Legal Definitions - herbage

Herbage refers to a specific legal right, primarily recognized under English law, that allows an individual or entity to graze their livestock on land owned by another person.

It is considered a type of easement or liberty, meaning it grants a non-possessory interest in someone else's property, enabling the holder to use that property for the specific purpose of pasturage (grazing animals).

• Example 1: Village Common Land

  In a rural English village, a group of local farmers might collectively hold a right of herbage over a large common field, which is legally owned by the local council or a historical trust. This right allows them to bring their sheep and cattle to graze on the common land during specific seasons, a practice often established through long-standing custom and formalized into a legal entitlement.

  This illustrates herbage because the farmers are exercising a legal right to graze their animals on land that they do not own, which is a classic example of pasturage on another's property.

• Example 2: Commercial Grazing Agreement

  A large landowner with extensive meadows might enter into a formal legal agreement with a neighboring dairy farmer, granting the farmer the right to graze their herd of cows on a particular section of the landowner's property for a specified period, perhaps in exchange for a fee. This agreement would legally establish the dairy farmer's right of herbage over that specific meadow.

  Here, the dairy farmer acquires a defined legal liberty to use the landowner's property for grazing, demonstrating herbage as a formal, often commercial, arrangement for pasturage.

• Example 3: Historical Estate Rights

  An ancient English estate, now managed by a conservation charity, might have a historical covenant attached to its deeds. This covenant grants a specific local family, who have traditionally kept ponies, the perpetual right to graze their animals on a designated woodland pasture within the estate. This right has been passed down through generations and is legally binding.

  This scenario exemplifies herbage as a long-standing, legally recognized right for a specific party to graze their animals on land owned by a different entity, highlighting its enduring nature.