Episodes

  • DD - Episode 41 - Mortlake

    DD - Episode 41 - Mortlake
    Jun 3 2025
    This week, we head to Mortlake in Surrey, a manor so rich in assets it even held properties in London and Southwark.

    Once the domain of Archbishop Stigand and later seized by Lanfranc, Mortlake offers a window into the tangled relationship between church and state after the Norman Conquest. We look at the political rivalry between these two ecclesiastical giants, the Church's role in government, and how rural manors ended up controlling urban real estate.

    Along the way, we unpack strange terms like "messuage," revisit the question of Harold’s legitimacy, and explore what happens when religion and political power become too closely entwined.

    Domesday Delving has a Patreon here: patreon.com/DomesdayDelving

    And if you want to escape medieval England for a cyberpunk future, Payback is available here: https://books2read.com/u/4AyO5e

    This episode brought to you by Hermelinda Emelisse Theedom.
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    17 mins
  • DD - Episode 40 - Upper Beeding

    DD - Episode 40 - Upper Beeding
    May 27 2025
    What do a royal farm, a fallen estate, and a couple of jars of honey have in common? This week we travel to Upper Beeding in Sussex, once one of the most valuable holdings in the entire county, to uncover a story of royal wealth, Norman redistribution, and the small, sweet traces of medieval beekeeping.

    We’ll explore the unique administrative structure of Sussex, explain what on earth a “rape” is (yes, really), and examine why a place that once rendered nearly £100 under King Edward was worth less than half that just twenty years later. Along the way, we dive into the fascinating, buzzing world of medieval beekeeping—complete with wax, war-hives, and the earliest beekeeping suits.

    And in our reflections from past to present, we consider what this tiny Domesday entry can teach us about fragile infrastructure, overlooked labour, and how much is hidden in the smallest details.Join the discussion in the Domesday Delving Facebook group, where you’ll find medieval honeycake and mead recipes inspired by this episode.

    Support the podcast at patreon.com/DomesdayDelving

    This episode brought to you with the support of Hermelinda Emelisse Theedom.
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    12 mins
  • DD - Episode 39 - Special - Lady Asa

    DD - Episode 39 - Special - Lady Asa
    May 20 2025
    In this special episode of Domesday Delving, we take a step back from villages and livestock to explore one of the most remarkable stories buried in the margins of the Domesday Book: the case of Asa, a woman in pre-Conquest England who held land in her own right, kept it after separating from her husband, and stood as its lawful lady, only to lose it all after 1066.

    Her story isn't just a legal oddity. It’s a window into a world where Anglo-Saxon women had more rights than we often remember, and where the Norman conquest erased far more than just names on a page. Along the way, we explore how religious and cultural changes affected women’s rights, why Asa’s land was taken despite clear testimony in her favour, and how quickly rights can vanish when power decides they no longer exist.

    If you want to join the Patreon, here’s the link: patreon.com/DomesdayDelving
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    14 mins
  • DD - Episode 38 - Elham

    DD - Episode 38 - Elham
    May 13 2025
    In this episode of Domesday Delving, we travel to the Kentish village of Elham, once held directly by the Bishop of Bayeux himself, none other than Odo, half-brother of William the Conqueror.

    From flourishing manorial profits to the shadow of eight slaves still labouring in 1086, Elham tells a story of ambition, control, and the long reach of power. But this week’s episode takes us far beyond Kent to the heart of Norman politics, rebellion, and one man’s attempt to seize two crowns.

    We explore the remarkable life of Odo of Bayeux: bishop, warrior, earl, papal hopeful, and probable patron of the Bayeux Tapestry. His rise, his fall, and his final march on Crusade offer a glimpse into a world where faith, power, and family were constantly at war.Plus: a brief look at what the Bayeux Tapestry means to us today, and what Odo never meant it to.

    If you’d like to support the show, you can now do so on Patreon here: patreon.com/DomesdayDelving

    And if cyberpunk dystopias are more your speed, my latest novel Organ Grinders is now available here: https://books2read.com/u/bOk1d0

    This episode brought to you with the generous support of Hermelinda Emelisse Theedom.
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    23 mins
  • DD - Episode 37 - Aylsham

    DD - Episode 37 - Aylsham
    May 6 2025
    In this episode of Domesday Delving, we explore Aylsham in Norfolk—a manor once held by Gyrth Godwinson, brother to Harold, England’s last Anglo-Saxon king.

    We’ll unravel the rise and catastrophic fall of the powerful House of Godwin, whose internal rivalries and personal ambitions helped doom even their strongest estates. From bustling fields and scattered berewicks to the cold realities of post-Conquest life, Aylsham’s story shows how even mighty families can fall, and how places endure even when dynasties do not.

    Join the Domesday Delving Facebook group for discussions and episode updates, and if you’d like to help support the podcast, here's the Patreon link - patreon.com/DomesdayDelving

    If you enjoy fast-paced, gritty stories, my new cyberpunk novel Organ Grinders is now available here: https://books2read.com/u/bOk1d0
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    14 mins
  • DD - Episode 36 - Chebsey

    DD - Episode 36 - Chebsey
    Apr 29 2025
    In this episode of Domesday Delving, we visit Chebsey in Staffordshire, a small village whose Domesday entry reveals a story of hidden upheaval. Part of Chebsey’s land was taken to build an early castle at Stafford, only for that castle to be demolished within a generation.

    What does this tell us about rebellion, royal insecurity, and the fragile hold the Normans had over England? We’ll explore Chebsey’s landscape of ploughs, villagers, and priests, take a look at the rapid rise and fall of early Norman fortifications, and reflect on how even the smallest places survived the shockwaves of conquest.

    Join the Domesday Delving Facebook group for discussion and episode updates, and if you’d like to help support the podcast, you can join our Patreon here: patreon.com/DomesdayDelving

    Patreon Supporters: Villeins: Hermelinda Emelisse Theedom
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    11 mins
  • DD - Episode 35 - Malpas

    DD - Episode 35 - Malpas
    Apr 22 2025
    In this episode of Domesday Delving, we travel to Malpas in Cheshire—a place whose name, from the Old French mal pas, means bad passage.

    But long before that name took hold, the Anglo-Saxons called it Depenbech: the deep stream valley. Once held by Earl Edwin of Mercia, Malpas stood at the edge of Anglo-Saxon power and Norman ambition. We explore what the Domesday Book reveals about the manor’s collapse into waste after the Conquest, and how it began the slow process of recovery under a new Norman baron.

    This episode also dives into the life and downfall of Edwin himself—a powerful noble caught between loyalty and survival, and a man whose story ended in betrayal. We’ll trace the passage from valley to ruin to resilience—and reflect on how the Domesday Book preserves not only wealth and ownership, but silence, loss, and endurance.

    Join the Domesday Delving Facebook group for community and discussion, and if you’d like to help support the show, here’s the link to the Patreon: patreon.com/DomesdayDelving
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    14 mins
  • DD - Episode 34 - Saltby

    DD - Episode 34 - Saltby
    Apr 15 2025
    Saltby in Leicestershire is no sleepy Domesday backwater. In 1086, it was a bustling, high-output manor with an astonishing workforce: 24 villans, 23 sokemen, 14 bordars and 16 slaves.

    Once held by Earl Morcar, the rebellious Anglo-Saxon noble and son of Lady Godiva, Saltby passed into the hands of Norman baron Roger de Bully after the Conquest but its productivity didn’t falter.

    In this episode of Domesday Delving, we explore the remarkable scale of Saltby’s agricultural economy, uncover the biography of the powerful and ill-fated Earl Morcar, and delve into the lives of those who made the land work including those who had no freedom to call their own.It’s a story of hierarchy, continuity, and quiet endurance set in the fields of a village that still remembers its name, but not always its past.

    Here’s the link to the brand-new Patreon account - patreon.com/DomesdayDelving

    If you enjoy high-stakes storytelling, don’t forget to check out my cyberpunk novel Kidnap—available now: https://books2read.com/u/3JwE0e

    Until next time, keep delving!
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    15 mins
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