Croydon in the Domesday Book

Introduction
Croydon
Sanderstead
Coulsdon
Addington
Glossary

Introduction

Domesday Book is a survey of England, ordered by William the Conqueror in 1085 as an administrative and financial record of the land he had seized. The work was carried out in 1086, and the returns for each county were gathered together at Winchester. The original document is now held in the National Archives.

The native English were in awe of the project. 'So very narrowly did [King William] have [England] investigated', wrote the Anglo-Saxon chronicler, 'that there was no single hide nor a yard of land, nor indeed (it is a shame to relate but it seemed no shame to him to do) one ox nor one cow nor one pig which was there left out, and not put down in his record: and all these records were brought to him afterwards.' The seemingly definitive and unchallengeable nature of the survey meant that it was soon being compared to the Day of Judgement, and so it acquired the name of Domesday Book.

The survey is a record of the King's tenants-in-chief and their sub-tenants in each county, and of the property they held. It lists manors, but not necessarily individual settlements. Each manor is described in terms of its agricultural resources and tenantry. Its value to its lord is given at up to three different dates: the current (1086) value, the value in 1066, and the value before the Conquest (abbreviated as 'T.R.E.', meaning 'in the time of King Edward').

Domesday Book is an enormously important historical document. It is the earliest systematic survey of landholding in England, and is unique throughout Europe. However, it is a difficult source, which is still open to reinterpretation by historians. Not only is it in heavily abbreviated Latin, but the precise meaning of many of the terms used, and the concepts behind them, remain open to debate. Furthermore, it contains numerous inconsistencies and omissions in its coverage.

A full facsimile of the Surrey section, and the most authoritative modern translation, is found in The Surrey Domesday (Alecto Historical Editions, 1989). A more accessible translation is found in Domesday Book: Surrey, edited by John Morris (Phillimore, 1975). Both these translations are available in Croydon Local Studies Library.

In the area covered by the modern London Borough of Croydon, Domesday Book lists six manors: one each in Croydon and Sanderstead, two in Coulsdon, and two in Addington.

Translations of Entries in the Domesday Book:

Croydon

'The Land of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

In Wallington Hundred.

Archbishop Lanfranc holds in demesne CROYDON. T.R.E. it was assessed at 80 hides, and now at 16 hides and 1 virgate. There is land for 20 ploughs. In demesne are 4 ploughs; and 48 villans and 25 bordars with 34 ploughs. There is a church, and a mill rendering 5s., and 8 acres of meadow, woodland for 200 pigs.

Of the land of this manor, Restold holds 7 hides of the archbishop; Ralph 1 hide; and they have £7.8s. from them for rent. T.R.E., and afterwards, the whole was worth £12; now £27 to the archbishop, £10.10s to his men.'

Original text of Croydon entry in the Domesday Book

Sanderstead

'The Land of St Peter of Winchester.

In Wallington Hundred.

The Abbey of St Peter of Winchester [Hyde Abbey] holds SANDERSTEAD. T.R.E. it was assessed at 18 hides; now at 5 hides. There is land for 10 ploughs. In demesne is 1 [plough]; and 21 villans and 1 cottar with 8 ploughs.
There are 4 slaves, woodland for 30 pigs. T.R.E. it was worth 100s; and afterwards £7; now £12, yet it renders £15.'

Original text for Sanderstead

Original text of Sanderstead entry in the Domesday Book

Coulsdon

'The Land of the Church of Chertsey.

In Wallington Hundred.

The Abbey of St Peter of Chertsey holds WADDINGTON [in Coulsdon]. T.R.E. it was assessed at 20 hides; now at 5 hides. There is land for 8 ploughs. In demesne is 1 plough; and 17 villans and 2 cottars with 5 ploughs. There is a church, [and] woodland for 6 pigs as pannage. T.R.E. it was worth £6; now £7.
The Abbey itself holds COULSDON. T.R.E. it was assessed at 20 hides; now at 3£ hides. There is land for 10 ploughs. In demesne is 1 plough; and 10 villans and 4 cottars with 6 ploughs. There is a church, [and] woodland for 3 pigs. T.R.E. it was worth £6; now £7.'

Original text for Coulsdon

Original text of Coulsdon entry in the Domesday Book

Addington

'The Land of Albert.

In Wallington Hundred.

Albert the clerk holds of the king ADDINGTON [the manor later known as Addington Temple; it covered roughly the area of modern New Addington]. Osweard held it of King Edward. It was then assessed at 8 hides; now at 2. There is land for 4 ploughs. In demesne are 2 ploughs; and 5 villans and 4 cottars with 1£ ploughs. Woodland for 20 pigs. T.R.E., as now, [worth] 100s.'

Original text for Addington

Original text of Addington entry in the Domesday Book

'The Lands of Osweald and other thegns.

In Wallington Hundred.

Tezelin the cook holds of the king ADDINGTON [a manor covering the modern Addington Village, and surrounding areas]. Godric held it of King Edward. It was then assessed at 8 hides; now at 1 hide. There is land for 4 ploughs. In demesne are 2 ploughs; and 8 villans and 9 cottars with 2£ ploughs. Woodland for 20 pigs. It is and was worth 100s.'

Original entry

Original text of Addington entry in the Domesday Book

Glossary

bordar	A cottager; a peasant of lower economic status than a villan. Distinct from a cottar, though the precise nature of the distinction is not clear.
cottar	A cottager; a peasant of lower economic status. Distinct from a bordar.
demesne	Manors or land in a lord's personal possession, as opposed to those granted to sub-tenants.
hide	A measurement of land: notionally, the amount of land which would support one family, so its size could vary considerably according to soil quality and local circumstances. A unit of tax assessment based on this.
hundred	An administrative sub-division of a county. Wallington Hundred extended from Cheam in the west to Addington in the east, and from Mitcham in the north to Chaldon in the south.
pannage	The autumn feed for pigs; also a payment for pasturing pigs.
plough	Not necessarily an actual plough, but the amount of land that could be worked by one eight-ox plough team: an indication of the arable capacity of an estate, and/or of the dues required from the estate.
thegn	An Anglo-Saxon term for a man of noble status.
T.R.E.	Abbreviation for 'Tempore Regis Edwardi', or 'in the time of King Edward'. A standard formula used to indicate the situation before 1066.
villan	A villager; a peasant of higher economic status than a bordar or cottar.
virgate	A measurement of land: a quarter of a hide.

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Saturday, 5 July, 2008