Somersham.info

Around 1085 William I, the Conqueror, set out on his great "Domesday" survey of England. There were several versions compiled of the work, as much as anything because of the sheer volume of material that had to be laboriously written down by hand. With just horses and carts for transport the work of the scribes to cover the length and breadth of England making detailed records of land holdings and livestock was always going to be a lengthy enterprise. To make it easier, the work was co-ordinated from different centers, usually based on the cathedral towns where sufficient educated men could be found to undertake the work. It is easy to forget that finding men who could read and write in early medieval Britain was no small task. Ely was one of the centers from which the Domesday Book was co-ordinated and as a result Somersham has a more detailed entry in the "local" Ely account as well as the "standard" entry! Both are shown below.

1. Main Domesday
In Summersham the Abbot of Ely has 8 hides to tax. Land for 12 ploughs. Apart from these hides, land of the Lord for 2 ploughs. Now of the Lord 2 ploughs.
32 villagers.
9 smallholders have 9 ploughs.
3 fishponds (worth) 8 shillings,
20 acres of meadow
Woodland pastures i league long by 7 furlongs wide.
Value under King Edward (the confessor) Ł7
Value now Ł8
(translated Andy Lee)

2. The Ely Inquest (Inquisitio Eliensis)
Somersham. Abbot Thurston (abbot from around 1060 to 1072) has a manor assessed at 8 hides to the geld, 12 ploughlands for ploughing. And 28 villeins and 9 bordars with 16 ploughs. The Abbot himself had land for 2 ploughs outside the aforesaid hides. Abbot Simeon (abbot from 1082 to 1094) finds there 2 ploughs and 12 beasts and 90 sheep and 40 pigs and 13 bordars with 20 ploughs and 3 fishponds worth 8 shillings and 20 acres of meadow. Wood for pannage 1 league long and 1 league broad. The whole 3 leagues long and 1 league broad. It was worth T R E 7 pounds now 8 pounds.