COPYHOLD PRECEDENTS. CHAPTER I. COURT ROLLS. DISCARDING any technical distinction of lands, strictly termed customary freeholds or lands of ancient demesne, we may fully assert that all copyhold property is held by what is termed Copy Court Roll," from the lords or ladies of the several manors to which such courts are necessarily incident (a). A manor, with respect to its origin, nature, and properties, is so ably discussed by writers of legal notoriety and eminence (b), that the following brief report must limit our definition: "A manor or barony originally consisted of a district granted by the sovereign to some person of influence, and to his heirs for ever, subject to the performance of such services, and the payment of such rent as was specified in the charter or royal grant, and with power to exercise a certain jurisdiction within its limits. The original grantee of the Crown distributed parts of the manor to tenants to hold of himself in fee simple in the same manner as he held of the Crown, subject to certain rent and services, and retained for the use of himself (a) Vol. 1, Scriven on Copyholds, 4th edit., p. 3, n. (k). Standen v. Christmas, 10 Q. B. 135. B (b) Co. Litt.; Co. Cop.; Bl. Com.; Roll. Ab.; Watkins & Scri ven. and his family other parts of the manor which were called "Demesne Lands." The Lord's Court of Justice was styled "The Court Baron or Manor Court," and was essential to the constitution of a manor (c); and the Court Baron could not be continued without at least two freeholders holding in fee of the manor and subject to escheat" (d). Court Rolls are well known to be evidences of the title to the lands within the respective manors, and to be prepared and enrolled by the steward of the Lord's Court. Every copyholder is termed a tenant, and considered to hold his lands subject to the will of the lord or lady, but this as controlled by custom. To be a tenant at will may appear incompatible with an unfettered and free possession, this will however is not at the present day capricious or arbitrary, but controlled by gradually asserted and now established customs peculiar to each manor. Subject to the observance of these customs every copyholder has a perfect and indefeasible interest in his estate, and must be presumed to know the conditions of its tenure, a non-compliance with which is visited by the penalty of a forfeiture to the lord or lady. There is much learning collected upon the force and qualification of customs in a very valuable work already mentioned (e), which may be profitably consulted at any period of querulous uncertainty. Premising the existence of a manor, and of property held by title of its Court Rolls, it is simply by furnishing precedents of the various modes and forms employed for the conveyance of and admission to copyhold property, with reference to each mode of its acquirement, that will form the body of this treatise. (c) Ante, n. (a). (d) Glover v. Lane, 3 T. R. 447, by Lord Kenyon. 3 CHAPTER II. INTESTACY AND DESCENT. SINCE the power to make a will (a), but few persons who have immediate relatives are so improvident as to leave their property to legal distribution. A wise discretion is exercised by a testamentary declaration of the disposal of every man's possessions and chattels, thus obviating those litigious quarrels which otherwise occasionally disturb the peace of a family. It is not, however, an agreeable duty to perform, since men are so indolently averse to make any preparation for that serious finale common to us all, although a melancholy accident or sudden illness does sometimes occur, inflicting the inflexible veto of death upon human faculty or will. When incidents of this lamentable character visit a family in the decease of an individual member who has neglected to commit to evidential authority the disposal of his effects, the law intervenes and apportions such to the legal claimants. Personalty is left to a legislative distribution (b); realty of which copyhold property may form part is governed by descent, and generally follows the rule of common law (c). In some manors descent is subject to custom (d), but in this treatise the former rule is adopted as generally prevalent, and, of course, (a) Scriven on Cop., 4th edit., vol. 1, p. 233; 12 Car. 2, c. 24; 32 Hen. 8, c. 1; 34 Hen. 8, c. 5; 55 Geo. 3, c. 192; 1 Vict. c. 26. (b) 22 & 23 Car. 2, c. 10; 29 Car. 2, c. 30. (c) 1 Roll. Ab. 624, pl. 2. (d) Watkins on Cop., 4th edit., p. 45; Co. Litt. 27. Scriven on Cop., vol. 1, 4th edit., pp. 28, 29. subject to the late changes with respect to inheritance (e). In such a case, therefore, the heir would become tenant to the lord or lady of the manor of which such copyhold had been held, and would require admittance (f). Such part also of the property of a deceased intestate as consists of leasehold, will subject the administrator to admittance, though it has been in dispute whether executors and administrators of a termor were compellable to be admitted (g). Admittance is effected by an entry upon the rolls of the Court of the death of the person through whom the new tenant or copyholder makes claim, and also of the description of the property as set forth in the original Court copies which were held by his ancestor or the preceding owner. The instrument by which such facts are disclosed to the lord or lady or the steward of the Court, is termed a presentment or inquisition, which is presented and read to the jury or homage assembled at a Court Baron convened by the steward of the manor, who are presumed to find the facts set forth in such presentment, and upon which finding the tenant is admitted. It is now unnecessary to make such presentment in Court, and such mode remains only to be adopted as a general convenience (h). Presentments or inquisitions are drawn in some one of the following forms according to existing circumstances—always adopting a separate document for separate properties, or at least for separate manors. (e) 3 & 4 Wm. 4, cc. 27 and 104. (f) 1 Watkins on Cop., 102; 55 Geo. 3, c. 192, vide 1 Vict. c. 26, S. 3. (g) Vide Scriven on Cop., 4th edit., vol. 1, p. 300. (h) 4 & 5 Vict. c. 35, ss. 87, 88, 89, 90. |