MANORIAL HERITAGE REGISTRY CONVEYANCE & DESCENT HISTORY ============================================================================ ABBOTSBURY MANOR Public record: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_manor=abbotsbury-manor Exported: 14 October 2026, 19:29 GMT+0000 Recorded historical holders: 7 Location: Abbotsbury, Dorset SUCCESSION REGISTER | EARLIEST RECORDED TO PRESENT ============================================================================ Relationships below reproduce saved published paths; unrecorded routes are not inferred. 1. Abbey of St Peter, Abbotsbury, represented by its abbot | c.1044 - 12 March 1539 Transfer: Foundation and endowment of the monastery with the Abbotsbury lands by Orc and Tola; the abbot is subsequently identified as lord of the manor. Holding arrangement: The abbey's manorial lordship; the abbot exercised lordship institutionally on behalf of the monastery. / Benedictine monastery Profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=abbey-of-st-peter-abbotsbury-represented-by-its-abbot-4431 Relationship to present holder: Not recorded 2. The Crown | 12 March 1539 - 1541-1543 Transfer: The abbey surrendered to Henry VIII's commissioners on 12 March 1539; the former abbey estate and manorial freehold were subsequently acquired from the Crown by Sir Giles Strangways. Holding arrangement: Other / Intervening Crown ownership or disposition after the monastic surrender. / Crown estate after Dissolution Profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=the-crown-4432 Relationship to present holder: Not recorded 3. Sir Giles Strangways, Knight, Member of Parliament, commissioner involved in the surrender of Abbotsbury Abbey | 1541 - 1546 Transfer: Purchase from the Crown of the freehold of Abbotsbury and a 40-year lease of the abbey site after the Dissolution. Holding arrangement: Sole purchaser and lay lord of the acquired Abbotsbury freehold, subject to the stated lease arrangements for the abbey site. / Strangways family / Co-holders: Sir John Strangways Profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=sir-giles-strangways-4433 Relationship to present holder: Not recorded 4. Sir John Strangways, English landowner and politician, Royalist during the Civil War | by 1643 - 1666 Transfer: Succession within the Strangways family; the precise conveyance from Sir Giles Strangways' line to Sir John Strangways has not been established. Holding arrangement: Documented as the owner or lord of the Abbotsbury estate during the Civil War. / Strangways family / Co-holders: Sir Giles Strangways Profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=sir-john-strangways-4434 Relationship to present holder: Not recorded 5. Stephen Fox, later Stephen Fox-Strangways, 1st Earl of Ilchester, 1st Earl of Ilchester from 1756 | 1735 - 1776 Transfer: The Abbotsbury estate passed into the Ilchester Estate through the marriage of Elizabeth Strangways Horner to Stephen Fox in 1735; Stephen Fox was created Earl of Ilchester in 1756. Holding arrangement: Other / Family estate held through the Fox-Strangways connection; the exact legal form of the manorial transfer is not specified in the source. / Ilchester Estate / Co-holders: Henry Stephen Fox-Strangways, 3rd Earl of Ilchester, Earl of Ilchester Profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=stephen-fox-strangways-1st-earl-of-ilchester-4435 Relationship to present holder: Not recorded 6. Henry Stephen Fox-Strangways, 3rd Earl of Ilchester | by 1808 - 8 January 1858 Transfer: Inheritance of the Abbotsbury estate within the Fox-Strangways line; the exact succession instrument is not identified. Holding arrangement: Documented as inheritor and estate owner within the Ilchester family estate. / Ilchester Estate / Co-holders: Stephen Fox, later Stephen Fox-Strangways, 1st Earl of Ilchester, Earl of Ilchester Profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=henry-stephen-fox-strangways-3rd-earl-of-ilchester-4436 Relationship to present holder: Not recorded 7. Earl of Ilchester, Hereditary peerage title of the Fox-Strangways family | by 1901 Transfer: Later succession within the Fox-Strangways family; the specific earl, date and conveyance are not established in the sources used. Holding arrangement: Lord of the manor and principal landowner at Abbotsbury according to the early 20th-century directory. / Ilchester Estate / Co-holders: Stephen Fox, later Stephen Fox-Strangways, 1st Earl of Ilchester, Henry Stephen Fox-Strangways, 3rd Earl of Ilchester Profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=earl-of-ilchester-4437 Relationship to present holder: Not recorded DETAILED CONVEYANCE HISTORIES AND LINKED PEDIGREES ============================================================================ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOLDER 1 | c.1044 - 12 March 1539 Abbey of St Peter, Abbotsbury, represented by its abbot Person: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=abbey-of-st-peter-abbotsbury-represented-by-its-abbot-4431 Transfer: Foundation and endowment of the monastery with the Abbotsbury lands by Orc and Tola; the abbot is subsequently identified as lord of the manor. Previous holder: Orc and Tola, founders and lay proprietors before the monastery's endowment Holding arrangement: sole Share / interest: The abbey's manorial lordship; the abbot exercised lordship institutionally on behalf of the monastery. Shared holding: Benedictine monastery Narrative / explanation: Orc founded the monastery at Abbotsbury in the 11th century and, after Orc's death, Tola donated their lands at Abbotsbury to the abbey. The Dorset Historic Towns Survey states that Abbotsbury was administered as a manor of which the abbot was lord. The abbey surrendered on 12 March 1539. This entry records the institutional manor lordship rather than the individual names of successive abbots, whose complete sequence is not established here. Source citation: Dorset Historic Towns Survey: Abbotsbury, Part 5.1 and 5.2, Medieval Abbotsbury; Dorset Historic Towns Survey: Part 3 and 4, Context and Sources. Source URL: https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/documents/35024/307132/Abbotsbury_Part_5.1_and_5.2_Saxon_and_medieval_February_2011.pdf/6061e576-7ee1-c63e-c04c-6b09758a7a08 Other parties: Abbey of St Peter, Abbotsbury Historical person profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=abbey-of-st-peter-abbotsbury-represented-by-its-abbot-4431 Relationship paths: No published path recorded. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOLDER 2 | 12 March 1539 - 1541-1543 The Crown Person: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=the-crown-4432 Transfer: The abbey surrendered to Henry VIII's commissioners on 12 March 1539; the former abbey estate and manorial freehold were subsequently acquired from the Crown by Sir Giles Strangways. Previous holder: Abbey of St Peter, Abbotsbury Holding arrangement: other Share / interest: Intervening Crown ownership or disposition after the monastic surrender. Shared holding: Crown estate after Dissolution Narrative / explanation: The sources establish the abbey's surrender and the later Crown disposal of the property, but do not provide a separate conveyance document proving the exact duration of Crown possession. The end date is therefore given as the uncertain period immediately before Sir Giles Strangways' purchase, dated 1541 by the Dorset Historic Towns Survey and 1543 for the abbey site by Dorset Heritage Explorer. Source citation: Dorset Historic Towns Survey: Abbotsbury, Part 5.3 and 5.4, Post-medieval and Modern Abbotsbury; Dorset Heritage Explorer, The Manor House, Church Street, Abbotsbury, record MDO14035. Source URL: https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/documents/35024/307132/Abbotsbury_Part_5.3_and_5.4_Post-medieval_and_modern_February_2011.pdf/99d30ed3-8345-71d7-5546-a245279e66bf Other parties: The Crown Historical person profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=the-crown-4432 Relationship paths: No published path recorded. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOLDER 3 | 1541 - 1546 Sir Giles Strangways, Knight, Member of Parliament, commissioner involved in the surrender of Abbotsbury Abbey Person: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=sir-giles-strangways-4433 Transfer: Purchase from the Crown of the freehold of Abbotsbury and a 40-year lease of the abbey site after the Dissolution. Previous holder: The Crown Holding arrangement: sole Share / interest: Sole purchaser and lay lord of the acquired Abbotsbury freehold, subject to the stated lease arrangements for the abbey site. Shared holding: Strangways family Narrative / explanation: The Dorset Historic Towns Survey states that Sir Giles Strangways purchased a 40-year lease on the abbey site and the freehold of Abbotsbury in 1541. A Dorset Heritage Explorer record says that the abbey site was bought by him in 1543, so the purchase should be dated 1541-1543 rather than assigned one uncontested year. Sir Giles died in 1546. The purchase required demolition of the abbey claustral buildings, and he built or adapted a manor house from former monastic fabric. Source citation: Dorset Historic Towns Survey: Abbotsbury, Part 5.3 and 5.4, Post-medieval and Modern Abbotsbury; Dorset Heritage Explorer, The Manor House, Church Street, Abbotsbury, record MDO14035. Source URL: https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/documents/35024/307132/Abbotsbury_Part_5.3_and_5.4_Post-medieval_and_modern_February_2011.pdf/99d30ed3-8345-71d7-5546-a245279e66bf Other parties: Sir Giles Strangways Co-holders: Sir John Strangways Previous holder profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=the-crown-4432 Historical person profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=sir-giles-strangways-4433 Person dates: c.1486-1546 Relationship paths: No published path recorded. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOLDER 4 | by 1643 - 1666 Sir John Strangways, English landowner and politician, Royalist during the Civil War Person: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=sir-john-strangways-4434 Transfer: Succession within the Strangways family; the precise conveyance from Sir Giles Strangways' line to Sir John Strangways has not been established. Previous holder: Strangways family, through an undocumented succession Holding arrangement: sole Share / interest: Documented as the owner or lord of the Abbotsbury estate during the Civil War. Shared holding: Strangways family Narrative / explanation: Local historical accounts state that Abbotsbury was owned by Sir John Strangways during the Civil War and describe the siege and destruction of the Strangways manor house in 1644. The source evidence does not establish the exact date or instrument by which Sir John succeeded to the manor, so no invented hereditary or testamentary transfer is supplied. Sir John died in 1666. Source citation: Abbotsbury History, Abbotsbury Tourism and Traders Association; Simon Keynes, The Lost Cartulary of Abbotsbury, Anglo-Saxon England, Cambridge University Press. Source URL: https://www.abbotsbury.co.uk/abbotsbury-history/ Other parties: Sir John Strangways Co-holders: Sir Giles Strangways Historical person profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=sir-john-strangways-4434 Person dates: 1584-1666 Relationship paths: No published path recorded. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOLDER 5 | 1735 - 1776 Stephen Fox, later Stephen Fox-Strangways, 1st Earl of Ilchester, 1st Earl of Ilchester from 1756 Person: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=stephen-fox-strangways-1st-earl-of-ilchester-4435 Transfer: The Abbotsbury estate passed into the Ilchester Estate through the marriage of Elizabeth Strangways Horner to Stephen Fox in 1735; Stephen Fox was created Earl of Ilchester in 1756. Previous holder: Strangways family Holding arrangement: other Share / interest: Family estate held through the Fox-Strangways connection; the exact legal form of the manorial transfer is not specified in the source. Shared holding: Ilchester Estate Narrative / explanation: The Dorset Historic Towns Survey states that the Abbotsbury estate came into the hands of the Ilchester Estate in 1735 through marriage. A local Abbotsbury history identifies the marriage as that of Elizabeth Strangways Horner and Stephen Fox, who later took the name Fox-Strangways and became the 1st Earl of Ilchester in 1756. The evidence supports the estate connection but does not provide the underlying settlement, marriage agreement or conveyance deed. Source citation: Dorset Historic Towns Survey: Abbotsbury, Part 5.3 and 5.4, Post-medieval and Modern Abbotsbury; Abbotsbury History, History of Abbotsbury. Source URL: https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/documents/35024/307132/Abbotsbury_Part_5.3_and_5.4_Post-medieval_and_modern_February_2011.pdf/99d30ed3-8345-71d7-5546-a245279e66bf Other parties: Stephen Fox, Elizabeth Strangways Horner Co-holders: Henry Stephen Fox-Strangways, 3rd Earl of Ilchester, Earl of Ilchester Historical person profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=stephen-fox-strangways-1st-earl-of-ilchester-4435 Person dates: 1704-1776 Relationship paths: No published path recorded. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOLDER 6 | by 1808 - 8 January 1858 Henry Stephen Fox-Strangways, 3rd Earl of Ilchester Person: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=henry-stephen-fox-strangways-3rd-earl-of-ilchester-4436 Transfer: Inheritance of the Abbotsbury estate within the Fox-Strangways line; the exact succession instrument is not identified. Previous holder: Fox-Strangways family and Ilchester Estate Holding arrangement: sole Share / interest: Documented as inheritor and estate owner within the Ilchester family estate. Shared holding: Ilchester Estate Narrative / explanation: Historic England records that Henry Stephen Fox-Strangways, 3rd Earl of Ilchester, inherited the Abbotsbury estate during the first half of the 19th century and began enclosing open fields and commons belonging to the estate in 1808. The 1810 account of the Abbotsbury inclosure identifies the Earl of Ilchester as lord of the manor. The precise date and legal instrument of his succession are not stated, so the start is recorded as by 1808 rather than as an exact inheritance date. Source citation: Historic England, Abbotsbury Gardens, List Entry 1000707; John Martin of Evershot, Abbotsbury, 1810. Source URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1000707 Other parties: Henry Stephen Fox-Strangways, 3rd Earl of Ilchester Co-holders: Stephen Fox, later Stephen Fox-Strangways, 1st Earl of Ilchester, Earl of Ilchester Historical person profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=henry-stephen-fox-strangways-3rd-earl-of-ilchester-4436 Person dates: 21 February 1787-8 January 1858 Relationship paths: No published path recorded. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOLDER 7 | by 1901 Earl of Ilchester, Hereditary peerage title of the Fox-Strangways family Person: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=earl-of-ilchester-4437 Transfer: Later succession within the Fox-Strangways family; the specific earl, date and conveyance are not established in the sources used. Previous holder: Earlier Fox-Strangways holders of the Ilchester Estate Holding arrangement: sole Share / interest: Lord of the manor and principal landowner at Abbotsbury according to the early 20th-century directory. Shared holding: Ilchester Estate Narrative / explanation: A directory entry for Abbotsbury published for the early 20th century states that the Earl of Ilchester was lord of the manor and principal landowner. This confirms continuing manorial ownership in the Ilchester family but does not identify the particular earl or provide the intervening conveyance after the 3rd Earl's death in 1858. Source citation: Kelly's Directory of Dorsetshire, Abbotsbury entry, early 20th-century edition reproduced by the University of Leicester Digital Collections. Source URL: https://leicester.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/api/collection/p16445coll4/id/56218/download Other parties: Earl of Ilchester Co-holders: Stephen Fox, later Stephen Fox-Strangways, 1st Earl of Ilchester, Henry Stephen Fox-Strangways, 3rd Earl of Ilchester Historical person profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=earl-of-ilchester-4437 Relationship paths: No published path recorded. END OF EXPORTED APPROVED CONVEYANCE HISTORY