You are viewing an old revision of this post, from March 2, 2024 @ 10:50:57. See below for differences between this version and the current revision.
The Domesday Book is one of the oldest books held in the UK National Archives, and contains a great deal of information for those of us keen to trace our ancestry. It also has a lot of information about landholdings and, as a consequence, also of taxation and duties.
The Domesday Book provided essential information to King William – about how much land was held, by whom, the value of the land and, consequently, how much tax he could charge
While there is a lot more information than I can cover here, I will focus on the two Furneaux mentioned in the Domesday manuscripts Ansketil and Odo.
Some explanations on the Domesday language are needed before providing a list:
- Hides: The term ‘hide’ comes from the Old English ‘hid’, which is the amount of land able to support one household.
- Plough: Amount of taxable land that can be plowed by 8 oxen, which is the same as a ‘hide’. Approximately 120 acres, although this varied due to the quality of the land. These range from 40 to 120 acres.
- Demesne: is the land kept by the Lord for his own use.
- Meadow / Pasture: used to graze animals, mainly sheep. According to one source, the value of 1 shilling is 100 pounds today.
- There were 20 shillings to the pound. So, the total tax paid by Odo would be worth 3,000 pounds. For Ansketil, it would be 30,900 pounds.
Summary of Taxation
| Person | Location | Size of Land | Other Taxable Resources | Animals | Other Taxable Resources |
| Odo | Cudworth | 1 plow in demense Villans 1 hide 1/2 plow | 4 acres meadow 8 furlongs 2 wide grazing land | 12 pigs 60 sheep 2 beasts (cattle) | 1 pound 10 shillings |
| Ansketil | Ainderby [Steeple], | 6 ploughlands. 1 lord’s plough teams. | 1 church. | 8 shillings | |
| Barham, Chilford, | 3 lord’s plough teams. 2 men’s plough teams. | Meadow 2 ploughs. 1 mill, value 5 shillings. | 9 pounds | ||
| [East and West] Harling, | 2 lord’s plough teams. 5 men’s plough teams. | Meadow 12 acres. 1 mill. 1.5 fisheries. | 1 cob (horse) 4 cattle. 20 pigs 70 sheep | 5 pounds | |
| Swannington | 1 lord’s plough teams. 1 men’s plough teams. | Meadow 4 acres. Woodland | 5 pigs | 1 pound |
Relationship of Tax and Land
This is obviously a small sample, as the tax was based on the quality of the land, but here is the relationship between the amount of land and the tax payable. There is also additional tax paid (for the highest valued holding) which included a mill.
Post Revisions:
- March 2, 2024 @ 11:30:15 [Current Revision] by Dr Craig Furneaux
- March 2, 2024 @ 10:50:57 by Dr Craig Furneaux
- February 19, 2024 @ 06:20:48 by Dr Craig Furneaux
- February 18, 2024 @ 23:31:29 by Dr Craig Furneaux
Changes:
There are no differences between the March 2, 2024 @ 10:50:57 revision and the current revision. (Maybe only post meta information was changed.)
I really enjoy the blog. My 4th great grandmother was Mary Furneaux. I have been able to trace her ancestors back to the 1400s including the Rev. Furneaux. I am looking forward to visiting Devon next year. My one trip to Devon was to visit the Agatha Christie house. I live in Florida.
Thanks for all your work.
Rebecca Smith
Hi Rebecca
Great to hear from you – great work in going back to 1400s!
If you are in Devon, have a look at Stoke-Damerell Church – there is a couple of plaques with many family members there
Best wishes
Craig
This is fascinating research. Thank you for sharing.
Many thanks Debbie – glad you have found it interesting
My husband’s grandmother was called Evelyn Furneaux, she was descended from Captain Tobias Furneaux who accompanied Captain Cook on his second voyage of discovery.
Hi Brenda, Tobias is indeed the poster child for the family and a wonderful mariner.
I too had hoped that I was a direct descendent from Tobias. Unfortunately Tobias didn’t help much in this regard as he never married and had no children (or at least none that he acknowledged). He did come from a large family though, so it is very likely that he is related to Tobias via his grandmother. All the best, Craig
hey
cool blog 🙂 will give it a follow and a like !
Thanks Jason, greatly appreciated