Dear Nancy. The answer is NO, he would not have owned the farm or land. It was quite normal practice in the UK for a farmer to lease a farm from a very large estate, probably belonging to a Lord or very wealthy person that owned many farms etc. This could be for a period of say 15, 20 or 25 years. In the UK even today I would guess that the majority of farms are leasehold. The lease would have a value, that being of the un-used part of the period left on the lease. The shorter the remainder, the little of its value. It is right that he should leave the lease in his Will as it is an asset to his estate upon death. When the lease period is over, the tenant would have to vacate the farm, or, take out a new lease, probably at a higher rent than the previous lease and different terms may be applied etc. Hope that this helps. Richard T U.K.