oggbashan
Dying Truth seeker
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2002
- Posts
- 56,017
Muniment used to be important in property sales in England. The evidence of ownership had to be continuous - until the Land Registry was set up. Once a property was registered at the Land Registry the earlier records were unnecessary.
When I was learning the trade in another's bookshop a flat bed truck stopped outside. The driver came in and asked if we were interested in a lot of old documents. He showed me a sample - 19th Century property transfers written on parchment. I rang the bookshop owner who was having his usual liquid lunch in a public house. He said "Offer him twenty five pounds".
The driver accepted and unloaded a large pile of black plastic sacks, enough to fill a panel van. He had been paid by a local solicitors' practice to take them away and dump them - but he would have had to pay a fee at the rubbish dump. That fee was included in his payment.
Not only did he save the fee, he got £25 extra. He was happy.
So was the owner. When we had finally sorted them all out the earliest document was 14th Century. Even the 19th Century documents sold as decorations at £5 each. The owner made £20,000 from the heap.
But the solicitors muniment room was now empty and could be used as an office for a junior.
