URPoint Details
The Domesday Book gives information on 'Norman-tune' as: In Normantune there are 10 carucates for geld, which 5 plows can plough. 2 thegns had 2 manors there T.R.E. Now, in the King's hand there are 6 villeins there, and 3 bordars, a priest and a church, with 3 ploughs, 3 acres (12,000 m2) of meadow. Pasturable wood (land) 6 furlongs in length and 1 in breadth. The whole of this land lies in the soc of Wachefelt, except the Church. T.R.E. it was worth 12s: now (it is worth) 10s
Normanton was originally surrounded by a moat, and in Norman times was the site of an enclosed settlement (chosen for its strategic view points across the surrounding area), and became known as 'Norman - tune', or 'Norman - ton'.
At the time the Domesday Book was compiled in 1086, the colonisation of Yorkshire by the Normans was well underway. Archaeological evidence at today's Normanton points to Haw Hill (or How Hill), an eminence that was probably a Norman defensive strategic mound once reinforced by a wooden palisade. The evidence of a Norman motte-and-bailey fortification at the town, and the name, is likely evidence that Normanton's name derived from the substantial Anglo-Norman presence in the
- Type:
- Landmark