DOMESDAY SURVEY 



to determine, but they may both be translated as 'underwood'. ^o Marshland (broca) is 

 recorded at Lytchett Matravers (no. 260) and a league of marshland at Wimborne 

 Minster was attached to the manor of Canford Magna (no. 243). Heathland (bruaria) is 

 recorded at Boveridge (no. 71) in Cranborne. The main concentrations of woodland in 

 1086 were in the areas of the later forests.^' Although forests were not necessarily 

 wooded areas, they frequently comprised large stretches of woodland. The only Dorset 

 forest mentioned in Domesday is the forest of Wimborne, in which the king held the 

 two best hides (dims meliores hidas) of Horton (no. 1 17) belonging to Horton Abbey. The 

 wood (boscus) of Hauocumbe was attached to the manor of Burton Bradstock (nos. 2 and 

 x), the third oak {qiiercus) being appurtenant to the manor of Frampton (no. 121). 



Pasture and woodland were generally measured in leagues and furlongs {leuge, 

 quarentine). At Handley (no. 125), for example, there was woodland i league in length 

 and \ league in width. It is difficult to see exactly what is being measured. The figures 

 cannot in any case be more than a rough estimate of the extent of the wood or pasture, 

 and cannot be taken as a reliable guide to the shape of the land in question. Other units 

 of measurement sometimes used are perches {pertice) and virgates {rirgate). At Poxwell 

 (nos. 81 and xliv) there was pastiira ziii quarentine et xxvi virgate longitudine et in 

 quarentine et xiiii pertice latitudine, and at Symondsbury (nos. 92 and Iv) there was 

 pastura v quarentine longitudine et una quarentina latitudine x virgatas minus. The acre is 

 sometimes used as a linear measurement. At Wootton Fitzpaine (no. 211) there was vii 

 quarentine et iiii acras (sic) pasture. It is also not uncommon to find only one measure- 

 ment given. At Hinton Martell (no. 31) there was una leuga stive, and at Little Puddle 

 (nos. 14 and iii) x quarentine pasture. At Dewlish (no. 148) there was woodland ri 

 quarentine in longitudine et latitudine and pasture xxiii quarentitie inter longitudinem et 

 latitudinem . It is uncertain what these phrases mean. They may be equivalent to the 

 iormvXvi pastura iii leuge longitudine et tantundem latitudine (nos. 6 and xv), or they may 

 represent an attempt to use the furlong as a square measure. A fresh difficulty is created 

 by the fact that there is no indication how many furlongs there were in the league. Round 

 considered that in Worcestershire there were four, since three furlongs was the largest 

 measurement under the league. But at Shillingstone (no. 367) in Dorset there was 

 pasture 42 furlongs long and 8 furlongs wide, and woodland 23 furlongs long and 9 

 furlongs wide. One is left with the problem of which is the larger; pasture 42 furlongs 

 by 8 furlongs or pasture 4 leagues long and as much in width. This uncertainty makes 

 any comparison of the relative sizes of stretches of pasture or woodland extremely 

 difficult, and the situation is complicated by the fact that both pasture and woodland 

 are sometimes measured in acres, especially in the case of underwood {silva minuta). 

 It is impossible to say whether 140 acres of pasture (no. 223) is more or less than the 

 amounts measured in leagues and furlongs. ^^ 



Among the other manorial assets mills were the most important. There were 276 

 mills in Dorset in 1086, attached to 178 manors. Some large concentrations are 

 recorded; 12 at Dorchester (nos. 4 and xii), 12 at Sherborne (no. 37), 8 at Burton 

 Bradstock (nos. 2 and x), and 8 at Wimborne Minster (nos. 3 and xi). In addition, 3 

 manors had 4 mills each, 10 manors had 3 mills each, and 30 manors had 2 mills each. 

 Fractions of mills are sometimes recorded. There was half a mill at Worgret (nos. 84 and 

 xlvii) belonging to Cerne Abbey. Worgret was a divided vill, and the other half of this 

 mill belonged to the manor held by William of Briouze (no. 293). At Child Okeford (no. 



*° Prof. Darby so translates them at Ec. H. R. N.s. iii. ham, Blackmore, and Cranborne Chase. 



37, and in the Domesday Geography series. '^ The amount of meadow is almost always expressed 



" F. W. Morgan, 'Domesday Woodland in SW. Eng.' in acres, but for meadow measured in furlongs, see nos. 



Antiquity, x. 316. The forests were Powerstock, Gilling- 110, 146, and 380. 



DO. Ill 21 B2 



