The parson's freehold refers to a system within the Church of England in which the rector or vicar of a parish holds title to benefice property, such as the church, churchyard or parsonage, the ownership passing to his successor. This system is to be phased out, under the Ecclesiastical Offices (Terms of Service) Measure. Description The parson's freehold is a type of benefice; originally also it established income from and tenancy of certain properties in recompense for the priest's exercise of ecclesiastical offices. These would have included occupancy of the rectory (and its outbuildings), fees and Easter offerings, income from tithes (received in the form of a tax on properties within the parish bounds), and income from the glebe (parcels which could be farmed for the rector's profit). These formed the basis for the rector's income, out of which he lived, and kept the Church. Communion alms met some of the needs of the poor. Often the patron or another landowner would take the lead in repairs and extensions of the church; sometimes the rector or vicar did so himself. For the purposes of law the rector owns the remaining property as a corporation sole. However, unlike usual fee simple ownership, the property did not pass to his heir upon his death. Instead, it passed to the next officeholder. Development Canon law for benefices can be traced back to the councils of First and Second Councils of Orléans in 511 and 533, and Lyons in 566. The councils established the principle of grants of property to clergymen which were dependent upon the holding of particular offices. These principles were retained in the Church of England and were codified so that such a position was vacated only on Death; Resignation; Cessation due to appointment to an incompatible position; Deprivation through ecclesiastical courts on the grounds of bastardy or moral fault; Conviction of simony; or Failure to read services according to the Book of Common Prayer and sentence of deprivation. Plural occupancy was gradually restricted due to abuses by non-resident officeholders delegating priestly duties to assistants. The difficulty of removing the beneficiary of such a freehold was a source of continued conflict. In practice only "open and notorious evil living" sufficed to remove an incumbent unwillingly. Conflict over tithes in particular led to the fixing of tithes under the Tithe Commutation Act of 1836, and their abolition in 1935. Increasingly rectors and