Fancy being a 'Lord of the Manor' and owning a bit of beach at Newbiggin-by-the-sea?
The title - largely now a status symbol - is going under the hammer in Kingston Park with a starting bid of £13,000
Casey-leigh Turnbull
Newbiggin-by-the-sea beach (Image: Lloyd Wright)
Oh Lord! A rare chance to get your name on the deeds of part of the Northumberland coast is up for auction.
It offers the opportunity to join a highly-exclusive group of landowners in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, and awards its buyer the unusual title of 'Lord of the Manor'.
Newbiggin-by-the-sea has been home to the freeholders, who are also known as Lords of the Manor, since around the year 1235, after a charter was granted by King John.
The freeholders own around 185 acres of the town's links, common, moorland, foreshore and beach, and each receives an annual dividend of around £75 from land leased to the local golf course and caravan park from their plot, known as a 'stint'.
As well as the nifty title, owners have the traditional right to graze sheep or cattle on the land - though now its see more as a status symbol, good news if animals aren't really your forte.
And there is a very interesting way to mark your new title.
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The successful bidder will be expected to make themselves available for a ''dunting ritual'', which officially welcomes them into the group of stint owners.
Held in the third week in May, the land's freeholders take part in the "beating of the bounds" tradition, which marks the boundaries of their landholding.
The tradition started in 1235 but still continues for new members.
The ceremony involves being taken to the dunting stone, on the eighth fairway of the town's golf course, picked up by their feet and shoulders by current freeholders and gently placed three times on the stone.
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In total there are 77 stints, which are either owned or part-owned by around 48 people.
The rare chance to buy a full stint will be brought to the market by Pattinson Auction at Newcastle Falcons' Kingston Park stadium on Wednesday, June 26 at 5.30pm.
The auction is open to the public and people of any age or background can bid for the title, usually passed down through the generations by the families who own them.
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But it doesn't come cheap.
Auction director for Pattinson Auction, Justin Beckwith, said the "rare chance to acquire a full stint" was going under the hammer with a starting bid of £13,000.
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