The formal acceptance of a new tenant into a manorial holding, recorded by the manorial court.
Admission was the formal process by which a person was accepted as the holder of a customary tenancy within a manor.
When a holding changed hands, whether through inheritance, purchase, or agreement, the new tenant was required to appear before the manorial court and be admitted to the property. The transaction was recorded in the court roll, providing legal recognition of the tenant’s rights.
The tenant often paid a customary fine to the lord on admission.
Admission records are valuable sources for historians because they can reveal names of tenants, descriptions of holdings, family relationships and changes in land occupation.
See also:
Copyhold
Court Roll
Fine
Surrender
Tenant
