Little Lots of Land

For just under £30, you can own one square foot of land in the Scottish Highlands and become a Laird, Lord, or Lady.

It's true that these titles have been dismissed as 'meaningless' by the Court of Lord Lyon, the office which deals with heraldic matters and coats-of-arms in Scotland. And it was decided eight years ago that the sales of such miniature plots would not be recorded in the national register of Scotland. But for many of the buyers, it is quite sufficient that 'laird' means 'landowner' in Scots, and they receive a certificate which purports to prove their ownership of a plot of land on a Highland estate. [Link]

These are generous parcels compared to those given away in the Quaker Harvest Oats "Klondike Big Inch" advertising campaign in the 1950s. Deeds for one-square-inch plots of land in the Yukon were given away in cereal boxes. Filmmaker David McDonald was one of the lucky recipients, and made a documentary about his quest to find other small landowners, and to claim his own tiny tract.

Many had high hopes for their tiny plots of land. One Michigan man wanted to establish the world's smallest national park while a group of friends wanted to pool their plots and declare an independent republic.

Eventually, McDonald headed north to locate his land.

He discovered that the company Quaker Oats set up to manage the land never paid property taxes, so the Yukon government reclaimed it all.

"They never told us that perhaps we should have registered the deed." [Link]

Aristocratic Monkey Business

Californian Paul FitzGerald has lost his 30-year battle to be the 9th Duke of Leinster.

The attempt by Mr FitzGerald of San Francisco to claim the titles had been masterminded by his Aunt Theresa Caudhill, who claimed she was acting on her father’s deathbed wishes.

In her evidence she argued that a switch of identities had led to her father Desmond - the rightful heir who settled in America - being frozen out of the family during the Great War. [Link]

Desmond was thought to have died in the war while serving with the Irish Guards, but secretly (so the story goes) slipped off to Canada, where—like most immigrants—he "was supported by a trust fund and worked as a polo instructor."

Apropos of nothing, this is how the family chose its coat of arms:

The coat of arms of the Dukes of Leinster derives from the legend that John FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Kildare, as a baby in Woodstock Castle, was trapped in a fire when a monkey rescued him. The FitzGeralds then adopted a monkey as their crest, and occasionally use the additional motto Non immemor beneficii (Not forgetful of a helping hand). [Link]

Barren Barony Titles For Sale

If you're willing to spend at least £50,000 in cash, you too can become a Scottish baron.

Recent changes to ancient feudal law, under the Abolition of Feudal Tenure (Scotland) Act 2000, have meant that Scottish barony titles are no longer attached to the lands that they once came with. As a result, some Scottish peers with spare barony titles are selling them on – and those with the funds can buy themselves the right to be a bona fide Baron.

Brian Hamilton of Scottish Barony Titles explains why someone would spend so much for something so worthless.

"Some people have a connection with Scotland, some people like to treat themselves."

However, he concedes that the owners who are selling them do not usually miss the barony titles.

"Most of my clients have superior titles – the barony title is not a peerage title. If you are the Duke of Something, you are not going to be worried about three or four barony titles." [Link]

Nobility Ain't What It Used to Be: Part 2

From The (London, U.K.) Sunday Times of July 24, 2005:

Experts attack sale of ‘bogus’ Barony of Clare for €90,000

John Burns

A BRITISH lord is selling the Barony of Clare through a London auctioneers, with an asking price of £60,000 (€86,000). But Irish experts say the title is bogus, and there is no evidence that the former Conservative peer’s family ever used it.

[snip]

. . . Irish experts have disputed the claims being made for the barony. “In the light of the Abolition of Feudal Tenures Act of 1662, how it can be claimed that feudal titles still exist today in Ireland as hereditaments to be bought and sold?” said Sean J Murphy, a leading genealogist.

[snip]

Kenneth Nichols, a former history professor in University College Cork, said: “If people want to assume a bogus barony, they could do it themselves without paying any money to Robert Smith [of Manorial Auctioneers].”

[snip]

[Read the whole story]