MANORIAL LAW

 

Law and Recent Court Cases

 

Manorial Law 600 AD to 2013

 

We have Listing all the Statute Acts Which affecting Manorial Titles up to 2013.

C.600: Writing of Law began in England The First Laws were set down between 600 AD to 615 AD in the Kingdom of Kent by King Æthelberht of Kent (560–616). http://www.earlyenglishlaws.ac.uk/laws/texts/abt/

King Æthelberht of Kent (560–616). Created the first English Law governing “Rights”. Until this point only physical property had been governed by law. It was very simple, “If you have something in your possession, it is yours”. “Rights” were added to physical property under the same rules http://www.earlyenglishlaws.ac.uk/laws/texts/abt/view/#translation,1/translation,1

 

C.1066: The Norman Conquest

With the conquest William I brought with him a similar system that was used in Normandy for land ownership although the structure of ownership was also affected by area measures such as Hundreds and Counties. William introduced that most land was to be"owned" by the Crown and then handed out to key individuals as large estates called Earldoms, Baronies and Manors. These estates came with a title attached to them and a "Fee" assessment. This was a form of taxation but instead of all being for money many were for service, the most popular being "Knights Service" which was the biggest cost to the Crown. Instead of having to raise an army the King merely called in the debt of Knights Service. This was called the "Feudal system of land ownership.

 

C.1086: Doomsday

Christmas 1085 William ordered a survey of all land holdings in England. The most popular belief for its compilation was to maximise the tax return on the lands of England however it has served as a reference book since then until today. Each county was surveyed individually and assets (land, animals and people) were all logged against the land owner. The survey actually records the information from before the Conquest and not at that date. At Doomsday 1st August 1086 the chief land owners swore allegiance to William and this was known as the Salisbury Oath.

 

C.1189: Time Immemorial

Land continued to be owned through the feudal/manorial systems however it quickly became apparent that deeds that justified the holding of land were going missing and this created many disputes. To resolve this the date of Richard I coming to the throne was set as the term Time Immemorial. The term means "in living memory". Prior to this if someone could provide witnesses to say they had farmed a particular estate they could take ownership.

 

As England moved into 13th and 14th centuries the law was passed to change from the reality of living memory to a specific date where the owner had to prove ownership. In later years this was replaced with different Statute of Limitation Acts which reduced the time to prove ownership of land down to 12 years. The last limitation period for the Lordship Titles were 20 years however this has all been repealed.

 

C.1189: Statute of Westminster I, 1275

This Statute set the baseline for 'Time Immemorial' Being the 6th July 1189, being the accession of King Richard I (The Lion Heart). Before Statutes of Limitations this was the date that owners of land had to prove their ownership by deeds. Physical land now utilises the Limitation Act 1980 but Manorial Titles (Incorporeal Hereditaments) are specifically excluded. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/aep/Edw1/3/5/section/wrapper1

 

C.1290: Quia Emptores 1290

This act is sometimes called the Statute of Westminster III, Statute of Quia Emptores brought to an end the power to create new Manors (the Crown was excluded), Quia Emptores brought an end to Sub-Infeudation. No new Manors can be created after this date 1290. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/aep/Edw1/18/1/introduction

 

C.1290: Quia Emptores

This was the last date in which a Manor and Lordship title could be created. This does not exclude the Lordship titles and Manor that were "sort of created" when a Manor was split. If land was sold off from a Manor one of the two parts would be the Manor. If a Manor was left to two children for example by Moiety then not only was the physical land split it the Seigniory and Lordship package was split so that each half would have its own rights.

 

C.1536 - 1541

This was probably the biggest change in ownership of Manors and Lordships since the Conquest. Henry VIII whilst in dispute with the Catholic Church decided to create the Church of England a Protestant religion. Approximately a third of all land in England was owned by the Catholic Church and during this period it was taken from the monasteries and priories and taken back into the ownership of the Crown. Of course the Manors were quickly re-distributed as it was far better to gain tax than have to manage the estate under the Crown.

 

C.1585: Morris v Smith & Paget Cro. Eliz. 38

Judgement stated that a Manor could no longer be created by a common person or by the (Queen Elizabeth I).

This means that the law of Prescription cannot apply to Lordship Rights.

 

C.1660: The Tenures Abolition Act

Feudalism (holding land in lieu of a service) was widespread until the first quarter of the 14th Century; however from that time it declined quickly until this statute removed it completely converting the service into a financial amount or monetary tax. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/aep/Cha2/12/24/contents

 

C.1660: Tenures Abolition Act 1660

The Tenures Abolition Act converted all tenures into free and common socage, nearly all burdensome incidents abolished for all land of free tenure, The Abolition of Tenures Act – Barons and Lords until this time could either be required to pay money or provide a service to the Crown. This Act of Parliament removed the requirement of providing service and converted all of the services into payments of money. This Act Did NOT Abolish Feudal Titles like many Amateurs in Manorial Law would like us to believe.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/aep/Cha2/12/24/section/IV

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/aep/Cha2/12/24/contents

 

C.1707: Game Act 1706 (Ann.6 c.16)
The Game Act of 1706 gave the Lords of the Manor the power to appoint gamekeepers.

C.1831: Game Act 1831

The Game Act of 1831 confirmed that the appointment of gamekeepers is not the exclusive preserve of Lords of the Manor. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Will4/1-2/32/contents

 

C. 1856: Rooke v. Lord Kensington (1856) 2 K. & J. 753), 772 – Conveyance deeds must specifically refer to the rights to the Lordship of the Manor to confirm that they are being transferred.

 

C.1858: Berkeley Peerage case (1858-61) 8 HLC 21 Lord St Leonards Land Case map 1 Citers

Lord St Leonards explained section 1 of the Tenure Abolition Act 1660 Act which removed all the "fruits and consequents" of tenure in capite of the Crown: "Not only were all tenures in capite taken away, but the lands were for ever turned into free and common socage. How can the Castle and Estate of Berkeley, holden as it now is by free and common socage, and not in capite or in chief, carry with it a right in its possessor to sit in this House? It confers upon him just the same right, but no higher than the humblest cottage confers on its owner. The feudal tenure being abolished, of course the privileges annexed or flowing from it have ceased." Tenures Abolition Act 1660

 

C.1864: Delacherois -v- Delacherois (1864) 11 HL Case 62, 102-103 by Lord St Leonards – Land sold off from a Manor would no longer have any rights as a Manor, it was now freehold land.

 

C. 1881: Conveyancing Act 1881, The Conveyancing Act 1881 Linked the conveyance of the title of Lord of the Manor to the conveyance of the Manor itself for the first time. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/44-45/41/contents

 

C.1922: The Law of Property Act – The main purpose of this Act was to prepare physical land for compulsory land registration. The Law of Property Act 1922 separated manorial rights from the physical land so that they could be bought and sold separately. If the seller of a Manor with rights wishes to sell both the rights of manor with the manor land they need to complete a conveyance for the physical land and another conveyance for the rights of manor. They cannot combine the two onto one conveyance, Manorial Rights were separated from the physical land and from now on had to be conveyed by a separate conveyance deed.

 

C.1922/1925: Law of Property Acts/Land Registration

The Manorial rights that were associated with the Manors were legally disconnected and were required to be transferred on separate deeds. For most of the Manorial period the rights had to be listed separately on the same deed. This was done as land was to be classified as one of two type’s freehold and leasehold so Manorial Land had in fact ceased.

 

C.1925: Beaumont v Jeffery (1925) Ch 1 Confirmed there was no requirement for the Lord of the Manor to retain manorial records. This is to be overturned by amending legislation added to The Law of Property Act 1922. This does mean though that many manorial records were lost. Manorial lordships and documents

The Law of property Acts did not abolish manorial lordships and manorial lordships may be bought and sold, but a new lord is not automatically entitled to documents relating to the manor, unless these have been specifically conveyed to him. The case Beaumont v Jeffery (1925) established that the lord of a manor could sell the lordship while retaining ownership of any documents in his possession relating to the manor. Conversely, it was also established that manorial documents could be disposed of by the lord while the lordship itself could be retained. A new lord is not entitled, as of right, to obtain copies of documents relating to the manor to which he has acquired the title, although these may be purchased at the discretion of the owners or custodians, normally an archive repository. A manorial lord is entitled to documents created in the period during which he is the lord.

 

C.1925: The Law of Property Act 1925 The Law of property Act 1925 concerns title to real property such as Manorial Waste and Incidents, and what the conveyance of manors shall include. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/15-16/20/contents

 

C.1925: Land Registration Act 1925 The Land Registration Act 1925 enabled the registration of Lord of the Manor titles. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/15-16/21/contents

 

C.1939: Limitation Act 1939 (2 & 3 Geo.6 c.21) The Limitation Act – Stated that adverse possession applied to physical land for a period of 12 years however incorporeal hereditaments were specifically excluded making adverse possession definitely no longer a legal recourse if deeds were not available, Removes incorporeal hereditaments from the definition of land with regards to Limitation Act time limits concerning their recovery of title by persons other than the Crown. http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1089550?uid=3738032&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=211 01392419203

 

C.1980: Limitation Act 1980 Section 38, The Limitation Act does not allow the creation of legal title to incorporeal hereditaments (manorial titles), The Limitation Act 1980 and 1939 both clearly stated that without a set of deeds the Limitation Acts could not be used to gain legal ownership.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/58

 

C.1986: Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1986 Statute Law Repeals Act 1986 The statute Repeals Act of 1986 removes incorporeal hereditaments from the definition of land with regards to Limitation Act time limits concerning their recovery of title by the Crown. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/43/contents/enacted

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/12/contents/enacted

 

C.1995: Civil Evidence Act 1995 The Civils Evidence Act 1995 reputation of authors of historical documents allows for their submission as evidence in civil cases. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1995/38/contents

 

C.2002: Land Registration Act 2002 Land Registration Act – The Land Registration act 2002 Manorial titles are outside the definition of 'land', and land must be physically posessed to be registrable. Manorial Titles no longer voluntarily registrable. Registration of title not conclusive proof of ownership of title, This Act closed the registration of Manorial Lordship Titles and scheduled the closure of the Manorial Interests Register which will be 12th October 2013 (10 years after the Act came into force), Land Registration Act 2002 The Land Registration Act 2002 Manorial titles are outside the definition of 'land', and land must be physically posessed to be registrable. Manorial Titles no longer voluntarily registrable. Registration of title not conclusive proof of ownership of title. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/9/contents

 

C.2008: Crown Estate Commissioners v Roberts 2 EGLR 165,– Manorial Courts are inseparable from Manors and therefore when a Manor no longer holds courts it is then called a Reputed Manor. In law they are both treated the same. http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2008/98.html

http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/in-practice/law-reports/real-property

 

C.2010: Burton & Bamford v Walker & Others, Land Registry REF/2007/1124 (10 December 2010), The Land Registry Adjudicator Confirmed that Adverse Possession and Prescription, (with loss of modern grant), or Proprietary Estoppel cannot be used to justify the ownership of a manorial title and does not enable ownership of a Lordship of the Manor title, Confirmed ownership requires the presence of all deeds, correctly made up since 1189. The absence of the correct and complete sets of deeds requires Court approval to confirm Ownership. These legal maxims are now obsolete http://www.ahmlr.gov.uk/Public/summary.aspx?id=209

 

C.2011: London Barrister Paul Stafford QC, Paul Stafford' article looks at the registration requirements introduced by the Land Registration Act 2002, Published in the Property Law Journal in June 2011, Dead Line for Manorial Titles Registration with Land Registry, http://issuu.com/keithplowman/docs/plj262_p18-21_stafford

 

C.2011: London Barrister Paul Stafford QC, Manorial Rights - Title Challenge, Published in the Property Law Journal in January 2011 on manorial rights and the importance of examining the foundations on which a particular title stands. http://issuu.com/keithplowman/docs/plj262_p18-21_stafford

 

C.2012: Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (UK) 2012 Special valuation matters: Lordships of the Manor and Baronial Titles. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ihtmanual/ihtm23194.htm

 

C.2012: Peter Walker & Others v Burton & Another

 

[2012] EWHC 978 (Ch) (17 April 2012) http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2012/978.html The Land Registry Adjudicator Confirmed that Adverse Possession and Prescription, (with loss of modern grant), or Proprietary Estoppel cannot be used to justify the ownership of a manorial title and does not enable ownership of a Lordship of the Manor title, Confirmed ownership requires the presence of all deeds, correctly made up since 1189. The absence of the correct and complete sets of deeds requires Court approval to confirm Ownership. These legal maxims of Adverse Possession and Prescription, (with loss of modern grant), or Proprietary Estoppel are now obsolete and cannot no longer be used to justify ownership of a Manorial Title. http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2012/978.html

http://www.ahmlr.gov.uk/Public/summary.aspx?id=209

 

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