Burgage Tenure

Burgage Tenure indicates the particular feudal service or tenure of houses or tenements in ancient cities or boroughs. It is considered a species of socage, as the tenements are holden of the sovereign or other lord either by a fixed annual pecuniary rent, or by some services relating to trade or handicraft, such as repairing the lord's buildings, providing the lord's gloves or spurs, etc. The incidents of this tenure, which prevailed in Normandy as well as in England, vary according to the particular customs of each borough. Burgage tenure is supposed to have been the foundation of the rights of voting for members of Parliament in cities or boroughs, and the great variety of these rights is partially explained by the particular local customs. One of the most remarkable customs of burgage tenure is that known as "Borough English."