Leases for Lives and Rights Reserved Out of Property

[karen58]

Hi
Below is a section from a Chester will of 1739 for Robert Winterbottom Senior. It appears from the will that Robert Senior has some type of financial interest in a leasehold at Knarr in Saddleworth whereby he has reserved a financial right. Saddleworth was in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

In the will, Robert Senior charges his son, Robert Junior, to pay an annuity to his mother:

‘Also I Give to my Dear and Loving Wife the Sum of Three Pounds and ten Shillings by the Year, which I Reserved out of, (or from) the tenement or Living at Knar which Said Sum of three Pounds and ten Shillings I Will that my Son Robert Winterbottom pay her During the time of her Life.’

His son, Robert Junior, was living at Knarr at the time the will was written.

Knarr was an estate owned by the Lord of the Manor. I know from Manorial Court Rolls that the Lord seemed to favour three-lifeleases, but I don’t know how long these leases were granted for.

I know that Robert Senior lived at Knarr in 1722 when his youngest son was born but purchased a freehold and move residence sometime before he wrote his will in 1739. I don’t know where his older children were born as there are no baptism records for them.

Robert Senior’s daughter was living at Knarr in 1724 when she married.
Robert Junior was living at Knarr in 1734 when he married.
Robert Senior’s youngest son was living at Knarr in 1744 when he married.

Also, according to Manorial Court Rolls, Robert Junior was granted a three-lifelease at Knarr in 1750.

I’m wondering, did Robert Senior have a three-lifelease earlier on with Robert Junior being the second or third life?

If Robert Senior was the first life, he would have paid the original fine, or lump sum payment, for the lease. Would he have the right to reserve money from the fine?

Oh! another interesting thing about the will is that Robert Senior doesn’t mention where his wife is to live as a widow. Yet he has two freeholds and one leasehold. I’m thinking if Mary was the second life on the lease at Knarr, he wouldn’t need to stipulate were she was going to live.

Robert Junior died at Knarr in 1782. But his son, John, was the leaseholder of Knarr in 1770.

I cannot find information about how life-leaseholds worked, apart from this but it doesn’t cover rights reserved out of property:

Clay, Christopher. Lifeleasehold in the Western Counties of England 1650—1750. The Agricultural History Review, Vol. 29, No. 2, 1981.

I would really appreciate your thoughts on this.

Warm Regards
Karen

[purlin]

The following link may shed some light on Life-Leaseholds.

https://www.bahs.org.uk/AGHR/ARTICLES/29n2a2.pdf

[karen58]

Hi purlin

Thank you for the link but as I said in the post I had already looked at 'Lifeleasehold in the Western Counties of England 1650—1750', and found nothing about a tenant reserving rights on a leasehold.

My question is, what legal devise could Robert Winterbottom Senior use to reserve money from a leasehold? If its not his land, how can he reserve anything from it. If you sell land, you can reserve rights to it, that would be stipulated in the contract. The same if you lease land.

Could it be because he paid the entry fine?

I have looked everywhere to try and answer this question - even ‘Commentaries on the Laws of England, Book the second’, without luck.

Cheers
Karen

[Bookbox]

I doubt if the annuity is anything to do with the acquisition of the lease. I would suggest that it was to be paid out of the income arising from the property, whether from rent, sale of produce, or anything else. I think Robert senior is simply ensuring that Robert junior takes responsibility for Mary during her lifetime.

Leaseholders would often sub-let a property, or a part of it, to tenants, who in turn might also sub-let, according to the conditions of the lease. Either or both Roberts may have done that.

I doubt you will find out from manorial records about when Robert senior acquired the lease, or whether it was for 3 lives, as I can’t see any surviving rolls for Saddleworth before 1743, unfortunately. All I can suggest is checking the local archive catalogues (or asking the archives to check) for any other property deeds that might mention these people.

[Andy J2022]

As far as the living conditions for the widow were concerned, might it be that Robert senior was relying on the doctrine of jointure for take care of the physical property (real and personal) aspects and the provision in the Will was merely to ensure she had an adequate income, something jointure didn't cover.

[karen58]

Thanks Andy

Will look at that closer

Warm regards
Karen

[Bookbox]

I wonder if you saw my reply #3?

[karen58]

Hello Bookbox

Sorry for not replying to you sooner.

Thank you for responding to my question. However, I am not certain how your response relates to my question.

Perhaps I have been unclear about what I’m asking and if I have, I apologise. Maybe I can be a little more specific.

Robert Senior does not gift Knarr to Robert Junior in his will.

Robert Senior’s only mention of Knarr is in the provision below:

‘Also I Give to my Dear and Loving Wife the Sum of Three Pounds and ten Shillings by the Year, which I Reserved out of, (or from) the tenement or Living at Knar which Said Sum of three Pounds and ten Shillings I Will that my Son Robert Winterbottom pay her During the time of her Life.’

So, my question is, how can Robert Senior reserve a right from a leasehold. What legal device did he use to compel Robert Junior to pay the annuity.

As the second or third life on the lease, wouldn’t Robert Junior automatically inherit Knarr?

Wouldn’t all reservations, exceptions and covenants be stipulated in the lease according to the lessor and lessee’s agreement?

If the legal definition of reservation is as below, what instrument of conveyance did Robert Senior use?

RESERVATION. A clause in a deed or other instrument of conveyance by which the grantor creates, and reserves to himself, some right, interest, or profit in the estate granted, which had no previous existence as such, but is first called into being by the instrument reserving it; such as rent, or an easement.

Black's Law Dictionary, 11th ed. p 1472, Ed: Bryan A. Garner. (West Group, 2019), William Blackstone

There is also this definition from https://thelawdictionary.org/reservation/

menced between two others; as, In an action by tenant for life or years, be in the reversion might come in and pray to be received to defend the land, and to plead with the demandant. Cowell.

Unfortunately, I don’t understand it.

Warm regards
Karen

[Bookbox]

Thanks for your further explanation. As I understand it, we don’t know how Robert senior came by the property at Knarr in the first place, nor what kind of transaction took place. We don't even know that it was leasehold. If it was, we don’t know whether it was a lease for three lives, nor what conditions may have been attached to it. So we can only speculate.

One possibility is that Robert senior was a freeholder of the manor, and that when he wrote his will the property had already been conveyed to his son, with a condition reserving £3 10s of the profits arising from the estate to Robert senior himself, as a life interest. In his will Robert senior stipulated that after his death the same payment should made to Mary. It would revert to Robert junior after Mary’s death.

I'm afraid that's not very helpful, but without knowing more about how Robert senior was holding the property, I’m reluctant to speculate further, sorry.