Some of the underpinnings of English property law should not be taken too literally, says Thomas Braithwaite
- The law of prescription is predicated upon the notion that long use proves a grant. Loose v Lynn Shellfish is a vivid reminder of what happens if the existence of that grant is taken too literally.
Over the last 15 years, the law of prescription has repeatedly vexed the highest courts. The judgment of the Supreme Court in Loose v Lynn Shellfish [2016] UKSC 14, [2016] All ER (D) 75 (Apr) is the latest in a line of cases that includes Sunningwell, Beresford, Lewis, Barkas and Newhaven . Like its predecessors (which have tended to focus on the law of town and village greens), Loose concerned one of the dustier corners of property law.
Facts of the case
The facts can be briefly stated. Fishermen out of King’s Lynn were accused of trespassing on a several fishery leased to Mr Loose on the foreshore of the Wash. Generally, there is a public right of fishing (mostly regulated by statute) in all the tidal
