Arlesey 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.

In 1086 Arlesey was divided into four holdings the largest of which was owned by the Bishop of Durham, then William de Saint Calais. The manor comprised eight hides and two parts of a virgate as well as eight villagers, five smallholders and two slaves. There were also two mills, probably a single watermill with two sets of milling stones (windmills would be unknown in England for another hundred years) worth 26/8. In 1066, when the holding had belonged to the canons of Holy Cross, Waltham [Essex] (incidentally said to be the place William I’s defeated adversary King Harold was buried, he had been a major patron of the church) and had been worth £8. This had fallen to £7 by the time the bishop acquired it and remained at this level in 1086.

William of Eu held five and a half hides and two parts of another hide and his tenant was a man named Bernard. The holding had thirteen villagers and ten smallholders. There was another mill, valued at ten shillings and a market with a similar value. It had been worth £7 in 1066 when held by Anglo-Saxon Alstan of Boscombe, he also had a freeman, presumably as his tenant as Bernard was William’s and he held the two parts of a single hide. The value remained the same in 1086.

Nigel de Albini, a large landowner in the county, held three virgates and a third part of another virgate and his tenant was a man named Herfast. The value had been twenty shillings in 1066 which had fallen to seventeen by the time Nigel acquired it, a value it retained in 1086. Two freemen had held the land in 1066.

The final portion of Arlesey noted in the Domesday Book was two parts of one virgate held by a man named Wulfsi, a priest of King William’s. No value is attached to his holding.

In total, disregarding overlords and tenants Arlesey accounted for twenty one villagers, fifteen smallholders and two slaves. This total of thirty eight would just be the heads of households and to get the true factor one probably needs to multiply it by a factor of at least four, suggesting a population of around one hundred and fifty. This is small in today’s terms but is a good size for the late 11th century, much bigger than some parishes which were more important in later years. The presence of a market also shows us Arlesey’s importance at this time.