Introduction to the Kent Domesday Survey - V.C.H. of Kent

Victoria County History of Kent Vol. 3 1932 - Introduction to the Kent Domesday Survey - Page 201

The reader should bear in mind that three periods are referred to in the Domesday Survey: (i.) ‘The Time of King Edward’ (T.R.E.), which is the date of his death, 5 January 1066; (ii) ‘Afterwards’ or ‘when received.,’ being the time when the estate passed to its new holder; (iii) ‘Now,’ that is to say, when the Survey was compiled, 1086.
   The unit of assessment in Kent was the ‘sulung,’ divided into 4 ‘yokes.’ The arable, spoken of simply as ‘land,’ was calculated in terms of the ploughs which could be employed thereon, each plough being reckoned as having eight oxen. The woodland in Kent was not measured, but valued at the number of swine paid by the villeins for pannage.
   Manors held ‘in demesne’ were those retained by the tenant—in-chief in his own hand; but ‘the demesne’ of a manor was the portion which the tenant worked as a home farm, as opposed to the portion held by the peasants.
   The modern names of places mentioned in the Survey are given in square brackets, and notes are added where the reasons for identification are not obvious. Much assistance has been obtained from monastic chartularies. Mr. G. J. Turner drew attention to the important chartulary of St. Augustine’s Abbey in the Public Record Office (Exch. K.R. Misc. Bks. 27)1, and this, which is referred to in the footnotes as ‘A,’ as well as one of the registers of Christchurch, Canterbury (Cott. MS. Galba, E. iv), here referred to as ‘C,’ and St. Martin’s, Dover (Lambeth MS. 241), have been examined by Mr. L. F. Salzmann for the purposes of this article. Notes for which the Rev. F. W. Ragg is responsible are indicated by the initials (F. W. R).
   ¹ Since edited by Mr. Turner for the British Academy

Previous Page Page 201 (Page 202 Blank) Page 203 Plate XXXV

For details about the advantages of membership of the Kent Archaeological Society click here

To Introduction to the Kent Domesday Survey page listings To Contents Page To Research To Homepage

This website is constructed by enthusiastic amateurs. Any errors noticed by other researchers will be to gratefully received so
that we can amend our pages to give as accurate a record as possible. Please send details to research@kentarchaeology.org.uk