborough and Normanebi (Normanby), he established his younger son Norman de Normanebi (so named because their house was Norman; they were not of Saxon origin as Stonehouse[2] would have it).

It was Norman de Normanebi's elder son, Reiner de Normanebi who took advantage of the situation when Roger de Mowbray, Lord of Axholme, rebelled and fell foul of King Henry II (reigned 1154 - 1189)[3]. Mowbray's lands were confiscated and given to the Abbot of Selby (Gilbert de Vere) who quickly parcelled out these lands to provide income for the church. The deed, which is still extant, was undated but it had to be about 1176/7 and provided for the payment of 12 shillings each year, to be paid to the priest at Luddington on the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary (2nd February) for the Vill & Manor of Waterton. Thus, Reiner became 'de Waterton' whilst Reiner's brother Ralph remained 'de Normanebi.'

Apparently, The current representative of the Waterton family still attends the church at Luddington each year on the 2nd February [Candlemas] to pay 12 shillings to the priest in a short religious ceremony. [1]

Normanby Hall (Lincolnshire)

Some views of Normanby

Normanby Hall is situated about 5 miles (8 km) north of Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire.

The present Hall was designed by Sir Robert Smirke and built in 1825–30 for Sir Robert Sheffield (1786–1862), whose family had lived on the site since 1539.

It replaced a 17th century building. The Hall is now in the care of North Lincolnshire Council. The estate around the Hall is now a Country Park.

Waterton Hall Farm is situated in the Isle of Axholme with views across the site of the medieval village of Waterton and the surrounding area. The line of hills are the Lincolnshire Wolds. The River Trent lies between the flat farmland and the hills.

"Waterton hall in the Isle of Axeholme, co. Lincoln, is now a solitary farmhouse near the west bank of the river Trent, three miles south of the confluence of that tiver with the Ouse.

The Isle of Axeholme. a flat delta some 19 miles long by 9 broad between the river Trent on the east and the old courses of the Don, Idle, and Torne on the west, once covered with forest, subsequently became a marsh; the task of draining and reclaiming of which went on for centuries to be completed by the Dutchman Cornelius Vermuyden in 1626.

The country arround is traversed by dykes; looking across the Trent there is a fine view of the high ground above the east bank of that river, with the village of Burton Stather in a commanding position.

The church contains monuments and a cross-legged effigy of the Sheffield family, who have been settled at Normanby in this parish ever since Robert Sheffield, knighted by Edward I, married Genette, daughter and coheir of Alexander Lounde." [2]

Reiner de Normanebi was the first to adopt the name 'Waterton', derived from this area, then called Watretone.

Nearby is the site of the medieval village of Waterton. Before the Norman Conquest it was held by the Saxon Fulcric who held one carucate (*) of land with a hall. At the time of the Domesday survey, it was wasteland.

Waterton village became deserted in the late 15th or 16th century.

Only the seven-bedroom Waterton Hall remains - now Waterton Hall Farm, built in Georgian times.

* The carucate was based on the area a team of eight oxen could till (plough) in a single annual season.