CROWN LAND, in Great Britain, land belonging to the Crown, the hereditary revenues of which were surrendered to parliament in the reign of George III.
In Anglo-Saxon times the property of the king consisted of (a) his private estate, (b) the demesne of the Crown, compris ing palaces, etc., and (c) rights in the folkland of the kingdom. By the time of the Norman Conquest the three became merged into the estate of the Crown, that is, land annexed to the Crown, held by the king as king. The king, also, ceased to hold as a private owner, but he had full power of disposal by grant of the crown lands, which were increased from time to time by confiscation, escheat, forfeiture, etc. The history of the crown lands of the reign of William III. was one of continuous alienation to favour ites. Their wholesale distribution by William III. necessitated the intervention of parliament, and in the reign of Queen Anne an act was passed limiting the right of alienation of crown lands to a period of not more than 31 years or three lives. The revenue from the crown lands was also made to constitute part of the civil list. At the beginning of his reign George III. sur rendered his interest in the crown lands in return for a fixed "civil list" (q.v.). The control and management of the crown lands is now regulated by the Crown Lands Act, 1829, and vari ous amending acts. Under these acts their management is en trusted to the commissioners of woods, forests and land revenues, who have certain statutory powers as to leasing, selling, ex changing, etc.
State lands in the British colonies are vested in the Crown, and they are called crown lands; actually, however, the various colonial legislatures have full control over them and power of disposal. Acts dealing with crown lands are usually called "land acts."