DOMESDAY SURVEY 



Twopence would seem to be the lowest value recorded for any manor 

 in the county. Quite apart, however, from questions of actual devastation, 

 Derbyshire, as a whole, had suffered a very marked depreciation in value 

 since the Conquest namely, from >C59^ 7-f- to >C4 2 S- This decrease is 

 not confined to a number of exceptional manors, but is spread pretty 

 evenly all over the county. Taking a few representative fiefs, we find 

 that of Burton Abbey shrunk from 15 to 12, that of Henry de Ferrers 

 from 228 is. 8</. to 148 15^. io</., that of Ralf fitz Hubert from 

 59 8s. to 29 8/. 6</., and that of Nigel de Stafford from 10 to 

 6 os. 6d. It is difficult to obtain good figures for the king's land, as 

 the estimate of his most important manor is given as a render and not as 

 a value ; but we notice that his receipts from Bakewell, Ashford, and Hope 

 were less by 9 14^. than their value to Edward the Confessor. On the 

 whole, the Domesday valuation of a manor seems to represent a rough 

 estimate of the amount which it would bring in to its lord if leased 

 under ordinary conditions. 1 The case of Ticknall, which bears on this 

 point, has already been quoted. Perhaps the most interesting valuation 

 in the county is that of Risley, which has been mentioned before on 

 account of the symmetry of its assessment. Its pre-Conquest condition 

 may be expressed thus : 



Tenures. Assessment. Value T.R.E. 



car. bov. / s. d. 



<Ulsi . . o 5i) , , 



'Godric' . . o 5jj 



' Lewin ' . 5i 0108 



Here not only was the vill divided for purposes of assessment into 

 three equal portions of 5-3- bovates each, but each of these portions would 

 seem to have been valued at the same amount, namely, IDJ. 8*/., of which 

 sum i is. \d. is double. After the Conquest this symmetry was 

 destroyed, Lewin's share having decreased by half to zs. 8</., while the 

 other two shares rose to a joint value of i 2s. 8d. 



Now this sum of 2s. %d. reappears either simply or in some multiple 

 in a number of Derbyshire valuations relating to the Confessor's time as 

 well as to 1086. To save space it will be best to set out the instances of 

 this unit in tabular form : 



s. d. Value T.R.E. of: Value T.R.W. of : 



054 Brampton and Wadshelf . Brampton and Wadshelf 



Harthill .... Dore 



o 10 



16 



Risley ..... Shirland and Ufton 



Mackworth, etc.* 



Shirland and Ufton . . Youlgreave 



Mapperley .... Rowthorn 



' Langeleie ' and Chatsworth 

 I 12 o . Youlgreave .... Beighton 



In view of the fact that the overwhelming majority of values in the 

 county are cast in simple multiples or fractions of a pound, it is difficult 

 to regard these figures, which are still more in evidence in Nottingham- 



1 The question is very difficult, but this seems the most probable view in ordinary cases. 

 * As a ' render.' See above p. 299. 



319 



