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Dictionary:

manor house


n.
  1. The main house on an estate.
  2. The house of the lord of a manor.

 
 
Architecture: manor house


1. Usually, an imposing house in a countryside, often the residence of a landowner with considerable acreage.
2. A relatively simple one-room house of early colonists in America, having a gable roof, clapboard walls, a battened door, a window at the front of the house with solid shutters, and a chimney at one or at each end.


 

[MC]

The main residence of the lord of the manor, typically comprising a substantial house, together with associated agricultural buildings and administrative offices. In England the manor house was often located near the main church serving the manor.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: manor house,
dwelling house of the feudal lord of a manor, occupied by him only on occasional visits if he held many manors. Although not built specifically for fortification as castles were, many manor houses were partly fortified; they were enclosed within walls or moats that sometimes included the farm buildings as well. The primary feature of the manor house was its great hall, to which subsidiary apartments were added as the lessening of feudal warfare permitted peaceful domestic life. By the beginning of the 16th cent., manor houses as well as smaller castles began to acquire the character and amenities of the residences of country gentlemen. This transformation produced the smaller Renaissance châteaux of France and the numerous country mansions of the Elizabethan and Jacobean styles in England.

Bibliography

See M. Holmes, ed., The Country House Described: An Index to the Country Houses of Great Britain and Ireland (1986).


 
Wikipedia: manor house
Ightham Mote
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Ightham Mote

A manor house or fortified manor-house is a country house, which has historically formed the centre of a manor (see Manorialism). The term is sometimes applied to relatively small country houses which belonged to gentry families, as well as to grand stately homes, particularly as a technical term for minor late medieval castles more intended for show than for defence.

In general terms, the manor house was the dwelling house of a feudal lord of a manor, which he occupied only on occasional visits if he held many manors. Although not built with strong fortifications as castles were, many manor houses were partly fortified: they were enclosed within walls or ditches that oftentimes included the farm buildings as well. Many of them were equipped with small gatehouses and watchtowers. The primary feature of the manor house was its great hall, to which subsidiary apartments were added as the lessening of feudal warfare permitted more peaceful domestic life. By the beginning of the 16th century, manor houses as well as small castles began to acquire the character and amenities of the residences of country gentlemen. This late 16th century transformation produced many of the smaller Renaissance châteaux of France and the numerous country mansions of the Elizabethan and Jacobean styles in England.

Château de Trécesson, 14th century manor in Morbihan, Brittany
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Château de Trécesson, 14th century manor in Morbihan, Brittany

In France, the terms château or manoir are often used synonymously to describe a French manor house. Maison-forte is another French word to describe a strongly fortified manor house. In the western France provinces of Brittany and Normandy, certain large manors enjoyed real means of protection. The seigniorial residences of this type, just like the largest castles, often had a châtelet or logis-porche (gatehouse), a courtyard surrounded by walls sheltering the outbuildings – especially the stables, a principal house (logis principal), a chapel and a dovecote. In certain cases, the logis-porche is only one wall, in others, it is a true house.[1] Some of these manor houses were surrounded by ditches (wet or dry) and some were not.

In late medieval French manor houses the great hall was called the salle haute or "upper hall." This was the hall reserved for the lord and where he received his high-ranking guests. This larger hall was often located above the ground-floor hall or salle basse. In addition to upper halls, many French manor houses also had watchtowers, gatehouses and walls that were fitted with arrow or gun loops for added protection. Some larger 16th century manors, such as the Château de Kerjean in Finistere, Brittany, were even outfitted with fore-works that included gun platforms for cannons.

In modern usage, the term manor or manor house is often used, especially outside Europe, to mean simply either a country house or indeed any other house considered to resemble one, without any reference to age or to the historical sense of the term.

Notable manor houses in the United Kingdom

Notable manor houses in France

See also

External links

  • Estonian Manors Portal - the English version gives the brief overview of 438 best preserved manor houses in Estonia.

Notes

  1. ^ Jones, Michael and Gwyn Meirion-Jones, Les Châteaux de Bretagne, Rennes: Editions Quest-France,1991, pp 34-35

 
 

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Architecture. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Archaeology Dictionary. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Copyright © 2002, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Manor house" Read more

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