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This article is from the Encyclopedia of North Carolina edited by William S. Powell. Copyright © 2006 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. For personal use and not for further distribution. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher.

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Demesne Land

by William S. Powell, 2006

Demesne land, a term that originated in medieval law, was rarely used in North Carolina and apparently not used at all after about 1730. It applied to land owned or otherwise available to a person but worked by laborers hired by him. After land came to be granted to individual owners, demesne land was restricted to that adjacent to or surrounding the landowner's house. The General Court of North Carolina in March 1716 heard a case concerning William Tyrrell, who on 22 February 1716 "did Demise Grant and to farm left to John [Grey]" a plantation of 177 acres in Perquimans Precinct.

Additional Resources:

John Gray Blount Papers, Vol. 3, North Carolina Digital Collections: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/john-gray-blount-papers-1796-1802-v.3/2691297?item=2832552

Authors:

Powell, William S.

From:

Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.

1 January 2006 | Powell, William S.