At the time of Edward the Confessor, Watton consisted of two manors, the head manor held by the freewoman Aldred, and the other held by Ralf FitzWalter, which was a gift of the King. By 1139 it was in the possession of Robert de Vaux. After passing to various descendants, Richard de Rupella (elsewhere Rokele) was granted the manor in 1249 as a reward for his service as a knight, and it came to be known as Rokele's Manor. In 1414, Watton fell under John, Lord Roos of Hamlak, and by 1462 the manors were owned by Richard Rosse and Robert Wessingham.