Harlington 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 1066 Harlington was held by four thanes, and in 1086 it was held by Nigel d’Aubigny (de Albini) as part of his barony of Cainhoe. By 1086 the value of the holding to the lord was £6, just two-thirds of its £9 value in 1066. The land consisted of 10 ploughlands, with 3½ lord’s plough teams and 5 men’s ploughteams, with another 2 lord’s plough teams possible. There was also 4 ploughlands of meadow and woodland for 400 pigs. There were 28 households, made up of 12 villagers, 6 smallholders and 10 slaves. These were heads of household and so the figure needs to be multiplied by a factor of four or so, giving a population of around a hundred, making it an average sized parish.