Such a survey was of immense value. Its object, according to the king, was that every man might know and be satisfied with his rightful possessions, and not with impunity usurp the property of others. But it was also of great service to the king, so that he might know who were his vassals, the amount of taxation which he could draw from them, and the actual strength of his new kingdom. The commissioners performed their work with much care and exactness. The survey is wonderfully complete, and was compiled in a very short time. It is of great value to the historians of subsequent ages. The writing of the book is very clear and beautiful, the abbreviations alone presenting some difficulty to an unaccustomed reader. No illuminations adorn the text. At the head of each page the name of the county is written in red ink. The book is preserved in an ancient chest in the Public Record Office, where it was removed from the Chapter House at Westminster. As an example we may take the _Domesday_ description of the parish of Barkham, which runs as follows:-- "IN CERLEDONE HD. "Rex ten in dnio Bercheha. AElmer Tenuit de rege. E. Te 7 m iii hid. Tra e iii car. In dnio e una, 7 vi uilli 7 iiii bord cu iii car. Ibi v. ac pti. Silua de XL pore. Valuit iiii lib. T.R.E. 7 m: iii. lib." TRANSLATION. "In the hundred of Charlton. "The king holds Barkham in demesne. AElmer held it of King Edward. Then, as now, it was rated for three hides. The land is three ploughlands. In demesne there is one ploughland. There are six villeins, four borderers with three ploughs. There are five acres of pasture. Wood for the pasturage of forty hogs. It was worth 4l. in the time of King Edward, afterwards, and now, 3l." King Edward here mentioned was Edward the Confessor. A hide, when it is used as a measure of land, may be taken at about one hundred and twenty acres. A ploughland was as much land as one plough with oxen could plough in a year. The villeins were men who tilled their lord's land, and in return for certain services had holdings under him. The borderers were cottagers who also worked for their lord and held smaller holdings, from one to ten acres. In other entries we find the number of serfs recorded, and also mention of the hall of the lord of the manor, where the manorial courts were held, the church, the priest's house, the names of landowners and tenants, the mill, and of the various officers and artisans who made up the village community.