Guidance
Rights of way advice note 14: legal memory
Legal memory: the evidential value of ancient documents.
Applies to England and Wales
Documents
Details
This Advice Note explains that in determining a public right of way case the concept of ‘legal memory’ has long ceased to have any place. This term refers to the period back to which user had originally to be shown for a claim based on long usage to succeed. By the early nineteenth century use for 20 years was accepted as being sufficient for this purpose and the year 1189 ceased to have any relevance in this context.
Published 1 September 2003