A place in Gloucestershire 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, Kemerton was held by Gerard the chamberlain.
When William the Conqueror's commissioners surveyed Kemerton in 1086, they recorded 3 manors held by Gerard the chamberlain, Alfrith of Moreton, Gerard, Gilbert son of Turold, Reinbald (of Cirencester), Turstin son of Rolf, Walter Ponther, Westminster (St Peter), abbey of, William son of Baderon, Winchcombe (St Mary), abbey of, Paris (Saint-Denis), abbey of and free men, five, under King William. Before the Conquest, in the time of King Edward, the land was held by Let, Alfrith of Moreton, Alwin (the sheriff of Gloucestershire), Alwin the sheriff (of Warwickshire), Auti, Brictric, Edric, Edwy, Godric, Leofwin (uncle of Thorkil), Westminster (St Peter), abbey of and Wulfwy.
The settlement was assessed at 114 hides for tax. The record notes 134.5 plough teams at work (49.5 in the lord's demesne and 85 held by the villagers). The recorded population was 341 heads of household: 157 villagers, 84 smallholders and 100 slaves. These are heads of household, so the settlement's true population was several times larger. Its recorded resources included meadow (8 acres), woodland (1 * 0.5 leagues) and 12 mills. The manors were valued at 78 pounds in 1086, up from 77.5 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 →
Kemerton was one of the settlements recorded in Gloucestershire in the 1086 survey. Gloucestershire in the Domesday survey →
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Kemerton'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 Kemerton.
707 recorded finds have been logged within about 5 miles of Kemerton, reported by members of the public and entered in the national record of archaeological finds. They span these periods:
The bedrock beneath Kemerton is Lias Group (Aalenian).
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.