Robert, Earl of Morton
Robert, was half-brother of William the Conqueror. He held a vast number of manors in Yorkshire, the greater part of which were apportioned to two subinfeudatories, Richard de Surdeval and Nigel de Fossard.
He retained Hooton, afterwards distinguished from several others of that name, by the addition of Levet, from the name of the family which subsequently possessed it. This small manor, surrounded by those of Roger de Busli, was held in demesne by Earl Robert, and cultivated by his villeins and borderers. It wasn't in his possession, for long, it was forfeited together with all his other English estates, and appears then to have become vested in the family of Fossard, who were elevated to the position of chief tenants. They did not, however, occupy the land themselves, but subinfeuded the house of Vesci, Lords of Rotherham, and these again invested with the actual possession of the soil, a family named Fitz-Turgis also known as Richard de Wickersley.
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