the effects of the norman conquest are recorded in the 1086 domesday book. this indicates that settlements at long clawson and bottesford were of noteworthy size, and that melton mowbray was a thriving market town of some 200 inhabitants, with weekly markets, two water mills and two priests. the water mills, still in use up to the 18th century, are remembered in the present names of beckmill court and mill street.