Please note:- These FAQs do not constitute legal advice. They are intended for information only and do not cover all aspects of our registration process. If you are in any doubt as to any course of action or correspondence you have received then please consult your solicitor. The contents of these FAQs does not bind the Company in any way or to any course of action or otherwise.
Q: What are manorial rights?
In broad terms, manorial rights include sporting rights (for example fishing and shooting rights) together with mineral rights (the ownership of the mines and minerals below the surface of land) and other customary rights (for example the right to hold fairs and markets).
Q: Where do these rights come from?
The manorial system dates back to the feudal system of governance that was in place following the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Land was divided into areas known as manors which were, for the most part, owned by a Lord. People living within the manor had certain rights to the land but usually the overall ownership was with the Lord.
Within the manor there were areas of Common which were usually owned by the Lord but people within the manor had certain rights over this land. Many such commons were lnclosed by act of parliament during the 18th and early 19th centuries and ceased to be common land. When this was done, often the lord kept the mineral rights together with powers of working those minerals and the surface was allotted to people who previously had common rights over the land.
Those mineral rights were often passed down to future lords of the manor.
Q: Who is MRH (Minerals) Ltd?
MRH (Minerals) Ltd is a company that owns the mineral rights (manorial or otherwise). Their predecessors in title owned manorial mineral rights.
Q: Why is MRH (Minerals) Ltd registering mineral rights?
MRH (Minerals) undertook research into its manorial mineral rights in response to a change in the Law. Some of those rights were required to be registered by that change and others were not.The decision was taken, however, to register all rights owned. An advantage of this is that the ownership will be discoverable by a search the Land Register whereas before this may not have been the case as often the Deeds to a property made no reference to the mineral rights being owned by someone else.
These rights have long been owned by MRH (Minerals) so registration is not a change of ownership but a recording of ownership on the Land Register.
Q: Why have I received a Notice from the Land Registry?
The notice has been sent to you by the Registry as it has decided that it needs to make you aware of MRH (Minerals) Ltd’s application as it may affect your registered surface land title.
This notice has been sent because MRH (Minerals) Ltd has applied to register the mines and minerals under your property. These interests will be based on a reservation to the Company’s predecessor in title on the inclosure of the land where it was formerly common of the Manor belonging to the Lord. The manorial rights were kept by the lord and surface given to other landowners.
It may not be apparent on your registered title that you do not own these rights so the Registry is alerting you to the fact that MRH (Minerals) Ltd is registering them.
If you have received such a Notice and are unsure what to do you should consult your own solicitor.
Q: Does this mean that there will be mineral extraction under my property?
Although MRH (Minerals) Ltd owns substantial mineral interests and does allow the extraction of minerals, there are restrictions on this extraction such as environmental considerations as well as the need for planning permission. Whilst we are not prepared to say that extraction will never be considered in a particular, we do stress that the reason for this registration exercise is simply to protect the Company’s assets in response to a change in the law.
The registration exercise does not change the position with regard to ownership or potential extraction. MRH (Minerals) Ltd has long owned these rights and could exploit them without having had to register them.
If you are in any doubt as to how this registration affects your property you should consult your own solicitor.
Q: Will this affect the value of my property?
An exclusion of mines and minerals from a title to land is not uncommon and solicitors are used to seeing such exclusions. References to manorial rights are less common but with the change in the law and many manorial owners carrying out similar registration exercises, such references will become more familiar to conveyancers.
If you are in any doubt as to how this registration affects your property you should consult your own solicitor.