Legal Definitions - base tenure

Base tenure refers to a historical form of landholding where a tenant's right to occupy and use land was not absolute ownership but was held under specific, often restrictive, conditions imposed by a superior lord or by local custom. Unlike "free tenure" (such as freehold, which granted more independent rights), base tenure typically involved the performance of services, payment of customary dues, or adherence to specific rules, and the tenant's rights were often less secure or subject to the lord's will.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1: Medieval Peasant Farmer

  Imagine a peasant farmer in 14th-century England who lives and works on a small plot of land within a manor. He does not own the land outright. Instead, he holds it from the local lord "at the will of the lord according to the custom of the manor." In exchange for the right to farm his plot and live in his cottage, the farmer is obligated to spend several days a week working on the lord's personal fields (the demesne), provide a portion of his harvest, and pay certain customary fees. He cannot freely sell or transfer his land without the lord's permission and the payment of a fine.

  This illustrates base tenure because the farmer's right to the land is conditional, dependent on fulfilling specific duties and services to a superior lord, and is not an absolute, independent ownership. His tenure is "base" because it involves customary services rather than free and clear ownership.

• Example 2: English Copyhold Estate

  Consider a family in an English village during the 17th century whose ancestors have lived in the same cottage and farmed the same land for generations. Their rights to the property are not documented by a modern deed but are recorded in the "court rolls" of the local manor. They are known as "copyholders," meaning they hold their land "by copy of court roll" according to the custom of the manor. They pay a small annual rent to the lord of the manor and are subject to specific customary rules, such as needing the lord's permission to sell or transfer the property, and paying a "fine" upon inheritance. While their holding is secure as long as they adhere to these customs, it is not freehold ownership.

  This demonstrates base tenure as the family's rights to the land are derived from historical custom and the records of a superior entity (the manor court), rather than absolute ownership. Their ability to use and transfer the land is constrained by these customs and the residual authority of the lord, making it a less free form of tenure.