ABSTRACT
Introduction – what is land? This chapter introduces a series of closely related but individual topics all designed to answer the same question: what is land? Firstly, there is a brief history of land law in England and Wales and an explanation of the development of the courts of the common law and equity. Together these provide a picture of what it means to own land in England and Wales, and the dual nature of land ownership in a legal context. Secondly, there follows an explanation of real and personal rights in land. This describes the nature of the various rights which attach to the land itself. And finally the bulk of the chapter deals with how land is defined in a legal context and what is and is not included on its sale or purchase.
