Frilsham is a village and civil parish centred 4 miles (6.4 km) NE of Newbury, in the English county of Berkshire. It is a village near the Berkshire Downs, bisected by the M4 in its north and its nucleus is on a hill surrounded by woods and meadows. Various roads and buildings have views over the small valley formed by the upper Pang (or Pang Bourne).

The manor was held of Edward the Confessor by two free men, two decades later on the Domesday Survey it was owned by Henry de Ferrers. His son was elevated to an earl, Earl Ferrers, and the overlordship continued in the hands of his descendants until the 13th century, it is recorded as held of the fee of the Earl of Derby's eldest son, Earl Ferrers. Double-incidence rebel Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby led an insurrection in 1263 and was three years later deprived of his earldom of Derby and estates, which were then granted to Edmund Crouchback, the king's son. In consequence this overlordship followed the descent of the earldom and duchy of Lancaster. Manorial court rolls for the year 1440-1 are in the archives of the Duchy.

Its various tenants include the related families of Sir Ralph Peche such as in 1173; Walter de Rideware, in the 13th century, Sir Oliver d'Eincourt, Walter de Rideware, Sir Thomas Rideware, John Falconer of Thurcaston, and William Cotton.

From 1372 this descent included: Hugh de Berwyk, Ralph Boteler, William Haute, John Boteler, then by sale: Sir Edmund Hungerford, kt., and others purchasing land in this neighbourhood for John Norreys – see Hampstead Norreys.

He was the eldest son of William Norreys of Bray. His later namesake seems to have attached to his adjoining manor of Yattendon with which manor it afterwards passed until 1623, when, on the death of the Earl of Berkshire, Frilsham passed to his daughter Elizabeth wife of Edward Wray. It passed to second husband the Earl of Lindsey then James Bertie, her eldest son by her second husband, was in 1675 created Baron Norreys of Rycote and in 1682 Earl of Abingdon. It remained in this line of earls until sold to 'Sir George Cornewall', born Sir George Amyand a leading Whig of London. In 1800 Sir George sold this manor to Mr. Hayward who left it to relation Robert Floyd on his 1818 death. His family long after were the official patrons of the parish church.

His daughter-in-law sold it in 1903 to Henry Frederick George Weber, previously of Bucklebury, and sold in 1907 to Sir Cameron Gull, of Frilsham House, the other major home and estate in the parish, who thus enhanced his local monopoly on the parish's agriculture land.