A place in Lincolnshire 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, Kelstern was held by Earl Hugh (of Chester).
When William the Conqueror's commissioners surveyed Kelstern in 1086, they recorded 3 manors held by Earl Hugh (of Chester), Alfred of Lincoln and Waldin the artificer. Before the Conquest, in the time of King Edward, the land was held by Earl Harold, Maccus of Cockerington, Rolf (son of Skjaldvor) and Klak.
The settlement was assessed at 12.25 hides for tax. There was land for 15.5 ploughs, with 9.4 plough teams at work (1.4 in the lord's demesne and 8 held by the villagers). The recorded population was 74 heads of household: 24 villagers and 50 freemen. These are heads of household, so the settlement's true population was several times larger. Its recorded resources included meadow (10 acres). The manors were valued at 2.2800000000000002 pounds in 1086, down from 2.5 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 →
Kelstern was one of the settlements recorded in Lincolnshire in the 1086 survey. Lincolnshire in the Domesday survey →
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Kelstern'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 Kelstern.
11 recorded finds have been logged within about 5 miles of Kelstern, reported by members of the public and entered in the national record of archaeological finds. They span these periods:
The bedrock beneath Kelstern is White Chalk Subgroup (Maastrichtian).
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.