Diss

History

Diss has several historic buildings, including an early 14th-century parish church and an 1850s Corn Hall, which is still in use. Under Edward the Confessor, Diss was part of the Hartismere hundred of Suffolk, It was recorded as such in the Domesday Book of 1086. It is recorded as being in the King's possession as demesne (direct ownership) of the Crown; at that time, there was a church and a glebe of . This was thought to be worth £15 per annum, which had doubled by the time of William the Conqueror to £30, with the benefit of the whole hundred and half belonging to it. It was then found to be a league long, around and half that distance wide, and paid 4d. in Danegeld. From this it appears that it was still relatively small, but it soon grew, when it subsumed Watlingsete Manor, a neighbouring area as large as Diss, and seemingly more populated according to the geld or tax that it paid. The town includes part of Heywode, as appears from its joining to Burston, into which the manor extended. Diss was granted by King Henry I to Richard de Lucy, some time before 1135. The Testa de Neville finds it not known whether Diss was rendered to Richard de Lucy as an inheritance or for his service, but adds it was doubtless for the latter. Richard de Lucy become Chief Justiciar to King Stephen and Henry II. In 1152, Richard de Lucy received the right to hold a market in Diss and, before 1161, he gave a third of a hundred of Diss (Heywood or Hewode) together with the market in frank marriage with his daughter Dionisia to Sir Robert de Mountenay. After Richard de Lucy's death in 1179, the inheritance of the other two parts of Diss hundred passed to his daughter Maud, who married Walter FitzRobert. The whole estate later fell to the Lordship of the FitzWalters, who were raised to…