Ampthill 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.

Ampthill was owned by Nigel de Albini (or D’Aubigny) who owned a considerable amount of land in the county. His tenant was Nigel de le Vast and the manor comprised five hides. There were six villagers, two smallholders and one slave – nine people. These would be heads of household so to arrive at a full figure it is necessary to multiply this by a factor of four or so, nevertheless just 36 people is a tiny figure given Ampthill’s importance in later years.

The manor also included woodland for three hundred pigs and in 1066, when it had been owned by seven freemen (were the six villagers of 1086 among this number?) it had been worth £4. By the time Nigel acquired it the value had halved to forty shillings. There is a theory that so many Bedfordshire manors declined in value after 1066 because Norman armies moving north and east to crush rebellions laid them waste. By 1086 the value had risen to £4 again.