ASHURST MANOR

Identity: confirmed — The supplied Ashurst Manor record in Chiddingfold matches the historical manor described by the Victoria County History as Ashurst or Fridinghurst. The VCH identifies Fridinghurst as the later form of the manor, with the site of its manor-house in Frillinghurst Copse, and distinguishes it from the earlier separate Ashurst manor in Witley. The alternative names Frithinghurst and Fridinghurst are therefore valid historical forms of this Chiddingfold manor.
Representative point: 51.101241, -0.666226
Basis: documented_manor_house — Frillinghurst Old Manor, Frillinghurst Lane, Chiddingfold, at OS grid reference SU9348434394. This listed historic house is identified with the documented site of the Fridinghurst manor-house in Frillinghurst Copse.
Point confidence: high
Boundary status: representative_point_only
Boundary period: Historical manorial extent, principally medieval and early-modern; acreage and territorial description recorded in the early twentieth-century VCH.
Boundary confidence: none
Boundary basis: The VCH states that the manor contained approximately 1,134 acres, chiefly in Chiddingfold, with additional land in Thursley (anciently Witley), Shalford and Hascombe, plus reputed members in Witley. It also records that Fridinghurst was probably formed from members of Ashurst and Chiddingfold. However, the located sources provide no sufficiently explicit perimeter, manor map, parcel schedule or mapped boundary from which a defensible polygon can be reconstructed. The modern parish boundary must not be substituted for the historical manorial extent.
Sources:
- The National Archives, Manorial Documents Register: Ashurst Manor, Chiddingfold, Surrey, F244177: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F244177 — Registry record supplied for the exact manor; identifies the Chiddingfold Ashurst Manor record.
- Victoria History of the County of Surrey, Volume 3, Chiddingfold: Ashurst or Fridinghurst: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page%3AThe_Victoria_History_of_the_County_of_Surrey_Volume_3.djvu/43 — Identifies the manor as Ashurst or Fridinghurst, places the manor-house in Frillinghurst Copse, and states an extent of 1,134 acres chiefly in Chiddingfold, with land in Thursley, Shalford and Hascombe and reputed members in Witley.
- Victoria History of the County of Surrey, Volume 3, continuation of Ashurst or Fridinghurst history: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page%3AThe_Victoria_History_of_the_County_of_Surrey_Volume_3.djvu/44 — Explains the transition from the earlier Ashurst manor in Witley to Fridinghurst and states that Fridinghurst was probably carved from members of Ashurst and Chiddingfold.
- Historic England, Frillinghurst Old Manor, National Heritage List for England entry 1044602: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1044602 — Provides the authoritative identification of the surviving listed historic house at Frillinghurst Old Manor and its OS grid reference SU9348434394.
- The National Archives, archive record LM/895: boundary dispute with Witley, 1550-1600: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/N14310823 — Supports the historical association of the manor with a boundary dispute involving Witley, consistent with the VCH description of outlying or reputed members in Witley.
Warnings / uncertainty:
- The historical extent was non-parochial and included land or reputed members outside Chiddingfold; it should not be represented by the modern Chiddingfold civil or ecclesiastical parish boundary.
- The VCH distinguishes this manor from the earlier Ashurst manor in Witley, although the names and estates became historically connected.
- Frithinghurst Mead at Pockford was later part of the Fridinghurst property but was expressly described by the VCH as not properly belonging to the manor.