Who Owns Northern Ireland?

[Reraise]

I noticed a thread on the main board which said that 90% of the UK population live on 10% of the land and that the aristocracy still own quite a bit of the privately owned land. What is the situation in Northern Ireland? Who owns most of the land?

[Malthus]

I noticed a thread on the main board which said that 90% of the UK population live on 10% of the land and that the aristocracy still own quite a bit of the privately owned land. What is the situation in Northern Ireland? Who owns most of the land?

At a guess various branches of government and NAMA would account for a fair chunk

[yadayada]

I noticed a thread on the main board which said that 90% of the UK population live on 10% of the land and that the aristocracy still own quite a bit of the privately owned land. What is the situation in Northern Ireland? Who owns most of the land?

Farmers largely, almost all freeholders. Gladstone's Irish Land Act of 1869 relieved the aristocracy of most of their holdings. England never had that revolution.

[PJ1977]

I think the billionaire Duke of Westminster (Grosvenor Estates) still owns a large tract of Fermanagh.

[DotBomb]

I think the billionaire Duke of Westminster (Grosvenor Estates) still owns a large tract of Fermanagh.

NI is different as the population was 'planted' a few hundred years ago, and everyone was given land. Hence a large percentage of the population either own land or have very recent ancestors who did.

We never had a gentry here as such. Though there were/are some big estates.

[wtw2]

I think the billionaire Duke of Westminster (Grosvenor Estates) still owns a large tract of Fermanagh.

The Duke of Abercorn owns a massive estate in Fermanagh.

[yadayada]

NI is different as the population was 'planted' a few hundred years ago, and everyone was given land. Hence a large percentage of the population either own land or have very recent ancestors who did.

We never had a gentry here as such. Though there were/are some big estates.

No. They weren't freeholders - they had to pay rents, largely to the aristocracy. (London guilds in Co Derry) Round here it was the Duke of Manchester, in Tandragee castle. The toffs were mostly bought out by the government in the late 1800s to turn the peasants into freeholders, with annual payment to the state until around 1970 - Poor law valuation. DeValera refused to transfer payments to the UK, resulting in import bans on free state produce and a trashed economy.

Duke of Abercorn had his estate reduced severely back then, as did the rest. The Grosvenors (Westminster) only bought Ely Lodge in the 1950s.

In England freehold farmers are comparatively rare, many only leasing their farms from the local lord or whatever - Prince Charles for instance owns a huge chunk of Cornwall.

[PJ1977]

If you take a look through the excellent Lord Belmont blog you can get a good idea of which aristocrat used to own what - http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/

Also the statement: "NI is different as the population was 'planted' a few hundred years ago, and everyone was given land" is such an ahistorical nonsense I barely know where to start.

I'm guessing that the National Trust also has a fairly large acreage in Northern Ireland.

[PJ1977]

The BBC came up with this list in 2002:

1 The Forestry Service - 185,250 acres (5% of NI)

2 Northern Ireland Water Service - 33,000 acres

3 National Trust - 27,800 acres

4 Ministry of Defence - 7,000 acres

5 Duke of Abercorn - 5,500 acres

6 Royal Society for the Protection of Birds - 5,335 acres

7 Blackston Houston - 4,000 + acres

8 Earl of Caledon - 2,400 acres

9 Blackwood family - 2,000 acres

10 Earl of Erne - 2,000 acres

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/1917234.stm

[yadayada]

The BBC came up with this list in 2002:

1 The Forestry Service - 185,250 acres (5% of NI)

2 Northern Ireland Water Service - 33,000 acres

3 National Trust - 27,800 acres

4 Ministry of Defence - 7,000 acres

5 Duke of Abercorn - 5,500 acres

6 Royal Society for the Protection of Birds - 5,335 acres

7 Blackston Houston - 4,000 + acres

8 Earl of Caledon - 2,400 acres

9 Blackwood family - 2,000 acres

10 Earl of Erne - 2,000 acres

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/1917234.stm

.....which is a fairly small proportion of the approx 3.5 million acre total. Another aspect to Gladstone's land reforms is that every peasant got a few acres, which explains why there are so many rural houses here compared to England. Formerly thatched cottages, there is now a hideous hacienda-style (whatever that means, was it a night club in Manchester?) bungalow at every hole in the hedge.

[NuBrit]

You're actually all incorrect

The Queen in her legal role as "the Crown" owns all the lands of the United Kingdom. The freehold interest that most people hold on land is not absolute ownership of the land, merely a right to act as if you do.