I'm just passing on a little bit of news to me from a posting on the Clwyd List in
case anyone has run into the same term:
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In going through old records, largely @ the National Library of
Wales, I'm > puzzled by a term I find a great deal at the end of many deeds &
agreements:
Endorsed: livery of seizin
Can anyone explain it to me?
Thanks to all - Beth McMakin
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From 'Webster's Third New International Dictionary:
"livery of seizin (English law): a now disused ceremony for conveyance of land by the
symbolic transfer of a key, twig, or turf or by symbolic entry of the grantee"
*CERIDWEN*
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From the Dictionary of Genealogy, 'livery of seisin' is for
the giving and taking of possession. A manorial copyholder who was alienating his
holding would deliver a rod or wand to the Lord of the Manor or his Steward as a sign of
surrender of the tenement, and the Lord or Steward would deliver the rod to the new
tenant, both actions taking place in the presence of other tenants called upon to witness
the 'Act of Livery'. In the case of freeholders, the delivery was made with a
piece of turf or clod of earth, or the ring of the door, direct to the new owner. By the
Real Property Act of 1845 such transactions could be carried out by deed alone, without
livery.
Hope this helps. Emrys Williams
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Livery of Seisin is defined in my law dictionary as 'the delivery of feudal possession
sometimes called investiture'.
Guess that raises as many questions as it answers. Mike Hall