A place in Buckinghamshire with a history you can trace through the records: its entry in the 1086 Domesday Book, the archaeological finds and scheduled monuments around it, and the nearest Roman sites and battlefields. Everything below is drawn from the historical record.
In 1086, Droitwich was held by Humphrey (the chamberlain).
When William the Conqueror's commissioners surveyed Droitwich in 1086, they recorded 11 manors held by Humphrey (the chamberlain), King William, Paris (Saint-Denis), abbey of, Urso (of Abetot), Gloucester (St Peter), abbey of, Leofnoth the priest, Westminster (St Peter), abbey of, Pershore (St Mary), abbey of, Nigel the doctor, Walter, Roger of Lacy and Harold son of Earl Ralph, under Coventry (St Mary), abbey of, Hereford (St Guthlac), canons of and Ralph of Tosny. Before the Conquest, in the time of King Edward, the land was held by Brictric son of Algar, Paris (Saint-Denis), abbey of, Westminster (St Peter), abbey of, Pershore (St Mary), abbey of, Hereford (St Guthlac), canons of and Aelfric Mapson.
The settlement was assessed at 38.75 hides for tax. The record notes 36 plough teams at work (9 in the lord's demesne and 27 held by the villagers). The recorded population was 73 heads of household: 36 villagers, 12 smallholders and 25 slaves. These are heads of household, so the settlement's true population was several times larger. Its recorded resources included meadow (60 acres), woodland (1 * 1 leagues) and 3.5 mills. The manors were valued at 39.599999999999994 pounds in 1086, up from 17.25 pounds in 1066.
The Domesday Book was the great survey of England ordered by William the Conqueror in 1085 and completed in 1086, the oldest surviving public record in the country. How the survey worked →
Droitwich was one of the settlements recorded in Buckinghamshire in the 1086 survey. Buckinghamshire in the Domesday survey →
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Droitwich's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Nationally registered historic battlefields within 25 miles of Droitwich.
1,786 recorded finds have been logged within about 5 miles of Droitwich, reported by members of the public and entered in the national record of archaeological finds. They span these periods:
The bedrock beneath Droitwich is Triassic Rocks (Undifferentiated) (Triassic).
Aubrey's full report for this location includes every Domesday manor, the complete record of medieval lordship, archaeological context, and the story of how this settlement evolved from 1086 to the present day.