MEM22182 - Manor house at Court Place, Porlock (Monument)

The Domesday record indicates that at “Portloc,” there was a “Kings’ House,” the property of Algar, son of Leofric the Earl of Mercia, but that it was taken from him and given to Baldwin Redvers of Exeter as over-lord and Rogo, son of Nigel. It is thought that the latter gave the hereditary name to the Roges family, who held the Manor until the time of Edward III in the 14th century. The franchise for a market was granted by Edward to Sir Nigel Loring, but came to an end when the Manor fell into the hands of the Crown. The original Manor House was at Court Place, just to the west of the present conservation area, but this was destroyed by fire in the early-mid 19th century. The manor had changed hands a number of times. In the 15th century it belonged to the Harringtons, the Pophams during the 16th and 17th centuries, and Rogers, Winters and Blathwayts from the 17th century onwards. Some sources suggest that in Saxon times Porlock had a royal palace or hunting lodge and an extensive chase, the former supposed to have been where Court Farm now stands.[1] The old manor house of Porlock was on the site of Court Place Farm. The old house was destroyed by fire sometime in the early 1800s. The Manor Court was held at Court Place and when the Lord of the Manor stopped living there, it became the residence of the farmer of the demesne lands. The site chosen for the lord's house was ideal, in a central position and overlooking almost all of the land in the lower part of the estate. The Manor Pound is still below the house, and the Manor Mill only a few hundred yards down the street. When the men of the town went to the Butt Garden for their archery practice, as they were obliged to do in the time of Henry VIII, they could be watched by the lord or his bailiff from the windows of the house. (The Butt Garden was a meadow near the present fire station). Court Place is where the Lord of the Manor lived. In 1420 the Manor House had a hall and a Great Chamber. In 1640, Gerard says 'not farre from the Town you may see an Ancient Manor House'. The house was burnt down in the early nineteenth century and a new house built on a site nearby. The Manor Court was still being held in 1842. [2] The original farmhouse still appears to be shown on the Tithe Map, suggesting it burnt down after this was produced. [3]