Sowerby in the Domesday Book (1086)
Sowerby appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, entered under the hundred of Morley in Yorkshire. The survey assessed Sowerby at 3 carucates of taxable land.
At the time of the survey, Sowerby supported a recorded population of 7 villagers, 3 smallholders, working 2 ploughs between them.
The numbers record a sharp fall. Before 1066, Sowerby was worth 2 shillings; by 1086 that had dropped to 16d – a fall of 60%. 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.
Resources Recorded at Sowerby (1086)
- Meadow: 2 acres
- Woodland: 0.5 * 0.25 leagues
Other Settlements in Morley
Data derived from the Open Domesday project (opendomesday.org), based on the Domesday Book dataset compiled by Professor J.J.N. Palmer and team. The Domesday Book (1086) is in the public domain.
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