The Manor and Manor Court Procedure

This summary of the manorial system, manor courts and manor court procedure necessarily simplifies a complex system which had many local variations. The origins of the manor are uncertain, but by the time of Domesday Book the manorial system was established throughout most of the country.

The manor system may be described as a territorial unit originally held by feudal tenure - held by a landlord, not necessarily titled, who himself was a tenant of the Crown or of a mesne lord who held land directly of the Crown. The manor had a number of aspects. In the medieval period it was an economic unit, usually consisting of the demesne which the lord retained for his own use, and the remainder which was tenanted or used for common waste.

The two main types of tenant were villeins who occupied their lands on condition of rendering services to the lord, such as cultivating his demesne, and freemen who paid a money rent, generally a fixed sum, to the lord. Often individuals occupied lands on both kinds of tenure, and the history of the manor in one respect is the story of decay of the system of labour services and the evolution of tenures based wholly on money rents. Villein tenure thus evolved into copyhold tenure, that is, the tenant's title was written on the manor court rolls, of which he had a copy - hence the name. All conveyances of copyhold land had to pass through the lord's manorial court where his financial interests were preserved by the imposition of an entry fine and a heriot, or best beast, usually a money payment, in the case of an heir to a deceased tenant. Copyhold tenure was abolished in 1922. Other types of tenant included tenants-at-will and tenants demesne, and these usually had less security of tenure than freehold or copyholders.

By right a lord of the manor could hold a court for his local tenants. This was the court baron, usually held every three weeks. Its general business was to state the customs of the manor, whether relating to tenure or land use, and enforce payment of all dues and performance of all services owed by the tenants to the lord. The courts had other powers as well, and was in practice an organ of local government with legislative, administrative and judicial functions. It also had jurisdiction over disputes between individuals and over personal actions by tenants, such as the recovery of small debts and complaints of trespass. The court appointed some local officials, including the reeve or bailiff, who collected the lord's dues and the Hayward.

Many manorial lords also had the right to hold a court leet, usually held every six months. This court inspected the working of the frankpledge, a system of mutual responsibility within a group of about ten households for the maintenance of law and order, and which was often called the view of frankpledge. It had powers to deal with offences such as common nuisances, affrays and the breaking of the assize of bread and ale, and could fine and imprison offenders.