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, Lawford was held by Eudo the steward.
When William the Conqueror's commissioners surveyed Lawford in 1086, they recorded 3 manors held by Eudo the steward, Count E(ustace of Boulogne), Hagebern, Hugh de Montfort, Ralph son of Turold, Richard son of (Count) Gilbert, Roger, Roger of Rames, Walter the deacon, King William, Adelulf (of Marck) and Bernard, under Count Eustace (of Boulogne) and Ralph Baynard. Before the Conquest, in the time of King Edward, the land was held by (Earl) Harold, Aelfric, Freemen, three, Aelfric (Kemp) and Alric.
The settlement was assessed at 24.68 hides for tax. The record notes 26 plough teams at work (9.5 in the lord's demesne and 16.5 held by the villagers). The recorded population was 86 heads of household: 16 villagers, 36 smallholders, 27 freemen and 7 slaves. These are heads of household, so the settlement's true population was several times larger. Its recorded resources included meadow (14 acres), woodland (30 pigs) and 2 mills. The manors were valued at 30.28 pounds in 1086, down from 39.309999999999995 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 →
Lawford 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 Lawford'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 Lawford.
159 recorded finds have been logged within about 5 miles of Lawford, reported by members of the public and entered in the national record of archaeological finds. They span these periods:
The bedrock beneath Lawford 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.