ALTHORP MANOR

Identity: confirmed — The registry record is the medieval and later manor of Althorp, historically recorded as Olthorp/Oldthorp, at the Althorp site near Great Brington. The supplied TNA manorial records use the same Althorp/Olthorp identification, including medieval court rolls and a 1364 fine expressly describing the manor of Olthorp in Northamptonshire. The surviving Althorp House occupies the documented historic manorial centre.
Representative point: 52.280195, -1.002070
Basis: documented_manor_house — Althorp House, the surviving principal house on the historic manor site; Historic England gives listing NGR SP 68178 65141, and independent gazetteer data converts this to approximately 52.280195, -1.002070.
Point confidence: high
Boundary status: representative_point_only
Boundary period:
Boundary confidence: none
Boundary basis: The available evidence establishes the manor house and the later Althorp park/estate, but does not provide a sufficiently documented perimeter for the historical manorial land. Historic England describes a later registered landscape park of about 250 hectares, bounded by the A428, a footpath toward Harlestone, the Harlestone–Great Brington road and a road toward the A428; this is a historic park boundary, not demonstrably the medieval manor boundary. A 1512 licence records 300 acres of land, 100 acres of wood and 40 acres of waste in Old Thorpe and Great Brington, while later sources describe park enlargement through purchases and exchanges, confirming that the park and manor extent changed and should not be substituted for the manor polygon.
Sources:
- The National Archives Discovery: Althorp Manor, TNA/MDR F278660: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F278660 — Registry record supplied for the exact manor; the Discovery page identifies the relevant TNA/MDR record.
- Historic England: Althorp House, List Entry 1356626: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1356626 — Documents the surviving Althorp House, identifies it as a Grade I country house, and gives National Grid Reference SP 68178 65141, supporting the representative point.
- Historic England: Althorp registered park and garden, List Entry 1001023: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1001023 — States that John Spencer purchased Althorp in 1508, obtained a licence to make a park in 1512, identifies the house as standing in the centre of the park, and describes the later park boundaries and approximate 250-hectare registered area.
- Northamptonshire Past & Present, volume 5, no. 3: The Medieval Parks of Northamptonshire: https://www.northamptonshirerecordsociety.org.uk/pdf/npp/volume-5/npp-v5-n3.pdf — Records the 1512 licence to impark 300 acres of land, 100 acres of wood and 40 acres of waste in Old Thorpe and Great Brington, and notes later park enlargement by purchases and exchanges.
- Feet of Fines: CP 25/1/178/83, number 556: https://www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk/fines/abstracts/CP_25_1_178_83.shtml — Provides a medieval legal record dated 27 October 1364 describing the manor of Olthorp in Northamptonshire and associating the transaction with Brington and Althorp.
- The Gatehouse Gazetteer: Althorp: https://gatehouse-gazetteer.info/English%20sites/4418.html — Identifies Althorp as also recorded as Olthorp, describes the site as a probable fortified manor house, and supplies coordinates approximately 52.28017, -1.00212.
- Northamptonshire Deserted Settlements: Althorp: https://www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk/sources/NorthamptonshireDesertedVillages.pdf — States that Olletorp was recorded in Domesday Book, that the manor was sold to John Spencer in 1508, and that the former settlement site is occupied by Althorp House and its estate.
Warnings / uncertainty:
- No reliable source located supplies a complete historical boundary polygon for the medieval manor.
- The Historic England registered park boundary is later and represents a designed landscape, not necessarily the full or original manorial territory.
- The 1512 imparkment acreage and references to later purchases establish changing park extent but are insufficient to reconstruct a defensible manor polygon.