Customary rights allowing tenants to use shared resources such as pasture, woodland or fuel.
Common rights were customary rights allowing tenants to use certain resources that were not part of their individual holdings.
These rights could include grazing animals on common pasture, collecting wood or fuel, cutting turf, gathering fallen branches or using other shared resources.
Common rights were usually regulated by local custom. The manorial court could deal with disputes, prevent overuse and enforce restrictions.
The existence of common rights was an important feature of rural communities and affected the relationship between tenants, landowners and the landscape around them.
See also:
Common
Estovers
Pannage
Pasture
Waste
