Swindon in the domesday book

Domesday carefully records the owners of each manor estate in 1086, as these were the people liable for tax. It would seem tiny to us but settlements were very small in those days. In 1086, domesday book recorded information on all the landed estates of england. Swindon began as a saxon village and is mentioned in the domesday book.

Now the large, industrybased new town and the old town with a marketplace and the ruins of the ancient holy rood church in the grounds of the goddard family house. It is our earliest public record, the foundation document of. Swindon began as a saxon village and is mentioned in the domesday book its name is derived from the saxon words swine dun meaning pig hill, or the hill where pigs were bred the wiltshire and. The domesday book gives a useful insight into the size and value of the village. Sutton veny swallowcliff swindon teffont evias thickwood thornhill tidcombe. By contemporaries the whole operation was known as the description of england, but the popular name domesdayi. Either king william himself, or one of around 1,400. The domesday book is one of medieval englands greatest treasures.

Swindon swindon was a settlement in domesday book, in the hundred of cheltenham and the county of gloucestershire. Lost history of the town of swindon english historical fiction. Swindon was still a very small settlement with perhaps 600 inhabitants. Other holdings recorded in the domesday book are at west swindon, where 2 hides were held by ulward and 1. Domesday book wiltshire and swindon history centre. At that time swindon was a tiny village but by the late th century swindon had grown into a small town with. The following pages include domesday placenames and landowners, and beneath some are links to websites containing the local history of that place. It had a recorded population of households in 1086.

Domesday book the domesday book was a survey designed to record everything that people owned in england. The anglosaxon settlement of swindon sat in a defensible position atop a limestone hill. It was one of the larger manors, recorded as having 27 households. The village was included in the domesday book and was called chiseldene at the. Many of these estates developed into the manors which controlled their. It had a recorded population of 27 households in 1086.

At the time of the domesday book 1086, amesbury was owned by the king and there were 8 mills along. 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. It is referred to in the 1086 domesday book as suindune, believed to be derived from the old english words swine and dun meaning pig hill or possibly sweyns hill, sweyn being a scandinavian name akin to sven and english swain, meaning a young man. The domesday book is closely linked with william the conqueror s attempt to dominate medieval england. Swindon city, wiltshire genealogy genealogy familysearch wiki. It had a recorded population of 27 households in 1086, putting it in the largest 40% of settlements recorded in domesday, and is listed under 5 owners in domesday book. The original anglosaxon settlement of swindon sat in a defensible position atop a limestone hill.

Domesday book encompasses two independent works in, originally, two physical volumes. Wulfric and wulfward, the kings purveyor, from the king. Swindon is recorded in the domesday book as a manor in the hundred of blagrove, wiltshire. Along with a string of castles throughout england, the domesday book was to give william huge authority in england. The domesday book compiled in 10856 is one of the few historical records whose name is familiar to most people in this country. Agriculture, trade, mills and markets british history online.

All land was ultimately owned by the crown, but held by lords, who provided military resources or tax in return. The largest holding, under the ownership of miles crispin and odin the chamberlain, was later known as the manor of high swindon. Recorded in the domesday book as both suindone and suindune in 1086, the settlement was assessed at 12. Little domesday covering norfolk, suffolk, and essex, and great domesday covering much of the remainder of england except for lands in the north that later became westmorland, cumberland, northumberland, and the county palatine of durham and parts of wales bordering, and included. Did a ham sandwich cause swindon to become a boomtown. At that time swindon was a tiny village but by the late th century swindon had grown into a small town with a weekly market. Map of amesbury wiltshire and swindon archives wiltshire council. 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.