A place in Norfolk 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, Walton was held by Cluny (Saint-Pierre & Saint-Paul), abbey of.
When William the Conqueror's commissioners surveyed Walton in 1086, they recorded 4 manors held by Cluny (Saint-Pierre & Saint-Paul), abbey of, Ely (St Etheldreda), abbey of, Huard (of Vernon) and Bordin of Thorpland, under William of Warenne, Ralph of Beaufour and Hermer of Ferrers. Before the Conquest, in the time of King Edward, the land was held by Toki of Walton, Ely (St Etheldreda), abbey of, Bondi and free men, three.
The settlement was assessed at 12.41 hides for tax. The record notes 27.5 plough teams at work (11 in the lord's demesne and 16.5 held by the villagers). The recorded population was 223 heads of household: 35 villagers, 151 smallholders, 13 freemen and 24 slaves. These are heads of household, so the settlement's true population was several times larger. Its recorded resources included meadow (130 acres). The manors were valued at 34.06 pounds in 1086, up from 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 →
Walton was one of the settlements recorded in Norfolk in the 1086 survey. Norfolk in the Domesday survey →
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Walton'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.
244 recorded finds have been logged within about 5 miles of Walton, reported by members of the public and entered in the national record of archaeological finds. They span these periods:
The bedrock beneath Walton is West Walton Formation, Ampthill Clay Formation And Kimmeridge Clay Formation (Undifferentiated) (Kimmeridgian).
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.