Robert Bastard

He had at least one[3] further holding as a mesne tenant, at Goosewell, Plymstock parish, Plympton hundred, held from William of Poilley, a Norman tenant-in-chief from Poilley in Normandy, most of whose 21 landholdings were later granted by King Henry I (1100–1135) to his trusted supporter Richard de Redvers (died 1107), feudal baron of Plympton[4] in Devon.

The last 5 of Robert's holdings in-chief listed in the Domesday Book had all been held by the Saxon Alwin before the Norman Conquest.

Soon after 1086 Robert's overlord became Richard I de Redvers, feudal baron of Plympton,[5] the king having granted him large estates in Devon and elsewhere, thus Robert Bastard was in effect demoted from the high status of a tenant-in-chief.

His holdings in-chief were as follows, in order of listing in the Domesday Book: Robert Bastard is extremely unusual not only in having founded an English family which is said[12] to continue in the male line to the present day (although the heraldic visitations pedigree[13] does not show an unbroken line of succession, with the whole of the 15th century unaccounted for), but also one which retained possession of several of his Domesday Book estates for many centuries,[14] most notably the Bastard family's seat at Efford held until the death of Sir Baldwin Bastard in 1345, during the reign of King Edward III (1327-1377).

[15] In the Book of Fees (c.1302) Nicholas le Bastard is listed as holding Eppeford (Efford) from the honour of Plympton.