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, Hartwell was held by Helto (the steward).
When William the Conqueror's commissioners surveyed Hartwell in 1086, they recorded 6 manors held by Helto (the steward), Robert (d'Oilly), Hugh of Bolbec, Teuthael and Walter of Vernon, under Bishop Odo of Bayeux, Walter Giffard, William Peverel and William the chamberlain. Before the Conquest, in the time of King Edward, the land was held by Freeman, one, Avelin of Dinton, men, two, Alwin, a royal thane, Thorgot, a royal thane and Wulfmer the priest.
The settlement was assessed at 15.25 hides for tax. There was land for 17.5 ploughs, with 10 plough teams at work (4 in the lord's demesne and 6 held by the villagers). The recorded population was 54 heads of household: 24 villagers, 18 smallholders and 12 slaves. These are heads of household, so the settlement's true population was several times larger. Its recorded resources included meadow (8 ploughs) and 1 mill. The manors were valued at 12 pounds in 1086, down from 15 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 →
Hartwell 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 Hartwell'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 Hartwell.
1,512 recorded finds have been logged within about 5 miles of Hartwell, reported by members of the public and entered in the national record of archaeological finds. They span these periods:
The bedrock beneath Hartwell is Portland Group (Portlandian).
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.