– Definition from the Harmsworth Encyclopedia c.1910 p. 1616
Copyhold land is land which is held of a lord of a manor by custom. Originally it was always held at the will of the lord; but in time a tenant acquired by custom a fixity of tenure and a copyhold tenant may now be, and generally is, either a tenant for life, or in tail, and he may even enjoy an estate equal to fee simple, but subject to the various copyhold dues. Thus a copyhold tenant may owe to the lord, fealty; suit of court; rent; a relief on death; a fine on alienation; or a heriot; or all or any of these things according to the custom of the manor, which also regulates the descent. Tenancy is proved by copy of court roll, and transferred by surrender of the old tenant and admission of the new. The tenant generally has a right of common in the waste land of the manor. The Copyhold Acts 1852, 1858, and 1887, give compulsory powers by which copyholds may be enfranchised, i.e., converted into freeholds on commutation of the services due to the lord. In consequence this form of tenure is dying out.