Simple question about the Domesday book

[Falkor]

The name Sydenham (in it's old form) might or might not have existed at the time of the Domesday survey, but the place names Lewisham, Bellingham and Blackheath certainly did exist.

The name Lewisham is recorded in the Domesday book, but does this name refer to Lewisham the Parish, Manor or Village?

Why did certain place names make it to the Domesday book and why did certain place names not make it to the Domesday book? Why is Bellingham not in the Domesday book?

[mikej]

Was Bellingham a separate parish then? Perhaps it was part of a larger place/manor in those days? For instance Dulwich was part of Camberwell parish when the latter was just a village.

[Steve Grindlay]

Lewisham was both a manor and a parish. The manor was granted by the Crown to the Abbot of Ghent in about 964 and the monks of Ghent founded the church of St Mary's. For this reason the manor and parish shared the same boundaries until the mid 19th century, when population growth necessitated the creation of smaller parishes. Bellingham was not a parish; in fact for most of recorded time it was no more than a small community around Bellingham Farm, surrounded by fields.

In the Domesday Book, Lewisham refers to the manor. The Domesday Book was essentially a tax assessment. William the Conquerer wanted to know how much land he owned, who his tenants were and how much they had to pay him. Although the Abbey of Ghent were the tenants-in-chief of the manor of Lewisham, they sub-let parts of their manor to sub-tenants who in turn might have sub-let. The Domesday commissioners were not interested in the sub-tenants, only those who paid taxes directly to the Crown. Thus Sydenham, Bellingham, Brockley and so on were not separately recorded.

With regard to Camberwell, that was an ancient parish. Dulwich was a manor within that parish.

[Steve Grindlay]

By going through fairly standard sources I've managed to compile a list of hamlets/villages/settlements in Lewisham (the borough) with the date of their earliest recorded mention. Here they are in date order:
Lewisham - 918
Bellingham - 973
Hatcham - 1086
Lee - 1086
Blackheath - 1166
Brockley - 1182
Sydenham - 1206
Catford - 1240
Deptford - 1293
Perystrete (Perry Hill) - 1474
Southend - 1516
Honor Oak - 1609
New Cross - 1675
Ladywell - 1793
Forest Hill - 1797
Hither Green - 1805
Crofton Park - 1892
Downham - 1919

This list, by no any means comprehensive, is based on the earliest surviving document in which the settlement is mentioned. Many settlements may well have been earlier, but no written record survives. Interestingly Bellingham is second earliest after Lewisham.

Lewisham, Bellingham, Hatcham and Lee were mentioned by the time of the Domesday survey. Lewisham, Hatcham and Lee were manors. Bellingham was mentioned in an Anglo Saxon charter describing the bounds of Bromley which itself was first mentioned in a charter of 862, more than 50 years before the earliest mention of Lewisham.