This section is from the book "Real Property, An Introductory Explanation Of The Law Relating To Land", by Alfred F Topham. Also available from Amazon: The New Law Of Property.
Future estates in land are incorporeal hereditaments which may at some future date become corporeal hereditaments, that is, estates in possession.
There are other incorporeal hereditaments, which can never become corporeal, but are present rights to use or enjoy in a particular way the land or the income of land which belongs to other persons. The most important examples of these are -
1. Rights of common, including
Common of pasture: the right to feed cattle on the land of another.
Common of turbary: the right to dig turf.
Common of piscary: the right to catch fish.
Lord Chesterfield v. Harris, [1908] 1 Ch. 230.
H and others who were freeholders of the Manor of Wormelow claimed a right to fish in that portion of the river Wye which is within the Manor.
Held, H had proved that a right of fishery was attached to the Manor.
Eights over Land in the Possession of Others 173
2. Seignories. A seignory is the interest of a lord who has a tenant holding of him in fee simple.
In every manor there are usually four kinds of lands -
(i.) The lord's demesne: that is, the mansion house and land in the possession of the lord of the manor himself.
(ii.) Land held by freehold tenants in fee simple: over these the lord of the manor simply has a seignory, and no right of possession.
(iii.) Land held by copyhold tenants: of these the freehold is in the lord of the manor.
(iv.) Waste lands: which are unenclosed, and over which all the tenants of the manor have rights of common and other rights.
3. Rents payable by the persons in possession of the land.
4. Easements, or rights to use the land for certain purposes.
5. Profits a prendre, or rights to take something from the land.
6. Advowsons: an advowson is a right to appoint a clergyman to a living in the church.
7. Tithes: a tenth part of the rents and profits of certain lands which are payable to the rector or vicar of the parish.
All these rights may be enjoyed by a person because they have been granted to him or his ancestors, or because he holds a particular piece of land to which these rights have become attached.
Those students who have read Roman Law will see that these rights correspond to "servitudes," and they may be either "personal" or "prędial." The English law terms are as follows: -
(1) Rights in gross. - Eights granted to a person and his heirs, and enjoyed by them whether or not they hold any particular piece of land.
Thus, a lord of a manor might grant to his second son and his descendants for ever the right to pasture cattle on the waste lands of the manor.
(2) Rights appendant. - Rights the enjoyment of which is attached to a particular piece of land because it is part of the same manor as the land over which the right exists.
Thus, the tenants of a manor have rights of common over the wastes of the same manor.
These rights are said to he enjoyed by reason of the origin of their tenure.
On a sale of the land, the right goes with the land to the purchaser.
(3) Rights appurtenant. - Rights the enjoyment of which is attached to a particular piece of land which is not part of the same manor.
Thus, the lord of the manor might grant to the owner of a neighbouring piece of land, which was not part of the manor, a right for him and all persons who should from time to time become entitled to that piece of land, to pasture cattle on the waste lands of the manor.
 
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