ASHILL MANOR

Identity: confirmed — The Ashill manor record is corroborated by the parish history and Jordans estate history: the manor of Ashill passed through the de Vaux, Moulton, Stretche, Beauchamp and Speke families, while Jordans was the Speke family mansion. A 1655 conveyance is described as transferring the manor of “Jordaynes” with its cottages and lands, linking the historical manor to the Jordans site in Ashill. The supplied 1546 rental and 1649 Parliamentary survey are consistent documentary records for this manor, but their catalogue entries do not expose a mapped extent.
Representative point: 50.9458583, -2.9514082
Basis: documented_manor_house — Approximate site of Jordans House, the historical Speke mansion associated with Ashill Manor. The house was demolished in 1964, but its site is located by the surviving Jordans estate layout and historical map evidence; the associated surviving grotto lies nearby at NGR ST3388216013.
Point confidence: medium
Boundary status: representative_point_only
Boundary period:
Boundary confidence: none
Boundary basis: The accessible evidence confirms the manor and identifies its historical seat at Jordans, but does not provide a sufficiently clear, source-backed perimeter of the medieval or early-modern manorial land. The Ashill parish boundary, modern Jordans estate boundary, and later designed-park boundary cannot safely be substituted for the historical manor extent.
Sources:
- Ashill Parish Council: History of Ashill: https://www.ashillpc.org.uk/history-1 — States that the manor of Ashill passed from the de Vaux family to Sir Thomas Moulton by 1317 and subsequently to the Stretche, Beauchamp and Speke families, who built Jordans as their mansion.
- Jordans - Ilminster - Parks & Gardens: https://www.parksandgardens.org/places/jordans — Identifies Jordans as a manor in the hundred of Abdick and Bulston; records the 1655 conveyance of the manor of “Jordaynes” with cottages and lands to William Speke; records the Jordans house site, its demolition in 1964, and gives the site locality at approximately ST336160, latitude 50.9458583, longitude -2.9514082.
- The Grotto at Jordans, Historic England NHLE 1057070: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1057070 — Confirms the surviving Jordans garden structure in Ashill, gives NGR ST3388216013, and states that the grotto was built in the grounds of Jordans and that the house was demolished in the 1960s.
- The Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and East Devon River Catchments: Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey: https://historicengland.org.uk/research/results/reports/7486/TheBlackdownHillsAreaofNaturalBeautyTheBlackdownHillsAONBandEastDevonRiverCatchmentsAerialInvestigationandMappingSurvey — Describes Jordans House as the Speke family country house, and notes that the Ashill Tithe Map and First Edition Ordnance Survey map show the house, outbuildings, walled garden, grotto, ornamental lake and associated designed landscape.
- The National Archives: Ashill Manor record F253526: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F253526 — Registry authority record for the supplied Ashill Manor entry.
- The National Archives: 1546 rental, Wells Cathedral Documents ADD/2884: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/N14684406 — Catalogue record for a 1546 rental involving Ashill Manor and other manors.
- The National Archives: 1649 Parliamentary survey DDCC/P/114097: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/N14687116 — Catalogue record for the 1649 Parliamentary survey associated with Ashill Manor.
Warnings / uncertainty:
- The representative point is the documented Jordans manor-house site, not the surviving grotto itself.
- No defensible historical manorial polygon was found in the accessible evidence. The 1546 rental and 1649 survey may contain further land descriptions, but their online catalogue records do not provide a mapped boundary.
- The historical manor should not be equated automatically with the modern Ashill civil parish or the present Jordans estate.

---

Identity: confirmed — The Ashill manor record is corroborated by the parish history and Jordans estate history: the manor of Ashill passed through the de Vaux, Moulton, Stretche, Beauchamp and Speke families, while Jordans was the Speke family mansion. A 1655 conveyance is described as transferring the manor of “Jordaynes” with its cottages and lands, linking the historical manor to the Jordans site in Ashill. The supplied 1546 rental and 1649 Parliamentary survey are consistent documentary records for this manor, but their catalogue entries do not expose a mapped extent.
Representative point: 50.9458583, -2.9514082
Basis: documented_manor_house — Approximate site of Jordans House, the historical Speke mansion associated with Ashill Manor. The house was demolished in 1964, but its site is located by the surviving Jordans estate layout and historical map evidence; the associated surviving grotto lies nearby at NGR ST3388216013.
Point confidence: medium
Boundary status: representative_point_only
Boundary period:
Boundary confidence: none
Boundary basis: The accessible evidence confirms the manor and identifies its historical seat at Jordans, but does not provide a sufficiently clear, source-backed perimeter of the medieval or early-modern manorial land. The Ashill parish boundary, modern Jordans estate boundary, and later designed-park boundary cannot safely be substituted for the historical manor extent.
Sources:
- Ashill Parish Council: History of Ashill: https://www.ashillpc.org.uk/history-1 — States that the manor of Ashill passed from the de Vaux family to Sir Thomas Moulton by 1317 and subsequently to the Stretche, Beauchamp and Speke families, who built Jordans as their mansion.
- Jordans - Ilminster - Parks & Gardens: https://www.parksandgardens.org/places/jordans — Identifies Jordans as a manor in the hundred of Abdick and Bulston; records the 1655 conveyance of the manor of “Jordaynes” with cottages and lands to William Speke; records the Jordans house site, its demolition in 1964, and gives the site locality at approximately ST336160, latitude 50.9458583, longitude -2.9514082.
- The Grotto at Jordans, Historic England NHLE 1057070: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1057070 — Confirms the surviving Jordans garden structure in Ashill, gives NGR ST3388216013, and states that the grotto was built in the grounds of Jordans and that the house was demolished in the 1960s.
- The Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and East Devon River Catchments: Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey: https://historicengland.org.uk/research/results/reports/7486/TheBlackdownHillsAreaofNaturalBeautyTheBlackdownHillsAONBandEastDevonRiverCatchmentsAerialInvestigationandMappingSurvey — Describes Jordans House as the Speke family country house, and notes that the Ashill Tithe Map and First Edition Ordnance Survey map show the house, outbuildings, walled garden, grotto, ornamental lake and associated designed landscape.
- The National Archives: Ashill Manor record F253526: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F253526 — Registry authority record for the supplied Ashill Manor entry.
- The National Archives: 1546 rental, Wells Cathedral Documents ADD/2884: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/N14684406 — Catalogue record for a 1546 rental involving Ashill Manor and other manors.
- The National Archives: 1649 Parliamentary survey DDCC/P/114097: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/N14687116 — Catalogue record for the 1649 Parliamentary survey associated with Ashill Manor.
Warnings / uncertainty:
- The representative point is the documented Jordans manor-house site, not the surviving grotto itself.
- No defensible historical manorial polygon was found in the accessible evidence. The 1546 rental and 1649 survey may contain further land descriptions, but their online catalogue records do not provide a mapped boundary.
- The historical manor should not be equated automatically with the modern Ashill civil parish or the present Jordans estate.