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Manor house
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A manor house or fortified manor-house is a country house, which has historically formed the administrative centre of a manor (see Manorialism), the lowest unit of territorial organization in the feudal system. 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 fortified country houses intended more for show than for defence.
eneral terms, the manor house was the dwelling house, or "capital messuage", of a feudal lord of a manor, which he occupied only on occasional visits if he held many manors.
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A manor house or fortified manor-house is a country house, which has historically formed the administrative centre of a manor (see Manorialism), the lowest unit of territorial organization in the feudal system. 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 fortified country houses intended more for show than for defence.
History and architecture
In general terms, the manor house was the dwelling house, or "capital messuage", of a feudal lord of a manor, which he occupied only on occasional visits if he held many manors. As such it was the place in which sessions of his "court baron", or manor court, were held. Sometimes a steward or seneschal was appointed by the seigneurial lord to oversee and manage his different manorial properties. The day-to-day administration was delegated to a bailiff, or reeve.
Although not typically built with strong fortifications as castles were, many manor-houses were partly fortified: they were enclosed within walls or ditches that often included the farm buildings as well. Arranged for defence against robbers and thieves, it was often surrounded by a moat with drawbridge, and equipped with small gatehouses and watchtowers; but was not provided with a keep or with large towers or lofty curtain walls so as to withstand a siege. 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.
Architecture of French manor houses
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, which might include two sets of enclosing walls and drawbridges. In the western France provinces of Brittany and Normandy, some large manors enjoyed real means of protection. The seigneurial 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 (colombier). In certain cases, the logis-porche is only a wall, in others, it is an actual house. Some of these manor-houses were surrounded by ditches (wet or dry) and some were not.
In later medieval French manor-houses, the great hall was called the salle haute or upper-hall (or "high room"). This was the hall reserved for the seigneur and where he received his high-ranking guests, and was often accessible by an external spiral staircase. It was often "open" up to the roof trusses. This larger and more finely decorated hall was usually located above the ground-floor hall or salle basse that was used to receive peasants and commoners. The salle basse was also the location of the manor court, with the steward or seigneur's seating location often marked by the presence of a crédence de justice or wall-cupboard (shelves built into the stone walls to hold documents and books associated with administration of the demesne or droit de justice). The seigneur and his family's private chambres were often located off of the upper first-floor hall, and invariably had their own fireplace (with finely decorated chimney-piece) and frequently a latrine.
In addition to having both lower and upper-halls, many French manor-houses also had partly fortified gateways, watchtowers, and enclosing walls that were fitted with arrow or gun loops for added protection. Some larger 16th century manors, such as the Château de Kerjean in Finistère, Brittany, were even outfitted with ditches and fore-works that included gun platforms for cannons. These defensive arrangements allowed maisons-fortes, and rural manors to be safe from a coup de main perpetrated by an armed band as there was so many during the troubled times of the Hundred Years War and the wars of the Holy League; but it was difficult for them to resist a siege undertaken by a regular army equipped with (siege) engines.
Modern usage
In modern usage, the term manor or manor house is sometimes 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.
Manor houses of Northern Europe
Manors of England
Manors of Northern Germany
Manors of Estonia
Manors of Northern Ireland
- Killadeas, 'Manor House Hotel', County Fermanagh
Manors of Scotland
Manors of Sweden
Manors of Wales
Manor houses of Western Europe
Manors of France
- Château de Beaumont-le-Richard in Calvados, Normandy. (Fr)
- Château de Bienassis in Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany. (Fr)
- Château de Bonnefontaine in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany. (Fr)
- Manoir de Dur-Écu, 16th century manor in Manche, Normandy.
- Château de Gratot in Manche, Normandy.
- Château du Hac, 14th century, Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany
- Château d'Harcourt in Eure, Normandy.
- Manoir de Kerazan in Finistère, Brittany. (Fr)
- Château de Kérouzéré in Finistère, Brittany.
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- Manoir de Mézarnou, 16th century manor in Finistère, Brittany. (under extensive restoration)
- Château des Milandes in Dordogne, Aquitaine.
- Château de Pirou in Manche, Normandy.
- Château du Plessis-Josso in Morbihan, Brittany.
- Château de Puymartin in Dordogne, Aquitaine. (in French)
- Château de la Roche-Jagu in Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany. Strategically important maison-forte in Trégor. (Fr)
- Château des Rochers-Sévigné in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany. (Fr)
- Château de Rustéphan in Finistère, Brittany. Ruins of large 15th-16th century manor house.
- Château de Trécesson in Morbihan, Brittany.
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Manors of The Netherlands
Manor houses of Southern Europe
Manors of Spain
Manors of Portugal
See also
External links
- Reality TV show recreating life in an Edwardian .
- Interactive video timeline of British history with section on medieval manors.
- - the English version gives the brief overview of 438 best preserved manor houses in Estonia.
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