Sex therapist Patricia Ramshaw – also known as Lady Pea – had brought a £90,000 claim against an estate agent after she was evicted from Grade II listed the Old House in Norfolk
A woman was kicked out of her Grade II listed home after filling it with animals including horses, pigs and sheep, as a legal claim against an estate agent was thrown out.
Sex therapist Patricia Ramshaw – known as Lady Pea – has been involved in a long-running row with the Cator family over her eviction from the Old House in Ranworth, Norfolk. The bitter feud centred around her tenancy of the 300-year-old property, which began in November 2021 when she moved in with a menagerie of animals.
The 55-year-old made a claim through the Civil National Business Centre for £90,000. It initially led to an order being made in absence of a response from the agency ordering them to pay a debt to her. Last month, a judgement was made against the estate agency at the heart of the row – Starkings and Watson (S&W) – over its advertising of the property to begin with. A judge has now thrown out the claim after the agency was able to show it had responded on time.
Christopher Starkings, its managing director, said: “As expected, the courts confirmed they had in fact received all the necessary and associated paperwork and immediately started the process of setting the case aside. The matter is now in the hands of our legal representatives.”
The claim came after a property ombudsman ruled S&W had not properly established whether the Old House had a valid energy statement at the start of the rental. Lady Pea was bought the title by an ex-boyfriend as part of a burlesque act in which she used the name. After she moved into the property in 2021, Lady Pea argued the property was not fit for rental as it lacked heating and had an energy rating of zero.
Her landlords the Cators claimed she had broken the terms of her tenancy by bringing animals onto the site, including four dogs, two horses, pigs, sheep, ducks and geese. Lady Pea also alleged Jane Cator, a deputy lieutenant of Norfolk, had spied on Lady Pea from a nearby church tower.
Mrs Cator admitted she would frequent the tower but denied that she was spying on their then tenant. Lady Pea says she had not yet been informed of the ruling being set aside. She said: “I look forward to seeing whatever defence Starkings and Watson has brought but I have not yet seen it.”