was an
English land law case which reformulated the tests for an easement (the scope of the law of
easement
An easement is a Nonpossessory interest in land, nonpossessory right to use or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B" ...
s). It found an easement to use a communal garden to be a valid easement in law. There is no requirement for all of the houses to be immediately next to the garden to benefit from it.
Facts
Ellenborough Park is a park in Weston-super-Mare (split by a minor road, not considered by either side, nor the courts consequential). The larger park was owned in 1855 by two tenants in common who sold off outlying parts for the building of houses, and granted rights in the purchase/sale deeds to the house owners (and expressly to their successors in title) to enjoy the parkland which remained.
[The court-approved transcript]
at bailii.org
The land was enjoyed freely until 1955, when
Judge Danckwerts delivered his decision on a complex dispute at first instance. The knub of the case appealed centred on a monetary question affecting the land for the first time. It centred on the fact that the
War Office
The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...
had used the land during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and compensation was due to be paid to the neighbours (if correctly alleging a proprietary interest to use the land, namely an easement) or the landowner, the trustees of the original owner if they were the sole person(s) with an owning interest (under the Compensation Defence Act 1939, section 2 (1)).
The landowner (of the park), the beneficiaries of the trust of the original owners of the land, challenged the assertion of an "easement" from the immediate neighbours enjoying the expressed right to use the park in their deeds (title), which they in practice also regularly enjoyed. They stated these neighbouring owner-occupiers (and their tenants) had only a personal advantage (a licence, with no proprietary rights), and not an easement proper (which would include proprietary rights).
[
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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
An easement is a Nonpossessory interest in land, nonpossessory right to use or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B" ...
existed, taken from Dr. Geoffrey Cheshire's
See also
* Easements in English law
Notes
;References
;Notes
{{Reflist, group=n
References
*N Gravells (ed), ''Landmark Cases in Land Law'' (2013)
English property case law
English land case law
Court of Appeal (England and Wales) cases
1955 in British law
1955 in case law