WHO, WHAT, WHY, WHERE AND WHEN?

My ancestry in east Hampshire as far back (c.1660) as I have been able to determine has unsurprisingly been mainly populated with Agricultural Labourers, though one or two had for a while substantial land holdings. But large numbers of progeny meant nobody was financially able to actually extricate themselves from the furrow. My paternal grandfather (who I never knew, but that is another story) broke the chain by joining the Royal Navy.

Being village dwellers my ancestors were naturally subject to their local Lord of the Manor, who in their case was the Bishop of Winchester. The power and obligations of Lords of the Manor through the ages can easily be found on many sites of the Internet, as well as in my various Purse Caundle History posts.

It was sometime early in 2004 that whilst surfing the net I found that anyone could become a Lord of the Manor. This could be either through inheritance or by purchase. Being unashamedly keen to raise the status of the Knight Family, as well as attempting to follow the precept that if you cannot beat them, then join them, I actively sought the possibility of obtaining one. Especially now that I was already an armiger, i.e. a person entitled to bear heraldic arms - see separate post.

This is where one can become unstuck. There are, or at least were, a few concerns that purport to sell Lordships, but are likely to be fraudulent or at least spurious. Even some reputable auction houses can be somewhat slack and not be able to provide a reliable provenance for their Lordships. One's best course is to contact The Manorial Society of Great Britain who have a periodic selection of Lordships for sale/auction. The Society's address is: 104 Kennington Road, London SE11 6RE; or its website http://www.msgb.co.uk/ Prices depend on location, what privileges and documentation (if any) are included, and the general known history of the individual Lordship. Having made one's choice, it is then essential to employ a solicitor versed in the appropriate law.

At the time I decided to try my luck, December 2003, the Manorial Auctioneers in its extensive Catalogue only had one suitable Dorset Lordship - Purse Caundle - which was not as expensive as some, and apparently had a history going back to before Domesday. When I paid a visit to the village I liked what I saw, and thus went ahead, with eventual completion in November 2004 of my wife and I becoming joint-Lords of the Manor. The rest -as they say - is history, as this and other of my blogs will show.
After completion, on receipt of various associated documents from my solicitor, I learned that the Lordship of Purse Caundle had been put on the market through Manorial Auctioneers by the vendor in June 1999. According to an acknowledgement letter to the vendor from Manorial Auctioneers, "the present occupiers of Purse Caundle Manor, whom we will approach to see if they are interested." In the event they were apparently not, as the Lordship was repeatedly advertised in Manorial Auctioneers' catalogues of August 1999, February 2000, and the one of late 2003 from which I started negotiations for purchase.
And something I have I have only just found out (February 2009) through surfing the internet for Purse Caundle references, it must also have been this latter catalogue which prompted the Dorset Echo newspapers to publish an article about the three Dorset Lordships then being advertised. The article's writer commented: "But the real snip is the lord of the manor title for Purse Caundle".





2004