The Domesday Book

The great Norman administrative document is used as the basis for an enquiry into the changes undergone by the English countryside over the past 1000 years. A time chart setting "Domesday" in its medieval context leads onto a short essay on daily life in Norman England. The central text is a series of county gazeteers, containing over 12,500 entries, which list the "Domesday" settlements alphabetically by their modern spelling. Each entry gives the original "Domesday" information and a note on the history and present status of a settlement. A number of short essays on points of particular interest lend depth and detail to the picture. The text is interspersed with a large number of colour and b&w photograhs and maps.