Boarhunt lies on the northern slope of Portsdown approximately four miles north of Porchester (separated from it by the M27). It now forms two settlements, North and South Boarhunt, separated by the river Wallington. North Boarhunt, running northwards along Trampers Lane, is the more populous part. South Boarhunt consists of a few scattered farms, the church of St Nicholas and the former manor house (Manor Farm). During the medieval period Boarhunt was divided into at least three manors, West Boarhunt, Boarhunt Herberd and Boarhunt Herbelyn, with a possible fourth manor of East Boarhunt. West Boarhunt, which appears to have been roughly coterminous with the parish of West Boarhunt, was the principal manor.

Map showing Boarhunt parish and the position of the hall house (red circle). 

In around 1190 the manor was given to Southwick Priory, a house of Augustinian canons, situated approximately two miles away. In 1369 the Priory also acquired the neighbouring manors of Boarhunt Herberd and Herbelyn. The hall house was situated a short distance from the church and manor house, in what is now South Boarhunt but was previously the manor of West Boarhunt. The area around Boarhunt is classic ‘woodland’ or ‘wood pasture’ landscape – meaning an area of land characterized by a mixture of pasture, woods, arable and heaths, with some edged fields. ‘Woodland’ was distinct from ‘forest’, which referred to an area subject to forest law. Forests, like the Forest of Bere, were reserved to the crown or its lessees and were used for deer ranching, hunting and timber. Woodland settlements tended to be dispersed rather than nucleated and this was the case in medieval Boarhunt, with the population thinly distributed throughout the parish. In this sense it was not a ‘village’ at all, but should be described as a settlement or a community.