Titchfield in the Domesday Book

1086

Titchfield appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Ticefelle', recorded as a royal manor held directly by the king. The entry indicates a substantial settlement with significant agricultural resources, including ploughlands, meadow, woodland, and a mill. The value of the manor was considerable, reflecting the productivity of the Meon valley farmland and the importance of the river for milling and fishing. The Domesday record confirms that Titchfield was one of the more important settlements in this part of Hampshire by the time of the Norman Conquest. The royal connection was significant: as a king's manor, Titchfield was administered directly by the crown rather than through an intermediate lord, which gave the settlement a degree of status and protection. The church recorded in the Domesday survey would have been the predecessor of the present St Peter's, already serving the community. The population recorded in the survey, once the standard multiplier is applied, suggests a community of several hundred people, a significant settlement by eleventh-century standards. The Domesday Book entry provides the first firm documentary evidence for Titchfield, anchoring the settlement in the historical record at a point when its physical form, its economy, and its community were already well established.