Historical names: Aldbourne Rectory; Rectory Manor of Aldbourne
Location: Aldbourne, Wiltshire
Places / associated places: Aldbourne, Wiltshire
Location & Extent
GPS Location & Recorded Land Areas
Representative GPS point: 51.4782, -1.62
Identity: confirmed — The supplied TNA/MDR record, authority GB/NNAF/M290928, Aldbourne location, and the associated historical description identify the ecclesiastical rectory estate of Aldbourne, distinct from the principal secular Aldbourne manor and from Upper Upham, Warren, Court House and other separate estates. The Aldbourne historical chronology explicitly records that the rectory or rectory manor, described as an estate of land and tithes, was granted to the Dean and Chapter of Winchester in 1541.
Representative point: 51.4782, -1.6200
Basis: documented_manor_house — The Old Rectory on the south side of The Square is documented by Historic England as a rectory dating from about 1740, and local Aldbourne material identifies it as the former rectory associated with the rectorial estate. Its location is given by Historic England as National Grid Reference SU2648675542.
Point confidence: high
Boundary status: representative_point_only
Boundary period: Medieval to nineteenth century; precise period of the requested boundary cannot be established from the sources located
Boundary confidence: none
Boundary basis: The evidence establishes the rectory manor as an ecclesiastical estate comprising rectorial land, a rectory house or parsonage, glebe and tithes. The 1541 grant to the Dean and Chapter of Winchester and the later replacement of rectorial tithes by a rent charge in 1837 are documented, but no publicly accessible manor map, estate survey, tithe plan or other source located securely defines the perimeter of the rectory manor's land. The rectory's tithes may have been levied across lands belonging to other owners and therefore cannot be converted into a boundary polygon. The available evidence does not justify substituting the modern Aldbourne parish boundary or the boundary of the principal secular Aldbourne manor.
Sources:
- The National Archives: Aldbourne Rectory Manor, TNA/MDR record F272866: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F272866 — Registry record for the exact manor identity and archival authority/reference GB/NNAF/M290928.
- Aldbourne Heritage Centre: Medieval – 1365-1600: https://aldbourneheritage.org.uk/village-history/aldbourne-timeline/medieval — Records that in 1541 the rectory or rectory manor, an estate of land and tithes, was granted to the Dean and Chapter of Winchester.
- Historic England: The Old Rectory, Aldbourne, List Entry 1034167: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1034167 — Identifies The Old Rectory, The Square, Aldbourne; gives National Grid Reference SU2648675542 and describes the building as a rectory.
- Aldbourne Heritage Centre: Display Panel 2014 – 30 Years of Change: https://aldbourneheritage.org.uk/heritage-centre/past-exhibits/2014-panels/30-years-of-change — Places Glebe Barn immediately east of the oval drive of the Old Rectory, supporting the identification of the rectory house and its associated glebe complex.
- Aldbourne Heritage Centre: Early Modern – 1600-1837: https://aldbourneheritage.org.uk/village-history/aldbourne-timeline/early-modern — Records that rectorial tithes were replaced by a rent charge in 1837, but does not provide a perimeter for the former rectorial estate.
Warnings / uncertainty:
- No defensible historical polygon was found for the rectory manor's territorial extent.
- The rectory's tithes and glebe should not be treated as equivalent to the modern civil parish boundary or to the principal secular Aldbourne manor.
- The representative point identifies the documented rectory house site, not the full historical distribution of rectorial land and tithes.
About the Manor
Aldbourne Rectory Manor was the rectorial estate associated with the parish church of Aldbourne, comprising rectorial land, a rectory house or parsonage, and tithes. It was distinct from the principal secular Aldbourne manor, whose medieval and early-modern descent included the counts of Perche, the Longespée family, the Crown, the Duchy of Lancaster, the City of London and Thomas Bond. The rectory estate should therefore not be merged with the main Aldbourne manor or with Upper Upham, Warren, Court House or other separate Aldbourne estates. The rectory was an ecclesiastical appropriation by the medieval period. A local chronology states that the rectory or rectory manor, described as an estate of land and tithes, was granted in 1541 to the Dean and Chapter of Winchester. Later local material records the continuing existence of rectorial land and tithes, including a rectory house and glebe, and states that the rectorial tithes were replaced by a rent charge in 1837. The public sources located do not securely identify a later conveyance of the manorial or rectorial estate after the 1541 grant.
Ownership / Holder Account
The medieval rectory of Aldbourne was appropriated by the religious house associated with Nogent-le-Rotrou and Amesbury by about 1228, although the precise legal descent and the identity of the immediate appropriator at every stage are not fully established in the sources located. Following the Dissolution, the rectory or rectory manor was granted in 1541 to the Dean and Chapter of Winchester. The Dean and Chapter are the latest securely evidenced institutional holders found in the public material consulted. The later history of the rectorial estate is documented mainly through its land, rectory house, glebe and tithes rather than through a complete series of conveyances. In 1837 the rectorial tithes were replaced by a rent charge, but the sources located do not establish whether that event involved a transfer of ownership, nor do they identify a subsequent holder of the residual manorial interest.
Manorial Rights & Privileges
Historic manorial rights / privileges (3)
Rectorial tithes
Provisional
The rectorial estate included rights to rectorial tithes; these were replaced by a rent charge in 1837.
Glebe or rectorial land
Provisional
The estate included rectorial land or glebe associated with the rectory.
Rectory house or parsonage
Provisional
The rectorial estate included a rectory house or parsonage.
Records & References
Sources and references mentioning this manor/title which are not necessarily conveyances or transfers.
3 records found · showing 1–3.
1755-1760: court roll
Held by: Hampshire Archives
Further information: NRA 1202 Winchester Dean
1740-1742: court roll
Held by: Hampshire Archives
Further information: NRA 1202 Winchester Dean
1726-1726: court roll
Held by: Hampshire Archives
Further information: NRA 1202 Winchester Dean
Conveyance & Descent
First holder to present holder: blood proximity & distance travelled
First recorded holder: Nogent-le-Rotrou / Amesbury ecclesiastical institution
Present holder:
Recorded title journey: 2 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.
Nogent-le-Rotrou / Amesbury ecclesiastical institution
Transfer: Medieval appropriation of the rectory of Aldbourne; the exact instrument and the precise division of interests between Nogent-le-Rotrou and Amesbury are not established by the public source located.
Shared holding: Medieval ecclesiastical appropriator
A published historical account of the possessions of Nogent states that the rectory of Aldebourne was finally appropriated by 1228. The evidence concerns the rectory and its ecclesiastical income, not the lordship of the separate principal Aldbourne manor. The source does not provide a complete documentary descent from the initial appropriation to the Dissolution, so this entry is limited to the securely supported medieval ecclesiastical holding.
Source: De Nogent Possessions in England, section 28, citing the Victoria County History and related medieval evidence; statement that the rectory of Aldebourne was finally appropriated by 1228. — source link
Transfer: Grant of the Aldbourne rectory or rectory manor, described as an estate of land and tithes, after the Dissolution.
Shared holding: Cathedral chapter
Previous holder: Medieval ecclesiastical appropriator associated with Nogent-le-Rotrou and Amesbury
Aldbourne local historical material expressly records that in 1541 the rectory or rectory manor, an estate of land and tithes, was granted to the Dean and Chapter of Winchester. This is the clearest direct public evidence for the post-Dissolution holder of this exact rectory-manor record. The evidence should not be confused with the separate 1540-1541 sales of former Lacock Abbey property at Upper Upham to members of the Goddard family, or with the later descent of the principal Aldbourne manor. The sources located do not establish a later conveyance of the rectory manor itself.
Source: Aldbourne Heritage Centre, Medieval – 1365–1600 timeline, entry for 1541: “The rectory or rectory manor, an estate of land and tithes, was granted to the dean and chapter of Winchester.” — source link
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