Melling in the Domesday Book (1086)

The 1086 Domesday survey records the settlement of Melling, entered under the hundred of Amounderness in Yorkshire. The survey assessed Melling at 4 carucates of taxable land.

At the time of the survey, Melling supported a recorded population of 15 villagers, 6 smallholders, 11 slaves, working 10 ploughs between them.

By 1086 Melling was worth 24 shillings, up from 20 shillings before the Conquest – which sets it apart from the many nearby villages left waste or devalued.

Resources Recorded at Melling (1086)

• Mills: 2 mills (valued at 14d)
• Churches: 1
• Woodland: 40 swine render

Other Settlements in Amounderness

• Aighton
• Aldcliffe
• Aldingham
• Arkholme
• Aschebi
• Ashton [Hall]
• Ashton [on Ribble]
• Austwick
• Barbon
• Bardsea
• Bare
• Barnoldswick
• Barton
• Beetham

The Meaning of the Name

The origin of the name Melling is not securely established from its modern form alone; like many settlement names in the North it likely combines an Old English or Old Norse personal name with a landscape term.

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

Listed Buildings Near Melling

Historic England records 32 listed buildings within about a mile of Melling. Listing protects structures of special architectural or historic interest, graded I (exceptional), II* (particularly important) and II.

Grade I

• Church of St Wilfrid - 0.39 km

Grade II*

• The Old Malt House - 0.49 km
• Church of St John the Baptist - 0.76 km

Grade II

• Todd’s House - 0.34 km
• Crowtrees Farmhouse and Barn Adjoining to South-west - 0.34 km
• Milestone - 0.35 km
• Melling Hall Hotel - 0.35 km
• Milestone - 0.35 km
• Churchyard Wall Bordering Main Street, With Steps at North and South Ends, and Gate Piers at South End - 0.36 km
• Church Gates Cottage and Barn Adjoining to North - 0.37 km
• Vicarage - 0.39 km
• Hodgson Tomb Approx. 7 Metres East of Church of St Wilfrid - 0.39 km
• Church Gate - 0.39 km
• Sundial South of Church of St Wilfrid - 0.4 km
• The Barn - 0.45 km
• Crow Trees - 0.46 km
• Old Crowtrees - 0.5 km
• Cross Base, Approximately 2 Metres South of Church of St John the Baptist - 0.76 km
• Lune Cottage - 0.8 km
• Village Pound - 0.81 km
• Chapel House - 0.84 km
• Cross House - 0.84 km
• Cawood House - 0.97 km
• Cringleber Farmhouse - 0.98 km

…and 8 more listed structures in the area.

Scheduled Monuments Near Melling

Scheduled monuments are nationally important archaeological sites given legal protection. 2 lie within roughly a mile of Melling:

• Castle Mound motte and bailey, Melling - 0.42 km
• Chapel Hill Motte, Arkholme - 0.75 km

Melling Today

Today Melling lies within the administrative area of Melling-with-Wrayton.

Read more about modern Melling on Wikipedia .

Nearby Domesday Settlements

Other places recorded in the 1086 survey within a few miles:

• Arkholme - 1.4 km NW
• Wennington - 2.2 km SE
• Tatham - 2.2 km SE
• Tunstall - 2.2 km NE
• Gressingham - 2.8 km SW
• Newton - 3.0 km N