summing up the events of William's life the chronicler says ' He reigned over
England, and by his sagacity so thoroughly surveyed it that there was not a hide
of land within England, that he knew not who had it, or what it was worth, and
afterwards set it in his writ.'
^ Domesday Survey, 181 6, vol. ii. p. 450. The words are 'Anno millesimo octo-
gesimo sexto ab incarnatione Domini, vigesimo vero regni Willelmi facta est ista
descriptio, non solum per hos tres comitatus sed etiam per alios,'
^ Domesday Survey, folio 1S5 b.
* Orderic Vital, Bk. VII. cap. 8 (10). Orderic, however, implies that the siege
was protracted to four years.
DESCRIPTION OF OXFORD IN DOMESDA V SURVE V. 323
was carried out in Oxfordshire), no copy has, unfortunately, been
handed down, and we are therefore dependant on the abstract in the
Liber de Wintonia, or the Exchequer Domesday as it is commonly
called^.
The first page relating to Oxfordshire (that is, the rec/o of folio 154
of the first volume) is given in the present work in facsimile, and
therefore needs no description; further, a transcript of the same (in
extended Latin) will be found in the Appendix ; it only remains there-
fore here to give the whole in English, and for the sake of convenience
this is given in a tabular form, but the wording of the original is
preserved as closely as the tabulation will allow.
IN THE TIME OF King Edward Oxford paid to the King for toll
and gable and all other customs yearly ;^2o
and six sextaries of honey.
But to Earl Algar ;^io
in addition to the Mill which he had within the city.
When the King went on expedition 20 burgesses went with him for all
others, or they gave ^20 to the King that all might be free.
NOW Oxford pays by tale of twenty [pence] in the ora Ā£60
In the town, as well within the wall as without, there are 243 houses
paying geld, and besides these there are 478 ^ so waste and destroyed
that they cannot pay the geld.
s. d.
The Kixg has 20 mural mansions paying 13 10.^ Which were Earl Algar's,
then and now in Time of K. Edwd.
and he has i mansion ā o 6. Belonging to Shipton
and another i ā Ā» o 4. Belonging to Blcxham
and a third i ā ,,2 6. Belonging to Risborough
and 2 others ā o 4. Belonging to Tuiford''
(one of these is waste).
Wherefore they are called mural mansions, because if there shall
be need, and the King command it, they shall repair the walls.
To the lands which Earl Alberic held belong i Church and 3 mansions :
of these 2 mansions paying 2 4 lie to the Ch. of S. Alary
ā I Ā» }> 5 o lies to Bureford
To the lands which Earl W. held,
belong 9 mansions paying 7 o. Three are waste
Abp.of Canterbury has 7 ā ā 3 2. Four are waste
Bp. of Winchester has 9 ā ,,52. Three are waste
Bp. of Bayeux has 18 ā ,,134. Four are waste
' For some of the western counties, however, it seems the first copy has been
preser\'ed in the Exon Domesday belonging to the Dean and Chapter of Exeter
Cathedral (Domesday ed. 181 6, vol. iv. p. 1) and for portions of Eastern counties
in the Inquisitio Eliensis {Ibid. p. 495).
- In the original, ' Five hundred houses, save twenty-two.'
^ In the original ' Fourteen shillings save twopence.'
* In the original ' Buckinghamshire ' is added.
THE EARLY HISTORY OF OXFORD.
8 6. Sixteen are waste
Bp. of Lincoln has 30 mansions paying
Bp. of Coutances has 2 ā ā
Bp. of Hereford has 3 ā ā
AbbeyofS.Edmund'shasi ā ā
Abbey of Abingdon has 14 ,, ā
Abbey of Eglesham has 13 ā ā
and I church
Earl of Moreton has 10 ā ā
Earl Hugh has 7 ā ā
Earl of Evreux has i ā ā
Henry of Ferieres has 2 ā ā
William Pevrel has 4 ā ā
Edward the Sheriff 2 ā ā
Ernulf of Hesding 3 ā ā
Berengar of Todeni i ā ā
Milo Crespin 2 ā ā
Richard de Curci 2 ā ā
Robert D'Oilgi 12 ā ā
Roger of Ivri 15 ā ,,2
Rannulf Flammard i ā ā
Wido of Reinbodcurth 2 ā ā
Walter Gifard 17 ā ā 2
The predecessor of Walter had one of these, of the gift of K. Edward,
of 8 virgates which paid customary dues in Time of K. Edward,
Jernio has i mansion paying o 6 belonging to Hamtone
The son of Manasses i ā ,,04,, to Blecesdone
All these afore written hold the aforenamed mansions free because they
repair the wall. All the mansions which are called mural were in Time of
King Edward free from all customary payment except for expedition and
repairing the wall.
I
I.
One is waste
6.
Belonging to Tainton
7
3-
Eight are waste
9
0.
Seven are waste
3
0.
Nine are waste
5
8.
Four are waste
0.
One is waste
5
I
5.
Two are waste
5
I
6.
One is waste
6
I
I
7
5
4.
Four are waste
I
4-
8
Six are waste
2
0.
Seven are waste
The Priests of S. Michael's
2
mansions
pay
ing 4
4
The Canons of S. Frideswide
15
,j
ā II
0. Eight are waste
Coleman had while he lived
3
ā
, 3
8
William has
jj
, I
8
Spracheling
ā
>
Wluui the Fisherman
,,
, 2
8
Alwin has
, 3
I. Three are waste
Edric
,j
5
Harding and Leveva
, 12
0. Four are waste
Ailric has
,
Dereman
, I
Segrim
,
I
4
Another Segrim
, 2
Smewin
>
Goldwin
Eddid
ā
,
Swetman
ā
8
Sewi
ā
,
D ESC RIP TION OF OXFORD IN DOMES DA V SURVEY. 225
Leveva
I mansion paying
0. Waste. Paid T.K.E. lod.
Alveva
I ,, ā
10
Alward
I jj ,,
10
Alwin
I J,
0. Waste
Brictred and Derman
I jj J,
I
4
Alwi
Derewen
I ā ā
6
Alwin the Priest
I house ā
0. Waste
Levric
I ā ā
Likewise.
Wluric
I mansion ā
0. Waste, and yet if there be
need he shall repair the wall.
Swetman the IMoneyer i house free
3
4
Godwin
I mansion paying
0'
Ulmar
I ā >ā ) }>
Goderun
I J) Ā»
V These five pay nothing.
Godric
I 5) Ā»
Alwi
I J, ,j
0,
Swetman
2 mural mnsns. ā
3
Another Swetman
I free mansion ā
9 for the same service.
Sawold has
9 mansions ā
13
0. Six are waste.
Lodowin
I house ā
0. In which he resides free,on
account [of repairing] the wall.
Segrim
3 houses free ā
5
4. One is waste.
Alwin
I house free ā
2
8. For repairing the wall,
and if when there is need, the w-all is not repaired by him who ought to
do it, he shall either forfeit forty shillings to the King or lose his house.
All Burgesses of Oxford have common of pasture without the wall, which
pays 6s. 8d. ^
After this follows the list of the ' holders of Land in Oxfordshire.'
There are, however, later on, under the Survey of Oxfordshire, two
other passages relating to Oxford, which it will be convenient to give
here, under the heading ' No. XXVIII, the. land of Robert de Oilgi,'
and they run as follows :- ā
' The same Robert has in Oxford, forty-two houses let to tenants
{dumos hospitutas) as well within as without the wall. Of these
16 . . . . pay geld and gable,
the rest pay neither, on account of poverty they cannot;
and he has 8 mansions waste
and thirty acres of meadow near the wall, and a mill of los.
The whole is worth ^3.
And for one manor he holds with the benefice of S. Peter . . . . ^
' The Church of S. Peter of Oxeneford holds of Robert 2 hydes in Holy-
well {Haliivdle). Land one carucate. There is one plough and a half
^ Domesday Survey, folio 154 a, cols. 1 and 2. See Frontispiece. Also Appendix
A, Ā§ 93.
- The sentence is incomplete, a blank space being left vacant in the MS. for
another line to be filled in, which was not done.
226 THE EARLY HISTORY OF OXFORD.
there, and twenty- three men having gardens {hortulos). There are 40 acres
meadow there. It was worth 20J., it is now [worth] 40J. This land has
not paid tax or rendered any dues \'
It is not to be ascertained for certain whether the references to the
status and value of property, or customary payments, in the Time of
King Eadward, are derived from oral testimony given by jurors who
were cited to give evidence, or from written testimony, that is from
some previous ' Domesday ' already in existence, or from different
geld-rolls. The question is one of some interest ; for, if there was
a definite record before them, the references would probably belong to
some one ascertainable date ; if from oral evidence, they would vary
according to the ages or extent of the memories of the jurors, or other
incidental circumstances, which might cause the state of things as they
existed in the early years of Eadward's reign, to be recorded in one in-
stance, and that as they existed at the close of his long reign of twenty-
three years in another. The probabilities are, that in some cases the
evidence was taken in one way, in others another way, but the results
entered upon the record without any distinction. It may be taken
as tolerably certain that, taken as a whole, T. R. E. does not represent
the state of things at King Eadward's death, in January 1066. The
opening paragraph, for instance, in reference to Oxford, refers to the
state of things somewhere between 1057 and 1062, since Earl ^Ifgar
is named as the earl to whom the dues were paid, and we are, in con-
sequence, left much in the dark as to whether Earl Eadwin succeeded
him. Undoubtedly, on the next page of the Survey we read that
' from the lands of Earl Eadwin in Oxfordshire, and in Warwickshire,
the king has one hundred pounds and one hundred shillings ^,' but
this perhaps is not absolute proof that Ead^^^n was recognized Earl
over this district. We find that nearly the whole of the property of
Earl vElfgar throughout the country, and it was very large, is confis-
cated to the king's use, and in Oxford the customs due both to the
King and Earl are merged into one. So far as direct annual money pay-
ment went the amount assessed appears here to have been doubled by ,
William, that is, sixty instead of thirty pounds was to be paid annually^ '
^ Domesday Survey, folio 158 a and 158 b, Appendix A, Ā§ 94.
^ Under the conjoined manors of Bloxham and Adderbury we find 'Soca duorum |
hundredorum pertinet huic manerio; Edwinus comes tenuit hoc manerium' and a .'
few paragraphs later, ' De terra Edwini Comitis in Oxeneford [scire] et in Warwic-
cire, habet rex c libras et c solidos.' Domesday, fol. 154b, col. 2.
^ The Abingdon Chronicle helps us to the value of the ora. In giving an J
account of the foundation of the chapel of Kingston Bagpuiz in the reign off'
William Rufus, the chronicler refers to a payment oi ' dims oras, i.e. XXXII dena- ā
D ESC RIP TION OF OXFORD IN DOM BSD A V S UR VE V. 227
At the same time the sixty sextaries ^ of honey appear to have been fore-
gone as a customary payment; as to the provision for twenty bur-
gesses to go on ' expedition ' for all the rest nothing is said, possibly all
were now held liable. The Mill which Earl ^Ifgar held is described
as ' in/ra civitalem,' but it was probably the Castle Mill, and so went
to the crown, though it is not mentioned; it is not likely to have been
left in the hands of the town, nor is there any reference to it being
given to S. George's or any other religious foundation.
The next entry is an important statistical item, namely, the number
of houses. The w-ord domiis is used, but throughout the detailed
account of the possessors the word inansio is used. For all statistical
purposes, as will be shown presently, the words here mean practically
the same thing. The total number then is 243, and though the details
of the Survey will not show how the whole number is made up, all but
eleven are accounted for. It will be observed by the tabulated list of
the mansions, that they are thus distributed : ā
Vastae.
The King has 25 of which i
Earls Alberic and W. had 12,,
The Archbishop and five Bishops . . . . 69 ā
Three Abbeys . . 28 ā ,, 15
Seventeen (supposed) followers of the Conqueror, &c. 83 ā ā 34
Priests and Canons in Oxford 18 ā ā g
Thirty-seven (supposed) citizens of Oxford . . 62 ā
297 107
Deducting the vastae from the others, we have remaining 190, under the
survey of Oxford. Besides these Robert D'Oilgi is returned as respon-
sible for 42 houses "^ in addition to the eight he holds, returned as vastae,
and this brings the total to 232 ; leaving eleven to be accounted for to
rios {Chron. I\Toti. Ab. ii. p. 30, 121). Sixteen pennies therefore was the normal
value ; but the payment from Oxford was to be made in the full value, i.e. of 20
pennies in the ora. As the ora was the twelfth part of the pound, the result would
be the payment of 240 pence, the standard which we still retain.
1 The Sextary seems to have varied in capacity, and was applied to wine, oil,
honey, and even dry products: it is often qualified, e.g. in Gloucester 'XII Sex-
taria mellis ad mensuram ejusdem Burgi ' (Domesday, fol. 162 a). In another place in
the same country it is 'ad mensuram regis.' {Ibid. fol. 166 a). Kelham quotes Selden
as computing the measure in respect of honey to be about one quart and weighing
four pounds. But authors differ, the result varying from a pint to a gallon.
^ Although several of Robert D'Oilgi's houses are returned as not being able to
pay, still they are not returned as vastae, and would therefore be reckoned as liable.
It is quite possible he held additional houses in the manor of Holywell, i.e. ' the
manor held with S. Peter's,' but the line, as pointed out, is wanting; and these
houses might be included in the 243 although without the wall.
Q2
22 8 THE EARLY HISTORY OF OXFORD.
bring the total up to 243 \ Of the remaining 371 returned as vastae
we have no information at all given us as to whom they belonged.
The summary of the houses, as already said, would have been much
more valuable if the number of the population had been added, and in
all probabilily it was ascertained, or at least readily ascertainable. As
it is, we are left to base the population of Oxford on a guess of the
average number of occupants of each house compared with what now
exists ; and to do this so many considerations have to be taken into
account that it is very difficult to arrive at any satisfactory conclusion.
From the sixteenth century onwards, there has been a tendency to in-
crease not only the area but the height of our town houses, that is,
there would be room for a larger number of occupants in each house;
concurrently, however, with this increase of space there has been a
demand for greater accommodation for each occupant, so that the
extended space of each house has been thereby more than counter-
balanced by the extended demand of the occupants. This has not
been the case so much with the densely packed districts in the low
lying suburbs of our larger towns, for there the occupants per house
* From the very short and obscure manner in which the entries under Oxford are
made (and this has already been alluded to), it is perhaps impossible, even with
help of corroborative data derived from entries under the several manors to discover
the exact method on which the numbers were computed. Under two manors in
Berkshire, there are references to houses in Oxford (the terms hagae being used),
and it is quite possible that they are not included at all in the computation of the
243 under Oxfordshire. First under Estraki (i. e. Streatley) Geoffrey of Man-
deville (whose name does not occur in the Oxford list at all) is returned as holding
' I haga of 10(/. in Oxineford.' (Folio 62 a, col. I.) Next under Stivehine (i.e.
Steventon) which was held by the king we find 'Ad hoc manerium pertinuerunt
in Oxeneford XIII hagae reddentes XII solidos et VI denarios et unum pratum de
XX solidis. Modo homines de Hundredo dant quod Robertus de Oilgi istud tenuit
suspicanter; [nil] aliud sciunt eo quod est in alia scira (col. 2) Domesday 57b.'
If all of these thirteen were to be included in the list the total would be brought
up to 245.
Moreover there is a puzzling entry under Wallingford as follows : Ramaldus
habet unam acram in qua sunt XI 7jiansurae de XXVI denarios, et pertineiit in
Eldeberie (i.e. Albury) quae est in Oxeneford. Domesday, folio 56 a, col. 2.
Possibly the last word is meant for Oxfordshire, but it follows on after a direct ,
reference to Oxenefordscire, and is distinctly written Oxeneford as if it was meant
for the town ; mansw-ae too are seldom found except in towns ; at least it would
be strange that so small a manor as Aldbury seems to have been, should have 1
had 1 1 7nansiirae recorded ; and under Oxfordshire itself the only reference to
Aldeberie is at folio 161 where the same Rainbald is returned as holding five hides I
there. But if the hagae are at Wallingford and belonging to Oxford, we have in '
this the converse of the circumstance recorded concerning those at Steventon. j
Also it may be added that under the Survey of Wallingford (folio 56 a, col. 2) it 1
is noted that Saulf of Oxford holds one haga free, and that the abbot of Abingdon [
has 'two acres on which there are 7 hagae of four shillings and they belong to ā '
Oxford.' '
DESCRIPTION OF OXFORD IN DO MRS DA V SURVEY.
229
seem to have increased ; on the other hand, in the central parts of
towns the relative population to the houses has considerably decreased
in consequence of buildings for commercial purposes being much
extended and swallowing up small inhabited tenements ; and yet in
these larger buildings there are few, if any, residents.
But, as regards Oxford, it is very important to bear in mind, not
only the rapid growth which the present century has seen, but also the
character of that growth. With regard to the first point a table showing
the number of houses and the population at the several times when
the census was taken during this century, will convey in the clearest way
the state of the case. The average of occupants per house is added
in another column, and this shows the fluctuation of the population in
respect of the houses, the ratio varying in consequence of the circum-
stances already detailed. It has been thought well also to prefix the
numbers, though not very reliable, given on Faden's map, which carry
back the statistics some twelve years earlier ^ ā
Population- p. H.
Date.
Houses.
1789
1816
1801
1878
1811
2081
18212
2551
1831 -
3402
Population.
p.H.
Date.
Houses.
8392
4-6
1841
4335
10,936
5-8
1851
4736
12,404
6-0
1861
5147
15,761
6-1
1871
5844
19,015
5-6
1881
6588
23,974
5"5
25,727
5 '4
26,407
29,677
5'i
5'i
34,144
5"2
But the next point to observe is that the increase is due entirely to
the growth on the outside of the old city wall. The returns of Faden's
map being according to streets, they are not so available for comparison
* Printed on William Faden's map of Oxford, which bears date Sept. i, 1789.
This plan was first published by Isaac Taylor in 1750, but the copper-plates were
purchased and various improvements made in them by Faden, bringing the infor-
mation down to his time. It is perhaps doubtful if Faden's statistics can be relied
upon, for it has not been ascertained whence he obtained them. As his total of houses
is within twelve of the Government census taken twelve years later, it may be con-
sidered to cover the same area. Yet while the houses have only been increased by
twelve, it would appear the population had increased by upwards of 2000, if his in-
formation be correct. This discrepancy, however, it should be added, is in no way
due to the University returns, for it is clear Faden has not included them, and they
have been omitted in returns extracted from the Census also of 1801. Hence also,
for the sake of uniformity, and to avoid the anomalies arising from the census being
sometimes taken in term time, at others not, the occupants of the Colleges have
been deducted from the population throughout the table as well as the Colleges
themselves from the number of houses.
^ In the returns of 182 1 and 1831 for some reason they have included the houses
and population of Grandpont, on the Berkshire side of the river, though still in the
Parish of St. Aldate's, but they have not done so in any other of the returns. About
70 houses and about 350 population should therefore be deducted from the total of
those years to make the returns uniformly accurate.
230
THE EARLY HISTORY OF OXFORD.
Popula-
tion.
507
706
1076
2476
3552
per
House.
as those of the census, and therefore in the following tables the year
1801 is compared with the year 1881, thus showing a period of eighty
years' increase.
Within the City Wall, 1801ā
Parishes entirely within the city wall, i. e. of
All Saints, S. John, S. Martin, S. Mary the
Virgin ; according to the Census
The portions of bordering Parishes of S.
Aldate, S. Ebbe, S. Michael, S. Peter in the
East, and S. Peter le Bailey, within the walls ;
computed at ....... 495
Total 737
Without the City Wall, i8oi ā
Parishes entirely without the city wall, i.e.
of Holywell, S. Mary Magdalen, S. Giles, S.
Thomas, and S. Clement ^ ; according to the
Census ........
Remaining portions of Parishes of S. Aldate,
S. Ebbe, S. Michael, S. Peter in the East,
and S. Peter le Bailey ; computed at . . 295 1688 57
Total 1141 6540 57
Within the City Wall, 1881ā
Parishes entirely within the city wall, i. e. of
All Saints, S. John, S. Martin, and S. Mary
the Virgin ; according to the Census
Portions of Parishes of S. Aldate, S. Ebbe, S.
Michael, S. Peter in the East, and S. Peter
le Bailey, within the wall ; computed at
Total
Without the City M^all, 1881 ā
Parishes entirely without the city wall, i. e.
Holywell, S. Mary Magdalen, S. Giles, S.
Thomas, and S. Clement; according to the
Census
Remaining portions of Parishes of S. Aldate,
S. Ebbe, S. Michael, S. Peter in the East,
and S. Peter le Bailey ; computed at .
Total 2
846
4852
295
1688
II4I
6540
4'9
5"o
4608
24,391
1274
6201
5882
30,592
* S. Clement's parish, in the census of 180 1, is given separately under the
hundred of Bullingdon, but has been added here for the sake of uniformity.
^ To these totals have to be added 42 Colleges and University buildings, of
which, in 1801, 24 are reckoned, situate some within the walls and some with-
out, with a population of 1,171; in 1881, 42 buildings are thus returned, with
DESCRIPTION OF OXFORD IN DOMES DA Y SURVEY. 231
The results shown by this table are striking, and will illustrate what
has been said about the difficulties which arise in attempting to obtain
an average of occupants to a house. Within the wall, the separate
tenements seem during the eighty years to have been actually reduced
in number, that is, for every new house erected one at least had been
destroyed, or for every garden or open space covered with a new
building at least two buildings had been merged into one ; and if the
computation be correct, the population meanwhile within the line of
the old city wall had decreased by over 800^. While, on the other
hand, the portions outside the line of the city wall had gradually
increased till the 1000 houses of 1801 had become nearly 6000 in
1 88 1, and the population of 6000 had become 30,000 '^.
a population of 428, bringing np the total population of the parishes (but
excluding the part of S. Aldate's on the Berkshire side of the river") to 34,572,
resident in 6630 houses (i. e. 5.5). But the municipal limits of Oxford, which
while they omit a portion of S. Giles' and S. Clement's on the one hand, and
include an additional portion of S. Aldate's, and parts of Cowley, Headington,
Marston, North Hincksey, and Wolvercote on the other, bring the total up to
35,264, resident in 6788 houses (i.e. 5.3). The Parliamentary limits include the
above, with the remainder of S. Giles' and S. Clement's, the whole of S. Aldate's,
large portions of Cowley and Headington, besides portions of Ififley and South
Hincksey, and make a total of 40,837 persons, resident in 7840 houses (5' 2).
^ The separation of the total number of houses given in a border parish into
those which may be fairly reckoned within tlie line of the wall, and those which