Braunton was the chief manor of Braunton Hundred, and had been held by Saxon kings. Between 855 and 860 ten hides in "Brannocminster" were granted by King Æthelbald of Wessex to Glastonbury Abbey. After the Norman Conquest of 1066 the manor continued as a royal possession, in the demesne of King William the Conqueror. In the Domesday Book of 1086 (Exon Version) it is recorded as held at farm by Baldwin the Sheriff, Sheriff of Devon, whose fiefdom of 176 landholdings as recorded in Domesday Book was the largest in Devon. As recorded in the Domesday Book one virgate of land had been administratively transferred from the manor of Braunton to the tenure of Robert "de Pont Chardon", lord of the manor adjoining of Heanton Punchardon. The royal manor was eventually split into three parts: