Associated title (legacy text): Manor of Abbots in Denham alias Denham Abbots
Historical names: Denham Abbots; Denham Abbots Manor; the manor of Abbots in Denham
Location: Denham St Mary (nr Newmarket), Suffolk
Places / associated places: Denham St Mary (nr Newmarket), Suffolk
Location & Extent
GPS Location & Recorded Land Areas
Representative GPS point: 52.2226, 0.5682
Identity: confirmed — The record is the separate Suffolk manor historically called the manor of Abbots in Denham or Denham Abbots. The supplied history is corroborated by the Denham parish history and post-mortem inquisitions, which identify the site of the manor, its mansion house, associated lands, rectory and advowson in Denham. The surviving site is Denham Abbots, also known as Abbot's Farm, on Barrow Road in Denham, Suffolk.
Representative point: 52.2226, 0.5682
Basis: documented_manor_house — The historic manor-house site is represented by Denham Abbots / Abbot's Farm. Historic England identifies the associated listed farmhouse and barn at National Grid references TL 75506 61332 and TL 75495 61377; the Suffolk Historic Environment Record places Abbot's Farm at centred grid reference TL 7547 6133. Coordinates are an approximate WGS84 conversion for the manor-house/farmstead site.
Point confidence: medium
Boundary status: representative_point_only
Boundary period: Medieval to early seventeenth century, before and around its reunion with the principal manor of Denham
Boundary confidence: none
Boundary basis: The available evidence securely locates the manor-house/site and confirms associated property including the rectory, advowson and lands in Denham, but does not provide a manor map, explicit perimeter, mapped parcel schedule or sufficiently precise historical boundary description. The manor may have comprised dispersed holdings rather than a compact tract, and the later reunion with the principal manor of Denham prevents reliable reconstruction from modern parish or estate boundaries.
Sources:
- The National Archives Discovery: F249816: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F249816 — Registry authority record for Abbotts Manor; used to confirm the exact TNA/MDR identity and reference.
- Suffolk Historic Environment Record: Farmstead: Abbot's Farm: https://heritage.suffolk.gov.uk/Monument/MSF41621 — Locates Abbot's Farm at centred grid reference TL 7547 6133 in Denham and records the historic farmstead, farmhouse and early seventeenth-century barn.
- Historic England: Barn 20 Yards North of Denham Abbots, listing 1031412: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1031412 — Identifies the Denham Abbots site on Barrow Road and gives National Grid Reference TL 75495 61377; the listing describes the early seventeenth-century barn associated with Abbot's Farmhouse.
- Denham Parish Registers, historical notes and inquisitions: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Denham_Parish_Registers_%28IA_denhamparishregi01denh%29.pdf — The historical notes and 1634 inquisition identify the site of the manor of Abbots in Denham alias Denham Abbots, its mansion house, rectory and advowson, and associated lands.
- Historic England Archive image: Denham Abotts / Abbots Farmhouse: https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/photos/item/IOE01/11682/17 — Provides independent identification of Denham Abotts / Abbots Farmhouse on Barrow Road as the surviving historic site.
Warnings / uncertainty:
- No defensible historical manor boundary polygon was found.
- Do not substitute the modern civil parish of Denham, the parish boundary, or the later combined Denham estate for the territorial extent of Abbotts Manor.
- The representative coordinates identify the documented manor-house/farmstead site, not the full historical extent of the manor.
About the Manor
Abbotts Manor was the separate manor historically known as the manor of Abbots in Denham or Denham Abbots, in the West Suffolk parish of Denham St Mary. It originated as land in Denham given by Alice de Vere and her son Aubrey de Vere to the Augustinian priory of St Osyth in Essex. A confirmation deed records 40 shillings' worth of land in Denham, and the local parish history identifies this holding as the origin of Denham Abbots as a separate manor. The manor included, or was associated with, the rectory and advowson of Denham church. After the dissolution of St Osyth in 1539, the property passed through Thomas Audley and his daughter Margaret Audley, then to the Howard family. It was sold in 1586 by Thomas Howard, later first Earl of Suffolk, to Thomas Stuteville and subsequently came into the hands of Martha Heigham and Edward Lewkenor. By the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century Denham Abbots had been reunited in ownership with the principal manor of Denham, although the name continued in use for the site and estate. The physical site is represented by Denham Abbots or Abbot's Farm, including a mid-sixteenth-century farmhouse and an early-seventeenth-century barn.
Ownership / Holder Account
The earliest securely documented holder was the Augustinian priory of St Osyth, which received land in Denham from Alice de Vere and Aubrey de Vere. The relevant confirmation evidence is undated in one deed but is associated by the parish historian with Archbishop Hubert Walter's tenure, approximately 1193-1205; a further confirmation is dated 11 September 52 Henry III, interpreted by the editor as 1268 because the printed reference to Henry II is impossible. St Osyth's ownership is also directly evidenced by a 1273 reference to the abbot's manor of Denham and by a 1279 agreement concerning lands in Denham held of the abbot. In 1538 the abbot received licence to alienate the Suffolk manors including Denham to Thomas Audley; following the surrender of St Osyth in July 1539, Denham Abbots was treated as belonging to Audley. It descended to his daughter Margaret Audley in 1544, and through her family to her son Thomas Howard. Thomas Howard sold Denham Abbots to Thomas Stuteville by an indenture of 1586. The subsequent acquisition by Martha Heigham is reported by the 1904 parish history but the precise conveyance has not been located. By 1605 Edward Lewkenor was seised of the site of the manor of Abbots in Denham alias Denham Abbots, with its mansion house, lands, rectory and advowson. The 1618 and 1634 inquisitions confirm the continued possession of the manor site and associated property by successive Edward Lewkenors. The separate descent is not followed securely beyond the early seventeenth century because the manor had by about 1580 been reunited with the principal manor of Denham.
Manorial Rights & Privileges
Historic manorial rights / privileges (2)
Rectory of Denham
Provisional
The manor was associated with the rectory of Denham by the early seventeenth century.
Advowson of Denham church
Provisional
The advowson of Denham church was associated with the manor site and property by the early seventeenth century.
Records & References
Sources and references mentioning this manor/title which are not necessarily conveyances or transfers.
5 records found · showing 1–5.
1866-1866: deed and award of enfranchisement of copyhold land
Held by: The National Archives
1840-1900: file of evidence rel to enfranchisement of copyhold land
Held by: The National Archives
1811-1864: minute book
Held by: Suffolk Archives - Ipswich
Further information: NRA 17974 Dalham Incl
1808-1831: admissions, with associated papers (2 bundles)
Held by: Suffolk Archives - Ipswich
Further information: NRA 16935 Townshend
1726-1812: court books (3, indexed)
Held by: Suffolk Archives - Ipswich
Further information: NRA 17974 Dalham Incl
Conveyance & Descent
First holder to present holder: blood proximity & distance travelled
First recorded holder: The Priory of St Osyth, Essex
Present holder:
Recorded title journey: 8 holder entries in this manor's saved Conveyance & Descent history.
No recorded holder currently has a usable saved direct-blood or collateral-blood relationship path from which to calculate proximity percentages.
First recorded holder → present holder
A usable saved blood relationship path between the first recorded holder and the present holder has not yet been recorded, so that first-to-present genealogical distance cannot be calculated.
The Priory of St Osyth, Essex, Augustinian priory
Transfer: Gift and confirmation of land in Denham by Alice de Vere and Aubrey de Vere to the priory of St Osyth; the property was later treated as the separate manor of Denham Abbots.
Shared holding: Augustinian priory
Previous holder: Alice de Vere and Aubrey de Vere
Aubrey, Earl of Oxford, confirmed that his grandmother Alice de Vere and his father Aubrey de Vere had given the priory of St Osyth 7 pounds' worth of land from Alice's marriage portion, including 40 shillings' worth in Denham. The parish historian identifies this Denham land as the origin of Denham Abbots as a separate manor. The deed is undated; the editor associates one deed with the tenure of Hubert Walter as Archbishop of Canterbury, approximately 1193-1205. A second confirmation is printed as dated 11 September 52 Henry II, but the editor states that this must be a mistake for Henry III, producing the date 1268.
Source: S. H. A. Hervey, Denham Parish Registers, 1539-1850, historical chapter "Denham Abbots," pp. 172-174, citing Dugdale, Monasticon Anglicanum, VI, p. 310. — source link
Thomas Audley, Baron Audley of Walden, Lord Chancellor of England
Transfer: Alienation of the former St Osyth estate to Thomas Audley under royal licence; after the surrender of St Osyth in July 1539, Denham Abbots was treated as belonging to Audley.
Previous holder: The Priory of St Osyth, Essex, Augustinian priory
In July 1538 the abbot of St Osyth received licence to alienate the abbey and specified manors, including Denham, to Thomas Audley. The local history states that after the priory surrendered its estates in July 1539, Denham Abbots belonged to Lord Audley. The precise legal form of the transfer of the separate manor is not reproduced in the source, so the 1538-1539 transition is described as an alienation and subsequent possession rather than as a reconstructed deed.
Source: S. H. A. Hervey, Denham Parish Registers, 1539-1850, historical chapter "Denham Abbots," pp. 175-176, citing the Calendars of State Papers. — source link
Margaret Audley, later Margaret Dudley and Margaret Howard, Lady Dudley, Duchess of Norfolk by marriage
Transfer: Inherited Denham Abbots and the surrounding Denham manors from her father, Thomas Audley, on his death.
Previous holder: Thomas Audley, Baron Audley of Walden, Lord Chancellor of England
Thomas Audley died in 1544 without a son. His daughter Margaret inherited his property in Essex together with Denham Abbots and the manors around Denham. Her first marriage was to Lord Henry Dudley; in 1558 she married Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk.
Source: S. H. A. Hervey, Denham Parish Registers, 1539-1850, historical chapter "Denham Abbots," pp. 176-177. — source link
Thomas Howard, later Baron Howard of Walden and Earl of Suffolk, Lord High Treasurer of England
Transfer: The Audley property passed through Margaret Audley to her son Thomas Howard after the execution of his father, Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, in 1572.
Previous holder: Margaret Audley, later Margaret Dudley and Margaret Howard, Lady Dudley, Duchess of Norfolk by marriage
The source states that the Audley property passed to Thomas Howard, Margaret Audley's second son, after the Duke of Norfolk was executed in 1572. Thomas Howard was later created Baron Howard of Walden in 1597 and Earl of Suffolk in 1603. The source does not give a separate dated instrument for his acquisition of Denham Abbots, but it explicitly places the estate among the Audley property that passed to him.
Source: S. H. A. Hervey, Denham Parish Registers, 1539-1850, historical chapter "Denham Abbots," pp. 176-177. — source link
Thomas Stuteville of Dalham, Esquire of Dalham
Transfer: Sale by indenture from Thomas Howard to Thomas Stuteville of Dalham in the 28th year of Elizabeth I, 1586.
Previous holder: Thomas Howard, later Baron Howard of Walden and Earl of Suffolk, Lord High Treasurer of England
The parish historian cites a statement in Page's supplement to the Suffolk Traveller that Thomas Howard sold Denham Abbots to Thomas Stuteville of Dalham by an indenture made in 1586. The underlying indenture is not reproduced in the online source, but the author treats the existence of the indenture as good authority.
Source: S. H. A. Hervey, Denham Parish Registers, 1539-1850, historical chapter "Denham Abbots," p. 177, citing Page's supplement to the Suffolk Traveller. — source link
Transfer: Transfer from Martha Heigham is not established. Edward Lewkenor was seised of the manor site by the 1605 inquisition; the parish historian says it appears to have passed from Martha Heigham to him, possibly in connection with his marriage to her daughter, but expressly treats that explanation as probable rather than proved.
Previous holder: Martha Heigham, widow
The 1605 inquisition records Edward Lewkenor's possession of the site of the manor of Abbots in Denham alias Denham Abbots, including the manor house, associated buildings, lands in Denham, Barrow and Hargrave, and the rectory and advowson of Denham church. The source states that the estate was held of the king in free soccage and had a clear yearly value of 5 pounds. The conveyance from Martha Heigham is not proven.
Source: Inquisition post mortem of Edward Lewkenor, reproduced in S. H. A. Hervey, Denham Parish Registers, 1539-1850, pp. 128-129 and discussed in the chapter "Denham Abbots," pp. 177-178. — source link
Edward Lewkenor, esquire, son and heir of Sir Edward Lewkenor
Transfer: Inherited the manor site and associated property from his father, Sir Edward Lewkenor, who died on 1 May 1618.
Previous holder: Edward Lewkenor, Sir Edward Lewkenor
The 1618 inquisition identifies Edward Lewkenor esquire as the son and heir of Sir Edward Lewkenor. It records that the site of the manor of Abbots in Denham was held of the king in free soccage and was worth 5 pounds yearly. The same inquisition also records a settlement conveying the manor of Denham and the site of the manor of Abbots, with associated messuages, tithes and advowson, to trustees for Sir Edward Lewkenor and Mary Nevill for their lives and then to their eldest son and heirs male; this indicates that the heir's title was subject to the settlement's terms and to Crown custody during his minority.
Source: Inquisition post mortem of Sir Edward Lewkenor, held at Ipswich on 4 June 1618, reproduced in S. H. A. Hervey, Denham Parish Registers, 1539-1850, pp. 132-134. — source link
Edward Lewkenor, son and heir of Edward Lewkenor, Esquire
Transfer: Inherited the manor site and associated Denham property from his father, Edward Lewkenor, who died in December 1634.
Previous holder: Edward Lewkenor, esquire, son and heir of Sir Edward Lewkenor
The 1635 inquisition, taken after the death of Edward Lewkenor, states that his father, Sir Edward Lewkenor, had been seised of the manor of Denham and the lands reckoned as part of it. It also records the manor of Denham Hall and related premises in the settlement made for the younger Edward. The chapter's earlier summary states that the inquisitions of 1605, 1618 and 1634 all refer to the site of the manor of Abbots in Denham alias Denham Abbots. By this period Denham Abbots was no longer being followed as an entirely separate estate because it had been reunited with the main manor of Denham.
Source: Inquisition post mortem of Edward Lewkenor, taken at Ipswich on 22 January 1635, reproduced in S. H. A. Hervey, Denham Parish Registers, 1539-1850, pp. 134-138; see also the chapter "Denham Abbots," pp. 177-178. — source link
Lordship / Title Associations
Associations are recorded by period so changes in estate composition do not imply that every manor remained attached to the same title indefinitely.
Historically associated · late 12th or early 13th century – about 1580 as a separately held manor · Provisional
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JSON API
Machine-readable published manor data, including public images, mapped land areas, notes, rights, conveyances, relationships, records, source/document-library entries and public file links.
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