Topic summary
Royal manor
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Crown Estate.
Crown land in England and Wales
The history of the Crown lands in England and Wales begins with the Norman Conquest in 1066. By right of conquest, William I (r. 1066–1087) owned all the land in England and was able to redistribute it based on feudal principles. Tenants-in-chief received land directly from the king in return for military service. The land that the king kept for himself was called the royal demesne and divided into royal manors.