Historical names: Alfoxden; Alfoxten
Location: Stringston, Somerset
Places / associated places: Stringston, Somerset
Location & Extent
GPS Location & Recorded Land Areas
Representative GPS point: 51.1653, -3.22
Identity: confirmed — The supplied manor name and Stringston location match historical references to Alfoxton in Stringston, including the 1623 Somerset visitation, while the surviving Alfoxton manor house is the house now known as Alfoxton Park Hotel in the adjacent historic parish of Holford. The MDR rent-roll lead also explicitly records rent rolls of the manors of Alfoxton and Holford for 1718-1724.
Representative point: 51.1653, -3.2200
Basis: documented_manor_house — Alfoxton Park Hotel, formerly Alfoxton/Alfoxden House, is the documented surviving manor-house site associated with the Alfoxton estate and St Albyn family. Historic England gives National Grid Reference ST14794 41378, approximately 51.1653, -3.2200.
Point confidence: high
Boundary status: representative_point_only
Boundary period: Insufficiently specified; evidence spans medieval origins to the early twentieth century
Boundary confidence: none
Boundary basis: The available evidence establishes the manor-house location and indicates that the later St Albyn Alfoxton estate included holdings in Holford, Kilve, Stringston, Nether Stowey, Spaxton and Cannington, but it does not provide a documented or reconstructable perimeter for the historical manorial land of Alfoxton Manor itself. The later estate extent must not be substituted for the manor boundary.
Sources:
- The National Archives, MDR record F253515: Alfoxton Manor: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F253515 — Registry record for Alfoxton Manor, located at Stringston, Somerset, with authority reference GB/NNAF/M271552.
- The National Archives, DD/MDW/21: rent rolls, with Holford (mutilated), 1718-1724: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/N14689199 — The supplied record lead identifies rent rolls of the Alfoxton and Holford manors for 1718-1724.
- The visitations of the County of Somerset in the years 1531 and 1575: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/The_visitations_of_the_County_of_Somerset_in_the_years_1531_and_1575_%28IA_visitationsofcou00weavrich%29.pdf — The St Albyn pedigree is headed 'of Alfoxton in Stringston', directly linking Alfoxton with the registry location.
- Alfoxton Park Hotel, Historic England listing 1057418: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1057418 — Documents the surviving Alfoxton country house in Holford parish, gives NGR ST14794 41378, and identifies it as the historic house associated with Alfoxton and William and Dorothy Wordsworth.
- The History of the Kilve District, Part 3: Early History: https://kilve-pc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TheHistoryOfTheKilveDistrict-Part3-Images.pdf — Records that the Alfoxton estate held property in the parishes of Holford, Kilve, Stringston, Nether Stowey, Spaxton and Cannington before its 1920 sale, demonstrating a wider estate context but not a recoverable manor boundary.
Warnings / uncertainty:
- The registry location is Stringston, whereas the surviving Alfoxton manor house is in the adjacent historic parish of Holford; this is a historical parish/manor relationship rather than evidence of a different Alfoxton.
- No reliable source located provides a manor map, surveyed perimeter, or parcel-by-parcel extent for Alfoxton Manor. Do not use the modern parish boundary, Alfoxton Park grounds, or the later St Albyn estate as the manor polygon.
- The representative point is suitable for locating the manor site, but the historical territorial extent remains unresolved.
About the Manor
Alfoxton Manor, also known historically as Alfoxden or Alfoxten, was the manor and principal estate centred on Alfoxton in the Stringston and Holford area of west Somerset, on the northern edge of the Quantock Hills. The present Alfoxton Park or Alfoxton House lies in Holford, while the manor record is associated with Stringston. The estate was described in an early nineteenth-century source as the manor of Alfoxton and was associated for several centuries with the St. Albyn or St. Aubyn family. The property should not be confused with other Somerset estates bearing similar names. The surviving evidence is substantially stronger for the descent of the Alfoxton estate and manor-house estate than for every individual legal conveyance of the manorial title.
Ownership / Holder Account
The earliest secure medieval evidence located is an 8 Henry II reference to Alvoceston, identified as Alfoxton, in a royal fine involving Adam de Cunteville. That evidence establishes the place and a knight's fee but does not by itself provide a complete later descent of the manor. The later descent is securely associated with the St. Albyn family from the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century. A published account states that the Alfoxton estate had been in the St. Albyn family since 1499, while the family descent and the Somerset VCH tradition identify John St. Albyn of Chilton Trivet as later of Alfoxton by about 1507. The named descent then proceeds through John St. Albyn, George St. Albyn, John St. Albyn, Lancelot St. Albyn, successive Johns and Lancelots of the Alfoxton line, and the Reverend Lancelot St. Albyn, who died without issue on 22 January 1791. His widow, Anna Maria St. Albyn, retained or enjoyed the estates until her death on 1 July 1803 under the testamentary arrangement described by the source. The estate then passed to her nephew's elder son, Langley Gravenor, who assumed the surname St. Albyn in 1806. The St. Albyn estate was progressively divided or sold in the twentieth century; a 1920 sale disposed of Alfoxton Park and remaining estate properties, but the purchaser and the precise fate of the manorial title have not been established from the sources consulted. A separate statement that the house remained in the St. Albyn family until 1958 concerns the house or estate and should not automatically be treated as proof that the manorial title remained intact until that date.
Records & References
Sources and references mentioning this manor/title which are not necessarily conveyances or transfers.
1 record found · showing 1–1.
1718-1724: rent rolls, with Holford (mutilated)
Held by: Somerset Heritage Centre (South West Heritage Trust)
Conveyance & Descent
First holder to present holder: blood proximity & distance travelled
First recorded holder: Adam de Cunteville
Present holder:
Recorded title journey: 18 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.
Adam de Cunteville
Transfer: Unknown; royal fine concerning Alvoceston, identified as Alfoxton
A royal fine in the eighth year of Henry II records Adam de Cunteville obtaining a writ of right concerning a knight's fee in Alvoceston, identified by the antiquarian source as Alfoxton. This is early evidence for Adam's interest in Alfoxton, but the record does not establish whether he held the complete manor, nor does it identify the preceding conveyance.
Source: Proceedings of the Somersetshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, vol. 45, paper on the descent of the manor of Alverton, quoting the Pipe Roll and Collinson, History and Antiquities of the County of Somerset, and identifying Alvoceston as Alfoxton. — source link
John St. Albyn of Chilton Trivet, later of Alfoxton
Transfer: Earlier transfer unknown; first securely located St. Albyn holder of Alfoxton
The family descent identifies John St. Albyn of Chilton Trivet as later of Alfoxton by about 1507. A separate historical account states that the Alfoxton estate had entered the St. Albyn family by 1499. The precise instrument or transaction by which John acquired or inherited Alfoxton has not been located, so no specific conveyance is asserted.
Source: Stirnet, StAubyn3, summarising the Victoria County History of Somerset, volume 6, Stringston: Manors and other estates, together with the Somerset visitations. — source link
John St. Albyn of Alfoxton
Transfer: Descent from the preceding John St. Albyn; precise title event not located
Previous holder: John St. Albyn of Chilton Trivet, later of Alfoxton
The Alfoxton family descent identifies a John St. Albyn of Alfoxton who died in 1540. The source does not provide a separate deed or other instrument transferring the manor to him, so this entry records the documented holder link without inventing the mechanism of succession.
Source: Stirnet, StAubyn3, citing the Victoria County History of Somerset, volume 6, Stringston: Manors and other estates, and the Somerset visitation material. — source link
George St. Albyn of Alfoxton
Transfer: Descent or other succession from John St. Albyn; precise title event not located
Previous holder: John St. Albyn of Alfoxton
George St. Albyn is identified in the published Alfoxton descent as being of Alfoxton between the John St. Albyn who died in 1540 and the John St. Albyn who died in 1601. The evidence directly links George to Alfoxton but does not establish the legal form or date of his succession.
Source: Stirnet, StAubyn3, citing the Victoria County History of Somerset, volume 6, Stringston: Manors and other estates, and the Somerset visitations. — source link
John St. Albyn or St. Aubyn of Alfoxton
Transfer: Descent or other succession from George St. Albyn; precise title event not located
Previous holder: George St. Albyn of Alfoxton
John St. Albyn, also styled St. Aubyn, is identified as of Alfoxton and died in 1601. The 1623 Somerset visitation includes the Alfoxton pedigree, corroborating the family's documented association with the estate. No separate conveyance deed has been located for the transition from George to John.
Source: The Visitations of the County of Somerset in the Years 1531 and 1575, including the Alfoxton in Stringston pedigree, and Stirnet's transcription and source summary. — source link
Lancelot St. Aubyn of Alfoxton
Transfer: Descent from John St. Albyn; precise title event not located
Previous holder: John St. Albyn or St. Aubyn of Alfoxton
Lancelot St. Aubyn is identified as of Alfoxton and is recorded as having died before 16 December 1624. A near-contemporary historical reference identifies Lancelot St. Albyn, husband of Elizabeth Halswell, as of Alfoxton and states that the estate had been in the family since 1499.
Source: Stirnet, StAubyn3, citing the Somerset VCH and visitations; Christie's catalogue essay on Elizabeth St. Albyn née Halswell, which identifies Lancelot as of Alfoxton. — source link
John St. Aubyn of Alfoxton
Transfer: Descent from Lancelot St. Aubyn; precise title event not located
Previous holder: Lancelot St. Aubyn of Alfoxton
The Alfoxton descent identifies John St. Aubyn of Alfoxton as the successor generation after Lancelot St. Aubyn and records his death about 1652. The source does not give a dated conveyance or specify whether succession occurred by inheritance, settlement or another instrument.
Source: Stirnet, StAubyn3, citing the Victoria County History of Somerset, volume 6, Stringston: Manors and other estates, and the Somerset visitation pedigrees. — source link
John St. Aubyn of Alfoxton
Transfer: Descent from John St. Aubyn of Alfoxton; precise title event not located
Previous holder: John St. Aubyn of Alfoxton
A second John St. Aubyn of Alfoxton, born about 1622 and dying in 1708, is identified in the family descent as holding the Alfoxton estate after the preceding John, who died about 1652. The source does not establish the exact legal conveyance or commencement date.
Source: Stirnet, StAubyn3, citing the Victoria County History of Somerset, volume 6, Stringston: Manors and other estates, and the Somerset visitations. — source link
Lancelot St. Aubyn of East Quantoxhead, later of Alfoxton
Transfer: Descent or family succession; precise title event not located
Previous holder: John St. Aubyn of Alfoxton
Lancelot St. Aubyn, previously associated with East Quantoxhead, is identified as later of Alfoxton and died about 1709. The evidence establishes the Alfoxton holder link but does not identify the instrument or exact date by which the estate came to him.
Source: Stirnet, StAubyn3, citing the Victoria County History of Somerset, volume 6, Stringston: Manors and other estates, and the Somerset visitation pedigrees. — source link
John St. Aubyn of Alfoxton
Transfer: Descent from Lancelot St. Aubyn; precise title event not located
Previous holder: Lancelot St. Aubyn of East Quantoxhead, later of Alfoxton
John St. Aubyn of Alfoxton is identified in the succeeding generation of the Alfoxton descent and died in 1723. No separate deed, fine or settlement proving the exact transfer has been located.
Source: Stirnet, StAubyn3, citing the Victoria County History of Somerset, volume 6, Stringston: Manors and other estates, and the Somerset visitations. — source link
John St. Aubyn of Alfoxton
Transfer: Descent from John St. Aubyn of Alfoxton; precise title event not located
Previous holder: John St. Aubyn of Alfoxton
A further John St. Aubyn of Alfoxton, born about 1657 and dying in 1744, appears in the documented family descent. The source does not provide a precise date or legal instrument for his succession to the estate.
Source: Stirnet, StAubyn3, citing the Victoria County History of Somerset, volume 6, Stringston: Manors and other estates, and the Somerset visitations. — source link
Lancelot St. Aubyn of Nether Stowey, later of Alfoxton
Transfer: Descent or family succession from John St. Aubyn; precise title event not located
Previous holder: John St. Aubyn of Alfoxton
Lancelot St. Aubyn of Nether Stowey, later of Alfoxton, died in 1745. He is directly identified in the Alfoxton family descent, but the exact legal nature and date of his succession are not stated.
Source: Stirnet, StAubyn3, citing the Victoria County History of Somerset, volume 6, Stringston: Manors and other estates, and the Somerset visitations. — source link
John St. Albyn of Alfoxton Park
Transfer: Descent from Lancelot St. Aubyn; precise title event not located
Previous holder: Lancelot St. Aubyn of Nether Stowey, later of Alfoxton
John St. Albyn of Alfoxton Park is documented as having died in 1768. His memorial in Stringston church identifies him specifically as John St. Albyn of Alfoxton Park. The source does not provide a separate conveyance instrument from the preceding Lancelot.
Source: Historic England, Church of St Mary, Stringston, listing entry 1057383, noting the memorial to John St. Albyn of Alfoxton Park who died in 1768; succession context from Stirnet's Alfoxton descent. — source link
Reverend Lancelot St. Albyn of Alfoxton, rector of Parracombe and vicar of Wembdon
Transfer: Descent from John St. Albyn; precise title event not located
Previous holder: John St. Albyn of Alfoxton Park
The Reverend Lancelot St. Albyn is explicitly described as belonging to the family of Alfoxton and as succeeding to the Alfoxton estates. He died without issue on 22 January 1791. The source describes his estate plan but does not identify a separate manorial conveyance between him and the preceding John.
Source: The Autobiography and Correspondence of Mary Granville, Mrs. Delany, second series, volume 1, account of the manor of Alfoxton and Reverend Lancelot St. Albyn; corroborating family descent in Stirnet. — source link
Anna Maria St. Albyn, widow of the Reverend Lancelot St. Albyn
Transfer: Life interest, possession or testamentary provision under Reverend Lancelot St. Albyn's will; exact legal status not stated
Holding arrangement: Other
Previous holder: Reverend Lancelot St. Albyn
The historical account states that Reverend Lancelot St. Albyn bequeathed his estates to pass on the death of his wife, Anna Maria, and records her death on 1 July 1803. Because the source does not define whether she held a life estate, trust interest, or another legal interest, this entry is recorded as an explicitly limited or uncertain holding rather than as an absolute lordship.
Source: The Autobiography and Correspondence of Mary Granville, Mrs. Delany, second series, volume 1, account of the disposition of the Alfoxton estates after Reverend Lancelot St. Albyn's death. — source link
Langley Gravenor
Transfer: Inheritance under the testamentary arrangement of the Reverend Lancelot St. Albyn, taking effect after Anna Maria St. Albyn's death
Previous holder: Anna Maria St. Albyn, widow of the Reverend Lancelot St. Albyn
On the death of Anna Maria St. Albyn, the Alfoxton estates passed under the arrangement described in the source to the elder son of her nephew, St. Albyn Gravenor. That beneficiary was Langley Gravenor. The precise date of vesting is stated only by reference to Anna Maria's death on 1 July 1803.
Source: The Autobiography and Correspondence of Mary Granville, Mrs. Delany, second series, volume 1, account of the testamentary succession to Alfoxton; corroborated by the Somersetshire Archaeological and Natural History Society account of Langley St. Albyn. — source link
Langley St. Albyn, formerly Langley Gravenor, High Sheriff of Somerset, 1850
Transfer: Same holder as Langley Gravenor; assumed the surname St. Albyn by royal licence on 19 August 1806
Previous holder: Langley Gravenor
Langley Gravenor inherited the Alfoxton estate from his great-uncle, the Reverend Lancelot St. Albyn, and assumed the name of St. Albyn in 1806. He is documented as of Alfoxton Park and was the principal named holder of the estate during the nineteenth century. The end date is based on the reported death date of Langley St. Albyn in 1874; later ownership of the manor itself is not securely established in the sources consulted.
Source: Somersetshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, The Sheriffs of Somerset, entry for 1850 Langley St. Albyn, citing Burke's Landed Gentry; supplementary biographical entry in John Sainsbury's Dictionary of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. — source link
St. Albyn family and, latterly, their trustees
Transfer: Later family or trust succession; precise holders and instruments not located
Holding arrangement: Trust
Shared holding: St. Albyn family and trustees
Previous holder: Langley St. Albyn formerly Langley Gravenor, High Sheriff of Somerset, 1850
Local historical material states that properties forming part of the Alfoxton estate were owned by the St. Albyn family and latterly by their trustees before the 1920 dispersal sale. This evidence concerns the Alfoxton estate and its constituent properties, not necessarily the undivided manorial title. The individual trustees and the legal instrument by which the property passed after Langley St. Albyn have not been identified, so no named personal conveyance is asserted.
Source: Kilve Parish Council, The History of the Kilve District, Part 3, discussion of the Alfoxton estate and the 1 July 1920 sale; Somerset Heritage Centre accession summary for St. Albyn of Alfoxton deeds and manorial records. — source link
Corrections / Challenges
Sign in to challenge or submit evidence against a recorded assertion.
JSON API
Machine-readable published manor data, including public images, mapped land areas, notes, rights, conveyances, relationships, records, source/document-library entries and public file links.
https://manorialregistry.com/index.php?rest_route=/mhr/v1/manor/alfoxton-manorPublic API access is currently disabled. Authorised API clients must use a private X-MHR-API-Key; currently only administrator keys are enabled.
Private source files, pending edits, moderation/admin information, user API keys and non-public import identifiers are not returned.