‘There is undoubtedly a popular belief in some parts of the country which has found its way into books that the owner of a hedge is also the owner of a space outside it; sometimes said to be four feet from the base of the bank on which the hedge stands. I am not aware of any legal authority for this broad proposition.’ ‘This matter of the respective positions of the fence and the ditch as affording evidence of the boundary was referred as a custom. It is not a custom at all when rightly understood, but it is a mere presumption. It is a very different thing from a custom. This presumption is very often decisive where there is no evidence at all as to what the boundaries are, but, like any other presumption it is rebuttable, and very often it can easily be rebutted by the production of title deeds. In this case, when the title deeds are examined, there is no room for the operation of the presumption at all.’
Judges:
Scrutton LJ, Goddard LJ
Citations:
[1918] 1 Ch 232
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Alan Wibberley Building Ltd v Insley CA 12-Nov-1997
Where adjoining fields are separated by a hedge and a ditch, who owns the ditch?
Held: The old presumption as to the location of a boundary based on the layout of hedges and ditches is irrelevant where the conveyance was by reference to an OS . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Land
Updated: 12 May 2022; Ref: scu.183679