Time Ticking For Registration Of Manorial Rights – Failure To Do So Could Prove Costly

Manorial rights, derived by virtue of owning the Lordship of a Manor can be hugely varied and may include the rights to shipwrecks; the right to operate a ferry over a river; fairs or markets, most modern manorial lords rent the right to hold a fair (market) to the local authority, who runs what is now the weekly town market; sporting and most importantly in terms of potential value, are minerals. The Land Registration Act 2002 states that all manorial rights must be registered by 13th October 2013 or they will be lost on any subsequent sale of the land.  Crispin Mahony, Savills Rural, explains the history to manorial rights and what actions landowners need to take to register them.
The value of manorial rights should not be underestimated he warns. Trustees in particular should consider whether they have any manorial rights, which should be registered in order to comply with their duties as Trustees and to avoid the risk of the beneficiaries making claims against them for failure to preserve trust property. Ultimately, a decision is required in terms of registration, which should balance the cost of the registration process, which can potentially run into Ј1000s against the potential benefits of preserving the rights. The research and registration process can be lengthy so with less than four months until the deadline this is the last chance for landowners to take steps to preserve their manorial rights.
Mineral rights are often the most valuable rights. Silver, gold, oil and gas are owned by the Crown. Coal, having been nationalised and subsequently re-privatised over the last century is complex and requires careful research. In general manorial mineral rights will be limited to sand, gravel, stone and clay. Whilst the surface owner can carry out normal agricultural operations anything involving deeper works which could interfere with the ownership of the minerals requires the consent of the Lord of the Manor. For example a wind turbine would interfere with the underlying minerals, especially in parts of the country where minerals, for example granite outcrops, are close to the surface. There are numerous cases where the mineral owner has received compensation to allow the surface development to proceed.
The background
Manorial rights are held in a separate ownership to that of the surface land and generally occur where the land is former copyhold of a manor or where the land was subject to an inclosure award. 
Copyhold tenants held the land from the Lord of the Manor who usually retained the sporting and mineral rights over the land. Copyhold tenancies were enfranchised over the years with automatic enfranchisement in 1926, which converted all copyhold tenancies into freehold ownerships; however the manorial rights remained separate from the new freehold ownerships and these rights became "overriding interests".
Inclosure Awards that took place in the 18th and 19th centuries sometimes reserved sporting and mineral rights to the Lord of the Manor when commons and wastes of manors were inclosed, which again became "overriding interests".
 "Overriding interests" have, to date been protected by law without the requirement for them to be registered at the Land Registry. This however was altered by the Land Registration Act 2002, which states that for manorial rights to continue to exist they must be registered by the 13th October 2013. If the rights are not registered then the "overriding interests" will be lost upon any subsequent sale of the property over which they are bound.
The process for registering rights
The first step is to establish ownership of a manor and then establish the extent of the manor over which the rights extend. A historical researcher will often be required to examine the manorial records, enfranchisement deeds and inclosure awards. Then an application can be submitted to the Land Registry with the supporting evidence. The  Land Registry will then notify the surface owners (if they are registered) of the application, and depending upon the circumstances the surface owner may object to the registration of these rights. This is particularly likely if the surface owner was not aware of the existence of the "overriding interests", and even more so when they may have been exercising the rights, such as the sporting rights, themselves. In such circumstances the surface owner may seek to argue that they have acquired the rights and that the Lord of the Manor has abandoned the rights which could lead to a legal dispute.

ENDS
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Crispin Mahony, Savills Winchester Rural, 01962 834 011, cmahony@savills.com
Notes to Editors:
• Savills Rural is focused on the commercial needs of landowners, farmers and rural businesses. Our services include estate management and consultancy, farm and estate agency, agricultural business consultancy and professional services advice - all supported by a top quality research department. With 23 dedicated rural offices around the country and over 200 professionals, Savills is deeply involved in the rural economy at every level.

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