Seneschal

The seneschal was the principal legal and administrative officer of a manor, representing the lord’s authority. By the seventeenth century, seneschals were almost exclusively trained lawyers. Their duties were both executive and judicial: they presided over the manor courts (court baron and court leet), recorded land transfers and tenant admissions, supervised the collection of rents and fines, advised on legal matters and oversaw subordinate officers such as bailiffs, reeves and haywards.