Scottish feudal baronies

In Scotland, a baron is the owner of a feudal barony. Scottish feudal baronies are considered to be a form of property, which can be transferred to another owner legitimately. In Scotland, these residues of feudalism relating to land have only recently been abrogated by the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc (Scotland) Act 2000. As to feudal titles, the Act states that when ‘an estate held in barony ceases to exist as a feudal estate, the dignity of baron, though retained, shall not attach to the land; and on and after the appointed day any such dignity shall be, and shall be transferable only as, incorporeal heritable property’.

On 28 November 2004, the mentioned Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc (Scotland) Act 2000 came into force. It abolished the feudal system of land tenure (the relationship that individuals hold regarding land and related resources) on feudal baronies. The retained dignity of baron is no longer attached to land, but a floating dignity which may be bought and sold as incorporeal heritable property and may be bequeathed by will.

Baronies are not registerable in the Land Register and deeds relating to them are no longer recorded in the Register of Sasines (the oldest national public land register in the world, dating back to 1617) automatically. As a result, the transfer of dignity is no longer bound to be registered anywhere. However, ‘Burke’s Peerage and Gentry’ includes a complete list of Scottish Feudal Barons. This list can be viewed online at www.burkespeerage.com. Where the applicant provides evidence that the Lord Lyon has recognised their feudal barony, or the title is included in Burke’s Peerage, this may be accepted by HM Passport Office and subsequently be recorded on the personal details page of his/her British passport (source: HM Passport Office, 13 Januari 2012).

Registration policies of Lord Lyon

The Court of the Lord Lyon is a court of law, and applications for a coat of arms are made by a formal “Petition”. The initiative thereto is taken by the person wishing to obtain a coat of arms. He/she submits the Petition to the Lord Lyon, stating who he/she is and asking for a coat of arms to be granted to him/her. The process is not complicated. Lord Lyon, who is the Crown’s representative in all heraldic matters in Scotland, used to recognise Scottish feudal titles, but has signalled an intention to phase out this recognition. Since the 2000-Act came into force, successive holders of the office of Lord Lyon King of Arms have developed different practices in relation to the wording of formal Letters Patent, by which the Lord Lyon grants arms to those persons presently entitled to the dignity of baron. 

On 17 December 2002, Lyon Blair (in office between 2001 and 2008) announced that, as a result of the Abolition of Feudal Tenures Act 2000, he would from 28 November 2004 no longer officially recognise a person as a feudal baron, nor make any grant of baronial additaments as part of armorial bearings:

COURT OF THE LORD LYON ABOLITION OF FEUDAL TENURE ETC (SCOTLAND) ACT

The Armorial Bearings of The Court of the Lord Lyon

In connection with the Appointed Day under the above Act, which has been announced to be 28 November 2004, the following Rules will apply:

1. With effect from the Appointed Day the Lord Lyon will no longer officially recognise a person as a feudal baron, nor make any grant of baronial additaments as part of Armorial Bearings.

2. Any Petition for recognition as a baron and/or for baronial additaments must be submitted to the Court of the Lord Lyon not later than 30 April 2004 in order to allow time for it to be processed before the Appointed Day. No such Petition lodged after the 30 April 2004 will be considered.

3. After the Appointed Day the Lord Lyon will be prepared to consider allowing a bleu chapeau as part of the Arms matriculated by an heir of a baron who has been recognised by the Lord Lyon prior to the Appointed Day, in a similar manner as bleu chapeaux have in the past been, and will continue to be, allowed to Representers of former owners of baronial lands.

4. After the Appointed Day a baron who has a grant of Arms with baronial additaments may continue to use the additaments for his lifetime. Use of the additaments by his heir after the death of the baron will not be permissible and all existing grants will be subject to this Rule.

Robin O. Blair, Lord Lyon King of Arms

In the Margaret Hamilton of Rockhall v Lord Lyon King of Arms ([2019] CSOH 85) case, Lyon Blair determined to recognise the petitioner (in 2006) only as “Holder of the Barony of Lag” and to grant the petitioner a coat of arms without any baronial additaments. The petitioner had asked for wording of the titles “the baron of …” instead of “holder of the barony of …”. In the mentioned Margaret Hamilton of Rockhall v Lord Lyon King of Arms case, it was decided that Lyon Blair was entitled to do so:

The very particular character of the royal prerogative power that is exercised by the Lord Lyon as a matter of grace is wholly inimical to the articulation of a policy or practice by him that is capable of binding successors in the office of Lord Lyon in the grant of arms. The breadth of the discretion the Lord Lyon has in such matters, which is almost unique in a modern context, arises from the origins and nature of his ancient office and the very particular character of the royal prerogative he exercises on behalf of the Monarch.

Lady Wolffe 

On 31 August 2014, the Lord Lyon King of Arms issued the “Note on the Petition of George Menking“, under which he determined to accept petitions for the grant arms for feudal dignities including Earldoms since such dignities have historically always been of the genus of a barony and as such represent a higher form of barony and fall within the jurisdiction of the King of Arms.

Recently, the Lord Lyon stated that from 1 March 2018 he will no longer make mention, in Letters Patent granting armorial bearings, of a petitioner’s ownership of a Feudal Barony and therefore status as Feudal Baron (source: letter dated 23 October 2017, addressed to Dr Michael Yellowlees of Lindsays Solicitors).

Costs

A solicitor generally charges legal fees between ￡2,000 – ￡3,000 for the acquisition of a barony and ￡3,000 – ￡4,000 for an earldom. The barony itself will cost in the region of ￡75,000 or more in the case of a lordship, earldom or marquisate.

Procedure

There is a more or less standard procedure for transferring ownership of a feudal barony.

Once the deposit and the intermediary’s (seller’s agent) buyer’s premium have been paid, the intermediary will instruct the selling solicitor to issue the title deeds and the drafts of the transfer documentation. The buyer’s solicitor examines and reports to the buyer on the terms of the titles (the bundle of rights in the property that the buyer will own). If these documents prove existence and ownership of the barony, the buyer’s solicitor will draw up the contract for the purchase on the buyer’s behalf and deal with the assignation (transfer) of the barony.

When the legal procedure reaches the final phase and a date of completion is agreed the buyer’s solicitor will ask the buyer to transfer the balance of the purchase price, the Scottish Barony Register registration dues and his/her solicitor’s fee to our client account. The funds are then paid to the seller’s solicitor in exchange for the signed Assignation. When the purchase is completed the buyer’s solicitor registers the Assignation in the Scottish Barony Register. The seller cannot draw down the purchase price until the Assignation has been registered.

Scottish Barony Register

The Scottish Barony Register is a Private Limited Company by guarantee. The company was incorporated on 22 November 2004 to enable registration of barony titles as a remedy for the introduction of the mentioned Abolition of Feudal Tenure Act. The purpose of registration in the Register is to prevent the sale of irregular titles. The people behind the Register are listed in the registers of Company House (Company number SC276349).

Register of Feudal Lords and Barons of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Those who wish to record their arms in the Register of Feudal Lords and Barons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a private publication, will receive a certificate, recording them in their appropriate status. An index of those who are recorded in this Register along with the link to their entry in The International Register of Arms, formally Burke’s Peerage & Gentry International Register of Arms, is published on the internet by The Armorial Register Ltd.

Conclusions

Lyons have finally accepted that they are not conveyancers. The legal ownership of a feudal barony has never been dependent upon his recognition. The conveyancing (the legal transfer of property from one owner to another) documents should prove the ownership. Lyon will still recognise the holder of a barony as qualifying to petition for Scottish arms, but only as long as the conveyance has been accepted by the Scottish Baronial Register. What has been changed is the fact that Lyon will no longer mention the dignity of feudal baron on the letters patents, granting arms.

Links

• Register of Feudal Lords and Barons of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• Burke’s Peerage
• Lindsays | Solicitors and estate agents
• Brian Hamilton (barony titles agent)

Source

The original article can be found on my blog