Legal Definitions - copyhold tenure

Copyhold tenure is a type of base tenure that requires the tenant to provide customary services to the manor, as reflected in the manor's court rolls. This type of tenure descended from pure villeinage, and over time, the customs of the manor dictated what services a lord could demand from a copyholder.

For example, a copyholder might be required to provide labor on the lord's land or pay certain fees to the lord. Copyhold tenure was abolished by the Law of Property Act of 1922, which converted copyhold land into freehold or leasehold land.

Before the abolition of copyhold tenure, land held on an unfree tenure could only be transferred by a surrender and admittance made in the lord's court. The transaction was recorded on the court rolls, and the transferee was given a copy of the entry to prove their title. This is why it was called "copyhold."

There were also privileged copyholds, which were copyholds subject only to the customs of the manor and not affected by the nonconforming dictates of the current lord.