In 1086 william the conquerer commanded a survey of the country for taxation purposes. Domesday book, the original record or summary of william is survey of england. The majority of these still exist in some form today. To see full names of counties hold your mouse over the name. It was a gigantic survey of every town and village in england and described in detail which barons owned which tracts of. It is interesting to note that the domesday book compiled by the commissioners of william the conqueror in 1086, is named from the old english domes daeg i. The first draft was completed in august 1086 and contained records for,418 settlements in the english counties south of the rivers ribble and. The record the chronicle spoke of is the domesday book, a great survey carried out by the officials of the norman king, which allowed him to understand which land and. The domesday book online frequently asked questions. The domesday book was a complete written record of property ownership across england, and was completed in less than a year. The domesday book one of the most valuable records of the uks past history. After the death of edward the confessor, there was a bloody fourway battle for the throne. John ross here is subscribed the inquisition of lands as the barons of the king have made inquiry into them.
Domesday book is the oldest government record held in the national archives. One of the most important historical events of the medieval era is the domesday book. Domesday book 1086 the middle ages encompass one of the most exciting periods in english history. Domesday book is one of the most famous documents in english history.
Domesday book was a comprehensive survey and record of all the landowners, property, tenants and serfs of. Why it was written and what was involved in making it. At the time it was called the winchester book, but later became better. Domesday book covers all of england except the northern areas. The national archives is the home of domesday book, the oldest surviving public record.
Earl roger of shrewsbury bishop g eoffrey of coutances. No surveys were made of the city of london, winchester, or some other towns, probably due to their taxexempt status. Click on a county name on the map to continue, or use the list of links below it. It enables us to reconstruct the politics, government, society and economy of 11thcentury england with greater precision than is possible for almost any other premodern polity. It is our earliest public record, the foundation document of. The domesday book online contents of the domesday book. This page simply lists all places mentioned in domesday book.
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 definition is a record of a survey of english lands and landholdings made by order of william the conqueror about 1086. Domesday book extracts makes available over 8500 fascinating extracts featuring the actual page entry for your town, a translation and glossary. The domesday book was a record of the survey of england carried out in 1086 by william the conqueror in order to assess taxes and find out other details of.
The population of the entire country was probably between 1. By contemporaries the whole operation was known as the description of england, but the popular name domesdayi. Ralph delchard, a soldier and gervase bret, a lawyer, in 11th century england, in the domesday series. Mlxxxvi 1862 anderson, john corbet 18271907 shropshire. The domesday book penned by brandon blackmoor, based on medieval demographics made easy by s. Domesday book definition of domesday book by merriamwebster.
The domesday book norman rule edexcel gcse history. The domesday book compiled in 10856 is one of the few historical records whose name is familiar to most people in this country. This map shows every place in domesday that can still be located today. Domesday book is one of the most famous documents in english historyand arguably in world history. The world of domesday exhibition depicts life in 11th century england. Domesday book was compiled in ad 1086 for william the conqueror. The domesday book is actually not one book but two. When william secured control over england after defeating harold at the battle of hastings, he introduced new ways of running th.
If you have a local history site that you would like to be included on these pages please get in touch via the contact page. Domesday book was a comprehensive survey and record of all the landowners, property, tenants and serfs of medieval norman england which was compiled in 10867 ce under the orders of william the conqueror r. Domesday book contains fascinating information such as land ownership, livestock and even local customs. 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. There are some 418 towns and villages recorded in the domesday book, covering 40 of the old counties of england. Search for images of domesday by town or postcode on open. The domesday book was commissioned by william the conqueror. In 1086, king william i the conqueror wanted to find out about all the land in his new kingdom. This short three minute video covers what the domesday book is. Produced under the supervision of the most renowned domesday scholars, this authoritative translation of the complete domesday offers a. In fact there are two domesday books little domesday and great domesday, which together contain a great deal of information about england in the 11th century.
A complete translation domesday book is one of the most famous documents in english history. You can also access the discover domesday exhibition, explaining why domesday. Sussex the following pages include domesday placenames and landowners, and beneath some are links to websites containing the local history of that place. Pauls of the year mccxxii 1858 henry james domesday book, or, the great survey of england of william the conqueror a. Pajama party description invite your best friends for popcorn, movies, music and more with the allnew my city. The domesday book is a great land survey from 1086, commissioned by william the conqueror to assess the extent of the land and resources being owned in england at the time, and the extent of the taxes he could raise.
Find out how to search for your town or village, and how to access images of domesday along with an english translation, using our research guide. The domesday book, our earliest public record, is a unique survey of the value and ownership of lands and resources in late 11th century england. Domesday book life in towns and villages the national archives. Newest title in the my city series from the creators of awardwinning my town games my city. The site provides information about the 1086 domesday survey, the domesday book, background information on life in england at the time, links. 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 first volume great domesday contains the final summarized record of all the counties surveyed except essex, norfolk, and suffolk. Domesday is now available online, and you can search for your town or village, and download images of domesday along with an english translation of the entry. The record was compiled in 10861087, a mere twenty years after the norman conquest, at the order of william the conqueror. The domesday book or, colloquially, domesday is the expression used since the late twelfth century to refer to the record of the great inquisition or survey of the lands of england, their extent, value, ownership, and liabilities, made by order of william the conqueror in 1086. Domesday book is the most complete survey of a preindustrial society anywhere in the world. Domesday is now available online, and you can search for your town. If your results appear on the same folio, you only need to download it once. It details the entries in the domesday book relating to the town of witham, in the county of essex, in the uk. There were only 18 towns of over 2000 inhabitants in the domesday england of 1086. The domesday book was commissioned in december 1085 by william the conqueror, who invaded england in 1066.
Domesday book the domesday book was a survey designed to record everything that people owned in england. Domesday was compiled in a matter of months in at the end of william the conquerors life. Though invariably called domesday book, in the singular, it in fact consists of two volumes quite different from each other. Tracing the history of your town or village has become easier with the launch of an online version of the domesday book, the most important. It records the number of households, the economic resources, who owned the land, and the tax paid to the king, for almost every settlement in england. The detailed picture of the english landscape it offers has no equal in any country, while it is valuable not only in the picture it allows local historians to construct of their area in the eleventh century but also as the foundation document of the national archives. Given the extent to which our knowledge of our past depends upon it, few. For these three counties the full, unabbreviated return sent in to winchester by the commissioners is preserved in the second volume little domesday, which. Great domesday covers parts of wales and most of modern england. George munford an analysis of the domesday book, of the county of norfolk 1858 the domesday of st. There are some 418 towns and villages recorded in the domesday book, covering 40 of the. Great domesday the larger volume and little domesday the smaller volume, in their 1869 bindings, lie on their older tudor bindings.
Learn more about out why and how domesday was created, and how to interpret it, in discover domesday. Discover your towns history with digital historical. Of these towns, the two largest, london and winchester, were left out of the domesday book entirely. Volume i great domesday contains the final summarized record of all the counties surveyed except essex, norfolk, and suffolk. 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. The domesday book is the record of the great survey of much of england, and parts of wales, completed in 1086, done for william i of england, or william the conqueror the domesday book also known as domesday, or book of winchester was a record of all taxable land in england, together with such information as would indicate its worth as the scribes went round england, they were protected. Domesday survey wikisource, the free online library.
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