Re Ellenborough Park
Encyclopedia
Re Ellenborough Park [1955] EWCA Civ 4 is an English property law
case primarily concerning the validity of an easement
.
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. 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).
, which were taken from Cheshire's "Modern Real Property":
It was decided from this that the occupiers of the properties in question were therefore the proper beneficiaries and that they did enjoy an easement over the parkland in question.
English property law
English property law refers to the law of acquisition, sharing and protection of wealth in England and Wales. Property law can refer to many things, and covers many areas. Property in land is the domain of the law of real property. The law of personal property is particularly important for...
case primarily concerning the validity of an easement
Easement
An easement is a certain right to use the real property of another without possessing it.Easements are helpful for providing pathways across two or more pieces of property or allowing an individual to fish in a privately owned pond...
.
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 DanckwertsHarold Danckwerts
Sir Harold Otto Danckwerts was a lawyer and judge in England and Wales.Harold Danckwerts was appointed a Justice of the Chancery Division of the High Court of England and Wales on 1 June 1949. A few days later he was knighted. He was promoted to be a Lord Justice of Appeal in the Court of Appeal...
delivered his decision on the case which arose. Part of the problem arose out of the fact that the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
had taken possession of the land during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, 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. 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
Danckwerts J determined the following criteria for defining an easementEasement
An easement is a certain right to use the real property of another without possessing it.Easements are helpful for providing pathways across two or more pieces of property or allowing an individual to fish in a privately owned pond...
, which were taken from Cheshire's "Modern Real Property":
(1) There must be a dominant and a servient tenement
(2) an easement must "accommodate" the dominant tenement
(3) dominant and servient owners must be different persons and
(4) a right over land cannot amount to an easement unless it is capable of forming the subject matter of a grant
It was decided from this that the occupiers of the properties in question were therefore the proper beneficiaries and that they did enjoy an easement over the parkland in question.