Crown and Government Land

Christopher Jessel is a solicitor and was a partner with Farrer & Co, practising in rural property, constitutional and charity law.

Contents
Preface
Postscript
Table of Cases
Table of Primary Legislation
Table of Secondary Legislation
Table of International Conventions and EU Material
Table of Crown Practice Material
List of Abbreviations
Chart of Crown and Government Land
1GENERAL PRINCIPLES
1.1The law
1.2The Crown
1.3Vesting and management
1.3.1Vesting
1.3.2Management
1.3.3Occupation
1.3.4Representation
1.4Landholding
1.4.1Tenure and royal demesne
1.4.2Comprised and belonging
1.4.3Land of Non-Departmental Public Bodies
1.5Acquisition and disposal
1.5.1Acquisition and transfer
1.5.2Disposal and the Crown Lands Act 1702
1.5.3Concession
1.6Public or private
1.7Revenue or function
2IN RIGHT OF THE CROWN
2.1The hereditary lands
2.2The Crown Estate
2.3Historic and occupied palaces
2.3.1Buckingham Palace
2.3.2St James’s Palace
2.3.3Marlborough House
2.3.4Kensington Palace
2.3.5Windsor Castle
2.3.6Tower of London
2.3.7Hampton Court and Kew
2.3.8Whitehall
2.4The Palace of Westminster
2.5Royal parks and gardens
2.5.1Hyde Park
2.5.2Kensington Gardens
2.5.3Hampton Court Gardens and Richmond Park
2.5.4Regent’s Park (including Primrose Hill)
2.5.5Victoria Park
2.5.6Victoria Tower Gardens
2.5.7Battersea Park
2.5.8Greenwich Park
2.5.9Kew Gardens
2.6Other land in right of the Crown
2.6.1Somerset House
2.6.2Old Land Revenue Properties
2.6.3Greenwich Hospital
2.6.4Osborne House
2.6.5Trafalgar Square
2.6.6Parliament Square Garden
2.6.7Crown Estate Paving Commission
3ROYAL AND MINISTERIAL ESTATES
3.1Regalities
3.2The Duchy of Lancaster
3.3The Duchy of Cornwall
3.4The Crown Private Estates
3.4.1Royal wills
3.5Property of the sovereign’s eldest son
3.6Ministerial residences
3.6.1Downing Street
3.6.2Chequers
3.6.3Chevening
3.6.4Dorneywood
4GOVERNMENT LAND
4.1Composition of departmental land
4.2Secretaries of State and departmental organisation
4.3Implied powers and the Ram doctrine
4.4Acquisition and disposal of land
4.5Compulsory acquisition
4.5.1Compulsory purchase
4.5.2The Crichel Down rules
5AGENCIES AND EMANATIONS
5.1Non-departmental public bodies
5.2Status of agencies and their property
5.3Commercial operations
5.4Emanations of the Crown
5.4.1Acts of Parliament
5.4.2Decided cases
6STATUTES

PART 1 – GENERAL PRINCIPLES
6.1Crown immunity
6.2Implication and application
6.2.1Implication
6.2.2Application
6.2.3Amendment
6.2.4Consolidation
6.2.5Adoption
6.3In rem and in personam
6.4Interests in land
6.4.1Occupation, entry and requisition

PART 2 – PARTICULAR LEGISLATION
6.5Land law
6.6Compulsory disposals
6.7Landlord and tenant
6.7.1Residential tenancies
6.7.2Rent Restriction Acts
6.7.3Rent Act 1977
6.7.4Assured and secure tenancies
6.7.5Enfranchisement
6.7.6Covenants and management
6.7.7Business and farm tenancies
6.8Planning and construction
6.9The environment
7PROPERTY PORTFOLIO
7.1Woods and forests
7.2Minerals
7.2.1Oil and gas
7.2.2Coal
7.2.3Metallic minerals
7.2.4Gold and silver
7.2.5Saltpetre
7.2.6Manorial minerals
7.3Marine estate

7.3.1Sea bed
7.3.2Foreshore
7.3.3Protection and exploitation
7.3.4New land
7.4Energy
7.5Defence lands
7.6Hospitals
7.7Whitehall
7.8Heritage
7.9Premises for justice
7.9.1Courts and tribunals
7.9.2Prisons and probation offices
7.10Housing
8INCORPOREAL RIGHTS
8.1Easements and profits
8.1.1Rights benefiting Crown land
8.1.2Burden of existing rights
8.1.3Burden of new rights
8.2Covenants and powers of entry
8.2.1Benefit of covenants
8.2.2Burden of covenants
8.2.3Private law rights of entry
8.2.4Public law powers of entry
8.3Development value
8.4Requisitioning
8.5Flowers and franchises
8.5.1Franchises
8.5.2Grant or prescription
8.5.3Obsolete rights
8.5.4Treasure
8.5.5Wreck
8.5.6Wild creatures
8.5.7Several fisheries
8.5.8Markets, fairs and ferries
8.5.9Corporate status
8.6Crown rents
8.7Manors
8.8Advowsons
8.9Mortgages and charges
8.9.1Inheritance tax charges
8.9.2Other charges benefiting the Crown
8.9.3Charges on Crown land
9OWNERLESS LAND
9.1Ownerless property in general
9.2Bona vacantia

9.2.1Individuals
9.2.2Companies
9.2.3Common law bona vacantia
9.2.4Leaseholds of non-Companies Act corporations
9.3Disclaimer
9.3.1Insolvency
9.3.2Bona vacantia
9.4Escheat
9.4.1Freeholds of non-Companies Act corporations
9.5Consequences of disclaimer and escheat
9.6Subordinate estates and interests
9.6.1Rights binding the land
9.6.2Positive covenants
9.6.3Rights benefiting the land
9.7Trusts
9.7.1Beneficial interests
9.7.2Trusteeships
9.7.3Clubs
9.8Automatic vesting
9.8.1Bona vacantia
9.8.2Escheat
9.8.3Inquisition of escheat
9.9Effect of restoration
10EQUITIES AND TRUSTS
10.1The equitable jurisdiction
10.2Crown as beneficiary
10.2.1The Crown and Duchies are not trusts
10.2.2Government land
10.2.3Beneficial interests under trusts
10.2.4Private estates
10.2.5Ministerial residences
10.3Crown as trustee
10.3.1Use of trustee expressions
10.3.2 Undivided shares
10.3.3Ministry of Justice trustees
10.4Equitable interests affecting Crown land
10.5Perpetuities
10.6Estoppel
11HIGHWAYS AND PUBLIC RIGHTS OF WAY
11.1Vesting of highways
11.2Highway authorities
11.3Express creation and diversion
11.4Common law inferred dedication
11.5Statuory inferred dedication

11.6Private interests and inferred dedication
11.6.1Private leaseholds
11.6.2Crown leaseholds and other rights
11.6.3Acquired land
11.6.4After disposal of land
11.7Inconsistency with public function
12ACCESS LAND
12.1Royal parks
12.2Open country and common land
12.3The coast
12.4Town and village greens
12.5Miscellaneous public access
12.5.1Palaces and historic buildings
12.5.2Windsor Estate
12.5.3Forestry Commission
12.5.4Trafalgar and Parliament Squares
12.5.5Blackheath
12.5.6Other London open spaces
12.5.7Local authority powers
12.5.8Private parks
12.5.9Inheritance tax exemptions and transfers
13LITIGATION
13.1Crown proceedings
13.2Tort
13.3Contract and property
13.3.1Limitation and adverse possession
13.3.2Purprestures
13.4Criminal liability
13.5Judicial review
13.6Remedies
13.6.1Injunctions
13.6.2Other remedies
13.7Private estates and Duchies
14Conveyancing
14.1Parties and authorisation
14.2The contract
14.2.1Ambiguous documentation
14.2.2Clawback and overage
14.3Disposals
14.3.1Power of disposal
14.3.2Deduction of title
14.3.3Title by operation of law
14.3.4Succession
14.4Leases and licences
14.4.1Leases by the Crown
14.4.2Covenants in leases
14.4.3Licences
14.4.4Leases to Secretaries of State
14.4.5Leases and the sovereign
14.5Covenants generally
14.6Inter-Crown dealings
14.6.1Informal leases
14.7Execution and sealing
14.7.1Private Estates
14.7.2Departments
14.7.3Crown Estate and Duchies
14.7.4The Great Seal
14.8Enrolment
14.9Land registration
15TAXATION
15.1Stamp duty land tax
15.2Value added tax
15.3Rates
15.4Personal taxes of the Royal Family
16BEYOND ENGLAND
16.1Devolved administrations
16.1.1Scotland
16.1.2Northern Ireland
16.1.3Wales
16.2Crown dependencies
16.3Overseas territories
16.4Commonwealth realms
16.5Former realms
APPENDICES
A1NATURE OF THE CROWN
A1.1Two bodies
A1.2Corporate personality
A1.3One and indivisible
A1.4The Town Investments case
A2HISTORICAL OUTLINE
A2.1Anglo-Saxon
A2.2Norman Conquest
A2.3Rule of law
A2.4Crown land and revenues
A2.5Tudors and Stuarts
A2.6Constitutional government
A2.7Expansion of government
A3DEVOLUTION OF WOODS AND WORKS
A3.1Origins to 1851
A3.2The Crown Estate
A3.3Works and environment
A3.4Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
A3.5Other departments
A4STATUTES
A4.1The Crown Lands Act 1702, s 5
A4.2The Civil List Act 1760, s 3
A4.3The Civil List Act 1831, s 2
A4.4The Civil List Act 1837, s 1
A5ROYAL WARRANT FOR LAND REGISTRATION

Index