RECLAMATION – Land from River Tees

Accreditation The Redcar & Saltburn-by-the- Gazette  26/01/1877

The Reclamation of Land from the River Tees

     In the Exchequer Division of the High Court of Justice, at Westminster – before the Lord Chief Baron Kelly and Baron Cleasby, sitting as a Court for the hearing of Revenue cases – the Attorney-General (Sir John Holkes) mentioned on Monday that of the Attorney General v Lowther, stating that it was an information filed against Sir Charles Lowther, James Lowther, and others, to obtain a declaration the Crown was entitled to the shore of the River Tees below the high water mark, and to several sums of money  which had been obtained by sale of certain land which had been reclaimed from the river under the Tees Conservancy Act. The Attorney General said the matter had been investigated on behalf of the Crown by his learned friends and himself, and that they had come to the conclusion that it would be for the benefit of all parties to have it compromised. The defence set up by the defendants was that the foreshore in question belonged to them as properties of the Manor of Wilton. The question raised was a very difficult one, and an arrangement had been made for a compromise, by which, subject to the sanction of the court, the case would be settled. According to that arrangement, certain portions of the foreshore would be conveyed by the Crown to Sir Charles Lowther and the other defendants, as trustees of the settlement, and [part of the moneys in question would be paid to the defendants while the rest would be retained by the Crown – The Lord Chief Baron said he had carefully gone through the case, and that the compromised referred to was a very reasonable and just mode of settling the dispute between the Crown and the defendants – a settlement which would be beneficial to both parties – Baron Cleasby concurred, and the Court assented to the proposed arrangement for settling the case.