A place in Sussex 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, Willingdon was held by (Robert) Count of Eu.
When William the Conqueror's commissioners surveyed Willingdon in 1086, they recorded 9 manors held by (Robert) Count of Eu, Reinbert (the sheriff), Osbern son of Geoffrey, Hugh, Alwin, Ansgot, Gilbert, Godfrey the priest, Jocelyn, Osbern, Count Robert of Mortain, William and Ansfrid. Before the Conquest, in the time of King Edward, the land was held by Countess Goda, Wulfmer the priest, (Countess) Goda, Earl Godwin and Leofward.
The settlement was assessed at 38.72 hides for tax. There was land for 41.5 ploughs, with 49.5 plough teams at work (13.5 in the lord's demesne and 36 held by the villagers). The recorded population was 126 heads of household: 92 villagers, 28 smallholders, 4 cottagers and 2 slaves. These are heads of household, so the settlement's true population was several times larger. Its recorded resources included meadow (5 acres) and woodland (2 swine render). The manors were valued at 52.8 pounds in 1086, down from 65.55 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 →
Willingdon was one of the settlements recorded in Sussex in the 1086 survey. Sussex in the Domesday survey →
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Willingdon'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 Willingdon.
367 recorded finds have been logged within about 5 miles of Willingdon, reported by members of the public and entered in the national record of archaeological finds. They span these periods:
The bedrock beneath Willingdon is Grey Chalk Subgroup (Cenomanian).
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.