On December 25th 1086 whilst spending Christmas in Gloucester, William I, aka William the Conqueror and William the Bastard (the latter not usually to his face), sent men all over England and parts of Wales on a Great Survey.

The survey, which was recorded in the Domesday Book, which would seem to have originally been called "Book from Winchester," aimed to determine how much land and livestock was owned and how much it was worth.

The whole purpose was to find out how much money could be raised in taxes. The resulting book is held at The National Archives in Kew in London.

Image: By Andrews, William [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons