About

The Manorial Documents Register is the official register of manorial documents for England and Wales. We maintain it on behalf of the Master of the Rolls. The Register contains information about the nature and location of surviving manorial documents.

Manorial documents have statutory protection under the Manorial Documents Rules. They are defined in the Rules as court rolls, surveys, maps, terriers, documents and books of every description relating to the boundaries, franchises, wastes, customs or courts of a manor. Only those types of document defined in the Rules as manorial documents are noted in the Manorial Documents Register. Title deeds and other evidences of title are not defined as manorial documents and are therefore not included in the Register.

The Manorial Documents Register is not a register of title, and we do not seek to collect information about the ownership or descent of manors.

The following sections of the Manorial Documents Register have been computerised and can be searched online:

The remainder of the Manorial Documents Register has been microfilmed and is available for consultation in the Map and Large Document Reading Room (see visit us for opening hours etc). The Register is arranged alphabetically by county and then by manor. A separate parish index shows which manors lay in which parish.