A place in Wiltshire 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, Clyffe was held by Gilbert.
When William the Conqueror's commissioners surveyed Clyffe in 1086, they recorded 14 manors held by Gilbert, Robert, Robert of Ashton, Humphrey, Miles Crispin, Ansfrid, Gilbert of Bretteville, Henry of Ferrers, Hugh the ass, Wulfric Waula, William (son of Ansculf), Wibert and Turstin the chamberlain, under Count Robert of Mortain, Arnulf of Hesdin, Alfred of Marlborough, Humphrey de l'Isle and Edward of Salisbury. Before the Conquest, in the time of King Edward, the land was held by Godwin, Ketil, Carlman, Sigar of Clyffe, Edwin (the hunter), (Earl) Harold, Aelfric, Burghelm, Godiva, Godric (the sheriff), Wulfeva Beteslau and Alwin.
The settlement was assessed at 60.5 hides for tax. There was land for 29 ploughs, with 16 plough teams at work (10 in the lord's demesne and 6 held by the villagers). The recorded population was 64 heads of household: 12 villagers, 25 smallholders, 1 cottager and 26 slaves. These are heads of household, so the settlement's true population was several times larger. Its recorded resources included meadow (10 acres), woodland (4 acres) and 3 mills. The manors were valued at 33.85 pounds in 1086.
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 →
Clyffe was one of the settlements recorded in Wiltshire in the 1086 survey. Wiltshire in the Domesday survey →
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Clyffe'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 Clyffe.
238 recorded finds have been logged within about 5 miles of Clyffe, reported by members of the public and entered in the national record of archaeological finds. They span these periods:
The bedrock beneath Clyffe 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.