Commons Act 1876
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1876 c. 56 |
| Year | 1876 |
Commons Act, 1876.
(39 & 40 Vict.) CHAPTER 56.
An Act for facilitating the regulation and improvement of Commons, and for amending the Acts relating to the Inclosure of Commons.
[11th August 1876]
W HEREAS by the Inclosure Acts, 1845 to 1868, upon the application and with the consent of such of the persons interested in any common as in the said Acts in that behalf specified, the Inclosure Commissioners are empowered by provisional order under their seal to authorise the inclosure of such common, provided such inclosure is made on such terms and conditions as may appear to the Commissioners to be proper for the protection of any public interests, and provided also that the Commissioners are of opinion that such inclosure would be expedient, having regard as well to the health, comfort, and convenience of the inhabitants of any cities, towns, villages, or populous places in or near any palish in which the land proposed to be inclosed, or any part thereof, may be situate (herein-after included under the expression the benefit of the neighbourhood), as to the advantage of the persons interested in the common to which such application relates (herein-after included under the expression private interests); but such provisional order is of no validity until and unless the Commissioners have in a report to be laid before Parliament certified that in their opinion the inclosure of such common, if made on the terms and conditions in their provisional order expressed, would be expedient, having regard to the benefit of the neighbourhood as well as to such private interests as aforesaid, nor until and unless an Act of Parliament has been passed confirming such order and affirming such certificate as aforesaid, and directing that the proposed inclosure of the common should be proceeded with accordingly:
And whereas by the said Inclosure Acts, information is required to be supplied and inquiries to be made for the purpose of enabling the Inclosure Commissioners to judge of such expediency as aforesaid, but it is desirable to make further provisions for bringing under the notice of the said Commissioners, and of Parliament, any circumstances bearing on the expediency of allowing the inclosure of a common, and that inclosure in severalty as opposed to regulation of commons should not be herein-after made unless it can be proved to the satisfaction of the said Commissioners and of Parliament that such inclosure will be of benefit to the neighbourhood as well as to private interests, and to those who are legally interested in any such commons:
And whereas by the said Inclosure Acts the Commissioners are empowered in the case of a common being waste land of a manor to require, and in their provisional order to specify as one of the conditions of inclosure, the appropriation of an allotment for the purposes of exercise and recreation by the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, and also of an allotment for the labouring poor, and it is expedient to give further effect to the provisions relating to the said allotments (in this Act referred to as allotments for recreation grounds and field gardens):
And whereas it is expedient to give further facilities for enabling the Inclosure Commissioners to regulate, improve, stint, and otherwise deal with commons without wholly inclosing and allotting the same in severalty:
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
1 Short title.
This Act may be cited for all purposes as the Commons Act, 1876.
Part I.
Law as to the Regulation and Inclosure of Commons.
Applications in relation to Commons.
2 Alternative provisional order for regulation or inclosure of commons.
The Inclosure Commissioners may entertain an application made in manner in this Act mentioned for a provisional order—
(1) (1.) For the regulation of a common; or
(2) (2.) For the inclosure of a common or parts of a common;
Further, an application may be made as respects the same common for the regulation of part of such common, specifying the part to be regulated, and for the inclosure of the residue, and in such case the application shall be dealt with as respects such parts as if they were separate commons, with this exception, that the boundaries as proposed in the application of the part to be regulated and the part to be inclosed may be modified by the provisional order.
The Commissioners shall not proceed to carry any application under this Act into effect until it is made to appear to them that the persons making the application represent at least one third in value of such interests in the common as are proposed to be affected by the provisional order.
3 ‘Regulation of common’ includes adjustment of rights and improvement.
A provisional order for the regulation of a common may provide, generally or otherwise, for the adjustment of rights in respect of such common, and for the improvement of such common, or for either of such purposes, or for any of the things by this Act comprised under the expression ‘adjustment of rights’ or ‘improvement of a common,’ or may state that all or any of such subjects are to be provided for in the proceedings subsequent to the confirmation of the provisional order by Parliament.
4 Explanation of adjustment of rights.
The adjustment of rights in respect of a common comprises for the purposes of this Act all or any of the following things:
(1) (1.) As respects rights of common of pasture in a common, being waste land of a manor,—the determination of the persons by whom, the stock by which, and the times at which such common of pasture is to be exercised;
(2) (2.) As respects rights of common of turbary, or taking of estovers, or taking gravel stone, or otherwise interfering with the soil of the common, being waste land of a manor,—the determination of the persons by whom, and the mode and place or places in which, and the times at which such rights are to be exercised, also on compensation made to any person aggrieved, either by grant of a right of equal value, or with his consent in writing, in money,—the restriction, modification, or abolition of all or any of such rights which may permanently injure the common;
(3) (3.) As respects rights of common in land which is not waste land of a manor,—the stinting or other determination of such rights, and the persons by whom, and the mode in which, and the times at which such rights are to be exercised, as also on compensation made to any person aggrieved, either by grant of a right of equal value, or with his consent in writing, in money,—the restriction, modification, or abolition of all or any of such rights which may be injurious to the general body of the commoners or to the proper cultivation of the land;
(4) (4.) As respects any common whether it is or is not waste land of a manor,—the determination of the rights and obligations of the lord of the manor, severalty owners, or other person or persons entitled to the soil of such common, as also on compensation made to any person aggrieved, either by grant of a right of equal value, or with his consent in writing, in money,—the restriction, modification, or abolition of all or any of such rights, and in particular in the case of severalty owners of all or any of such rights which may be injurious to the general body of the severalty owners or to the proper cultivation of the land; and
(5) (5.) Generally as respects any common, whether it is or is not waste land of a manor,—the determination of any rights and settlement of any disputes relating to boundaries, rights in the soil or in the produce of the soil, or otherwise, whether arising between the commoners themselves or between the commoners in relation to the lords of the manors, severalty owners, or other person or persons entitled to the soil of the common, which settlement may be conducive to the interests of all or any class of persons interested in the common.
5 Explanation of improvement.
The improvement of a common comprises for the purposes of this Act all or any of the following things; that is to say,
(1) (1.) The draining, manuring, or levelling the common; and
(2) (2.) The planting trees on parts of such common, or in any other way improving or adding to the beauty of the common; and
(3) (3.) The making or causing to be made byelaws and regulations for the prevention of or protection from nuisances or for keeping order on the common; and
(4) (4.) The general management of such common.
(5) (5.) The appointment from time to time of conservators of the common for the purposes aforesaid.
6 Meaning of provisional order for inclosure of commons.
A provisional order for the inclosure of a common means a provisional order for inclosing the common as provided by the Inclosure Acts, 1845 to 1868, as amended by this Act.
7 Provisions for the benefit of a neighbourhood applicable alike to orders for regulation and orders for inclosure.
In any provisional order in relation to a common, the Inclosure Commissioners shall, in considering the expediency...
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