Charles Brickdale
Encyclopedia
Sir Charles Fortescue Brickdale (1 March 1857 — 20 September 1944) was a British barrister and civil servant best known for his reform of HM Land Registry
as Chief Registrar.
, and his wife Sarah Lloyd. After attending Westminster School
he matriculated to Christ Church, Oxford
, and from there was called to the Bar by Lincoln's Inn
in 1883, specialising in land law. In 1886 he published Registration of Title to Land and how to Establish it without Cost or Compulsion, in which he argued that the relatively new land registry department, which had so far proved ineffective, could massively improve if it was to follow the Australian and Prussian models. Two years later he was made assistant barrister at the Land Registry by Lord Halsbury, and used the position to argue for greater reform, which came in the form of the Land Transfer Act 1897.
The land registration system at the time was voluntary, and getting local organisations and conveyancers to accept was a long and difficult job. Brickdale was appointed Chief Registrar of HM Land Registry in 1900. During his time as Chief Registrar he turned the Land Registry into a fully functioning department and helped prepare the Law of Property Act 1925
, which was put in place after his retirement in 1923. He was knighted for his work in 1911, and died on 20 September 1944.
HM Land Registry
Land Registry is a non-ministerial government department and executive agency of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1862 to register the ownership of land and property in England and Wales...
as Chief Registrar.
Life
Brickdale was born on 1 March 1857 to Matthew Brickdale, a barristerBarrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
, and his wife Sarah Lloyd. After attending Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
he matriculated to Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
, and from there was called to the Bar by Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
in 1883, specialising in land law. In 1886 he published Registration of Title to Land and how to Establish it without Cost or Compulsion, in which he argued that the relatively new land registry department, which had so far proved ineffective, could massively improve if it was to follow the Australian and Prussian models. Two years later he was made assistant barrister at the Land Registry by Lord Halsbury, and used the position to argue for greater reform, which came in the form of the Land Transfer Act 1897.
The land registration system at the time was voluntary, and getting local organisations and conveyancers to accept was a long and difficult job. Brickdale was appointed Chief Registrar of HM Land Registry in 1900. During his time as Chief Registrar he turned the Land Registry into a fully functioning department and helped prepare the Law of Property Act 1925
Law of Property Act 1925
The Law of Property Act 1925 is a statute of the United Kingdom Parliament. It forms part of an interrelated programme of legisation introduced by Lord Chancellor Lord Birkenhead between 1922 and 1925. The programme was intended to modernise the English law of real property...
, which was put in place after his retirement in 1923. He was knighted for his work in 1911, and died on 20 September 1944.