House of Normandy

Between 1066 and 1154, England passed through the Norman period, one of the most important phases in the making of the medieval kingdom. The Normans were energetic builders, administrators and founders: castles, cathedrals, monasteries and parish churches rose across the country, while royal and church government became increasingly dependent upon writing. Their defining achievement was Domesday Book, completed for William I in 1086 as the first comprehensive national survey of England’s landholders, estates, resources and taxable wealth. Historians still use it as a foundation for national and local history, including the recorded landscape of the Western Weald.