The Manorial Court
The Manorial Court which began early in the history of the Manor served as a local legal and administrative system. It arose from the pre-
In general all male members of the parish aged 12 years or older were required to attend the Manorial Court or to provide a reason for non-
The practice of keeping manorial court records began in the second half of the thirteenth century and we are fortunate in that the records from 1642 until 1922 for the parishes of Castle Rising, Roydon and North Wootton have survived and have been preserved in the Norfolk Record Office. Without the timely intervention of Bradfer-
The first book (from 1642-
The business of both the Courts Baron and the Courts Leet were recorded. In the seventeenth century, they were generally recorded separately, with different members of the parish attending each court. As expected, only the men of the village attended the manorial courts. Usually only 3 or 4 people attended the Court Baron, which dealt with transfers of copyhold leases usually on the death of a previous copyholder. Although the names of the past and future copyholders were recorded, there are few descriptions of the properties themselves. However a careful examination of the Court Baron records could probably allow the individual burgages to be identified and matched with present-
At the Court Leet, attendance was higher, usually between 12 and 25 and the average between the years 1642 and 1835 was 15. It rose slightly to an average of 18 in the reign of Charles II, possibly a reaction to the end of the Commonwealth period. In the court book of 1666, five years after the restoration of the Monarchy there is a complete list of all the men who were required to attend the Castle Rising Court Leet. This was broken down into 3 categories; those who did attend (15), those who provided essoin (excuse for non attendance) (46) and those who defaulted (5). This suggested that the village at that time had a male population (above the age of 12) of 66 and by extrapolation a total population of around 200-
According to Hardy (1984), in sixteenth century England both Court Baron and Court Leet were reasonably thriving institutions but by the end of the century this was no longer so and the history of manorial courts was “one of gradual but unrelenting decay”.. In the early years the Court played an important part in the organization of Castle Rising but over time it became increasingly formalistic. The minutes of the Court Leet however do provide a useful insight into the local scene. . It was held annually (occasionally more often if there was urgent business, such as the death of a Mayor), usually around the end of October or early November. It sometimes took place in the parish church but a quotation in 1823 (Norfolk Annals Vol. 1) reports “in the great hall [of the castle] where the Court Leet is held”. In the nineteenth century it was occasionally held in the school-
The other major business of the Court Leet was to oversee the management of the Common land. In previous centuries the leet presumably organised the distribution of land in the common ridge and furrow fields such as the one which was located inland from the pre-
Denis Stuart (1992) Manorial Records. Phillimore p.2.
Hardy P.D.A.(1984) Manorial Records, published by British Records Ass. Archives and their uses #5 London. p.57.
Norfolk Annals Vol. 1. p226. ed. Charles Meekie, published by Norfolk Annals, Norwich.
Responsible for the maintenance of law and order.
Responsible for maintaining the dikes and ditches of the parish
Responsible for ensuring that pigs on the common had nose rings.
Responsible for policing the use of animals on the Common.