Earl loses estate battle

ARISTOCRAT HAD TAKEN PARENTS TO THE HIGH COURT OVER RUNNING OF RAGLEY

- CALLUM PARKE News Reporter

THE aristocratic heir to a 6,000-acre ancestral estate has lost a High Court battle against his parents and siblings over how it should be run, after what a judge described as a “break-down” of family relations.

The Earl of Yarmouth, William Seymour, took legal action against his parents, the Marquess of Hertford, Henry Seymour, and the Marchioness of Hertford, Beatriz Seymour, his three siblings and two trust corporations over the running of parts of the Ragley estate.

The estate includes the family seat of Ragley Hall in Alcester, Warwickshire, which was built in the 1680s.

The legal claim related to three settlements which form part of the estate, including farmland, residential properties and woodland together valued at around £45 million, with Lord Yarmouth asking for the two trust corporations to be removed as trustees and replaced with an independent trustee.