Henlow in 1086
Domesday Book was commissioned by William the Conqueror (1066-1087) at Christmas 1085. It was designed to show who held every piece of land in the newly conquered Kingdom of England. It was known colloquially as the Domesday Book because it was seen as being as final as the Last Judgement and as difficult to conceal things from. The book does not cover the whole country - Cumberland, Durham, Northumberland, and Westmorland were omitted and London and Winchester likewise, along with some other towns. A separate book, called Little Domesday covered the counties of Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk and, despite its name, it is actually bigger and more detailed than the Great Domesday Book containing the other counties.
There are five separate Domesday Book entries for Henlow which show that it had 32 households in 1086. To get an idea of the total population one should probably multiply the number of households by at least four, to allow for wives and children - giving an estimated population of about 130.
The largest estate was held by Nigel d’Aubigny (or de Albini) as tenant-in-chief from the king. His property consisted of 5½ hides of land, valued at £5 10s in 1086, up from £4 when he took over the estate. In 1066 this land had been held as a series of smaller tenements by a total of 9 freemen and was valued at £7. In 1086 there were 12 households, belonging to 10 villagers and 2 slaves. Presumably many of these villagers must have been the freemen whose land had been taken by the Normans, or their heirs, now having to farm as tenants land which had once been their own. The 5½ hides, or ploughlands, were being farmed by 3½ plough teams belonging to the villagers and two more belonging to the lord. The estate also included meadowland, and a mill valued at 5 shillings. Three virgates were held in free alms by the abbey of Angers in Anjou (now France), and the tenant of the rest of the property was Herfast (or Erfast), who also held land from Nigel d’Aubigny at Marston Moretaine, Shelton, and Arlesey. This estate became the manor of Henlow Lanthony.
The second largest estate in 1086 was held from the king by Walter of Flanders, with Hugh of Flanders as his undertenant. His property was made up of 3½ hides ploughed by 3 plough teams, one of which belonged to the lord, and the entry suggests there was a possibility that another lord’s plough team could be accommodated. Walter also had meadowland and a mill valued at £1 14s, so considerably more profitable than the mill on Nigel d’Aubigny’s estate. In 1086 the estate was valued at £3, an increase over the £2 value when Walter acquired the estate, but still lower than its pre-Conquest value of £3 10s. In 1066 it had been held by six freemen; again, it is likely these men or their descendants were among the 4 villagers, 4 smallholders and 2 slaves living on this estate in 1086. This property later became the manor of Henlow Grey.
The origins of the manor of Henlow Warden probably lay in the two separate parcels of land held in 1086 by Azelina, wife of Ralph Taillebois. The larger of the two estates consisted of two ploughlands with associated meadow land; this was farmed by two plough teams, and supported 6 households: 2 villagers, 2 smallholders and 2 slaves. In 1066 the estate was held by Eskil of Ware and was worth £1 10s. This value had fallen to £1 after the Conquest, but in 1086 it was again worth £1 10s. It was held by a sub-tenant named Widder, who does not appear to have held land anywhere else. The smaller of Adelina’s two estates was a single ploughland held by undertenant Bernard of Arlesey, which supported 3 villagers. This was valued at £1 7s and 12 pence in 1066, and was valued in 1086 at £1 2s and 12 pence, the same value it was given when Adelina acquired the property. In 1086 it had been held by two freemen from Eskil of Ware.
The final Domesday estate in Henlow was one virgate of ploughland with meadowland held from the Burgesses of Bedford by the intriguingly named Alric Wintermilk, who also held the land before the Conquest. The land was valued at 2s both in 1066 and 1086, and did not support any households. This small estate later became the manor of Henlow Zouches.