brother or nephew, may be made; it being agreeable to the nature of a borough-english custom" (t). But the weight of authority is in favour of the rule, that the extension of the custom to collaterals must be specially proved, and will not be implied by pleading that the land is of the nature of borough-english (u). Among these varieties of junior rights are special customs in favour of the youngest brother where the tenant has no sons, but several brothers, as in the manors of Dorking, Milton, and Westcott in Surrey, in favour of the youngest male collateral in each degree, as in the manors of Acton, Ealing, and Isleworth in Middlesex. In the manor of Lyddington-cum-Caldecott in Rutland the custom is, that the land descends to the youngest son of the person last seised, if he has more than one, if no son to the daughters as parceners, and if no sons or daughters, then to the youngest brother of the person last seised, and to the youngest son of such youngest brother (). There are also customs which extend the principle of junior right to females as well as males, as in the manors of Fulham, Putney, Sheen, Mortlake, Battersea, Roehampton, Wimbledon, Wandsworth, Down, Barnes, and Richmond in Surrey, in some cases to daughters alone, but in others to sisters, aunts, or collaterals of every degree (y).

The principle of "junior right" prevails so generally upon copyhold lands in Sussex that it has often been called the common law of the county; and in the Rape of Lewes the custom is nearly universal. "A comparison of the manorial usages will show the following results. The privilege is usually extended to the heirs in remote degrees: the youngest of the sons, daughters, brothers or sisters, uncles or aunts, or male or female collateral relations,

(t) Payne v. Barker, O. Bridg. 18, 25; S. C. as Pain v. Herbert, cited 2 Keb. 158; S. C. as Fane v. Barr, cited 1 Salk. 243, and 6 Mod. 120. (u) Clement v. Scudamore, 6 Mod.

120; Rider v. Wood, 1 K. & J. 644. (x) Muggleton v. Barnett, 2 H. & N. 653.

(y) Elton, Ten. of Kent, 169; Elton, Orig. Eng. Hist. 189.

6

being entitled to the customary preference. When there are several kinds of tenure, the benefit of the custom is confined to the more ancient. In some places, for example, there are two kinds of copyhold land, the one called 'Bondland,' and the other 'Soke-land.' In such cases, the custom is confined to the Bond-land (z); and in some manors the privilege of the youngest is lost if his predecessor were the owner of Soke-land at the time of his coming into the Bondland. Some of these customs are very strange,' said a learned writer (a), such as that of the manor of Wadhurst, where there are two sorts of copyhold tenures, and the custom is, that if the tenant was first admitted to Soke-land and afterwards to Bond-land, the heir-at-law should inherit both, and if he was first admitted to Bondland then his youngest son should inherit both, but if he was admitted to both at the same time, then his eldest son should take the whole.' There is a similar usage in the manors of Framfield and Mayfield, where in each case the written collection of customs forms a valuable repository of ancient law. In those districts, and in many others in the neighbourhood, the copyhold lands which have been reclaimed from the forest waste are known as Assartlands.' The distinction between them and the more ancient holdings appears in the following extract: 'If any man or woman be first admitted to any of the Assartlands, and die seised of Assart-lands and Bond-lands, then the custom is, that the eldest son be admitted for heir to all, and if he or she have no son, then the eldest daughter likewise. And if the said tenant be first admitted to Bond-land, the youngest son or youngest daughter shall be heir to all his customary lands.' At Rotherfield, the custom is still more intricate.

(z) See Vaughan v. Atkins, 5 Burr. 2764, for difference in descent between purpresture land and bond land in Manor of Bitterne, Hants.

There are three kinds of

(a) Nelson, Lex Maneriorum, pref., citing the observations of Anderson, C. J., in Kempe v. Carter, 1 Leon. 55.

Restriction of custom of boroughenglish to

youngest son

land: assart, farthing-land, and cotman-land. To the first the eldest son is heir, to the second the youngest son, and in default of sons the youngest daughter, and the cotman-lands descend to the youngest son, but failing a son are divided among all the daughters. In Pevensey also there are three different tenures of freehold lands, of which the first goes to the common law heir, and the others to the youngest son, and in other parts of the same county, as in the manor of Plumpton, and on the lands between the watch-crosses at Boxgrove,' there are freeholds that are subject to the customary rule" (b). The custom of preferring the youngest also prevails in the extensive district in Somerset, which is known as the Manor of Taunton Deane, and is described in the Custumal to be as follows: "If any tenant die seised of any customary lands or tenements of inheritance within the said manor, ... and if he hath more sons than one, then the youngest son hath used to have and inherit the same as sole heir to his father by the custom of the said manor; and so likewise of daughters, if he hath more than one and die without issue male, the youngest daughter ought and hath used to inherit the same as sole heir to her said father by the custom of the said manor. But if the father hath neither wife nor son nor daughter, then the youngest brother of the whole blood ought and hath used to inherit the same lands; and if he hath no brother of the whole blood, then the youngest sister of the whole blood; and if he hath neither brother nor sister, then this is a rule in the said custom, that the youngest next of kin of the whole and of the worthiest blood ought and hath used to inherit and hold the lands to him and his heirs for ever" (c).

(5.) There may be also special customs of a more restricted nature than the general custom of boroughenglish, of which the most important are those which

(b) Elton, Orig. Eng. Hist. 187,

188.

(c) Shillibeer, Customs of Taunton Deane, 42, 43.

restrain the custom to the case of a tenant dying seised. of "tenant In a case (d), where the copyhold lands of every tenant dying seised." dying seised were descendible to the youngest son, a surrender was made to the use of B. and his heirs; but B. died before admittance. It was agreed, that if B. had been admitted, the youngest son after his death would have inherited; but as B. had died before admittance, the question was between the eldest and youngest son of B., and it was adjudged that the eldest son should have the land because of the strictness of the custom, there never having been any seisin in the ancestor. In the muchdiscussed case of Muggleton v. Barnett (e), it was argued that the Inheritance Act had deprived a custom of this kind of its significance, the person last seised being no longer the root of descent in any case, but the strict interpretation of the custom was upheld. In that case, the custom was shown to be that the land should descend to the youngest son of the person last seised, if he had more than one son, and if no son, to the daughters as parceners; and if no issue, then to the youngest brother of the person last seised, and to the youngest son of such youngest brother. In the case of Bickley v. Bickley (f) it was held that the word "descent " was not confined to its ordinary sense, but applied to each transmission of the estate, whether by devise or inheritance.

There may be other varieties of junior right, as that fee Varieties of simple lands should go to the youngest son and entailed junior right. lands to the eldest (g), or that the special custom shall only extend to copyholds in a particular district in a manor, as in the manors of Framfield, Mayfield, Taunton Deane, and Wadhurst, already mentioned.

descent

(6.) Other local customs give a preference, in default of Customs of sons, to the youngest daughter, and sometimes to the among

(d) Payne v. Barker, O. Bridg.

18; see note (t), ante.

(e) 2 H. & N. 653; see Williams, Real Prop. App. A.

54.

(f) L. R. 4 Eq. 216.

(g) Chapman v. Chapman, March,

females.

Customs for the widow or widower to inherit.

eldest (). Traces of this special custom of primogeniture are found in the extensive districts of Castlerigg and Derwentwater in Cumberland, at Kirkby Lonsdale in Westmorland, at Weardale in Durham; in the manors of Bray in Berkshire, Marden in Herefordshire, Casthiobury and St. Stephen's in Hertfordshire, Middleton Cheney in Northamptonshire, and Chertsey, Beaumond, Farnham, Worplesdon, and Pirbright in Surrey. In the same way, the eldest or the youngest daughter may have a customary preference in the claim to a renewal of a copyhold for lives (i). In the manor of Tynemouth the descent, in default of sons, is to the eldest daughter for life, and it was stated that then the land shall descend to the next heir male deriving his title through males, and if there be none such, the land shall escheat to the lord" (k). A custom to exclude female heirs altogether has been held good (7); but this would not exclude females claiming by representation to stand in the place of a male heir (m). Such customs of female primogeniture may extend to the case of sisters, nieces, aunts, &c., or to the females in every degree. Such customs will be always strictly interpreted. Thus, where there is a custom that land shall descend to the eldest sister, this will not extend to the eldest niece or aunt, &c., for, in the absence of special proof, the custom of the lineal descent will not be extended to the collaterals, nor the usage as to one degree to any other degree of relationship (n).

(7.) There may be a valid custom for the widow or widower to inherit instead of the issue, as in the manor of Taunton Deane, where the heir in borough-english is