A place in Worcestershire 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, Mathon was held by riders, two.
When William the Conqueror's commissioners surveyed Mathon in 1086, they recorded 5 manors held by riders, two, Pershore (St Mary), abbey of, Urso (of Abetot), Walter Ponther, Odo and Adelelm, under Roger of Lacy and Drogo son of Poyntz. Before the Conquest, in the time of King Edward, the land was held by Pershore (St Mary), abbey of, Merewin of Baysham and Alward.
The settlement was assessed at 6 hides for tax. The record notes 19 plough teams at work (4 in the lord's demesne and 15 held by the villagers). The recorded population was 30 heads of household: 7 villagers and 23 smallholders. These are heads of household, so the settlement's true population was several times larger. Its recorded resources included 1 mill. The manors were valued at 7.25 pounds in 1086, down from 9.75 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 →
Mathon was one of the settlements recorded in Worcestershire in the 1086 survey. Worcestershire in the Domesday survey →
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Mathon'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 Mathon.
575 recorded finds have been logged within about 5 miles of Mathon, reported by members of the public and entered in the national record of archaeological finds. They span these periods:
The bedrock beneath Mathon is Lower Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated) (Early Devonian).
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.