When the Domesday Book was compiled in 1086, all of England's land belonged to the Crown. Most was held by the French elite who'd come to power 20 years earlier.
One quarter was held by the Church, but this was really another branch of power among the same ruling class.

#thread

Some of the places where our churches are located were held by powerful bishops who wielded influence far beyond their diocese.

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The village of Wickham Bishops in Essex takes its name from the Bishops of London. The Domesday Book shows that the small settlement of 'Wicham' (meaning 'dwelling place with a farm') was entirely held by the Bishop of London, as it had been in 1066.

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In 1066, the Bishop of London was Hugh D'Orevalle of Normandy. He was succeeded in 1086 by Maurice, former Archdeacon of Le Mans, who also served as England's third Lord Chancellor & Lord Keeper.

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St Peter's, Wickham Bishops, was probably originally built as a private chapel for the use of London's Bishops when they visited the manor.

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Barmby on the Marsh, Yorkshire, where we recently adopted St Helen's church, was solely held by the Bishop of Durham in 1086.
‘Barnebi' only had a handful of households, but it was one of about 2,000 settlements in England recorded as having a church, and it also had a priest.
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In fact, the Bishop of Durham was a Tenant in Chief or Lord of nearly 200 villages in several counties, including Saltfleetby in Lincolnshire, where we care for the tower of Old St Peter's.

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Durham's bishop at this time, William de St-Calais, was a monk and abbot who had been nominated to the bishopric by King William in 1080. He was an extremely influential and powerful man - an advisor to the king, a commissioner of the Domesday Book, and a prince-bishop...

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... with the right to raise an army, levy taxes, and even mint his own coins. One of William de St-Calais's greatest achievements is the construction of Durham's magnificent Romanesque cathedral, which he began in 1093.

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: mattbuck, CC 2.0