Domesday book is one of the most famous documents in english historyand arguably in world history. Its description there is complex, since it was then held as three estates, by king william the conqueror, walter fitzother, constable of windsor castle, and ansgot and godfrey from osbern fitzosbern, then bishop of exeter. Organized not geographically, as a modern survey would undoubtedly be, but by feudal fiefdoms, the book contains,418 entries and records a remarkable level of detail. Along with a string of castles throughout england, the domesday book was to give william huge.
The national archives is the home of domesday book, the oldest surviving public record. It had a recorded population of 71 households in 1086, putting. Domesday book is a detailed survey and valuation of landed property in england at the end of the 11th century. Another surrey town to appear in the 1086 domesday book is oxted. On this page are an extracts of the 1087 domesday book as far as they are relevant to the stokeontrent area of north staffordshire. So, literally speaking, woking is the settlement of the people of wok or. There were 151 places in the county of surrey in domesday book. Mar 30, 2008 here is the entry for cottingham use this to make up your own entry. The entries in the domesday book were listed in order by landowner. War memorial for both world wars at st peter s church in old woking surrey england the church is a grade 1 listed building. This edition employs the unique numbering system of the phillimore edition where each separate entry or block of text is numbered. The first volume great domesday contains the final summarized record of all the counties surveyed except essex, norfolk, and suffolk. Can i export or print more than one entry at a time.
At this time woking comprised 33 villagers, 9 smallholders with 20 ploughs and a church held by osbern also included was a meadow, 32 acres and. The value of wokings woodland is further increased when you look at the entry for osbern, bishop of exeters manor thought to be at horsley although listed in domesday as. Domesday book extracts makes available over 8,500 fascinating extracts featuring the actual page entry for your town, a translation and glossary. As noted above, individual people and places frequently appear in more than one domesday entry. Domesday survey both in print and online, so i do not want to waste too much time and space on the when, why, what and hows of it here. William needed information about the country he had just conquered so he could administer it. Domesday book simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Woking appears in the domesday book of 1086 as wochinges. Domesday book digital domesday enquire about this book. How surrey towns and villages got their names including guildford. Between that date and 1179, it acquired the name by which it has since been known. It had a recorded population of 175 households in 1086, putting it in the largest 20% of settlements recorded in domesday, and is listed under 7 owners in 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.
Its description there is complex, since it was then held as three estates, by king william the. The entry from domesday book for the town of cambridge is below. The record was compiled in 10861087, a mere twenty years after the norman conquest, at the order of william the conqueror. It records who held the land and how it was used, and also includes information on how this had changed since the norman conquest in. 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. Baptismal font at st peter s church old woking surrey presented by rev c w arnold may 22 1881 a grade 1 listed building within. The domesday book entry for tarentfort dartford provides a snapshot view of dartford in 1086. In 1986, memorial plaques were installed in settlements mentioned in domesday book.
The world of domesday exhibition depicts life in 11th century england. Surreys largest town and a prominent shopping, office and cultural centre. 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. John the baptist, founded in the 10th century, was rebuilt in the 19th. Produced under the supervision of the most renowned domesday scholars, this authoritative translation of the complete domesday offers a. Woking was a settlement in domesday book, in the hundred of woking and the county of surrey it had a recorded population of 71 households in 1086, putting it in the largest 20% of settlements recorded in domesday, and is listed under 2 owners in domesday book. Domesday book, the original record or summary of william is survey of england. The domesday book early englands most important document. To the left are copies of the entries and translations for the four manors that currently make up the borough of woking, with the translation of the disputed entry for woking now. Whitford wisley witley woking woldingham woodmansterne worplesdon wotton. Domesday book definition of domesday book by merriamwebster. There were 18 places in the hundred of woking in domesday book. The same logic could be applied to the famous colophon at the end of the ldb. The domesday book is closely linked with william the conquerors attempt to dominate medieval england.
The only thing missing, i think, are quality reproductions of the actual pages themselves to read alongside the translations, but im sure there are other books which do this and the domesday book itself is now online. One of the most important historical events of the medieval era is the domesday book. I am honored to be here looking at the newest issue. There are fiftythree entries, including the first entry for the king himself followed. From new palaeographical society 1912 whatever its original precise function was intended to be, domesday book became an authoritative reference for various matters relating to land, tenure and obligation.
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. 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. The survey was ordered by william the conqueror at christmas 1085 and undertaken the following year. The bbc domesday project was a partnership between acorn computers, philips, logica and the bbc with some funding from the european commissions esprit programme to mark the 900th anniversary of the original domesday book, an 11thcentury census of england. Create a fictional english town name, remember to make it sound anglosaxon with a ton at the end eg. Detail from domesday book, list forming part of the first page of kings holdings. An addition to the domesday manuscript probably made between 1114 and 1119 calls it the book of winchester. When you read through the records contained in the domesday book, you run across a great many terms which may be confusing, such as bordars, geld, hundreds, and so on. Guildford was a settlement in domesday book, in the hundred of woking and the county of surrey. Woking was a settlement in domesday book, in the hundred of woking and the county of surrey.
Every theory as to the making of domesday book has some difficulties to overcome. Domesday book 1086 the middle ages encompass one of the most exciting periods in english history. They can also, for a fee, download the relevant page. Can i view entries adjacent to those retrieved by a search. Domesday book is the name given to the record of the great survey of england made by order of william the conqueror in 108586. Domesday book is the oldest government record held in the national archives.
It had a recorded population of 71 households in 1086, putting it in the largest 20% of settlements recorded in domesday, and is listed under 2 owners in domesday book. Guildford was a settlement in domesday book, in the hundred of woking and the county of surrey it had a recorded population of 175 households in 1086, putting it in the largest 20% of settlements recorded in domesday, and is listed under 7 owners in domesday book. 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. Of the principle six towns of the city only burslem and fenton are in existence at the time. 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 is one of medieval englands greatest treasures. 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. Williams survey was completed in only seven months. Today, domesday book is available in numerous editions, usually separated by county and available with other local history resources. For a while, it seemed that domesday was dead and had passed into history. Domesday book is a fascinating snapshot of england and wales as it was shortly after the norman conquest. At this meeting on 1st august, 1086, he made them all swear a new oath that. While spending the christmas time of 1085 in gloucester, william had deep speech with his counsellors and sent men all over england to each shire to find. The domesday book was commissioned in december 1085 by william the conqueror, who invaded england in 1066.
The domesday book is actually not one book but two. The first draft was completed in august 1086 and contained records for,418 settlements in the english counties south of the rivers ribble and tees the border with scotland at the time. Consisting of 9 pages, and 2 million words, the book mentions more than,000 place names in england and some parts of wales. Domesday book also known as domesday, or book of winchester was the record of the great survey of england completed in 1086, executed for william the conqueror. Servus, translated as slave in the phillimore edition, is sometimes rendered as serf. The various inquiries instituted during the middle ages, such as the domesday book and the breviary of charlemagne, were so far on the roman model that they took little or no account of the population, the feudal system probably rendering information regarding it unnecessary for the purposes of taxa. There is evidence of a roman settlement to the east of old woking. Uploaded by the open domesday project, released under ccbysa by professor john palmer and george slater. The name domesday book doomsday in earlier spellings was first recorded almost a century after 1086. 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. These were little domesday covering norfolk, suffolk, and essex, and great domesday covering much of the remainder of england except for lands in the north which later became westmorland, cumberland, northumberland, and the county palatine of. Visitors to the website are able to look up a place name and see the index entry made for the manor, town, city or village. It had a recorded population of 175 households in 1086.
The saxon hide was a theoretical unit of land required to support a family farmstead, but by the late saxon period, it had become a unit of taxation and hence was a fiscal unit rather than signifying a specific area. Commissioned by william the conqueror in the year 1085 and finished in 1086, the book is a superb example of thorough and speedy administration, unequaled by any other project undertaken during the middle ages. Domesday book is the product of an extraordinary survey of england commissioned by king william the conqueror in 1085. Every entry in domesday book supplies that information. The record of landownership is far from complete, but it is clear that dartford was a thriving agricultural community in norman times. Harvey states in her paper domesday book and anglonorman governance, many of the nearcontemporary texts have suffered because all have been turned into domesday satellites. By contemporaries the whole operation was known as the description of england, but the popular name domesdayi. It was written in medieval latin, which was the form of latin used in. Domesday definition and meaning collins english dictionary. Think about it and if you still disagree, see my proof that the text of domesday. Photographic facsimiles of domesday book, for each county separately, were published in 18611863, also by the government. Over time, i have grown to not see this as issue number five of the old domesday book but, the first issue of a new. As there are lots of different entries on each folio, your search.
To the left are copies of the entries and translations for the four manors that currently make up the borough of woking, with the translation of the disputed entry for. The beginning of the entry for kent in the abbrevatio of domesday book london, public record office, museum, case c, no. The domesday book offers great insight into life at the time of the norman conquest. Domesday book law and legal definition uslegal, inc. 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 the domesday book was a survey designed to record everything that people owned in england. The default is a single entry but there is an option to change this on the print and export forms. 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 survey was similar to a census by a government of today. The church itself holds in stoke hundred cottingham. The domesday book stands out in comparison to all other sources from this time. The domesday book compiled in 10856 is one of the few historical. The domesday book digital domesday addison publications.
About a hundred years after it was produced the book became known as the domesday book. But whatever may have been the exact process by which domesday book was compiled, it remains an astonishing product of the conquerors administration, reflecting at once the problems with which he was faced, and the character of his rule. There is one confirmed entry for woking in the domesday book undertaken in 1086. The following pages include domesday placenames and landowners, and beneath some are links to websites containing the local history of that place.
The name domesday book middle english for doomsday book came into use in the 12th century. Domesday book encompasses two independent works in, originally, two physical volumes. Domesday book home the domesday book one of the most valuable records of the uks past history. It was the seat of the archbishops of canterbury from the 11th to 19th century and a large medieval market town. Yes, use filtering by clicking the filter button a tick superimposed on a text page. It in fact comprises two volumes, now preserved at the national. While this is mainly true, the domesday now has a mystical. The name domesday book was not adopted until the late 12th century. This digital domesday is the only version of the domesday manuscripts to provide access to highresolution images of all folios from great and little domesday. The domesday book was a taxation survey of most of england and wales, completed in 1086. Domesday due as tax is probably only one third to one tenth of the actual number wokings woodland being valued at 3 pigs i. They were handtyped on an ibm selectric typewriter, then photocopied for distribution. Domesday was not for this span of time to pass between issues.
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