DOMESDAY BOOK
(SURVEY - Ordered by The Conqueror)
The Domesday Book is the earliest surviving public record. It is over 900 years old. It is the foundation document of the National Archives.
Guillaume Peuerel, the Conqueror, on Christmas of 1085, ordered a great survey of all land holdings in England. Who owned or lived on the land was recorded along with what the land was worth, livestock kept on the land. Not one ox, nor one cow, nor one pig were left out. Then they listed the taxes owed to the Crown.
This survey was unprecedented at that time in Europe. It was not repeated until the 19th century census.
1085-86 - Dunwich, Suffolk, England - Domesday Book entry
