BACKWELL MANOR

Identity: confirmed — The registry name and location identify the historic manor of Backwell in Somerset. Local archaeological and heritage evidence distinguishes its former manor house, Backwell Old Court, from the later Backwell House: the medieval manor house was formerly adjacent to St Andrew's Church, with its site thought to lie directly north-east of the church.
Representative point: 51.4102, -2.7272
Basis: documented_manor_site — Approximate representative point for the documented site of Backwell Old Court, immediately north-east of St Andrew's Church, Backwell. The precise manor-house remains are not known, but the historic site is geographically identified by the local HER evidence cited in recent heritage assessments.
Point confidence: medium
Boundary status: representative_point_only
Boundary period: Medieval to early modern; no securely mapped single-period perimeter established
Boundary confidence: none
Boundary basis: The available web evidence confirms the manor-house site and indicates that parts of Farleigh Fields and other agricultural lands formed part of the historic Manor of Backwell. The cited surveys and rentals are catalogued but their mapped contents are not available online in a form permitting a defensible reconstruction of the manorial perimeter. The modern parish boundary, settlement boundary, conservation area and Longleat estate lands cannot safely be substituted for the historical manor extent.
Sources:
- The National Archives: Backwell Manor, F253538: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F253538 — Registry authority record identifying the exact manor as BACKWELL MANOR, Backwell, Somerset.
- Farleigh Fields West, Backwell: Archaeology and Heritage Assessment: https://docs.planning.org.uk/20240627/51/SEZ115LPGMQ00/wjedkmuawtdw98gr.pdf — States that the site of the medieval manor house at Backwell, Backwell Old Court, is thought to have been directly north-east of St Andrew's Church, and identifies the HER record MNS1354.
- Land at Farleigh Farm and 54 and 56 Farleigh Road, Backwell: Archaeological and Heritage Assessment: https://n-somerset.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2022-03/A12%20-%20archaeology%20and%20heritage%20statement.pdf — Describes the former Backwell Court as the manor house formerly located adjacent to the church and relates Court Farmhouse and its associated buildings to that former manorial complex.
- Church of St Andrew, Backwell - Historic England NHLE 1129810: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1129810 — Provides the authoritative location of the medieval parish church used as the geographic reference for the adjacent Backwell Old Court site: NGR ST 49311 68330.
- Backwell Neighbourhood Plan Evidence Base K: https://n-somerset.inconsult.uk/gf2.ti/f/435234/12176005.1/PDF/-/EVIDENCE_BASE_K_LGS_1015.2_Jan_2014_Final.pdf — Identifies Farleigh Fields as part of the historic Manor of Backwell and discusses the survival of agricultural land associated with the historic manorial landscape.
- Bristol and Avon Archaeology: Backwell Parish Checklist: https://bristolandavonarchaeology.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/barg-vol6-4.pdf — Places the former manor-house site beside St Andrew's Church in Church Town and describes the historic settlement and landscape context.
Warnings / uncertainty:
- Do not substitute the later Georgian Backwell House, approximately 1 km north-west of the church, for the medieval Backwell manor-house site.
- The representative coordinate is an evidence-based approximation near the documented Backwell Old Court site, not a surveyed surviving building location.
- No historically grounded polygon for the full manorial land extent could be established from the accessible sources; the supplied survey and rental catalogue entries should be consulted directly at Bristol Archives and the Somerset Heritage Centre before attempting boundary reconstruction.