nd 1 packhorse, and 32
head of cattle, and 24 swine, and 300 sheep less 13, and 35 goats, and 50
acres of wood, and 2 acres of meadow, 1 leuga in length and 1 furlong in
breadth; and it is worth by the year 4 pounds, and it was worth 20
shillings when William received it."

The Danish raids also, though they were frequent up and down this coast,
seem to have passed by Lynton; the narrowness of the landing beach, the
steep rise of the cliffs immediately from the shore, the rocky bed of the
river and the thick woods which fence the valley, all made it difficult
of attack, while Porlock and Ilfracombe lay within a few miles, offering
smoother harbours and easier access. There are several notices in the
Saxon Chronicle of Danish raids on the coasts of the Severn Sea, in A.D.
845 and in A.D. 917, when the Lidwiccas, under Ohtor and Rhoald, landed
and devastated a great portion of this north-west country, but they
probably came to Watchet, near Minehead, and even then all that Lynton
saw of the fierce raid was the smoke of the beacon fires from Dunkery
Beacon to Martinhoe Beacon, near Heddon's Mouth.

In the twelfth century the manors of Lynton and Countisbury were in the
possession of Henry de Tracy, Becket's murderer, and by him were given to
the Abbey of Ford, in whose right they remained until the dissolution of
the monasteries by Henry VIII. Ford Abbey was a foundation of Cistercian
monks, an order which was always engaged in matters of practical value,
and under their rule something was done to improve the breed of mountain
sheep round this district and produce wool of greater market value; they
also attempted some development of agriculture and the fishery of
Lynmouth. They had, indeed, extensive rights of fishery by land and
sea--a very valuable asset, it must be remembered, in the Middle Ages,
when the mass of the population lived almost exclusively on salt fish,
and meat was scarce, except on the tables of the noble. Their rights
extended over Lynmouth, Martinhoe, Countisbury, and the coast of Wales,
and the monopoly of deep-sea fishing along the Severn Sea. This went
beyond the old manorial claim, which was "from the shore so far seaward
as a horsed knight could, at low water-springs, reach with his spear."
Beyond was the King's, and was free and open to all his subjects, though
a claim for deep-sea rights was allowed if it could be proved to be of
very ancient usage, as in the case of Ford Abbey. Lynmouth