THEY are usually the preserve of the rich, famous and privileged - but now the average Joe will have the chance to net themselves a lordship.Property specialists Strutt & Parker are selling 32 manorial lordships and five feudal baronies at an auction in London later this month.

THEY are usually the preserve of the rich, famous and privileged - but now the average Joe will have the chance to net themselves a lordship.

Property specialists Strutt & Parker are selling 32 manorial lordships and five feudal baronies at an auction in London later this month.

And among those going under the hammer are several prestigious titles in Suffolk and Essex, including the lot with the most expensive guide price in the whole sale.

The Lordship of the Manor, Honour and Barony of Eye, which has rich associations with medieval royal history, is set to sell for at least £45,000.

The titles date all the way back to William the Conqueror, who granted them to his half-brother, the Count of Mortain, who leased them to Robert Malet, Great Chamberlain of England under Henry I.

The next most expensive title up for grabs is the Lordship of the Manor of Great Bardfield, near Great Dunmow.

Offered at a guide price of £8,500, it has links to Henry VIII, who granted it to Anne Cleaves, his fourth Queen.

The final two titles from the region are both set to sell for £7,000 - a snip compared to the more costly honours.

The first, the Manor of Earls Dallinghoo is about three miles from Wickham Market, near Woodbridge.

It belonged to the Abbey of Ely from the Saxon era until the end of the 13th Century, when it reverted to the Crown and later formed part of the dower of Queen Isabella, wife of Edward II.

Finally, the Manor of Bardfield Saling previously comprised two manors - Wymers and Wastails - which were part of the Barony of Clare.

They were reunited by 1882 and by 1964, when they were purchased by the family of the current owners, were known under the single name of the Manor of Bardfield Saling.

The new owners will have the right to inspect and copy historic documents held by the Lord of the Manor of Great Bardfield.

Successful bidders will not be buying a seat in the House of Lords, but they will buy the right to call themselves Lord of the Manor and to apply to the College of Arms for a personal coat of arms, which may be handed down to successive generations.

Many will also receive the historic documents, prestigious connections and ancient rights that go with the title.

These rights might include hunting and fishing rights, ownership of local fairs and markets and the freedom to take rabbits from forest and wasteland.

n The Auction Sale of Lordships of the Manor and Feudal Baronies will be held in Ironmonger's Hall at the Barbican on May 24 at 2pm.

For more information, or to buy a catalogue, call Strutt and Parker on 01245 258201.

mark.heath@eadt.co.uk