There has been a manor of Fyfield since at least the 10th century. The Chronicle of Abingdon claims that in AD 956 King Eadwig granted his thegn Æthelnoth 13 manses of land there. In AD 968 King Edgar confirmed these 11 hides of land plus another 12 hides to the Benedictine Abingdon Abbey. After the Norman Conquest the manor was granted to Henry de Ferrers. In the 15th century the manor was held by John Golafre, and later by John, Earl of Lincoln who died in 1487. The manor then passed to the Crown. It was granted for life to Lady Catherine Gordon, the widow of the pretender Perkin Warbeck, who married Christopher Ashton and came to Fyfield in 1531. In 1554 the remainder was granted to Sir Thomas White, who gave it to his new foundation of St John's College, Oxford, which has held it ever since.