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Manorial Records. How Can They Help my English Research?

Syllabus

The Advantage of Using Manorial Records

Contrary to popular belief manorial records are not just useful for early research but can potentially cover dates from the 13th century right through until 1922 when the Law of Property Act abolished the last form of land tenure associated with the manorial system - copyhold land.

They are also an excellent source to turn to if the parish registers you need do not survive and may well pre-date the earliest parish register by many years if not centuries, while one of the delights of manorial records is that they concentrate on the everyday person who lived on the manor rather than the lord who ran it. Early manorial records are challenging with highly abbreviated Latin and to decipher them requires much practice but there is plenty of material that you will be able to cope with from the seventeenth century onwards and gaining experience in this will help prepare you for the early records if you wish to take it further.

Another advantage in using manorial records is that while a reference to an ancestor in parish records may not identify him beyond all doubt as the ancestor you seek, continued tenure of land or a house by a family can eliminate that doubt and identify your family with certainty.

The Manorial System - What was it and when was it Introduced?

Simply speaking a manor was an administrative land unit under the charge of a “Lord of The Manor”. A "lord" was not necessarily of noble birth and the term is not the same as a "Lord" who has a peerage. From the time of the first Norman king William 1 all land was deemed to be the property of the king and he therefore had the authority to grant lands and the profits from them to his vassals in return for the provision of military service and fealty. While the idea of serfdom and bondage existed in England before Norman times the Normans added to this a system of military obligations and seigniorial powers.

The first lords of the manor occasionally held their manor in return for personal service in the king's household but in most cases the lord held his manor from the king in return for military service. He would be bound to provide a certain number of trained armed men for 40 days a year to fight in the king's army. After the mid 13th century the need for heavily armed knights and the need for infantry was

2 greatly reduced and so knight's service as it was known became obsolete - the service being replaced by a payment known as scutage.

Alternatively a manor could be held by an ecclesiastical lord who provided the king with ecclesiastical services in return.

A lord who held his land directly from the king was known as a “tenant in chief”. The tenants in chief in turn granted land to other men who were also lords of the manor but who are referred to as “mesne lords” to indicate that they held their land from another lord rather than the king. Mesne derives from a word meaning intermediate or middle

On each manor were tenants who worked the manorial land and in turn owed service in the form of labour on the lord's land and fealty to their lord. The lord offered protection and justice to his tenants in return through his manorial court. With the passing of time service in labour was also gradually replaced by monetary payments.

The feudal system (the system of people owing service to their "superiors") had largely died out by the 16th century and was officially abolished in 1660 but the accompanying system of manorial administration dealing mainly with land holdings and tenancies carried on.

Manors varied greatly in size from just a few acres to well over a hundred acres, while one lord might hold just one manor or hold manors in various locations throughout the country. Manors occasionally matched the boundaries of a parish but more often you will find several manors in one parish or that a manor might spread over the boundaries of more than one parish. Although in some cases the manor may have been a compact village often portrayed in school history books this was not always the situation and in some cases a manor would consist of scattered farms interspersed with land belonging to other manors and waste land.

The Manorial Courts

Just as his vassals owed services to him, the Lord was bound to provide justice and protection to his tenants through his court. Just like the parish each manor was unique and was run according to the customs of the individual manor. These customs were unique to each manor and had developed over time as firstly unwritten agreements between the lord and the villeins until by the 13th century they had usually been written down.

The court was not just a means of administering justice in the manor primarily in fact dealt with everyday administrative matters too. The court rolls (on which all

3 court proceedings were recorded) are often the place where the most interesting records of estate administration will be found. The manor courts were also an important source of income for the lord as he received income from many aspects of the courts' proceedings, particularly in the form of amercements (fines) of people infringing byelaws and the lord's rights and entry fines when tenancies changed hands. Attendance at court was compulsory for all manorial tenants. The power of manorial courts varied greatly- some dealt solely with villeins and the administration of the manor while others had the power to deal with freeman as well and also deal with criminal matters - i.e. breaches of the king's peace - the latter only if special permission had been granted by the king and only to deal with crimes committed within the manorial boundary.

Generally speaking there were three types of manorial court.

The Court Leet and View of Frankpledge - The former was a court which the Lord held on behalf of the Crown and which dealt with criminal matters. Not every Lord had the king's permission to hold a Court Leet and most of Court Leets had died out by the seventeenth century. View of Frankpledge - originally a court held periodically to examine the effective working of the system of Frankpledge - dates back to Saxon times where each area divided into groups of 10 or 12 households known as tithings, whose members were held corporately responsible for the behaviour of each other - matters being regulated by the View of Frankpledge. Court Leet and View of Frankpledge held together as time passed.

The Court Customary and the Court Baron. Two separate courts although in practice the two courts were usually combined under the title Court Baron. The former dealt with business arising from customary tenants while the latter dealt with freeholders. The court met on average every six weeks although this varied according to the manor.

Bear in mind that other types of court did exist as well on some manors such as Court of Dimissions which you will find in Northumberland and Western Cumberland. They were separate courts to which customary or copyhold tenants came to surrender their tenancies and be admitted tenant.

Who lived on the manor?

Under the original feudal organisation there was a hierarchy of inhabitants with varying rights and privileges! The basic division on the medieval manor was between free and the unfree tenants. The former - the freemen chose to live on the manor while the villein or bondsman was born as such - inheriting his status from his father. But this is a very simplistic division

Villeins, bondsmen, (serfs) later customary tenants and copyholders.

Villeins or bondsmen held land from the lord and paid him rent, but they were also subject to other obligations including regular agricultural work on the land that the lord kept to farm himself (demesne land) and a variety of other obligations that differed according to the custom of each manor. On most manors the villeins would be expected to give the Lord a set number of days work on the demesne land each week (week work) and be expected to provide extra help at harvest time (boon work). They also paid rents and in some cases they owed other services such as carrying/carting. too. Most importantly though, the villein was not allowed to leave the manor, nor could he marry without the lord’s permission. He also had to make a payment known as a heriot when he succeeded to his land holding - usually his best beast or later a monetary payment.

Contrary to popular belief villeins could actually be fairly well - off people depending on how much land they held. Until the 14th century however life for the majority of villeins could be very hard as they had no bargaining powers. As a result of the Black Death which decimated the population and led to a desperate labour shortage this began to change. Villeins could begin to make demands and by the 16th century the life of the villein was much improved.

Whereas the 14th century villein could have his land taken away on the whim of the lord, his 16th century counterpart had the security of knowing that his land holdings were confirmed in writing with full hereditary rights. His rent was fixed and the terms and conditions his tenure were also set down in writing while the restrictions on his freedom of movement and marriage had all but died out.

From the 16th century onwards you will find that villeins are referred to as customary tenants (the land was held according to the custom of the manor) or copyholders. The latter name came from the fact that they were given a copy of the entry relating to their land holding, which had also been entered into the court rolls.

Quit Rents were rents paid in lieu of services otherwise owed and you will also find quit claim which was the Lord's release of claims he may have had over a villein in return which he received some money or quit rent as compensation for this loss of services.

All copyhold land was converted to freehold under the 1922 Law of Property Act.

Freeholders. As the name suggests these "free men" were not bound to the lord in any way but held land from him in return for cash rent. They had chosen to live on the manor of their own free will. Sometimes very light services were also required. They had no restrictions on their personal freedom and there are usually fewer references to them in the manorial records. Freehold land was usually held by the tenant for rent which had often been agreed and fixed in the mediaeval

5 period and which the lord had no subsequent right to review. Because of this by the 16th century the rents from freeholders were often minimal and brought little income to the Lord. This is one reason why there are fewer references to freeholders in manorial records from this date. Freeholders were however expected to pay a heriot on inheritance just like villeins-fine payable to the Lord when the new heir succeeded-and to attend the manor court.

Sub tenants

Manorial tenants could sublet their land and you need to be aware of this because when manorial surveys and similar records were compiled, although the compilers may be accurate in recording the names and details of the manorial tenants, they would rarely record the names of the sub tenants who actually occupied and worked the land.

Remember your ancestor may have held land in several manors and have been the tenant of several lords. So is a good idea to check records of contiguous manors if they survive.

The manorial system ended in 1922 when the Law of Property Act abolished copyhold tenure. Dealing with the transfer of copyhold tenure and fines due had been the sole remaining function of the manorial courts that still existed and so the 1922 act thus brought them to an end as well. There are still lords of the manor but they are empty titles.

The Documents and Where to Start

Since 1922 no manorial documents may be removed from England and Wales without the permission of the Master of the Rolls who is a member of the judiciary with responsibility for documents of national importance.

Survival rates vary tremendously but it has been estimated that over 50% of manors should have records surviving from the 18th century onwards. The manorial system did not cover the whole country and large parts of northern Wales, for example, were not included.

Locating your manorial records

Your first port of call should be the Manorial Documents Register (MDR), which was established in 1922 to ensure that manorial records were preserved. The MDR is held on microfiche at The National Archives in Kew and is arranged by county

6 and cross-referenced to the parish. Some counties can be accessed online at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/mdr/.

You may also wish to check directly with the local record office to see what they hold but be aware that without checking the MDR you are unlikely to be getting the full story.

A variety of records were produced as a result of manorial administration and some of the main ones are listed here but learn more in the further reading section.

Court Rolls.

The court rolls, the records of the proceedings of the customary court also known as the court baron are one of the most important types of manorial documents you will use. Importantly for us as researchers change in ownership of customary land was conducted through the manorial courts and recorded in the court rolls and the entries often provide important genealogical information such as who was the son of whom and sometimes even greater detail. Successive runs of court rolls can therefore provide a lengthy pedigree.

The court rolls record all the business of the court as well as listing those people who were present at each court sitting. A roll call was taken of all those who were supposed to be present (usually anyone who held any land freehold or otherwise from the lord). Those who did not attend would be fined (amerced), although if they presented a good excuse in advance they would usually be let off with a token fine (essoin). The lists will usually mark who was present or absent and any amercement levied. Lists may also note when a person has died since the last court sitting. By the eighteenth century many courts had separate registers or call books listing attendances. These are an easy way of tracking your ancestor over the years to see when he was attending court or defaulting (not attending) and also when he first came into his land and when he died.

You will also find the election of manorial officers such as the reeve, hayward and ale taster and of course the constable – very like the election of the parish officers at the parish vestry meeting in years to come.

The most important business dealt with by the court from a genealogist’s point of view are the “admissions”. Admissions occurred when a copyhold or customary tenancy became vacant (usually because the tenant had died but sometimes if a tenant chose to sell on his tenancy). The court would admit a new tenant, who was usually the deceased’s heir, after the payment of an entry fine. The court would also note the relationship between the old and new tenant, which is of course vital evidence for our research, and give a brief description of the land. You may also

7 find copies of wills among the records, some of which were never proved in court and so will not be found among usual probate records. The information given in the court rolls helps to potentially build a picture of the family over many generations and sometimes centuries.

The court also dealt with quarrels between tenants and anyone who had flouted the law or custom of the manor and you may find other family members mentioned. There will also be a list of the jury members (the homage) for each court sitting any of whom may be your ancestor.

Rentals

Rentals will be found from the late 14th century onwards and are lists of the rents and services due to the lord. They will give the names of tenants, a description of the land and often details of previous tenants. Remember that not everyone who lived on the manor would have been a tenant and so not everyone was included while a mentioned before some people may have sub let land and may not actually have loved upon it. Some manors did also list freeholders.

Verdicts

The record of decisions made by a manor court jury; often highlight who was brought to court for which offences and will record how much they were fined were applicable. Can give an interesting insight into your ancestors’ lives!

Custumals, Terriers and Extents

These were all types of land survey and are helpful for getting an idea of the size of the manor. The custumal also described the customs (rules) of the manor which included the duty that both lord and tenant owed to each other and details such as how many cattle each tenant could graze on the common. Tenants’ names are sometimes given. The Extent was similar to a custumal, but gave every item on the estate a value and applied only to demesne land. The terrier (from Latin “terra” meaning “land”) was a survey of all the land of the manor including a description of the tenants’ lands and together with their names.