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).

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.

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

Alford Manor House Avebury Manor Aydon Castle, Northumberland Baddesley Clinton Bettiscombe Manor Birtsmorton Court Bitterne Manor Bradninch Bramall Hall Boarstall Tower Bodysgallen Hall Brodie Castle Brooksby Hall Burghley House Calcot Manor Chambercombe Manor Chavenage House Cheddington Chenies Manor House Clevedon Court Cranborne

Edlingham Castle Finchcocks Grimshaw Hall Hatfield House Hinxworth Place Huis Doorn East Riddlesden Hall Gainsborough Old Hall Garsington Manor Gidea Hall Great Chalfield Manor Groby Old Hall Halltorps Harlaxton Manor Hartham Park, Corsham House of Dun Hughenden Manor Ightham Mote Kelmscott Manor Killadeas, 'Manor House Hotel', County Fermanagh Kirby Muxloe Castle

Knole House Lambton Castle Les Augres Manor Lesingham House Levens Hall Linford Manor Little Barford Llanrwst Monboddo House Northborough, Cambridgeshire Oxon Hoath Owlpen Manor Raasay Roos Hall Snowshill Manor Stanford Hall Stokesay Castle Stourhead Sturminster Newton Sulgrave

The Manor House Bishop Bridge Theobalds Thorndon Hall Ufton Court Waddesdon Manor Walton Hall, Milton Keynes Washington Old Hall, ancestral home of George Washington Wightwick Manor Wingfield Manor — deserted Woodstock Manor Woolsthorpe Manor Yalding Manor house

Notable manor houses in France

• Château de Trécesson in Morbihan, Brittany.
• Manoir de Kerazan in Finistère, Brittany.
• Château de la Roche-Jagu in Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany. A very strategically important maison-forte in Trégor.
• Château de Bienassis in Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany.
• Château de Bonnefontaine in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany.
• Château des Rochers-Sévigné in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany.
• Château d'Harcourt in Eure, Normandy.
• Château de Beaumont-le-Richard in Calvados, Normandy.
• Château de Gratot in Manche, Normandy.
• Château de Pirou in Manche, Normandy.

See also

• Country house
• Mansion
• There is a short list of Normandy manoirs in Pays de Caux.
• Reality tv show recreating life in an Edwardian manor house.

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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