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An eccentric aristocrat, known for advertising for a “castle-trained” lady to bear his heir, is locked in a High Court fight with his ex-wife over her £1.2m trust fund.
Sir Benjamin Slade, the 7th Baronet of Maunsel, is battling Lady Pauline Slade over her desire to sell Old Farm, a £585,000 house on his 2,000-acre estate in rural Somerset.
Following the pair’s 1994 divorce settlement, Lady Slade received an “income fund” now worth around £651,000 and the right to live rent-free in the property in Lower Rydon, West Newton. She now seeks its sale to cover debts and boost her income.
Sir Benjamin, 79, is known for appearing on ITV’s This Morning in 2018 in his search for a new wife. He said at the time that she could not hail from a country beginning with an ‘I’ or with green in its flag, and must be neither a Scorpio, a lesbian, or Scottish.
He recently had a brief appearance on Channel 4 reality gameshow Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing, but left the show after an explosive, drunken rant.
The baronet put his manor up for sale for £3.5m in 2025 and now lives in the house at the centre of the court fight.
His lawyers contend that his ex-wife has no right to the proceeds. The trustees of her fund have petitioned a judge to determine whether she can compel them to sell the property and, if so, how the funds may be utilised.
Sir Benjamin is a direct descendant of one of the Duke of Wellington’s generals – General Sir John Slade, the first baronet.
The baronet’s family seat is a sprawling 13-bedroom red-brick manor, Maunsel House in Somerset. It has origins stretching back to the 11th century and is said to be where Geoffrey Chaucer wrote some of his works.
The house boasts a blocked-off secret passage, which was once linked to the local parish church, while a well-stocked bar has a display cabinet with 81 guns on display, including a heavy machine gun.
Sir Benjamin carved out a fortune in the shipping industry, but has generated headlines for a variety of reasons, most recently quitting Jonathan Ross’ reality gameshow Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing after just hours spent manacled to a fellow contestant.
The aristocrat, who was paired with a former prison guard for his partner at Maunsel House, lasted some 12 hours and demanded to be set free with bolt cutters after calling for the return of his phone in breach of the show’s protocols.
“It’s my house, I want my f***ing phone thanks – I need to check what’s happening in the world,” he was recorded as saying in an expletive-laced rant at producers before setting off to find a pair of bolt cutters to separate him and his partner.
Sir Benjamin’s first wife, Pauline Myburgh, 79, was the daughter of Devon county cricketer and British Army officer Major Claude Myburgh.
When they divorced in 1994, he settled a trust to provide her with an income, while transferring the Old Farm into it for her to use as a home.
But the baronet’s barrister, Robert Deacon, told the court that Lady Slade moved out in 2022 or 2023, later penning a letter in August 2024 “confirming that she had no intention of living in the property again”.
Lady Slade went on to say that she had no wish to buy a “replacement property”, but simply wanted the Old Farm to be sold up for her benefit.
“She wanted the sale proceeds invested to enhance her income and she wanted all her debts paid from the sale proceeds,” continued Mr Deacon.
That decision has now led to a High Court fight, with Sir Benjamin insisting that she has no right to any money from the house, since it was only ever transferred to provide her with a home.
His barrister said the aim of the 1994 settlement was “to provide income for Lady Slade from the cash fund deposited in the trust and to provide her with lifetime rent-free accommodation by means of the transfer of the property to the trust.”
“It was never objectively intended that the property would be used to provide income either to Lady Slade or at all.
“She is not entitled under the deed to alter the underlying purpose of the trust and the nature of the trust property from a home to an income-producing asset,” he argued.
Lady Slade has limited rights in relation to both her investment fund and the Old Farm, argued Mr Deacon, noting that she has no power to manage her £651,000 trust fund.
“Under the settlement, she has a life interest in income, but is not entitled to control the capital of the trust fund,” he submitted.
“As regards the property, she has only a limited power, which is to direct the trustees to sell the property, but only to acquire another property [to be her home].
“That does not allow her to demand investment of the proceeds for income.”
Sir Benjamin also claims that, under the terms of her divorce settlement, his ex cannot request the Old Farm’s sale unless she is actually living at the property, and argued that the purpose of the trust was solely to safeguard her permanent accommodation.
“The trust is there to permit her to live there as long as she lives,” he told the court.
“A more fundamental point is that the property was transferred solely to provide a place for her to live rent free.”
Sir Benjamin was in court for the short hearing, during which High Court judge, Master Julia Clark, was asked to resolve the “preliminary issue” of whether Lady Slade can “compel” the trustees to sell the Old Farm and “invest the proceeds to produce an income for her”.
The two trustees were represented in court by barrister, Hugh Cumber, who stressed their “neutral” stance amid “diametrically opposing views”.
Lady Slade is a named party in the case but was not represented in court, with the trustees’ barrister telling the judge she has not participated in the court case or filed evidence, “despite her interest in the outcome of the proceedings”.
And he added: “(The trustees) have brought these proceedings in an attempt to resolve the dispute and ensure the proper administration of the trust.”
Master Clark reserved her decision on whether Lady Slade can force the trustees to sell the house and invest the proceeds to boost her income until a later date.
