Stotfold 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.

The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded that the Manor of Stotfold was held by King Edward in 1066 and his tenant was Eskil of Ware. By 1086 the manor was held by Hugh de Beauchamp, later created Baron of Bedford, who was also tenant in chief.

The manor was noted as containing 21 villagers, 14 smallholders and 6 slaves - 41 heads of household. This figure should be multiplied by a factor of at least four to account for these men's dependents giving a total population of, perhaps, a little over one hundred and fifty. The manor included four mills valued at £4 and meadow for 7 ploughs. The manor was worth £20 in 1066 but had increased to £25 in 1086.