A place in Kent 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, Castweazel was held by Robert son of Watson.
When William the Conqueror's commissioners surveyed Castweazel in 1086, they recorded a manor held by Robert son of Watson and William Follet, who held from Canterbury (Christ Church), archbishop of. Before the Conquest, in the time of King Edward, it was held by Canterbury (Christ Church), archbishop of.
The settlement was assessed at 1 hide for tax. There was land for 3 ploughs, with 7 plough teams at work. The recorded population was 21 heads of household: 21 villagers. These are heads of household, so the settlement's true population was several times larger. The manor was valued at 3.65 pounds in 1086, up from 3.15 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 →
Castweazel was one of the settlements recorded in Kent in the 1086 survey. Kent in the Domesday survey →
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Castweazel'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 Castweazel.
91 recorded finds have been logged within about 5 miles of Castweazel, reported by members of the public and entered in the national record of archaeological finds. They span these periods:
The bedrock beneath Castweazel is Wealden Group (Barremian).
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.