Broom 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.

Nigel de Albini held Broom in 1086. It consisted of 5 hides and de Albini's tenant was Nigel of Le Vast. The holding included 9 villagers and 5 smallholders - a total of 14 which must be multiplied by at least four to take account of their dependents - giving a putative population of something over 50. The holding also contained woodland for 30 pigs and was worth 40 shillings. It had been held by seven freemen in 1066, before being taken away from them and given to Nigel by William I. Unusually de Albini's holding in Broom did not become a Manor in the Middle Ages