Historical names: Alderchurch (Manor) | Hiptoft Hall (Manor)
Location: Algarkirk, Lincolnshire
Places / associated places: Algarkirk, Lincolnshire
Location & Extent
GPS Location & Recorded Land Areas
Representative GPS point: 52.90145, -0.06229
Identity: confirmed — The registry's historical name Hiptoft Hall (Manor) matches the Lincolnshire Historic Environment Record identification of the Old Manor House of Algarkirk as Hiptoft Hall, alias Toop's Manor. The recorded succession from the Hiptofts to the Toopes and then the Meres is consistent with the supplied 1400–1655 Algarkirk manor rentals, accounts, court rolls and tenant list. Alderchurch is an historical form of Algarkirk, not a separate manor.
Representative point: 52.90145, -0.06229
Basis: documented_manor_site — Hill Six Acres, centred approximately at OS grid reference TF 3038 3552 / easting 530382.6, northing 335531.4, is recorded as the site of the Old Manor House of Algarkirk and as Hiptoft/Toops Manor. The coordinate is a WGS84 approximation of that documented site.
Point confidence: medium
Boundary status: representative_point_only
Boundary period:
Boundary confidence: none
Boundary basis: The available online evidence identifies the manor house/site but does not provide a defensible perimeter for the historical manorial land. Evidence that the later Hiptoft Hall estate included lands or premises in Boston, Skirbeck, Kirton, Frampton, Fosdyke, Algarkirk, Sibsey, Wynthorpe and Burgh demonstrates a dispersed estate holding, not a continuous manor boundary. The modern parish boundary must not be substituted for the manor's territorial extent.
Sources:
- Lincolnshire Heritage Explorer, MLI12504: Manor House, Hill Six Acres, Algarkirk: https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI12504 — Identifies Hill Six Acres as the site of the Old Manor House of Algarkirk, also known as Hiptoft/Toops Manor; records the Hiptoft, Toopes and Meres succession; gives the site as centred TF 3038 3552; and notes uncertainty in an earlier map identification.
- National Grid, English Onshore Scheme Plans, site data for MLI12504: https://www.nationalgrid.com/document/559351/download — Publishes the corresponding HER point for MLI12504 at easting 530382.6, northing 335531.4 and describes it as the site of the Old Manor House of Algarkirk and Hiptoft/Toops Manor.
- The National Archives, Algarkirk Manor registry record F291302: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F291302 — Supplied registry authority record for the exact manor, including the primary name Algarkirk Manor and authority/reference GB/NNAF/M316688.
- Feet of Fines: CP 25/1/133/61: https://www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk/fines/abstracts/CP_25_1_133_61.shtml — Records 10 acres and 3 roods in Algarkirk held by Alan son of Robert de Hiptoft in 1289, supporting the historical association of the Hiptoft family with Algarkirk land.
- Agreement dividing the estates of Sir John Meres, 1737: https://www.whobegatwhom.co.uk/ind3063.html — Records the manor of Hiptoft Hall and associated lands and premises in Boston, Skirbeck, Kirton, Frampton, Fosdyke, Algarkirk, Sibsey, Wynthorpe and Burgh, demonstrating the dispersed territorial composition of the later estate.
Warnings / uncertainty:
- The HER record contains a location caveat: it states that P. J. Dover's placenames may place Hiptoft at approximately TF 3173 4940 rather than TF 304 356. The representative point therefore uses the HER's documented Hill Six Acres manor-site coordinate but should be treated as medium-confidence rather than exact.
- The documented estate holdings in several parishes and settlements cannot be converted into a continuous historical manor polygon without manor maps, rentals tied to identifiable parcels, enclosure material or other explicit boundary evidence.
- The separately listed modern Manor House on Washdike Road at TF 30038 34279 is not used as the representative point because the historical-name evidence specifically identifies Hiptoft/Toops Manor with the Old Manor House at Hill Six Acres.
About the Manor
Algarkirk Manor was a historical manor in Algarkirk, Lincolnshire, identified in the surviving historical and archaeological record with Hiptoft Hall or Toop's Manor. A documented medieval legal description calls it the manor of Hiptofthall and associates it with land, meadow, pasture, rents, pepper, cumin, cocks and hens in Algarkirk, Sutterton, Kirton in Holland and Wigtoft. The associated moated manor-house site is traditionally identified with the enclosure known as Hill Six Acres, although the Lincolnshire archaeological record notes uncertainty over the precise location of the Hiptoft Hall/Toop's Manor site and records a map-based disagreement concerning its grid reference. The property should not be confused with the separately documented Algarkirk Hall, which was principally associated with the Beridge rectors and their accumulated glebe and estate lands.
Ownership / Holder Account
The available public evidence gives a partial but usable descent. Local archaeological and historical records state that the manor was held in the 13th century by the Hiptofts, in the 14th century by the Toopes, and from the 15th through the 18th centuries by the Meres family. Medieval legal records show a more complex pattern of interests during the later 14th century: in 1374 the manor of Hippetofthalle was held for life by William de Huntingfield, knight, from the inheritance of John de Hagh, with a life interest reserved to John de Lynstede and a remainder to William de Ufford, earl of Suffolk, followed by remainders to members of the Ufford family. The precise relationship between those legal interests and the later Toope and Meres descent is not established by the sources consulted, so no unsupported intervening conveyance is supplied. In 1446 Thomas Meres acquired the manor and associated property from John Coppledick by a formally enrolled plea of covenant. The Meres family continued to hold the manor into the 18th century; Sir John Meres, described by the local record as the last of the line, died in 1736. An agreement dated 15 July 1737 concerning the division of Sir John Meres's estate allocated the manor of Hiptoft Hall, together with associated lands in and around Algarkirk and neighbouring places, to Thomas Whichcot. The later history after that allocation was not securely established in the public sources consulted.
Manorial Rights & Privileges
Historic manorial rights / privileges (4)
Land, meadow and pasture associated with the manor
Provisional
A medieval legal description of the manor of Hiptofthall included land, meadow and pasture in Algarkirk, Sutterton, Kirton in Holland and Wigtoft.
Rents
Provisional
The same medieval legal description included rents associated with the manor and its lands.
Pepper and cumin dues or services
Provisional
The medieval legal description refers to pepper and cumin among the associated appurtenances or render.
Cocks and hens
Provisional
The medieval legal description refers to cocks and hens among the associated customary renders or services.
Records & References
Sources and references mentioning this manor/title which are not necessarily conveyances or transfers.
14 records found · showing 1–8.
1655-1655: tenant list (draft)
Held by: Lincolnshire Archives
1641-1652: court roll
Held by: Lincolnshire Archives
1639-1639: rent
Held by: Lincolnshire Archives
1585-1595: estreats, with other manors (3)
Held by: The National Archives
1585-1595: court rolls, with other manors (4)
Held by: The National Archives
1575-1575: court roll
Held by: Lincolnshire Archives
1565-1565: court roll
Held by: Lincolnshire Archives
1558-1558: court roll
Held by: Lincolnshire Archives
Conveyance & Descent
First holder to present holder: blood proximity & distance travelled
First recorded holder: Hiptoft family
Present holder:
Recorded title journey: 7 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.
Hiptoft family
Transfer: Earlier holder not established; the manor is reported as passing to the Toope family by the 14th century, but the conveyance is unknown.
Shared holding: Hiptoft family
The Lincolnshire Heritage Explorer and Heritage Gateway records state that the manor-house site identified with Hiptoft Hall or Toop's Manor was held in the 13th century by the Hiptofts. No individual Hiptoft or documentary transfer has been identified in the sources consulted, so this entry preserves the family-level attribution only.
Source: Lincolnshire Heritage Explorer, Monument Record MLI12504, 'Manor House, Hill Six Acres, Algarkirk'; citing local archaeological files and historical works by William Marrat, Thomas Allen, Richard Yerburgh and William White. — source link
Toope family
Transfer: Earlier holder and precise conveyance not established; local records report that the manor was held by the Toopes in the 14th century and later by the Meres family.
Shared holding: Toope family
Previous holder: Hiptoft family
The local archaeological record states that Hiptoft Hall, also called Toop's Manor, was held in the 14th century by the Toopes. The record does not identify the precise individual holder or the instrument by which the manor passed from the Hiptofts, and the association of Roger Toup with Algarkirk in ecclesiastical and name evidence is not by itself sufficient to identify him as the manor holder.
Source: Lincolnshire Heritage Explorer, Monument Record MLI12504, 'Manor House, Hill Six Acres, Algarkirk'; corroborated by Heritage Gateway, Historic England Research Record for Hill Six Acres. — source link
William de Huntingfield, knight, for life; John de Hagh, in inheritance; with reserved remainders, William de Ufford was earl of Suffolk, William de Huntingfield was a knight
Transfer: Settlement by plea of covenant: John de Hagh granted the manor after the death of William de Huntingfield and John de Lynstede to William de Ufford, earl of Suffolk, for the earl's life, with remainder to Thomas de Ufford and successive Ufford remainders. This was a complex life-interest and remainder arrangement, not a simple outright conveyance.
Holding arrangement: Other
Shared holding: Life tenant, inheritor and remainder beneficiaries
A Feet of Fines entry dated 27 October 1374, with the subsequent agreement dated 20 January 1375, expressly concerns the manor of Hippetofthalle in Freiston and Toft in Holland, and the standardised place index identifies Hiptoft Hall with Algarkirk. The record states that William de Huntingfield held the manor for life of the inheritance of John de Hagh; after Huntingfield's death it was to remain to John de Lynstede for life, then to William de Ufford, earl of Suffolk, for life, and thereafter to Thomas de Ufford and specified male-line remainders. Because this legal settlement does not explain how it relates to the family-level Toope attribution or to the later Meres possession, it is recorded as a documented complex interest rather than as an assumed link in a continuous descent.
Source: Feet of Fines, CP 25/1/142/137, number 32, dated 27 October 1374, with subsequent agreement dated 20 January 1375; abstract identifies the property as the manor of Hippetofthalle and standardised places include Hiptoft Hall in Algarkirk. — source link
Thomas Meres, esquire, lord of the manor of Hiptoft Hall in Algarkirk
Transfer: John Coppledick acknowledged the manor and associated tenements and rents to be the right of Thomas Meres, as property Thomas had of Coppledick's gift, and quitclaimed them to Thomas and his heirs in return for 100 marks.
Shared holding: Meres family
Co-holders: Meres family, Sir John Meres
Previous holder: John Coppledick
A Feet of Fines entry dated 9 February 1446 expressly records the manor of Hiptofthall, with 20 acres of land, 40 acres of meadow, 20 acres of pasture and specified rents and customary payments in Algarkirk, Sutterton, Kirton in Holland and Wigtoft. John Coppledick acknowledged the property to be Thomas Meres's right and quitclaimed it to Thomas and his heirs. This is the strongest direct medieval conveyance evidence found for the later Meres tenure.
Source: Feet of Fines, CP 25/1/145/159, number 37, dated one week from the Purification of the Blessed Mary, 24 Henry VI, equivalent to 9 February 1446. — source link
Meres family, Lords of Hiptoft Hall or Toop's Manor
Transfer: Continuation of the Meres tenure after Thomas Meres; the precise intervening descent is not established in the sources consulted. The local record states that the family held the manor from the 15th to the 18th century.
Shared holding: Meres family
Co-holders: Thomas Meres, esquire, Sir John Meres
Previous holder: Thomas Meres
The Lincolnshire archaeological record states that Hiptoft Hall or Toop's Manor was held from the 15th to the 18th centuries by the Meres family. The direct 1446 conveyance to Thomas Meres provides a secure anchor for the beginning of this documented Meres phase, but the public sources consulted do not provide every generation or conveyance between Thomas Meres and Sir John Meres.
Source: Lincolnshire Heritage Explorer, Monument Record MLI12504, 'Manor House, Hill Six Acres, Algarkirk'; corroborated by Heritage Gateway, Historic England Research Record for Hill Six Acres, and the 1446 Feet of Fines entry. — source link
Transfer: Death of Sir John Meres, described in the local archaeological record as the last of the Meres line; the subsequent estate division is documented in 1737.
Shared holding: Meres family
Co-holders: Thomas Meres, esquire, Meres family
Previous holder: Meres family, Lords of Hiptoft Hall or Toop's Manor
The local archaeological record identifies Sir John Meres as the last of the Meres line holding Hiptoft Hall or Toop's Manor and records that he died in 1736. The exact date on which he became holder is not established by the sources consulted, so the start is expressed as before 1736.
Source: Lincolnshire Heritage Explorer, Monument Record MLI12504, 'Manor House, Hill Six Acres, Algarkirk'; corroborated by Heritage Gateway, Historic England Research Record for Hill Six Acres. — source link
Thomas Whichcot, Esquire, member of the Whichcot family of Harpswell, later Member of Parliament
Transfer: Division of the estate of the late Sir John Meres among his coheirs: the agreement allocated the manor of Hiptoft Hall and associated lands in Algarkirk and neighbouring places to Thomas Whichcot.
Shared holding: Whichcot family
Previous holder: Estate of Sir John Meres
An attested copy of articles of agreement dated 15 July 1737 divided Sir John Meres's estate among three coheirs. The schedule allocated to Thomas Whichcot the manor of Hiptoft Hall and lands and premises in Boston, Skirbeck, Kirton, Frampton, Fosdyke, Algarkirk, Sibsey, Wynthrope and Burgh, together with Nonsuch House and other Kent property. This is a posthumous estate division rather than a simple sale, and the evidence establishes the allocation to Thomas Whichcot from that date. No later secure holder was identified.
Source: Lincolnshire Archives, Beridge and Sparrow estate material, reference PL F7/2/1/13, agreement by the coheirs at law to divide Sir John Meres's estates, dated 15 July 1737; the archival abstract is reproduced in the cited genealogical index. — source link
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JSON API
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