What are the historical rights of way for farmers, public, level crossings and occupational crossings?

[MrRathbone]

could someone tell me a rough history of the rights of way as in the above titled question.

 

[jopsuk]

that looks like an essay question?

 

[Tio Terry]

A lot of it goes back to the Parliamentary Acts that enabled the building of the railways across private land in the first place.

 

[Bevan Price]

At its most basic level and without going into legal details -- if a road or public footpath existed before a railway was built, then it had to provide some means for the road / path to get across the railway when it was built. Similarly, they could not block farmers from reaching parts of their farm which might be split into two halves when a railway was built. in some cases, the "means of crossing" might be a bridge, rather than a level crossing.

Of course, variations can be incorporated into the Act of Parliament authorising construction of a railway, and in some cases, a court can authorise the closure (or diversion) of a public highway or footpath.

 

[Llanigraham]

could someone tell me a rough history of the rights of way as in the above titled question.

As someone who has studied Rights Of Way and acted as a RoW Officer for a large motor club I can say that there is no simple answer to that question. Bevan Price above has given a suitable answer. An accurate answer would require knowing exactly what crossings you are looking at.