The Domesday Book: England's Heritage, Then & Now [Hardcover]

Thomas Hinde (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1997

The great Norman administrative document is used as the basis for an enquiry into the changes undergone by the English countryside over the past 1000 years. A time chart setting "Domesday" in its medieval context leads onto a short essay on daily life in Norman England. The central text is a series of county gazeteers, containing over 12,500 entries, which list the "Domesday" settlements alphabetically by their modern spelling. Each entry gives the original "Domesday" information and a note on the history and present status of a settlement. A number of short essays on points of particular interest lend depth and detail to the picture. The text is interspersed with a large number of colour and b&w photograhs and maps.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 351 pages
• Publisher: Quadrillion Pub (March 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1858334403
• ISBN-13: 978-1858334400
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 9.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #224,769 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars England's heritage and geography from a unique perspective!, August 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Domesday Book: England's Heritage, Then & Now (Hardcover)

This beautiflly illustrated book presents England's geography and heritage from a unique persepctive: the Domesday Book. The book starts with an essay on the Domesday Book, complete with keys to reading and understanding an entry in the Domesday Book. The main part of the book is divided into 37 counties. Each section begins with a general survey of the county followed by short essays on individual areas that were chosen for their social and geographical diversity. The essays are tied to their original Domesday entries. A county gazeteer follows which lists the Domesday settlements alphabetically by their modern spelling. Each entry summarizes the Domesday information and includes, wherever possible, information on the settlement's history and present status. The book includes over 12,500 entries, hundreds of photographs and line drawings, a glossary and mini biographies of almost 200 major landholders at the time the survey was taken. A wonderful book for medieval history lovers!

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finely illustrated guide to the Domesday Book, February 17, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Domesday Book: England's Heritage Then and Now (Hardcover)

The book contains a very good summary of each English Shire covered by the Domesday Survey. Each Shire contains map and a focus on several towns, as well as, a list of all place names found in the survey. There is also a glossary of terms, a list of important personages, and plenty of pictures of landscape and architecture.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 1066 and all that, May 31, 2011

By 

E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Domesday Book: England's Heritage, Then & Now (Hardcover)

One of the first items that William I of England (known as William the Conqueror or William the Bastard, depending on your point of view) had on his to-do list was to figure out how much his new subjects owed him in taxes. This required a census of much of England and parts of Wales, and was completed in 1086, the year before William's death. (I'll bet census-taker was a much more interesting job, back then). The results became known as the Domesday Book.

In August 2006 a complete online version of Domesday Book was made available for the first time by the United Kingdom's National Archives, if you prefer to do your searching online. This book is interesting in that it compares particular land-holdings then and now. The original Domesday book is now held in London at the Public Record Office.

This isn't a book that can be read straight through, but it can be browsed with pleasure. Be sure to read the introduction before plunging into the local histories. At the very least, you'll need to know what a hide of land is. Although much of the Domesday record is focused on land, taxes, and disputes over ownership, there are also brief glimpses of how people lived both before and after the Norman conquest.