Fishermen claimed a customary right to spread their nets out to dry on land owned by the plaintiff at all seasonable fishing times.
Held: The activity was a good and valid custom, even though it was not a right for recreational purposes but for the purposes of the fishermen’s trade as fishermen.
The court was asked whether a custom for fishermen to spread their nets to dry upon the beach could be a right capable of being acquired by prescription. The beach belonged to a private owner.
Held: It could. A separate issue was whether the custom, if otherwise established, could apply to land added by accretion to land over which it could be shown that the custom existed. Farwell J held that it could.
Judges:
Farwell J
Citations:
[1904] 2 Ch 534
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
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 . .
Appeal from – Mercer v Denne CA 1905
The court was asked whether the custom for fishermen to spread their nets to dry upon a privately owned beach, if otherwise established, could apply to land added by accretion to land over which it could be shown that the custom existed.
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Land
Updated: 14 May 2022; Ref: scu.242335