Q&As

Can an easement be acquired by prescription where there has previously been a licence allowing a thing to be done, but where that licence was for the benefit of a predecessor in title?

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Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis
Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk
Published on: 04 June 2024
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The essence of prescriptive rights by long use is founded on the irrebuttable presumption that if a right has been enjoyed for at least twenty years, that right had a lawful origin and thus will be upheld. The user claiming the right must show that it has been nec vi, nec clam, nec precario—without force, secrecy or permission: Gardner v Hodgson’s Kingston Brewery Co. A prescriptive right is most frequently claimed in respect of a right of way but is not limited to such rights. The right claimed must however be a right that can lawfully be granted: Bakewell Management Ltd v Brandwood. The test for an easement remains as set out in Re Ellenborough Park [1955] EWCA Civ 4 (not reported by LexisNexis®UK), there must be a dominant

Chris Bryden
Chris Bryden

Barrister, 4 King’s Bench Walk

Chris was called to the Bar in 2003 and since that time has built a busy practice across a range of areas, with an emphasis on Chancery practice. He enjoys a well-deserved reputation for his knowledge and expertise in each area. He appears regularly in the County Court, Family Court and the High Court as well as various specialist Tribunals, and has been involved in cases up to and including the Supreme Court. He regularly is instructed at Appellate level. He has extensive and wide-ranging experience particularly in the areas of wills, probate and inheritance disputes; property including adverse possession, boundary disputes and issues arising out of trusts of land; company and commercial work and financial remedies. Chris is head of the Family Group and head of the Property Team at 4KBW.

Chris is the author of numerous articles in publications such as the New Law Journal, Counsel and Family Law, amongst many other titles, and is the co-author of Social Media in the Workplace: A Handbook (2015, Jordan Publishing).

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