In England in the 11th century the manor house was an informal group of related timber or stone buildings consisting of the hall, chapel, kitchen, and farm buildings contained within a defensive wall and ditch. In the 12th century the hall, which throughout the medieval period was the major element of domestic architecture, was placed defensively at first-floor level and contained within a moated enclosure. Later it was planned at ground level, as in Oakham Castle, Rutland, within a more strongly defended enclosure. By the 14th century the manor-house plan was clearly defined, with private living apartments and service rooms at opposite ends of the great hall and with battlements, gatehouse, and moat—as at Ightham Mote, Kent. Ockwells Manor in Berkshire is a typical timber-framed manor house built in the 15th century without defensive elements.

In France, until the end of the Hundred Years' War in 1453, considerations of defense dominated manorial building. Such early manor houses as the 14th-century Camarsac Manor in Gironde consisted primarily of a rectangular fortified tower in a walled and moated enclosure. In Normandy the Ango Manor, near Dieppe, reveals some advance in domestic planning in the 15th century, the house standing at one end of a courtyard, flanked by farm buildings and defended by a gatehouse.

With increased prosperity and the desire for more commodious dwellings, the 16th-century manor house evolved into the Renaissance country house. In England more elaborate buildings were constructed, reflecting a new era of formality. The houses were frequently of regular quadrangular plan, with the hall diminished in size and importance. Later the hall was reduced to the status of an entrance, as at Ramsbury Manor, Wiltshire (c. 1680). The defended tower-house tradition persisted in France throughout the 16th century, generally retaining corner turrets and other defensive archaisms, as in the Tourelles Manor, near Troyes. In later years the title of manor house in England lost particular significance, having been adopted by large country mansions that had no manorial foundation.