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The Domesday Book (also known as Domesday, or Book of Winchester), was the record of the great survey of England completed in 1086, executed for William the Conqueror. The survey was similar to a census by a government of today. William needed information about the country he had just conquered so he could administer it. Whilst spending the Christmas of 1085 in Gloucester, William "had deep speech with his counsellors and sent men all over England to each shire ... to find out ... what or how much each landholder had in land and livestock, and what it was worth." One of the main purposes of the survey was to find out who owned what so they could be taxed on it, and the judgment of the assessors was final — whatever the book said about who owned the property, or what it was worth, was the law, and there was no appeal. It was written in Latin, although there were some vernacular words inserted for native terms with no previous Latin equivalent and the text was highly abbreviated. When the book took the name "Domesday" (Middle English spelling of Doomsday) in the 12th century, it was to emphasize its definitiveness and authority (the analogy refers to the Christian belief of a Last Judgment).

Corfe Mullen is mentioned in the Domesday Book. The translation is as follows:

DORSET
XXX The Land of Robert Fitzgerald
ROBERT fitzGerald holds CORFE MULLEN of the King. Wada and Æthelric held it TRE, and it paid geld for 10 hides. There is land for 10 ploughs. Of this 7½ hides are in demesne, and there is 1 plough, and 4 slaves; and 12 villans and 12 bordars with 5 ploughs. There is a mill rendering 20s, and 102 acres of meadow, pasture 2 leagues in length and width, [and] woodland 2 leagues long and 1 league wide. It was and is worth 15l.
The same Robert holds [?] LEIGH [in Wimborne Minster]. 2 thegns held it TRE, and it paid geld for 1 hide. There is land for 1 plough. 3 villans have this [plough] there. There are 2 acres of meadow, [and] woodland 1 furlong and 5 virgates wide. It was worth 13s; now 20s.
Robert holds of Robert holds [sic] RANSTON. 2 brothers held it in parage TRE, and it paid geld for 3 hides. There is land for 2½ ploughs. In demesne is 1 plough; and 6 villans and 3 bordars with 1 plough. There is a mill rendering 3s, and 10 acres of meadow, pasture 3 furlongs long and 1 furlong wide, [and] woodland 5 furlongs long and 3 furlongs wide. It was and is worth 3l.
Robert himself holds POVINGTON. Almær held it TRE, and it paid geld for 8 ½ hides. There is land for 6 ploughs. In demesne are 3 ploughs, and 8 slaves; and 4 villans and 5 bordars with 3 ploughs. There is a mill in Wareham 1 burgess pays 2s rendering 25s, and 8 acres of meadow and 6 acres of woodland, [and] pasture 6 furlongs long and as much wide. It was and is worth 11l. The mill of this manor is claimed for the king’s use.

Glossary

Bordar - Unfree peasant with less land than villans

Burgess - An urban dweller, usually from the upper section of townsmen, whose tenure was based on a financial payment.

Demesne> - Part of the manor kept by the lord in his own hands or farmed for his own profit.

Geld - Anglo-Saxon land tax continued by the Normans. It was assessed on the number of hides.

Hide - The standard unit of assessment used for tax purposes. It was meant to represent the amount of land that could support a household, roughly 120 acres. There were four virgates to every hide.

Manor - An estate or unit of lordship, varying in size. The Domesday survey was based on the manor not the parish.

Plough(land) - When the Domesday Book refers to number of ploughs it is referring to the taxable amount of land that can be ploughed by a team of eight oxen. Thus, land ‘for half a plough’ means half a plough land.

Slave - Man or woman who was the property of his or her lord and had no lands.

Thegn - The order of nobility in Anglo-Saxon England before the Conquest was earl, King’s thegn and median thegn.

TRE - Abbreviation used in the Domesday Book for tempore Regis Edwardi, ‘at the time of King Edward’. When William wanted to know who owned the manor immediately before he became king he referred to the reign of King Edward. Harold, who succeeded Edward as king in January 1066 and was defeated by William in October 1066 is nearly always referred to as ‘earl’ Harold in Domesday – his reign being airbrushed out of history by the scribe.

Villan - An unfree peasant who owed his lord labour services (two or three days per week) but who also farmed land for himself. Villans were the wealthiest and most numerous of unfree peasants. Also called villains or villeins.

Comments

The building that was the mill in Corfe Mullen still exists and is in use today though as a private dwelling, not a mill. It has been a restaurant in the past.

The translation mentions RANSTON though looking at the image of the actual page in the Domesday Book, it clearly reads IWERNE. Is this a mistake? Iwerne could be Iwerne Minster, not far from Wimborne.

POVINGTON could well be BOVINGTON as it is mentioned together with Wareham.

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