When we speak of a 'Manor' we are talking about a system that formed the administrative and economic unit of agricultural organisation  in England  to the end of the 18th Century.  A typical manor would have contained a village with a church and agricultural land. The 'lord of the manor' usually had a large block of this land.  This would have included,  the Manor House and its grounds, the cottages and gardens of the tenants, the common fields, the farm buildings and any areas of waste land.  It was very common for the 'lord of the manor' to sell off  part of his estate which would become a 'Manor' within itself. This was known as a sub-manor and the owner held the same rights over it as if it were a manor. 

Although an individual might become the 'lord of the manor' simply by purchasing an estate such as Eastwick it did not bequeath the owner with the title of 'Lord', the right to sit in the House of Lords or to become a 'peer'.  Indeed certain obligations could go with the Manor such as helping maintain the church and repairing roads through the village.

In 1627 The Howard family resided in the Manor of Great Bookham, the Manor House of which was located on Lower Road, East side of St Nicolas Church, with entrances to Lower Road and Church Road. As the house was not sufficiently imposing the  family moved to nearby Eastwick Park which was a sub-manor, and we assume that the house was already standing at the time.  This was purchased by Sir Francis Howard in 1626 who  merged it with the Manor of Great Bookham and  it then became the family seat.

The Howard family held the estate until 1801 when it was sold by Richard Howard, Earl of Effingham,  to James Laurell.

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