BARFORD ST MARTIN MANOR

Identity: confirmed — The TNA/MDR record F272897 and authority GB/NNAF/M290959 identify the manor of Barford St Martin in Wiltshire. The associated archive material records courts, customs and surveys for Barford St Martin, including customs shared with Great Wishford concerning Grovely Wood. Local historical evidence identifies Barford St Martin as a distinct medieval and later manor, held by Amesbury Priory until the Dissolution and subsequently associated with the Wilton/Pembroke estate.
Representative point: 51.08240, -1.92060
Basis: documented_manor_house — The Manor House, West Street, Barford St Martin, stands opposite St Martin's Church and is identified in the local architectural record as The Manor House. Its listed-building location is approximately OS Grid Reference SU 05631 31454, converted here to decimal WGS84.
Point confidence: medium
Boundary status: representative_point_only
Boundary period: Not established; surviving evidence covers the medieval manor and documented manorial records from 1597 to 1887.
Boundary confidence: none
Boundary basis: The sources establish the manor's location and confirm historical manorial activity in Barford St Martin, including customs and jurisdictional connections involving Grovely Wood and Great Wishford. However, no accessible source located in this research supplies a documented polygon, mapped perimeter, or sufficiently explicit parcel-by-parcel boundary for the historical Barford St Martin manor. The modern parish boundary cannot safely be substituted for the manorial extent, particularly because the parish later incorporated parts of Grovely Wood and Hurdcott.
Sources:
- The National Archives Discovery: Barford St Martin Manor, TNA/MDR record F272897: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F272897 — Registry record for the exact manor name and authority reference GB/NNAF/M290959.
- Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre: customs and presentments, with Great Wishford: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/N16165138 — Archive description for Barford and Great Wishford customs and presentments, dated 1597–1618.
- Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre: customs and presentments concerning Groveley Wood: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/N16165265 — Archive description for 1604 customs and presentments involving Barford St Martin and Great Wishford concerning Groveley Wood.
- Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre: customs concerning Groveley Wood: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/N16165461 — Archive description for 1620 customs involving Barford St Martin and Great Wishford concerning Groveley Wood.
- The Manor House, Barford St Martin, Historic England listing: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1318719 — Identifies the early nineteenth-century Manor House on West Street, Barford St Martin, at approximately SU 05631 31454.
- History of Barford St Martin, Barford St Martin Parish Council: https://barford.net/?page_id=83 — Local historical account describing the medieval landholding history, the transfer from Wilton religious estates to the Herbert family, and the continuing association with the Wilton estate.
- Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre: summary guide to family and estate records: https://wshc.org.uk/summary-guide-to-family-and-estate-records/ — Confirms the relevant Wilton/Pembroke estate and its deeds, surveys and records for Barford St Martin.
Warnings / uncertainty:
- No historically grounded manor boundary polygon was found in the accessible evidence.
- The representative point identifies the documented building called The Manor House, but the surviving early nineteenth-century structure may be a successor to an earlier manorial residence.
- The documented Grovely Wood customs demonstrate a historical connection with the manor community and manorial jurisdiction, but do not by themselves define the manor's territorial perimeter.