Caldwell is named in the Domesday Book, compiled by Norman commissioners in 1086, entered under the hundred of Walecros in Derbyshire. The survey assessed Caldwell at 7 carucates of taxable land.

At the time of the survey, Caldwell supported a recorded population of 16 villagers, 16 smallholders, 3 slaves, working 12 ploughs between them.

By 1086 Caldwell was worth 10 shillings, up from 8 shillings before the Conquest – in contrast to many Yorkshire neighbours whose valuations collapsed.

Resources Recorded at Caldwell (1086)

Cattle: 8
Pigs: 15
Sheep: 80
Horses (cobs): 1
Woodland: 500 pigs

Other Settlements in Walecros

The Meaning of the Name

The name Caldwell is of Anglo-Saxon origin. Its final element derives from the Old English word wella, a spring or stream. The first element is most likely a personal name or an early descriptive term, now difficult to recover with certainty. Taken together the name probably meant something close to ‘a spring’.

Remarkably, the name has changed little since 1086, when the Domesday scribes wrote it as Caldwell.

Listed Buildings Near Caldwell

Historic England records 4 listed buildings within about a mile of Caldwell. Listing protects structures of special architectural or historic interest, graded I (exceptional), II* (particularly important) and II.

Grade II*