Ancient land rights stretching back to 1154, have finally received a seal of approval.

The 30,000 acre Bolton Abbey estate has now been lodged with the Land Registry.

The estate, owned by the Duke of Devonshire, is one of the largest swathes of land to be registered in North Yorkshire.

The registration was celebrated yesterday in the Priory church, among the ruins of the original priory.

Establishing the rights meant the estate's head agent, Ben Heyes, turning detective. He had to delve into historical documents dating back to the 13th century.

It also involved him donning walking boots and rucksack on a trek to check the boundary, which surrounds 85 miles of footpaths, 14,000 acres of heather moorland, 1,500 acres of woodland, 14,000 acres of agricultural land and over 50 farms as well as residential and commercial buildings.

Mr Heyes said: "There's more than 800 years of land ownership history on this estate and over the years the nature and extent of the estate has changed considerably.

"Registration provided an opportunity to pull all that information together into a legal framework.

"It was quite a task but very satisfying to complete."

He said the estate had taken advantage of encouragement by the Land Registry to identify and register what was owned.

Brenda Wastling, North Yorkshire registry development manager, said the estate was one of the largest to be registered in the county, adding that more than 40 per cent of North Yorkshire is still unregistered.

"We understand farmers and landowners lead busy lives but we'd like them to pause and think to the future," she said.

"We have teams of staff who will make the process as straightforward as possible."

Being registered means the owners have title guaranteed by the state and buying and selling is easier.