Domesday Book›Essex›The Naze
Essex · Local History

The History of The Naze

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, The Naze was held by London (St Paul), canons of.

The record

What the Domesday Book records for The Naze

When William the Conqueror's commissioners surveyed The Naze in 1086, they recorded a manor held by London (St Paul), canons of. The same lord had held the land before the Norman Conquest of 1066.

The settlement was assessed at 27 hides for tax. The record notes 36 plough teams at work (6 in the lord's demesne and 30 held by the villagers). The recorded population was 119 heads of household: 63 villagers, 50 smallholders and 6 slaves. These are heads of household, so the settlement's true population was several times larger. Its recorded resources included meadow (9 acres), woodland (300 pigs) and 2 mills. The manor was valued at 30.66 pounds in 1086, up from 26 pounds in 1066.

The record in full
Held in 1086 by
London (St Paul), canons of
Held in 1066 by
London (St Paul), canons of
Value in 1086
30.66 pounds (26 pounds in 1066)
Taxable assessment
27 hides
Ploughs at work
36
Recorded population
63 villagers, 50 smallholders, 6 slaves
Meadow
9 acres
Woodland
300 pigs
Mills
2

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 →

The Naze was one of the settlements recorded in Essex in the 1086 survey. Essex in the Domesday survey →

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about The Naze

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of The Naze's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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Explore further

Villages near The Naze

Birch Hall
~1.4 miles
Frinton
~2.5 miles
Moze
~2.6 miles
Oakley
~3.3 miles
Oakley
~3.6 miles
Foulton
~3.8 miles
Beaumont
~3.8 miles
Holland
~4.7 miles
Ramsey
~4.8 miles
Dovercourt
~5 miles
Historical context

Notable places nearby

Colchester
Roman town · ~14.9 miles
Protected heritage

Scheduled monuments near The Naze

World War II bombing decoy HA2 Kirby-le-Soken
Scheduled monument · ~1.1 miles
Martello tower K and associated battery south west of Walton Mere
Scheduled monument · ~1.3 miles
Beaumont Quay, Hamford Water: a 19th century quay and lime kiln
Scheduled monument · ~2.9 miles
Heavy Anti-aircraft gunsite 350m north east of Little Oakley Hall
Scheduled monument · ~3.6 miles
Remains of the medieval parish church and cemetery, 70m north east of the junction of Hall Close and Frinton Road
Scheduled monument · ~4.5 miles
Archaeology

Archaeological finds near The Naze

100 recorded finds have been logged within about 5 miles of The Naze, reported by members of the public and entered in the national record of archaeological finds. They span these periods:

Post medieval: 44Medieval: 24Roman: 9Iron age: 8Early medieval: 4Neolithic: 3Bronze age: 2Modern: 1Palaeolithic: 1
Landscape

The ground beneath The Naze

The bedrock beneath The Naze is Eocene claystone (Eocene).

Common questions

Questions about The Naze

Was The Naze in the Domesday Book?+
Yes. The Naze was recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as a settlement in the historic county of Essex.
Who held The Naze in 1086?+
In 1086, The Naze was held by London (St Paul), canons of.
Who held The Naze before the Norman Conquest?+
Before the Conquest in 1066, The Naze was held by London (St Paul), canons of.
What was The Naze worth in the Domesday Book?+
In 1086, The Naze was valued at 30.66 pounds. The 1066 value was 26 pounds, showing a rise.
How many people lived in The Naze in 1086?+
The 1086 survey recorded 119 people in The Naze: 63 villagers, 50 smallholders and 6 slaves.
What land did The Naze have in 1086?+
The Domesday Book records The Naze as having 36 ploughs in use, 9 acres of meadow, 300 pigs of woodland.
Where is The Naze today?+
The Naze is a settlement in the historic county of Essex, England.
Aubrey Research

Discover The Naze's Complete Historical Record

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.

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