Hedges & who owns a ditch…

If you are on a permission and you’re not too sure where the farm boundary stops or starts, use this helpful guide below

Who Owns the Bank? The ditch owns the bank…

Now, let’s look at the hedge and ditch rule…

In an 1810 case, the matter was settled in court by Mr. Justice Laurence who explained:

“The guideline pertaining to excavating stands as follows: No individual constructing a ditch can encroach upon his neighbour’s territory; generally, the excavation extends to the outermost boundary of his own land. Naturally, he must deposit the soil he removes onto his own property, and frequently, if he desires, he establishes a hedge atop it.” ( so a hedge is planted on top of the spoil, which was dug out to create the ditch )

The presumption states that when two properties are divided by a hedge and a ditch, the boundary is presumed to be on the opposite edge of the ditch from the hedge. This is based on the logic that the landowner would have:

Stood on the boundary line, facing his own land.

Dug the ditch on his own land.

Piled the excavated soil on his side, forming a bank.

Planted a hedge on top of the bank.

While this hedge-and-ditch presumption generally applies to agricultural land, it often survives urban development. For example, if a housing estate is built on either side of an old hedge-and-ditch boundary, and a boundary dispute arises, this rule is typically still applied.

How to Identify a Hedge-and-Ditch Boundary

I’ve enlisted some arrows to help illustrate the concept:

Yellow arrow → The woodbank, made from the soil dug out of the ditch.

Blue arrow → The ditch itself.

Red arrow → The edge of the ditch is the actual boundary line between two parcels of land.