The Crown Estate is a landed estate including over 120,000 hectares (296,526 acres) of
agricultural land in England, Scotland and Wales, substantial blocks of urban property and
almost half the foreshore, together with the seabed out to the 12 mile territorial limit.
Its origins date back to the reign of King Edward the Confessor.
The Crown Estate is part of the hereditary possessions of the Sovereign in right of
the Crown managed under the provisions of the Crown Estate Act 1961 by the Crown
Commissioners who have a duty to maintain and enhance the capital value of the Estate and
the income obtained from it, with due regard to the requirements of good management.
All the net revenue, which is in excess of £100 million, is paid annually to the
Treasury.
The Scottish Estates include urban commercial property in Edinburgh and Glasgow,
agricultural land and forests and much of the foreshore and seabed around Scotland. The
largest estates are at Glenlivet 23,350 hectares (57,700 acres), Fochabers 5,496 hectares
(13,581 acres), Applegirth 7,017 hectares (17,399 acres), Whitehill 1,401 hectares (3,461
acres) and Stirling 183 hectares (452 acres). The Scottish Estates account for just under
5 percent of the total value of the Crown Estate.
The Urban Estate includes over 600 commercial properties in London and other major
cities and towns throughout the UK. They include shops, offices, retail parks, shopping
centres, business parks and industrial sites. There are also over 2,500 residential
properties in London, ranging from low cost flats and houses to some of London’s
premier addresses in Kensington and Regent’s Park. The Urban Estate accounts for
about 75 percent of the Crown Estate’s capital value.
The Marine holdings include about half of the foreshore around the UK (between mean low
and mean high water), 55 percent of the beds of tidal rivers and estuaries and almost all
of the seabed out to the 12 mile territorial limit. It is the second largest business
group of the Crown Estate. Activities using the foreshore and seabed include marine
aggregate extraction, pipelines, cables, outfalls, fish farms, ports, jetties and boating
facilities as well as a large number of conservation leases.
The Agricultural Estate in England and Wales includes 84,000 hectares of agricultural
land and forests from Devon to North Yorkshire, Aberystwyth to East Anglia. There are also
24 quarries producing limestone, sand, gravel, clay, granite, slate, gold and silver. The
Forestry Estates cover some 6,000 hectares, much of which is leased to the Forestry
Commission.
The Windsor Estate covers approximately 6,000 hectares and includes 3,200 hectares of
forest, Windsor Great Park, the Savill and Valley Gardens, Ascot Racecourse, some
residential and commercial property and 5 let farms. It is the only Royal park managed by
the Crown Estate. Under the 1961 Crown Estate Act, the Commissioners have a duty to
maintain the character of the Windsor Estate as a Royal park and forest.
Source: Stewardship in Action 2, The Crown Estate, London, 1998
Further details can be obtained from: www.crownestate.co.uk
