Map: England in 1086

Domesday Book was compiled in AD 1086 for William the Conqueror. It records the number of households, the economic resources, who owned the land, and the tax paid to the king, for almost every settlement in England. This map shows every place in Domesday that can still be located today. Learn more »

Households

War

Resources


People

Domesday records the heads of families, so the total population of a a settlement was probably around five times larger than the number of households recorded.

The total population of England at the time of Domesday was around 1-2 million people.

Domesday records various taxable resources:

Don't take these maps too literally - Domesday isn't always consistent about recording the same type of resource in each county.

For more information, see the Hull Domesday Project's guide to manors and to weights and measures.

About 10% of all the places in Domesday are recorded as "waste" (not liable for tax), usually because they had been destroyed in war.

See the Hull Domesday Project's guide to waste.

The status of households depended on their land and resources. The largest groups recorded in 1086 are:

Other types of household are sometimes noted, including burgesses (townspeople), priests, and Frenchmen (probably a local military presence).

Don't take these maps too literally - Domesday isn't always consistent about recording the same type of data in each county.

For more information, see the Hull Domesday Project's guide to the peasantry and occupations.