Land tenure Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Land Tenure is the name given, particularly in Common Law systems, to the manner in which land was owned by an individual, who was said to "hold" the land. In most cases, the individual would hold the land "of" someone else, who was known as the lord, the owner of the land being called the tenant. The Crown held land in its own right -- it was not the tenant of anyone else.The concept of tenure has largely been abandoned, even in England it is very rarely of importance. The concepts of (land)lord and tenant have been recycled to refer to the relationship of the parties to land which is held under a lease.
It was usual for there to be reciprocal duties between lord and tenant. There were different kinds of tenure to fit various kinds of duties that a tenant might owe to a lord. For instance, a military tenure might require the tenant to supply the lord with a number of armed knights.
| Table of contents |
|
2 References 3 See Also |
After the Norman Conquest all land in England was held by someone, and from that time there has been no allodial land in England.
The situation at the time of the Domesday Book, around the 1170's, was that William I was at the top of the tree. All land was ultimately his land. He had allocated -- in legal language he granted -- land to a number of lords. These lords, who held land immediately of the Crown, are called tenants-in-chief.
Most of these tenants-in-chief had considerable land holdings and proceeded to grant parts of their land to their subordinates. This process, of granting subordinate tenancies, is now known as subinfeudation.
The result was a chain of people from the King down to the person who actually occupied the land (called the tenant in demesne). In the middle of the chain would be lords who had no direct relationship with the King, or with the land in question; they are referred to as mesne lords.
This is an Article on Land tenure. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Land tenure Land Tenure in England
References
See Also