A place in Suffolk 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, Raydon was held by Count Eustace (of Boulogne).
When William the Conqueror's commissioners surveyed Raydon in 1086, they recorded 8 manors held by Count Eustace (of Boulogne), Ro(ger) Bigot, Bishop Odo of Bayeux, Richard son of (Count) Gilbert, Osbern, Alfred, Geoffrey de Mandeville, Gilbert the priest and Ralph Pinel, under Swein of Essex. Before the Conquest, in the time of King Edward, the land was held by Wulfwaru, Ednoth, Aelfric Kemp, Alwin, Edwy, Smeri, Wulfwin, Leofric, Swarting, Esger (the constable), Brictmer (son of Queneva), Edwin, Alward and Erngeat of Raydon.
The settlement was assessed at 7.18 hides for tax. The record notes 12.5 plough teams at work (4 in the lord's demesne and 8.5 held by the villagers). The recorded population was 32 heads of household: 13 villagers, 16 smallholders and 3 slaves. These are heads of household, so the settlement's true population was several times larger. Its recorded resources included meadow (4 acres), woodland (10 pigs) and 1 mill. The manors were valued at 17.22 pounds in 1086, up from 14 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 →
Raydon was one of the settlements recorded in Suffolk in the 1086 survey. Suffolk in the Domesday survey →
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Raydon'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 Raydon.
91 recorded finds have been logged within about 5 miles of Raydon, reported by members of the public and entered in the national record of archaeological finds. They span these periods:
The bedrock beneath Raydon is Thames Group (Eocene).
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.