After 1066 Norman Invasion

William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, France, became King William I of England and introduced feudalism into the country after his successful invasion and ‘Battle of Hastings’. From the Conquest, the King alone owned all the land of England, except for land he gave to Nobility, Barons and others in return for their support, especially in providing military resources.

The person holding feudal:manorial lordship/land directly on behalf of the King was known as a tenant-in-chief. To obtain Knights for the King’s service, the tenants-in-chief “sub-infeuded” (subdivide) some of their land (that is, permitted men to manage land on their behalf). The sub-infeuding process continued downwards to a lord of a single manor.

The Manor

The Manor was a local area of administration controlled by a ruling Noble class a Lord or Lord Baron. It was a Court system and a Tax system. A standard Lordship held court for minor crimes, theft, poaching, land disputes etc…Major crimes like murder, fraud, treason were dealt with at the Baron’s Court (Court Baron). A standard manor contained a village church, and agricultural land usually consisting of three large arable fields in which the inhabitants (tenants) held scattered strips. Manor houses were built on land near rivers or streams, often where grass was grown for hay. An important part of manorial administration was the manor court, a periodic meeting of the tenants, presided over by the Lord of the Manor or his steward. The purpose of the court was to administer the agriculture of the manor, the Lord’s and tenant’s rights and duties, and disputes between tenants.
Over succeeding centuries, many of these Manor communities grew into villages and towns. The important historical role of the Manor has largely been overlooked, but Manors, and their Lords, were the seeds of many important English towns and villages.

The Register of Manorial Titles MDR

After the Law of Property Acts 1922 and 1924-25, the Master of the Rolls (one of the judges in the English Court of Appeal) had responsibility for maintaining a register of Manorial Documents, as the Keeper of the Records of the Public Record Office. The register records the location of original documents relating to those manors which had Manorial Courts. The registers have been held at various locations throughout the country, but in recent years there have been moves by the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts to centralise the information into a single database. This may seem an inappropriately modern approach to something so ancient, but it shows how important a job the government consider it to keep good records of the location of historical Manorial documents.

Registers of Feudal Manorial titles

Order of International Court of Nobility – founded 1793
Definition of Nobility – Whilst you could say that only titles granted by rulers (Kings and Queens) are nobility, the order accepts feudal titles as said holders of feudal titles were regarded in that period as “Nobility Class”. As feudalism means ‘once based on land ownership’ it could easily be argued that to rule an area of land is to be classed higher that the inhabitants or commoners, therefore, regarded as ruling class, which is the very definition of nobility. The Order therefore accepts Titles granted by Rulers, Feudal Titles, Military Titles, ancient titles and Holy Roman Empire titles.

Landed Gentry Register – founded 1904

History- The United Empire Club was a gentleman’s club that was founded in 1904; the membership manager had to ascertain if a gentleman had the financial capability of paying for his membership fees and restaurant & bar bills he may incur being a member of the club. Nowadays credit checking is simple using ‘credit reference agencies’ like Experian or Equifax but at the turn of the last century it was difficult. There wasn’t even a Land registry yet as the Land Registry started in 1925. The membership managers created a list of Gentry that we call “The Landed Gentry Register”.

This register was for internal use of the club for the purpose of vetting potential new members, it consisted of several reference books, archive records and lists that date all the way back as far as the Doomsday book 1086. It served as a who’s who in society and recorded Lords of the Manor, Barons and Nobility, and those of good values and integrity.

All Nobility.VIP’s titles are registered with both.

LEGAL UK Titles to purchase

• Lord & Lady of the Manor
• Baron & Baroness of the Manor
• Scottish Baronies