Editing Crown Estate (section)

== History ==

=== Crown land in England and Wales ===
The history of the Crown lands in [[England and Wales]] begins with the [[Norman Conquest]] in 1066.<ref name="Our History">{{cite web |title=Our history |url=https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/en-gb/about-us/our-history/ |access-date=12 June 2020 |publisher=The Crown Estate |location=London, UK}}</ref>  By [[right of conquest]], [[William the Conqueror|William I]] (<abbr>r.</abbr> 1066–1087) owned all the land in England and was able to redistribute it based on [[Feudalism in England|feudal]] principles. [[Tenant-in-chief|Tenants-in-chief]] received land directly from the king in return for military service. {{anchor|Royal manor}}<!-- [[Royal manor]] redirects here --> The land that the king kept for himself was called the royal [[demesne]] and divided into '''royal manors'''.{{Sfn|Pugh|1960|p=2}} 

When the [[Domesday Book|Domesday]] survey was completed in 1086, the king was still the largest single landholder, possessing over 18 percent of the landed estates in England. Between 10 and 30 percent of each [[Historic counties of England|county]] belonged to the royal demesne. The king delegated management of royal lands to his [[Sheriff|sheriffs]]. Each year, the sheriff paid the king a fixed sum called the "[[Farm (revenue leasing)|county farm]]" and was allowed to keep any surplus.{{Sfn|Huscroft|2016|p=89}} The county farms were the largest source of royal revenue, totaling over £10,000 annually.{{Sfn|Bartlett|2000|p=161}}

The size of the royal demesne fluctuated over time. The 70 years after William I died saw substantial [[Alienation (property law)|alienation]] of lands, especially during [[the Anarchy]] when [[Stephen, King of England|King Stephen]] and [[Empress Matilda]] attempted to buy support with land grants.{{Sfn|Pugh|1960|pp=3–4}} Crown lands were often used as [[patronage]] to reward the king's family, friends, and servants. At the same time, the Crown lands also grew through confiscations and [[escheat]].{{Sfn|Bartlett|2000|p=161}}

The Crown lands were augmented as well as depleted over the centuries: [[Edward I of England|Edward I]] extended his possessions into [[Wales]], and [[James I of England|James (VI & I)]] had his own Crown lands in Scotland which were ultimately combined with the Crown lands of England and Wales.<ref>Pugh, p. 5</ref> The disposals outweighed the acquisitions: at the time of the [[English Restoration|Restoration]] in 1660, the total revenue arising from Crown lands was estimated to be £263,598 (equal to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|263598|1660}}}} today).{{Inflation/fn|UK}}{{Sfn|Commissioners of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues|1792|p=7|loc=s. 26}} By the end of the reign of [[William III of England|William III]] (1689–1702) it was reduced to some £6,000 (equal to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|6000|1702}}}} today).{{Inflation/fn|UK}}<ref name=blue>H M Treasury "Blue Note", Class X, 2, 1912</ref>

Before the reign of William III all the revenues of the kingdom were bestowed on the monarch for the general expenses of government. These revenues were of two kinds:{{Sfn|Best|1901|p=1}}
*the hereditary revenues, derived principally from the Crown lands, feudal rights (commuted for the hereditary excise duties in 1660), profits of the post office, with licences, etc.
*the temporary revenues derived from taxes granted to the king for a term of years or for life.

After the [[Glorious Revolution]], [[English Parliament|Parliament]] retained under its own control the greater part of the temporary revenues, and relieved the sovereign of the cost of the naval and military services and the burden of the [[Government debt|national debt]]. During the reigns of William III, Anne, [[George I of Great Britain|George I]] and [[George II of Great Britain|George II]] the sovereign remained responsible for the maintenance of the civil government and for the support of the royal household and dignity, being allowed for these purposes the hereditary revenues and certain taxes.{{Sfn|Best|1901|p=1}}

As the state machinery expanded, the cost of the civil government exceeded the income from the Crown lands and feudal rights; this created a personal debt for the monarch.

On George III's accession he surrendered the income from the Crown lands to Parliament, and abrogated responsibility for the cost of the civil government and the clearance of associated debts. As a result, and to avoid pecuniary embarrassment, he was granted a fixed [[civil list]] payment and the income retained from the [[Duchy of Lancaster]].{{Sfn|Best|1901|p=2}} The King surrendered to parliamentary control the hereditary excise duties, post office revenues, and "the small branches" of hereditary revenue including rents of the Crown lands in England (which amounted to about £11,000, or £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|11000|1760}}}} today),{{Inflation/fn|UK}} and was granted a civil list annuity of £800,000 (equal to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|800000|1760}}}} today){{Inflation/fn|UK}} for the support of his household, subject to the payment of certain annuities to members of the royal family.{{Sfn|Best|1901|p=2}}

Although the King had retained large hereditary revenues, his income proved insufficient for his charged expenses because he used the privilege to reward supporters with bribes and gifts.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/mar/06/monarchy.princessmargaret|title=The royal family and the public purse|first=Paul|last=Kelso|date=6 March 2000|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=30 January 2018}}</ref> Debts amounting to over £3&nbsp;million (equal to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|3000000|1820}}}} today){{Inflation/fn|UK}} over the course of George's reign were paid by Parliament, and the civil list annuity was then increased from time to time.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/astudentsmanual03medlgoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/astudentsmanual03medlgoog/page/n534 501]|quote=george iii crown estate debts.|title=A Student's Manual of English Constitutional History|first=Dudley Julius|last=Medley|date=30 January 2018|publisher=B. Blackwell|access-date=30 January 2018|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

Every succeeding sovereign down to and including [[Charles III]] renewed the arrangement made between George III and Parliament.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/king-charles-surrenders-hereditary-revenues-sovereign-grant-funding-official-duties | title=King Charles III surrenders hereditary revenues in return for sovereign grant funding official duties | website=[[Fox Business]] | date=10 September 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9627/CBP-9627.pdf |title=King Charles III: First year of the reign |publisher=[[House of Commons of the United Kingdom]] |year=2023 |pages=18 |quote=Approving one of his first Orders in Council, the Monarch confirmed his willingness to surrender the Crown’s hereditary revenues in return for the Sovereign Grant, which is set annually as a proportion of net revenues from the Crown Estate.}}</ref> By the 19th century the practice was recognised as "an integral part of the Constitution [which] would be difficult to abandon".{{Sfn|Best|1901|p=1}}<ref>Ilbert, C. P., ''[[The Times]],'' 14 August 1871, p. 4</ref> Nevertheless, a review of funding arrangements for the monarchy led to the passage of the [[Sovereign Grant Act 2011]], which according to HM Treasury, is:<ref>[http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/leg_sovereign_grant_faq.htm United Kingdom.  Her Majesty's Treasury.  "Sovereign Grant Act: frequently asked questions relating to the Act and on general issues."] {{webarchive|url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130129110402/http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/leg_sovereign_grant_faq.htm |date=29 January 2013 }} Accessed 2 May 2013.</ref>

<blockquote>A new consolidated grant rounding together the Civil List, Royal Palaces and Royal Travel grants-in-aid. It is intended that future funding will be set as a fraction of The Crown Estate revenue and paid through the annual Treasury Estimates process, and subject to full National Audit Office audit....</blockquote>

<blockquote>The Grant is to enable The Queen to discharge her duties as Head of State. i.e. it meets the central staff costs and running expenses of Her Majesty's official Household – such things as official receptions, investitures, garden parties and so on. It will also cover the maintenance of the Royal Palaces in England and the cost of travel to carry out royal engagements such as opening buildings and other royal visits....</blockquote>

<blockquote>While the amount of the Grant will be linked to the profits of the Crown Estate, those profits will continue to be paid in to the Exchequer; they are not to be hypothecated. Setting the Grant at a percentage of profits of the Crown Estate will help to put in place a durable and transparent framework.</blockquote>

In April 2014 it was reported that the Crown Estate was proposing to sell about 200 of its 750 rural homes in the UK, and was evicting tenants in preparation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-27141985|title=Girl asks Queen to stop her eviction|date=26 April 2014|access-date=30 January 2018|publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/news-media/news/2014/rural-residential-interests-rebalanced-towards-strategic-land/|title=News|website=The Crown Estate|access-date=30 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503060638/http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/news-media/news/2014/rural-residential-interests-rebalanced-towards-strategic-land/|archive-date=3 May 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== Wales ====
The Crown Estate in Wales includes the coastal seabed up to 12 nautical miles, approximately 65% of the foreshore as well as the Welsh river bed and ports and marinas.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Pwy sy'n berchen ar wely'r môr, a pham mae'n bwysig |url=https://ymchwil.senedd.cymru/erthyglau-ymchwil/pwy-sy-n-berchen-ar-wely-r-mor-a-pham-mae-n-bwysig/ |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=ymchwil.senedd.cymru |language=cy-GB}}</ref> The estate also owns over 50,000 acres of Welsh upland and common land, mainly rough grazing land,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Written evidence submitted by the Crown Estate (GRD0028) |url=https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/107834/pdf/ |website=committees.parliament.uk}}</ref> and 250,000 acres of mineral deposits and the rights to gold and silver.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |date=2022-01-23 |title=Petition seeks control of Wales' Crown Estate land |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-60096958 |access-date=2023-05-06}}</ref>
Various offshore wind projects are part of the Crown Estate in Wales, including the proposed Awel y Môr,<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/media/4127/wales-highlights.pdf|title=Wales Highlights 2021/22}}</ref> Erebus 100MW Test and Demonstration project, and three 100M projects (in their assessment stage).<ref name=":5" /> The Crown Estate announced £1.2million would be invested into the Morlais tidal stream demonstration zone, developed by [[Menter Môn]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Crown Estate to invest £1.2million in Welsh tidal stream energy innovation {{!}} The Crown Estate to invest £1.2million in Welsh tidal stream energy innovation |url=https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/en-gb/media-and-insights/news/the-crown-estate-to-invest-12million-in-welsh-tidal-stream-energy-innovation/ |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=www.thecrownestate.co.uk}}</ref>

The value of the Welsh Crown Estate has risen from £49.2m in 2020 to £549.1m in 2021, and then to £603m in 2022. The revenue of the Welsh Crown Estate in 2021 was £8.7m.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wales Highlights 2020/21 |url=https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/media/3872/wales-highlights-2021-final.pdf |publisher=The Crown Estate}}</ref> Of the Crown Estate revenue; 75% goes to the UK Treasury whilst 25% is given to the monarch.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2022-06-16 |title=Value of marine holdings held by Queen's Crown Estate jumps 22% in a year amid devolution calls |url=https://nation.cymru/news/vale-of-marine-holdings-held-by-queens-crown-estate-jumps-22-in-a-year-amid-devolution-calls/ |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=Nation.Cymru |language=en-GB}}</ref>

In Wales, there have been multiple calls for the Crown Estate in Wales to be [[Proposed further Welsh devolution|devolved]], including by Plaid Cymru, Welsh Labour and the Welsh Liberal Democrats.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-01-06 |title=Fyddai datganoli Ystâd y Goron ddim yn dod â budd i Gymru, medd Ysgrifennydd Cymru |url=https://golwg.360.cymru/newyddion/gwleidyddiaeth/2083366-fyddai-datganoli-ystad-goron-budd-gymru-medd |access-date=2023-05-05 |website=Golwg360 |language=cy}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-01-26 |title='Outrageous that Crown Estate is devolved to Scotland and not Wales' says Welsh minister |url=https://nation.cymru/news/outrageous-that-crown-estate-is-devolved-to-scotland-and-not-wales-says-welsh-minister/ |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=Nation.Cymru |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-26 |title=Welsh LibDems demand devolving the Crown Estate to Wales |url=https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/welsh-libdems-demand-devolving-the-crown-estate-to-wales |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=Morning Star |language=en}}</ref> An opinion poll in May 2023 also showed strong support for devolving the estate in Wales with a majority of 58% of the people of Wales supporting the devolution of the Crown Estate compared to 19% who are opposed and 23% who don't know. Poll breakdown showed that all major political party voters supported devolution of the estate in Wales.<ref name="auto"/> 

In January 2025, a UK government minister stated no discussions with the Welsh government had taken place, although by February 2025 they clarified that the Welsh government had asked for devolution. The UK government stated they view devolution not to be in "[Wales's] best interests" and expressed concerns over the impact to the energy sector, while the Welsh government says devolution would allow money raised by the estate to be spent in Wales. [[Eluned Morgan]], First Minister and Welsh Labour leader admitted Labour is split on the issue.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1wexjj47qxo|title=Wales did ask to run Crown Estate, minister clarifies|date=11 February 2025|website=www.bbc.com}}</ref>
By 21 February 2025, a majority of Wales [[principal areas of Wales|principal area]] [[local government in Wales|councils]] supported motions advocating to devolve the Crown Estate in Wales.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nation.cymru/news/majority-of-welsh-county-councils-now-support-devolution-of-crown-estate/|title=Majority of Welsh county councils now support devolution of Crown Estate|first=Emily|last=Price|date=20 February 2025}}</ref> On 24 February 2025, the UK Government rejected calls for the Crown Estate to be devolved to Wales.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy4v7kwernmo|title=Crown Estate: UK Government rejects calls for Welsh devolution|date=24 February 2025|website=BBC News}}</ref>

=== {{anchor|Irl}}<!--[[Crown land in Ireland]] redirects here-->Crown land in Ireland ===
In 1793, George III surrendered the hereditary revenues of the [[Kingdom of Ireland]], and was granted a civil list annuity for certain expenses of Irish civil government.{{Sfn|Best|1901|p=2}}<ref name="nai">{{cite web|title=Records of the Quit Rent Office (IE-NAI – QRO) |url=http://www.archivesportaleurope.net/advanced-search/search-in-archives/results-(archives)/?&repositoryCode=IE-NAI&levelName=archdesc&t=fa&recordId=QRO |work=National Archives of Ireland|publisher=Archives Portal Europe|access-date=30 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The statutes at large, passed in the Parliaments held in Ireland|chapter=33 Geo. 3 c. 34 |chapter-url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433035265010;view=1up;seq=897 |volume=16 |year=1796 |publisher=Boulter Grierson |location=Dublin |page=863}}</ref> Most of the Crown land by then was from forfeitures after the [[Irish Rebellion of 1641|1641 rebellion]] or the [[Williamite War in Ireland|1688–91 revolution]], with some smaller older parcels remaining from earlier rebellions, the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]] and the [[Norman Ireland|Norman period]].<ref name="Commissioners1806">{{cite book |title=Parliamentary Reports: Accounts &c. |volume=6 |chapter=The Fourth Report of the Commissioners, appointed to enquire into the Fees, Gratuities, Perquisites, and Emoluments, which are or have been lately received in certain Public Offices in Ireland; and also, to examine into any Abuses which may exist in the same; and into the present Mode of receiving, collecting, issuing, and accounting for Public Money in Ireland |date=20 December 1806 |pages=58–65 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uS5bAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA58}}</ref><ref name="quitrent1827" /> Most confiscated land had been granted away again, as under the [[Adventurers' Act]] 1642, [[Act of Settlement 1662]], and the Act of Resumption 1700.<ref name="Commissioners1806" /><ref name="quitrent1827">{{cite book |chapter=HC 1824 (458) 21 71 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/op1244078-1001#page/n4 |pages=5–13 |title=Reports of Commissioners of Inquiry into Quit Rents and Crown Lands in Ireland; Abstract of Quit, Crown and other Rents in Ireland|date=22 June 1824 |publisher=HMSO}}</ref>

The balance which remained in Crown hands included the "undisposed lands" of the 1662 settlement (worth less than the small [[quit rent]] that a grantee would have had to pay) and the balance unsold by the trustees under the 1700 act at its 1703 time limit.<ref name="Commissioners1806" /> The scattered Crown lands were [[Farm (revenue leasing)|farmed]] out on long leases with little regard to the collection of rent.<ref name="Commissioners1806" /> Responsibility lay with the Quit Rent Office, which was absorbed in 1827 by the [[Commissioners of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues]].<ref name="nai" /> The largest Crown estate in the 1820s was Pobble O'Keefe in [[Sliabh Luachra]] at {{convert|5000|acre}}.<ref name="Commissioners1806" /><ref name="quitrent1827" />

In 1828 the lease expired, and [[Sir Richard Griffith, 1st Baronet|Richard Griffith]] was appointed to supervise its improvement, including the foundation of the [[model village]] of [[Kingwilliamstown]].<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Dublin Penny Journal |volume=1 |number=21 |date=17 November 1832 |url=http://www.libraryireland.com/articles/pobbleokeefeDPJ1-21/index.php |title=Pobble O'Keefe |publisher=Library Ireland |access-date=30 January 2018}}; {{cite book|last=Tepper |first=Michael|title=New World Immigrants: A Consolidation of Ship Passenger Lists and Associated Data from Periodical Literature |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HUqRznvpxsMC&pg=RA1-PA487 |access-date=30 January 2018|year=1979 |publisher=Genealogical Publishing Com|isbn=978-0-8063-0854-8|pages=487–488}}; {{cite book|title=Reports on Experimental Improvements on Crown Estate of King William's Town, in County Cork: further report of Mr. Griffiths to the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Woods |url=http://www.dippam.ac.uk/eppi/documents/12948|chapter=HC 1851 (637) 50 437.0|date=4 August 1851}}</ref> In the early 1830s the Crown Estate resumed possession of land in Ballykilcline following the insanity of the head lessee. The occupational sub-lessees were seven years in arrears with their rent and the result was the Ballykilcline "removals" – [[Assisted colonization|free emigration]] to the new world in 1846. There was further state-assisted emigration from overpopulated Crown estates during the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Great Famine]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ellis |first=Eilish |year=1960|title=State-Aided Emigration Schemes from Crown Estates in Ireland c. 1850|journal=Analecta Hibernica |jstor=5511883 |publisher=Irish Manuscripts Commission |issue=22|pages=328–394}}; reprinted in {{cite book|editor-last=Tepper|editor-first=Michael|title=New World Immigrants: A Consolidation of Ship Passenger Lists and Associated Data from Periodical Literature |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HUqRznvpxsMC&pg=RA1-PA448|access-date=30 January 2018|year=1979 |publisher=Genealogical Publishing Com |isbn=978-0-8063-0854-8 |pages=448–}}</ref> There is evidence of Crown Estate public work schemes to employ the more distressed in improving drainage etc.<ref>Commissioners' Report for 1853, p. 601, and 1855, pp. 42–43</ref> In 1854 a select committee of the House of Lords concluded that the small estates in [[Ireland]] should be sold.<ref>Commissioners' Report for 1855, p.47</ref> {{convert|7000|acre|ha}} were subsequently sold for circa £25,000 (equal to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|0.025000|1854|r=2}}}}{{nbsp}}million today) at auction and £10,000 (equal to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|0.010000|1854|r=2}}}}{{nbsp}}million today) by private treaty: a major [[disinvestment]], with reinvestment in [[Great Britain]].<ref name="blue" />

Article 11 of the 1922 [[Constitution of the Irish Free State]] provided that Crown Estate land within the [[Irish Free State]] would belong to the state,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1922/act/1/schedule/1/enacted/en/html |title=Constitution of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Eireann) Act, 1922, Schedule 1|work=[[Irish Statute Book]] |at=Article 11 |access-date=31 January 2018}}; {{cite web |url=http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail1936050500040#N6|title=Committee on Finance. – Vote 30—Quit Rent Office|last=Flinn|first=Hugo |author-link=Hugo Flinn|date=5 May 1936|work=Dáil Éireann Debates|pages=Vol.61 No.15 p.40 c.2189 |no-pp=y|quote=The Quit Rent Office deals generally with the management of all forms of Crown property, including quit rents, which was transferred to Saorstát Eireann by virtue of Article 11 of the Constitution. |access-date=31 January 2018}}</ref> which took over administrative responsibilities on 1 April 1923. At the time of handover, [[quit-rent|quit rents]] totalled £23,418 (equal to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|0.023418|1923}}}}{{nbsp}}million today) and rent from property £1,191 (equal to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|1191|1923|r=-3}}}} today).<ref name="blue" /> The estates handed over mostly comprised foreshore.{{Sfn|Pugh|1960|p=17}}

The Crown Estate in [[Northern Ireland]] in 1960 comprised "a few quit rents ... yielding yearly only £38."{{Sfn|Pugh|1960|p=17}} By 2016 it had an income of £1.4{{nbsp}}million, from cables, pipelines and windfarms on the foreshore, and goldmining in [[County Tyrone]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/media/761965/northern-ireland-highlights-2016.pdf#page=5 |format=PDF|title=Northern Ireland Highlights 2015/16|date=June 2016|publisher=Crown Estate|access-date=31 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/energy-and-resources/australian-firm-the-latest-to-join-northern-irish-gold-rush-1.3330599|title=Australian firm the latest to join Northern Irish 'gold rush'|last=McDonnell|first=Francess|date=18 December 2017|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|access-date=31 January 2018}}</ref> Development of the seabed below low tide is hampered by [[Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border#Waters around Northern Ireland|a sovereignty dispute]] with the [[Republic of Ireland]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.energyireland.ie/the-crown-estate-and-renewables/|title=The Crown Estate and renewables|last=Grimson|first=Dermott|date=10 February 2012 |publisher=Energy Ireland|access-date=31 January 2018}}</ref>

=== Crown land in Scotland ===
{{Main|Crown Estate Scotland}}

It was not until 1830 that [[William IV of the United Kingdom|King William IV]] revoked the income from the Crown estates in [[Scotland]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Jim and Margaret Cuthbert|title=The Sovereign Grant Bill: Bad for Scotland and Bad for the UK|url=http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2011/08/18/the-sovereign-grant-bill-bad-for-scotland-and-bad-for-the-uk/|publisher=Bella Caledonia|date=18 August 2011|access-date=31 January 2014}}</ref> The hereditary land revenues of the Crown in Scotland, formerly under the management of the [[Court of Exchequer (Scotland)|Barons of the Exchequer]], were transferred to the [[Commissioners of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues|Commissioners of Woods, Forests, Land Revenues, Works and Buildings]] and their successors under the Crown Lands (Scotland) Acts of 1832, 1833 and 1835.{{Sfn|Pugh|1960|p=18}} These holdings mainly comprised former ecclesiastical land (following the abolition of the episcopacy in 1689) in [[Caithness]] and [[Orkney]], and ancient royal possession in [[Stirling]] and Edinburgh, and feudal dues.{{Sfn|Pugh|1960|p=17}}

There was virtually no urban property. Most of the present Scottish estate excepting foreshore and salmon fishing is due to inward investment, including [[Glenlivet Estate]], the largest area of land managed by the Crown Estate in Scotland, purchased in 1937,<ref>Paterson, Wilma "Out of the shadows", ''[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]]'', 13 November 1999, p. 12</ref> Applegirth, Fochabers and Whitehill estates, purchased in 1963, 1937 and 1969 respectively.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/our_portfolio/rural/glenlivet.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503083658/http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/our_portfolio/rural/glenlivet.htm|url-status=dead|title=thecrownestate.co.uk|archivedate=3 May 2009}}</ref>

After winning the [[2011 Scottish Parliament election|2011 Scottish election]], the [[Scottish National Party]] (SNP) called for the [[devolution in the United Kingdom|devolution]] of the Crown Estate income to Scotland.<ref name="snp">{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/politics/snp-anger-at-plan-for-crown-estate-handout-1.1113447|title=SNP anger at plan for Crown Estate handout|work=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]]|date=22 July 2011|access-date=24 July 2011|first=Michael|last=Settle}}</ref> In response to this demand, the [[Scotland Office]] decided against dividing up the Crown Estates. However, plans were developed to allocate some of the Crown Estate income to the [[Big Lottery Fund]], which would then distribute funds to coastal communities.<ref name="snp" /> These plans were criticised by the SNP.<ref name="snp" />

==== Crown Estate Scotland ====
{{Main|Crown Estate Scotland}}
The [[Scotland Act 2016]] allowed the [[Scottish Government]] to take control of a portfolio of assets totalling £272&nbsp;million ($339.6&nbsp;million) after a devolved Scottish Crown Estate was established, including the rights to develop marine energy projects in the country. A new public body, [[Crown Estate Scotland]] (CES), was established to manage these assets.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ijglobal.com/articles/105711/scottish-crown-estate-assets-transfer-to-holyrood|title=Scottish Crown Estate assets transfer to Holyrood|website=Ijglobal.com|access-date=30 January 2018}}</ref> The Scotland Act 2016 allowed a transfer scheme to for devolution of powers over the management of revenue management of Scottish assets on 1 April 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Scottish Crown Estate |url=https://www.gov.scot/policies/marine-planning/the-scottish-crown-estate/ |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=www.gov.scot |language=en}}</ref>

Prior to the handover, the Crown Estate owned a multi-million stake in [[Fort Kinnaird]] retail park in Edinburgh representing about 60% of the value of all Crown assets in Scotland. This was not passed to Crown Estates Scotland with other Scottish properties in 2016. Two years later, the Crown Estate sold its stake and used the funds to assume full ownership of the Gallagher Retail Park in [[Cheltenham]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/moray/1504741/uk-crown-estate-accused-of-167-million-cash-grab-from-scottish-purse/|title=UK Crown Estate accused of £167 million 'cash grab' from Scottish purse|first=David|last=Mackay|date=23 June 2018 }}</ref>