TWO Irish "lords of the manor" are expected to fetch the highest prices next Wednesday when 28 titles will be sold in London. The baronies of Askeaton, in Limerick, and Granard, in Longford, carry estimates of £22,000 to £26,000 each.
Five of the titles being sold by the Manorial Auctioneers involve ancient Irish lords of the manor titles. Those who buy the titles can call themselves lord of the manor and apply for a coat of arms. It does not, however, confer any rights to sit in the British House of Lords.
Buying a title for a few thousand pounds has proved very popular with American tourists and selling the "honours" has proved a lucrative sideline for some titled families who have a lot of them.
Some titles make huge sums. Lady Jean fford sold the title Isle of Arran, along with a ruined castle and surrounding land, for £425,000 last year. The lord of the manor of Stratford upon Avon went to an art expert for £87,000 in 1989.
In some cases, certain rights may also be available, such as grazing, sporting or fishing, or permission to collect tolls or hold a fair. A lordship of the manor bought by Bob Geldof to go with his £1.3 million mansion allows him to hold a fair.
The lordships of Walton cum Trimley, in Suffolk, and Greater Linton, in Cambridgeshire, both being sold next week, carry the right to hold a fair and market. Walton cum Trimley and Pilton, in Glamorgan, also include the right to salvage shipwrecks.
The feudal barony of Granard covers 67,000 acres of north west Longford. It takes in Lough Sheelin and Lough Kenale. It is being sold by William Nugent, the 13th Earl of Westmeath, who lives in Berkshire. The family take its name from Nogent in Normandy. The Nugents came to Ireland for Henry II and were given the earldom by James I in 1621.
The barony of Askeaton is going on the market for the second time in recent years. It had been part of the inheritance of the Earl of Shannon, Richard Boyle.
Expected to fetch up to £6,000 is the lord of the manor of Ratra in Roscommon. It is being sold by Lord de Freyne and is near the now demolished family home of French Park near the town of the same name.
An estimated £5,500 is expected for the Meath lordship of Donacarney which is being sold by Lord Gormanston. It had originally been part of the "Liberty of Meath" granted by Henry II. Also called "Rogerstoune Ledewyche", the Meath lordship passed to the Gormanston family as part of a marriage settlement in 1381.
The Earl of Shannon also hopes to get £5,500 for the lordship of Killmecky in Co Cork. It is a mile north of Castle Martyr in the parish of Mogeely.