ABSTRACT
It was very natural that when William the Norman had conquered England he should wish to ascertain the capabilities of his kingdom, both in regard to military defence and for purposes of taxation, and that he should endeavour to gain a comprehensive idea of the results of his conquest. He therefore ordered a grand survey of the kingdom to be made, and sent commissioners into each district to make it. These officials were bidden to make a long list of enquiries about all the estates in the realm, including the following points:—The name of each manor; who held it in the time of King Edward the Confessor; how many “hides” there were in the manor, 1 or, in other words, the rateable value of the estate; how many ploughs there were on the estate, whether belonging to the lord or the villeins; how many villeins, homagers, cottars, or slaves there were; how many free tenants and tenants in socage (socmen); how much wood, meadow, and pasture; and the number of mills and fish ponds. They were further to enquire what had been added to or taken away from the estate—that is, the depreciations and improvements; the gross value in the time of King Edward (T.R.E.), the present value in the time of King William (T.R.W.); how much each free man or socman had, and whether any advance could be made in the value. The results of this great survey, taken separately in counties, were then sent to Winchester, then the capital city, and there methodised, enrolled, and codified as we now see them. 1 The inquisition was probably commenced in the year 1085, and completed in the year following. It contains the earliest and most reliable statistics for English industrial history, and it is to be regretted that no adequate general table or analysis of this great work has yet been made by a competent economic authority, or that historians do not use it more copiously for gaining a knowledge of the social and economic conditions of the time. For this latter purpose it is absolutely unrivalled.
