THE WARREN 55 



ownership of the soil ; while the former is an incor- 

 poreal right, and does not necessarily imply any right 

 to the soil, the reason being that a franchise of warren 

 may be claimed by prescription, but land cannot, the 

 title by prescription being only applicable to incor- 

 poreal hereditaments.' The right of free warren has 

 usually been granted to the lord of a manor over the 

 demesne lands of the manor,^ i.e. such lands as are in 

 the lord's own hands, though sometimes over Crown 

 lands when it is a warren in gross. As to the privi- 

 leges of an owner of a free warren, he may not only 

 prosecute a trespasser who is in pursuit of beasts and 

 fowls of warren, whether he be a stranger in the 

 locality, or a tenant of lands within the limits of the 

 free warren, but he may also kill any dogs found 

 hunting in his warren, whether they are doing damage 

 at the time or not. His rights, moreover, are ex 

 pressly safeguarded by Section 8 of the principal 

 Game Act (i & 2 Will. IV., cap. 32). Free warren is 

 not forfeited by non-user, and it is important to note 

 that an occupier of land within the limits of a free 

 warren is not entitled, under the Ground Game Act 

 of 1880, to kill rabbits on the land in his occupation, 



' Earl Beauchamp v. Winn, L.R. 6 H.L. 223. 



2 The words of the ancient grant were, ' quod ipse et 

 heredes sui habeant liberam warrenam in omnibus dominicis 

 terris suis in A. in comitatu B.' — Manwood, fol. 23. 



