Editing Lord of the manor (section)

==Manorial courts==
{{main|court baron|court leet}}
Manors were defined as an area of land and became closely associated to the [[advowson]] of the church; often by default the advowson was appended to the rights of the Manor, sometimes separated into moieties.<ref>''A digest of the laws of England respecting real property'', Volume 5 page 3 item 8</ref><ref name="Britain, London 1980. page 15 & 16">Lord and peasant in nineteenth century Britain, London : Croom Helm; Totowa, N.J. : Rowman and Littlefield, 1980. Chapter 1 from page 15 & 16</ref> Many lords of the manor were known as [[Squire#Landed gentry|squire]]s, at a time when land ownership was the basis of power.<ref name="Britain, London 1980. page 15 & 16"/> While some inhabitants were serfs who were bound to the land, others were freeholders, often known as [[Franklin (class)|franklins]], who were free from customary services. Periodically all the tenants met at a 'manorial court', with the lord of the manor (or squire), or a steward, as chairman. These courts, known as [[Court baron|courts baron]], dealt with the tenants' rights and duties, changes of occupancy, and disputes between tenants. Some manorial courts also had the status of a [[court leet]], and so they elected constables and other officials and were effectively [[magistrates' court (England and Wales)|magistrates' court]]s for minor offences.