ANSTEY MANOR

Identity: confirmed — The supplied historical name Hanstige matches the Domesday place-name for Anstey in Alton, Hampshire. Local historical material identifies Anstey as a separate manor east of Alton, and the cited medieval rentals and court rolls are catalogued under the same Anstey/Alton manorial record context. This is distinct from the unrelated Anstey manors in Leicestershire, Hertfordshire and elsewhere.
Representative point: 51.1601, -0.9673
Basis: documented_manor_house — The modern Anstey Manor House site is at Anstey Lane, Alton, GU34 2NG, identified with the former Anstey Manor House/Alton School site. The Hampshire Gardens Trust record maps Anstey Park as Anstey Manor House and gives National Grid reference SU 724 406; the associated postcode location is approximately 51.1601, -0.9673.
Point confidence: medium
Boundary status: representative_point_only
Boundary period:
Boundary confidence: none
Boundary basis: The available web evidence establishes the manor's location and historical identity but does not provide a sufficiently legible, documented perimeter of the medieval or later manorial land. The 1899 Hampshire Archives map is a strong lead, but its boundary geometry could not be reliably extracted from the accessible catalogue material. The modern Anstey Manor House grounds, Anstey Park, parish boundary and contemporary property boundaries must not be substituted for the historical manor extent.
Sources:
- National Archives Manorial Documents Register: Anstey Manor, F236340: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F236340 — Registry record supplied for Anstey Manor, associated with Alton, Hampshire, authority reference GB/NNAF/M167039 and historical name Hanstige.
- The Domesday Book Online: Hampshire A-K, Hanstige: https://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/hampshire1.html — Identifies Hanstige as a Domesday place in Hampshire and part of Alton, supporting the historical-name match.
- Alton Papers no. 2: https://www.altonpapers.org.uk/community/alton-papers-13034/alton-papers-no-2/ — States that Anstey lies in the parish of Alton but is a separate manor to the east of the town, and distinguishes it from other Alton manorial areas.
- A short history and description of the town of Alton in the county of Southampton: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/A_short_history_and_description_of_the_town_of_Alton_in_the_county_of_Southampton_%28IA_shorthistorydesc00curtiala%29.pdf — Discusses Alton Anstey as a distinct medieval holding associated with Battle Abbey and distinguishes it from Alton Eastbrook.
- Anstey Park (Anstey Manor House), Hampshire Gardens Trust: https://research.hgt.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Anstey-Park-maps.pdf — Identifies the Anstey Park site as Anstey Manor House, Alton, and supplies mapped site information with grid reference SU 724 406.
- GU34 2NG postcode location: https://checkmypostcode.uk/gu342ng — Places the Anstey Lane/Alton Convent School site at approximately 51.1601, -0.9673, corresponding to the documented former Anstey Manor House site.
- Hampshire Archives catalogue: 1899 map, 4M51/167: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/N14278264 — Catalogues the 1899 map associated with the Anstey Manor records; it remains a key lead for reconstructing the historical extent but was not sufficiently accessible for reliable polygon extraction.
Warnings / uncertainty:
- The returned point represents the documented manor-house site, not the centroid of the complete medieval manor.
- No historically defensible manorial boundary polygon was extracted; do not inject a polygon based on the modern parish, Anstey Park, school grounds or present-day land ownership.
- The modern Anstey Manor House is a late nineteenth-century residence and should not be assumed to mark the medieval administrative centre without qualification.