DOMESDAY SURVEY Twopence would seem to be the lowest value recorded for any manor in the county. Quite apart, however, from questions of actual devastation, Derbyshire, as a whole, had suffered a very marked depreciation in value since the Conquest namely, from >C59^ 7-f- to >C4 2 S- This decrease is not confined to a number of exceptional manors, but is spread pretty evenly all over the county. Taking a few representative fiefs, we find that of Burton Abbey shrunk from 15 to 12, that of Henry de Ferrers from 228 is. 8</. to 148 15^. io</., that of Ralf fitz Hubert from 59 8s. to 29 8/. 6</., and that of Nigel de Stafford from 10 to 6 os. 6d. It is difficult to obtain good figures for the king's land, as the estimate of his most important manor is given as a render and not as a value ; but we notice that his receipts from Bakewell, Ashford, and Hope were less by 9 14^. than their value to Edward the Confessor. On the whole, the Domesday valuation of a manor seems to represent a rough estimate of the amount which it would bring in to its lord if leased under ordinary conditions. 1 The case of Ticknall, which bears on this point, has already been quoted. Perhaps the most interesting valuation in the county is that of Risley, which has been mentioned before on account of the symmetry of its assessment. Its pre-Conquest condition may be expressed thus : Tenures. Assessment. Value T.R.E. car. bov. / s. d. <Ulsi . . o 5i) , , 'Godric' . . o 5jj ' Lewin ' . 5i 0108 Here not only was the vill divided for purposes of assessment into three equal portions of 5-3- bovates each, but each of these portions would seem to have been valued at the same amount, namely, IDJ. 8*/., of which sum i is. d. is double. After the Conquest this symmetry was destroyed, Lewin's share having decreased by half to zs. 8</., while the other two shares rose to a joint value of i 2s. 8d. Now this sum of 2s. %d. reappears either simply or in some multiple in a number of Derbyshire valuations relating to the Confessor's time as well as to 1086. To save space it will be best to set out the instances of this unit in tabular form : s. d. Value T.R.E. of: Value T.R.W. of : 054 Brampton and Wadshelf . Brampton and Wadshelf Harthill .... Dore o 10 16 Risley ..... Shirland and Ufton Mackworth, etc.* Shirland and Ufton . . Youlgreave Mapperley .... Rowthorn ' Langeleie ' and Chatsworth I 12 o . Youlgreave .... Beighton In view of the fact that the overwhelming majority of values in the county are cast in simple multiples or fractions of a pound, it is difficult to regard these figures, which are still more in evidence in Nottingham- 1 The question is very difficult, but this seems the most probable view in ordinary cases.
- As a ' render.' See above p. 299.
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