The following year, in response to Webb's request, members reported back to the Society regarding existing printed and MS transcripts from Domesday Book, with the intention of compiling material that might be of assistance in the task of compiling an edition. In 1756 Philip Carteret Webb read a paper to the Society emphasising the great value of Domesday Book, and by implication the urgent need for a published edition: this paper was printed by the printing press of William Bowyer. Nevertheless, after the purchase of a Royal Charter in 1751, the possibility of publishing Domesday became more realistic. The Society struggled to achieve its aims, however, being afflicted by its members' limited resources and sheer lack of enthusiasm. The reconstituted Society of Antiquaries of London, founded in 1717 by Humfrey Wanley, John Bagford and John Talman, made it part of its mission to work towards the publication of a wide variety of ancient records, including Domesday. This was the age of the county history, with many accounts of the English shires being published at this time, and Domesday Book, as a property record of early date that happened to be arranged by county, was a major source for the medieval history of all the counties encompassed by the survey. Penguin Books reprinted the Alecto Editions translation in a single volume published in hardback in 2002 and in paperback in 2003.Ī digital edition of manuscript facsimile images alongside the text of the Phillimore translation was published as the 'Domesday Explorer' on CD-ROM in 2000, publicly accessible as an online database since 2008.Ībraham Farley's edition (1773–1783) ĭomesday Book was an item of great interest to the antiquarian movement of the 18th century. The Alecto editorial board produced a corrected and standardized translation based on the VCH text. The Alecto Editions are a series of high-quality bibliophile facsimiles published 1985–1992, with a new English translation in two separate volumes.

The Phillimore translation did not, however supersede the VCH one as the most authoritative. The Phillimore Edition is synoptic, placing its translation alongside a facsimile of Farley's edition, and is published in a separate volume for each county. An English translation of the Latin text for most counties was published by the Victoria County History (VCH) during much of the 20th century.Ī new English translation of the entire text was prepared for the Phillimore Edition, published 1975–1992 for Phillimore & Co under the general editorship of John Morris.

The first facsimile edition of the manuscripts was made in a project led by the cartographer Henry James in the 1860s. The text of Domesday Book, the record of the great survey of England completed in 1086 executed for William I of England, was first edited by Abraham Farley in the 1770s.

Domesday book folio society