The national archives is the home of domesday book, the oldest surviving public record. The majority of these still exist in some form today. Lancashire the following pages include domesday placenames and landowners, and beneath some are links to websites containing the local history of that place. Some places now in modern day wales are listed under the nearest english county in the domesday book.
Geograph images of places mentioned in the domesday book. A complete translation penguin classics new ed by martin, geoffrey isbn. Our vision is to lead and transform information management, guarantee the survival of todays information for tomorrow and bring history to life for everyone. The domesday book calculated what each manor was worth to the lord in terms of rent. There are some 418 towns and villages recorded in the domesday book, covering 40 of the old counties of england. All of the products sold by were researched and created by swyrich corp. Does anyone ever know what it may look like centuries after a highway, building, house or even a town was abandoned. Now available in one volume, here is the complete, authoritative translation from the original latin, together with an index of places and a glossary of terms used. The placenames found in the domesday book are township and estate names, and may include other villages and hamlets that receive no specific mention in the text. The domesday book does not cover certain important cities, such as london, winchester, bristol and the borough of tamworth. The domesday book is the greatest land survey of medieval europe and, in terms. This is the first free online copy of domesday book.
A map showing the major towns of england at the time of the domesday book. The domesday book does not cover certain important cities, such as london. Domesday book extracts for places mentioned in the. Watton, lockington and hemington, but they are not specifically mentioned. Domesday definition and meaning collins english dictionary. Surnames mentioned in the domesday book british surnames. Domesday book synonyms, domesday book pronunciation, domesday book translation, english dictionary definition of domesday book. Leicestershire, northamptonshire, oxfordshire, staffordshire, warwickshire. This variation is of course reflected in purchased digital extracts. He then catalogued fiftyone references from domesday book which he identified as recording the presence of fiftytwo individual castles. The french normans now owned the land of england and it was all recorded in the domesday book, however the normans were satisfied with many of the english systems that were already in place and left them alone. Cornwall, devon, dorset, somerset, wiltshire exon domesday bedfordshire, buckinghamshire, cambridgeshire, hertfordshire, middlesex.
This gazetteer is intended to supplement the other volumes of the domesday geography of england by providing an index of placenames together with maps showing their location. Domesday book describes almost all of england and more than,000 places are mentioned in it. The great domesday book is the biggest and covers the most territory. The domesday book recorded 19,500 people and over,400 places. Domesday book is one of the most famous documents in english historyand arguably in world history. Produced under the supervision of the most renowned domesday scholars, this authoritative translation of the complete domesday offers a. Kivrin engle, the main character, says that her recording is a record of life in the middle ages, which is what william the conquerors survey turned out to be.
Click on a county name on the map to continue, or use the list of links below it. The title of the book refers to the domesday book of 1086. Domesday records around 112 towns or boroughs glossary icon, a term with its origins in the anglosaxon burh. This first english census, considered by some as the most remarkable administrative accomplishment of the middle ages, provides a record of english social. Domesday book the domesday book was completed in 1086 and was a survey of the state of the nation since william the conqueror seized the country in 1066. Why were many places listed in the domesday book as wasted. It has been cited as an example of digital obsolescence on account of the physical medium used for data storage. Add the folios of domesday book to wikisource currently on the internet archive. The world of domesday exhibition depicts life in 11th century england. The tree has a colourful history it is mentioned in the domesday book and local legend tells of a medieval court, known as a hundred court, that met.
It is the starting point of recorded history for the majority of english villages and towns which are organized by county. The omission of the other counties and towns is not fully explained, although in particular cumberland and westmorland were not yet fully conquered. They are often mentioned more than once in different spellings, with the result that the number of entries in the index exceeds 36,000. The 19 places in the portsmouth area featured in the domesday. Faebot ran a script to populate this category on 16th may to find images with a reference to domesday book in the descriptions. This omission was certainly a quirk of the return from the northern circuit. For wales, only parts of certain border areas are included. Domesday book sources for research in english genealogy.
As well as the norman lords, there are people mentioned with very. Even though connie willis 1992 doomsday book won both the hugo and the nebula awards and that many readers therefore do consider it mostly science fiction and fantasy, my personal reaction when i originally read doomsday book in 1998 right after having finished with my phd dissertation, and yes, as a bit of a treat and reward for myself for. Domesday book the domesday book was a survey designed to record everything that people owned in england. The above mentioned elements can all be found in the domesday book, some more overtly, others in a form yet to be fully developed records from the 12th and 14th century in particular seem to have chiseled out the ambiguous features of a place name, and it then became more clear whether an. The old village, mentioned in the domesday book 1086, is. Domesday is now available online, and you can search for your town or village, and download images of domesday along with an. The contents of domesday book and the allied records mentioned above. Little domesday, which contains the information for essex, norfolk and suffolk, was probably written first and is the work of at least six scribes. Domesday book, compiled in 1086 at the behest of william the conqueror, has been described as the most valuable piece of antiquity possessed by any nation david hume and viewed by historians as the final act of the norman conquest. This area of portsmouth was one of the settlements on the portsea island to be listed in the domesday book. Hallam, domesday book through nine centuries london, 1986 a survey of how the domesday book has been used since its composition, and how antiquarians and historians have viewed the record. T he domesday book is the result of a record made at the time of william the conquerors survey of england in 1086.
The open domesday book is the first free online copy of the domesday book. The novel won both the hugo and nebula awards, and was shortlisted for other awards. Scandinavian elements found in the domesday book english. This led the book to be compared to the last judgement, or doomsday, described in the bible, when the deeds of christians written in the book of life were to be placed before god for judgement. Domesday book extracts is a company offering historical domesday book products for areas across england including domesday book page extracts framed and digital. The domesday book online frequently asked questions. How many places listed in the domesday book still exist. It was ordered by william the conqueror the winner of the recent battle of hastings so that william could determine how much money in taxes he could raise and to give william a better sense of the territory he had just conquered. Domesday book definition of domesday book by the free. Add details of domesday book entries to englishwelsh places mentioned in domesday, thus improving the historic information available for around 18,000 english places. It is noted that sussex, for example, had been badly attacked in the areas surrounding hastings.
Definition of domesday from the collins english dictionary. The domesday book online contents of the domesday book. Domesday book was compiled in ad 1086 for william the conqueror. Domesday book life in towns and villages the national archives. This page simply lists all places mentioned in domesday book. Find places mentioned in domesday on the interactive map. An ancient kent manor mentioned in the domesday book with endless character charm and its own lake an ancient kent manor mentioned in the domesday book with endless character charm and its own lake the former country home of the man who founded the daily mail has come up for sale in kent. Doomsday book is a 1992 science fiction novel by american author connie willis. The domesday book survey would clarify and confirm the ownership of land and resources, and this information would be extremely beneficial for both financial and militant purposes.
The name domesday book was not adopted until the late 12th century. In 1086 william made a land register of his territory to know how much money. The value of each place varied considerably, depending on the number of households paying rent or its use, eg a mill or hunting forest. Additionally, extracts vary in length and in rare cases may be abridged if the entry is exceptionally long or mention more than one local domesday settlement if the entry is short.
A handlist of castles recorded in the domesday book. The book also mentions various occupations such as beekeepers, a vine dresser someone who grows vines, and a female jester. A handlist of castles recorded in the domesday book in i833 sir henry ellis observed that another point on which the domesday book throws considerable light is the history of our ancient castles. The old village, mentioned in the domesday book 1086, is famous for its stone cottages built in 17th century. Domesday book mapped find places mentioned in domesday on the interactive map. The domesday book has provided historians with a firm idea of what life was like in the mid1080s, particularly in the areas worst hit by the norman invasion. See here for a breakdown of landholders, tenants in chief and lords of the manor. The number of separate places named in the domesday book amounts to over,400. Domesday book is a manuscript record of the great survey of much of england and parts of. Domesday book, the original record or summary of william is survey of england. Amazingly almost all of the places mentioned in the domesday book can be found on a present day map of england and wales, though many of their names have been altered over time from their 11th century versions. For many places in england, the domesday book is the first mention of their existence, a starting point for their history. Often referred as the most beautiful village in england, bibury.
The written record of a census and survey of english landowners and their property made by order of william the conqueror in. Servus, translated as slave in the phillimore edition, is sometimes rendered as serf. To see full names of counties hold your mouse over the name. A comprehensive guide to the origins, meanings, etymologies and distribution of thousands of british surnames. The domesday book is an ancient, hand written book with variation in preservation and presentation. The domesday book provides extensive records of landholders, their tenants, the amount of land they owned, how many people occupied the land villagers, smallholders, free men, slaves, etc. The basis of this electronic edition of the text is the translation published by phillimore and edited by john morris 35 volumes, chichester, 197386, with the following modifications.
Slaves formed the fourth largest group among the peasantry, over 10% of the recorded population and significantly higher than this if allowance is made for their almost complete omission from the counties of circuit 6. He could collect in terms of taxes and the results of this survey were. The national archives education service domesday book. As mentioned earlier, the domesday book was not, by any means, a complete survey of britain. By contemporaries the whole operation was known as the description of england, but the popular name domesdayi. King harold, who william defeated in 1066 was not considered the legitimate king by william so is never mentioned. Find out where in the world your surname originated, what it originally meant and how many other people you share it with. The little domesday book covers the territory of norfolk, suffolk, and essex.