A place in Essex 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, Donyland was held by Count Eustace (of Boulogne).
When William the Conqueror's commissioners surveyed Donyland in 1086, they recorded 5 manors held by Count Eustace (of Boulogne), Robert, Modwin, Ilbod (brother of Arnulf of Hesdin) and Hagebern. Before the Conquest, in the time of King Edward, the land was held by Edric (of Easthorpe), free man, one, Godric of Colchester, Lagman, free men, four and Modwin.
The settlement was assessed at 4.61 hides for tax. The record notes 3 plough teams at work (1 in the lord's demesne and 2 held by the villagers). The recorded population was 17 heads of household: 16 smallholders and 1 slave. These are heads of household, so the settlement's true population was several times larger. Its recorded resources included meadow (6 acres) and woodland (100 pigs). The manors were valued at 4.449999999999999 pounds in 1086, up from 3.7 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 →
Donyland was one of the settlements recorded in Essex in the 1086 survey. Essex in the Domesday survey →
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Donyland'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 Donyland.
228 recorded finds have been logged within about 5 miles of Donyland, reported by members of the public and entered in the national record of archaeological finds. They span these periods:
The bedrock beneath Donyland is Thames Group (Eocene).
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.