BUYERS ASSUME ROYAL AIR WITH BRITISH LORDSHIPS.

Byline: David J. Morrow The New York Times

When Victor Podd decided to rustle up some new business three years ago for Powertex Inc., his packaging company, he didn't join an association or double his advertising.

Instead, he wrote a $30,000 check to the Manorial Society of Great Britain and became the Baron of Newcastle, buying a 900-year-old title put on the block by an aristocrat in need of quick cash.

The acquisition paid some fast dividends. Formerly sequestered at Powertex headquarters in Rouses Point, N.Y., a hamlet near the Vermont border, Podd suddenly found himself mingling with other members of America's corporate gentry.

Joseph Hardy III, president of the 84 Lumber Co. in Pittsburgh, invited Podd two years ago for his annual summer retreat in Farmington, Pa., even though the two had never met.

As it turns out, Hardy had shelled out $180,000 four years earlier for the Lordship of Henley-in-Arden and enjoys hobnobbing with fellow aristocrats. The introduction was a boon for Podd, who met several British executives just as he was increasing his company's presence in Europe.

"I would have never made such fast inroads without those lordships of the manor," said Podd, who has scooped up six titles in the last three years. "Once you buy one, it's like you become a member of an exclusive club."

Scooping up British titles may appear to be an odd hobby, but it's quickly becoming a consuming passion for some celebrities and common folk alike. This spring's auctions - set for March 20 at the Manorial Society and March 26 at Strutt & Parker in Essex - are expected to draw near-record prices.

The auctions will probably be similar to past ones, at which some of the writers of the biggest checks were Russian and Japanese executives who enjoy counting themselves among Europe's nobility, and Canadians and Americans out to reconnect with their ancestries.

The big difference at this year's auctions should be the size of the checks. Two years ago, with Europe in a recession, manorial lordships typically went for $6,000 and baronies for $30,000. Next month, they are expected to fetch $7,500 to $90,000.

"Now that demand for British lordships has picked up again, we're seeing interest from all over the world," said Robert Smith, chairman of the Manorial Society, the largest auctioneer of British titles. "Many of the buyers are curious about the British nobility or are avid students of history."

Counted among Britain's newly anointed lords are a top-level aide to the former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev; the founder of Norton Utilities, Peter Norton, who paid over a six-figure sum to become the lord of Shakespeare's hometown, Stratford-on-Avon; and the composer Ole Georg, also known as the Lord of Sheldowne in Sussex.

Why all the noble hubbub? It has been caused in part by the cinema. Two Jane Austen novels that were made into films recently, "Persuasion" and "Sense and Sensibility," are but the latest in a number that have sparked an interest in British history.

But more important, every title now up for grabs is a British heirloom, passed down from one generation to the next.

Some buyers collect them like fine art. Lordships and baronies are some of Europe's oldest titles, dating back to the Domesday Book, which recorded a land survey for William the Conqueror in 1086.

In the golden days, the lord collected rent from people who lived within his domain, pocketed a cut of the profits from street fairs, oversaw the local legal system and dispatched troops to help the king.

Unfortunately, the titles up for grabs today have lost virtually all their former oomph. Some manorial lordships come with no benefits other than the title. Most offer the lord first dibs on the manor's minerals and rights to the roadside, the narrow strip of land between a major thoroughfare and the front yard of the property owner, who could be anyone from a farmer to a big corporation.

About 90 percent of British titles that are auctioned are bought my men. Women who buy titles, Smith said, are usually of independent means and buy for the same reasons as men: They want to connect with a British ancestry or consider the titles to be collector's items.

"A common misconception is that people get manorial titles confused with peerages," Smith said. "Peerages entitle the owner to sit in the House of Lords. These titles we sell at auction do not."

If being a lord of a manor isn't what it used to be, you'd never know it by some current owners. Many people, like Podd, own more than one title, as if they were modern-day Henry VIII's building an empire.

"I'd like the titles to become part of our family's belongings," Podd said. "I plan to pass them on to my children."

Several titles on the block this year are prime properties. Scottish baronies are rare, and one that is for sale, the Barony of Finavon, comes with the remains of a castle on two acres in central Scotland. The bidding should top $90,000. If you want to be a top lord, make a bid for the manor of Towton, one of Europe's most historic sites. The bloodiest battle during the War of the Roses took place there, and the title should fetch more than $12,000.

Buying a title is relatively easy. Both these properties are being auctioned off by the Manorial Society. To make a bid, buyers can contact the society (011-44-17-1735-6633) or one of the other top British auction houses - Strutt & Parker (011-44-12-4525-8201) or Cluttons (011-44-17-1408-1010) - which have a separate selection of titles. Cluttons rarely conducts an auction, but titles can sometimes be purchased through a private sale.

All three auction houses have catalogs listing the titles on the block, with a brief history of each. "It helps to be present at the auction or visit England ahead of time," Smith said. "That way we could point them to the manor itself and they could go visit. But it's not necessary."

Regardless of the title they buy, most lords of the manor seem to enjoy their new notoriety.

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Montreal resident Victor Podd displays papers making him Lord Of Holland-on-Sea, one of six British lordships he has bought in three years. New York Times Chart Lords and ladies in waiting