A court has imposed an extremely rare restraining order to end a three-year dispute between sex therapist Patricia Ramshaw and her aristocratic landlords over whether her rented property was uninhabitable.

Ramshaw (main picture), the self-styled ‘Lady Pea’, drew press attention for her bitter battle with the Cator family after paying £50,000 upfront for a year’s rent on a Grade II listed property she claimed was unfit for habitation.

The dispute over the condition of the property began in November 2021, with tensions boiling over almost immediately after she was handed the keys to the Old House in Ranworth.

extraordinary allegations

At the resulting tribunal hearing, a series of extraordinary allegations were made between the warring parties. Ramshaw claimed that the property was uninhabitable, suffering from mould, damp and a lack of central heating. She also alleged that Jane Cator had spied on her from nearby Ranworth church tower.

The Cators countered that Ramshaw had moved a menagerie of more than a dozen animals onto the property and allowed her pig to destroy the garden.

Ramshaw was evicted in June 2023 after the tribunal ruled in favour of the Cators, but this did not bring an end to the legal action.

Since then, the case has been back and forth between civil courts, with Ramshaw filing several claims against the Cators. And, during this period, a Norfolk lettings firm also became embroiled in the row when Ramshaw secured a £90,000 court order against the firm over energy performance certificate claims, though this was later set aside.

This claimant views litigation as being a never-ending process: that could not be further from the truth.”

At the most recent and final court showdown, Judge Karen Walden-Smith delivered a withering verdict against Ramshaw, accusing her of attempting to use litigation as a “weapon” against the family and of “misusing” the courts.

Judge Walden-Smith wrote in her landmark ruling: “This claimant views litigation as being a never-ending process: that could not be further from the truth. She may well feel she has a genuine grievance in this matter, but she cannot continue to do that.”

The extended civil restraining order imposed on Ramshaw is rare, with fewer than 200 people nationwide currently bound by such measures designed to prevent “vexatious” litigation. The order prevents Ramshaw from making any further legal claims against Sam Cator.

In response to the judgement, Ramshaw told Norwich Evening News: “I paid 12 months’ rent up front, and the house was not fit to be rented. The Cators don’t want you knowing that.”