Hayling Island in the Domesday Book

1086

Hayling Island is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a significant manor held by the Abbey of Jumieges in Normandy. The survey records agricultural land, a church, and a modest population working the fertile but low-lying coastal plain. The island was divided between North and South Hayling, a distinction that persists to this day. The manor included farmland, saltpans, and fisheries, reflecting the range of economic activities that sustained the island community. The connection to Jumieges Abbey gave Hayling a direct link to Normandy, and the abbey held the island until the fourteenth century. The Domesday entry confirms that Hayling was an established agricultural settlement before the Norman Conquest, and the record of saltpans points to the salt production that would remain important for centuries.