Upton by Chester in the Domesday Book (1086)
Upton by Chester is named in the Domesday Book, compiled by Norman commissioners in 1086, entered under the hundred of Willaston in Cheshire. The survey assessed Upton by Chester at 2.4 carucates of taxable land.
At the time of the survey, Upton by Chester supported a recorded population of 13 villagers, 7 smallholders, 2 slaves, 31 freemanmen, working 18 ploughs between them.
Something went badly wrong here between the two surveys. Before 1066, Upton by Chester was worth 2.26 shillings; by 1086 that had dropped to 2 shillings – a fall of 11%. 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.
The survey lists 3 manors at Upton by Chester under different lords. Splitting a single settlement between multiple tenants was common across the North – Saxon estates broken up and handed to William’s followers after 1066.
Resources Recorded at Upton by Chester (1086)
- Mills: 1 mill (valued at 5d)
- Churches: 1
- Fisheries: 0
- Meadow: 30 acres
- Woodland: 15 acres
Other Settlements in Willaston
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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