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Saltflatebi in the Domesday Book

William I made a record of all his newly conquered English land in the extensive document of 1086, the famous Domesday Book. The Lincolnshire village of Saltflatebi was mentioned 6 times and consisted of 53 households.

William of Normandy, as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, who became William the First of England, William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Seated between his two half-brothers: to his right, Bishop Odo of Bayeux and to his left, Count Robert of Mortain.

The Norman Conquest

After the death of King Edward the Confessor, his brother-in-law Harold Godwinson claimed the throne. This was contested by William of Normandy, who defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, becoming the first Norman King of England: William the Conqueror.  According to the feudal system at the time, the king had ultimate power over all land and people in the country.  He did not immediately dispossess the existing Anglo-Danish land-holders of their estates, but received insufficient co-operation to govern through Englishmen after risings against his rule, so much of the land was handed over to loyal Norman noblemen. Also fearing Viking invasion, he wanted to raise taxes to fund a defending army.  To do so he needed to know who owned what land and the wealth of every person, so he could tax them accordingly and raise the necessary funds.

Compiling Domesday 

William I sent out surveyors to all areas of the country to gather information to make a detailed record of England: land ownership, value, people and resources. Completed in 1086, said to be written up by a single scribe, in Latin, in two volumes: the Great Domesday (covering most of the country, including Lincolnshire) and Little Domesday (covering Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk),  now held in the National Archives in London. Originally called the Kings Roll, it was later called ‘Domesday’ as a metaphor for the day of judgement, because its decisions, like those of the last judgement, were unalterable.

The Great Domesday Book, compiled in 1086-7, Britain's oldest public record, in The National Archives

Page from the Great Domesday Book, (Folio 338v in The National Archives), includes details of the land in Saltflateby owned by William I.

Our area in the Domesday Book

The records are set out county by country, divided into a sequence of fiefs, the manors held directly from the crown by a single landowner in that county.  So Saltfleetby is mentioned 6 times, under the fiefs of the different landowners, listing details of all the areas of land they own in Lincolnshire, located in different villages.  Their holdings were normally described in a regular geographical order, determined by the district in which they were located. “Hundreds” were the main administrative subdivisions of a county, Saltfleetby was in the hundred of Louthesk, in the South Riding of Lindsey.

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780 places were listed the county of Lincolnshire, of which Saltfleetby was one of the larger, with 53 recorded households (though this is just an estimate as Saltfleetby and Skidbrooke are listed together under the entry for one of the land owners). For comparison Barton (upon Humber) was the largest Lincolnshire town with 196 household, Louth had 124, Wainfleet 55, Sutton (-on-Sea) 50, Somercotes 49, Theddlethorpe 45, Mablethorpe 39, Grimsby 32, Skidbrooke 33, Trusthorpe 20 and Alford 7.

Saltfleetby is in the largest 20% of settlements recorded in the whole Domesday book.  At this time Saltfleetby was recorded as one village, which included the areas which would become the three  separate parishes later. 

Explanation of the terms​ used in Saltfleetby’s entries

 

Land and measures

 

Sokeland: Jurisdiction: the outlying dependency of a manor which rendered payments to the lord of the manor, but whose soil was not owned by him.

 

Carucate: Derived from the Latin word caruca, meaning plough, this is a measure of land, equivalent to a hide, represented the

amount of land which could be ploughed by one plough team in a day (about 120 acres).

 

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.

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

 

Plough:  A plough team with its eight oxen and the plough itself.

 

Meadow:  An indispensable resource for farming communities, it could be more valuable than the arable land itself, measured in acres.

 

Waste:  Land which was either unusable or uncultivated, and not taxed, not fit for agricultural use.

 

People

 

Tenant in chief:  A person who held his lands under various forms of feudal land tenure directly from the king.

 

Lord:  The immediate lord over the peasants, sometimes the same as the tenant-in-chief, sometimes a tenant granted the estate in return for tax.

 

Sokeman:  Freeman class of peasant, substantial in number, possessing a relatively strong economic position and extensive rights, with on average 30 acres of land and two plough oxen.

 

Villan:  Villager, the most substantial group of unfree peasant, bound to the lord of the manor to whom he paid dues and services, in return for land, possessing on average 30 acres of land and two plough oxen.

 

Bordar: Unfree peasant, smallholders with less land than villans, on average they possessed 5 acres of land.

Land of King William

Translation: In Saltfleetby 2 caruates of land.  There are 40 sokemen and 9 bordars having 4 ploughs and 120 acres of meadow

Summary:

Households

  • Households: 40 freemen. 9 smallholders.

Land and resources

  • Ploughland: 4 men's plough teams.

  • Other resources: Meadow 120 acres.

Owners

By far the largest and most populous portion of land in Saltfleetby was owned and ruled by the crown, King William I himself.  It was formerly in the hands of the old ruler and listed as land of Edward the Confessor's wife Queen Edith. 

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Nationally The crown, King William I, directly controlled about 20% of the land.  In Lincolnshire around 14% of annual revenue from Lincolnshire was derived from the King's own estate.

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The coronation of Queen Edith of Wessex

Queen Edith

The wife of the late King Edward the Confessor, and sister of Harold Godwin, his successor as king who was defeated by William at Hastings.  Her father, Godwin, was created first Earl of Wessex by King Canute, or Knut, who ruled his Anglo-Scandinavian empire from 1016 until his death in 1035 and arranged Godwin's marriage with his sister-in-law Gytha, Edith’s mother.  She was educated at the royal abbey of Wilton, a Benedictine convent near Salisbury, where she learned Latin, French, Danish, and Irish languages, grammar, rhetoric, and mathematics, in addition to female skills like weaving and embroidery. Unusually for the time, she was crowned queen. Later in her husband's reign, Edith seems to have become a trusted adviser who promoted a variety of religious causes and foundations. Whist pious Edward presided over the rebuilding of Westminster Abbey, much of the running of the country was undertaken by Edith’s father, Earl Godwin and brother, Harold. As they had no children, when Edward died there was no natural successor to the throne which was claimed by Harold until his death at Hastings in 1066. Edith was the only senior member of the Godwin family to survive the Norman conquest on English soil.  She was treated with respect by William and allowed to retain some of her husband's land. It’s been suggested that she may have commissioned the Bayeux Tapestry. When she died in 1075 aged 50, William honoured her with a funeral at Westminster Abbey.

Land of The Bishop of Durham

Translation: In Saltfleetby is sokeland of this manor, 1 bovate of land to the geld. There is land for 2 oxen. There are 3 sokemen and 1 villan with 4 oxen

Summary:

Households

  • Households: 1 villager. 3 freemen.

Land and resources

  • Ploughland: 0.3 ploughlands. 0.5 men's plough teams.

Owners

Translation: In Saltfleetby is 1 bovate to the geld

Summary:

Owners

William of St Calais, from an 11th-century manuscript of St Augustine's

The Bishop of Durham

William de St-Calais was the Bishop of Durham at this time.  He came from Bayeux, where he studied under Bishop Odo, William’s half brother.  He became a Benedictine monk at Saint-Calais in Maine. Whilst abbot of the monastery of St Vincent in Le Mans he showed impressive administrative skills which may have led to his nomination by King William I as Bishop of Durham in 1080.    He was highly influential in William I’s court, his name appearing as a witness on royal documents right below the royal family and the archbishops. He is thought to have overseen the writing of the Domesday book, and may have been the driving force behind the organisation of the entire Domesday survey. 

After William’s death in 1087, the throne went to his son William Rufus, who became William II.  In 1088 St. Calais was tried for rebellion against the new king for not siding with him, against his brother, Robert Curthose. He was exiled to Normandy for three years.  After his return he ordered the destruction of the old cathedral, to make way for the construction of a new, larger Durham Cathedral which stands today, begun in 1093, dedicated to St Cuthbert. He died in 1096, 37 years before the completion of the new cathedral building.

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The church owned 25% of land in England, nine bishops and abbots acting as lords in Lincolnshire received 16% of all taxes in the area.

Land of Alfred of Lincoln

Translation: In Saltfleetby 1 bovate of land to the geld. There is land for 1.5 oxen.  It is sokeland of “South Cadeby” (in Calcethorpe). Alvred has two parts, William the third

Summary:

Land and resources

  • Ploughland: 0.2 ploughlands.

Owners

Other information

  • Waste (by implication) in 1086.

Land of Rainer of Brimeux

Alfred of Lincoln

Alfred (Alured or Aluredus) of Lincoln was among the “middle rank” of tenants in chief who inherited smaller Lincolnshire baronies, documented as the first holder of the Barony of Thoresway.  Born in around 1040 and dying in about 1100 when his Lincolnshire estates were succeeded by (his son) Alan de Lincoln. 

He may have been part of the family of Colswein (Kolsveinn) de Peverel of Lincoln, of Brattleby, Lincolnshire (whose land was listed immediately prior to Alfred’s) and his wife Muriel de Capello, the daughter of Norman nobleman Eudes-au-Capel and his wife Muriel de Conteville.  Another Alfred of Lincoln (who may have been Aluredus’s son) later held substantial land in Winterborne St Martin (Martinstown) Dorset.

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Translation: In Saltfleetby is half a bovate of land to the geld. There is land for half an ox. It is sokeland. It is waste.

Summary:

Land and resources

  • Ploughland: 0.1 ploughlands.

Owners

Other information

  • Possibly waste (ambiguous) in 1066.

  • Possibly waste (ambiguous) when acquired by current owner.

  • Waste in 1086.

Rainer of Brimeux

A Norman nobleman who was tenant in chief of 25 areas in Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire, and lord of 20 in the same regions.

Baldwin of Flanders

William the Conqueror’s wife, Queen Matilda (1031-1083) was the daughter of Baldwin V Count of Flanders (1012-1067).  The Baldwin of Flanders, listed as a lord here in 1086 may be his grandson Baldwin II, Count of Hainaut (1056–1098) of the House of Flanders.

Land of William Blundt

Translation: In Saltfleetby and Skidbrooke are 2 bovates of land to the geld. There is land for 3 oxen. [It is] sokeland of “South Cadeby” [in Calcethorpe]. It is waste

Summary:

Land and resources

  • Ploughland: 0.4 ploughlands.

Owners

Other information

  • Possibly waste (ambiguous) in 1066.

  • Possibly waste (ambiguous) when acquired by current owner.

  • Waste in 1086.

Nationally Norman nobility owned 50% of land, and English nobility 5%.  In Lincolnshire it appears to be that 70% of land was held by Normans and only 4% English, with Colswein of Brattleby being the only English noblemen to hold a substantial estate in the county.  

References

Open Domesday, Saltfleetby, https://opendomesday.org/place/XX0000/saltfleetby-all-saints-st-clement-and-st-peter/

Interpreting Domesday, National Archives, https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/domesday/discover-domesday/interpreting-domesday.htm

The Domesday Book Online, http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/index.html

Domesday Book, World History Encyclopedia, Domesday Book - World History Encyclopedia

William of St Calais, https://www.durhamworldheritagesite.com/learn/history/prince-bishops/early-bishops/william-calais

William de St-Calais, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_de_St-Calais

Graham Platts, Land and People in Medieval Lincolnshire, History of Lincolnshire Committee, (1985)

R.E.G Kirk, The Family of Lincoln, http://fmg.ac/phocadownload/userupload/scanned-sources/tgb/Vol06-PDFs/S-2861%20Lincoln.pdf

Richard Sharpe and Nicholas Karn, Alfred of Lincoln, Oct 2014, https://actswilliam2henry1.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/h1-alfred-of-lincoln-2014-1.pdf

K S B Keats-Rohan, Domesday People, ‎ Boydell Press (1999)

Alured or Alfred de Lincoln, www.geni.com/people/Alured-or-Alfred-de-Lincoln/6000000002447073423?through=6000000003949845224

Sharon L. Jansen, Edith of Wessex, Queen of England, www.monstrousregimentofwomen.com/2015/12/edith-of-wessex-queen-of-england.html

Picture Credits

William of St Calais, Bishop of Durham, from an 11th-century manuscript of St Augustine's Commentary on the Psalms

Coronation of Queen Edith of Wessex, from a mid-thirteenth century manuscript of the life of Edward the Confessor, by Matthew Paris

The Great Doomsday Book, National Archives, https://www.worldhistory.org/image/9476/great-domesday-book/

William Duke of Normandy, detail from Bayeux Tapestry, https://www.bayeuxmuseum.com/en/the-bayeux-tapestry/discover-the-bayeux-tapestry/the-characters/

Details from the Domesday Book from Open Domesday, https://opendomesday.org/place/XX0000/saltfleetby-all-saints-st-clement-and-st-peter/

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