History - 1066 and all that

One of the most momentous events in British history, the victory of William, Duke of Normandy over King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, resulted some 20 years later in the production of The Domesday Book, the first and most comprehensive survey of people and land in Britain. Aldenham was, by then, an established, albeit a small rural settlement with its own church.

One extract tells us that the Abbot of Westminster holds or owns 9 hides, or approximately 1,080 acres of land and has control over a further 4 hides or 480 acres. Other land was held by Geoffrey de Mandeville, Geoffrey de Bec (both being amongst William’s principal enforcers) and the Abbot of St Albans.