40 ESSEX AS A WINE-PRODUCING COUNTY. 



county still retain the same name ; thereby affording evidence of 

 the use to which they were anciently put. 



There is, however, evidence, much clearer than the foregoing, 

 testifying to the fact that the vine was once cultivated at various 

 places in this county for the purpose of making wine. This 

 evidence takes the form of act.ual contemporary records. For 

 instance, there are in Domesday Book distinct records of no fewer 

 than eight vineyards which existed in Essex at the time of the 

 Great Survey (1086). It appears, indeed, that Essex was able to 

 claim no less than one-fifth of all the vineyards existing in 

 England at that time ; for, according to Sir Henry Ellis, ^9 the 

 whole of Domesday Book contains references to the existence of 

 only about forty vineyards in England. 



The eight Essex records in Domesday Book are as 

 follows^o : — 



(i.) At Rayleigh, on the land of Suene, there were " vi. 

 arpenni -' of vineyard, and it yields [^ says Domesday Book] xx., 

 barrels of wine in a good season " (fo. Ixxxvi.). 



(2.) At Mundon, near Maldon, on the land of Eudo, there 

 were " ii. arpenni of vineyard " (fo. xcviii.). 



(3.) At either Stambourne or Toppesfield, on the land of 

 Hamo, there was " i. arpennus of vineyard " (fo. ex.). 



(4.) At Great W'altham, on the land of Geoffrey de 

 Mandeville, there were " x. arpenni of vineyard " (fo. cxv.). 



(5.) At Debden, on the land of Radulphus Bainard, there 

 were " ii. arpenni of vineyard which bear and ii. others which do 

 not bear " (fo. cxlvi.). 



(6.) At Stebbing, also on the land of Radulphus Bainard, 

 there were " ii. and a half arpenni of vineyard, and only half of 

 it bears " (fo. cxlvii.). 



(7.) At Castle Hedingham, on the land of Alberic de Vere, 

 there were " vi. arpenni of vineyard " (fo. clii.). Of this vine- 



ig Gen. Introduction to Domesday Book, i., p. ii6. 



20 P'or convenience, I have quoted the translated entries appearing in The Domesday 

 Hook relating to Essex, translated by T. C. Chisenhale-Marsh (Chelmsford, 40 , 1864). 



21 The arpent or arpennus, a French measure of land, was used, both in France and in 

 England, almost exclusively as a measure of vineyards, though there are several cases in 

 Domesday Book in which it is applied to woodland or meadow. There are. however, accord- 

 ing to Sir Henry Ellis, only four cases in Domesday Book in which the extent of a vineyard 

 is indicated by its acreage. The extent of an arpent, which is uncertain, was perhaps 

 variable, but it probably ranged'from hall-an-acre to an acre. 



