Written evidence from Archives and Records Association (MAR 30)
Executive Summary
This submission has been prepared by the Legislation and Standards Working Group of the Archives and Records Association (ARA). ARA is the professional body for archivists, archive conservators and records managers in the United Kingdom and Ireland working in the public, private and third sectors. The Legislation and Standards Working Group represents the interests of ARA's members by providing comment on, and engaging in, consultations on legislation and related matters. This submission is made on behalf of ARA and all future correspondence should be directed to ARA's Chief Executive, John Chambers, at john.chambers@archives.org.uk.
In light of this inquiry, it is ARA’s primary concern that manorial documents continue to be statutorily protected in terms of their storage and access.
It is essential to maintain such protection due to their legal value as evidence of title to copyhold land. Although this type of land tenure was abolished by the Law of Property Act 1922, owners of former copyhold land may be required to prove their title to it during a transaction relating to, or a transfer of, their property. Manorial records may provide the only surviving evidence of this title. Should manorial records lose this existing protection in any future legislation as a result of the manorial rights inquiry, the continued survival of these records, many of which are privately held by individual owners, would be put at risk.
It is crucial that there remains a legal obligation for all owners (whether public or private) to
Without such protection, many manorial records would be liable to loss, destruction or closure to public access. Not only would all of these lead to owners’ inability to prove their title to former copyhold land, it would deprive researchers of one of the most valuable private record sets for the study of local, family, economic and social history throughout England and Wales.
The administration of manors in England and Wales has produced many types of manorial record, which may include information on rights associated with a particular manor. They are private, not public, records and can be held by national archives and local record offices as well as in private hands. The date range for manorial records can vary from manor to manor but they can extend back to the 13th century and continue up until the early 20th century.
When the Law of Property Act 1922 abolished copyhold, there was a recognised need to preserve manorial documents which provided proof of title to former copyhold land. As such, this Act established the Manorial Documents Register (MDR), which lists the location, nature and extent of extant manorial documents. The MDR is currently available to view at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/mdr although it does not yet include all the counties of England and Wales. It is administered by The National Archives on behalf of the Master of the Rolls.
Manorial records are essential sources for the family, local, social and economic history of a particular area and can include significant information about manorial rights. There is a good guide to this on the Cumbrian Manorial Records website at http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fass/projects/manorialrecords/manors/whatis.htm#ManorialRights.
The Law of Property Amendment Act 1924 made the permanent preservation of manorial records the responsibility of the Master of the Rolls. The Manorial Document Rules were drawn up to protect and provide access to these records, which are defined in the Rules as: court rolls, surveys, maps, terriers, documents and books relating to boundaries, franchises, wastes, customs and manor courts.
Manorial records as described above will not necessarily contain evidence of the rights which are associated with a particular manor. Certainly, the Land Registration Act 2002 does not require evidence of manorial rights to be presented in order for them to be registered.
However, in the event of the abolition of manorial rights, it would be ARA’s foremost concern that manorial documents would continue to receive statutory protection in terms of their storage and access. In particular, the function of the Secretary of the Historic Manuscripts Commission to direct the transfer of manorial records from an owner to a repository approved by The National Archives in the event that they are inappropriately stored should be maintained. The records’ importance in proving legal title to former copyhold land in England and Wales should not be under-rated and the work of the MDR in identifying and describing relevant manorial records and their location should continue to be supported.
Archives are the original evidence of historic transactions and are defined by their authenticity, integrity and reliability. As record keepers, it is our concern that manorial records continue to be permanently preserved in this way for current and future generations irrespective of the final outcome in the debate surrounding the abolition of manorial rights.
September 2014