Manorial LordshipsBARONY LAW

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1066 William the Conqueror divided such parts of England which did not belong to the Church, and was not reserved for himself, into 700 baronies or great fiefs, which he bestowed on his particular friends, and those who had signalised themselves in his service; these baronies were subdivided into 60,815 knights' fees.

 

In English and Irish Law, a Lordship or Barony is treated as being distinct from the actual lands of the Manor or Barony.

 

The title of Lord of the Manor, or Lord of the Barony is regarded as an incorporeal hereditament an inheritable property that has no explicit tie to the physical manor or barony i.e. it can be held "in gross", and it can be bought and sold, just as fishing rights might.

 

Landowners may, therefore, sell their feudal title while retaining their land. The title separate from the land remains a feudal title

 

How English and Welsh barons were summoned to Parliament eventually changed the nature of England’s baronies; it has become the theme of a large body of literature and began a controversy which divides English historians, lawyers, and politicians to this day.

 

 

The position and influence of lesser barons lacks confirmation and remains unsettled.

 

The posted commentary on this subject is, in general, fairly presented. That said, the origin, meaning, and status of the feudal title of honour or dignity called a Barony is rooted in anciently, widely misunderstood, and requires particular care to interpret accurately

 

Lord and Baron are widely recognized names given to the least understood British Titles, Normans introduced them to Britain in the eleventh century, but their original, intended, and specific meaning, is frequently confused and obfuscated by their many dissociated uses.

 

To know what is meant or intended to mean by Lord and Baron in the feudal system, one must understand that titles of rank came from lands held Lords held Lordships and Barons held Baronies. Lordships of manors held in chief of the Crown were also Land Baronies and Feudal Territorial Honours.

 

1290 The Quia Emptores Terrarum Statute

The power of the feudal barons to control their landholding was considerably weakened in 1290 by the Quia Emptores statute. This prohibited land from being the subject of a feudal grant, and allowed its transfer without the feudal lord's permission

 

1387 First Barony by Patent

Over time, Land Baronies or Lordships held in chief of the Crown also became, "Baronies by Writ." In 1387 the first Barony by Patent was created, and after 1440, Letters Patent from the Crown became the usual method of creating new Baronies.

 

There are now three Constitutional sources of Barony: Land tenures held in chief of the Crown.

Barony by Tenure, Barony by Writ of Summons and Barony by Letters Patent from the Crown

 

1469 Act of Patliament

For example, before an Act of Parliament in 1469 settled the Barony of Renfrew on the first-born Princes of the Kings of Scotland forever now, the first-born Princes of the United Kingdom at birth, it was a Feudal Territorial Honour, not a peerage. Some scholars believe the Act elevated the Barony of Renfrew to peerage rank others believe it became a peerage title with the Union of the Crowns Act, 1603.

 

Other scholars believe that owing to the uncertainty about the meaning of the Act’s text, the title remains a Feudal Territorial Honour. Thus, the exact status of the Barony of Renfrew illustrates the great difficulty in determining the exact meaning feudal titles.

 

1660 Abolition of Tenures Act

There was only one Act of Parliament that has affected eudal Tenure and that was the Abolition of Tenures Act

 

1660. As you can read it does not get rid of feudal titles is merely stops tenure as a means of manorial title in future. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/aep/Cha2/12/24/section/IV

 

This link will show you the relevant paragraph in the Abolition of Tenures Act 1660 Act. This clearly states that feudal tenure has been removed NOT that any titles have been affected.  

 

The Abolition of Tenures Act did not extinguish Feudal Titles of Honour or Any Title of Honour, Feudal or other, by which any person hath or may have a right to sit in the Lords House of Parliament, as to his or their Title of Honour, or sitting in Parliament, and the privilege belonging to them as Peers, this Act, or any Thing therein contained to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.

 

Nonetheless and despite such clear definitions, there exist titles of baronial rank and dignity the classification of which are obscure or contentious.

 

Feudal baronies became perhaps obsolete but not extinct on the abolition of feudal tenure during the Civil War, as confirmed by the Tenures Abolition Act 1660 passed under the Restoration which took away Knights service and other legal rights.

 

Under the Tenures Abolition Act 1660, many baronies by tenure were converted into baronies by writ. The rest ceased to exist as feudal baronies by tenure, becoming baronies in free socage, that is to say under a free hereditable contract requiring payment of monetary rents.

 

Thus baronies could no longer be held by military service. Parliamentary Titles of Honour had been limited since the fifteenth century by the Modus Tenenda Parliamenta Act, and could thenceforth only be created by writ of summons or letters patent.

 

Some historians believe that Barony by Tenure did not exist after 1669 when Charles II’s Privy Council found it to have been discontinued for many ages, and not in being, and so not fit to be revived or to admit any pretence of right to succession thereupon.

 

But the Privy Council’s finding was constitutionally flawed for two reasons: firstly, tenures are, at law, property rights of subjects, and a subject’s property rights cannot be taken away by a King’s proclamation or by an Order in Council: There is not a single instance from the dawn of English Constitutional History, where the Sovereign's Proclamation or Order of Council, has dictated any change, however trifling, in the code of private rights.

 

Secondly, discontinuance, disuse, or desuetude has never been accepted in relation to English legislation however long the statute or Common Law is disused in practice. Although creations of Barony by Tenure, Writ of Summons, or Letters Patent are acknowledged to be the Sovereign’s prerogative, the Common Law, Magna Carta, and other statutes limit the Sovereign’s prerogative

 

It may not, in any way, infringe a subject’s rights or liberties. Notwithstanding, actual exercise of the Royal Prerogative to create Baronies has devolved, incrementally, to control by England’s ruling political party of the moment.

A Barony was a rights package that had its own legal entity. The reality was that the Baron was an Overlord of a number of Manors. This ranged from just a few to as many as 80 Manors, So if you think of it in the largest Barony terms the Barony had rights over 80 Manors and this would not shrink down and fit into a Seigniorty Lordship Title of the Manor, It always remained a Seigniory Barony Title of the Manor, Which is it own separate legal entity from that of the Lord of the Manor Title.

 

Without an active Baron the Lord of the manor was free of the Barons influence. When a Barony was no longer used it merely laid dormant. But as the main reason for its existence was a tier of management to collect fealty to the Crown, Technically the owner always remains so if the barony was not being used it laid dormant in some cases with no interested in them for 700 years.

 

1996 Barristers Opinion

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. Their legal opinion is the most recent legal authority by Counsel and Barristers of Law.

 

We highly recommend you purchase the book on Manorial Law, by A W & C Barsby 1996.

 

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