The Statute of Enrolments was a 1536 Act of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised ...

that regulated the sale and transfer of landsmen. The Statute is commonly considered an addition to the

Statute of Uses The Statute of Uses (27 Hen 8 c 10 — enacted in 1536) was an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Act of the Parliament of England that restricted the application of use (law), uses in English property law. The Statute ended the practi ...

, which was passed within the same Parliament, probably due to an omission in the Statute of Uses. It is thought to have been intended to prevent secret conveyancing, although modern academics instead assert that it was so Henry VIII could keep an accurate record of who his freeholders were. The Statute, which only provided for estates "of inheritance and freehold", was easily evaded through the sale of an estate for a limited time period, as

leasehold A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a l ...

, something given validity at the

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipres ...

level in 1621 by ''Lutwich v Mitton''.

Statute

The Statute was intended as an addition to the

, and was passed in the same session of Parliament; Edward Coke, for example, referred to it as "but a Proviso" to the Statute of Uses. The Statute was drafted quickly, by the

Clerk of the House of Commons The Clerk of the House of Commons is the chief executive of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and before 1707 of the House of Commons of England. The formal name for the position held by the Clerk of the House of Com ...

rather than a legislator, and is interesting in that unlike most government bills it completely lacks a preamble. It is thought by

Charles Isaac Elton Charles Isaac Elton, QC (6 December 1839 – 23 April 1900) was an English lawyer, antiquary, and politician. He is most famous for being one of the authors of the bestselling book '' The Great Book-Collectors''. He was born in Southampton. ...

that it was drafted "as some sort of emergency legislation", which Kaye backs up, saying that it was most likely due to some omission in the Statute of Uses. The Statute provided that after 31 July 1536, no land was to be transferred based on a sale unless that sale had been certified by either the courts in Westminster or the local

Justices of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

, unless it was in those cities or boroughs where this was already required. The Statute was evaded through simply selling the land for a period of years, rather than

freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple * Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England * Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice ...

, something given validity at the

by ''Lutwich v Mitton'' in 1621. This was valid because the statute only applied to estates "of inheritance and freehold", not of

. The common impression is that the Statute was intended to prevent secret conveyancing; Oxland instead interprets it as being a way for Henry VIII to keep an accurate record of who his freeholders were at any one time.Oxland (1985) p.63

References

Bibliography

* * * {{UK legislation Real property law Acts of the Parliament of England (1485–1603) Legal history of England 1536 in law 1536 in England