8.6.1 General

See Legal Manual Section 33

A Barony Title is an Estate created by direct grant from the Crown. It has been described as "the highest and most privileged tenure of land known to the Scottish Feudal System" and comes with a number of special rights and advantages. It is also important in relation to salmon fishings and foreshores. Baronial rights are a registrable interest.

The proprietor or 'Baron' can feu, dispone or lease any part or parts, but the accumulative area of disponed land should not comprise the whole of the Barony, as the Baron's position becomes uncertain (there would be no heritable property and other rights may or may not still subsist). To remain as 'Baron', he still has to hold on to a portion, however small, of the Barony, known as the "Caput" (Lit.= "head"). The Caput of the Barony, however small, would not be regarded as a Souvenir Plot under section 4 (2) (b) of the Act.

Identification of a deed which conveys a Baronial Title should be fairly straight forward. The Form 1 should identify it as such and the description on the backing of the deed may be explicit e.g.: "Barony of XXX". The deed will generally refer to "All and Whole the Lands, Barony and Caput of XXX...", and may go into 'exotic' detail thus: "...manor places, houses, biggings, yards, overlands, woods, parks" etc.

Any application to register a Barony Title or Baronial Interests must be referred directly to an appropriate senior officer once the provisional indexing (if possible) has been completed.

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8.6.2 Plans Action: Identification and Mapping of Barony Titles

The consideration involving establishing the extent of a Barony Title involves the appropriate Plans officer and a Legal Examiner and in some cases the proprietor or 'Baron' himself.

On First Registration the Baron is required to provide the Keeper with a plan identifying the area which he knows he possesses relative to his Barony title. This area, in line with his statement on the application form regarding no adverse possession, will be edged red on the Title Plan.

Where the area sought for registration is the "Caput" (see above), delineation on a plan may be easily completed by the Baron, but he must satisfy the Keeper that the area so identified does form part of the original Barony Title. Should no reasonable proof be available, indemnity may be excluded. The identified area will be edged red.

However, where the area sought for registration comprises the whole Barony, the production of a plan can be difficult, not least because the Title will be of an age that the description may be very vague. If the Baron has supplied a plan showing only the area or areas of which he is sure includes part of the Barony Title, not knowing the full extent, he should agree a further plan with the Keeper as regards what may be covered by the Barony title. Subject to any necessary plans/Legal considerations, the whole extent of the Barony will be tinted pink on the Title Plan but only the parts confidently identified by the Baron and agreed by the Keeper will be edged red (over the pink tint). Indemnity will be excluded from that part of the area tinted pink that lies outwith the area or areas edged red. In the event that the Keeper is satisfied that the whole Barony is identifiable, the subjects will be solely edged red i.e. as normal.

On First Registration, the Baron should supply a List or Schedule of feus and leases. This list will be copied into the Title Sheet, with, where necessary (because of difficulties of identification), a preamble that "the parts feued (and leased) out of the subjects in this Title include the following: - .........."

Any portions of the extent of the Barony that have already been registered will be taken into account, as well as any evidence of Conveyancing lodged with the application or gleaned from the Search Sheet. It can be seen that any such 'removals' can, where the extent of the Barony Title is in doubt, allow for an extension of the positive delineation of the Baron's Title. Mapping will be effected as above but 'modified' as appropriate, thus:

(a) Parts disponed will be excluded from the red- edge or pink tint. If such an area remains totally surrounded by the Barony Title it will be:

(i.) tinted green and red edged as appropriate to the 'Island-Site' Method (see elsewhere) where the affected Barony Title is edged red or,

(ii.) left untinted where the affected Barony Title is tinted pink.

(b) Parts feud will be edged and numbered in blue. *

(c) Parts leased will be edged and numbered in yellow. *

* Where any feudal or leasehold titles are situated within a part of the Barony tinted pink, and it is confirmed that the said titles reveal evidence of their relationship to the Barony, the affected areas will be red-edged.

Any subsequent application for a First Registration of a part within the pink tinting which does not derive title from the Baron or his authors, but for which there is sufficient evidence of title and prescriptive possession, the title will be registered without exclusion of indemnity. The subjects will be greened out from the Title Plan of the Barony Title Sheet and the Baron informed accordingly.

It is thought possible that an application may be made to register a Barony where the applicant believes that all the property has, over a period of years, been accidentally disponed of, as the 'Baron' is not in actual possession or occupation of any of the land. The Keeper may decide that there may be some remnant and may produce a Title Plan that reflects what is believed to be the original extent of the Barony. The extent will be tinted pink and indemnity will be excluded as regards location and extent.

NOTE: At any time, on the provision of sufficient evidence of proprietorship, the Keeper can apply red delineation on the Title Plan of the Barony.

It would be open to the Baron after prescriptive possession of a part within the pink tinting, but outwith any red edging, to have his title upgraded and included within the red edging but evidence that there was no competing possession would be required.

8.6.3 Barony Titles - A Property Section Entries

8.6.3.1 Interest

Effectively, the interest is 'proprietor', but this would only be strictly correct where no feus or Leases had been granted. Depending on the title, the interest may be described as "Proprietor/Superior," "Proprietor/Landlord," or where appropriate, even "Proprietor/Superior/Landlord." The Legal Settler, under instruction from the Legal Examiner, will have the final word regarding this, and the correctness of the quoted interest will be his/her responsibility.

8.6.3.2 Hectarage Code

Apart from where the registration only includes a portion of the original Baronial Title (e.g. the "Caput') the registration will invariably exceed the two hectare measurement. The area quoted will include both red-edged and tinted pink areas, excluding any island-sites.

8.6.3.3 National Grid Reference

The reference quoted will relate to the fully indexed extent.

8.6.3.4 Property Description

Plans staff have the sole responsibility for the drafting of the "Technical" property description i.e. postal numbering, house names, road names, style of description etc. However, Barony Titles, due to their special nature, require special consideration by the Legal Examiner who will propose the description for the Plans Officer to confirm as acceptable from a technical point of view. The following styles are more for information rather than guidance.

(a) Where the whole Barony is positively identifiable:

"The Lands and Barony of XXX edged red on the Title Plan."

(b) Where the Barony is partly positively identifiable but the supposed full extent is delineated:

"The Lands and Barony of XXX, comprehending or included in the area tinted pink on the Title Plan (so far as the registered proprietor has right thereto).

NOTE: Except for the part edged in red on the Title Plan indemnity is excluded as regards the location and extent of the subjects in this Title."

(c) Where the Barony now comprises only the Caput:

"The Lands, Barony and Caput of XXX now comprising the land edged red on the Title Plan," (and may continue thus:)

"..... being the said Lands Barony and Caput under exception of all parts not comprised in the said land edged red.'

The Legal Settler will draft a Schedule of Feus and/or Leases where appropriate and where necessary a preamble will be added stating that "the parts feud (and Leased) out of the subjects in this Title include the following:" The wording of this statement is necessary due to difficulties in identifying certain areas.

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