England Manors

A manor is an estate or an agricultural unit of local government, held by a landlord. A more detailed definition of its constitution and functions would not be valid for all periods of time nor all parts of the country. The landlord was referred to as Lord of the Manor, but was not necessarily a titled person. The landlord held the estate from the Crown either directly or through one or more mesne lords (a 'middle' lord). The mesne lord generally held one or more manors from the king, then in turn was a superior lord over a lord of one of his manors. Manors began after the Norman Conquest (1066) and weren't abolished until a property act of 1922. "'In many hundreds of villages throughout England, the oldest and most important surviving building after the church is the manor house. It may not be called that. The local people may refer to it as 'the old hall' or 'the big house'. Sometimes it has been relegated to use as a farmhouse, or a vicarage, or an hotel, or it may be in ruins, but it nearly always holds a special place in the affections of the older people who, even if they know very little of it's history and regard those who occupy it now as complete strangers, have a sense of its past influence on the growth of their village.'" The people who lived on the manor were either


 * 1) Villeins, people who owed allegiance to and were bound to the lord of the manor, or
 * 2) Free tenant farmers (may also be known as franklin or yeoman) were not subject to the customs of the manor or the will of the lord.

Records survive from 1246; most manors stopped holding court in the 1800's. It is estimated that there were between 25,000 and 65,000 manors in England, compared to the approximately 12,000 parishes. The surviving court records are the most valuable to the genealogist. Court was held at periodic intervals between six weeks and six months. The two courts held were Court Baron and Court Leet (by the 1600's known as View of Frankpledge). The procedure was judicial, but the matters dealt with were both administrative and judicial. The principal for the manor was "Justice shall be done by the lord's court, not by the lord." Court Baron, originally for free tenants, dealt with land transfers, lord's and tenant's rights and duties, changes in occupancy, and disputes between tenants. Court Leet, originally for villeins, dealt with petty crimes, and the election of officials for the manor. These officials were: bailiff (appointed by the steward), reeve, hayward, beadle, constable, ale-taster, and two affeerers. The Manorial Documents Register, Quality House, in London lists extant manorial records and their location (see address in Research Outline: England). They also have a list, by parish, showing the manors lying within each. Actual records are held in the Public Record Office (London), county record offices, large reference libraries, and sometimes in the private papers of the solicitors for the estate.