What did medieval willingdon used to be like?

Answer 1

If you mean Willingdon in Sussex, it was a very typical small medieval village. At that time it was a very rural setting, but today it is really a part of Eastbourne and is much more urban.

It appears several times in Domesday book of 1086 under the names Wilendone, Willendone and Willedone, since different parts of its land belonged to different manors and had different landowners. The knight Osbern fitzGeoffrey held half a hide, the Count of Mortain held the majority of the parish as his own land and a certain Ansfrid (who sounds Saxon rather than Norman) held half a hide. The priest, Godfrey, held around 100 acres of land near the church. The land was mainly arable (for growing crops) with many ploughs recorded as in use. There was also meadowland and woodland for 3 pigs, plus 11 salt-pans rendering 35 shillings worth of salt per year.

Salt production was extremely important in the medieval period, since salt was a very highly-valued commodity used not only at table but for preserving meat and fish and in various technical processes.

The village would have been centred on the church, which initially belonged to the Abbey of Grestain in Normandy. The Abbey would have been responsible for appointing new priests when required, but each priest would have lived on income from his own farmland and from cash and food donations from the villagers. It is not known to which saint the church was dedicated in the medieval period - only in 1946 was it made the Church of St Mary.

Villagers would almost all have worked on the lands of the various landholders, as well as their own plots of land. Growing crops and salt production would have been the main activities, all day every day (except Sundays and Holy Days).

The link below shows an artist's reconstruction of the Yorkshire village of Wharram Percy in the late 12th century. Willingdon would have been very similar, surrounded by strip-fields in all directions.