Appeals to the decision of this Survey occur at a very early period. Peter of Blois notices an appeal of the monks of Croyland to it in the of Henry L Others occur in the Abbrevultio Placito rum from the time of John downward. In later reigns the pleadings upon ancient demesne are extremely numerous ; and the proof of ancient demesne still rests with the Domesday Survey. Other cases in which its evidence is yet appealed to in our courts of law, are in proving the antiquity of mills, and in setting up pre scriptions in non decimando. By stat. 9 Edw. II., called Articuli Cleri, it was determined that prohibition should not lie upon demand of tithe for a new mill. The mill, therefore, which is found in Domes day must be presumed older than the 9th Edw. H., and is of course discharged, by its evidence, from tithe.
On the discharge of abbey-lands from tithes, as proved by Domesday, it may be proper to state that Pope Paschal IL, at an early period, exempted generally all the religious from tithes of lands in their own hands. This privilege was afterwards restrained to the four favoured orders, the Cistercians, the Templars, the Hospitallers, and the Premonstratensians. So it continued till the fourth Council of Lateran, in 1215, when the privilege was again restrained to such lands as the abbeys had at that time, and was declared not to extend to any after-purchased lands. And it extends only to lands dum propriis manibus coluntur. From the paucity of dates in early documents, the Domesday Survey is very frequently the only evidence which can be adduced that the lands claiming a discharge were vested in the monastery previous to the year ex pressed in the Lateran Council.
Although in early times, Domesday, precious as it was always deemed, occa sionally travelled, like other records, to distant parts, till 1696 it was usually kept with the king's seal, at Westminster, by the side of the Tally Court in the exchequer, under three locks and keys, in the charge of the auditor, the chamber lains, and deputy chamberlains of the ex chequer. In the last-mentioned year it was
deposited among other valuable records in the Chapter House, where it still remains.
The two most important works for the student of the Domesday Survey are Kel ham's Domesday Book illustrated, 8vo., London, 1788, and the General Introduc tion to the Survey, veprinted by command of his Majesty under the direction of the Commissioners on the Public Records, 2 vols. 8vo., 1833, accompanied by fresh indices. A translation of the whole, under the title of ` Dom-Boc,' was undertaken early in the present century by the Rev. William Bawdwen, Vicar of Hooton Pag noll, in Yorkshire, who published York shire, with the counties of Derby, Not tingham, Rutland, and Lincoln, in 4to., Doncaster, 1809, followed by the counties of Middlesex, Hertford, Buckingham, Ox ford, and Gloucester, 4to.. Doncaster, 1812 ; but the work went no further. County portions of this record will be found translated in most of our provincial histories ; the best are undoubtedly those in Dugdale's Warwickshire, Nichols's Leicestershire, Hutchins's Dorsetshire, Nash's Worcestershire, Bray and Man ning's Surrey, and Clutterbuck's Hert for&hire. Mr. Henry Penruddocke Wyndham published Wiltshire, extracted from Domesday Book, 8vo., Salisb., 1788, and the Rev. Richard Warner, Hampshire, 4th., Lond., 1789. Warwickshire has been published recently by Mr. Reader. There are numerous other publications incidentally illustrative of Domesday to pography, which the reader must seek for according to the county as to which he may desire information.