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Domesday Book
This is some of what the book says about Wherstead in Domesday (1086).
There were seven manors in all. The three men who held land as "tenants in chief" in Wherstead were all Normans:
Earl Alan, Count of Brittany and Richmond, who was married to Constance, William the Conqueror's daughter - he commanded the rear of the Norman army at the Battle of Hastings;
Swain of Essex, son of Robert, son of Wimark;
Robert, son of Corbutio.
There were five sub-tenants: Humphrey, Furic, Ealfric the Priest, Algar and Gifard.
So far as concerns cultivators working the land, there is mention of 11 villans, 12 bordars, one slave and three free men under commendation.
The survey refers to 13 plough teams of oxen across the seven manors - a total of 104 oxen on 1,450 acres of arable land. On four of the manors there were in total two horses, 17 cows, 95 swine, 230 sheep and 84 goats.
One mill - on the manor of Bourn - had been abandoned. Another - on the manor of Torington - still existed. There were two salt pans (salinae), one on Wherstead manor and the other on Pannington.
The names of Bourn Hall (Beria), Thorington Hall (Torintuna), Pannington Hall (Painetuna) and Wherstead Hall (Wervesteda) date back to Domesday.
Thanks to David Steward for providing this information.
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