Chap I encountered in examination of nobleman's land (8)

I believe the answer is:

manorial

'of nobleman's land' is the definition.

'chap i encountered in examination' is the wordplay.
'chap' becomes 'man' (I've seen this before).
'encountered in' indicates putting letters inside.
'examination' becomes 'oral' (oral is a kind of examination).
'i' inserted into 'oral' is 'orial'.
'man'+'orial'='MANORIAL'

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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