ALPHETON MANOR

Identity: confirmed — The registry record's Alpheton Manor matches the documented manor house Alpheton Hall in Alpheton, Suffolk. A 1434 inquisition explicitly identifies the manor of Alpheton as 'Alfton Halle' and places its lands in Alpheton and Acton. The Suffolk Historic Environment Record separately identifies Alpheton Hall as the site of Alpheton Manor and records its medieval manor-house fabric.
Representative point: 52.12110, 0.73500
Basis: documented_manor_house — Alpheton Hall, the surviving manor house and documented site of Alpheton Manor; National Grid Reference TL 87338 50505.
Point confidence: high
Boundary status: representative_point_only
Boundary period: Medieval, specifically documented in 1434; later manorial extent is evidenced by rentals, court books and enfranchisement records but not mapped in the sources located.
Boundary confidence: none
Boundary basis: The 1434 inquisition records the manor's territorial components as land in Alpheton and Acton, comprising 250 acres of arable, 10 acres of meadow, 12 acres of underwood and assize rents. This establishes a cross-parish manorial extent but does not provide a defensible perimeter. The available archive leads demonstrate continuing manorial administration through rentals, courts and enfranchisement, but no accessible manor map or parcel-level boundary evidence was found.
Sources:
- Suffolk Historic Environment Record: ALP 019 - Alpheton Hall: https://suffolkher.esdm.co.uk/Monument/MSF23716 — Identifies Alpheton Hall as a medieval manor-house site, records its surviving Norman hall fabric, gives location TL 87335 50503, and cites the historic site as Alpheton Manor.
- Suffolk Historic Environment Record: Listed Building - Alpheton Hall: https://suffolkher.esdm.co.uk/Designation/DSF1388 — Provides the listed manor-house location TL 87338 50505 and confirms the building identity and location in Alpheton, Suffolk.
- Mapping the Medieval Countryside: E-CIPM 24-152, William Raynford, 1434: https://inquisitionspostmortem.ac.uk/view/inquisition/24-151/152.html — States that William Raynford held the manor of Alpheton called 'Alfton Halle' in Alpheton and Acton, with 250 acres of arable, 10 acres of meadow and 12 acres of underwood.
- Mapping the Medieval Countryside: Place view for Acton: https://ipm-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/view/place/25282.html — Cross-references the 1434 inquisition and associates 'Alfton Halle' with Alpheton and Acton.
- Historic England Archive: Alpheton Hall, Suffolk; Dendrochronology Dating File: https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/photos/volume/EHC01/216/1240 — Confirms Alpheton Hall as the historic building at Alpheton, Babergh, Suffolk, and identifies it as a historically significant house.
- The National Archives Discovery: TNA/MDR record F249826: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F249826 — Registry authority record supplied for the exact manor identity: Alpheton Manor, Alpheton, Suffolk, authority GB/NNAF/M242119.
Warnings / uncertainty:
- No reliable mapped perimeter or parcel-level reconstruction of the historical manorial land was located.
- The recorded 1434 acreage and the mention of Alpheton and Acton should not be converted into a guessed polygon or substituted with a modern parish boundary.
- The representative point identifies the manor house/site, not the full historical extent of the manor.