1972: The CURIOUS CASE of the BLOCKED WINDOW | Nationwide | Weird and Wonderful | BBC Archive
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
- "I should leave those alone, if I was you...this is governed by the law of ancient lights."
When Mr Max Jenkins bought his house - a substantial Victorian villa in the village of Bacton-on-Sea - he thought he'd snagged himself a bargain. There was only one, minor issue with the property - an unusual wooden structure, just three feet from his windows, obscuring the view of the sea - but he could surely dismantle that, couldn't he?
Nationwide reporter Susan Hall investigates this bizarre case involving the "law of ancient light", and the reclusive Miss Day.
Clip taken from Nationwide, originally broadcast on BBC One, Tuesday 14 March, 1972.
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The most random video to ever pop up in my feed.
STAR TREK ACID PARTY
once popped into my feed. 😕
Same 😅
I know right? Hahaha 😂😂😂😂 same very much same
I had to watch it though. 😂
@@selenacaemawr me too!
The man's beard, the old lady cleaning the window and glowering at the camera, the way the reporter lady talks...This is, quite possibly, the most 70s British thing ever.
Forgot to mention the man's teeth.
...and the reporter's boots too!
So beards are "british" huh
borderline Monty Python
It’s like a Monty Python sketch without a punchline ..
When the woman grimaced from her window I was FULLY convinced this was a Monty Python skit 😂😂😂
In a falsetto voice "I AM NOT A CRACKPOT, THOSE BOARDS ARE STAYING!"
1:18 I laughed out loud at her scowl 😂
She indeed looked a lot like Michael Palin with a headscarf! 😂
wait, it isn’t?
Lol I was half expecting it to be Terry Jones
"Boards? What boards? Oh, those? They blew down in a storm a few months ago. Then caught fire."
To shreds you say…
For those wondering why the lady wanted to block the window - it comes down (as always) to money. If he had received light from the windows, then he could legally block any houses being built on that land, as he would lose his 'right to light' by the new house (or get paid handsomely to allow the houses).
As the lady could argue that he hadn't been receiving light, he couldn't object to the houses being built. So it's all about the value of her land and the ability to sell it to developers.
As a side note, I love these videos - the BBC archive is one of my favourite channels.
@@robtalbot8027 which may explain why there is now a house on that land.
What a thoroughly horrible old crone.
As I understand it, ancient lights protects homeowners who have been in place for 20 years. I wonder if the old bat's father waited for a new owner or was aware of how long the then current owner had been there (prior to the one in the video) then stuck them up before they could claim the 20 years. What a truly awful woman.
Thanks for the explanation. I was thoroughly confused as to how that law applied to this situation and indeed thought that Ole Abe had every right to take down the boards.
Thanks for this, Cameron’s government got rid of lots of planning laws to benefit themselves and their rich friends I wonder if it has helped this man had his predicament . There’s more to life than money I couldn’t sleep at night knowing I was making someone’s quality of life miserable for the sake of a few quid .
In case anyone is wondering what happened in the years since, the house is in Kimberley Road, Bacton, The boards are long gone but there is another property on the land now in between the two houses.
It was last sold in 2013.
Hello you
I had a look on some old maps, found it and it looked like Melrose was built on land sold by someone else, maybe hermonville itself, as it’s an unusual shape compared to the others on that side of the road
Thankyou for that, I was looking on Google earth for the house intrigued what it looked like now. Thanks for the street name 👍
Thank you
@@woodseats123 No worries :) Yeah, the road itself isn't on Google Street View annoyingly, and the google earth shot is only 2D.
There are photos of what the inside of the house looks like online now, as it went up for sale in 2013 and the listing is still up.
The vindictive idea is that if he never got his 20 years of light from the window, he can't oppose any building next-door. How people take a law meant to protect people's well-being and turn it into a lifetime victimisation of others is just unreal.
It's called "good intentions, unintended consequences". This sort of thing should have been foreseen the moment whoever came up with the law wrote the law. And if more then ten seconds had been spent thinking about it, a solution could have been made like "structures can be erected for the sole purpose of blocking light, or something like that.
These sorts of things happen all the time, the most famous example is the government demanding the birds be killed or scared off crops because they eat the seeds, resulting in 20 million people dead as a result of famine when the bugs the birds also ate exploded in population and did far more damage then the birds ever did.
This is why governments shouldn't meddle in things they have next to zero understanding about.
But clearly, the man has gotten some natural light from the windows and therefore there is room for argument. However, this likely boils down to nothing further could be built to restrict his light more than what already exists.
As well, even if the current obstruction was to mysteriously vanish, the neighbour could simply rebuild to the same restriction.
Agreed. But I would say what's actually unreal, is that the government tolerates her gaming the system like this.
It's funny how people think light works 😂
@@JH-wd6dp Put up mirrors on his side of the property line to reflect light into the windows.
No idea how i got here but i'm thoroughly enjoying this *sips tea*.
I'm having a jolly good time as well, would you like a truffle?
I'm with you both. Putting the kettle on again and getting the shortbreads out.
This makes me think Monty Python weren't comedic geniuses after all...they were simply reporting on their strangest neighbors and sharing their most absurd histories.
The old woman in the window even looks like Eric Idle 1:14
Yes, they poked fun at society that’s dead and gone. Which they helped in part killing. Hence why John is a bitter old fart now
Monty Python could only have come from England, where this kind of batty behaviour is common.
@@soberhippie 😂
@@lyrebird9749 - almost normal, even....
As if this whole video wasn't surreal enough, the look she gives the camera as she's (ironically!) cleaning her windows is just perfect 😂
Halfway expected her to open the window and say “Brian’s not here! Go away!” 😂
The most surreal part was $3500 for a home
Why?
it probably isn't her cleaning the windows
@@DemnRaig80because its less than what you expect to pay for even a third hand car these days
This looks like a monty python skit
Well, it is the UK.
HAHAHAHAHAHA that s so trulOL! i can imagine this scene on one of there old e3pisodes AHAHAH that sreally funnny
😂Well, it could only happen here!
A Country of eccentrics , honestly that’s true. And yeah buddy it’s a Monty Python skit !
Even if it isn’t it is.
Remind us where news of "Florida man" comes from!
Don't worry guys, the boards have been removed. There's a house there now.
Visible on Google Street View: Kimberley Rd, Bacton, Norwich, UK
Yes but *when* were they removed??
But now his ghost can't see the ocean because there is a house there! lol 🤷♂️
Building that house was the exact purpose for the boards. The man in the video could have easily opposed the building if the house since they would block his view (or his “light” as the law calls it).
I guess the nasty lady died then. Thanks for the info 👍
Looks like at least there is a view from the upstairs window despite the house built nearby.
“And from this window you have a beautiful view of the woods.”
😂
"well... wood, anyway."
She wooden have it another way.
The freaking woods
@@HeimirTomm There was clearly more than one. lol
The way he looks so sadly out the window is too much 😂
LLOOLLL😂😂
Good acting
😂😂😂
Shows what a beta he is. No chance I would let those boards ruin my life
@ This is from 1972, Zoomer!
"... in her lifetime."
Okay, okay. I think we're on the same page here... 😋
1972 .. I wonder if the boards are still there
@@self-preservationsociety7057 Apparently not, but a house has been built on the plot of adjacent land.
ayy bro you got those gps coordinates
@@MegaMetal96 No, I was going off what someone else said. Weirdly, though, I've actually been to this village on holiday (there's a holiday park opposite where this took place).
@@MegaMetal96if you go on Google Street View on these coordinates you can actually see both houses and the new one in between maps.app.goo.gl/rk7VxdWnkEKDL6BM7?g_st=ac
This is Kimberley Road in Bacton & the boards are long gone. But there is a house on the grass area now. However, the upstairs window now gets a decent view of the main coast road.
This is the update that I read the comments to find! Thanks!
The sheer irony of this BBC video to pop up in my feed after watching "What are Ancient Lights and why did they ANNOY the BBC?". Bless the algorithm.
Ok, I'm not the only one, as soon as I saw the thumbnail, I knew the reason for the boards
This exactly happened to me! I had no clue about the boards until I watched this video. 😂
same reason im here lol
I watched the same exact video and then got served this. lmao
Wow same
A reply from the council after just two weeks. What kind of an alternate universe is this?
You could have just stopped at a reply from the council.
1972
Everything worked properly in 1972…
@@Stefan_Van_pellicom things may have been better, but it wasn't perfect back then either
Canada also living in this alternate evil universe
I love that the 'old bat' was actually cleaning her windows, to rub it in (ahem)... and adding to another commentors Pythonesque note, I could quite easily see Terry Jones up there.
Women like this spent their whole day cleaning. She reminds me of a lady who lived opposite my grandma, she wore a head scarf just like that as well.
@@plane15 My welsh grandmother was like that, always had a pinafore on, or 'piny'. And there's that northern thing about keeping the front door step scrubbed spotless.
It's called editing, do we even know that's the right neighbour.
Actually, I thought Michael Palin was the wicked neighbor and Terry Jones the reporter lady. Graham Chapman is the man who's sitting in the dark.
She'll open the window and say that her son can't come out... and that he's not the messiah, he's just a very naughty boy.
These archive videos are a reminder of what life was like when I was young.
No brown people
@@musicians_with_gunts Okay Elon.
@musicians_with_gunts There were certainly brown people in the UK in 1972. One can enjoy the past without needing to bring up culture war nonsense.
"Oh no, it seems it rotted at the base and fell down.
Must be all that salty sea breeze."
100%
Or the Stump Rot placed around the bases. 😅
“Must not come down in her lifetime” …well here we are, and what a beautiful day to be alive and pull the boards down.
They built a house there
They did - built a house there, so the gent would have still lost his view, the old lady won
@@StevenGumboAppleton that old lady is karen
@@StevenGumboAppleton go look at the house on Google Street view… his old house still has sunlight whereas hers is completely blocked by the new build.
This is how you get your empty house burned down.
Great reply
the thing is that the entire reason for this is because of a backwards law in the UK that says if a house has had light come through a window for at least 20 years, it's illegal to build a new house next door because it would block the light in the neighbor's window. The woman's father must have put up that board in 1915 while the house the man lived in was originally being built, because since the house hadn't yet been there for 20 years it was still legal to do that, preserving the property value of the lot without being forced to immediately develop it. The woman was kind of forced by her legal counsel to keep the board up because removing it for any extended length of time might cause people to forget it had been there, and would call into question whether it was legal to develop the property and essentially destroy the value of the property.
Yeah, this day in age it would be a Phent den and or burn down.
@@tacokoneko That makes no sense. The boards were covering the windows exactly. So for your theory to be correct, the dad must have had access to the building plans
@@dan-bz7dz I think the assumption is that whoever buys the land in the future can build a building of any size and block all of the light for the other house because the light was already blocked to begin with. This would allow anyone to buy the land and build anything without restriction as opposed to being restricted to make do with what is already there.
Think absurd zoning laws and dumb corporate homeowners association rules.
It’s very impressive the way they put this together so professionally and managed to keep the REASONS WHY a complete secret. 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
to quote a post from above:
When the house was built, the owners figured building so close to the property line would not be a problem as they could in future prevent anything being built on the neighbours property that would block their light.... The very smart grandfather rightly realised to prevent his neighbours from creating any restriction on what he wants to use the land for in future, then blocking the view before the house gets use to unimpeded views across his land with barricades, would protect his interests.
Effectively ensuring his neighbours did not impose restrictions on his land to do with what he wants. It us actually a very wise reaction to prevent 'ancient lights' laws impacting his land use... And I agree with the land owner they must never be talked into pulling the barricades down, no matter how silly they seem.
The people in the wrong are those whom built a house close to a boundary, expecting to be able to prevent their neighbour from free use of their own land, to build whatever they wanted on their own land!
Without the boards, the man in the video could stop the owner of the empty lot from building a house there as the house would block his windows and after 20 years he would have a right to not have his windows blocked.
@@dand5829 thanks brother! When I googled it I saw lots of pictures of window-signs saying ANCIENT LIGHT to keep them from being blocked. It’s something I’ve never heard of.
The whole notion of "ancient lights" in the modern age is ridiculous really, and is nothing but self-entitled boomer (and older) nonsense.
So the law of ancient lights (called "right to light" in modern terms) says if a window has gotten light in for 20 years - you get a legal right to veto any building that would prevent light from continuing to come into that window.
That land owner is obviously using those boards to weaponise the right to light - preventing light entering those windows means that the owner of those windows never gets a legal right to prevent that field being developed on.
The law has been on the books since 1832.
What I cannot find out is how they were allowed to be erected in the first place. Maybe that field used to have a barn on it that was torn down, the placards being used as a placeholder for the eventual reconstruction?
Its all very peculiar, and just a touch disgusting.
I'd say she's less weaponizing the law and more preventing the law from being weaponized against her
@SilverStarHeggisist a shield isnt a weapon. The law is to protect property owners from having themselves boxed in by new builds, losing natural light, and in turn losing property value and quality of life
I think she could put them up so long as at the time they were built the current resident had lived in the house for less than 20 years.
No, the board owner is preventing the law being weaponised against her.
I’ve just had a quick look on google maps (I don’t waste my spare time!) it appears that it is a private road so no google street view. But you can clearly see that there is a substantial house next door,can’t see the windows though! (Melrose,Kimberley road, Bacton on sea, Norwich) Bet that old bag still haunts it until this day!
No CCTV back in 1972, they could just fall down every day.
Always strong winds
If you wanted to get mischievious, you could even make them "fall" onto your house, then have her pay for damages
@@j.a.400- The wind can be very unpredictable 😉
@j.a.400 yeah I'm sure that's a smart idea, destroying your home because you want a bit of money lol
@@dar4061hes not saying destroy his house, chip the paintwork, crack a window, loads of things to cause her to pay, you dont need to be extreme.
I think I would bypass the Ancient Lights Statute with the law of Black And Decker.
@stephenspence-d9q lol...🤪🤣👍🏻
😆
Blackadder and Decker
Ant and Deck(err ...).
Law of flame thrower imo then you don’t have to trespass
This really needed a follow-up, I would have suggested a complex of mirrors
What a solutioner!!
There's a house now blocking the view instead.
I may have been tempted to angled high powered bright as clear no clouds sun lights when she was home during those weeks , day and night till she goes blind from them and can not sleep well. High power bills for a couple of weeks but worth it in my one citizen vote A-hole to A-hole opinion. Poor guy's family and friends need some U.V. light to enter the Kitchen, living room and up stairs guest room or they may fall sick and need to send her some Medical bills to the rich old thick head, or not if,,,,, Wonder how well loved she is at her rest of the year house?
@@henrybourdon6712 Well that's one perspective on this. The other is that if she didn't block their light, then that land couldn't be built on without permission from the house with the windows it would block, which usually means a big payout due to the right of light laws. They did the logical thing of blocking their light from when their house was built so that they can't claim they have a right to light if they never had it. There's actually a house built on that land now which is also blocking their light.
@@hippopotamus86 Yes i noticed this from reading the comments. Guess the laws are different in England as in Canada i have lived in Calgary and i have been to many friends homes where your sitting in the washroom and if you open the window you are about two lawnmowers wide away from the next houses bathroom window. I used to joke to my friends that if they ran out of paper you could tap on the next doors window and get a new roll of toilet paper to finish the job.
The grumpy woman cleaning her windows had me rolling. Lol
Many years ago I had a Victorian end of terrace house in Kent. A newer Bungalow had been built next door 1 metre away blocking light from my window. I was told that my window had prevented development on the neighboring site, but during the war years the local council built a Home Defence traing hall on the site (under the War measures Acr) Years later the hall was converted into housing. The Ancient Lights had been lost 😢 You can't fight City Hall !
In The Netherlands we have rules about how close to the neighbouring site you are allowed to build the wall of a house with windows facing the neighbours. It is 2 meters. So the minimum distance between the houses would be 2 meters if the new house did not have windows facing the neighbours, and 4 meters if it did.
😭😭we're overdeveloped here too, they just did it to a whole block down the way, willow trees, fine old house, origianl press (sherwood), everything. Understood!
I love how he does a little impression when he quotes the local person he spoke to, even though it's nobody famous.
He did a Norfolk accent
Why would they need to be famous? Don't you ever impersonate someone in general conversation?
@@benedictearlson9044 Not normally to people who have no idea who they are. What would be the point?
@@stevebailey5591
He's demonstrating that they were local, when his accent indicates that he is not.........
@@artrandy Yes, that's quite a plausible explanation. Either way, it's a nice little touch in his storytelling.
Legend has it she's still cleaning the windows
I know it was decades ago, but I'd add "the law of modern spotlights", which says that when the old lady is in town and the window blocker is still up her place will be in the spotlight (or three)
😂Evil you are, and that I support!
Love it
It's against planning to have your lights shine beyond your boundary and cause a nuisance, that's why security lights were sold with cowls to direct the light now people just buy god awful led splash lights that blind everyone.
Sorry, can you elaborate a bit? I feel something evil and funny here, but I don't quite understand what ))
I like that.
Wonderful. And what a restrained Gentleman he is/was. As some have said below - this is basically a Fable about checking out your neighbours before buying a property. Couldn't be better exemplified.
It’s a fable about buying a house with someone else’s property blocking its windows.
It’s about a man, possibly a stupid, opportunistic or connected one, not wanting to take no for an answer and using others to do his dirty work in bullying or shaming an elderly lady into giving him what he wants but cannot be had by right or fair exchange.
He may appear to be a gentleman but just imagine how he gets what he wants in a relationship. Does he live alone in his house with blocked windows I wonder?
It is a lesson for our time that the media can pervert a story so thoroughly that viewers forget something so blindingly simple as what is mine and what is yours.
A man who infects others with his own disrespect for someone else’s property is no gentleman.
@@jonathanlewis453 Hahaha - this is a joke, right?
@@tomsixsix There is no requirement to be mentally hinged to post on TH-cam.
@@jonathanlewis453 Damn, that's a whole bunch of baseless assumptions.
@@tomsixsix The only joke is fools like you acting like you'd sit there with a smile on your face if someone told you "You can't use your own property as you see fit because your neighbor wants open space around his windows and thinks that space should be taken out of YOUR property instead of his." Comment section is full of kids and broke people who have never been in a position to own land and it shows.
The quality of this recording is amazing, I'm sure it was enhanced, but wow impressive.
It may not necessarily have been enhanced: It looks like they used a 16mm film camera. Under the right conditions, this material will keep its quality for a long time, and its resolution is noticeably better than that of SD video.
@@berlinflight_tvYep. I was a small child in the 70s and noticed so much on TV began looking terrible in the 80s, a stark contrast to the lush look I'd been raised on. It was video. Rerun videotaped shows looked especially washed out and drab. Its kind of how on analog TV a camera can quickly pan and stay smooth. But on digital TV you need a high refresh rate or else it will look glitchy.
Yes, it's film. The BBC would send a film cameraman and a sound man out with the reporter a lot of the time, and the Beeb's film cameramen were marvellous.
Daniel Day Lewis' latest role in this small film is his best yet.
He can't see the seas for the wood
Whoever had the woman's house, later sold the land for a new house to be built. The blocked side windows never had a sea view anyway. The front upstairs windows might have been able to sea in the distance. However, its blocked by a Chinese takeaway.
More upvotes for this!! 🤣
Pun of the year right there.
It’s not a pun it’s evil.
It was obviously a deliberate attempt by god to block enjoyment of the property.
@@ironhell813 it's a play on the expression "can't see the forest for the trees"
I just checked. It’s now worth £311,000 and has a house built next door
Indeed! And fairly safe to say we don't earn 100 times as much as they did then...
been trying to look for it on google maps just out of interest after watching the vid but not sure were it is i know it's prob on mill lane somwhere but cat quit pin point it as OBV things have changed sins 1972! lol
@@davidkavanagh189but it was cheaper because of the blocked windows.
@@petethebeat48 No it wasn't. That's how much houses cost then. Do you think it was a 10th of the price because of two little blocked windows? Clearly not
@@davidkavanagh189no it was cheaper, the journalist/interviewer said ‘and you might think that he got somewhat of a bargain but there’s one big snag’
That implies it was cheaper because of the blocked windows
Estate agent: The property enjoys charming rustic views.
..of a nearby 'wood'.
@@OriginsReborn😂
@@OriginsReborn that's brilliant!
...charming rusty views.
From the ground floor to the top floor you will be able to see the charming board walk from your house Sir.
We need an update to this story!
Via PI
Ah, the Law of Ancient Lights! This is a fascinating concept in English property law that dates back to the 17th century. Essentially, the Law of Ancient Lights gave property owners the right to receive natural light and air through their windows, without obstruction from their neighbors.
Under this law, if a property owner had enjoyed uninterrupted daylight through their windows for 20 years or more, they were entitled to prevent their neighbors from obstructing this light by building a new structure or planting trees, for example. If the neighbor did obstruct the light, the property owner could sue them for "nuisance" and potentially receive compensation.
The Law of Ancient Lights has since been amended, but it remains an interesting historical example of how property law has evolved to protect the rights of property owners. And of course, it's also fascinating to imagine a world where people put up signs under their windows to warn their neighbors not to block their ancient lights!
This is brilliant, I love learning this stuff. Thank You!
@@InaEsin
It's written by an AI app named "PI".
🌞👍
The shape of the Broadcasting House (BBC) in Portland Place was dictated by the law of Ancient Lights, hence why one side is not as tall. This was built in 1932.
Regardless this woman is horrible.
@@lb0825so basically the BBC and the reporter knows why exactly did the mean woman had those woods there but did not inform the public. The irony lol
Life is strange. I remember watching this when it was first aired. It stuck in my memory for the absurdity. Here I am, 50 years later watching it again.
Edit; I may be confusing this one with another similar case. In that one the boards were put there by the council to protect against sea storms.
There was one involving a farmer, who wouldn't let a house owner have access to do repairs to the side of his house. It might have been on That's Life.
@@sandgrownun66 I hope they had a West country accent?
Same here I was 9 years old when it was broadcast, but never knew what happened after that until now that is lol
We can see where Monty Python got their inspiration 😂
I was going to say this is the least entertaining Python bit I've ever seen.
Yeah, a lot of their humor was based on the absurdities in British law and government bureaucracy.
0:24 That look of pure sadness and crushing regret.
1:14 she is like something from a horror film 😂
If you call Monty Python a horror troupe
@@TCA17 spot on brer 🤣💀
The owner lives 20 miles away ?
They recently made it much easier for people to build ADUs, aka granny flats, in California. Some home owners have taken advantage placing two story apartment buildings in their backyard. One neighbor is unhappy that a two story apartment now looms over their backyard. In response they've placed a sail the lenth of the building blocking any view. A hundred years from now people will be equally curious about the sail's placement... Although there will probably just be another apartment so the residents' windows are a meter apart.
1:18 Oh this is classic, the way she shakes her head looks like a cartoon doubletake upon seeing the camera. 😂
The shot of the woman in the window made me think this was going to turn into a Monty Python skit.
"Not in her lifetime" well that's more than likely resolved now 🤭
Whoever had the woman's house, later sold the land for a new house to be built. The blocked side windows never had a sea view anyway. There are houses between it and the sea. The front upstairs windows might have been able to see the sea in the distance. However, its blocked by a Chinese takeaway.
@@sandgrownun66 however if removed at the right time - wou;ld thenew owner ever think the boards had been there or realise their import.
They're likely both dead by now. I hope he got to enjoy the view at some point.
The view of the daisies being pushed up!
@@steb430 What?
People were so calm and well mannered back then 😂😂😂 and I agree, it looks like a Monty Python skit!
Ah, so I'm not the only one to notice this! I love how both the villa owner and the reporter both speak like erudite college professors. The Brits have a reputation in America for being polite, but I was not prepared for this.
Until they snap!
They were abusive drunks back then, polite until behind closed doors.
@@Allstaris lol nice worldview
2 of them were..
An honest looking geezer, if I ever saw one.
Honest Abe IMO :)
The quote you’ve shared is from the BBC program *Nationwide* (1972), which investigated a curious legal dispute
involving a house in Bacton-on-Sea. The phrase *"law of ancient lights"* refers to an **ancient right related to
sunlight and privacy** that has its origins in English property law. Here’s a detailed explanation:
---
### 1. **What is the "Law of Ancient Lights"?**
The "law of ancient lights" (also spelled *anciennary light* or *ancient lights*) is a legal principle that
protects the right to sunlight and prevents others from blocking natural light from reaching a property, provided
that the light has been enjoyed without interruption for at least 20 years. This principle dates back to medieval
times and is designed to preserve **prescriptive rights**-rights acquired through long-term use or enjoyment.
In simpler terms:
- If a property has enjoyed sunlight (or an unobstructed view) for more than 20 years, the current owner can
legally prevent new structures from blocking that light.
- The "ancient lights" are protected by law to ensure fairness and maintain the status quo.
---
### 2. **The Case of Mr. Max Jenkins**
Mr. Max Jenkins purchased a Victorian villa in Bacton-on-Sea, which came with an unusual wooden structure built
three feet from his windows. This structure blocked his view of the sea-a significant factor for someone who had
just bought a house in a coastal village.
He wanted to dismantle the structure to enjoy the scenic views and natural light. However, when he tried to do so,
he encountered resistance from **Miss Day**, a reclusive neighbor who claimed that the structure was protected
under the "law of ancient lights." Specifically:
- Miss Day argued that her family had enjoyed unobstructed access to sunlight in this manner for more than 20
years.
- She asserted that removing the structure would violate their legal rights to maintain the status quo.
---
### 3. **Why Was the Structure Protected?**
The wooden structure, though it may seem odd or intrusive, likely served a purpose related to privacy or light
control for Miss Day’s property. Under the law of ancient lights:
- If someone has enjoyed sunlight through an obstruction (like a wall, fence, or structure) for more than 20 years
without interruption, they acquire a legal right to maintain that obstruction.
- This means that even if the structure is built close to your windows and blocks your view, you cannot legally
remove it if it’s been there long enough.
---
### 4. **The Significance of "Ancient Lights"**
The law of ancient lights reflects a balance between:
- Protecting property rights: It ensures that long-standing uses of land (e.g., enjoying sunlight) are preserved.
- Preserving privacy and harmony: It prevents neighbors from altering the status quo in ways that could disrupt
others’ use and enjoyment of their properties.
In this case, Mr. Jenkins’s desire to enjoy an unobstructed view of the sea was at odds with Miss Day’s legal
right to maintain her family’s long-standing access to sunlight (or privacy).
---
### 5. **Lessons from This Case**
This peculiar legal dispute highlights:
- The importance of understanding local property laws and rights before making changes to a property.
- How historical precedents can shape modern legal decisions, even if they seem outdated or unusual.
The "law of ancient lights" may seem quirky by modern standards, but it serves as a reminder that some legal
principles are deeply rooted in history and designed to protect long-standing traditions.
Wouldn't the "law of ancient lights" favor the man?
Isn't the lady violating it especially if the structure was built 20 years prior to her father putting them up?
52 years later, the Law of Ancient Light becomes the number one Google search.
"Ancient Lights" (plural) actually.
As someone else in the comments already suggested, the easiest way to resolve this, other than doing proper research and not buying a lemon in the first place, would be to call in a building contractor to move the windows.
Presumably the old hag wouldn't have been allowed to block light already being received, assuming the building contractor was quick enough to do the job before she put up new boards.
Although that does raise the question, if her father erected those boards specifically to block the light to those windows, surely there had to already be a house there, with windows already specifically in that position, receiving light, before he knew where to erect the boards. So why was he allowed to do this in the first place?
Because the only alternative I can think of is that he was psychic, erected the boards first, then at some point years later, a house was built with windows that magically lined up perfectly with the boards he erected. Which seems incredibly unlikely.
That bloke's solicitor wasn't up to much, because it seems pretty obvious the old bat didn't really have much of a case.
Maybe they put up the boards while the house was getting built or planned, so they were already up before completion. I don't understand the story though as even without a house there, I don't believe you would be allowed to build such a structure (without planning permission). If they had planted trees for the sole purpose of blocking the light, it would make sense.
"Ancient lights" doesn't protect the building, it protects a resident who's enjoyed the light for 20 years. The boards will have gone up when someone moved out and someone else moved in (therefore no ancient lights), years after the house was built. The boards prevent the current resident from establishing the right of ancient lights.
Eye...Sea.
The guy didn't go to court because of the hurdles of it, and you are suggesting even more arduous solution instead
@@kyle8952 Finally, someone who sounds like he knows what he's talking about. Yeah, strange little law, and I wonder about such rights in the US...there are plenty of spite houses, so I suspect we don't have a similar law.
I live in NYC, Idk y this showed up in my feed but I'm subscribing, sharing and hitting the notification bell. This was most entertaining!!!! TY, YT
How is your location relevant?
@bojohannesen4352 How are you and your question relevant to my comment on a public video?? 🤔
My friends apartment in NYC has a view of a crackhead alley. They’d WISH for a better view of just boards lol
I don't know why I find this video so funny. It's brilliant 😂
Reporter: I’ve come back from your neighbor’s place and she said the boards will come down over her dead body.
Home Owner: So, you’re saying there is a solution….?
A double solution
The Final Solution, if you will.
Ouch!
Uhhh this sounds like freaking horror movie, a script if you will.
Ask to stand underneath the board as you want to show her something.
I feel like we need a modern update on this House's situation
Surely it’s been dealt with by now with a Starbucks or boots or tescos
Still there, property built in between them both, his house last sold in 2013.
Judging by our archiac planning and land laws I don't have much hope.
Old lady's dead, Boards a gone, new house popped up in the empty land area.
The mural I would’ve created on that wall would’ve put off anyone from living next door
Not gonna lie...I was expecting WAY more Abraham Lincoln jokes. I've never been this disappointed in the comments section before.
I was thinking Amish or Quaker jokes!
Us Americans are foreigners here😂
Me too
He really does look strikingly like Honest Abe.
Distant relative maybe?
More like Daniel day Lewis playing abe.
Nothing a couple jars of termites and a bit of patience can't fix!
A "what happened next" would be fascinating
The boards are no longer there, and there is a house built between the two original house.
When I was a boy, my parents bought a house with an extension built by the previous owner. It was built such that a large window overlooked the neighbours' garden giving a good view of their comings and goings, and they felt spied upon. So, failing to come to a compromise with our predecessors, they put up a fence just four or five feet long at their boundary, right against the window! When we arrived, they offered to take it down if we would put obscured glass in it, but in fact we rebuilt the extension without the neighbour scrutiny facility.
good for you. I would like to be your neighbour )
01:18 that headshake told me all i needed to know
A bigger clue is that she lives in Norwich 😂
Didnt it just!
i just studied the law of ancient lights in england and it says that it's about the right of a property owner to get enough light in their window...how is a neighbor purposely restricting someone ELSE's windows and greatly reducing the amount of light that neighbors windows receives in accordance with it is beyond me, because under my understanding the law of ancient lights would be the perfect avenue for that neighbor to get the blockage removed...
Yeah, I was confused by this. Surely, the law should have been in favour of the man in the video. It sounds like it was designed to help people in his situation.
@@stewburt5089 The house was probably less than 20 years' old when the boards went up so it never acquired that right. The lady's father presumably did not want the new house to acquire the right to light across his garden (in case his daughter ever wanted to sell the land for development?) so he told her to keep the boards in place.
Since the boards went up, the new Planning laws probably meant that if they came down, you'd need permission from the council to put them back (unless it were in a timely and like-for-like repair situation), else the obvious solution would be that the boards only would be needed for a year in every twenty in order to prevent the house acquiring a right to light through its windows.
Honestly, if I lived in the area at that time, I would tear them down as an act of vandalism. It feels like a rotten thing to do, blocking his light.
It is dirty pool, at that!
There was no cctv back then, just tear them down some night and claim kids must have done it lol the old lady isn't going to build another one.
@@LisaAnn777 If you tear it down, the old battle-ax would just put up a concrete or brick fence . It's within her legal rights if it's on her property. Try tearing that down.
@@reynaldoflores4522 she probably wouldn't lol but brick can come down too, a Ram 2500 and some tow rope would do it.
He says people have offered to do it for him but he's declined.
Fascinating - thanks for posting.
There was a whole block of flats built with a sea view. Once they were sold the developer built another block of flats in front of them.
I live in Jersey, my Mum bought a home in a bay for the sea view and not long after, the bungalow in front of her place added another floor, lol
She still has nice sea views, but it’s not quite what it was. 🍻
In the city of Long Beach, California, high-rise property owners are required by the city to increase the rent for downtown residents during the month of the Grand Prix.
No one watches for free.
@doubleducks814 Yes, that happens in Florida and most of the other coastal states as well.
Before buying, it’s always a good idea to question the status of the land between a prospective house and the view you want. Also, research who owns the land and if there are any future plans/zoning that could obscure the view in the near future.
Charter house, Ashford.
Eastern Colorado with a view of the front range…. Then developers came in and built four-story condos on the ridge and completely blocked the entire thing.
I’m gobsmacked that he thought 2-3 weeks at council was a long wait😂😂
I'd defo be in the pub lots of witnesses while someone else removes them. It might be obvious what's happened but you have to prove it in court.
She would just reinstate them then you have wasted the money you gave to your accomplice.
As long as you're not caught saying "Who will rid me of this turbulent wooden planking?" you'll be alright lol.
You’d have been better off spending the money putting out a contract on her, (if you were a bit gangster like though!) She won’t put them up again if she ain’t here no more!!!!
@@twitchygiraffe4636 Yeah, a nice little chat with the Cray brothers would have set her straight 😂
'Accidental' fire... :)
I always thought Abe Lincoln hailed from Springfield, IL. Now I know better. Abe hails from Kimberly Road, Bacton.
I assume the thinking was that if the boards came down, then 20 years later, someone wouldn't be able to build as they'd block the now ancient light hitting the currently blocked windows. Hilarious that folks maintained this "insurance" for 100 years before something was actually built.
He didn't have to tear it down.
Just inject some water or other stuff in the wood and it will rot down fast.
I'm pretty sure the lady did not check every day so he would have earned his "right to light".
@0:14 $3,500!? Madness
That’s £3500 - not US Dollars. In 1972 that would be worth a lot more - now it would the the equivalent of £41,000. Or about $54k 😅
@@Crux161$54k for a house is still insane
@@Oppatwunk still sounds more fair than 400k for a basic house 💀
@@nielsoudegriep2900 Yes, housing prices have gotten insane.
@@nielsoudegriep2900where ever you live you need to move. never had that problem in my entire life lol
Max Jenkins could just sign an agreement with the neighbor lady that he will not assert an "ancient lights" claim (which could restrict what can be built on the neighbors land in the future) if she agrees to allow the boards to be removed. Problem solved.
This is an incredibly sensible point and one which the poor man's solicitor should have suggested at the time.
@@benedictearlson9044 Unfortunately, that would probably count as an unfair contract under English law, as you cannot normally sign away a legal right.
Also do you think that someone who is this vindictive want to come to an agrement? Of course not.
@@koenvandiepen7651 Wouldn't even talk to the reporter
Why would he agree to that though, if he doesn't want boards there, surely having a house built there instead would be much worse
1:48 bro looks like Abraham Lincoln
Is this real? How was this not disclosed by his real estate agent lol, that’s crazy… he didn’t ask during the tour of the property??
"I went to my solicitor and he waffled on"
sums up what a lot of people think of the stupid laws,
mostly written 100's of years ago.
My solicitor who has told me he never wants my custom again as I've given him bad advertising on national TV.
Now the view is blocked by a garage....of a house built next door.
Boards replaced by an entire house - still valued at 100 times its 1972 price.
No, the windows blocked by the boards are unobstructed, it was the window of the extension built after the boards were erected that got blocked by the new build house, which required that Mr Jenkins be paid 50% of the profits as compensation. Originally Miss Day wanted to build the new house in line with Mr Jenkins house, but the council made her build it further back, which not only meant she'd have to compensate, but she'd also obstruct her own south-facing windows in the process.
The best part is that with the compensation money Mr Jenkins was able to buy the plot next door to Melrose and build himself a bungalow, set all the way back from any of the houses, so that in the end it was Mr Jenkins who had uninterrupted views in all directions, while Miss Day had blocked herself and reduced the value of her own property, all for a meagre sum.
@@bulletz9280 Interesting but oddly doesn't seem to correspond with what I'm looking at on streetview
@@OUTBOUND184
Not easy to get a good 'streetview' as the cameras don't seem to have been down kimberley.
@@andrewholdaway813 Even so I can see that, for example, the house next door is not a bungalow
0:40 I’m surprised no mention is made of that third window which isn’t blocked. Looks like the house had a large extension at some time after the boards were put up. If the boards are just about making sure a house can be built there without light objections, then they should have put up another board
I suppose the bigger question is are they still up?
I'm sure Abraham Lincoln would have had more power to remove them than that.
I always knew he wasn’t assassinated, but in fact a time traveller.
HA! That's the first person I thought of watching this. He's the British version.
😂😂😂
A warning to house buyers, always check who the neighbours are.
Also, check if they have nuisance kids, or barking dogs.
I wish I had. 😡
Neighbours are fine. Wife`s the problem.
@@thekarmafarmer608 You can divorce a wife, can't do anything about bad neighbours. 🤣
@@MoominDoogie Unless you`ve got kids.🙄Life`s more complicated than that unfortunately.
Interesting case, intriguing and so eccentrically English.
The female reporter takes me back to a time when women were probably less glamorous than today, but women then had class, true beauty & oozed natural charisma.
Great stroll down memory lane to a Britain long, long gone. Remember Michael Barrett, Bob Wellings and Valerie Singleton's shopping basket
Boards:
“We’re not touching you, we’re not touching you!”
Brittish Lincoln:
“Touchè.”
That looks a lot like a fence to me. Most councils have rules on the maximum height of a fence.
Planning rules came in in 1948. 'Fence' is from 1915ish.
For anyone interested, here are the location coordinates: 52°51'11.9"N 1°28'35.6"E (Kimberley Rd.).
Spoiler alert! The boards are down (and so is the view of the sea from any of the houses).
Wonder if he ever looked into having new windows chiselled into his house on either side of those boards?
Cheaper and quicker than lawyers, I'd think.
Abraham Lincoln was prevented from being a 'Peeping Tom' by an obstinate elderly woman wearing a headscarf. It could be the basis of an Oscar winning movie.
1972: The CURIOUS CASE of the BLOCKED WINDOW | Nationwide | Weird and Wonderful | BBC Archive 0930am 3.10.24 the thing! you're not coming out until yerv sobered up!!!
😂😂
Now that’s a film I’d pay good money to see.
It's England not America.
@@MrSlightlybrown 1972: The CURIOUS CASE of the BLOCKED WINDOW | Nationwide | Weird and Wonderful | BBC Archive 1952pm 5.10.24 well if it's east anglia it might be seen as a once thriving american army base...... one needs to escape from. try telling the Americans and Canadians where they are - they wont listen...
In Scarborough, UK there once was a railway goods yard where the current Sainsbury's is located. The railway charged households a 'rent'/tax for 'light' travelling 'over' their property and entering the householders windows facing their goods yard !! So those house holders blocked their windows from any light entering their properties. Ridiculous.
This was originally broadcast on the day I was born ! and TH-cam just threw this at me today ?? How wonderful.
This is so dry it crackles.
the way the woman shook her head like a cat was creepy af
that was a tick that was
What a vile woman . 😠🏴
Maybe more mentally ill than vile.
Not as vile as the video makes her seem
At the time, if a window got light for 20 years, the person could literally stop you from building a house, barn, or even planting trees on your property.
@@lordgarion514 Ah, that is a very interesting point. I wonder if just blocking the man's window sunlight for a week each year (with removable panels) would start the clock over again. That would be the compromise I would make (just to preserve my right to build).
@@lllmmm3572
Seems like that would be doable.
What I don't get is how does the light thing work considering there's a second window on the first floor with nothing blocking it.
@@lordgarion514 I guess we need some expert on British law, probably British law that doesn’t exist anymore, to explain how something like this would actually pan out. In the end, I’d have to find some sort of solution like I mentioned, or just let the guy have the light and view in his window.
Hang on, Ive just looked up Ancient lights in English property law. In actual fact it protects this home owners right to have natural light in his home.. I dont think much of his solicitor...
I doubt it had anything to do with that law. Most likely something to do with the blackout that was ordered in east coast towns after the first Zeppelin raids in 1915, the same year it was erected according to the owner. There was huge paranoia about light visible at night amongst some members of the public at the time, people were smashing street lights and all sorts.
The point is, the house wasn't getting light there for 20 years BECAUSE of the barrier. So if she wanted to sell the land to a developer and the house they built blocked his light, he couldn't complain.
The boards were probably there before the house. If the boards went he’d have the right to object to any development on the plot next door.
@@jbaldwin1970 Surely any sane builder would have positioned the windows where there weren't any boards? What's the betting she would have put up more boards though I guess
@@jbaldwin1970 they clearly didn't build the windows next to the boards.
Those boards are no longer there, and of course, there's now a house built on that patch of land. The house is in Kimberly Road, Bacton. NR12 0EN. Just in case you were wondering...
I'm half convinced this is Mark Heap in a comedy sketch.
I don't think she appreciated being on camera at 1:19.
she reminded me of Nora Batty on " the last of the summer wine " 🤣
@@GothGuy885 NFN. Normal for Norfolk. It's a medical term.
@@Excession-h6e I like the other British Phrase too " well, Horses for courses"
@@GothGuy885 I was taking the rise out of them mildly, as I'm sure you worked out. It's an in joke. I think it was mentioned on QI once.
She looked like a Monty Python character..
Dude looks like Martin Heap in Spaced.
1972: The CURIOUS CASE of the BLOCKED WINDOW | Nationwide | Weird and Wonderful | BBC Archive 0931am 3.10.24 over your dead body? well, here's an opportunity not to be missed, he sed, bent over wearing, hand on hip, groucho marks specs and tache...
*Mark Heap
Leonard Hatred wouldn't have put up with it
@@lazerdave466 Comments on ‘1972: The CURIOUS CASE of the BLOCKED WINDOW | Nationwide | Weird and Wonderful | BBC Archive’ 1832pm 3.10.24 electricity pylon thingy... maybe they took it away and forgot to take down the fencing that went with it?
@@MS-ix9bi nope. He'd move away and live next to an abattoir.
This video keeps popping into my recommendation list like every other month and I finally gave in and decided to click on it 😅 thanks TH-cam for this random recommendation