MANORIAL HERITAGE REGISTRY CONVEYANCE & DESCENT HISTORY ============================================================================ ALDBOROUGH MANOR Public record: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_manor=aldborough-manor-2 Exported: 15 October 2026, 16:53 GMT+0000 Recorded historical holders: 4 Location: Aldborough, Norfolk SUCCESSION REGISTER | EARLIEST RECORDED TO PRESENT ============================================================================ Relationships below reproduce saved published paths; unrecorded routes are not inferred. 1. Hereward or Herward family, Member of the Hereward or Herward family associated in local historical accounts with the lordship of Aldborough Manor | at least the 13th century - end of the 16th century Transfer: Unknown; the available source states that the Hereward or Herward family were lords of the manor during this period but does not identify the conveyance into or out of their possession. Holding arrangement: Hereward or Herward family Profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=robert-herward-27313 Relationship to present holder: Not recorded 2. Gay family, Lords of the manor of Aldborough in local historical accounts | 1633 - by 1912 Transfer: Acquired Aldborough Hall in 1633 according to the Norfolk Heritage Explorer; the available sources do not provide the deed or prove whether the 1633 acquisition was identical in legal extent to the whole manor. A separate local church-history account explicitly identifies the Gay family as lords of the manor. Holding arrangement: Gay family / Co-holders: Mrs Edward Gay Profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=gay-family-27314 Relationship to present holder: Not recorded 3. Mrs Edward Gay, Lady of the manor of Aldborough, principal landowner | by 1912 - after 1912 Transfer: Unknown; Kelly's Directory describes Mrs Edward Gay as the lady of the manor and principal landowner, but does not state when or how she acquired the lordship. Holding arrangement: Gay family / Co-holders: Gay family Profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=mrs-edward-gay-27315 Relationship to present holder: Not recorded 4. Margaret Lilly, Heir to the Aldborough estate, associated with the Lilly family succession from the Gays | after the death of her brother Edmund during the First World War period, 1914-1918 - not established Transfer: Inherited the substantial Aldborough estate after the death of her brother Edmund, according to a family memoir. A separate local account states that the Gay manorial interest passed by marriage to the Lilly family. The precise date and legal instrument of the manorial transfer are unknown. Holding arrangement: Lilly family Profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=margaret-lilly-27316 Relationship to present holder: Not recorded DETAILED CONVEYANCE HISTORIES AND LINKED PEDIGREES ============================================================================ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOLDER 1 | at least the 13th century - end of the 16th century Hereward or Herward family, Member of the Hereward or Herward family associated in local historical accounts with the lordship of Aldborough Manor Person: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=robert-herward-27313 Transfer: Unknown; the available source states that the Hereward or Herward family were lords of the manor during this period but does not identify the conveyance into or out of their possession. Holding arrangement: sole Shared holding: Hereward or Herward family Narrative / explanation: A local history article for Aldborough, Norfolk, states that the Hereward or Herward family were lords of the manor from at least the thirteenth century to the end of the sixteenth. This is a family-level lordship statement, not a complete deed-based descent. The parish church contains fifteenth-century brasses commemorating members of the family, including Robert Herward and Anne Herward, but the accessible evidence does not prove which particular family member held the manor at each date. Source citation: Aldborough and Thurgarton Village Magazine, January/February 2021, article on the Hereward or Herward family and Aldborough; corroborated by the Aldborough, Norfolk, church-history account. Source URL: https://www.aldborough.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Aldborough-Mag-02-v17-sml.pdf Historical person profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=robert-herward-27313 Person dates: died 1481 Relationship paths: No published path recorded. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOLDER 2 | 1633 - by 1912 Gay family, Lords of the manor of Aldborough in local historical accounts Person: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=gay-family-27314 Transfer: Acquired Aldborough Hall in 1633 according to the Norfolk Heritage Explorer; the available sources do not provide the deed or prove whether the 1633 acquisition was identical in legal extent to the whole manor. A separate local church-history account explicitly identifies the Gay family as lords of the manor. Previous holder: Unknown; the preceding holder and conveyance are not established. Holding arrangement: sole Shared holding: Gay family Narrative / explanation: The Norfolk Heritage Explorer records that Aldborough Hall was bought by the Gay family in 1633. A later account of Aldborough church identifies the Gay family as descendants of the Herwards and as lords of the manor. These sources together support the association of the Gay family with Aldborough Manor, but the exact conveyance instrument and the precise relationship between the hall estate and the manorial title remain unverified. Source citation: Norfolk Heritage Explorer, Parish Summary: Aldborough, record TNF114; the summary identifies Aldborough Hall, Norfolk, and states that it was bought by the Gay family in 1633. Source URL: https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?uid=%27TNF114%27 Co-holders: Mrs Edward Gay Historical person profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=gay-family-27314 Person dates: associated with Aldborough from 1633; individual dates not established Relationship paths: No published path recorded. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOLDER 3 | by 1912 - after 1912 Mrs Edward Gay, Lady of the manor of Aldborough, principal landowner Person: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=mrs-edward-gay-27315 Transfer: Unknown; Kelly's Directory describes Mrs Edward Gay as the lady of the manor and principal landowner, but does not state when or how she acquired the lordship. Previous holder: Gay family Holding arrangement: sole Shared holding: Gay family Narrative / explanation: Kelly's Directory for Norfolk describes Aldborough Hall as the seat of Mrs Edward Gay and calls her the principal landowner and lady of the manor of Aldborough. Her personal name is not given in the accessible directory text, so she is retained under the source's descriptive form. This entry is evidence of manorial status by 1912, not a dated conveyance. Source citation: Kelly's Directory of Norfolk, 1912, entry for Aldborough, Norfolk, describing Aldborough Hall, Mrs Edward Gay, and the lady of the manor. Source URL: https://leicester.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/api/collection/p16445coll4/id/248058/download Co-holders: Gay family Previous holder profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=gay-family-27314 Historical person profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=mrs-edward-gay-27315 Person dates: identified as lady of the manor by 1912; personal dates not established Relationship paths: No published path recorded. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOLDER 4 | after the death of her brother Edmund during the First World War period, 1914-1918 - not established Margaret Lilly, Heir to the Aldborough estate, associated with the Lilly family succession from the Gays Person: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=margaret-lilly-27316 Transfer: Inherited the substantial Aldborough estate after the death of her brother Edmund, according to a family memoir. A separate local account states that the Gay manorial interest passed by marriage to the Lilly family. The precise date and legal instrument of the manorial transfer are unknown. Previous holder: Gay family Holding arrangement: sole Shared holding: Lilly family Narrative / explanation: A family memoir identifies Margaret Lilly as the daughter of Edward Gay's family connection and states that she inherited the whole substantial Aldborough estate after her brother Edmund was killed during the First World War. The same memoir describes her as the heir of the Gays, while a local account of Aldborough church says that the Gay manorial interest passed by marriage to the Lilly family. This supports a transition from the Gay family to Margaret Lilly and the Lilly family, but the available evidence does not establish the exact legal date or prove whether every component of the estate, including the manorial title, transferred at the same time. Source citation: Some Memories for My Grandchildren, family memoir, passages concerning Edward Gay, Margaret Lilly, the Aldborough estate, and the Lillys as descendants and heirs of the Gays, pp. 25 and 28-29; corroborated by the Aldborough church-history account. Source URL: https://www.tamburlane.co.uk/resources/Some%20memories%20for%20my%20grandchildren.pdf Previous holder profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=gay-family-27314 Historical person profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=margaret-lilly-27316 Person dates: active as heir and estate holder by the period after 1914-1918; exact birth and death dates not established from the cited source Relationship paths: No published path recorded. END OF EXPORTED APPROVED CONVEYANCE HISTORY