The Commissioners of Crown Lands were charged with the management of United Kingdom

Crown lands Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...

. From 1924 to 1954, they discharged the functions previously carried out by the

Commissioners of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues The Commissioners of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues were officials under the United Kingdom Crown, charged with the management of Crown lands. Their office were customarily known as the Office of Woods. Under the Act of Parliament 14 and 15 Vict ...

. There were three commissioners at any one time: the

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

, the

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the Unit ...

and one permanent commissioner. A

cause célèbre A cause célèbre (,''Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged'', 12th Edition, 2014. S.v. "cause célèbre". Retrieved November 30, 2018 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre ,''Random House Kernerman Webs ...

in the 1950s caused the management of Crown lands to be scrutinised. Land at

Crichel Down The Crichel Down affair was a British political scandal of 1954, with a subsequent effect and notoriety. The ''Crichel Down Rules'' are guidelines applying to compulsory purchase drawn up in the light of the affair. Crichel Down land The case cen ...

in Dorset requisitioned for military purposes was transferred to the Commissioners of Crown Lands when it was no longer required by the army. The previous owners wanted their land back, but the Minister of Agriculture, Thomas Dugdale, was adamant that it should not be returned. A series of reports led to the reconstitution of the management of Crown lands under the

Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...

Acts of 1956 and 1961, removing the involvement of politicians in their management.

Permanent commissioners of Crown Lands

*1924 Arthur S Gaye *1934 Charles Launcelot Stocks *1941

Osmund Somers Cleverly Sir Osmund Somers Cleverly (1891 – 21 October 1966) was a British civil servant who, between 1935 and 1939, served as Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister. Early life Osmund Cleverly was born in 1891 at London to artist, Cha ...

(later Sir Osmund Cleverly) *1952

Christopher Eastwood Christopher Gilbert Eastwood CMG (21 April 1905 – 14 October 1983) was a member of the British civil service. He was educated at Eton College, then studied at Trinity College, Oxford before joining the civil service in 1927, in the Colonial Offi ...

*1954 Sir Osmund Cleverly

References

*{{cite book , first=R. B. , last=Pugh , author-link=Ralph Pugh , title=The Crown Estate – An Historical Essay , location=London , publisher=The

, year=1960 , oclc=752713527 *Annual Report of Commissioners of Woods & Forests 1811 *The Crown Estate publication scheme: website consulted January 2007 Lists of British civil servants Land management in the United Kingdom Defunct ministerial offices in the United Kingdom