Yorkshire · Local History

The History of Fenton

Also recorded as: [Church and Little] Fenton

A place in Yorkshire 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, Fenton was held by Asmund.

The record

What the Domesday Book records for Fenton

When William the Conqueror's commissioners surveyed Fenton in 1086, they recorded a manor held by Asmund, who held from Ilbert of Lacy. Before the Conquest, in the time of King Edward, it was held by Osmund.

The settlement was assessed at 0.37 hides for tax. There was land for 0.5 ploughs, with 1 plough team at work. Its recorded resources included meadow (1 acres). The manor was valued at 10 shillings in 1086, unchanged since 1066.

The record in full
Held in 1086 by
Asmund
Held in 1066 by
Osmund
Tenant-in-chief
Ilbert of Lacy
Value in 1086
10 shillings
Taxable assessment
0.37 hides
Ploughland
land for 0.5 ploughs
Ploughs at work
1
Meadow
1 acres

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 →

Fenton was one of the settlements recorded in Yorkshire in the 1086 survey. Yorkshire in the Domesday survey →

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Fenton

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Fenton's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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Historical context

Notable places nearby

York
Roman town · ~11.2 miles
Archaeology

Archaeological finds near Fenton

3,871 recorded finds have been logged within about 5 miles of Fenton, reported by members of the public and entered in the national record of archaeological finds. They span these periods:

Post medieval: 1,406Medieval: 1,372Roman: 494Early medieval: 206Neolithic: 125Iron age: 35Bronze age: 25Modern: 25Mesolithic: 11Greek and roman provincial: 1
Landscape

The ground beneath Fenton

The bedrock beneath Fenton is Triassic Rocks (Undifferentiated) (Triassic).

Common questions

Questions about Fenton

Was Fenton in the Domesday Book?+
Yes. Fenton was recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as a settlement in the historic county of Yorkshire.
Who held Fenton in 1086?+
In 1086, Fenton was held by Asmund. The tenant-in-chief was Ilbert of Lacy.
Who held Fenton before the Norman Conquest?+
Before the Conquest in 1066, Fenton was held by Osmund.
What was Fenton worth in the Domesday Book?+
In 1086, Fenton was valued at 10 shillings. The 1066 value was 10 shillings, showing unchanged.
What land did Fenton have in 1086?+
The Domesday Book records Fenton as having land for 0.5 ploughs, 1 acres of meadow.
Where is Fenton today?+
Fenton is a settlement in the historic county of Yorkshire, England.
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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.

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