 The assizes were formerly held at Reading, Abingdon and Newbury, but by 1911 were held entirely at Reading.At the time of the Domesday survey the chief lay-proprietor was Henry de Ferrers, ancestor of the earls of Derby, but it is remarkable that none of the great Berkshire estates has remained with the same family long.Thomas Fuller quaintly observes that "the lands of Berkshire are very skittish and apt to cast their owners".