How banker who bought Lord of the Manor title for £1 left his villagers with £650,000 bill
By James Tozer
A Lord of the manor bought his title for just £1 yesterday won a court battle with villagers over the right to order them around. Ex-banker Peter Burton had antagonised residents by asking them to clean up their properties and not park in front of them after claiming rights dating back to the Domesday Book, a court heard.
They reacted with fury, mounting a legal challenge against the 61-year-old.
Abuse of power: Peter Burton's Jacobean manor house Over Hall near beauty spot Ireby Fell, which is at the centre of the dispute
But yesterday the neighbours were faced with costs of around £650,000 after their appeal was rejected at the High Court.
The saga, which saw lawyers delving into records going back almost 1,000 years, began after Mr Burton moved to the village of Ireby in Lancashire 12 years ago.
Having retired from banking, he bought a 17th century manor house, Over Hall, with his partner, Susan Bamford.
He set about pouring money and effort into restoring the Jacobean property and surrounding area.
Problems began, however, when Mr Burton paid £1 for the right to call himself Lord of the Manor of Ireby.
He claimed this also gave him title over nearby beauty spot Ireby Fell – 360 wild acres at the highest point in the county – which until then had been regarded as unregistered common land.
As a result, he began exercising what he claimed were his rights over land which formed part of the ancient manorial ‘waste’ dating back to the Domesday Book.
Retired gift shop owner Carole Scott was told to stop parking her car near her home, an earlier hearing was told.
Other villagers were allegedly informed they needed to clean up their properties.
SCUM: Ex-banker Peter Burton, 61, who bought his title for just £1
Angered by the requests, Mrs Scott teamed up with neighbours Eric and Angela Walker, Edward Mills and Christopher Balchin, to fight back.
They enlisted the help of the order of the Knights of St John – which owned the land in the Middle Ages – in a bid to prove Mr Burton had no such rights.
In 2010 a Land Registry panel ruled that Mr Burton could not style himself Lord of the Manor of Ireby because the title has lapsed.
But it confirmed he and his partner as ‘proprietors’ of the fell, pointing out that they had spent time, money and effort on maintaining the land.
‘It is far better that the fell should be owned than left in limbo,’ adjudicator Simon Brilliant said.
The five villagers appealed against his decision over Ireby Fell before Deputy Judge Jeremy Cousins QC, who yesterday rejected their case in the High Court.
He said there was ‘ample material’ to show the couple had taken legal possession of the fell.
Mr Burton has stressed that the rights he is exercising do not change the fell’s status as common land, and walkers have not been prevented from accessing it.
But the ruling is likely to be a devastating blow for the villagers, who have already clocked up heavy legal costs in fighting the case and had admitted they were ‘skint’.
Mr Walker, 74, said: ‘It started off as a gentle thing, and then we got together to see what we could do, and the whole thing blossomed into full-scale litigation.’
Mr Balchin said: ‘Ireby’s a lovely place – people come and see it and think they would love to live here, but they don’t know what’s been going on.’
Explaining why they brought the case, Mr Walker said: ‘It wouldn’t have mattered to anybody if he said he was the lord of the manor, but when someone starts throwing their weight around, something has to be done.’
The original fortified Over Hall is thought to have been held in the 14th century by Edmund de Dacre.
Rebuilt in the late 17th century, it was later owned by the Marton family and has grade II* listed status.
Last night Mr Burton and his partner welcomed the outcome, saying: ‘We are pleased by the decision in our favour and hope that this finally draws a line under the matter.’
He also hit out at the ‘scandalously large and disproportionate legal costs’ the villagers had run up with no-win, no-fee lawyers and pledged to maintain public access to the fell.
The villagers’ solicitor declined to comment last night.
SOURCE: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2131304/How-1-lord-manor-left-villagers-650k-bill.html#ixzz1sLUuTxWI
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