What Is the Domesday Book?

The Domesday Book is the oldest surviving public record in England and one of the most remarkable documents in Western history. Commissioned by William the Conqueror at Christmas 1085, it was a complete survey of landholding in England—who owned what, how much it was worth, and what resources it held. Completed in 1086, it recorded approximately 13,418 settlements across England.

The name “Domesday” (meaning “Day of Judgment”) reflected the finality of its records: like the Last Judgment, there was no appeal. If the Domesday Book said you owned a piece of land, you owned it. If it said you didn’t, you were out of luck. The survey was both an administrative tool and a statement of absolute royal authority over the conquered English landscape.

The Norman Conquest and the Coffins

On October 14, 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, defeated King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings. The Norman Conquest that followed was one of the most transformative events in English history. William replaced the entire Anglo-Saxon aristocracy with Norman lords. Every significant estate in England changed hands. The new landholders were William’s allies—the men who had fought beside him.

According to Coffin familyrecords and the Domesday Book itself, Sir Richard Coffin was among those who fought for William at Hastings. After the victory, he was granted the Manor of Alwington in Devonshire. The family seat at Portledge Manor, perched on the edge of Bideford Bay overlooking the Bristol Channel, remained in Coffin hands for over 900 years—finally sold in 1998.

Why It Matters

Being recorded in the Domesday Book means that the Coffin family’s presence in Devon is documented to within twenty years of the Norman Conquest itself. This is extraordinarily rare. The vast majority of families in England—indeed, in the world—cannot trace their lineage with any documentary evidence before the 1500s, when parish records began. The Coffins can point to a survey ordered by the King of England in 1086.

The Domesday entry establishes several things: that the Coffins were landholders of substance, that they were Norman rather than Anglo-Saxon (they arrived with the Conquest, not before it), and that they held their land directly from the Crown. This was not minor gentry. These were men who had earned their estates on a battlefield that changed the course of English history.

From Alwington in 1086 to Portledge in the medieval period, from Devon to colonial New England with Tristram Coffin in 1642, from Nantucket to the whaling industry to abolitionism to General Electric—the line is unbroken and documented at every stage.

The Coffin Coat of Arms

The Coffin arms are blazoned: Azure, three bezants between eight crosses crosslet Or. In plain language: on a blue field, three gold coins arranged between eight small gold crosses. The azure (blue) field signifies loyalty and truth. The bezants (gold roundels) represent coins—historically associated with the Crusades and Byzantine gold. The crosses crosslet indicate faith and devotion. Together, the arms suggest a family of crusading faith and established wealth, which aligns with the Coffins’ documented status as Norman knights granted land for military service.

The Coffin coat of arms: Azure, three bezants between eight crosses crosslet Or