AVON DASSETT MANOR

Identity: confirmed — The supplied TNA/MDR record, authority reference and associated archive records consistently identify the manor of Avon Dassett in Warwickshire. The 1450-1451, 1485-1509 and 1679-1831 court-roll, suit-roll and rental references are specific to this manor and distinguish it from Burton Dassett and other Dassett manors.
Representative point: 52.14865, -1.40001
Basis: settlement_proxy — Approximate historic village-centre point at the site of St John the Baptist's Church, the medieval parish church of Avon Dassett. No securely identified surviving manor house or documented manor-house site was found; the historical sources indicate that the lords were generally non-resident. The point is therefore a cautious proxy for the settled centre of the manor, not a precise manor-house location.
Point confidence: medium
Boundary status: representative_point_only
Boundary period: Medieval to early modern manor; documented manorial records extend from 1450-1451 to 1831
Boundary confidence: none
Boundary basis: The available evidence confirms the manor's location and historical existence but does not provide a sufficiently clear manor-specific perimeter. The sources mention a Domesday assessment of 10 hides and 50 acres of meadow, later open-field agriculture and 1780 enclosure, but no accessible manor map, rental map, enclosure award, mapped parcel schedule or explicit boundary description adequate for reconstructing the manorial extent. The civil/parish boundary cannot safely be substituted for the manor boundary.
Sources:
- TNA/MDR record F241629: Avon Dassett Manor: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F241629 — Registry record identifying the exact manor and authority reference GB/NNAF/M229084.
- Court rolls, with other manors, 1450-1451: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/N14310692 — Specific medieval court-roll reference for the manor of Avon Dassett, held by Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
- Rental and extracts from court rolls, with other manors, 1485-1509: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/N14326489 — National Archives reference specifically recording Avon Dassett manor material.
- A Brief History of Avon Dassett: https://www.avondassett.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/A-Brief-History-of-Avon-Dassett.pdf — States that the manor was recorded in Domesday, assessed at 10 hides with 50 acres of meadow, and that its lords were generally non-resident.
- History of Bitham Hall: https://www.avondassett.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/A-History-of-Bitham-Hall.pdf — Summarises the descent of the lordship from the Woodwards to the Holbechs and notes 1780 enclosure, while distinguishing later estate ownership from the manor itself.
- Church of St John the Baptist, Avon Dassett: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1024250 — Authoritative location for the historic church at National Grid Reference SP 41149 50213, used to derive the representative settlement-centre proxy.
- Avon Dassett Parish Plan: https://www.avondassett.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Avon-Dassett-Parish-Plan.pdf — Describes the village's historical continuity, the Domesday manor and the wider surrounding land, but does not provide a manor-specific boundary.
Warnings / uncertainty:
- The representative point is not a confirmed manor-house or manor-site coordinate.
- No historically defensible manor-land polygon was found in the accessible evidence.
- The Avon Dassett civil/parish boundary, conservation-area boundary and modern estate boundaries must not be treated as the medieval or early-modern manorial boundary.