Well appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, entered under the hundred of Land of Count Alan in Yorkshire. The survey assessed Well at 0.8 carucates of taxable land.

At the time of the survey, Well supported a recorded population of 4 villagers, 9 smallholders, 6 slaves, working 5 ploughs between them.

The survey records Well’s value at 2.12 shillings in 1086. No pre-Conquest figure survives – not unusual in the North, where records were disrupted by the Harrying and by the patchy coverage of the survey.

The survey lists 2 manors at Well 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 Well (1086)

Cattle: 33
Pigs: 15
Sheep: 106
Horses (cobs): 2
Meadow: 3 acres
Woodland: 2 furlongs

Other Settlements in Land of Count Alan

The Meaning of the Name

The origin of the name Well 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 Well.

Listed Buildings Near Well

Historic England records 11 listed buildings within about a mile of Well. Listing protects structures of special architectural or historic interest, graded I (exceptional), II* (particularly important) and II.

Grade I

Church of St Michael - 0.47 km
The Hall - 0.49 km

Grade II

Tomb Approximately 10 Metres West of Church of St Michael - 0.46 km
Medieval Cross Approximately 2 Metres to South of Chancel of Church of St Michael - 0.48 km
Stables/granary and Pigeoncote to West of Well Hall - 0.49 km
St Michaels Cottages and Chapel - 0.5 km
Barn Approximately 100 Metres to West of Well Hall - 0.51 km
Gate Piers and Garden Wall to Well Hall - 0.53 km
K6 Telephone Kiosk Outside Post Office - 0.55 km
Old School House - 0.56 km
Holly Hill - 0.73 km

Well Today

Today Well lies within the administrative area of Hambleton, and the settlement recorded a population of 244 at the 2021 census. Nine and a half centuries separate that figure from the small rural community the Domesday survey recorded here in 1086.

Read more about modern Well on Wikipedia .