How abeyance works A barony created by writ passes to heirs general. When a holder dies leaving more than one daughter (and no son), the title falls into abeyance between the co-heirs. No one holds it until the Crown ends the abeyance for one co-heir, or until only one line of heirs is left. It is a matter of royal grace, not a right.
Under a 1927 House of Lords address to the Crown, the Attorney-General draws attention to a petition if the abeyance began more than 100 years before the petition, or if the petitioner represents less than one third of the dignity. Children of the last holder, and descendants of a parent of the last holder, are exempt from the one-third test. In those cases no further proceedings are advised “in the absence of special circumstances or special reasons to the contrary.” Regard is also had to “the character, position and fitness of the Petitioner.”
The Barony of Audley went into abeyance in 1997, so it is inside the 100-year window until 2097. A petitioner would have to show they are one of the co-heirs.
This is personal genealogical research. No petition has been accepted, and nothing here is a legal claim or advice.
Sources: Hansard, HL Deb 31 May 1927, Peerages in Abeyance ; Hansard, HL Deb 6 July 1927, Peerages in Abeyance ; Debrett's, creation and inheritance of peerages . The phrase about special circumstances is the 1927 Lords address, not Debrett's.