IHTM23194 | Special valuation matters: Lordships of the Manor and Baronial Titles

Lordships of the Manor are property rights under the law of England and Wales. Similar rights in Scotland are referred to as Baronial Titles.

Although many of the pecuniary rights of the Lords of the Manor were abolished by the Law of Property Act 1922, a variety of privileges remain with them, including rights associated with minerals, the ownership of documents of title, and - perhaps the greatest attraction - the right to call oneself Lord of the Manor. Manorial lordships are saleable, and their average values can be in excess of £10,000. In suitable cases, therefore, it is worth asking whether the estate included any such lordships.

In this context, ‘suitable estates’ will normally be confined to the larger cases, either

• where the taxable property includes a substantial landed estate, or

• where the facts before the office suggest that the deceased, or the settlor, or persons from whom they inherited property, at one time held a substantial landed estate (such as, where the deceased or the settlor was the holder of an hereditary peerage).

The valuation of manorial lordships is undertaken by the VOA (IHTM23002). You should refer all requests for such valuations via Our Valuation Office Liaison.

Baronial Titles, as with Lordships of the Manor, can be valuable assets. In taxable cases where there is a substantial landed estate and the deceased was a member of the peerage, you should ask if the estate included any such title. If it did, you should refer the question of valuation to the VOA via Our Valuation Office Liaison.