Legal Definitions - free warren

The term free warren refers to a historical legal privilege, typically granted by the Crown in England, which gave an individual or institution the exclusive right to hunt certain small game animals within a specified area of land. These animals commonly included rabbits, hares, pheasants, and partridges. This right was exclusive, meaning that even if another person owned land within the designated warren, they could not hunt these specific animals without the permission of the holder of the free warren privilege.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of free warren:

• Imagine a powerful medieval baron who, for his loyalty and service, was granted a royal charter by the King. This charter bestowed upon him the right of free warren over his extensive estate. This meant that only the baron, or those he explicitly authorized, could hunt rabbits and pheasants within the boundaries of his lands. If a local farmer, whose small plot lay within the baron's estate, attempted to catch a rabbit for dinner, he would be infringing upon the baron's exclusive right of free warren and could face legal repercussions.

  This example demonstrates how free warren was a personal privilege granted by the monarch, conferring an exclusive hunting right over specific small game, even overriding the rights of other landowners within the designated area.

• Consider a monastery in the 13th century that owned significant tracts of land. To ensure a steady supply of food and to protect its resources, the abbot successfully petitioned the King for a grant of free warren over certain common lands adjacent to the monastery's property. This grant allowed the monks to be the sole hunters of hares and partridges on those common lands. While local villagers retained their traditional rights to graze livestock on the commons, they were legally prohibited from hunting the designated game animals, as that privilege belonged exclusively to the monastery.

  This illustrates that free warren could be granted to institutions and could apply to lands not necessarily owned outright by the grantee, establishing an exclusive right to hunt specific animals over a defined territory.

• Centuries ago, a wealthy landowner purchased a large manor. One day, he discovered a neighboring farmer setting traps for rabbits on a remote corner of his newly acquired property. The landowner confronted the farmer, explaining that his manor held an ancient right of free warren, passed down through generations, which meant only he and his authorized gamekeepers could hunt rabbits within the manor's boundaries. The farmer, unaware of this specific historical privilege, was forced to remove his traps, acknowledging the landowner's exclusive right to the warren game.

  This example highlights the enduring and enforceable nature of free warren as a proprietary right, often inherited or transferred with land, which allowed its holder to prevent others from hunting specific game within the designated area.