HOW TO LOCATE AND USE MANORIAL RECORDS Many people who have
studied family history for a number of years will have met the
sheer disbelief from researchers who felt that manorial records
would be no good for their family because their own ancestors
were merely ordinary people. Others might feel that they had not
traced back their line enough to warrant the use of such
records. Herein then lies great misconceptions, for not only are
manorial records a vital data source for all researchers, but
next to parish registers and wills, form what is probably the
next most important source of records available to prove a
pedigree. We must do away with the misconception that our
ancestors had to be great lords before turning to manorial
records and realise that these records relate as much to
ordinary people. Certainly it is true that the more land held by
your ancestors, the more likely are their names to be found in
such records, but even humble families held at least small
parcels of land at some time and subject to