The Business of the Cozirt Baron. 383 



private persons, were actually in tlie possession of the Crown 

 either in the Confessor's or Conqueror's lifetime. The old 

 villein services, such as ploughing the king's land, supplying 

 his court with provisions, etc., had long ago been commuted 

 into pecuniary rents, but the privileges surrounding these 

 tenancies still existed. They were allowed to try the rights 

 of their property by the process called " writ of right close," 

 in a peculiar court, which, though a Court Baron, was specially 

 termed the Court of Ancient Demesnes.^ They were exempted 

 from tolls and taxes, expenses of knights of the shire, sitting 

 on juries, and the like. They were so close to being free- 

 holders as to have been called such by Bracton, though he 

 distinguishes their class by the term of "sokemen." They 

 were also recognisable from common copyholders by their 

 inability to convey their lands by the general law of feoff- 

 ments, being compelled to surrender them to the lord or his 

 steward." Their copies of the Court Roll stated that they held 

 their lands according to the custom of the manor, and not 

 at the will of the lord. This form of copyhold tenure, now 

 termed customary freehold, still survives, chiefly in the North 

 of England. How then did the Act of 12 Car. II. affect the 

 various tenures by copyhold? Simply by reducing all lay 

 tenures (for we must except that in frankalmoigne) to two dis- 

 tinctive species only, viz. free tenure in common soccage and 

 base tenure by copy of Court Roll.^ 



From that date then the business of the manorial court was 

 confined to matters affecting socage and copyhold tenures solely. 

 The copyholder's estate was secured to him as of right against 

 all persons except the lord. Before the reign of Elizabeth 

 he was not protected by the king's writ, but could only assert 

 his rights in the seignorial court. He could not appeal against 

 his lord's judgment to the king's Court of Law, but had to 

 file a petition in Chancery. At the time now under discussion 

 he had obtained the power to recover possession of his holding 



^ Williams, l.avo of Real Property., ch. i., of Estates in Copyhold. 

 - Blackstone, Comm., bk. ii., ch. vi. 

 ^ Id., Ibid, 



