Will Lord Salisbury face a peasants' revolt? Peer writes to hundreds of homeowners to tell them they're living on HIS manor

The peer claimed his 'market rights, sporting rights and rights to minerals'

The letter told up to 400 residents that 'mineral rights' were 'most significant'

Local campaigners have launched a Facebook uprising, vowing to fight claim

Local Tory MP Grant Shapps: 'Over my dead body will he dig up our homes'



My land: Lord Salisbury recently angered residents in Welwyn Garden City with a similar claim

The Marquess of Salisbury has triggered a 'peasants' revolt' after asserting his ancestral rights to his neighbours' land so he can dig for minerals under their homes, it has been revealed.

Lord Salisbury, once the Conservative Party's leader in the House of Lords, sent a letter last week to homeowners in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, claiming his 'market and fair rights, sporting rights and rights in respect of the mines and minerals beneath the property'.

The letter added that it is 'the mineral rights which are of the most significance', a statement some residents fear may refer to fracking.

Campaigners have rallied together to form a Facebook uprising on which some even suggested picketing the marquess' ancestral home, Hatfield House, wearing medieval costumes and 'waving pitchforks and burning torches'.



'We are here to tell the good lord to frack off,' Amanda White, a psychologist, who has received the landowner's letter, wrote the page Welwyn Hatfield Residents Against the Marquess of Salisbury Manorial Rights.

She added that she had lost a prospective buyer of her home after being forced to tell him the marquess now ' can hunt and shoot and dig up my back garden '.

R esident Kim Thomas suggested that they should 'find out whether Lord Salisbury has manorial rights as well as responsibilities, e.g. giving alms to the poor, that kind of thing.'



She told MailOnline: 'We're campaigning because we think that lord of the manor rights have no place in this day and age.



'The concept was invented in the time of William the Conqueror for a feudal society. It's completely ridiculous that they should be in force now.



'None of us who live here were told about these rights when we bought our properties, as they weren't at the time registered with the Land Registry.



'We feel very angry that this has come out of the blue.



'We worry that this may cause problems when we try to sell our properties, but we're also angry at the principle that is being invoked here - we don't see why anyone else should have rights over land that we own.'



The peer, who is descended from Elizabeth I's adviser Lord Cecil, lives in Hatfield House, a Jacobean manor built buy the First Earl of Salisbury in 1611. It contains paintings worth £125million.

Lavish: The peer, who is descended from Elizabeth I's adviser Lord Cecil, lives in Hatfield House (pictured), a Jacobean manor built buy the First Earl of Salisbury in 1611. It contains paintings worth £125million

His decision to register follows a law introduced by the Labour government in 2002 that stated all manorial rights would be lost if not registered with the Land Registry within an 11-year window.



Now a number of landowners across the country are applying for manorial rights before that window closes this year.

The Land Registry website states: 'Although these are often described as "relics from past times", owners of these rights or interests often have a duty or responsibility to protect them.



'These are not new rights or interests being sought, the third party is normally simply looking to protect an interest they already hold.'

But Ms Thomas added: 'Some people are worried about fracking. There is concern that he may sell the rights to a private company - apparently in a similar case the Duchy of Lancaster has said it might sell the rights it has.



'Of course it's possible he doesn't intend to do anything with them - but in that case, why bother registering them?'

Anger: Campaigners in Welwyn Garden City (pictured) have rallied together to form a Facebook uprising on which some even suggested picketing the marquess' ancestral home, Hatfield House, wearing medieval costumes and 'waving pitchforks and burning torches'

Some residents complain that they have had little help from councillors or the local MP, Tory party chair Grant Shapps.

But today Mr Shapps pledged to fight for his constituents' rights, vowing: 'Over my dead body will he dig up someone's back yard in my constituency.'

He told the MailOnline: 'I think it is all very worrying and if I had received that letter, naturally I would be very concerned. Indeed, my home is in the area and I wouldn't be surprised if I receive one too. But I will fight very hard for my constituents.'

He said around 400 people in Welwyn Garden City has received the letter he had arranged a meeting with the marquess to determine exactly 'what he is planning to do'.

But he added: 'These rights are so weak that they don't even appear on property searches. I don’t envisage the action the Estate have taken will impact my constituents' rights.'

Lord Salisbury's lawyers, Bond Dickinson LLP, sought this afternoon to ease local residents' worries in a statement.



'As a result of the Land Registration Act 2002, all historic manorial rights and ownerships had to be registered by October 2013,' it said. 'The Marquess of Salisbury has recorded his interests in the Hatfield Welwyn area (and elsewhere) and is keen to emphasise that this is a process that records pre-existing ownership. Homeowners should not be alarmed by it.'

The current marquess is a former Tory leader in the House of Lords. On Saturday, the local Conservative Association is hosting its annual Christmas market at the riding school in Hatfield House, the Salisbury family seat.