Gloucestershire · Local History

The History of Morton

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, Morton was held by Gloucester (St Peter), abbey of.

The record

What the Domesday Book records for Morton

When William the Conqueror's commissioners surveyed Morton in 1086, they recorded a manor held by Gloucester (St Peter), abbey of. The same lord had held the land before the Norman Conquest of 1066.

The settlement was assessed at 5 hides for tax. The record notes 8 plough teams at work (2 in the lord's demesne and 6 held by the villagers). The recorded population was 9 heads of household: 7 villagers and 2 smallholders. These are heads of household, so the settlement's true population was several times larger. Its recorded resources included woodland (1 * 1 leagues). The manor was valued at 2 pounds in 1086, up from 1 pound in 1066.

The record in full
Held in 1086 by
Gloucester (St Peter), abbey of
Held in 1066 by
Gloucester (St Peter), abbey of
Value in 1086
2 pounds (1 pound in 1066)
Taxable assessment
5 hides
Ploughs at work
8
Recorded population
7 villagers, 2 smallholders
Woodland
1 * 1 leagues

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 →

Morton was one of the settlements recorded in Gloucestershire in the 1086 survey. Gloucestershire in the Domesday survey →

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Everything a full report reveals about Morton

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Morton'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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Archaeology

Archaeological finds near Morton

1,681 recorded finds have been logged within about 5 miles of Morton, reported by members of the public and entered in the national record of archaeological finds. They span these periods:

Roman: 732Medieval: 442Post medieval: 367Iron age: 45Early medieval: 41Bronze age: 17Neolithic: 14Modern: 4Mesolithic: 1
Landscape

The ground beneath Morton

The bedrock beneath Morton is Triassic Rocks (Undifferentiated) (Triassic).

Common questions

Questions about Morton

Was Morton in the Domesday Book?+
Yes. Morton was recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as a settlement in the historic county of Gloucestershire.
Who held Morton in 1086?+
In 1086, Morton was held by Gloucester (St Peter), abbey of.
Who held Morton before the Norman Conquest?+
Before the Conquest in 1066, Morton was held by Gloucester (St Peter), abbey of.
What was Morton worth in the Domesday Book?+
In 1086, Morton was valued at 2 pounds. The 1066 value was 1 pound, showing a rise.
How many people lived in Morton in 1086?+
The 1086 survey recorded 9 people in Morton: 7 villagers and 2 smallholders.
What land did Morton have in 1086?+
The Domesday Book records Morton as having 8 ploughs in use, 1 * 1 leagues of woodland.
Where is Morton today?+
Morton is a settlement in the historic county of Gloucestershire, England.
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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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