Magna Carta (1215) was sealed at Runnymede between King John and rebel land barons.It established a legal precedent for protecting property owners against arbitrary possession by the state. The 1225 version, ratified by King Henry III, is considered to be a founding document of Anglo common law.

After King John's death, a Charter of the Forest (1217) was sealed at St Paul's cathedral. It asserted the rights of the 'property-less' to use common land and access 143 royal forests which had been enclosed since 1066. Over time, this charter was repeatedly limited, especially by King Henry VIII and the Enclosure Acts 1760-1870, yet was the longest lasting piece of UK legislation until it was repealed by the Conservatives in 1971.

Edward Coke (1552-1634) elevated the 1225 Magna Carta to its high legal status, and his interpretation spread throughout the British Empire. He argued that property ownership was the foundation of liberty and security by offering protections for the owner against outside threats (including the state).

John Locke (1632-1704) argued that the enclosure of land was only justified if 'as much and as good' was left to others, and if unused property could be forfeited for better use. This definition of ownership as linked to improving or utilising resources, however,was also used to justify the taking of aboriginal lands, which appeared 'unused' to European colonisers.

The Diggers, amongst other post-Civil War movements and religious sects, saw the execution of King Charles as ending a centuries-long Norman oppression which had begun with William the Conqueror in 1066. They therefore called for the redistribution of crown land to ease the distress of the poor.

A man is out walking on a hillside. Suddenly the owner appears. 'Get off my land', he yells. 'What do you mean, your land?' demands the intruder. 'Who says it's your land? ''I do, and I've got the deeds to prove it.' 'Well, where did you get it from?' 'From my father.' 'And where did he get it from?' 'From his father. He was the 17th Earl. The estate originally belonged to the 1st Earl.' 'And how did he get it?' 'He fought for it in the War of the Roses.' 'Right - then I'll fight you for it!'

The Highland Clearances (18th/19th C) saw the enclosure of traditional common lands in Scotland. Hundreds of thousands had their homes destroyed as they were violently evicted and forced to lowlands, coasts, cities, or to emigrate. They were replaced with sheep farming, which was more profitable for the landowners.

From the 16thC onwards, Catholic landowners in Ireland (descendants of the Norman invasion) were forcibly replaced by Protestant Settlers. Irish enclosure acts reached a peak by 1780, and the poverty and inequality which followed sparked rebellions, such as The Whiteboys (1760-1803).

7 million acres of English commons were enclosed by over 4000 acts of parliament between 1760 & 1870. By 1913, the British Empire was the largest in history, ruling over 412m people (23% global population) and covering 13.7m square miles of Earth's total land (24%). The empire was built and maintained using methods of population control, cultural oppression, as well as military force and violence.

The Mau Mau Rebellion (1952-1960) against British rule in Kenya focused on the fertile highlands where massive estates had displaced thousands and rendered thousands more landless'squatters' on the farms. The British reaction was brutal, turning to torture and forced labour camps.

The Chartists - a working class movement for political reform - produced 'The People's Charter' in 1838.
Dissatisfied with the incremental changes made by the Great Reform Act (1832) and Poor Law Amendments (1834) which drove more people in workhouses, they sought to extend male suffrage using petitions and mass public meetings.
Other actions included standing for election, strikes, and even unsuccessful armed uprisings in Newport (1839) and Sheffield & Bradford (1842). All the Chartist demands, except annual elections, have since been incorporated into the UK parliamentary system.

In 1843, Chartist leader Feargus O'Connor set up the Chartist Co-Operative Land Company. Arguing that land was the solution to working class freedom, members paid for stocks in order to purchase and subdivide large estates.

Five estates were obtained between 1844-48 before parliament shut it down (citing financial in-viability). Chartist cottages still stand in Oxfordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, and outside London.

Property may no longer be a formal exclusion from the franchise today, but -as starkly demonstrated by politicians announcing housing 'solutions' at'notorious' council estates - it could be argued that ownership continues to play a political role in terms of who's views and grievances are heard and seen as 'legitimate' and whose are not.

In 1906, when the Liberal Party took steps to ban women from public meetings, Suffragettes responded with direct action: hiding behind organ pipes, under platforms, or even being lowered into meetings on rope. There were also reports of politicians being harassed at golf clubs, outside churches, and even their homes.

Many of the more liberal campaigners for women's suffrage condemned the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) for violence, arguing it undermined their battle for women to be seen as 'rational' and therefore to be 'trusted' with the vote.

The Suffragettes restricted their militancy to self-endangerment (e.g.hunger strikes or Emily Davison jumping in front of the king's horse in 1913) and to attacks on property. This included smashing windows, arson attacks, burning slogans into golf courses, graffiti, and attacking works of art (such as 'Slasher Mary' Richardson's attack on Rokeby's 'Venus').

On 12th September 2018, the group 100women travelled to Parliament Square, evoking the 100 year anniversary of womens' suffrage and the Suffragette campaign, in order to make their voices heard on fracking and democratic failures in Lancashire.

The Glasgow Rent Strikes (1915) were led by working class women faced with a 25%increase from landlords capitalising on war-time demand for housing. Dubbed 'Mrs Barbour's Army' (after figurehead Mary Barbour) the strikers employed direct action to prevent bailiffs from entering tenements and deliver eviction notices, pelting officers with rubbish, clothes, and sewage. The strike spread throughout the UK, forcing the government to introduce Rent Controls by November (which remained until they were repealed by the Conservatives in 1988).

Private renters outnumber all other tenure types in the UK. In England, £46.8bn rent is paid to landlords each year (highest in Europe).
11m people rent in the UK, yet 1/3 privately rented homes do not meet the decent homes standard. 1/6 are dangerous to live in.
1/3 of Britain's private renters are on housing benefit (making up for a decline in social housing). But with rising rent levels, the housing benefit bill rocketed by £4.3bn between 09/10 and 14/15.
In February 2017, a record 61% of ''buy-to-let' property sales were purchased mortgage-free. (ACORN, 2018)

Responding to mass unemployment, the pre-WW1 Landgrabbers took over derelict land in Leeds,Manchester, Bradford, and London, with the aim of producing food and shelter through common labour. In Plaistow, around 20 unemployed men set up the Triangle Camp on 13th July 1906, painting 'What Will The Harvest Be?' in large white letters at the back of the plot. They explained their aim was to get people 'back to the land' and locals donated supplies in support. An eviction attempt on 26th July was seen off by 3-5000 supporters.

These postcards were produced by the Girlington 'Klondike' in Bradford(1906). The squat was strictly organised with recognised leaders, communal meals, and a ban on liquor. Open air meetings were held with up to 100 people where Winstanely and Morris were much quoted.

In the inter-war period, and mainly in south-east England, the urban poor took advantage of new transport links and a lack of planning laws, by self-building rural holiday huts,permanent homes, and settlements in the country. Whilst many purchased or leased the land, the Plotlanders were labelled 'squatters' as a term of abuse by the upper and middle classes who saw them as a blight on the countryside.

The Plotlanders self-built working class communities set an early claim for the urban poor to access and enjoy the countryside, escaping the polluted, industrial, and overcrowded cities, where there was little chance to own property. Many of the settlements were destroyed before WW2, whilst future building was prevented by the Town and Country Planning Act 1947 which put more robust planning systems into place.

In 1900, Sheffield steel engineer G.H.B. Ward set up the first working class ramblers club, Sheffield Clarion Ramblers, who organised a smaller trespass of Bleak low in 1907.
On 24th April 1932, 500 ramblers from the Manchester British Workers' Sports Federation set off from Hayfield, overcoming gamekeepers who attempted to keep them out, before meeting walkers from Sheffield and climbing to the summit of Kinder Scout.
Six of the trespassers were arrested and imprisoned for 2-6 months, yet this only brought publicity to the action. A few weeks later 10,000 people gathered at Winnats Passfor another mass trespass.

The Kinder Scout Mass Trespass is widely recognised as having paved the way for the National Parks and Access to Countryside Act (1949) which saw the Peak District established as Britain's first national park in 1951; as well as the Countryside Rights of Way Act (2000) which established the 'right to roam' open countryside in law and set-up access agreements with landowners.