Decided 15 November 1955 | End date November 15, 1955 | |
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Citation(s) [1956] Ch 131, [1955] 3 WLR 892, [1955] 3 All ER 667 Court Court of Appeal of England and Wales Similar Moncrieff v Jamieson, Hunter v Canary Wharf Ltd, Tulk v Moxhay, Das v Linden Mews Ltd, Crabb v Arun DC | ||
Re Ellenborough Park [1955] EWCA Civ 4 is an English land law case primarily concerning the validity of an easement.
Contents
Re ellenborough park 1956 1 ch 131
Facts
Ellenborough Park is a large area of parkland in Weston-super-Mare. The land was owned in 1855 by two tenants in common, who sold off parts of the land for the building of houses, and granted rights to the owners of the houses to enjoy the parkland which remained. The land was enjoyed for some time to come, until 1955, when Judge Danckwerts delivered his decision on the case which arose. Part of the problem arose out of the fact that the War Office had taken possession of the land during World War II, and compensation was due to be paid to the owners of the properties built on land surrounding the land which had been occupied during the war under the Compensation Defence Act 1939, section 2 (1). Beneficiaries of the trust of the original owners of the land challenged this, stating that the property owners had only a personal advantage (a licence, with no proprietary rights), and not an easement proper (which would include proprietary rights).
Judgment
Lord Evershed MR held the occupiers of the properties in question did enjoy an easement over Ellenborough Park. He determined that four criteria for defining an easement existed, taken from Cheshire's Modern Real Property, and said the following.