Historic estate secured
HISTORIC estate land and buildings surrounding Blanchland have been saved for future generations with help from the Land Registry.The estate is the legacy of Nathaniel, Lord Crewe, a former Bishop of Durham, who died in 1722 at the age of 48.
The Blanchland estate is the largest of the four estates that Lord Crewe left in a trust for the clergy.
The Lord Crewe's Charity manages much of the village of Blanchland and surrounding estate land.
Jon Williams, Land Agent for Lord Crewe's Charity, said:
"The estate has 46 listed buildings, 12 scheduled ancient monuments and more than 4,000 acres of some of the best heather moorland habitat in the country.
"It includes Blanchland village, created by the charity from the principal buildings of Blanchland Abbey.
"Registration of the land will help secure it for future generations and we are very pleased to have achieved this."
Harry Charlton, Register Development Manager for the Land Registry, said:
"Almost 40 per cent of land in Durham and across the North East remains unregistered.
"Lord Crewe was a major landowner in the North East and his charity still owns large areas of land in the region. They have already recognised the value of voluntary registration and we hope others will follow suit.
"Land Registry is keen that farmers and other landowners have a proper guarantee of their land ownership."
Once registered, owners have the title to their land guaranteed by the state and buying and selling can be easier.
To find out more about the voluntary registration scheme click on landregistry.gov.uk.
