Construction and Execution of Trusts in Chancery, c. 1660-1750

Foster, David

Abstract

Relatively little has been written about the detailed workings of the court of chancery after the restoration. Even less is known about the doctrines of the chancery in the eighteenth century. Yet social historians of this period have relied on legal sources to generate a narrative which suggests that the landed classes were instrumental in determining the content of the rules governing family settlements. This article seeks to situate that narrative in the adjudicative context. Through a close textual analysis of the case law, supplemented by archival material, the article argues that, whilst successive chancellors did give voice to the underlying intentions of the settlor (and thus to the estate preservative policies of their class), the settlor’s intention was not the sole prescribing law when construing family settlements.

Citation

Foster, D. (2019). Construction and Execution of Trusts in Chancery, c. 1660-1750. Journal of Legal History, 40(3), 270-297. https://doi.org/10.1080/01440365.2019.1657673

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 16, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Oct 27, 2019
• Publication Date: Oct 27, 2019
• Deposit Date: Aug 16, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 28, 2021
• Journal: Journal of Legal History
• Print ISSN: 0144-0365
• Electronic ISSN: 1744-0564
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 40
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 270-297
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01440365.2019.1657673
• Keywords: Law; History
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2429223
• Additional Information: Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=flgh20; Published: 2019-10-27