"Aidan" wrote in message
oups.com...

Doctor Drivel wrote:
"Roger" wrote
Rogerness in message

and the sea shore below high-tide mark, every
square inch of England is 'owned' by a few
thousand families. These people are just about
as useful as so many tapeworms.

I think he was slightly incorrect there (I'm straying into land law
here, something I know bog all about). My understanding is that the
foreshore (high water to low water is owned by the Crown, Duchy of
Cornwall or Duchy of Lancaster. The sea bed, from low water to the
12-mile territorial limit is Crown property. This is not to be confused
with State property, it is the personal property of the Queen/Royal
family, just as Sandringham is.

The Crown lands are owned by the state. AIUI, the Queen can take the
proceeds of that "land". If so, then Orwell is correct. We, the state, own
the land below the high tide mark, but it is given to one family. Sounds
like a banana republic; ridiculous.