Historical names: Edestoche
Location: Adstock, Buckinghamshire
Places / associated places: Adstock, Buckinghamshire
Listed in Domesday Book: Yes
Location & Extent
GPS Location & Recorded Land Areas
Representative GPS point: 51.9628, -0.9295
Identity: confirmed — The registry record, TNA/MDR record F245958, the Adstock location, and the documented medieval descent all identify the principal manor of Adstock, Buckinghamshire. The surviving manor house and its Second World War use as the Adstock bombe outstation are specifically documented at the Adstock site, distinguishing it from other Buckinghamshire manors.
Representative point: 51.96280, -0.92950
Basis: documented_manor_house — Documented Adstock Manor, including its stable and outbuilding complex, is located at Ordnance Survey grid reference SP 73630 29914. The coordinates are an approximate WGS84 conversion of that grid reference.
Point confidence: high
Boundary status: representative_point_only
Boundary period: Medieval and early modern manor; exact historical extent not established
Boundary confidence: none
Boundary basis: The sources establish Adstock Manor as a 10-hide Domesday estate with associated meadow and ploughlands and document its descent, but do not provide a manor map, metes-and-bounds description, mapped parcel schedule, or other reliable perimeter evidence. The modern civil parish, conservation area, or settlement boundary cannot safely be substituted for the historical manorial extent.
Sources:
- Buckinghamshire's Heritage Portal: Adstock Manor: https://heritageportal.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/Monument/MBC23855 — Identifies Adstock Manor and gives its location as SP 73630 29914; records the manor house's use as a Bletchley Park bombe outstation.
- Historic England Research Records: Adstock Outstation: https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?resourceID=19191&uid=1535589 — States that the Adstock outstation opened in March 1941 in the stables and outbuildings of Adstock Manor and gives the closely corresponding grid reference SP7359429921.
- Adstock Conservation Area Appraisal: https://media.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/documents/CA-Adstock.pdf — Places Adstock Manor Stud and its buildings and mature trees on the southern approach to the village, corroborating the manor-house site within Adstock.
- The National Archives: TNA/MDR record F245958: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F245958 — Registry record for the exact manor record supplied, with authority/reference GB/NNAF/M204908.
Warnings / uncertainty:
- No defensible historical manorial perimeter polygon was found in the consulted public sources.
- The representative point identifies the documented manor-house site, not the full medieval or early modern landholding.
- The associated Hansted Manor holding is a distinct but related holding in Adstock and should not be merged into an inferred polygon for Adstock Manor without parcel-level evidence.
About the Manor
Adstock Manor was the principal medieval and early modern manor of Adstock, Buckinghamshire, recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as Edestoche. In 1066 the estate was held by Gytha, wife of Earl Ralph; in 1086 Ambrose held it from William Peverel, who was the tenant-in-chief. The manor was assessed at 10 hides and included meadow for seven plough-teams. Following the forfeiture of the Peverel lands in 1153, Adstock was granted to William Avenel. Avenel divided or conveyed interests in the estate between his sons-in-law Richard Vernon and Simon Basset. The Vernon interest continued in the Vernon family until the death of George Vernon in 1566. The Basset interest was later represented by Robert Bardolf, and subsequently descended through Avis Bardolf, John de Hausted and the Cope family. A separate but associated holding, Hansted Manor in Adstock, was held by the Hansted family, passed to the Newenhams after the death of John Hansted in 1317, and was conveyed in 1393 to John Cope and Elizabeth his wife. The Hansted holding was conveyed by fine and recovery in 1489 to Thomas Smith of Stewkley and in 1575 to Robert Tomlins, who held manorial courts at Adstock in 1586, 1595, 1601 and 1606. The later descent is not securely traced in the consulted public sources. Charles Matthew Prior was explicitly described as lord of the manor in Kelly's Directory of Buckinghamshire in 1899 and is documented at Adstock Manor in the early twentieth century. During the Second World War the manor house was used as a Bletchley Park bombe outstation, but that operational use does not itself establish ownership.
Ownership / Holder Account
The medieval estate has a documented Domesday descent from Gytha in 1066 to Ambrose, holding from William Peverel, in 1086. After the forfeiture of the Peverel lands in 1153, William Avenel received Adstock and passed interests to his sons-in-law Richard Vernon and Simon Basset. The Vernon portion descended through Richard Vernon, William Vernon and Robert Vernon, remaining in the Vernon family until George Vernon died in 1566. The other portion was associated with Simon Basset and his descendants, appearing in 1280 in the possession of Robert Bardolf, whose daughter Avis was heir in 1305. This interest subsequently passed to John de Hausted and, by marriage, to John Cope. The distinct Hansted Manor holding in Adstock descended from the Hansteds to the Newenhams, then to John Cope and Elizabeth in 1393. John Cope's interest was held by or descended to Stephen Cope and a later John Cope, who conveyed Hansted Manor to Thomas Smith by fine and recovery in 1489. Thomas Smith's descendant conveyed it to Robert Tomlins in 1575. A documentary gap follows the early seventeenth century. Charles Matthew Prior is securely documented as lord of the manor in 1899, but the transfer by which the manor reached him has not been established from the consulted sources.
Manorial Rights & Privileges
Historic manorial rights / privileges (1)
Manorial court holding
Provisional
Robert Tomlins is recorded as holding manorial courts at Adstock in 1586, 1595, 1601 and 1606.
Records & References
Sources and references mentioning this manor/title which are not necessarily conveyances or transfers.
2 records found · showing 1–2.
1675-1675: court roll
Held by: Claydon House Trust
Further information: NRA 21959 Verney
1317-1327: court rolls
Held by: British Library, Manuscript Collections
Conveyance & Descent
First holder to present holder: blood proximity & distance travelled
First recorded holder: Gytha, wife of Earl Ralph
Present holder:
Recorded title journey: 19 holder entries in this manor's saved Conveyance & Descent history.
No recorded holder currently has a usable saved direct-blood or collateral-blood relationship path from which to calculate proximity percentages.
First recorded holder → present holder
A usable saved blood relationship path between the first recorded holder and the present holder has not yet been recorded, so that first-to-present genealogical distance cannot be calculated.
Transfer: Held in 1066; the later transfer is not specified in the consulted Domesday evidence.
Shared holding: Principal manor of Adstock
Co-holders: Ambrose of Tilsworth, William Peverel, William Avenel
The manor of Adstock was held by Gytha, wife of Earl Ralph, in 1066. The evidence establishes her as the pre-Conquest holder but does not document the precise conveyance by which the estate changed hands before 1086.
Source: Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, St Cecilia, Adstock, Buckinghamshire, History section, citing Victoria County History: Buckinghamshire, volume IV, pages 140-144. — source link
Ambrose of Tilsworth, Holder of Adstock under William Peverel
Transfer: Held Adstock from William Peverel at the time of the Domesday survey.
Holding arrangement: Other — Local lord or subtenant under William Peverel; not tenant-in-chief
Shared holding: Principal manor of Adstock
Co-holders: Gytha, wife of Earl Ralph, William Peverel, William Avenel
Previous holder: Gytha, wife of Earl Ralph
Domesday evidence records Ambrose as holding Adstock in 1086 from William Peverel. This distinguishes Ambrose's local lordship or subinfeudated holding from William Peverel's superior position as tenant-in-chief.
Source: Domesday Book, Buckinghamshire, Adstock, Phillimore reference Buckinghamshire 16,8; corroborated by the Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, St Cecilia, Adstock, History section. — source link
William Peverel, Tenant-in-chief, lord of extensive estates
Transfer: Superior lordship recorded in Domesday Book; his lands, or those of a later William Peverel, were forfeited in 1153 after support for Stephen during the civil war.
Holding arrangement: Other — Tenant-in-chief and overlord of Ambrose's holding
Shared holding: Principal manor of Adstock
Co-holders: Gytha, wife of Earl Ralph, Ambrose of Tilsworth, William Avenel
Previous holder: Pre-Conquest royal or comital ownership; local holding under Ambrose of Tilsworth
William Peverel was tenant-in-chief of Adstock in 1086, while Ambrose of Tilsworth held the manor from him. The later source describes another William Peverel, probably a son or grandson, as being stripped of his lands in 1153. The exact identity of the William Peverel connected with the forfeiture and the precise legal mechanism affecting Adstock are not fully resolved in the consulted sources.
Source: Domesday Book, Buckinghamshire, Adstock, Phillimore reference Buckinghamshire 16,8; Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, St Cecilia, Adstock, History section. — source link
William Avenel, Lord of Adstock, benefactor of Leicester Abbey
Transfer: Adstock was granted to William Avenel after the forfeiture of the Peverel lands.
Shared holding: Principal manor of Adstock
Co-holders: Gytha, wife of Earl Ralph, Ambrose of Tilsworth, William Peverel
Previous holder: William Peverel, Tenant-in-chief, lord of extensive estates
After the Peverel forfeiture in 1153, Adstock was granted to William Avenel. The source states that Avenel subsequently passed the estate or its interests to his two sons-in-law, Richard Vernon and Simon Basset.
Source: Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, St Cecilia, Adstock, Buckinghamshire, History section, citing Victoria County History: Buckinghamshire, volume IV, pages 140-144. — source link
Richard Vernon, Holder of a portion of Adstock, son-in-law of William Avenel
Transfer: William Avenel passed one interest or portion of Adstock to Richard Vernon, his son-in-law, married to Avis Avenel.
Holding arrangement: Share — One portion or interest in the divided estate
Shared holding: Vernon portion of the principal manor
Co-holders: William Vernon, Robert Vernon, George Vernon
Previous holder: William Avenel, Lord of Adstock, benefactor of Leicester Abbey
The source states that William Avenel passed one part of Adstock to Richard Vernon, who was married to Avenel's daughter Avis. Richard Vernon was dead by 1195.
Source: Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, St Cecilia, Adstock, Buckinghamshire, History section. — source link
William Vernon, Holder of the Vernon portion of Adstock
Transfer: Inherited or succeeded to the Vernon portion after the death of his father Richard Vernon.
Holding arrangement: Share — Vernon portion of the divided estate
Shared holding: Vernon portion of the principal manor
Co-holders: Richard Vernon, Robert Vernon, George Vernon
Previous holder: Richard Vernon, Holder of a portion of Adstock, son-in-law of William Avenel
After Richard Vernon's death, the Vernon portion passed to his son William. The source does not provide an exact date for the succession.
Source: Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, St Cecilia, Adstock, Buckinghamshire, History section. — source link
Robert Vernon, Holder of the Vernon portion of Adstock
Transfer: William Vernon granted the Vernon interest to his half-brother Robert while retaining rights over it.
Holding arrangement: Share — Vernon portion, subject to retained rights of William Vernon
Shared holding: Vernon portion of the principal manor
Co-holders: Richard Vernon, William Vernon, George Vernon
Previous holder: William Vernon, Holder of the Vernon portion of Adstock
The source states that William Vernon granted the Vernon interest to his half-brother Robert while retaining rights over it. The exact date and legal form of the grant are not supplied.
Source: Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, St Cecilia, Adstock, Buckinghamshire, History section. — source link
Simon Basset, Holder of a portion of Adstock, son-in-law of William Avenel
Transfer: William Avenel passed the other interest or portion of Adstock to Simon Basset, his son-in-law, married to Elizabeth Avenel.
Holding arrangement: Share — One portion or interest in the divided estate
Shared holding: Basset portion of the principal manor
Co-holder: Basset family
Previous holder: William Avenel, Lord of Adstock, benefactor of Leicester Abbey
William Avenel passed the second portion or interest in Adstock to Simon Basset, who was married to Avenel's daughter Elizabeth. Simon Basset died around 1205.
Source: Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, St Cecilia, Adstock, Buckinghamshire, History section. — source link
Transfer: The Basset portion remained in the Basset family after Simon Basset's death; the precise succession is not established in the consulted sources.
Holding arrangement: Share — Basset portion of the divided estate
Shared holding: Basset portion of the principal manor
Co-holder: Simon Basset
Previous holder: Simon Basset, Holder of a portion of Adstock, son-in-law of William Avenel
After Simon Basset died around 1205, his portion of Adstock remained in the Basset family until the mid-thirteenth century. Individual holders and the exact conveyance are not securely identified.
Source: Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, St Cecilia, Adstock, Buckinghamshire, History section. — source link
Robert Bardolf, Holder of an Adstock interest, landowner, Lord of Wereham Hall, member of the Bardolf family
Transfer: By 1280 the relevant Adstock interest appeared as Robert Bardolf's property; he died in 1305, leaving his daughter Avis as heir.
Holding arrangement: Share — Interest or portion of Adstock associated with the former Basset holding
Shared holding: Bardolf portion of the principal manor
Co-holder: Avis Bardolf
Previous holder: Basset family or an undocumented intermediate holder
The source records the Adstock interest as Robert Bardolf's property in 1280. It does not document the conveyance from the Basset family or identify the exact date of the transfer.
Source: Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, St Cecilia, Adstock, Buckinghamshire, History section. — source link
Transfer: Inherited the Adstock interest from her father Robert Bardolf, who died in 1305.
Holding arrangement: Share — Bardolf portion of the principal manor
Shared holding: Bardolf portion of the principal manor
Co-holder: Robert Bardolf
Previous holder: Robert Bardolf, Holder of an Adstock interest, landowner, Lord of Wereham Hall, member of the Bardolf family
Avis Bardolf was identified as Robert Bardolf's heir at his death in 1305. The subsequent transfer to John de Hausted is stated by the source, but its date and legal form are not given.
Source: Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, St Cecilia, Adstock, Buckinghamshire, History section. — source link
Transfer: The Adstock interest passed from Avis Bardolf to John de Hausted; the precise date and form of transfer are not stated.
Holding arrangement: Share — Bardolf-Hausted portion of the principal manor
Shared holding: Hansted or Bardolf-Hausted portion
Previous holder: Avis Bardolf, Heiress to Robert Bardolf's Adstock interest
The source states that the interest passed from Avis Bardolf to John de Hausted. The chronology and mechanism are not fully documented in the consulted source. The name is also associated with the separate Hansted Manor of Adstock, so the relationship between the Bardolf-Hausted interest and the later Hansted designation should be treated cautiously.
Source: Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, St Cecilia, Adstock, Buckinghamshire, History section. — source link
John Cope and Elizabeth Newenham, Joint holders of Hansted Manor in Adstock
Transfer: John Newenham conveyed Hansted Manor in Adstock to John Cope and Elizabeth his wife and their heirs by fine.
Holding arrangement: Joint — Hansted Manor in Adstock
Shared holding: Hansted Manor of Adstock
Co-holders: Stephen Cope, John Cope, Thomas Smith of Stewkley, Robert Tomlins
Previous holder: John Newenham
Browne Willis records a fine in 1393 by which John Newenham conveyed Hansted Manor in Adstock to John Cope and Elizabeth his wife and their heirs. This is direct evidence for the separate Hansted Manor holding, not necessarily for the whole of the principal Adstock estate.
Source: Browne Willis, The History and Antiquities of the Town, Hundred and Deanry of Buckingham, 1755, page 123, discussion of Hansted Manor in Adstock. — source link
Transfer: After Joan, wife of John Cope, died possessed of the manor in 1436, the holding descended to Stephen Cope.
Shared holding: Hansted Manor of Adstock
Co-holders: John Cope and Elizabeth Newenham, John Cope, Thomas Smith of Stewkley, Robert Tomlins
Previous holder: Joan, wife of John Cope
Browne Willis states that in 13 Henry VI, corresponding to 1435-1436 and specifically given there as 1436, Joan, wife of John Cope, died possessed of Hansted Manor and it descended to Stephen Cope. The source does not explain the precise effect of the earlier joint settlement or whether Joan held a life interest.
Source: Browne Willis, The History and Antiquities of the Town, Hundred and Deanry of Buckingham, 1755, page 123, discussion of Hansted Manor in Adstock. — source link
Transfer: The Hansted Manor interest descended from Stephen Cope to John Cope; in 1489 John Cope conveyed it by fine and recovery to Thomas Smith of Stewkley.
Shared holding: Hansted Manor of Adstock
Co-holders: John Cope and Elizabeth Newenham, Stephen Cope, Thomas Smith of Stewkley, Robert Tomlins
Previous holder: Stephen Cope, Holder of Hansted Manor in Adstock
Browne Willis states that the manor descended from Stephen Cope to John Cope, who in the reign of Henry VII, in 1489, passed it by fine and recovery to Thomas Smith of Stewkley.
Source: Browne Willis, The History and Antiquities of the Town, Hundred and Deanry of Buckingham, 1755, page 123, discussion of Hansted Manor in Adstock. — source link
Thomas Smith of Stewkley, Holder of Hansted Manor in Adstock
Transfer: Acquired Hansted Manor in Adstock from John Cope by fine and recovery in 1489.
Shared holding: Hansted Manor of Adstock
Co-holders: John Cope and Elizabeth Newenham, Stephen Cope, John Cope, Robert Tomlins
Previous holder: John Cope, Holder of Hansted Manor in Adstock
Browne Willis records that John Cope passed Hansted Manor by fine and recovery in 1489 to Thomas Smith of Stewkley. The source calls the later seller a descendant of Thomas Smith but does not name the intervening holders.
Source: Browne Willis, The History and Antiquities of the Town, Hundred and Deanry of Buckingham, 1755, page 123, discussion of Hansted Manor in Adstock. — source link
Robert Tomlins, Holder of Hansted Manor in Adstock, lord of a manor exercising court baron jurisdiction
Transfer: A descendant of Thomas Smith sold Hansted Manor in Adstock by fine and recovery to Robert Tomlins in 1575.
Shared holding: Hansted Manor of Adstock
Co-holders: John Cope and Elizabeth Newenham, Stephen Cope, John Cope, Thomas Smith of Stewkley
Previous holder: Unnamed descendant of Thomas Smith
Browne Willis records that a descendant of Thomas Smith sold Hansted Manor by fine and recovery to Robert Tomlins in 1575. Robert Tomlins held a court baron at Adstock on 17 October 1586 and again in 1595, 1601 and 1606, providing independent evidence that he exercised manorial jurisdiction there. The subsequent descent is not established in the consulted sources.
Source: Browne Willis, The History and Antiquities of the Town, Hundred and Deanry of Buckingham, 1755, page 123, discussion of Hansted Manor in Adstock. — source link
Transfer: The Vernon interest in Adstock remained in the Vernon family until the death of George Vernon in 1566; the intervening descent is not fully enumerated in the consulted source.
Holding arrangement: Share — Vernon portion of the principal manor
Shared holding: Vernon portion of the principal manor
Co-holders: Richard Vernon, William Vernon, Robert Vernon
Previous holder: Robert Vernon and subsequent Vernon holders
The source states that the Vernon portion remained in the Vernon family until the death of George Vernon in 1566. It does not provide a complete list of the intervening Vernon holders or the precise disposition of the interest after George Vernon's death.
Source: Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, St Cecilia, Adstock, Buckinghamshire, History section, citing Victoria County History: Buckinghamshire, volume IV, pages 140-144. — source link
Charles Matthew Prior, Esquire, lord of the manor of Adstock in 1899, bloodstock breeder
Transfer: Later transfer into the Prior family's ownership is unknown in the consulted sources. Charles Matthew Prior was explicitly described as lord of the manor in Kelly's Directory of Buckinghamshire in 1899.
Shared holding: Later Adstock Manor lordship
Previous holder: Unknown; documentary gap after the early seventeenth century and after the 1566 Vernon evidence
Kelly's Directory of Buckinghamshire for 1899 explicitly describes Charles Matthew Prior as lord of the manor at Adstock. This is direct evidence for his lordship, although the conveyance by which the manor reached him is not identified. Other sources place him at Adstock Manor in the early twentieth century, including a 1914 directory entry and a 1927 London Gazette entry, but residence alone is not treated as proof of continued ownership beyond the 1899 direct statement.
Source: Kelly's Directory of Buckinghamshire, 1899, parish description of Adstock, reproduced in the Forebears transcription; corroborative early twentieth-century directory and official notices identify Charles Matthew Prior at Adstock Manor. — source link
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