The History of Manor Farm

Manor Farm has a fascinating history dating back over 500 years. The antiquity of the farm is reflected in the farmhouse, the earliest part of which dates from medieval times. Indeed, visitors today can still see the blackened roof timbers, evidence of the domestic fires used for heating and cooking in the original 15th century open hall.

Over the centuries the farmhouse has undergone extensive development, as successive owners improved the accommodation in line with their needs and their available wealth.

The farm duck pond, mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, is overlooked by the chancel of the 13th century church of St Bartholomew. Once at the centre of the rural settlement of Botley, Manor Farm gradually became more isolated as, with the building of the turnpike road in the 19th century, the village we know today grew up a mile to the north.

The various barns and outbuildings that surround the farmyard are all of historical significance, the oldest dating from the 16th century. Under the ownership of Hampshire County Council the farm underwent a major programme of restoration between 1979 and 1985. This removed all trace of the corrugated-iron sheds and other modern intrusions, to reveal the farm's traditional form.

A number of buildings, including the wheelwrights' shop, blacksmith's forge and the Longstock staddle barn, were moved from their original locations around Hampshire and re-erected at Manor Farm in 1984, the year in which the farm was opened to the public.

Thus, the farm you see today accurately reflects the development of Hampshire farming over the past five hundred years, but with none of the unsightly intrusions of the modern age.