Ancient Demesne - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition ancient-demesne

Definition :

Ancient demesne, a tenure now abolished by s. 128 of the (English) L. P. Act, 1922 (12 & 13 Geo. 5, c. 16), see COPYHOLDS, but formerly existing in certain manors, which, though now granted to private persons, were in the actual possession of the Crown in the times of Edward the Confessor and William the Conqueror, and appear to have been so by the great survey in the Exchequer called Domesday Book, and, therefore, whether lands are ancient demesne or not, is to be tried only by this book, called in consequence Liber Judicatorius; but the question must be tried by a jury whether lands be parcel of a manor which is ancient demesne, being a question of fact. There is great confusion in the books respecting this tenure. It is only the freeholders of the manor who are truly tenants in ancient demesne, and land held in ancient demesne, passes by common law conveyance without the instrumentality of the lord. The copyholders is an ancient demesne manor are merely to be considered as occupying a part of the lord's demesne and do not hold of the manor. They form the customary Court. The Court of Ancient Demesne, which is analogous to the Court Baron, is constituted by those who hold in socage of the lord of the manor. The tenants in ancient demesne, properly so called, were made subject to certain restraints and entitled to certain immunities. They were forbidden to bring or to defend any real action, touching their tenements, except in the lord's Court. in ancient demesne there are no subdivided and conflicting interests in the soil. The timber and minerals belong to the tenant, and the rents, fines and services due to the lord are certain. See Third Report of the Real Property Commissioners; Merttens v. Hill, 1901 (1) Ch 853.