Episodes

  • DD - Episode 54 - Gloucester

    DD - Episode 54 - Gloucester
    Oct 31 2025
    Gloucester: saints, sheriffs, and the bright fort by the Severn. From Roman Colonia Glevum to Æthelflæd’s Mercian power-base and the Norman ledger of Domesday, this episode traces how one city was rebuilt in stone, faith, and finance. We follow Æthelflæd, the Lady of the Mercians, bringing the relics of St Oswald to Gloucester and turning a burh into a pilgrimage centre and royal mausoleum. Then we slip into everyday life: hunting and hawking, impromptu horse races, unruly mob football, tavern dice, and quiet board games in cloisters and inns. Finally, we ask what endures: the difference between walls that protect and walls that command, and the stubborn fact that people persist beneath every new regime. Gloucester’s layers still shine through the centuries, from honey and iron to pounds and pence, from saint’s shrine to sheriff’s tower.

    patreon.com/DomesdayDelving
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    49 mins
  • DD - Episode 53 - Cirencester

    DD - Episode 53 - Cirencester
    Sep 30 2025
    A look at Cirencester's past through the lens of the Domesday Book, along with a brief explanation of work in the middle ages and a look at William FitzOsbern, one of the most powerful men in the Norman regime.
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    25 mins
  • DD - Episode 52 - Special - York

    DD - Episode 52 - Special - York
    Aug 19 2025
    One year of Domesday Delving! To mark the occasion, we’re tackling one of the great titans of the survey: the City of York.

    In 1086 York sprawls across two full pages of Domesday, a record of a city scarred by rebellion, half-emptied by the Harrying of the North, and reshaped by Norman castles. In this special episode, we look at York before the Conquest, dig into Domesday’s tangle of messuages, priests, usurpers and French settlers, and explore what happens when two legal systems — Anglo-Saxon and Norman — collide. Along the way we follow rabbit holes into William’s double-castle strategy, the devastation of the Harrying, and the shifting laws that made whole villages pay for a Norman’s death.
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    45 mins
  • DD - Episode 51 - Benson

    DD - Episode 51 - Benson
    Aug 12 2025
    Benson, Oxfordshire, was once the richest royal manor in the county – and its story reaches from ancient settlements to the halls of kings. In this episode of Domesday Delving, we trace Benson’s journey from the days of Offa of Mercia and the Battle of Bensington, through its role as a prized royal holding in 1086. Along the way, we uncover Anglo-Saxon politics, curious coinage, and what one king’s ruthless ambition can teach us about power – then and now.
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    29 mins
  • DD - Episode 50 - Tring

    DD - Episode 50 - Tring
    Aug 5 2025
    This week on Domesday Delving, we explore the Hertfordshire manor of Tring—once a sprawling 39-hide estate, dramatically reduced to just 5 hides and a virgate by the time of the Domesday Book. What happened?

    We dive into the shady post-Conquest manoeuvres of Ingelric, a native landholder who tried to game the new Norman system by attaching other people's land to his own. It didn’t end well for him. Along the way, we examine sokemen, slaves, woodland for 1,000 pigs, and a berewick with its own plough team. Plus: what Domesday really counted, and what it didn’t—and why Tring's listed population likely represents only half the story.

    As always, we wrap up with a modern lesson in who gets to write history—and why it matters.

    If you want to join the Patreon, the link is: patreon.com/DomesdayDelving

    And if you want some cyberpunk adventure, here's the link to Inheritance: https://books2read.com/u/3LMqqw
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    15 mins
  • DD- Episode 49 - Harrow on the Hill

    DD- Episode 49 - Harrow on the Hill
    Jul 29 2025
    Once a pagan lookout, later a Christian shrine, and by 1086, a centre of Norman authority—Harrow on the Hill stands as a layered landmark in England’s long story. This episode delves into the Domesday entry for Harrow, explores the remarkable life of Archbishop Lanfranc, and examines what it meant to hold land, status, and faith in a conquered kingdom. From villans and slaves to sacred spaces and political reforms, we trace the past to its echoes in the present.

    If you enjoy the show, support it on Patreon at patreon.com/DomesdayDelving

    A warm thank you to the current Patrons: Hermelinda Emelisse Theedom, and Norman.
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    28 mins
  • DD - Episode 48 - Fawton

    DD - Episode 48 - Fawton
    Jul 22 2025
    This week, we head to the remote reaches of Cornwall, where the Count of Mortain held almost everything in sight — including Fawton, a manor that offers a rare glimpse into post-Conquest livestock records and the booming medieval wool trade.

    We delve into the life and legacy of Robert of Mortain, the Conqueror’s quiet but crucial half-brother, and ask what we can learn from his bold wager: 120 ships, pledged to an uncertain invasion. Was it madness, loyalty… or something more strategic?

    Plus, a look at how even something as humble as a sheep can reflect centuries of trade — and a reminder that calculated risks, not blind luck, are the engines of real change.

    A warm thank you to this week's Patrons: Hermelinda Emelisse Theedom, and Norman.

    Patreon: patreon.com/DomesdayDelving

    Cattle Raid: https://books2read.com/u/3LMK21
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    25 mins
  • DD - Episode 47 - West Clyst

    DD - Episode 47 - West Clyst
    Jul 15 2025
    In this episode of Domesday Delving, we turn our attention to the quiet Devon manor of West Clyst—a small estate with just a handful of tenants and a single named landholder: Wulfgifu, an Anglo-Saxon woman whose name disappears after the Norman Conquest.

    Through this brief but revealing entry, we explore what was lost when women like Wulfgifu were written out of history, what ordinary people might have eaten in 1086, and why the silences in our records matter just as much as the words.

    A story of ploughs, pottage, and the politics of memory.

    This episode was brought to you by: Hermelinda Emelisse Theedom, and Norman. If you want to help them keep making this possible, join the Patreon at: patreon.com/DomesdayDelving
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    12 mins