Brettenham in the Domesday Book

A village in Cosford hundred, in the county of Suffolk.

Three manors recorded in Domesday.

• 1st Manor

  • Lords of the Manor in 1066: Wulfnoth; Free men, five
  • Tenant in Chief in 1086: Count of Mortain
  • Lord of the Manor in 1086: Count of Mortain
  • Taxable Value: 4 ¹⁄₂ geld
  • Value to Lord of the Manor: £3 in 1066; £5 5/2½ in 1086
  • Households: 4 villagers; 9 smallholders; 2 slaves
  • Plough Teams: 2 lord's ploughs; 2 ¹⁄₂ men's ploughs
  • Meadow: 6 acres
  • Woodland: 4 pigs
  • Churches: 1
  • Animals in 1066: 3 cattle; 1 cob
  • Animals in 1086: 3 cattle; 4 pigs; 1 cob

• 2nd Manor

  • Overlord in 1066: Abbey of Bury St Edmunds
  • Lord of the Manor in 1066: Free men, fourteen
  • Tenant in Chief in 1086: Abbey of Bury St Edmunds
  • Lords of the Manor in 1086: Arnulf the wild (subinfeudated); Abbey of Bury St Edmunds
  • Taxable Value: 2 ¹⁄₂ geld
  • Value to Lord of the Manor: £2 10/- in 1066; £1 10/- in 1086
  • Households: 7 smallholders
  • Plough Teams: 2 men's ploughs
  • Meadow: 8 acres

• 3rd Manor

  • Overlord in 1066: Wihtgar son of Aelfric
  • Lord of the Manor in 1066: Free men, eight
  • Tenant in Chief in 1086: Richard son of Count Gilbert
  • Lord of the Manor in 1086: Richard son of Count Gilbert
  • Taxable Value: ¹⁄₄ geld
  • Value to Lord of the Manor: 5 shillings in 1086
  • Plough Teams: 1 men's plough