Lord of the Manor of Barnsley is auctioning his title for £38k - here's how to bid
The Lord of Barnsley is selling his title along with 230 acres worth of minerals under the South Yorkshire town for £38,000.
David Harrison, the current Lord of the Manor of Barnsley, is auctioning his title in order to “simplify his affairs”.
The guide price for the title, and the rights to the minerals under the former coal mining town is starting at £38,000.
Mr Harrison, 71, inherited the title, along with the Manors of Wakefield, Conisbrough, and the village of Wales near Rotherham, from Lady Diana Miller.
He was a financial adviser and estate manager for Lady Diana who lived in Kenya.
After her death in 2013, she left most of her estate to her family but left her Yorkshire Manors to Mr Harrison.
He said: “I met Lady Diana in 1982 and initially provided her with financial advice which resulted in her asking me to handle all her UK affairs in 1991, and I ended up doing more and more for her due to her living in Rhodesia since 1948 with no intention of ever returning to the UK.
“During that time, I advised her that she could be doing more with her interests in Yorkshire, but being a wealthy woman, she wasn’t particularly interested in developing these assets.
“When she passed away, her solicitor contacted me to say she had bequeathed her Yorkshire manorial titles together with their mineral rights to me.
“I think it was her way of getting me to prove it was possible to make some financial gain from them.
“It took several years of research trawling through archives for me to map out the Manors and get them registered with the Land Registry, but eventually the hard work paid off and registration of the mineral rights has proven to be very fruitful.”
The main mineral under Barnsley was coal, particularly the Barnsley Seam, which was a major part of the Yorkshire coalfield.
Other minerals also present in the coal itself include kaolinite, which is used in the paper, paint and ceramics industries.
Other trace elements present also include titanium, zirconium, yttrium, and niobium, which are used to make chemicals, electricals and even jet engines.
Mr Harrison said he and his wife, Lady Catherine, 70, have decided to sell the rights to mine the minerals alongside the title itself.
He added: “I don’t want my heirs to have to manage these titles after I pass away, so I have decided to simplify my affairs starting with the auction of the Manor of Barnsley.”
The auction of the title and mineral rights is being handled by property consultants Fisher German.
Under English law, titles are considered property and can be bought and sold freely.
What makes the Barnsley Lordship special is it dates from before the Norman Conquest in 1066 and was one of 13,000 mentioned in the Doomsday Book in 1086.
At that time a Lord used to collect taxes and rents and dispense justice over their domain.
That version of the Manor of Barnsley, along with the other manors that Mr Harrison inherited, were originally acquired by Thomas Osborne, 4th Duke of Leeds, who desired it because of the rich seams of coal underneath.
The Lordship doesn't come with a manor or a right to enter the House of Lords, but the winner does get some perks.
Mr Harrison added: “It’s not only a title for whoever buys the Manor, it’s also a title for their spouse.
“The mineral rights are certainly the main draw though.”
Tom Giddings, Partner at Fisher German minerals team, said: “Acquiring a title and being able to call yourself Lord of the Manor is good fun, but investing in mineral rights can be lucrative.
“The owner of mineral rights under land, even if they don’t own the surface, has the right to dig and prospect for minerals at any time.
“This means anyone wanting to develop will need permission from the mineral rights owner before they can dig down from the surface. More often, they buy the rights outright before starting development work.
“I’d imagine a prominent Barnsley businessperson would enjoy having the title, but we expect interest from developers too due to the mineral rights also being available.
“The chance to become a Lord isn’t something you come across every day, so we’re confident there’ll be plenty of bidders.”
Anyone interested in bidding can visit www.fishergerman.co.uk.
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