The domesday book lists ralph of bromwich as the lord of the manor. This entry tells us that there was a church in northfield before the norman church of st laurence was built. Most of the manors around birmingham now had norman lords, including castle bromwich. Later some of the larger houses in harborne were built close by.
A brief history of birmingham history of birmingham places a to y. 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. Domesday book of 1085 badequella bakewell, derbyshire. Castle bromwich in the domesday book birmingham history. The little domesday book covers the territory of norfolk, suffolk, and essex. Early history harborne local history birmingham city council. 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. It is believed that st peters church was founded during the th century, and the land close to it would have been an early area of settlement. Bbc school report pilot domesday project in birmingham. Working with information from the bbc s first click and domesday projects, schools will run intergenerational workshops. Domesday book is one of the most famous documents in english history. The little domesday book s entries actually contain more information than the entries in the great domesday book which highlights.
Bakewells name is said to derive from the warm springs in the area the domesday book entry calls the town badequella. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. The domesday book legal definition of the domesday book. By studying individual entries it is possible to discover that upmarket hampstead in london had woodland containing 100 pigs and was assessed as being worth. Domesday book encompasses two independent works in, originally, two physical volumes. This edition employs the unique numbering system of the phillimore edition where each separate entry or block of text is numbered. Professor john palmer of hull university, george slater and anna powellsmith. We associate citizenship with towns, but there is little evidence of townbased citizenship at the time of domesday. The domesday book is closely linked with william the conquerors attempt to dominate medieval england. 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 national archives exhibitions citizenship birmingham. By contemporaries the whole operation was known as the description of england, but the popular name domesday i. The manor is listed in the domesday book with smethwick and tipton as part of the manor of lichfield, a holding of the bishop of chester.
Domesday book placename forms all the original spellings of english placenames in domesday book link to pdf file. Yes, use filtering by clicking the filter button a tick superimposed on a text page. As no records of the placename exist from the anglosaxon period, only the entry for bermingham in the domesday book of 1086 beorma is the most often imputed form of the name of the founder of birmingham. The following pages include domesday placenames and landowners, and beneath some are links to websites containing the local history of that place. 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. Bbc world service learning english beyond the postcard. Hook norton brewery, brewery lane, hook norton, banbury ox15 5ny, uk. The domesday book was an ancient record of the whole country. 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. Uploaded by the open domesday project, released under ccbysa by professor john palmer and george slater. The domesday book records the manor of franchelie, whose name derives from the old english francas leah meaning francas clearing. The domesday book was compiled somewhere between 1085 and 1086 ad on the command of king william i of england, and is the result of a painstaking economic and social survey that was undertaken at that time.
Birmingham was a settlement in domesday book, in the hundred of coleshill and the county of warwickshire. The ancient hamlet is centred on church hill around the junction of scotland lane and frankley lane and still nestles in countryside, with bartley green 1950s, and woodgate c1970 to the north, and modern frankley early 1970s to the south. The domesday book compiled in 10856 is one of the few historical. A brief history of birmingham history of birmingham. Domesday was compiled in a matter of months in at the end of william the conquerors life. Domesday 315 sutton coldfield local history research group. Image from the open domesday website see acknowledgements.
There are fiftythree entries, including the first entry for the king himself followed. The domesday book is actually not one book but two. See our entry for highters heath for more about the uses of heathland in olden times. Commercial site with extracts from domesday book domesday book entries including translations for each settlement. It would be churlish to suggest that i am rubbishing the document, of course i am not, but some general understanding of the book is needed to give. From william, richard holds four hides in birmingham. The books follow ralph delchard and gervase bret, who are two officials who have been commissioned by william the conqueror william i of england to look into some inconsistencies that have arisen while compiling the domesday book. When the domesday survey was commissioned, birmingham was a small village, and no free men are listed in the manor. On 14 october 1066 william, duke of normandy defeated the anglosaxon king harold at the battle of hastings. The record was compiled in 10861087, a mere twenty years after the norman conquest, at the order of william the conqueror. Birmingham in the domesday book the national archives. Domesday book extracts makes available over 8,500 fascinating extracts featuring the actual page entry for your town, a translation and glossary. As this page also shows, there were still pockets of continued saxon landholding in the area around birmingham, notably under godmund of.
By contemporaries the whole operation was known as the description of england, but the popular name domesdayi. As most people tend to look at domesday simply for their entry, they dont tend to question the document as a whole. In 1086 the domesday book was put together to give king william information about all the lords and their manors. Ralph delchard and gervase bret are commissioners, appointed by william the conqueror, to look into the serious irregularities that come to light during the compilation of domesday book, the great survey of england.
Delchard is a norman soldier who fought at the battle of. It is based on a systematic examination of the available written sources for the period, including chronicles, saints lives, charters, libri vitae, inscriptions, domesday book and coins. A number of alternative names have been put forward including bearm, berm, beor, bearma, beorm and breme, based on the fact that the city. Can i export or print more than one entry at a time. The domesday book was commissioned in december 1085 by william the conqueror, who invaded england in 1066. Detail from domesday book, list forming part of the first page of kings holdings. Evidence from the domesday book shows a thinly occupied area worth little for tax purposes. Domesday book was a comprehensive survey and record of all the landowners, property, tenants and serfs of. The name domesday book was not adopted until the late 12th century.
The text below is about the book and how it describes what is now birmingham the. The chancel is in the early english style of the thcentury, though much of the church dates the 15th century. An entry in the domesday book of 1086 provides the earliest mention of a settlement. In the demesne is 1, and there are 5 villeins and 4 borders with 2 ploughs. Information for visitors about the weoley castle ruins site in birmingham.
The information from the little domesday book may not have been included in the main book because william died before it could be done. One of the most important accounts of the making of the domesday book is that of an anglosaxon chronicler who tells us that william had much though and very deep discussion about this country how. The entry relating to the ownership of land in the parish of aston cantlow and the surrounding area is shown below. Domesday book home the domesday book one of the most valuable records of the uks past history. 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. Cancelled until further notice due to current health advice.
It is not absolutely certain that the bromwich found in william the conquerors domesday survey of 1086 is castle bromwich. The entry for harborne in the domesday book is highlighted here as one of the manors of lichfield belonging to the bishop of chester. It is believed that st peters church was founded during the th century. The origins of harborne are buried deep in history. The old village of northfield nordfeld was described in the domesday book as having a priest as well as seven villeins, sixteen borders, six cottars, who shared enough land for thirteen ploughs, two serfs and a bondswoman a slave. They contain entries for each hereditament property that can be inherited in england and. Birmingham appears in the domesday book among the lands belonging to william fitz ansculf, a major local landholder based at dudley castle.
On their home page, select domesday book tab, enter judith in names box, and countess in description box. The information collected was recorded by hand in two huge. To further extend his grip on england, william i ordered that a. 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. This is the first of edward marstons medieval books ive read and i thoroughlly enjoyed it. The domesday book entry for northfield lists a priest here in 1086 and a roundarched norman doorway survives from this period.
The domesday series is a series of historical mystery novels by welsh author edward marston keith miles. Early history harborne local history birmingham city. William was a norman, but had settled in england before the conquest. Can i view entries adjacent to those retrieved by a search.
Analysis of the domesday book 1086 suggests a national population of some 1. It had a recorded population of 9 households in 1086, putting it in the smallest 40% of settlements recorded in domesday. Ralph delchard, a soldier and gervase bret, a lawyer, in 11th century england, in the domesday series. Early history northfield local history birmingham city. Bakewells entry in the domesday book 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. Very quick read and goes into reasonable detail of the time it is set in ie the writing of the domesday book very interesting piece of. The domesday book is one of medieval englands greatest treasures. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. The normans castle bromwich history for young people. Birmingham in the domesday book document 161k transcript citizenship at the time of domesday. The first volume great domesday contains the final summarized record of all the counties surveyed except essex, norfolk, and suffolk. Along with a string of castles throughout england, the domesday book was to give william huge authority in england. There is a super website called the prosopography of anglosaxon england database project by kings college london and cambridge university.