Hugh de Burdet I

Hugh de Burdet I (c.1045 – c.1091), also listed as Burdett, Bordet, Bourdet, or de Cuilly was a Norman knight, landowner, and companion of William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest, specifically at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Burdet's name appears on the Falaise Roll, the Dives-sur-Mer Roll, and the Battle Abbey Roll as a knight accompanying William the Conqueror. Burdet was later ennobled as part of the Anglo-Norman nobility and appointed as a vassal and sub-tenant in the service of both Judith of Lens and Hugh de Grandmesnil. The Domesday Book in 1086 lists Burdet as owning considerable amounts of land in the county of Leicestershire. Biography Burdet was born around 1045 in Cully, Calvados in the Duchy of Normandy, he was the son of Robert I Burdet. Burdet's father Robert was the lord of Cully and part of the broader Norman nobility in Calvados near Falaise. The source Domesday People: Domesday Book by Katharine Keats-Rohan written in 1999 lists Hugh as a tenant in Rabodanges. Burdet was related to Robert d'Aguiló (born Robert Bordet) who later took part in the Iberian Crusades and Reconquista, eventually becoming the Prince of Tarragona.

Following the Norman Conquest Burdet was appointed as a vassal and tenant of Judith of Lens, the niece of William the Conqueror, as well as Hugh de Grandmesnil in Leicestershire. Judith's husband was Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria who was executed in 1076 after leading two revolts. Following Waltheof's execution Judith appointed Burdet as her vassal and sub-tenant. Hugh would end up holding a total of six manors throughout Judith's lands in and around Leicestershire, primarily in Lowesby. Burdet's land and resources included 6 carucate (also called ploughlands), 2 lord's plough teams, 5 men's plough teams, 24 acres of meadow land, one woodland, and one gristmill. Burdet is reported to have died around 1091, one of Burdet's descendants is Member of Parliament William Burdet, who also owned considerable estates in Lowesby. The Colley family, lineal male ancestors of the Wellesley's is said to descend from Hugh according to the Battle Abbey roll.