Abolition

Tenures.

44. The oppressions arising from military tenures, of Military having been discontinued during the civil wars in the reign of King Charles I. and in the time of the Commonwealth, were entirely removed at the Restoration by the statute 12 Cha. II. c. 24., which enacted that the court of wards and liveries, and all wardships, liveries, primer seisins, and ousterlemains, values and forfeitures of marriages, by reason of any tenure of the king, or others, be totally taken away; that all fines for alienations, tenures by homage, knight service, and escuage, and also aids for marrying the daughter, or knighting the son, and all tenures of the king in capite, be likewise taken away that all sorts of tenures held of the king, or others, be turned into free and common socage, save only tenures in frankalmoign, copyholds, and the honorary services of grand serjeanty; and that all tenures which should be created by the king, his heirs or successors, in future, should be in free and common socage.

IN consequence of the statute 12 Cha. II. c. 24. Tenure in all free tenures, except frankalmoign, are now Socage. reduced to that of common socage: of which it will therefore be necessary to give a full account.

2. "Tenure in socage (says Littleton) is where the tenant holdeth of his lord the tenancy by certain service, for all manner of services; so that the service be not knight service. As where a man holdeth his land of his lord by fealty, and certain rent, for all manner of services; or else where a man holdeth his land by homage, fealty, and certain rent, for all manner of services; or where a man holdeth his land by homage and fealty, for all manner of services."

$117.

"Also a man may hold of his lord by fealty only, Id. § 118. and such tenure is tenure in socage; for every tenure which is not tenure in chivalry, is tenure in socage."

Ꭰ Ꮞ

Id. 119.

Ten. 142.

By Petit Serjeanty. § 159.

$160:

3. Littleton derives the word socage from soca, à plough, the services antiently reserved on this tenure being those of husbandry. Somner deduces it from the Saxon word soc, importing liberty or privilege, which, being joined to a usual termination, is called socagium or socage, signifying a free and privileged tenure. Sir Martin Wright admits Somner's etymology to be countenanced by Britton, but professes himself inclined to prefer Littleton's: 1. Because our division of tenures into knight service and socage, considering socage as a tenure per servitium soca, directly answers to the Norman division of tenures into fiefs d'haubert and fiefs de roturier; that is, the gentleman's and the husbandman's fee. 2. Because, in this sense, the tenure in socage is, like that by knight service, simply denominated from the name or nature of the service antiently reserved upon it.

4. As the grand criterion and distinguishing mark of socage tenure is the having its renders and services ascertained, it will include under it all other modes of holding free lands by certain and invariable rents and duties; and, in particular, petit serjeanty, burgage, antient demesne, and gavelkind.

5. Littleton says, petit serjeanty is where a man holds his land of the king, to yield to him yearly a bow, a sword, a dagger, a knife, a pair of gloves of mail, a pair of gilt spurs, an arrow, or divers arrows, or to yield such other small things belonging to war.

6. It is also said, by the same writer, that such service is but socage in effect; because the tenant, by his tenure, ought not to go, nor do any thing, in his proper person, touching war; but to render and pay yearly certain things to the king, as a man ought to pay rent.

7. This tenure can only be of the king, the dignity Id. 161. of whose person gives it the name of petit serjeanty. For where lands are held of a subject by services of this kind, the tenure is nothing more than plain socage.

Tenure in burgage (says Littleton) is where In Burgage. $162. an antient burrough is, of which the king is lord; and they that have tenements within the burrough hold of the king their tenements, that every tenant for his tenement ought to pay the king a certain rent, &c., and such tenure is but tenure in socage.

9. "It is the same where any subject is lord of Id. 163. such burrough, and the tenants hold of him, to pay,

each of them,, an annual rent."

10. The qualities of this tenure vary according to Id. 165, 6, 7. the particular customs of every burrough, without

prejudice to the feudal nature of it, in conformity to

the maxim, consuetudo loci est observanda.

Demesne.

11. All those estates which are called in Domes- In Antient day terræ regis were manors belonging to the crown, 4 Inst. c. 58. being part of its antiquum dominicum, or antient demesne; a great portion of the lands comprised within those manors was in the hands of tenants, who held the same of the crown by a peculiar species of socage tenure, that has long been known by the appellation of antient demesne.

This tenure can only subsist in manors of antient

demesne. And where a question now arises whether Dyer, 250. b. a manor is of antient demesne, or not, it can only 2 Burr. 1046. be determined by a reference to Domesday.

12. The tenants in antient demesne, that is, the 4 Inst. 269. persons who held lands, parcel of these manors, in socage, did the service of cultivating the demesnes, or supplying provisions, for the sustenance of the king's household-services of the utmost necessity

Idem.

4 Inst. 270. Fitz.N.B. 13.

1 Salk. 56.

Bro. Ab.

Ant. Dem. 32.

in those times, when our kings lived on the produce of their own lands.

13. To the end that these tenants might the better apply themselves to their labours, for the profit of the king, they had six privileges. 1. They could not be impleaded for their lands, &c. out of the manor. 2. They could not be impannelled to appear at Westminster, or elsewhere, upon any inquest or trial. 3. They were free and quiet from all manner of tolls, in fairs and markets, for all things concerning husbandry and sustenance. 4. And also of taxes and talliages by parliament, unless specially named. 5. And also of contribution to the expences of the knights of parliament. 6. If severally distrained for other services, they might all join in a writ of Monstraverunt.

14. These privileges only extended to the tenants in socage of manors of antient demesne; not to those who held other parts of such manors by knight service; for the service of the plough and husbandry was the cause of them. Although in course of time most of these manors were granted by the crown to subjects, yet the socage tenants preserved their antient privileges, and continued to be tenants in antient demesne, though the services were commuted for money rents.

15. The tenure in antient demesne is confined to lands held in socage, of those manors which were formerly in the possession of the crown, by the service of cultivating the demesnes of such manors, or by a render of provisions. The manor itself, and such other parts of it as were held by knight service, were not considered as antient demesne, but as frank fee. It is therefore inaccurate to say that a manor is held in antient demesne; the proper expression being, a