Lord of the Manor
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In England, Lord of the Manor is a minor, feudal title.
For its historic significance see Manorialism
Holders of the title are not peers and have never held any right to sit in the House of Lords. The title sometimes comes with ancient rights associated with the manor.
Since the abolition of feudal tenure and copyhold rights in England in the 1920s, the title of Lord of the Manor became disassociated with the ownership of the manor's land itself.
This allows the titles to be bought and sold as property, but left intact most of the manorial rights (and obligations) associated with the position. These vary considerably; they may include rights to minerals under the soil, ownership of manorial waste (including roadside verges and unclaimed land), the right to hold fairs or markets, and obligations such as maintenance of village greens and common land, and sometimes the maintenance of local parish churches.
As the titles may be bought and sold several companies offer them for sale quite legally. However, it is worth noting that the majority of so-called "titles" offered on the Internet are not genuine, and a large market has developed in completely bogus titles which seek to convince buyers that they are, in fact, genuine manorial titles. Often the distinction between a manorial title and the peerage is confused.
The correct form of address for a genuine Lord of the Manor is:
John Smith, Lord of (the Manor of) Little Sniffling (in Barsetshire)
The words within parentheses are usually optional.
Lords of the Manor are never addressed, however, as simply Lord Smith (contrast with peers).
See also
- Order of precedence in England and Wales to demonstrate that owning a genuine Lordship of a Manor gives the owner no precedence at all.
External links
- Useful link about how to purchase a Lordship of the Manor and the pitfalls (http://www.faketitles.com)