On each manor, a percentage of the available arable was reserved in the lord’s demesne. The produce from this land, typically about 25 to 50 % of the available arable acres and including acres of pasture and woodlands, supported the lord’s household needs.

Many manor tenants also owed days of service to the lord, and they worked in the lord’s demesne for those days. The trend over time was for more peasants to negotiate a cash payment in lieu of service, but poorer peasants had a tougher time at getting release from their service obligations.

The household typically employed a bailiff, several other assisting officers, and one or two plowmen to handle day-to-day operations of the manor. These household officers were assisted, in turn, by a number of village reeves. The lord of the manor often had a monopoly on the milling of grain and collected a portion of the mill fees for each household.