100 ARCHIVES

Domesday Book


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British History

Gayton in the Domesday Book (1086)

The 1086 Domesday survey records the settlement of Gayton, entered under the hundred of Willaston in Cheshire. The survey assessed Gayton at 75.2 carucates of taxable land.

At the time of the survey, Gayton supported a recorded population of 3 villagers, 1 freeman, working 1 plough between them.

The drop in value is hard to miss. Before 1066, Gayton was worth 32 shillings; by 1086 that had dropped to 8d – a fall of 98%. Most Yorkshire villages that lost value on this scale were swept up in the Harrying of the North – William’s scorched-earth campaign of 1069–70.