Making Domesday in the West Country (VCH Lecture)

Author Chris Lewis gives the annual Victoria County History lecture on Exon Domesday, the oldest surviving manuscript from the 1086 Domesday survey.

This evening lecture, the annual Victoria County History talk held at the Museum of Somerset, is given by author Chris Lewis. It explores Exon Domesday, the oldest and least well-known of the three surviving manuscripts from the Domesday survey of 1086, which covers five south-western counties and is held in Exeter cathedral library. The talk covers why, where and how the manuscript was written, how it survived, and its importance for understanding Domesday Book and William the Conqueror's government. It draws on the book Making Domesday: Intelligent Power in Conquered England (Oxford University Press, 2025), the outcome of a research project begun in 2014. The event runs for 90 minutes.