The defendants had trampled the grass on a common which the owner had mowed, thrown the hay about and mixed some of it with gravel.
Held: The court considered the rights arising from land being declared to be a common: ‘The inhabitants have a right to take their amusement in a lawful way. It is supposed, because they have such a right, the plaintiff should not allow the grass to grow: there is no foundation in law for such a position. The rights of both parties are distinct, and may exist together. If the inhabitants come in an unlawful way, or not fairly, to exercise the right they claim of amusing themselves, or to use it in an improper way, they are not justified under the custom pleaded, which is a right to come into the close to use it in the exercise of any lawful games or pastimes, and are thereby trespassers.’
Judges:
Heath J
Citations:
(1798) 2 Esp 543, [1795] EngR 4032, (1795) 2 H Bl 393, (1795) 126 ER 614
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
See Also – Fitch v Rawling 1795
A common was claimed at Steeple Bumpstead in Essex for ‘all kinds of lawful games, sports and pastimes . . at all seasonable times of the year.’ including cricket.
Held: Rights of common over land can include the right of local inhabitants to . .
Cited by:
Cited – Oxfordshire County Council v Oxford City Council and others HL 24-May-2006
Application had been made to register as a town or village green an area of land which was largely a boggy marsh. The local authority resisted the application wanting to use the land instead for housing. It then rejected advice it received from a . .
Cited – Lewis, Regina (on The Application of) v Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council and Another SC 3-Mar-2010
The claimants sought to have land belonging to the council registered as a village green to prevent it being developed. They said that it had for more than twenty years been used by the community for various sports. The council replied that it had . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Land
Updated: 05 December 2022; Ref: scu.242329
