Castle Hedingham

Castle Hedingham is a village in northeast end of Hinckford, Essex. On the ancient road from Colchester to Cambridge.

Pre Norman Conquest

Before the Norman Conquest the land was in the hands of Wulfwin, son of Alfwin. A Saxon lord. Little is known about him.

Post Norman Conquest

After the Norman Conquest of 1066, Castle Hedingham was awarded to to Aubrey De Vere. A Castle was constructed on the site, later replaced by a stone keep that still stands. The following statistics are from the records kept by the Domesday record of 1066 and 1086.

In 1066 Castle Hedingham was considered a very large settlement compared to the rest of the country, it had 100 recorded households. The total tax taken was 3.1 geld units, (a Geld Unit was calculated by hides. Hides were the standard unit of land measure. In theory each hide was divided into four equal parts, called Virgates.) 

The value of Castle Hedingham in 1066 was given as £13, by 1086 it rose to £20. This might have been partly attributed to De Vere's development of the village in the following 20 years, also the construction of the Motte and Bailey Castle.

Other notable figures relating to Castle Hedingham in the Domesday book: 19th Century
 * Households: 33 villagers. 29 smallholders. 10 slaves. 13 freemen. 15 burgesses.
 * Ploughland: 9 lord's plough teams. 16 men's plough teams.
 * Other resources: Meadow 73 acres. Woodland 260 pigs. 1 mill.
 * Livestock in 1066: 4 cobs. 11 cattle. 80 pigs. 140 sheep.
 * Livestock in 1086: 1 cobs. 100 pigs. 160 sheep. 100 goats.
 * Lords in 1086: Aubrey de Vere; Godwin; Pinson; Robert Blunt; Warin.

White's Directory 1848 - Castle Hedingham. This quite interesting entry from the White's Directory of Essex 1848 lists some local tradespeople.

Historic Buildings of Castle Hedingham

Castle Hedingham has a number of buildings of interest, owing to it's hundreds of years of occupation. Most notable is the Norman Keep that gives Castle Hedingham it's name. Other buildings of interest include the Church, A number of ex public houses, shops and notable historic residences.
 * The Castle
 * Notable Residences
 * Places of Worship
 * Public Houses
 * Commercial Buildings
 * Other Landmarks