Was our area ravaged in 1066?

I've recently been reading the Osprey Guide to the Campaigns of the Norman Conquest by Matthew Bennett. In a map entitled "William's march to London, October - December 1066" it shows the routes, both of William the Conqueror himself - as he skirted around London; crossing the Thames to Wallingford - and along the Chilterns to Berkhamsted. (see my earlier posts on Berkhamsted - here and here)




and the route taken by a "detachment for ravaging" - This group, according to that map left from Wallingford and headed for Buckingham and Stony Stratford, and then on to Bedford. it identifies the area south of the Great Ouse as "lands severely ravaged". The Milton Keynes area east of Watling street is included in this area.

There are no diaries or other accounts which discuss this, so where is the evidence? The theory is based on a study of the Domesday Book - which looks at the change in the value of land between the start of 1066 and in 1070 and 1086. Milton Keynes, the village was worth £8 in 1066, but dropped to £5 by 1070 - Great Linford fell in value from £4 in 1066 to £2 in 1070, then increased to £3 by 1086. Newport Pagnell fell from £24 to £20. It is suggested that these drops in value reflected a ravaging of the area. Whaddon and Newton Longville kept their value.

An interesting theory? But is it correct - did much of our area suffer a long term decline as a result of the aggressive tactics of Norman soldiers?