Ancient fishing rights on river Severn up for sale at auction

IF you have ever wanted to fish like a king some ancient fishing rights are going up for sale.

Rights to fish the river Severn near Newport that date back to the sixth century are coming up for sale at auction tomorrow.

The Free Fishery of the Severn, which dates back to the ancient Welsh kings of Glamorgan and Gwent, is being sold by Paul Fosh Auctions. The rights stretch from the riverbank at Newport three miles across the Severn to Portishead, near Bristol.

The fishery is being sold on behalf of an unnamed owner in South Wales and a guide price for the lot has yet to be revealed.

Paul Fosh said there is likely to be a lot of interest in the rights. He said: “The term unique is often overused but in this case it can be used without any question. I am confident in saying that there is no other stretch of river like this anywhere else in the world.

“We expect to get an exceptional amount of interest from a number of different parties in this fishery. A guide price for the lot is likely to be known closer to the sale date.”

The Free Fishery of the Severn is an ancient Royal Welsh hereditament dating back to the ancient Kings of Glamorgan and Gwent in Wales from the sixth century.

The rights will allow the owner to be the sole person fishing that part of the river.

The Free Fishery of the Severn comes up for sale at Paul Fosh Auctions tomorrow, at The Park Inn Hotel, Circle Way East, Llanedeyrn, Cardiff, CF23 9XF, starting at 5pm.