Ashburn Anstalt v Arnold [1988] EWCA Civ 14 is an English land law case decided by the Court of Appeal.

Any suggestion in Errington v Wood that a licence creates an interest in land was wrong, according to Thomas v Sorrell.

There would only be a constructive trust, continued Fox LJ, if, ... it is satisfied that the conscience of the estate owner is affected… The fact that the conveyance is expressed to be subject to the contract may often, for the reasons indicated by Dillon J, be at least as consistent with an intention merely to protect the grantor against claims by the grantee as an intention to impose an obligation on the grantee.

But notice is not enough… We do not think it desirable that constructive trusts of land should be imposed in reliance on inferences from slender materials.

In general, we should emphasise that it is important not to lose sight of the question: ‘Whose conscience are we considering?’ It is [C’s], and the issue is whether [C] has acted in such a way that, as a matter of justice, a trust must be imposed.