Like most parts of Britain, Wayland is full of visible evidence of its history. Although most of the Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman remains are either in the museums at Norwich or in private hands, all of the villages have medieval churches, and there are also some very interesting signs of their past.
The name 'Wayland' dates from the 11th Century and the time of William The Conqueror, and was the name given to the "Hundred" (see below?). Wayland is thought to mean the 'Dark Land' or 'Marshy Land' - perhaps a reference to the then densely wooded nature of the area. For the most part that forest has been cleared over the years for and the wood used for construction leaving the land free for farming. This has left an open landscape studded with small patches of woodland which, combined with the gentle undulations of the countryside, facilitate the beautiful views across country that are so typical of our area.
What is a Hundred?
The term "Hundred' was used originally to describe the areas into which England was divided for the purposes of calculating Danegeld that is, the "protection" money paid by the Saxon kings to the Danish invaders. It then came to mean an area generally administered as one unit, and in which a court was held. Later still it became an electoral constituency area, and finally a local authority area - the old "Rural District Council".
In 1086, William the Conqueror had an inventory made of the entire country. County by county, landholder by landholder and manor by manor, a list was drawn up of everything of interest or value to the Crown. It detailed which lands belonged to which estates, who was responsible for what areas, and what revenues were due and to whom. It is a unique record of the political, economic and social structure of an entire country, and it is known as the Domesday Book.
In 1086, at the time of the Domesday census, the Hundred of Wayland (or Wanelund) consisted of the following villages (Saxon names in brackets):
| Ashill (Asscelea) |
Breckles (Brecchles) |
Carbrooke (Cherebroc) |
| Caston (Castetuna) |
Griston (Grestuna) |
Little Ellingham (Ailincham) |
| Merton (Meretuna) |
Panworth (Pennewerde) |
Rockland St Peter (Toffies) |
| Saham Toney (Saham) |
Scoulton (Sculetuna) |
Stow Bedon (Stou) |
| Thompson (Tomestuna) |
Threxton (Trecstuna) |
Tottington (Totintuna) |
| Watton (Wadetuna) |
|
West Carbrooke (Weskerebroc) |
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Panworth no longer exists as a separate community, and West Carbrooke is now part of Carbrooke. Tottington is one of the 'lost" villages on the Stanford Training Area.
The entries for the various villages in the Domesday Book are listed by landowner; therefore each place name may appear several times in each county, since parts of some villages were owned by different people. For instance, landowners in Griston included the King; Godric; William de Warenne; Roger Bigot; Ralph Baynard; and Osbert, a tenant of John the nephew of Waleran.
Pages guiding you through some of the heritage of this are can be accesses by the menu (left).