BAAS MANOR

Identity: confirmed — The exact manor is identified by the historical equivalence “Baas (al. Boxe)” in the Stowe manuscript catalogue, corroborated by the Broxbourne historical account describing Baas as a medieval manor and by the National Heritage List entry for the surviving manor house, The Baas, on Baas Hill, Broxbourne.
Representative point: 51.7415, -0.0377
Basis: documented_manor_house — The surviving late-15th-century manor house known as The Baas, formerly Baas Manor House/Baas Manor Farm, at Baas Hill, Broxbourne. Historic England gives National Grid Reference TL 35581 06574, converted here to decimal WGS84 coordinates.
Point confidence: high
Boundary status: representative_point_only
Boundary period: Medieval manor; landholding documented particularly c.1274
Boundary confidence: none
Boundary basis: The available evidence records the manor as formed from land formerly belonging to the manors of Broxbourne and Cheshunt and describes its c.1274 appurtenances as a messuage, 120 acres of arable land, 3.5 acres of meadow, 10 acres of pasture, 8 acres of wood, rent of assize and a fishpond. These figures and general territorial origins establish the manor's historical extent in broad terms, but no reliable mapped perimeter, estate plan, rental map, enclosure map or other source was located that would justify reconstructing a polygon. The manor should therefore be represented by its documented manor-house location only, not by the modern parish or administrative boundary.
Sources:
- The Baas, National Heritage List for England, entry 1348382: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1348382 — Identifies The Baas on Baas Hill, Broxbourne, as a Grade II* late-15th-century building; gives National Grid Reference TL 35581 06574 and confirms the documented manor-house site.
- The Baas, Broxbourne: https://www.hertsmemories.org.uk/content/herts-history/places/historic-houses/listed_building/grade-2-listed-buildings/the-baas-broxbourne — Describes Baas as a medieval manor formed from land of Broxbourne and Cheshunt, records the c.1274 landholding of 120 acres arable, 3.5 acres meadow, 10 acres pasture and 8 acres wood, and identifies the surviving Baas manor house.
- Stowe Collection, British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue, Stowe MS 847-848: https://searcharchives.bl.uk/?f%5Bproject_collections_ssim%5D%5B%5D=Stowe+Collection&page=32&per_page=50 — Lists the manor as “Baas (al. Boxe)” among Hertfordshire manors, providing direct evidence that Boxe is a historical alternative name for this Baas manor.
- Two Moated Sites in Turnford, Broxbourne, Hertfordshire: Historical Research and Archaeological Survey: https://historicengland.org.uk/research/results/reports/9231/TwoMoatedSitesinTurnfordBroxbourneHertfordshireHistoricalResearchandArchaeologicalSurvey — Uses the relevant Baas court-roll and rental series and discusses the descent and documentary context of Baas and associated Hertfordshire manors.
Warnings / uncertainty:
- No historically defensible polygon was found. Do not substitute the modern Broxbourne parish, civil parish, borough, postcode or contemporary Baas Manor Farm estate boundary.
- The c.1274 acreage describes the manor's recorded components but does not provide enough boundary landmarks to reconstruct its perimeter.
- The representative point identifies the surviving manor house, not necessarily the geometric centre of all medieval manorial lands.