The Boldon Book (also known as the Boldon Buke) contains the results of a survey of the bishopric of Durham that was completed on the orders of

Hugh du Puiset Hugh de Puiset (Wiktionary:circa, c. 1125 – 3 March 1195) was a medieval Bishop of Durham and Chief Justiciar of England under King Richard I of England, Richard I. He was the nephew of King Stephen of England and Henry of Blois, who b ...

Bishop of Durham The bishop of Durham is head of the diocese of Durham in the province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler (bishop), Paul Butler was the most recent bishop of Durham u ...

, in 1183, designed to assist the administration of the vast diocesan estates. The survey was similar to that of the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

in the previous century, covering the bishop's lands in what was to become

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

and other parts of the north east of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

that, following the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

, were liable to tax by the Prince-Bishop of Durham and not taxed directly by the

King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ...

. It is the first survey undertaken north of the

River Tees The River Tees (), in England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea in the North East of England. The modern-day history of the river has been tied with the industries ...

, where the king's authority was never more than nominal. Like the Domesday Book it is a ''custumal account'' listing the labour, money and produce owed by standing custom to the Bishop. The areas of North Durham (

Norhamshire Norhamshire was an exclave of County Durham in England. It was first mentioned in 995, when it formed part of the lands of the priory at Lindisfarne. When the lands north of the River Tees were partitioned into Northumberland and County Durham it ...

) and Bedlingtonshire are included, but not those areas in the possession of other great northern landowners. The Bishop's manor at Boldon was listed early in the survey, and later entries recorded customal dues "as at Boldon", hence the name. Dues were assessed at the individual level as well as by community. The book attests to the overwhelmingly pastoral economy of the North, and provides a contrast to the better-documented southeast, "in particular the existence of large estates often comprising several villages which sometimes share a single

demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land subinfeudation, sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. ...

". The Boldon Book survives in four manuscript copies, of which the oldest is the 13th-century copy that was among the Temple family manuscripts at

Stowe House Stowe House is a grade I listed building, listed country house in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the home of the Private schools in the United Kingdom, private Stowe School and is owned by the Stowe House Preserv ...

that are now in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

.BL. Stowe MS 930. The Boldon Book is discussed by G. T. Lapsley, "Introduction to and Text of the Boldon Book," ''Victoria County History: Durham'' vol. 1 (London, 1905) pp. 259–341, with an English translation, pp. 327–51. The Latin text and an English translation are provided in D. Austin, ed., ''Boldon Book: Northumberland and Durham'' in Phillimore's edition of Domesday Book, vol. 35 (Chichester, 1982)

Notes

{{Taxation in medieval England 12th-century books 12th-century documents Demographics of England Medieval documents of England Manuscripts about England in Latin 12th-century manuscripts Taxation in medieval England 1180s in England History of the Church of England