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Lordships
of Manors and
Manorial Titles.
The
Armorial Register
Limited is aware that
at the present time
proving the validity
of the ownership of a
manor and its
associated right to be
known as “Lord of the
Manor of” is fraught
with difficulty. There
are an ever growing
number of businesses
on the Internet only
too willing to satisfy
a seemingly endless
consumer demand for
“titles” and it seems
that Manors and the
right of their owners
to be known as Lords
have become the
easiest target for
less than scrupulous
dealers. Our best
advice is Caveat
emptor "Let the buyer
beware".
If
what you are
purchasing really is a
genuine Manor
(Lordship) then case
law (Burton &
Bamford v Walker
& Others,
Land Registry
REF/2007/1124 (10
December 2010)
requires that in order
for it to be confirmed
as a genuine Manor it
will require the
presence of all deeds,
correctly made up
since 1189. The
Armorial Register
Limited seriously
doubts that there will
be anything other than
a very few Manors
which will be able to
satisfy this direction
but the case does go
on to say that in the
absence of correct and
complete sets of deeds
there is a requirement
for Court approval to
confirm ownership. In
our view, no one
considering the
purchase of a Manor
should do so without
the advice and
guidance of their own
solicitor. We simply
can’t see how anyone
could be truly
satisfied that there
is a true and proper
conveyance of correct
and complete sets of
deeds without
consulting a properly
qualified conveyancer.
If the matter has to
be referred to a Court
for approval and
confirmation then you
can expect a large
legal bill. This is
why truly genuine
manors sell for large
sums of money.
We
believe that those who
seek to sell so called
Manors or “Use of the
title "styled titled
name or legend”
(whatever that is!) or
a resurrected Bygone
title, or tries to
tell you that you will
have acquired the
hereditary or
incorporeal hereditary
right to the
Lordship/Ladyship
bygone “title” (all of
which are not genuine
manors or lordships)
will do all they can
to assure you that it
is not necessary to
involve a solicitor.
If they do, the alarm
bells should be
ringing. If you really
want something, it is
all too easy to talk
yourself into the
cheapest and easiest
option – beware of
doing so, you will
regret it.
We
could write pages and
pages of advice and
cite one after the
other dubious trader
but for the purpose of
this small note we
have chosen to
restrict ourselves to
just two instances:
Is
it real?
If
you are thinking of
purchasing a Manor and
the seller says that
their “company's
service is based on
the fact that the
English Legal system
allows titles to be
claimed and
registered, if it
can be proved that
there are no living
descendants or heirs
to the title in
question” we
recommend that you
check out the legal
case of Burton
& Bamford v
Walker & Others,
Land Registry
REF/2007/1124 (10
December 2010) which
confirmed that adverse
possession,
prescription, loss of
modern grant, or
proprietary estoppel
do NOT enable
ownership of a
Lordship of the Manor
title. Confirmed
ownership requires the
presence of all deeds,
correctly made up
since 1189. The
absence of correct and
complete sets of deeds
requires Court
approval to confirm
ownership.
The
assertion that a title
(or more properly a
manor since one can
not call oneself a
Lord of a manor unless
one owns a manor) can
be “claimed and
registered” if it can
be proved that there
are no living
descendants or heirs
to the title in
question implies that
a “title” can be
obtained by adverse
possession. Case law
(Burton & Bamford
v Walker & Others)
is now quite clear
that this can not
happen in law. It
should also be born in
mind that when the
last known owner of a
manor died they would
either have left a
will, in which case
the manor will be
owned by one or more
descendants (whether
they are aware of it
or not) or if there is
no will then the
estate would have been
dealt with under the
intestacy rules which
again means that the
manor will be owned by
someone (whether they
know it or not) or, if
there were no heirs,
the estate would have
reverted to the Crown
which in effect means
that the manor no
longer exists.
The
Company using the
above phrase trades as
Heritage Titles
Limited and we have
seen a conveyance
between a purchaser
and Heritage Titles
Limited which is dated
17th October 2008. A
check of the records
of Companies House
shows that there is no
such company as
Heritage Titles
Limited presently
existing or existing
at the time of the
conveyance. The
records show that
Heritage Titles
Limited (company
number 03632577) was
formed 16/09/1998 and
dissolved (struck off)
15/02/2000 having
never filed any
accounts.
We
have advised the
“purchaser” to seek
legal advice.
Another
company states “We Sell
Genuine Bygone
English Lordship
Titles and Titles of
Nobility and Feudal
Titles of France,
Spain, Ireland,
Scotland,
Switzerland and
Italy.” Note
here the word Bygone.
The dictionary
definition of bygone
is - Adjective:
Belonging to an
earlier time. Noun: A
thing dating from an
earlier time. Synonyms
-adjective.
past - last - former -
departed - overpast –
ancient.
noun.
Past.
In other
words, it may have
been “genuine” once
but it is something
from the past which no
longer exists! We fail
to see how anyone can
buy something which is
former and once
existed but is now
departed.
The Armorial
Register Limited will
not include these so
called titles in their
Registers.
Our
best advice is Caveat
emptor "Let the buyer
beware".
Law and Recent Court Cases relevant to
Manorial Law>
Scottish
Feudal Baronies
The Armorial
Register Ltd. will
accept proof of
ownership of a
baronial dignity from
The Lord Lyon or upon
proof of registration
of the dignity in the
Scottish Barony
Register.
English
and Irish Feudal
Baronies
The
Armorial Register Ltd.
declines to register
English and Irish
Feudal Baronies. In
regard to English
Feudal baronies,
whilst there has been
at least one legal
opinion which asserts
the continuing legal
existence of the
feudal barony in
England and Wales,
namely that from 1996
of A W & C Barsby,
Barristers of Grays's
Inn, this opinion does
not have widespread
support and is not
considered to be a
suitably reliable
authority.
In
regard to Irish Feudal
baronies, most
originally-feudal
titular baronies have
long disappeared
through obsolescence
or disuse. At present
a Bill for proposed
legislation is before
the Oireachtas which
proposes to abolish
the concept of the
feudal system of land
tenure in the Republic
of Ireland.
Malta.
N.B. The Office of the
Chief Herald of Malta
has presented us with
some difficulty. Despite
the claims to legitimacy
by the "Chief Herald" in
the early days, there
was in fact no lawful
authority until finally,
after complaints had
been lodged (by a
Director of this
Company) with the
Maltese Ombudsman,
legislation was put into
place giving the office
legitimacy early in
2022. The Armorial
Register Ltd now accepts
Maltese grants and
registrations for
registration however,
the present Chief Herald
of Arms of Malta has set
some challenges in his
modus operandi. One of
the immediate anomalies
is his creation, anew,
of a nobles coronet but,
in the limited time we
have had to appraise his
actions, one of the most
disturbing is the fact
that he appears to have
granted a "baron's
coronet" and even
supporters to those few
Scottish Feudal Barons
who have approached him
for a registration of
their arms. It has come
to our attention that a
number of Scottish
(feudal) barons have
chosen not to seek
recognition from the
Lord Lyon King of Arms
of Scotland (or can no
longer obtain
recognition) and have
chosen instead to swim
over to Malta to seek
recognition. There is
clear legislation set
down in Maltese law
(Gieh ir-Repubblika Act,
Ch. 28-29) which forbids
the Chief Herald to
acknowledge any foreign
title unless it has the
recognition of the
original Sovereign
State. It appears that
the Chief Herald of Arms
of Malta is content to
ignore this legislation.
We
are uncomfortable with
his actions in
recognizing a number of
"foreign" titles that
have no recognition in
their originating
Sovereign State and his
granting a baron's
coronet to Scottish
Feudal Barons. The Lord
Lyon does not allow a
coronet of rank to
Scottish Feudal Barons.
Until
we are able to either
come to terms with this
anomaly or there is
further clarification,
possibly from the Lord
Lyon though we doubt he
would concern himself
with what is happening
in Malta as his is not
an International
Register, we will not
record/illustrate
Maltese
grants/registrations
awarded to foreigners
with any additaments
unless those additaments
would have been granted
in their own country of
residence/domicile or
the country from whence
their grant of arms
originated. This policy
does not in fact change
our existing policy of
recording the arms of
legitimate holders of
dignities in the manner
in which they would have
been displayed in the
country from whence the
title originates. For
clarity, if a potential
registrant wishes to be
recorded, in our
register, as a Scottish
Feudal Baron then their
arms will be displayed
with the appropriate
additaments (which does
not include a Maltese
baron's coronet).
Follow this link for more
information on how to
register >
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