Landed estates and farming families

Strict settlements

A strict settlement is a settlement of land falling under the Settled Land Act 1925 (SLA 1925). At one time, landed estates were almost universally held in strict settlements and some knowledge of strict settlements makes it easier to understand the older title deeds to a landed estate. An understanding of strict settlements can also make it easier to interpret modern settlements of land that have been created by restructuring older strict settlements.

The aim of a strict settlement was generally to ensure so far as possible that a landed estate passed through the senior male line of the family, while also providing for other family members. It was designed to ensure that no one family member could unilaterally bring a settlement to an end and sell the land for their own benefit. The strategy was to use a combination of life estates (or life interests after 1925) and fee tails (or equitable entailed interests after 1925). The advantage of a life interest was that the owner could not enlarge it while the advantage of an entailed interest was that it could continue

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