Can you explain what copyhold is?

Tue Mar 20 23:27:19 GMT 2012

Sorry Brendan - I got Joan's email before I saw yours
Good to see a bit of interest in traditional 
forms of tenure which long ago slipped out of our 
community memory - except in the Highlands of course ;-)
It was only political activism in the 1880s (same 
time as the Irish Land League) that got the 
Crofting Act or else this sort of tenure may have 
been expunged entirely as the greedy landlords wanted.
May have only been the fact that the land was 
pretty marginal and couldn't produce so much as 
in the lowlands that the forces of darkness let it be.
Here's some links for you.
Tony

Copyhold
At its origin in medieval England, copyhold 
tenure was tenure of land according to the custom 
of the manor, the "title deeds" being a copy of 
the record of the manorial court.
The privileges granted to each tenant, and the 
exact services he was to render to the Lord of 
the Manor in return for them, were described in a 
book kept by the Steward, who gave a copy of the 
same to the tenant; consequently these tenants 
were afterwards called copyholders in contrast to freeholders.

Two main kinds of copyhold tenure developed:
Copyhold of Inheritance: (this is the sort 
loosely enshrined in Crofting Acts) with one main 
tenant landholder who paid rent (peppercorn in 
Crofting) and undertook duties to the Lord. When 
they died, the holding normally passed to their 
next heir - who might be the eldest son/daughter 
(primogeniture); or youngest son/daughter 
(Borough English or ultimogeniture); or a 
division between children (partible inheritance), 
depending upon the custom of that particular 
manor. During their life the tenant could usually 
'sell' the holding to another person by formally 
surrendering it to the Lord to be regranted to 
them. This was recorded in the court roll and 
formed the new 'copyhold' for the purchaser.

Copyhold for Lives: three named persons were 
nominated, the first-named was the holder tenant 
and held for the duration of their life. The 
other two were said to be "in reversion and 
remainder" and effectively formed a queue. When 
the first life died, the second-named inherited 
the property and nominated a new third life for 
the end of the new queue. These were recorded in 
the court rolls as the "copyhold" for this type 
of tenant. It was not usually possible for these 
holdings to be sold, as there were three lives 
with an entitlement. Copyhold for Lives is 
therefore regarded as a less secure tenancy than Copyhold for Inheritance.

Genealogists may find it helpful to note that 
copyhold land often did not appear in a will. 
This is because its inheritance was already 
pre-determined, as just described. It could not 
therefore be given or devised in a will to any other person.
Copyholds were gradually enfranchised (turned 
into ordinary holdings of land  either freehold 
or 999-year leasehold) as a result of the 
Copyhold Acts during the 19th century. By this 
time, servitude to the Lord of the Manor was 
merely token, discharged on purchasing the 
copyhold by payment of a "fine in respite of 
fealty". Part V of the Law of Property Act 1922 
finally extinguished the last of them.
more at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyhold

What crofting is and why it is valuable
http://www.crofting.org/index.php/aboutus
2.1 Crofting is a unique social system that stems 
from the Highland clearances, in which 
small-scale food production and care of the 
environment plays a unifying role. Although 
crofting refers to the principle of living on and 
working a small agricultural holding, crofters 
usually also have other occupations contributing 
to their livelihoods and the rural economy 
(historically crofts were deliberately kept below 
self-sufficiency by landlords in order to oblige 
tenants into tied labour). In short crofting is a 
way-of-life that is intrinsically linked to the land.
2.2 Crofting also plays an important part in 
shaping the landscape, enhancing the natural 
environment, the cultural heritage and social 
economy of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. 
It sustains marginal and fragile rural 
populations and encourages the unique bond between people and the land.
2.3 The varied landscape created by individual 
crofts and the extensive practices in crofting 
have supported a wide variety of wildlife 
habitats and assisted in the retention of endangered native wildlife species.
2.4 There are over 17,700 crofts in the Highlands 
and Islands of Scotland and over 12,000 crofting 
households representing about 30,000 family 
members. Crofting households represent around 30% 
of households on the mainland Highlands and up to 
65% of households in Shetland, the Western Isles and Skye.
2.5 Crofts form a unique tenure system that goes 
back over 200 years. Approximately 2000 are owner 
occupied but the majority remain tenanted. 
Approximately 25% of the land mass of the 
Highlands and Islands is under crofting tenure  
which comprises over 15% of the land mass of UK.
2.6 Land use in the crofting counties is 
constrained by climate, soils and topography. 
Agriculturally, virtually all of the land in the 
Highlands and Islands is classified as Severely 
Disadvantaged in terms of Less Favoured Area Directive.
2.7 The existence of crofting today is the result 
of a hard won fight by previous generations of 
crofters. It has survived a turbulent past to 
seize the opportunities of today, to build a secure and confident future.
2.8 Crofting embodies the principles of 
sustainability, diversification, co-operation, 
entrepreneurialism and community, where the 
people share a common vision for the common good. 
It has a vital role in the agricultural, social, 
environmental and economic aspects of Scottish 
rural development and is central to sustaining 
communities in remote and peripheral areas.

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