THE MANOR HOUSE
As is very evident to anyone who has considered the matter, there is no manor house in Barton. A manorial system existed in Saxon times, but with the Norman Conquest all land was held by the Crown. William then distributed manors and estates to people who fought for him or supported him. However, as the following list shows, the manor of Barton was held either by the Crown directly, or in its capacity as the Duke of Lancaster, for much of the time from the Norman Conquest up to 1628. If there was a manor house, then it probably existed prior to 1066. It is interesting to note the anecdotal evidence in the following extract from the document of 1609, which shows that the possible existence of a former manor house was well embedded in the local folk lore.
“There is a close called the Hall Orchard which hath bene reported to be the place where the mannor was and the buylding thereof hath bene decayed longe agoe and past the memorye of man which is by estymacon foure acres and it in the tenure of Nathaniell Temple, gent.”
NOTE. As a slight digression at this point, the Nathaniell Temple mentioned here is almost certainly the same Nathaniell Temple who was the Great nephew of Thomas Russell’s brother, Lewes Russell. If so, he was born in Barton in 1578 and married to Helena Whytinge in Barton in 1601. Nathaniell is mentioned in Thomas Russell’s will, and the other information can be found in the Parish Register.)