Monument MPM1806 - Site of Manor Farm, Copnor

Site of former farmstead at Copnor known as Manor Farm or Manor House Farm. Evidence of medieval strip farming was found on the Manor Farm site during a watching brief in 2004 [see MPM1029]. The farmhouse, marked as the 'Manor House' on later 19th century maps, was demolished between 1870 and 1898. The remaining farm buildings were demolished between 1910 and 1932.

Former farmstead at Copnor known as Manor Farm or Manor House Farm, consisting of a farmhouse and outbuildings.

Copnor was a medieval manor recorded in the Domesday Survey of 1086 [1], and evidence of medieval strip farming was found during a watching brief on the Manor Farm site in 2004 [see MPM1029]. It was thought possible that the name given to the farmhouse, 'Manor House' or 'Manor Cottage', may relate to the location of the medieval manor house[2]. The farm was owned by the Leeke family during the late-18th century. In 1798 it was split between James Bartlett and Stephen Gauntlett. [1]

The homestead is recorded on the 1838 Portsea tithe map and apportionment as being occupied by William Smith, the land owned by William Rawson and others [3]. Buildings appear to be marked within this area on maps dated 1716 and 1773, but it is not possible to accurately determine their shape or size [4, 5]. Copnor is not marked at all on some 17th century maps, and generic buildings marked along Copnor Road on a map dated 1666-1670 from the William Salt library do not represent individual buildings or their exact location [6].

The farmhouse is marked on later maps of 1859 and 1870 as the 'Manor House' [2, 7]. The roof of the building was damaged by a gale in 1866 and needed extensive repairs [1]. The Manor House as shown on the 19th century maps was demolished between 1870 and 1898 and a new building, marked as 'Manor Farm', constructed to the east [8]. An article in the Portsmouth Evening News dated 30th April 1892 reports the sale of land at Copnor including a 'freehold homestead, with dwelling-house known as Manor Cottage….and a newly erected cottage therein.' [9]

The remaining farm out buildings were demolished between 1910 and 1932 [10, 11], and the late-19th century Manor House in 2004. A watching brief took place when the site was redeveloped, but the site of the earlier Manor House and farm buildings were not investigated as they were not disturbed by the development work [2].

<1> Shuttleworth, Suzanne, 1993, Farms and Market Gardens on Portsea Island 1770-1880 (Bibliographic reference). SPM403.

<2> West Sussex Archaeology, 2002, Report on an Archaeological Watching Brief at The Manor House, 140 Copnor Road, Hilsea, Portsmouth (Unpublished document). SPM76.

<3> Owen, Thomas Ellis, 1838, Portsea Tithe Map and Apportionment (Map). SPM235.

<4> Edwards, Talbot, 1716, A Plan of Portsmouth and parts adjacent, finished in the year 1716 (Cartographic materials). SPM406.

<5> Ordnance office, 1773, Plan of the Island of Portsea (Cartographic materials). SPM416.

<6> 1666-1670, 1666-70 Portsea Island, Hayling, Gosport (with Cosham, Portchester etc.) (Map). SPM405.

<7> Ordnance Survey, 1870, Ordnance Survey Map 1870 (Map). SPM282.

<8> Ordnance Survey, 1898, Ordnance Survey Map 1898 (Map). SPM265.

<9> Portsmouth Evening News, 1892, Portsmouth Evening News (Bibliographic reference). SPM417.

<10> Ordnance Survey, 1910, Ordnance Survey Map 1910 (Map). SPM266.

<11> Ordnance Survey, 1932, Ordnance Survey Map 1932 (Map). SPM354.