London Weekend Break

The Domesday Book (National Archives Museum)

The Domesday Book is held in the National Archives Museum and is not actually in the city of London, but Kew (the same location as the famous Kew Gardens) in Surrey.

You can reach the National Archives Museum in numerous ways, one of which it to use the tube (underground) by taking the District line which has its own station at Kew. The journey is about three quarters of an hour outside London city centre.

The Domesday Book itself is one of the oldest and most important written records relating to Britain. It was compiled during the latter part of the eleventh century and was an accurate record of landholding, employment and ownership – in essence anything that the new King could justify a tax on.

More about the Domesday Book below these links.

Links relating to the London and the National Archies Museum

The record was compiled because of King William of Normandy’s (the Conqueror) need to raise capital for the defence of his realm against possible attackers. The Domesday Book allowed (or in real terms prevented) any individual in the kingdom from escaping the payment of tax on any land, property or livestock that they owned.

It was the first documented record of its kind in the world.

For historians the Domesday Book acts as an invaluable record into the people and property of the period and it was not until the introduction of the National Census, less than two hundred years ago, that a similar undertaking on such a scale was attempted again.

There are two Domesday Books, Little Domesday and Great Domesday.

The closest tube station is Kew.