Free Bench
Preserved but no longer current.
A legal term denoting a widow's right to a copyhold in certain English manors. It is not a dower or gift, but a free right independent of the will of the husband. Called bench because, upon acceding to the estate, she becomes a tenant of the manor, and entitled to sit on the bench at manorial courts.
Một thuật ngữ pháp lý chỉ quyền của góa phụ đối với một tài sản nhất định ở một số khu vực của Anh
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Free Bench” mean?
A legal term denoting a widow's right to a copyhold in certain English manors. It is not a dower or gift, but a free right independent of the will of the husband. Called bench because, upon acceding to the estate, she becomes a tenant of the manor, and entitled to sit on the bench at manorial courts.
Is “Free Bench” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.