3. The Estate of Myton

There are 13,400 places recorded in the Domesday Book.  One of them is a hamlet called Myton which included the land where Hull would later stand.  Myton was a small Berewick, or an outlying estate, of the manor of North Ferriby.  The Anglo-Norman baron Ralph de Mortimer is listed as the owner of both.

The idea to conduct a survey of England had come to William I during his Christmas holidays in 1085.  According to chroniclers he took the decision after ‘much thought and very deep discussion with his council’.  William needed to know both how his own lands were being run and also what others had acquired during the conquest.  The survey was certainly an ambitious project given the poor state of roads and methods of communication that took days if not weeks. Like many grand plans, it probably seemed a brilliant idea when viewed through that rosy glow brought about from drinking too much wine on New Year’s Eve.

As King though William could order others to make sure his resolution was kept.  In January 1086 commissioners were dispatched all over England, excepting Northumberland and Cumbria.  They asked royal officials and tenants-in-chief, such as Ralph de Mortimer, who owned precisely what.  These answers were then checked during special court sessions held in each Hundred.  Local witnesses were thoroughly questioned on topics including land ownership, the amount of woodland, and the numbers of labourers and animals.

Amazingly the survey process was completed in just eight months, doubtless helped by the special brand of motivation only an all powerful king can provide.  Sadly when the findings were written up many details were lost due to shortage of space as ultimately everything was condensed into just the one volume that later became known as the Domesday Book.  Produced on long lasting parchment and carefully written in red and black ink, it was the ideal souvenir to commemorate 20 years since the conquest.

North Ferriby is listed in the book as being home to 14 labourers, 3 ploughs and a church with a priest.  Given the editing of the survey results though, it is possible that it had a slightly larger population then this.  The 14 households listed may just have been those who provided labour service to Ralph de Mortimer.  Perhaps other families lived there who paid their rent in money so their contribution to the estate’s ‘worth’ would be included as part of its monetary value of 60 shillings.

Picture: Extract from the Domesday Book taken from Williams, Ann (ed.) Domesday Book: A Complete Translation.