Aristocrat who advertised for ‘good breeder’ and ‘castle-trained’ wife loses £1.2million court battle with ex

An eccentric aristocrat who once declared that a ‘castle-educated’ non-communist woman would give birth to his heir has lost a High Court fight with his ex-wife over a £1.2 million trust fund.

Sir Benjamin Slade, the 7th Baronet of Maunsell, 80, appeared on ITV’s This Morning in 2017 and again the following year to ask for a wife.

However, he said he could not be Irish, Italian, from any country that starts with ‘I’, or from a nation with green on its flag.

He added that she couldn’t be Scottish, Scorpio or lesbian and that she had to be a ‘good breeder’ to provide herself with ‘an heir and a replacement’.

Sir Benjamin divorced Lady Pauline Slade in 1994 after 12 years of marriage; He later said that he was disappointed in Lady Pauline Slade’s 17 cats.

As part of the divorce, Lady Slade was given a £1.2 million trust fund, comprising an ‘income fund’, currently valued at around £650,000, and a rural Somerset home worth £585,000.

But he moved out of the house in 2023, sparking a complex legal battle by demanding the property be sold by the trustees to pay off his debts and increase his income.

Sir Benjamin lived in the house and insisted that Lady Slade had no right to the money from the sale of the house, as she only had the right to live there rent-free for life or to buy a new house.

Sir Benjamin’s ex-wife, Lady Pauline Slade, tried to sell the house where the couple lived following their divorce settlement in 1994.

The dispute over the Old Farm in Lower Rydon has been settled in London’s High Court after the trustees of Lady Slade’s divorce fund asked a judge whether she was entitled to benefit from the sale of the house.

Master Julia Clark ruled against Sir Benjamin, finding that one of the main purposes of the fund was to provide him with income “for life”.

He said: ‘If Lady Slade does not direct the purchase of a new property, there is no basis for concluding that the general purpose of the trust will cease or that Lady Slade’s share of the net proceeds of sale will cease and revert to Sir Benjamin.’

The baronet’s lawyer, Robert Deacon, had told the court Lady Slade moved out in 2022 or 2023, then wrote a letter in August 2024 “confirming that she had no intention of living in the property again”.

Lady Slade said she did not want to buy a ‘replacement property’ but wanted the Old Farm to be sold for her benefit.

Lady Slade explained in her letter: ‘I have been wanting to sell Lower Rydon for years. I have no intention of living at The Old Farm again and do not want to buy another property.

‘I give full approval to the board of trustees to sell the house, land and outbuildings and invest the money, increase my income and pay all debts from the income obtained.’

Maunsel House, the family seat of Sir Benjamin Slade, pictured from above

Mr Deacon said: ‘He wanted the proceeds of the sale to be invested to increase his income and for all his debts to be paid off from the proceeds of the sale.’

He added that the purpose of the 1994 divorce settlement was ‘to provide Lady Slade with income from the cash fund deposited in the trust and to provide her with rent-free accommodation for life through the transfer of the property to the trust’.

‘It was never objectively intended that the property be used to provide income to Lady Slade or in any way.

‘In accordance with Sanka, the foundation does not have the right to change its fundamental purpose and the nature of the foundation’s property from a house into an income-generating asset,’ he argued.

Mr Deacon argued Lady Slade had limited rights in relation to both the investment fund and Old Farm and said she had no authority to manage the £651,000 trust fund.

‘Under the agreement, he has a lifetime share of his income but does not have the right to control the capital of the trust fund,’ he said.

‘In relation to property, trustees have limited power to direct the property to sell, but only to acquire another property. [to be her home].

‘This does not allow him to claim that the income be invested.’

Lady Slade and Sir Benjamin outside Maunsel House in 1986, eight years before their divorce settlement established the trust fund

Sir Benjamin also claimed that under the terms of the divorce settlement, his ex-wife could not seek the sale of the Old Farm unless she actually lived on the property, arguing that the purpose of the trust was merely to secure her permanent accommodation.

‘There is a trust that will allow him to live there for as long as he lives,’ he told the court.

‘A more fundamental point is that the property was transferred solely to provide him with somewhere to live rent-free.’

However, Master Clark decided that Lady Slade or the trustees could direct the sale of the Old Farm, with the profits used to buy her a new property or invested and the proceeds paid to her.

He said: ‘I do not accept applications. [The purpose of the trust] It provides Lady Slade with income from her “trust fund” during her lifetime, and the trust fund includes property.

‘In my view these provisions make unsustainable the argument that the purpose of the trust did not include generating income from the estate to Lady Slade.’

Master Clark concluded that the terms of the trust ‘provide that the income from the entire trust fund, including the property, is retained for Lady Slade’.

The interior of Maunsel House, offered for sale by Sir Benjamin for £3.5 million

Sir Benjamin had previously offered £50,000 a year to find a bride but there was a strict list of requirements.

Only candidates who are at least 20 years younger will be considered and must be able to use a shotgun.

In terms of hobbies, he was looking for a bride who loved ballroom dancing, playing bridge and backgammon.

In addition, he must have management skills that will enable him to ‘manage two castles’ with the choice of ‘law and accounting education’.

Sir Benjamin said that the successful candidate would also need a driver’s license and that a helicopter license would be ‘useful’.

He narrowed the field further by excluding ‘Guardian readers, Scorpios, drug users, alcoholics, Scots and anyone under 5’6”.

Aristocrat Sir Benjamin Slade is at his mansion with his three dogs. He had previously requested a spouse and said that the suitable candidate could use a shotgun.

Sir Benjamin has been living at Old Farm after putting his mansion up for sale for £3.5 million last year.

He is a direct descendant of one of the Duke of Wellington’s generals – General Sir John Slade, the first baronet – and was once criticized by the Iron Duke for his inept handling of the cavalry and his ‘galloping into everything’.

The family seat currently up for sale is a sprawling 13-bedroom redbrick mansion at Maunsel House in Somerset, whose roots date back to the 11th century and where Geoffrey Chaucer is said to have written some of his works.

Inside there is a covered secret passage that was once connected to the local church, while a well-stocked bar contains a display case of 81 firearms, including a heavy machine gun.

Lady Slade, 79, is the daughter of the late Devon county cricketer and British Army officer Major Claude Myburgh.