“My family needs more security”: Pippa is the sister of the future queen
In 2024, the district council recognized the public’s right of way. Matthews, however, immediately challenged the decision, and the matter was subsequently reviewed in May 2026.
During the hearing last May, Matthews explained that he had not been informed, when he purchased the property, of any potential public use of the driveway. He also pointed out that there was insufficient evidence to classify it as public, since it could not be said with certainty that that stretch of road had been used for 20 consecutive years, as required by British law. He also added that, when the gate was installed, neither the parish council nor the villagers had contacted him to complain.
Matthews then emphasized that his family’s national prominence required special security allowances. “There are implications for my family, due to their high public profile, which means there is a need for a higher level of security than would otherwise be the case if the circumstances were different,” he stated. He had a point: Pippa is the sister of the future queen, and tabloid press in the UK is famously invasive. When the couple renovated Barton Court in 2022, they installed an electric gate specifically to enhance the estate’s security before the family moved in.
Matthews then explained that, following the request to designate the path as a public right-of-way, security requirements had increased further. For this reason, in the summer of 2025, the gates facing Station Road were also reinforced and kept closed.
Testimony from the estate’s former owner in favor of Pippa and James
Matthews also relied on the testimony of Lady Victoria Conran, widow of designer and entrepreneur Sir Terence Conran, the previous owner of Barton Court. In her testimony, Lady Victoria stated that in the roughly 30 years she lived on the property, she had seen only one person use the driveway without authorization. She also stated that she had never noticed groups of hikers crossing the property. Her words bolstered Matthews argument, casting doubt on whether the path had in fact been used by the public on a continuous basis sufficient to establish a right-of-way.
