Editing Lord of the manor (section)

==Present day==
[[File:Lord of the Manor, Crofton - geograph.org.uk - 1087774.jpg|thumb|right|Manor house in [[Crofton, West Yorkshire]]]]

A manorial lordship or ladyship is not connected to the English or British [[Peerage of the United Kingdom|Peerage system]], but rather is a remnant of the [[feudal]] or [[English feudal barony|Baronial]] system that pre-dates it. It is debated as to whether the title forms part of the [[British nobility|"titled" strata of the British nobility]] which is these days predominantly linked to titles of peerage, but the title has historically been associated with the English [[landed gentry]] and [[squire]]archy within the context of the [[Social class in the United Kingdom|class structure of the United Kingdom]]. The status of lord of the manor is today often associated with the rank of [[esquire]] by prescription.<ref name="Can I buy a British title"/> Many Lordships of the Manor are 'held' via grand [[serjeanty]] – a duty to carry out certain functions when required – which places them in close proximity to the monarch, often during the [[Coronation of the British monarch|Coronation]]. An example would be the manor of [[Scrivelsby]], where the owner of the manor is required to serve as [[King's Champion]]. Additionally, many peers also hold lordships of the manor, and the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|sovereign]] via the [[Duchy of Lancaster]] is one of the largest holders of manorial titles in the UK. The [[Duke of Westminster|Dukes of Westminster]] owe their fortune to the marriage of heiress Mary Davies, Lady of the Manor of [[Eia|Ebury]], to [[Sir Thomas Grosvenor, 3rd Baronet]], with the Manor of Ebury today forming the [[Grosvenor Group#Grosvenor Estate|Grosvenor Estate]]. As a feudal title 'Lord of the Manor', unlike titles of peerage, can be inherited by whomever the title holder chooses (including females), and it is the only English title that can be sold (though they rarely are), as lordships of the manor are considered non-physical property in England and are fully enforceable in the English court system.

Feudal lordships of the manor therefore still exist today (2023) in [[English property law]], being legal titles historically dating back to the Norman invasion of England in 1066. Being incorporated into property law (whether physical or non-physical) they can be bought and sold, as historic artifacts. The title itself as stated below can be separated from the physical property just as any other right can. Rights like the lordship, mineral and sporting can all be separate from the physical property. Since the 1290 statute of {{lang|la|[[Quia Emptores]]}} the title cannot be divided by [[subinfeudation]]. Land, sporting rights, and mineral rights can be separated. Property lawyers usually handle such transactions.

There are three elements to a manor (collectively called an ''honour''):
# the ''[[lord]]ship'' or ''dignity'' – the title granted by the manor,
# the ''[[manorial]]'' – the manor and its land,
# the ''[[seignory]]'' – the rights granted to the holder of the manor.

These three elements may exist separately or be combined. The first element, the title, may be held in [[moiety title|moieties]] and may not be [[fee tail|subdivided]] (this is prohibited by the statute of {{lang|la|[[Quia Emptores]]}}, preventing [[subinfeudation]]). The second and third elements in contrast can be subdivided.<ref name="Land Registry Practice Guide 22"/> Although manorial lordship titles today no longer have rights attached to them, historically the lordship title itself had the power to collect fealty (i.e. services) and taxes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The British Titles System |publisher=The Barony of North Cadbury, Somerset, England |url=https://baronyofnorthcadbury.com/History-Library/British-Titles-System |access-date=2022-08-11 |language=en-UK}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Manorial Counsel Ltd. |date=2015-01-23 |title=Lordship Rights in Law |publisher=Manorial Counsel Limited |url=https://www.manorialcounselltd.co.uk/lord-of-the-manor-lordship-rights-in-law/ |access-date=2022-08-02 |language=en-US}}</ref>

The [[Historical Manuscripts Commission]] maintains two ''Manorial Document Registers'' that cover [[southern England]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/mdr/ |title=Manorial Records |publisher=The National Archives}}</ref> One register is arranged under parishes, the other is arranged under manors and shows the last-known whereabouts of the manorial records, the records are often very limited. The [[National Archives (UK)|National Archives]] at [[Kew|Kew, London]], and [[county record office]]s maintain many documents that mention manors or manorial rights. In some cases [[manorial roll|manorial court roll]]s have survived; such documents are now protected by law.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/rdleaflet.asp?sLeafletID=139&j=1 |title=Manorial Records in The National Archives Legal Records Information 1, 5. Court Rolls |publisher=The National Archives}}</ref>

Ownership of a [[manorialism|manorial]] lordship can be noted on request in British passports through an official observation worded, 'The Holder is the Lord of the Manor of [name]'.<ref name = titles/><ref>{{cite book |last=Young |first=John H. |year=1881 |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17609/17609.txt |title=Our Deportment, Or the Manners, Conduct and Dress of the Most Refined Society; Including Forms for Letters, Invitations, Etc., Etc. Also, Valuable Suggestions on Home Culture and Training |publisher=F. B. Dickerson & Co./Pennsylvania Publishing House/Union Publishing House |location=Detroit, Michigan/Harrisburgh, Pennsylvania/Chicago, Illinois}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Dodd |first=Charles R. |year=1843 |title=A manual of dignities, privilege, and precedence: including lists of the great public functionaries, from the revolution to the present time |location=London |publisher=Whittaker & Co. |page=[https://archive.org/details/manualofdignitie00dodc/page/248 248] |url=https://archive.org/details/manualofdignitie00dodc}}</ref>

===Courts and Appointments===

Most [[Manorial court|manorial courts]] are now abolished, however the [[Administration of Justice Act 1977]] made exception for 32 [[Court leet|Court Leets]]. Their powers are significantly diminished from the era in which they held most power - The Court Leet of Henley in Arden for example is limited to the making of presentments about matters of local concern. There is also the Court Leet of Laxton which continues to oversee the [[Open-field system|open field system]] in [[Laxton, Nottinghamshire|Laxton]], and the [[Lordship_of_Denbigh#Modern_vestiges_of_the_lordship|Lordship of Denbigh Estray Court]] whose jurisdiction relates to return of lost sheep on common land.

Manors may appoint Stewards and other officers, though other than those outlined by legislation (such as the Steward of Laxton in respect of the Court Leet of Laxton) functionally these rolls are almost entirely ceremonial. For a [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] to resign from parliament, The Crown, acting as the respective Lord of the Manor, must appoint the member as either [[List of stewards of the Chiltern Hundreds|Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds]] or [[List of stewards of the Manor of Northstead|Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead]]. This is because an appointment to an "office of profit under The Crown" disqualifies an individual from sitting as an MP.<ref>https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1977/38</ref>

===Land claims===

The issues of land claims were raised in the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|UK Parliament]] in 2004 and were debated with a reply on the subject from the [[David Lammy|Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs]] acknowledging "need for reform of the remnants of feudal and manorial law" as a case was highlighted in [[Peterstone Wentloog]], [[Wales]], where villagers were being charged excessive fees to cross manorial land to access their homes.<ref name="publications.parliament.uk"/>

In 2007, a caution against first registration caused houses to stop selling in [[Alstonefield]] after [[Mark Roberts (businessman)|Mark Roberts]], a businessman from Wales also previously involved in the Peterstone Wentloog case, registered a caution against first registration for {{convert|25000|acre|km2}} after purchasing the lordship of the manor of Alstonefield for £10,000 in 1999. Judith Bray, land law expert from [[Buckingham University]], speaking to BBC about the case, said that "the legal situation is very confusing because a piece of legislation in the 1920s separated manorial rights from the ownership of land."<ref name="BBC News, To The Manor Bought"/>

In reports about the Alstonefield case, the BBC stated, "Scores of titles are bought and sold every year, some like the one [[Chris Eubank]] bought for fun, others seen as a business opportunity. It is entirely lawful, and there is no doubt the titles can be valuable. As well as rights to land like wastes and commons, they can also give the holder rights over land." The report goes on to say that the Law Commission in England and Wales were considering a project to abolish feudal land law but would not review manorial rights.<ref name="BBC News, To The Manor Bought"/>

In many cases, a title of lord of the manor may not have any land or rights, and in such cases the title is known as an 'incorporeal hereditament'. Before the [[Land Registration Act 2002]] it was possible to volunteer to register lordship titles with the Land Registry; most did not seek to register. Dealings in previously registered manors are subject to compulsory registration; however, lords of manors may opt to de-register their titles and they will continue to exist unregistered.<ref name="Land Registry Practice Guide 22"/> Manorial rights such as mineral rights ceased to be registerable after midnight on 12 October 2013.<ref name="hmrc">{{cite web |url=http://www1.landregistry.gov.uk/upload/documents/pg066.html |title=Land Registry Practice Guide 66 – Overriding interests losing automatic protection in 2013 |publisher=Land Registry |access-date=21 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613032959/http://www1.landregistry.gov.uk/upload/documents/pg066.html |archive-date=13 June 2011 |date=February 2011}}</ref>

===Mineral ownership===
There were fears in 2014 and earlier<ref name=fracking-early-fears>{{cite web|last=Gray|first=Louise|title='Lords of the Manor' to cash in on 'fracking'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/8869801/Lords-of-the-Manor-to-cash-in-on-fracking.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105223051/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/8869801/Lords-of-the-Manor-to-cash-in-on-fracking.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 November 2011|newspaper=The Telegraph|access-date=7 February 2014}}</ref> that holders of the manorial rights would allow [[fracking]] under the homes and near local communities of people living within the [[Copyhold|manorial estate]] after a disclosure that 73,000 applications to assert manorial mineral rights had been received by the Land Registry. Many of the applications received were from the [[Duchy of Lancaster]] and the [[Duchy of Cornwall]] asserting their historic "manorial mineral ownership".<ref name=fracking>{{cite web|last=Gosden|first=Emily|title=Fracking fears as landowners lay claim to ancient rights|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/10575318/Land-Registry-receives-73000-land-rights-claims-minister-reveals.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116050329/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/10575318/Land-Registry-receives-73000-land-rights-claims-minister-reveals.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 January 2014|newspaper=The Telegraph|access-date=7 February 2014}}</ref>