Exon Domesday
Exon Domesday (pronounced ‘dooms day’) contains unique information about politics, society, and the landscape of the south west of England after the Norman Conquest a thousand years ago. It is the oldest part of England’s oldest public record.
At Christmas 1085, King William I, known as William the Conqueror, ordered a survey of people and property in England. He divided the country into several regions, excluding the far north. In January 1086, royal officials travelled to every region to record in meticulous detail the names of landowners, the taxable value of their lands, and the wealth of resources on their estates, including the precise numbers of labourers and even animals – every sheep, pig and goat. They travelled hundreds of miles and interviewed many people in English, French and Cornish. The survey became known as the Domesday Inquest.
In late 1086 and early 1087, administrators collated the reports from each region to produce a final version, the Great Domesday Book – the country’s oldest official public record, now housed at The National Archives. Remarkably, Exon Domesday is the only surviving regional report. It covers the whole south west region, including Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and parts of Wiltshire, and was written in Latin by two dozen scribes, most of them French-speaking. Exon Domesday is a vital link in the Domesday process; comprising 103 booklets, it contains much unique information that was not copied across into the Great Domesday Book.
Exon Domesday was probably brought to Exeter soon after the completion of the Domesday Inquiry by a bishop who could see its administrative value for his diocese. Notes in the margins tell us it was used for centuries for reference and administration in the Diocese of Exeter.
The 1,000-page manuscript used to be bound as a book, but the early 19th century binding was so tight that it was difficult to open. In 2011, a specialist conservator removed the old binding, releasing the pages into their original booklets, and revealing text that had been hidden in the margins for 200 years.
The entire manuscript is now digitised; visit exondomesday.ac.uk to explore every page, complete with Latin transcription and English translation.
Exon Domesday is currently on display in our Treasures Exhibition.