Eastbourne 'recluse' who lived without gas and electricity leaves £250,000 windfall to strangers

Distant relatives of an Eastbourne 'recluse' have been left in shock after discovering they are in line to inherit part of his £250,000 fortune following his death.

Richard Ticehurst, 70 was found dead in his dilapidated terraced house in Old Town in February 2021.

But little was known about him or his family and he hadn't left a will.

Now, almost two years since his death, 31 surprised relatives scattered across the world have been found, and are set to inherit an unexpected windfall.

The relatives from England, Scotland, Canada, Australia, and America will all now share Richard’s estate.

Emergency services were called to Richard's house on 3 February, 2021.

When they arrived, Richard was pronounced dead at the scene.

It came to light that he had lived in the house since he was born, but with no known next of kin and no will it fell to the local authority to arrange the funeral.

Finders International - a probate genealogy firm which was tasked with tracking down his long-lost relatives, established that Mr Ticehurst was an only child and had never married nor had any children.

His mother was also an only child so the research team focused on his father’s side the family.

Richard’s house showed clear signs of self-neglect.

There was no electricity or gas and the ceilings on the top floor had collapsed.

It was in a state of complete disrepair, with evidence of water leaks and damp throughout along with a several lifetimes’ of clutter.

According to local residents, he was "a sort of recluse" and "didn’t have any visitors".

With no power Richard was known to function with a torch light on his head in the evenings and could no longer watch TV either.

Despite the rundown state of his house and the very poor living conditions, Richard had in excess of a quarter of a million pounds in his estate.

He owned the three bedroom house, a stone's through from Eastbourne’s Waitrose, as it had been left to him in his mother’s will.

He also had further cash in a few bank accounts.

Yvonne, who emigrated to Australia from Manchester in 1974, was one of the beneficiaries traced by Finders International.

She said: “It came out of the blue! I was totally surprised to have been contacted by Finders International.

"I never knew anything about Richard, however when Finders explained the connections it made sense.

“I now understand that my mother, Muriel Ticehurst, who died in 2019, was a first cousin of Richard. So my (maternal) grandfather, Ernest Ticehurst, and Richard’s father, Alfred, were brothers.  It’s just amazing.

“I am totally in awe of how Finders traced me and indeed found us all, scattered throughout the world, back to Richard.

"Not only have I lived in Australia for almost 50 years but I have also divorced and remarried so I go by a difference surname too.

“We’ve been lucky enough to reunite with some of the extended family.  Some relatives have come out to visit us in Australia.

"It would seem that Richard ‘a recluse’ has managed in death to reconnect the next generation of his family…and that must be a good thing! It is just a shame that we didn’t know Richard when he was alive, particularly as it seems he struggled living by himself.”

Some local residents suspect that Richard "might have had some level of learning difficulties" as he seemed unable or unwilling to deal with basic living needs.

Although he did drive to the supermarket fairly regularly.

Danny Curran, of Finders International, said: “Richard’s parents were both aged 41 when he was born.

"That was usual in the 1950’s when the average age for women to have their first born was around 23 years old. Even by today’s standards 41 is considered old for a first-time mother.

"I imagine that Richard was the ‘miracle child’ for a couple who thought they would never have a family. They had also lived through WWII with Alfred, Richard’s father, being a gunner in the Royal Artillery and then worked as a ‘grocers manager’ according to Richard’s birth certificate. Armed with these facts it’s not surprising that he was an only child.

“Without a Will we have no idea what Richard’s final wishes would have been. However we are pleased that, in the circumstances, his relatives have rightfully inherited the estate and that this family have been reunited despite being spread across continents. If we hadn’t located them it would have gone to the Crown.”

According to Finders International more than £3.3 million is still waiting to be claimed in England and Wales.

How does it work and are you entitled to anything?

The order of inheritance starts with spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces, then half-brothers and sisters.

Next it is grandparents, before other branches of a family tree start to be explored.

After 30 years, an unclaimed estate is deemed to be 'bona vacantia' – which is a Latin term for 'ownerless goods'. At this point the government gets keep the estate.

Details are updated everyday which includes information about deceased people with money still left to be claimed – stretching back 30 years.

Estates where the 30-year time limit from the date of death has expired are removed.

Names are provided detailing people in alphabetic order, along with date of death, address, age and other information, such as possible alias names they may also have used.

There are currently almost 6,700 names on this list.

Finders International says if you have an unusual surname, it is an obvious place to start – but to look at your family tree for other maiden names that could provide a link.

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