A medieval title is going under the hammer for anyone who fancies themselves as lord of the manor.

The lordship of Ardleigh is expected to fetch between £6,000 and £8,000 at auction this month.

It dates back at least 921 years and has connections with the Queen.

Robert Smith, chairman of the Manorial Society of Great Britain, which is selling the title, said: "Most people are buying these out of a sense of sentiment and most often they are people who live locally.

"Sometimes it's Americans who know the area, may have relatives buried in the churchyard and feel it is something they would like to do."

Lordships of the manor are among the oldest titles in England, and were part of a medieval class system.

Their historic rights include holding a market, fishing, quarrying the manor for minerals and collecting timber. Some lords are still paid £1 a year by British Telecom for every telegraph pole planted in the roadside verges.

The Domesday Book shows Ardleigh parish as having four manors in 1086, and the one being sold was known as Ardleigh Piggots.

  • The Ardleigh lordship is among 25 lots being auctioned in Ludgate Hill, London, on July 26.
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