"LOST" LANCASHIRE LORDSHIP FOUND

Added: (Sat Oct 31 2009)

Pressbox (Press Release) - THE MANORIAL SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN
Press Release: 0900 hrs Friday 30 October


“LOST” LANCASHIRE LORDSHIP FOUND

An ancient Lancashire lordship dating from the time of Domesday but forgotten for more than a century has been found.

The Lordship of Bowland, an ancient title connected with the Forest of Bowland in north-east Lancashire, disappeared from sight in 1885 when the estates of one of Lancashire’s great aristocratic families, the Towneleys, were broken up following the death of the last male heir.

However, the Manorial Society, which represents Britain’s 1,900 lords of the manor and feudal barons, can today reveal that the “lost” title has now been found and revived.

Experts, as well as the family themselves, had previously thought that the Lordship of Bowland belonged to the Crown. In 1938, the Duchy of Lancaster acquired some 6,000 acres of the Forest of Bowland, now known as the “Whitewell Estate”, near Clitheroe. That would have made the Queen the present Lord of Bowland.

It was only when a researcher checked the terms of the sale that the truth emerged. In fact, the 1938 purchase, while it included mineral, sporting and forestry rights in the area, specifically excluded the Lordship of Bowland itself.

Further research then revealed that the Lordship had in fact been retained by an extinct Towneley family trust. Last year, Charles Towneley, the 4th Lord O’Hagan, stepped forward on the family’s behalf to claim the title which has now been sold to an anonymous buyer.

Formerly one of the great lordships of England, Bowland once comprised a royal hunting forest and a “liberty” of eight manors, five townships and four parishes covering an area of almost 300 square miles on the historic borders of Lancashire and Yorkshire.

The Lordship no longer comes with land, but it does retain a number of ancient rights. These include the rights to appoint a Master Forester and to appoint one or more Bowbearers, a ceremonial officer who traditionally accompanied the King during hunting, but in later centuries became an official at one of the Lord’s Forest courts.

Robert Smith, Executive Chairman of the Manorial Society, said: “The rediscovery of a lost lordship is really very rare. For almost a thousand years, the Lordship of Bowland was one of the truly great titles but somehow got lost. I am glad that Charles Towneley was able to act on behalf of the Towneley family to revive the Lordship”.

Asked if the new Lord of Bowland would be able to exercise feudal rights, Smith admitted: “I think he’d be pushing his luck. There hasn’t been a Master Forester since Oliver Cromwell’s time, the last Bowbearer died in the 1870s and a Forest court hasn’t met in almost two centuries. There is an ancient courthouse in Bowland but the new Lord is in for a shock - it’s now become a gastro pub, better known locally as the Inn at Whitewell”.
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For more information, contact Robert Smith, Manorial Society, on 020 7735 6633 or email at manorial@msgb.co.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS

The Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covers an area of more than 300 square miles in north-east Lancashire. Previous Lords of Bowland have included the Dukes of Albemarle, Montagu and Buccleuch and before the fourteenth century, the De Lacy family who built Clitheroe Castle. As Duke of Lancaster, the Sovereign was known as the “Lord King of Bowland” between 1399-1649.

Bowbearers have been appointed since the twelfth century; perhaps the most notorious of these being Nicholas Tempest whom Henry VIII had hanged, drawn and quartered for high treason in 1537. The Parker family of Browsholme Hall were Bowbearers for a number of successive generations up until 1858 but have no hereditary right to the office.

Charles Towneley, 4th Baron O'Hagan (b. 1945) was a Member of the European Parliament for Devon from 1973 to 1975 and again from 1979 to 1994, first as an Independent and later as a Conservative. He currently resides in Devon.

The Manorial Society of Great Britain (www.msgb.co.uk) was founded in 1906. It has a membership of approximately 1,900 lords of the manor and feudal barons, peers and historians. Its aims include promoting the study of English history and traditions, especially the Monarchy and British parliamentary institutions; promoting the preservation of manorial records; promoting awareness of the Lord's privileges and responsibilities in the local community; promoting comradeship among men and women of like mind.