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Ightham Mote

A manor house or fortified manor-house is a country house, which has historically formed the administrative centre of a manor (see Manorialism), the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system. The term is sometimes applied to relatively small country houses which belonged to gentry families, as well as to grand stately homes, particularly as a technical term for minor late medieval fortified country houses intended more for show than for defence.

In general terms, the manor house was the dwelling house, or "capital messuage", of a feudal lord of a manor, which he occupied only on occasional visits if he held many manors. As such it was the place in which sessions of his court baron, or court leet, were held. The day-to-day administration was delegated to a reeve, or bailiff.

Although not typically built with strong fortifications as castles were, many manor houses were partly fortified: they were enclosed within walls or ditches that often included the farm buildings as well. Many of them were equipped with small gatehouses and watchtowers. The primary feature of the manor house was its great hall, to which subsidiary apartments were added as the lessening of feudal warfare permitted more peaceful domestic life.

By the beginning of the 16th century, manor houses as well as small castles began to acquire the character and amenities of the residences of country gentlemen. This late 16th century transformation produced many of the smaller Renaissance châteaux of France and the numerous country mansions of the Elizabethan and Jacobean styles in England.

Château de Trécesson, 14th century manor in Morbihan, Brittany

In France, the terms château or manoir are often used synonymously to describe a French manor house. Maison-forte is another French word to describe a strongly fortified manor house, which might include two sets of enclosing walls and drawbridges. In the western France provinces of Brittany and Normandy, certain large manors enjoyed real means of protection. The seigniorial residences of this type, just like the largest castles, often had a châtelet or logis-porche (gatehouse), a courtyard surrounded by walls sheltering the outbuildings – especially the stables, a principal house (logis principal), a chapel and a dovecote. In certain cases, the logis-porche is only one wall, in others, it is a true house.^[1] Some of these manor houses were surrounded by ditches (wet or dry) and some were not.

In late medieval French manor houses, the great hall was called the salle haute or "upper hall." This was the hall reserved for the lord and where he received his high-ranking guests. This larger hall was often located above the ground-floor hall or salle basse. In addition to upper halls, many French manor houses also had watchtowers, gatehouses and walls that were fitted with arrow or gun loops for added protection. Some larger 16th century manors, such as the Château de Kerjean in Finistere, Brittany, were even outfitted with fore-works that included gun platforms for cannons.

In modern usage, the term manor or manor house is sometimes used, especially outside Europe, to mean simply either a country house or indeed any other house considered to resemble one, without any reference to age or to the historical sense of the term.

• Château de Trécesson in Morbihan, Brittany.
• Manoir de Kerazan in Finistère, Brittany.
• Château de la Roche-Jagu in Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany. A very strategically important maison-forte in Trégor.
• Château de Bienassis in Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany.
• Château de Bonnefontaine in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany.
• Château des Rochers-Sévigné in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany.
• Château d'Harcourt in Eure, Normandy.
• Château de Beaumont-le-Richard in Calvados, Normandy.
• Château de Gratot in Manche, Normandy.
• Château de Pirou in Manche, Normandy.

• Country house
• Mansion
• There is a short list of Normandy manoirs in Pays de Caux.
• Reality TV show recreating life in an Edwardian manor house.

• Estonian Manors Portal - the English version gives the brief overview of 438 best preserved manor houses in Estonia.

1. ^ Jones, Michael and Gwyn Meirion-Jones, Les Châteaux de Bretagne, Rennes: Editions Quest-France,1991, pp 34-35