Manorial documents

Manorial documents survive in large quantities, some beginning in the late 12th century with a few being maintained until the early twentieth. They are not always easy to locate, however, as they can be in record offices, libraries or private hands. We do hold some records where the Crown or a corporate body such as Greenwich Hospital was lord of the manor. To locate manorial documents you should consult the Manorial Documents Register maintained by The National Archives. The register for Wales, and some English counties can be searched; the remainder of the register can be consulted here in the Open Reading Room. Manorial documents can include the court rolls of the court baron, the court leetand view of frankpledge, and also sometimes estreat (fine) rolls, suit (tenants) rolls, registers of surrenders and admissions (to holdings). They can contain information about tenants land holdings, admissions of heirs to property, and fines for breaching the customs of the manor.