COURT – Right of Road. High Court of Justice (Chancery Division)

Accreditation The Redcar and Saltburn-by-the-Sea Gazette. 26/01/1877.

A REDCAR RIGHT OF ROAD CASE
NEWCOMEN V. COULSON

High Court of Justice (Chancery Division)
Jan. 18.
(Before Vice-Chancellor Sir R Malins)

     This was a motion for an injunction to restrain the defendant – Coulson, Goodall, and Hutton – from dealing with a road passing through the plaintiff’s property, otherwise than in accordance with an award made on the 23^rd of February, 1760, whereby a right of way was given for agricultural purposes solely, to the owners and tenants of certain lands situated at Coatham, in the County of York. By Act of Parliament passed more than a century ago four common fields, comprising of 400 acres, were enclosed with consent of all parties interested. The right of way through the road in question was secured by the act, which required that it should be marked by a hedge on either side. The plaintiff was the lord of the manor, and represented the original allottees of fifteen acres of the land, while the defendants owned about seven acres. The defendants had contracted to convert their seven acres into a building site, and in order to provide access to the houses by the road which was called Westdyke Lane, and which was the only road by which the occupiers of the property, could get to the main road to Redcar, they had proceeded to metal the road and to erect a bridge across a brook, known as the Stell, which crossed the lane. The road was 670 yards in length and 11 yards in width, and the defendants had put down 50 yards of slag 3ft. deep and 12ft in width. It was this that the plaintiff complained of as contravening the condition that the road should be made for agricultural purposes only, and he also sought to restrain the defendants from erecting the bridge on the ground that it rested upon the plaintiff’s property. – Mr. J. N. Higgins, Q.C., appeared in support of the motion, which was opposed by Mr. Glasse, Q.C., and Mr. W. Karslake. – The Vice Chancellor refused the motion as far as the road was concerned, leaving the question of the bridge to be dealt with at some future time.

Accreditation The Redcar and Saltburn-by-the-Sea Gazette 23/02/1877

 THE REDCAR RIGHT OF ROAD CASE

In the Court of Appeal, Lincoln Inn, on Wednesday (before the Master of the Rolls and Lord Justice James and Baggallay) the case of Newcomen and Coulson was heard. It was an appeal from the decision of the Vice-Chancellor Malins, refusing upon interlocutory motion, to grant and injunction, restraining the defendant from using a right of way across the plaintiff’s land, otherwise than for agricultural purposes. Mr. J. N. Higgins, Q.C., and Mr. Proctor, were for the appellant; and Mr. Glasse, Q.C., and Mr. W. W. Karslake, for the respondents. The facts of the case will be fresh in the recollection of our readers. Their Lordships, without calling upon the respondents, dismissed the appeal, with costs.